A race-track worker at the Canadian Grand Prix was killed Sunday after he slipped under the wheel of a crane at the end of the Formula One event.

Officials said the man was escorting the crane as it moved Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber car, which did not finish the Montreal race.

The accident occurred shortly after the checkered flag waved to signal the end of the race, a major weekend sporting event for the city that draws hundreds of thousands of fans to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The International Tribunal hearing into the Mercedes testing case took place in Paris on Thursday, with some heated debate led by the lawyers of the team, the FIA, and Pirelli.

The FIA has confirmed that a verdict will be announced Friday, after Edwin Glasgow – the president of the tribunal – initially said that the four judges would reveal their conclusion “by tomorrow.”

Intriguingly, as part of his summing up on behalf of Mercedes, lawyer Paul Harris said that his client had tried to act in good faith and thus if deemed guilty something like a reprimand – or exclusion from the upcoming Young Driver test, where the current cars are used by all teams – would be an appropriate punishment.

As expected, Mercedes insisted it had permission to conduct the controversial test. Meanwhile, the FIA claimed it did not, and Pirelli was adamant that it cannot be sanctioned by the FIA.

Proceedings began early Thursday morning with the FIA’s legal counsel, Mark Howard, presenting the governing body’s case.

Intriguingly, in addition to outlining the breach of Article 22, related to in-season testing a current car, he also mentioned Article 151c, which involves bringing the sport into disrepute, or more specifically bans “fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motorsport generally.”

Howard argued that: “Without the knowledge, consent and participation of other competitors, Mercedes and Pirelli may have engaged in activity that was prejudicial to the competition.”

In essence, he repeated what the FIA said in a media statement on Sunday evening in Monaco: essentially, that conversations took place between Mercedes and Charlie Whiting in early May, but Whiting did not formally sanction the Barcelona test with the current car. Howard stressed the FIA’s requirement that other teams be informed and invited.

He said: “Whiting was asked a general and non-specific question – the general question on the permissibility of using a 2013 car. His preliminary response was that such a test would comply with Article 22, providing the purpose was for Pirelli to test its tire, and he would check.”

He added that even though Pirelli has a contract with the FIA which allows for 1,000-kilometer tests to be conducted by teams, the Sporting Regulations should take precedence.

Howard also argued that Mercedes had gained some knowledge from the test, saying: “We would suggest that it is difficult to say Mercedes obtained no benefit from the test.”

Speaking on behalf of Mercedes, lawyer Paul Harris claimed that the team did not break the rules, in essence because the test was arranged and run by Pirelli, and not by Mercedes in its role as a competitor.

The rules state: “Track testing shall be considered any track running time not part of an Event undertaken by a competitor entered in the Championship, using cars which conform substantially with the current Formula One Technical Regulations in addition to those from the previous or subsequent year.”

Indeed, after talking to both Mercedes team manager Ron Meadows and Ross Brawn on May 3, Whiting had checked with FIA lawyer Sebastian Bernard on the relevance of the phrase “undertaken by the competitor,” and was told that if the test was deemed to be undertaken by Pirelli, it could be permissible.

Harris even claimed that Mercedes didn’t have to check with the FIA, given that it was a Pirelli test, claiming that Brawn took a cautious approach.

Harris also argued that if Mercedes is deemed to be in the wrong, then the pre-Spanish GP Ferrari test should be considered a breach in that, despite the fact it was done with a two-year-old car, the car did “conform substantially with the current Formula One technical regulations,” which is what the rules forbid.

Harris also pointed out that the Ferrari test was booked and paid for by the Italian team, and this was in contrast to Pirelli’s arrangements for the Mercedes test.

Intriguingly, he also revealed that in 2012 Felipe Massa had taken part in a similar test on Pirelli’s behalf at Barcelona.

Harris also apologized for the fact that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had completed the test in plain, unmarked helmets, claiming – somewhat unbelievably – that it was to lessen interest from fans due to a lack of security and bodyguards.

When he took the stand, Ross Brawn was adamant initially that Mercedes gained no benefit from the test and that Pirelli had not told the team what tires it was running, although under question he conceded that inevitably there was some benefit.

Meanwhile, Pirelli lawyer Dominque Dumas then argued that it does not come under the jurisdiction of the FIA as a non-license holder, citing the 2009 ‘Crashgate’ case – which led to senior team personnel being licensed and thus subject to punishment. Briatore was banned by the FIA, but that was overturned in the French courts.

Engine makers will have to supply identical packages to each partner team when the new V6 formula kicks off next year.

But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Red Bull and Renault fought hard against the FIA's plans, with the reigning champions having wanted to involve team sponsor Infiniti - Nissan's luxury arm - in the development of its power unit.

But the entire Renault 'power unit' will now have to be homologated, meaning all of Renault's customers - including Toro Rosso and probably Lotus and Caterham - receive exactly the same package.

Auto Motor und Sport said that rule will be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council on Friday.

The German report said Mercedes argued strongly against allowing different engine specifications for individual teams, which might have driven up costs and deepened the gap between the big and small teams.

A paddock source is quoted as saying: "Infiniti can build their own engine if they want to."

Paul Di Resta has been disqualified from qualifying at the British Grand Prix after his car was found to be underweight.
The Scot's Force India was 1.5kg under the minimum weight limit after checks were completed and the matter was referred to stewards.
The penalty deprived the 27-year-old of a career-best qualifying position.
Force India blamed a discrepancy in Di Resta's weight after qualifying - driver and car count together.
Governing body the FIA said Di Resta would move to the back of the grid, but he may well be forced to start from the pits.
If the team need to add ballast to the car to make up its weight, that would be a change of set-up, which is not allowed under F1's parc ferme regulations.
The team have decided not to appeal against the decision.
Di Resta weighed less than expected on the FIA scales after qualifying but team boss Bob Fernley said that when he was weighed again later he was back to his normal weight.
The weight of the car and driver combined must be at least 642kg to comply with the regulations.

Nico Rosberg logged his second win of 2013 after a superb performance at Silverstone – but it was only confirmed after he escaped with a reprimand for not making a “significant reduction in speed” under double waved yellow flags.

Frustrated rivals pointed out that the German logged a purple sector – the fastest of the race to date – when the flags were shown.

Nevertheless it was a canny drive by Rosberg, who ran third early on and benefited from Lewis Hamilton’s tire failure and Sebastian Vettel’s gearbox breakage.

Claims that Pirelli changed tyres without consent at Silverstone

F1's tyre scandal could be set to deepen yet further, as a Spanish sports newspaper claims Pirelli - already under reprimand for 'test-gate' - blatantly broke the rules.

Marca correspondent Marco Canseco reports that, prior to the tyre-explosive British grand prix, F1's official supplier changed the construction of its 2013 tyre without the knowledge or the consent of the FIA or the teams.

"At worst, it jeopardised the lives of the drivers," Canseco said, referring to the spate of spectacular tyre failures at the British grand prix that have thrown the sport into crisis.

Marca said the tyres used at Silverstone had a completely new structure, with a layer of kevlar included in the internal steel-belt.

Earlier, teams including Lotus, Force India and Ferrari vetoed the introduction of the purely kevlar-belted tyres, due to the rule requiring unanimity for mid-season changes.

Canseco said he discovered Pirelli's breach when Sauber and McLaren sent team personnel out to the scene of Sunday's tyre explosions, only to discover kevlar shards among the debris.

Pirelli's Paul Hembery denies the charge.

"I can assure you that the tyres (at Silverstone) were the same construction as the ones used in Barcelona," he said.

Reacting to F1's new tyre crisis, the FIA has agreed to open up the forthcoming three-day young driver test at Silverstone to include the use of race drivers for tyre development.

"The test may also be extended by one day," read a statement issued by the Paris federation.

Mercedes, however, remains banned from the test, even though team director Toto Wolff expressed concerns about what the other teams will be allowed to do.

"If it is a pure tyre test, I'm all for it," he is quoted by Germany's Sport Bild.

The FIA also said it will seek the World Motor Sport Council's consent to allow Pirelli to introduce new specifications during the season without the need for unanimity.

"In the meantime," the governing body added, "the FIA has asked Pirelli for an assurance that there will be no repetition of the tyre problems at this weekend's German grand prix or at subsequent grands prix."

If that guarantee is not forthcoming, it is possible drivers will boycott the Nurburgring.

"I don't think that will happen," Bernie Ecclestone told the BBC.

But McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh insists: "There is that danger (of boycott), if it is not certain that it is safe.

"But this is not what we want for F1. We had these problems in Indianapolis (in 2005) and it was terrible for the sport.

"This is not the time to blame anyone," he is quoted by Auto Hebdo, "we need to work together and find a solution."

The Telegraph reports that Pirelli will "almost certainly" use its safer kevlar tyres this weekend.

"We would support this," Lotus boss Eric Boullier, who previously blocked the introduction of the kevlar tyres on sporting grounds, is quoted by AFP news agency.

"Safety is the primary concern," he insisted.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone confirmed: "They (Pirelli) can change them (the tyres).

"(FIA president) Jean (Todt) agreed with that and I told Pirelli."

Influential French sports daily L'Equipe headlined that the sport is "in tatters" after Silverstone, but the most damage has been to Pirelli's image.

"Fortunately they (Pirelli) don't make condoms," joked German tennis legend Boris Becker, according to Welt newspaper.

Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali thinks the Nurburgring will be a "less stressful" circuit for tyres than high-speed Silverstone.