I’m assuming by now that everyone has heard the news over McLaren receiving Draconian punishment by the World Motor Sport Council after the “emergency” meeting held Thursday to discuss new evidence against the Woking squad.
Having been previously found guilty of breeching article 151C in the WMSC’s July meeting, yet having NO fines levied against them. The WMSC retained the right to recall McLaren back before the tribunal if any further damaging evidence came to light in the ever growing “Stepney-Gate” Spy scandal.
In the past weeks it has come to light that McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa had been contacting McLaren’ ex-chief designer Mike Coughlan via email and then passing set-up information to his fellow countryman Fernando Alonso.
And the current rumours abounding all across the spectrum insist that Ferdi tried using the information to blackmail Ron Dennis into all sorts of nefarious things including full number one driver status and sending the “Ronster’s” star pupil Lewis Hamilton packing…
Therefore allegedly the Ronster felt compelled to present the damming information to the FIA himself in lieu of giving into Ferdi’s OUTRAGEOUS demands, which in turn led to McLaren being fined a record amount of $100 million along with forfeiting ALL of its 2007 Constructor’s points. This has effectively handed the Constructor’s title to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which seems totally willing to accept the trophy at ANY cost!
And before you shed a tear for Ron Dennis & Norbert Haug, lets recall that McLaren was caught tampering with the FIA ECU/Engine seals upon Mika Hakkinen’s chassis several years ago and given a slap on the wrist, with a paltry fine of $50,000.
Although as SPEED’s Peter Windsor has personally pointed out… Spying and the illicit transferring of rival team’s information has been a long standing practice in Formula 1, I find that the magnitude of the information passed from Ferrari to McLaren is unprecedented and it would be nice to believe that the penalty would perhaps make rival teams think twice before pulling such shenanigans.
It will be entertaining to note that McLaren will now be force to occupy smaller pit lane facilities alongside the Spyker Team India operation as well as having to pay their own air freight. Yet Messer Ron can take solace in the fact that the No. 1 & 2 will adorn the 2008 McLaren’s parked alongside the Prodrive “B” Team debutants…
Having been previously found guilty of breeching article 151C in the WMSC’s July meeting, yet having NO fines levied against them. The WMSC retained the right to recall McLaren back before the tribunal if any further damaging evidence came to light in the ever growing “Stepney-Gate” Spy scandal.
In the past weeks it has come to light that McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa had been contacting McLaren’ ex-chief designer Mike Coughlan via email and then passing set-up information to his fellow countryman Fernando Alonso.
And the current rumours abounding all across the spectrum insist that Ferdi tried using the information to blackmail Ron Dennis into all sorts of nefarious things including full number one driver status and sending the “Ronster’s” star pupil Lewis Hamilton packing…
Therefore allegedly the Ronster felt compelled to present the damming information to the FIA himself in lieu of giving into Ferdi’s OUTRAGEOUS demands, which in turn led to McLaren being fined a record amount of $100 million along with forfeiting ALL of its 2007 Constructor’s points. This has effectively handed the Constructor’s title to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which seems totally willing to accept the trophy at ANY cost!
And before you shed a tear for Ron Dennis & Norbert Haug, lets recall that McLaren was caught tampering with the FIA ECU/Engine seals upon Mika Hakkinen’s chassis several years ago and given a slap on the wrist, with a paltry fine of $50,000.
Although as SPEED’s Peter Windsor has personally pointed out… Spying and the illicit transferring of rival team’s information has been a long standing practice in Formula 1, I find that the magnitude of the information passed from Ferrari to McLaren is unprecedented and it would be nice to believe that the penalty would perhaps make rival teams think twice before pulling such shenanigans.
It will be entertaining to note that McLaren will now be force to occupy smaller pit lane facilities alongside the Spyker Team India operation as well as having to pay their own air freight. Yet Messer Ron can take solace in the fact that the No. 1 & 2 will adorn the 2008 McLaren’s parked alongside the Prodrive “B” Team debutants…
