DECEMBER 1, 2002
Formula 1 entry published tomorrow
The FIA may decide to follow its recent trend of handing over contentious F1 issues to the Formula 1 Commission but has every right, if it chooses to do so, to refuse Arrows an entry based on the team's failure to respect the terms of its commitment to F1 last year. The Formula 1 teams are believed to have made it clear that the majority of them do not believe that Arrows has any right to an automatic entry in the World Championship and that if Arrows is going to be on the grid in Australia it should enter as a completely new team and pay the necessary $48m deposit. To do this, however, the team will need to give the FIA details of its financial situation and this might create even more difficulties than trying to argue the case that the team has an automatic right to entry.
The FIA entry list may also reveal some more details of next year with Minardi's engine still to be confirmed and several drivers, notably Jordan and Minardi.