FIA rejects McLaren's appeal

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Reuters

LONDON (Jul 28, 1998 - 10:52 EDT) - Motor racings governing body on Tuesday
rejected the McLaren Formula One team's appeal against the result of the
recent British Grand Prix.

The results of the 1998 British Grand Prix are therefore final, the
International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement, upholding
Michael Schumacher's victory for Ferrari.

The German remained eight points behind McLaren's Mika Hakkinen who leads
the world championship standings.

McLaren had protested after Schumacher escaped punishment for ignoring a
yellow flag during the July 12 race after mistakes were made by the
Silverstone stewards.

There was no immediate comment from McLaren but a Ferrari spokesman said
his team were happy with the result.

"We fully understood that McLaren believed something strange had
happened in this race," he explained. "It is a normal for a
competitor. But we are happy with this decision."

This is a clear result and we can now look forward to the rest of the season."

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