APRIL 6, 2004

A boycott coming in F1?

There were whispers in Bahrain that there may be a boycott in the pipeline for one of the European Grands Prix this summer as the Formula 1 community pushes home its opposition to the European Arrest Warrant.

The arrest warrant is an anti-terrorist measure which has been adopted by Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden but there are many in F1 who fear that the new system leaves open the possibility of team personnel being jailed if there is a big accident in one of the countries which has different laws about involuntary homicide. The teams are seeking special exemptions from the governments involved. At the moment there are only three races which might be affected by the new system: Britain, Belgium and Spain have Grands Prix and these must be considered as the most likely targets for any possible boycott. The Spanish GP in a month is the first chance for F1 to show its political muscle and it may be that the teams would be more keen on not racing in Spain than missing out on the British GP or at Spa in August.

It remains to be seen whether there is any action.