BAR issued the following statement at 11:55 today:

The FIA Contract Recognition Board acknowledged, in writing, that, as of today, the BAR Contract with Jenson Button is the only valid contract registered for the 2005 season.

A driver's "super license" - his right to drive in Formula 1 - is only valid if his contract has been lodged with and registered by the CRB and all driver contracts contain a provision submitting all priority disputes to the CRB.

The CRB was established in 1992 to regulate driver contracts and resolve priority disputes where a driver enters into a new contract with a Formula 1 team when a clearly established and registered contract is already in existence. The purpose of the CRB is to enforce driver contracts and provide a swift international resolution to conflicts which if channelled through national legal systems could be drawn-out and could result in a wholly inappropriate remedy for the innocent party and for the sport as a whole.

All signatories to the Concorde Agreement are bound by the procedures of the CRB which requires any new driver contract to be registered 'forthwith' i.e. immediately, and without delay, in order to establish its validity.

BAR has willingly submitted itself to this process which is final and binding on all parties.