FEBRUARY 26, 2003

Forget Belgium, says Mosley

Despite optimistic noises from Belgium's deputy head of Wallonia regional government, Serge Kubla, about the future of the Belgian GP, the FIA president Max Mosley has made it clear that there is no chance of a race in 2003.

"To all practical purposes, it's nil. If the tobacco problem were resolved then from 2004 onwards we could have a Grand Prix in Belgium," he said, "and in that situation, I think Spa would probably be one of the

safest events in Europe because everyone thinks it's an outstanding circuit. The difficulty is that the politicians don't understand that if you're dealing with a World Championship and a world sport, you have to have a world date for ending something like tobacco sponsorship."