Malaysia 1999: Ferrari Appeal Press Conference
The International Court of Appeal met in Paris on 22 October 1999 to examine the appeal brought by the Automobil Club d'Italia - Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana - ACI-CSAI (Italy) on behalf of the team Ferrari Marlboro against the decision of the Stewards of the 1999 Grand Prix of Malaysia, excluding car no 3 (Michael Schumacher) and car no 4 (Eddie Irvine) from the results for infringement of article 3.12.1 of the 1999 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.
The Automobil Club d'Italia (ACI) was represented by its President, Mr. Rosario Alessi, and the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI) - the Italian national sporting authority - was represented by its Secretary, Mr. Erasmo Saliti. Team Ferrari Marlboro was represented by Mr. Ross Brawn and Mr. Jean Todt and by its legal advisers Mr. Roberto Causo, Mr. Jockey, Mr. Jean-Pierre Martel, Mr. Henry Peter and Mr. Marco Zublin. Team West McLaren Mercedes was represented by Mr. Martin Whitmarsh and its legal advisers Mr. Anthony Bosworth QC and Mr. Timothy Murnane. Team Stewart Grand Prix was represented by Mr. Paul Stewart and its legal advisers Mr. Christopher Clarke QC and Mr. Jeremy Courtenay-Stamp.
Having heard the parties and examined the evidence, the International Court of Appeal has established that:
1. all dimensions of the turning vane (barge board) were within the 5mm tolerance allowed by the relevant Regulations (Articles 3.12.1 and 3.12.6 of the Formula One Technical Regulations), provided the vane was properly attached to the car;
2. the 10 mm dimension referred to in the Technical Delegate's report resulted from a method of measurement which was not necessarily in strict conformity with the Regulations;
3. the measuring equipment available to the FIA Scrutineers at the Malaysian Grand Prix was not sufficiently accurate to call into question Ferrari's statement, that the turning vane was indeed properly attached to the car.
For the above reasons, the International Court of Appeal decided to cancel the Stewards' decision (document No 29) and asked the FIA to issue a classification of the 1999 Grand Prix of Malaysia confirming the original results. The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr. Jose Macedo e Cunha (Portugal) and included Mr. Gerhard Nurscher (Austria), Mr. Philippe Roberti de Winghe (Belgium), Mr. Vassilis Kousssis (Greece) and Mr. Jan van Rosmalen (Netherlands).
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