Formula One teams have reportedly decided to seek clarification over the 2012 calendar, amid suggestions that the new schedule was ratified by the FIA without the teams officially ratifying Bernie Ecclestone's proposal.
The new schedule was ratified by the FIA last month and featured a number of changes from the provisional proposal.Bernie Ecclestone is known to have been behind the changes, which saw the Turkish GP dropped to slim the calendar to the unofficial 'maximum' of 20 events, and the returning US GP pushed back to the end of the season.
But the teams have previously expressed concerns with the plan, particularly the increased number of late-season flyaway races, which may prove a logistical nightmare.
The ratified schedule sees seven flyaway events comprise the end of the calendar, taking place from late September to late November, and seeing the teams have to hotfoot from the far East, to India and the Middle East, before moving to North and South America.
And according to reports from the Singapore GP weekend, teams are now questioning whether they should have been allowed to ratify the new calendar as per the terms of the Concorde Agreement.
According to the Autosport website, the Concorde states that teams should be asked to approve a calendar "if there are more than 17 races and if more than half the races take place outside of Europe and the United States".
The 2012 calendar contains no less than 11 non-European or US-based races.
And the Formula One Teams' Association has reportedly written to Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt in order to ask them to explain why the schedule was rubber-stamped without their approval.
But the issue was downplayed by team bosses in the Singapore GP paddock, with the request for clarification not said to be a sign that the teams are unhappy with the calendar as planned.
"We do have certain provisions in the Concorde Agreement, which regulate team consent when it is required," Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn told the Autosport website.
"The procedure was, strictly speaking, not adhered to, but we should keep in mind what the outcome is. If something is not adhered to, we should rectify it quickly and be happy with the outcome."
She added: "What matters here is that there are 20 races, in regions that we want to go to, so let's sort this issue out and get on with more important things."
Ecclestone, meanwhile, was typically bullish when asked about the teams having concerns over the planned schedule.
"They don't have to go if they don't want to," he was quited as saying, "[If they are unhappy with the procedure] then they should go to the police."
He added: "They are lucky we have got races. Otherwise they would all go out of business."
The 2012 season is set to kick off on March 18th with the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, ending on November 25th with the Brazilian GP at Interlagos.
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