Williams: We were just 'clumsy' in Canada.

BMW WilliamsF1 team boss, Sir Frank Williams has branded their exclusion from the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend, when they finished second and fourth, a result of 'clumsiness'.

Both Williams-BMW FW26's were disqualified post-race, after their brake ducts were found not to conform with the regulations.

Speaking in the FIA press conference at the United States Grand Prix, team boss, Williams added that there was no intention to 'cheat' and thus gain an unfair advantage.

"The responsibility stops with me at the end of the day," he replied, when asked who was accountable, "but we are a large organisation and there was a chain of events that I am not going to dissect here but we were very clumsy in that particular part.

"I think we all believe there is no implication of achieving an aerodynamic advantage with that by cheating. We made a mistake and paid a heavy price and we have no quarrel with that. We learn from our mistakes and clearly we learned very heavily that weekend."

"I used the word clumsiness deliberately," he continued. "It was an internal matter that overlooked something - I didn't check exactly what the sequence was because I haven't been back at the track myself. But it hit us badly and we deserved to be beaten - that's what you pay for."

So how did the team react to the news?

"I think we were all disappointed," added Ralf Schumacher, who 'lost' his second place, "especially the mechanics. It was the result we were desperately looking for, but that is the way it is.

"In my time at Williams we have never had a problem. It was just an unfortunate incident and, as Frank just said, we have never and will never cheat. It was not our intention."

So if 'clumsiness' was to blame, is there something ambiguous or strange about that regulation governing the brake ducts then - especially as Toyota suffered from the same issue?

"No, the regulation is quite clear," was the verdict of Ferrari technical director, Ross Brawn. "There's a dimension, maximum dimension from the inside rim of the wheel to the inside face of any brake duct, and I think it's 120 millimetres. So there's no ambiguity about the regulation.

"I honestly can't comment on how they arrived at their problem. Obviously, Canada is a track where everyone runs the maximum brake ducts they have. So it's a place where we have the biggest brake ducts probably for most of the year. So if you're going to fall foul of that particular regulation, it's the track where you're most likely to do it. Traditionally, it's a track, quite honestly, where the FIA measures the brake ducts because everyone is on the maximum limit.

"I don't know how it happened, and it was a little bit sad for Formula One really because I think Williams had their best race of the year, and to end like that was not a particularly good thing for Formula One.

"But I'm sure Williams will be examining their methods of checking. But terribly complex things, Formula One cars and, what may seem like a stupid mistake can happen. So, you know, they have my sympathy because, you know, we find there are problems here and there but luckily so far our systems have always caught them. But they are terribly complex things, and you can get caught out."

"I'm sure they didn't do it because they wanted to gain performance," he added. "Whether it was performance enhancing or not, I don't know. I'm sure they didn't do it willingly thinking that we need to have more brake-cooling, and therefore we'll make the brake ducts bigger than they should be. I'm sure it was a genuine mistake. I wouldn't imagine for a moment they would do that.

"But it's largely irrelevant whether it's performance enhancing or not. It was quite a lot too big from what I understand."