F1 supremo, attending a promotion for the French Grand Prix in London, has said that he believes BAR to be guilty of cheating and consequently expects it to be punished.

"With the information that's available, you have to assume they'll be found guilty," said Ecclestone, according to the BBC. "There's always a reason for these things," he added, referring to the FIA's sensational decision to appeal against the finding of its own stewards at Imola, "it's never a mistake."

If guilty, The FIA is calling for BAR to be fined and excluded from the remainder of the 2005 championship, Ecclestone doesn't believe that a fine is the answer.

"If you can do that, why doesn't a team at the beginning of the season give over a cheque and say 'If I'm caught, cash the cheque'?" he said.

"There are a million things you could do," he replied, when asked how he would punish the Brackley team. "I suppose if they are not excluded from the championship you could say the constructor cannot score points in the championship and maybe the driver is excluded from the points he has now and all the other ones count."

Up until today, Ecclestone has remained silent over the issue, and some F1 insiders are sure to question why the F1 supremo is making his opinion known at this time, especially when BAR and Honda are part of the rebel movement threatening to form a rival championship. There are some that believe the FIA's stance over the 'cheat saga' has more to do with the future of the F1 product than with fair play on the track.