By Huw Alban
May 15 2002

Since the last 100 metres of the Austrian Grand, the media has gone into overdrive, covering every reaction and analysis of the events that took place there. This morning the media services in Northamptonshire, the county in which Silverstone is found, did the same with some worrying news. Since last Sunday there have been many quotes from a number of people within the sport. Perhaps the two most important came from Ferrari’s Ross Brawn and ex-F1 driver and team owner Jackie Stewart. Ross Brawn was answering fan criticism that the team acted unfairly against Rubens Barrichello, by asking the Brazilian to move aside and allow his team-mate to take the win. Brawn’s answer was that the team acted in the best interests of the drivers’ championship, and that if the position is the same in the next races then the team will react in exactly the same way. Jackie Stewart was reacting to news that the FIA have summoned several key people from Ferrari to attend a hearing on the 26th of June. The charge at this time is one of bringing the sport into disrepute. Article 48 of the sporting regulations gives the FIA the power to ban Ferrari from the rest of the championship if they are found guilty. Stewart, who is chairman of the BRDC, which owns the Silverstone circuit, has appealed for calm from the fans on the subject, as he fears that this might severely impact attendance figures at the British Grand Prix, due to be held in early July after the FIA hearing.

Perhaps in reaction to these two quotes, the media in Northamptonshire have been reporting that hundreds of fans have been contacting Silverstone to enquire whether they are able to obtain a refund. Predominantly the reason given is that they no longer have the confidence that they are going to play witness to a competition. It appears that, despite Ferrari’s plans to dominate and control Formula 1, the fans are not prepared to pay out hundreds of pounds for a fixed race. I can’t say that I blame them.

In an interview with BBC Radio Northampton and the Formula One Supporters Association (FOSA), it was revealed that the organisation had received 12,000 emails from worried fans wanting to know where they stood with regard to ticket refunds. The advice being given by FOSA at this time is to wait and see what action the FIA decide to take, before taking any action to refund tickets.

Amusingly, FOSA also reported that a number of Ferrari fans were petitioning the organisation to encourage all F1 fans to hand back in their Vodafone mobiles as a show of protest against the Ferrari team’s action and attitude to their fans.