No surprise as Renault aren't punished

[admin]

So, Renault have been found in breach of the F1 regulations but have escaped punishment:

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7129049.stm

It's no surprise, of course, since McLaren were the other party and not the son-of-a-fascist's favourite team Ferrari.
Yet a further example of the clear bias against McLaren and in favour of Ferrari, not that further examples are needed.

[schumi]

From the FIA:

Detailed reasons for this decision will be issued on December 7, 2007, and a transcript of the proceedings will be published as soon as possible thereafter.

I fail to see how they can justify no penalty after they've been found guilty.

[schumi]

Full report is now on the FIA's website:

www.fia.com/mediacentre/Press_Releases/FIA_Sport/2007/December/071207-01.html

I can't be bothered to read it, but I think the main point is that "Renault’s senior management acted responsibly after it became aware of the issues and took an open and cooperative approach with both McLaren and the FIA."

I don't know.

[Genghis]

schumi said:

Full report is now on the FIA's website:

www.fia.com/mediacentre/Press_Releases/FIA_Sport/2007/December/071207-01.html

I can't be bothered to read it, but I think the main point is that "Renault’s senior management acted responsibly after it became aware of the issues and took an open and cooperative approach with both McLaren and the FIA."

I don't know.

So Ron Dennis personally phoning Max Mosley wasn't acting responsibly?

Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Mosley is a tosspot.

[Genghis]

schumi said:

I don't know.

Schumi, I reckon you should defect to become a McLaren fan as by way of protest.

[admin]

And equally unsurprisingly, FIA looking to protect Ferrari from a McLaren challenge next season have not approved McLaren's 2008 design and won't do so until ANOTHER hearing. McLaren might be allowed to build a car in February, but I suspect that'll only be if Ferrari deem it heavily inferior to their own.

[donsking]

For your delight and delectation.............


FIA to sue the Sunday Times

By Jonathan Noble Friday, December 7th 2007


The FIA intends to sue English newspaper the Sunday Times for libel, after the action was authorised by the World Motor Sport Council at its meeting today in Monaco.

A statement issued afterwards said the decision was taken because the newspaper had "ran an article claiming that the FIA was engaged in a witch-hunt against the McLaren-Mercedes team."

It is believed the matter refers to a column that former Grand Prix driver and ITV commentator Martin Brundle wrote on race day at the Italian Grand Prix.

It was headlined: "Witch-hunt threatens to spoil world title race" and was critical of the manner in which the FIA had handled the McLaren spying affair.

Autosport.com

[Genghis]

donsking said:

For your delight and delectation.............


FIA to sue the Sunday Times

By Jonathan Noble Friday, December 7th 2007


The FIA intends to sue English newspaper the Sunday Times for libel, after the action was authorised by the World Motor Sport Council at its meeting today in Monaco.

A statement issued afterwards said the decision was taken because the newspaper had "ran an article claiming that the FIA was engaged in a witch-hunt against the McLaren-Mercedes team."

It is believed the matter refers to a column that former Grand Prix driver and ITV commentator Martin Brundle wrote on race day at the Italian Grand Prix.

It was headlined: "Witch-hunt threatens to spoil world title race" and was critical of the manner in which the FIA had handled the McLaren spying affair.

Autosport.com

This is one libel action which will get NOWHERE, as everyone knows that FIA are biased towards Ferrari.

[donsking]

They do seem to be horribly inconsistant and it's not doing the credibility of the sport any good.

[admin]

Max Mosley must have lost whatever remains of his marbles if he thinks he stands any chance of winning a fight against Rupert Murdoch.

[schumi]

This is a turn-around. McLaren admit they are more guilty than they first thought, and Mosely wants to cancel their hearing in February to put this in the past. From the BBC:

McLaren have admitted that leaked Ferrari data had been more "widely disseminated" within the team than previously suspected.
"McLaren greatly regrets that its own investigations did not identify this material," said a McLaren statement.

The team was fined £50m and lost their constructors' points in September for possessing a 780-page Ferrari document.

They will find out in February whether their 2008 car has been cleared to race next season.

In a statement issued on their website, McLaren confirmed that the concerns of the sport's governing body, the FIA, over the use of unauthorised Ferrari data were legitimate.

"It has become clear that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated," it said on the website.

"McLaren has written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise that it has taken an FIA investigation to find this information and have expressed our deep regret that our understanding of the facts was improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own investigations."

In September, McLaren were found guilty of receiving information from a Ferrari spy and consequently received a hefty fine and lost their points in the constructors' championship.

The Woking-based team could be punished further if their new car is not cleared by the FIA on 14 February, as officials check whether it has elements based on leaked Ferrari data.

At that meeting of the FIA's world council, McLaren and their rivals will discuss the report from the FIA technical department but it is unclear whether McLaren's public apology will have an affect on proceedings.

However, FIA president Max Mosley has asked the WMSC members for consent to cancel the hearing "in the light of McLaren's public apology and undertakings," and "in the interests of the sport, to consider this matter closed".

[admin]

Looks to me like McLaren have been forced into submission in an attempt to get on with things.

[donsking]

I think it's more like some bright spark has finally realised that all this negative publicity is damaging the sport and, if it doesn't come to an end soon, 2008 will descend into high farce.

As I've said before on this forum, industrial espionage of this kind has been going on since the dawn of time, it was only a matter of time before it came to light in the media savvy and transparent age that we live in.

It seems to surprise people that any of this could've happened, but why is it that a team might start the season with a clear advantage, and then, a few races in, everyone else has caught up?

It's because information is leaked between teams, there's no big secret to it; the only difference is, a few years ago it was about taking the chief designer down the pub, now it's about lots of money and hidden cameras on people casually wandering round the pits.

There was always going to be a limit to how far this story could go, thankfully, someone has seen the light and decided to try and end it now.

[schumi]

So McLaren did use the data. From http://www.planetf1.com:

The FIA report into McLaren's 2008 car reveals why the team to chose to come clean over the spy scandal.

Although McLaren's apology is likely to see them granted entry into the 2008 season, the FIA report is damning.

The Report by the FIA Technical Department to the World Motor Sport Council claims negligence on the part of the British team. It reads "The prior investigations by McLaren into the use of the confidential Ferrari information do not appear to have been very thorough."

It was found that the team were not honest over Mike Coughlan's role within the team and also discovered that senior figures at Woking were willing to use Ferrari's technical information on their 2008 challenger.

"The [senior McLaren engineers] on the 2007 and 2008 McLaren cars appear to have known that confidential Ferrari information was available from a "mole" and had prepared to use it to McLaren's advantage in the development of the 2007 and 2008 cars," reads the report.

Furthermore, the report uncovered that contrary to McLaren's evidence at the WMSC hearings, Coughlan did play an active role in the design of spurious systems, especially the brake balance system.

"McLaren's insistence before the WMSC that Coughlan had only a functional design role at McLaren is not backed up by the documents and interviews. He played a leadership role in the development of brake strategy for McLaren on their 2007 and 2008 cars...McLaren were previously keen to downplay his contribution."

The governing body's investigation found that McLaren had intended to run certain Ferrari systems on their 2008 car. "McLaren's installation of a [confidential] in the braking system of its 2008 car had been influenced by the receipt of Ferrari information."

McLaren were also looking into the possibility of using CO2 gas to inflate their tyres - a concept that was passed from Nigel Stepney onto Coughlan.

[Deleted]

Anyone who thinks a "sport" so heavily influenced by ITALIAN money is clean , must want their head looking at, they don't like it when we use their own tactics against them.