Frank Williams has joined the Spyker F1 team and announced that he is also prepared to challenge the legality of the Toro Rosso and Super Aguri cars, should they go ahead and use cars based on the RB3 from Red Bull, and the RA106 from Honda. Williams has stated that he will be launching arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce in Lausanne soon.
“I am adamantly opposed to chassis sharing,” Frank Williams stated. “We at Williams do not believe it is legal under the current rules. We are what you might call a traditionalist racing team which believes that we are out there competing for two world championships – one for the best driver in the world and one for the constructor who builds the best car in the world. As far as I’m concerned it is absolutely in the regulations in black and white that every team must make its own chassis.”
Although Spyker and Williams are the only two teams publicly against the ‘customer car’ issue, there is growing unease within many of the Formula 1 teams with most regarding is as an issue. Recently, Bernie Ecclestone tried to reach a compromise with the teams, however his attempts to find some middle ground failed. This has lead to fears that marshals at the season opener in Melbourne may be forced to declare the Super Aguri and Toro Rosso cars illegal.
Toro Rosso and super Aguri both believe that they are not breaking any rules. The official Formula 1 rules say that the cars can be built by a third party – and this loophole is perfectly legal according to FIA president Max Mosley.
