Wednesday March 13th, 2002

By Alan Baldwin

The fledgling Phoenix Formula One team remained out of sight on Wednesday after being told by the ruling International Automobile Federation (FIA) to stay away from Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

It was business as usual at the Sepang track, with circuit workers putting the final touches to pits and paddock in sweltering heat and high humidity. There was the occasional roar of a V10 engine as mechanics tested settings and worked on the cars laid up in the allocated garages.

British Renault driver Jenson Button put in a brief appearance in the afternoon but there was no sign of anyone from outside the 11 teams that started the season in Australia the weekend before last. That came as no surprise, with every garage at Sepang occupied and there being no surplus space in the paddock to accommodate anyone else.

With nothing tangible to assess, the main subject of discussion was a statement issued by the FIA in Geneva on Tuesday concerning the Phoenix consortium. The FIA said Phoenix Finance Limited and owner Charles Nickerson, who recently bought some of the failed Prost team's assets, had announced their intention "to present two cars for scrutineering at the Malaysian Grand Prix".

The FIA said it had told both parties on Tuesday that their proposed entry was invalid because they had not purchased the all-important "right to compete".

Two Cars

"The FIA has therefore informed Phoenix and Mr Nickerson that they are not entered in the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship and that it cannot allow them to participate in Malaysia even on a provisional basis," it said.

FIA spokesman Francesco Longanesi added: "Phoenix will not be allowed to compete in the Championship at any time this season."

Media reports said the would-be team, had arrived in Kuala Lumpur with two of last year's Prost AP04 cars, which they intended to race on Sunday. Argentine Gaston Mazzacane was named as one driver, with Brazilian Tarso Marques tipped as another - although neither was immediately in evidence.

Bridgestone and Michelin, the sport's two tyre suppliers, have also made clear that they would be unable to supply any new team for the race. Phoenix purchased some of Prost's assets for about $3.5 million after the French team was declared bankrupt at the end of January with estimated debts of $28 million.

Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw, an old friend of Nickerson's, has said he is providing engineering support to the team through his TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) company. Reporters arriving in Kuala Lumpur said a number of TWR staff were on the flight from London, with Phoenix documents also sighted.

A Phoenix spokeswoman said on Tuesday after being notified of the FIA decision that "it is too early to say what we will do. We need to sit down and talk about our options".

But if the consortium is still interested in joining the grid in 2003 as the 12th team occupying the final slot, it would have to put up the standard deposit for new entrants of $48 million.

Published at 12:59:44 GMT