By Phil Huff
April 27 2005

Lucky Strike BAR Honda boss Nick Fry has rejected any ideas that the team have been cheating following speculation that the BAR Honda 007 is hiding a second fuel tank. "This team is owned by two blue-chip international corporations with huge integrity," Nick Fry told Reuters. "Does anyone really think that we would deliberately do anything against the rules? We've hidden nothing."

Speculation about a second fuel tank followed irregularities after the San Marino Grand Prix. The stewards weighed Jenson's podium finishing car, finding it legal. However, once the fuel had been drained from the car to fell below the legal minimum weight. BAR provided evidence, as yet unpublished, that seemingly exonerated the team. The stewards allowed the result to stand.

The FIA then took the unprecedented step of appealing against the decision of their own race stewards, and will hear BAR's defence next week. There's more to this than there might appear, and the rumour of a second fuel tank refuses to go away.

Having a second fuel tank would allow the team to run around two thirds of the race under weight, gaining as much as half a second a lap in pace. While there isn't, as far as we know, a second tank, there is a collecting device for the fuel pump. This is common on all F1 cars, and is required to feed the high-pressure fuel system.

"The FIA has seen the device and inspected it several times before," explains Fry. "They are fully familiar with the system.

"At no time was the car light and I don't think that we've done anything wrong."

Given BAR's dramatic turn around in pace, throughout 2004 and now in 2005, there is also speculation that other teams are looking at destabilising what they see as a new threat. BAR have fallen foul of FIA 'clarifications' on a number of occasions, seeing their innovative Front Torque Transfer device banned, and being unable to introduce new wing designs.

"This is Formula One," confirms Nick Fry, "the pinnacle of motor racing and it is very competitive. We're all aware of that, we're all big boys. If anyone is trying to destabilise us, that will not work. We're bigger than that.

"We are not allowing this to divert us from our mission to win races."