F1 - Comments

[nopanic - neil]

PRESS INFORMATION - STATEMENT FROM RON DENNIS - 13 March 2007


Paris, France, Thursday 13th September 2007

“The most important thing is that we will be going motor racing this weekend, the rest of the season and every season. This means that our drivers can continue to compete for the World Championship. However having been at the hearing today I do not accept that we deserved to be penalised in this way.”

“Today’s evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated that we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.”

“Much has been made in the press and at the hearing today of emails and text messages to and from our drivers. The World Motorsport Council received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically that no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren and that they had not passed any confidential data to the team.”

“The entire engineering team in excess of 140 people provided statements to the FIA affirming that they had never received or used the Ferrari information.”

“We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home. The issue is: was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven today.”

“We are also continually asked if McLaren didn’t use the information, what was the reason for Stepney and Coughlan collecting all this data about Ferrari? We can only speculate as neither Coughlan nor Stepney gave evidence at today’s hearing, but we do know that they were both seeking employment with other teams, as already confirmed by both Honda and Toyota.”

“There will be no issue for the 2008 season as we have not at any stage used any intellectual property of any other team.”

“We have got the best drivers and the best car and we intend to win the World Championship.”

- ENDS -

This is from McLarens own website - http://www.mclaren.co.uk/

Can't wait to hear about FIA report out today, (good info on Radio 5)

[Steve Pyro]

Interesting BBC link Peter.

To quote -
"The team must also prove there is no Ferrari "intellectual property" in their cars next year before racing".

How the hell are they expected to do that.  Should Ferrari have to prove that there IS?

So Ferrari are now top in the constructors championship, 57 points clear of BMW-Sauber, what a hollow victory.  Hardly a ringing endorsement of their technical prowess is it.

Lets have a rival F1 series, with McLaren and others leaving the barrack room lawyers and rule book racers behind.

[JDS]

So Ferrari are now top in the constructors championship, 57 points clear of BMW-Sauber, what a hollow victory.  Hardly a ringing endorsement of their technical prowess is it.

Humm ... sounds a bit like celebrating a 'win' at a certain US circuit a few years back ...... 

[garyfrogeye]

This is such an FIA own goal and will only drive more people away.
How many teams use slow motion images to closely analise other teams equipment, monitor each others car to radio and telemetry information, spotters at tests, de-briefing new engineers, designers and drivers who worked at other teams previously etc etc.
Some or all of the above must go on all the time I'd think

[JDS]

Some or all of the above must go on all the time I'd think

That and a lot more too I'd hazard a guess ... The continual sniping, bitching and whinging in the F1 paddock is, to be completely honest, beyond being boring now. Even my 8 year old son who has pure petrol runing through his veins has got bored with F1 now !!

[Bob U]

Let me get this right.

McLaren have been found guilty, their cars declared illegal and therefore had their constuctors points taken away.

Their two drivers will still be allowed to contest the drivers championship.

In illegal cars

WTF

[BigH]

Wouldn't it be great if your name was say, ooh I dunno...William Thomas Franklin for instance, and you could sign all your little notes and letters "WTF".
And if you were a bit excited - WTF!!
H

[nickliv]

shamelessly pinched from sniff.

[enzo]

Forza ferrari !
Dirty stinking Mclaren cheats.
We do have to wonder how in pre-season practice the ferrari's were far and away quicker but then come the start of the season the Mclaren's had made a huge leap in performance (by grinding ferrari logo's of their parts).
As for Lewis increasing interest that maybe the case in Britain with a british driver but most F1 fans are very patriotic i'm sure kubica has doubled the tv viewers in poland also.

[Andy Zarse]

Wouldn't it be great if your name was say, ooh I dunno...William Thomas Franklin for instance, and you could sign all your little notes and letters "WTF".
And if you were a bit excited - WTF!!
H

Shhh...   you know who........

[Pieter]

So, if I understand it correctly, only possession of the documents is a reason for the penalty. That's an interesting thought: apparently you can get a team into trouble easily, by simply sending them the documents. When the possession is proven, they're out of competition.

[Werner]

Strange that, just discussing at work this morning - is there actually an example of Ferrari being penalised by the FIA ?

Yes. 2002, Austrian GP: Ferrari had to pay 1 Million USD for breach of the team-order regulation when they told Barichello to let Schumacher pass

[Werner]

“Furthermore, the team will pay a fine equal to $100m, less the FOM income lost as a result of the points deduction."  So it will still be big, but not $100m.

In the end their balance will still be $100m lower than expected, because they loose the FOM income.

[Muzorewa]

Full press release here....

http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/17844641__WMSC_Decision_130907.pdf

The emails/SMS messages sank them 

[mgmark]

So, if I understand it correctly, only possession of the documents is a reason for the penalty. That's an interesting thought: apparently you can get a team into trouble easily, by simply sending them the documents. When the possession is proven, they're out of competition.

The report is now available on the FIA website, which gives a fuller picture of the issues:

http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/17844641__WMSC_Decision_130907.pdf  

Seems that it well went quite a way beyond straightforward possession of the document, with use/discussion of the information involved, and de la Rosa and Alonso involved too.  The FIA assured the drivers of their immunity - the rationale explained as to why is thin (and wrong) in my book.  

So there was a couple of engineers and drivers involved, which may well be the tip of the iceberg, but the FIA have enough for their purpose which is to make an example of the wrongdoers.  Guess they have done that, and I'd be surprised if McLaren appeal on the basis that the cars are being allowed to race - that didn't happen to Tyrrell or Toyota.  

The whole thing just confirms yet again to me that F1 isn't a sport in the accepted sense any more, and many of the participants aren't true sportsmen.  And I really don't give a toss about "its a dog eat dog world at the top" - it's still supposed to be a sport and the advantages should come from finding those little bits of wriggle room within the technical regulations - not by nicking other people's designs.

MG Mark