The decision by the FIA and its five-member International Court of Appeal means that Ferrari's Eddie Irvine has a four-point lead on Hakkinen entering the season finale as the Italian automaker tries to win its first drivers' title in 20 years.

	The Ferraris of Michael Schumache, front, and Eddie Irvine used in Malaysia were deemed legal by the FIA on Saturday, reversing the decision of race stewarts last weekend to disqualify both cars.

Mosley said the panel, which met Friday, said the methods of measurement and clarity of regulations were not adequate.

"The court of appeal decided to overturn the decision of the stewards and therefore the result of the race stands," Mosley said. "The drivers have the points they earned in the race and so does the constructor Ferrari. ... No jury would have done otherwise."

Mosley did not criticize the stewards.

"The decision they made was justified at the time," he said, adding they did not have highly sophisticated measuring devices. "Ferrari was just within the tolerance permitted. It was a millimeter or less on each dimension. They were absolutely on the limit."

Mosley was asked why the stewards had reached on conclusion and a panel of lawyers six days later had reached another.

The Deciding Factors

PARIS -- Key points of FIA's statement following the appeal court verdict overturning Ferrari's Malaysian Grand Prix disqualification on Saturday. Having heard the parties and examined the evidence, the International Court of Appeal has established that: All dimensions of the turning vane (barge board) were within the 5 mm tolerance allowed by the relevant regulations (articles 3.12.1 and 3.12.6 of the Formula One technical regulations), provided the vane was properly attached to the car. The 10 mm dimension referred to in the technical delegate's report resulted from a method of measurement which was not necessarily in strict conformity with the regulations. The measuring equipment available to the FIA scrutineers at the Malaysian Grand Prix was not sufficiently accurate to call into question Ferrari's statement, that the turning vane was indeed properly attached to the car. For the above reasons, the International Court of Appeal decided to cancel the stewards' decision and asked the FIA to issue a classification of the 1999 Grand Prix of Malaysia confirming the original results. -- Reuters

"Engineers will know a specification, but lawyers will show inconsistencies," he said.

Mosley also dismissed any influence on the decision from Bernie Ecclestone, the powerful owner of Formula One. He had called the disqualification "nonsense."

"While Bernie has a big influence on the financial aspects of FI, he has only a small influence in making the rules," Mosley said. "Mr. Ecclestone has no role in enforcing the rules."

The deflectors were out of FIA specifications by one centimeter.

Ferrari, which has not won a drivers' title since Jody Scheckter in 1979, also argued the punishment was too severe.

Ron Dennis, managing director of McLaren, claimed he was not "disappointed" and "not really surprised" -- then lambasted the ruling.

"It's really more than anything else a bad day for the sport," he said. "What has actually occurred is that through a very heavy scrutiny of our rules, which are extensive and very detailed, a way has been found ... to provide a reason for the appeal to be upheld."

He said "commercial pressure" had influenced the decision.

Norbert Haug, the head of Mercedes racing, admitted Saturday it was McLaren that tipped off the stewards about Ferrari.

"Our mechanics became suspicious," he said. "We accept the decision and we still think we can win the championship on our own."

The last successful appeal was in 1995, when the disqualification of Benetton and Williams from the Brazilian Grand Prix for using unauthorized carburetors was overturned.

The ruling will not please the Stewart Ford team and other critics of F1, who say the sport is ruled by money interests that often force rules to be bent.

The Stewart team, trying to protect the upgraded second- and third-place finishes of Johnny Herbert and Rubens Barrichello, supported McLaren's argument that rules must be enforced.

But team official Paul Stewart, who attended the session Friday, said it was a a "fair hearing."

The five-man panel chaired by Jose Macedo e Cunha of Portugal. Others were Gerhard Nurscher of Austria, Philippe Roberti de Winghe of Belgium, Vassilis Koussis of Greece and Jan van Rosmalen of the Netherlands.