Organizers of the Belgian Grand Prix recently underwent court action in an attempt to have their yearly Formula One event returned to the 2003 schedule.

The court dismissed the application and according to the FIA, the motion was nothing more than a waste of time and money. The issue lodged at the European Court of Justice by local Belgian business interests, questioned the right of the FIA to involve itself at all in commercial rather than regulatory issues.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps was dropped from the calendar late last year after teams voted against it due to the fact that they would be forced to run their cars minus tobacco livery. The Belgian government chose to bring in the tobacco advertising ban ahead of the 2006 cut off, putting it into effect in the middle of 2003 instead.

“The FIA welcomes the dismissal by the Verviers Court of a legal action seeking the reinstatement of the 2003 Belgian Grand Prix in the FIA Formula One World Championship,” an FIA statement read. “This classic event was omitted with the greatest reluctance only because the teams would have been prevented by reasons beyond the control of the FIA from fulfilling their sponsorship contracts and, as a result, unanimously refused to compete. To bring legal proceedings against the FIA in this matter is a complete waste of everyone's time and money. The FIA can put an event on the calendar, but to do so with no promoter and no competing teams would be futile. The last event to appear on the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar in the absence of a promoter's agreement with the teams was the 1981 Argentine Grand Prix: it did not take place. It had to be cancelled by the promoter himself.”