The FIA World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday found the seven Michelin-backed teams that withdrew from the US Grand Prix guilty on two charges of bringing F1 into disrepute.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday found the seven Michelin-backed teams that withdrew from the US Grand Prix guilty on two charges of bringing F1 into disrepute.


The teams (Renault, McLaren, Toyota, Williams, Red Bull, Sauber and BAR) were found guilty of failing to ensure they had suitable tyres and wrongfully refusing to start the race.


FIA president Max Mosley said: "The World Motor Sport Council has decided to adjourn discussion of penalty to an extraordinary meeting, when it will be seen what steps have been taken to compensate the fans, and what steps have been taken by the Michelin teams to make sure nothing like this happens again."


Michelin, which was not summoned to the hearing, will not face any penalty.


FIA president Max Mosley said: "There were five charges against the teams. The first of these were to be sure they were in possession of suitable tyres, and they were found guilty of that, but with strongly mitigating circumstances.


"They were accused of wrongfully refusing to start the race (and) found guilty of that.


"They were found not guilty of refusing to race subject to a speed limit, because there was no plan in place, or conspiring to make a demonstration because they satisfied the World Council.


"They were found not guilty of failing to tell the stewards," Mosley added.


There was no reference to whether the hearing panel had assessed whether Mosley was right to prevent a plan to race following the insertion of a chicane.


The FIA will not decide any penalty until September 14, at which point there will be three races left in the season.


Meanwhile, Michelin will refund all tickets for last week's grand prix in Indianapolis. The French manufacturer said it would also buy 20 000 tickets for next year's US Grand Prix to give to disappointed fans who sat through this year's six-car farce.


"Michelin has decided to contribute to the costs incurred by the spectators present at the circuit on June 19 by offering to refund their tickets," the company said in a statement. "This is an important decision, since Michelin is not at all legally bound to do this. Michelin deeply regrets that the public was deprived of an exciting race and therefore wishes to be the first, among the different groups involved in the Indianapolis race, to make a strong gesture towards the spectators."


Michelin also went on the offensive against the sport's governing body and said: "We would also like to take this opportunity to underline the fact that it is unacceptable that our partner teams have been accused by the FIA of having boycotted the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The reality is that together, Michelin and its partners have done everything possible to assure that the race could take place in total safety."


We are extremely disappointed that the proposals made with all our teams were not accepted," the statement continued. "These proposals, including a chicane, were technically viable and totally met all safety requirements. On June 19, the sporting authority had all the means necessary to preserve the interest of the race. And yet, the sporting authority rejected the proposed solutions. Why? In our view this is totally incomprehensible and reflects a lack of respect for the spectators. It is the spirit of respect for the spectators that brought us, with our partners, to propose solutions to allow the race to take place in total safety. It is this same spirit that leads us today to make this gesture."

Original article from Car