Friday's FIA Press Conference, brilliantly hosted by pitpass' very own Bob Constanduros, became a bitter war of words as F1 threatened to fall apart at the seams as a bunch of wealthy over-inflated egos went head to head.

With Stoddart, Dennis, Jordan and Williams taking part it was always going to be a heated affair, and the Minardi boss was never going to allow the opportunity to attack Dennis and Williams in the public arena slip by.

However following Stoddart's decision to withdraw his support for the new regulations a special meeting of the team bosses was called to which the Minardi team owner was refused admission.

As the time for the official press conference drew ever near, Stoddart took the opportunity to take centre stage and thus the conference began with just the Australian, he was ready for his close-up.

Shortly afterwards the remainder of the team bosses arrived along with Bernie Ecclestone who was clearly present to ensure that things didn't go too far, which of course they did.

As Stoddart prepared to do some very dirty F1 washing in public, Ron Dennis accused him of damaging the sport and warned the Australian that Formula One is not a "soup kitchen".

Stoddart is clearly relying on Eddie Jordan to be his ally, however the Irishman looked sheepish throughout and resembled the school nerd who wants to be true to his principles but knows it's wiser to stick with the majority. Furthermore with his case against Vodafone due to begin on Monday, Eddie has enough on his mind.

Although the press conference transcript makes fascinating reading much of what was said, and indeed hinted at, was not for public consumption and at a time when the sport is supposedly recovering from the mass exodus of fans (and of course more importantly) sponsors in 2002, F1 really doesn't need this.

Note: To get some idea of the mood at the press conference, check out the picture gallery

Press Conference Pt 1
Press Conference Pt 2

Times
Report

Pictures

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