Comments on: McLaren not punished in spy case (updated)

By: Erhard

Erhard — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:56:55 +0000

I am a Ferrari fan, and dissipointed.

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 04:25:44 +0000

I think Clive is right. No point in moving too early. All the evidence must be presented in the proper courts before the FIA makes the correct decision – remember, the sport will be put in jeopardy if they make a wrong decision.

By: Clive

Clive — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:38:10 +0000

Surely the point is that the WMSC knew hardly any more than we do, thanks to the Italian press. Apart from Coughlan’s affidavit (itself a dubious document in terms of the real truth), they had McLaren’s answering dossier and a whole raft of unproven assertions and suspicions. The only established fact is that Coughlan had the documents in his home, which is the basis for the court’s finding McLaren guilty of “possessing” them since the law regards companies as responsible for the actions of their employees.

Beyond that, it was impossible to prove anything and will not be until the matter has been dealt with in the British and Italian courts. The WMSC has covered the possibility of greater McLaren involvement being uncovered by reserving the right to re-visit the case.

By: milos

milos — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:56:47 +0000

I would not say McLaren is of the hook yet …

“If it is found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship, we reserve the right to invite Vodafone McLaren Mercedes back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship, but also the 2008 championship.â€

FIA keeps their options open with this strong warning. Ferrari will continue to pursue this matter and some more things may still come to light… It sounds to me like they told themselves “well there is no point to mess up the season at the moment, but if more implicating details surface, we will have to and we will do”

By: KB

KB — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:27:10 +0000

It is either right or wrong, if it is soooo wrong there should be puinishments as with any other crime…WTF is the FIA at…

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:39:02 +0000

I want to know why the FIA waded in at this point, unless it was to plausibly delay things so that retrospective championship action could be taken. Normally, teams (and people) are innocent until proven guilty, and that law would surely have limited what the FIA could legally do.

This isn’t over, not by a long chalk. The FIA are simply lodging their right to review the evidence beyond the usual November WMSC meeting cut-off for championship-affecting judgements. Since the law courts often take a long time to make their decisions, and they do not particularly care if the FIA would prefer a quicker decision for their benefit, it is quite possible that the championship may get officially settled after the usual time.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:27:08 +0000

Surely possessing secret information relevant to another team should have a punishment of some description attached to it – even if it is a paltry fine rather than a points deduction?

Overall though it seems a pretty commonsense type of verdict – very unlike the FIA!

By: Koks

Koks — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:44:40 +0000

Champ Car no more F1

By: Clive

Clive — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:40:24 +0000

Whew!

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:27:55 +0000

Amen to that. So there.

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