I agree, just winding you up, you don't normally fall for it but don't lay the entire blame at Ferrari's feet, they had too many years where they had the entire garagisti against them so the seige mentality will set in. Bottomline, McL had the docs, they knew about them, could have cleared themselves easily by calling Ferrari and the FIA the second they received them, they didn't, complicite in this case . btw, I'm in Sydney next month, we should try to catch up, I've still got your number from a few years ago , is it still current ?
And in fact, if driver's points are docked, the silver lining on the cloud is if LH decides he's had enough of McL (his previously stated stance is that he'll never leave, but this may change things) and defects to SF. I guess he'll have to be a test/backup for the moment, but maybe, just maybe, he'll get a first drive in 2008.
Scary situation - I actually made sense of the majority of it. Just read this comment by Lewis: . . .the young Brit is refusing to let the situation get to him . "All I can do is focus on the racing - my job is to go to every race and try to Bernie in another article said if McLaren weren't going to give Lewis a seat this year, he would do his very best to find him one. Carol
Well, I wouldn't get your hopes up, contracts do not usually make moral or other behavioral requirements, on the corporate side. It might be difficult for him to break his obligation, even IF he wanted to. I know I'd be pretty pis+ed about now.
We must be on a similar thought wave length right now. As I was reading other documents, especially the one where Bernie promised Lewis a seat, I was thinking . . okay . .supposing this affects the drivers driving for McLaren, what if those drivers drive for another team - if I were Renault, I'd move one of the guys or both to testing the remainder of the season (they're not setting the world on fire anyway) and voila new Renault team. I hope that Bernie's influence could give the two guys a break. At least there'd be competition for the remainder of the season. I just hate to see the guys screwed by Coughlan. Carol
Some of the great drivers in the last 20 years have walked out of a deal at some point in their careers. It was necessary at the time to force the issue. Alain Prost did it with McLaren when he left to join Renault, Ayrton Senna did it with Toleman so he could go to Lotus, Michael Schumacher did it to go from Jordan to Benetton, Mika Hakkinen did it to go from Lotus to McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen did it to get from Sauber to McLaren. Carol
Hi Carol, I know that there have been drivers, that have changed teams before their contracts have expired before... but I think that Hamilton's, may have McLaren, in a bit more of a favorable position, due to the nurturing relationship that has preceded his F1 debut. Bill
That's probably quite correct but one would think that if an adverse situation occurred, that in Lewis' best interest, he would be able to go elsewhere if only on a temporary "loaned" driver basis. I'd be inclined to think his sponsors might have some input . . .money talks. . . What a big mess this all is and so unnecessary. Carol
No way McLaren is going to get a fair shake in THIS public court of opinion. Some here would not be content until the team was disbanded and Ron Dennis was in jail. Fact of the matter is, the official statement says that Coughlan told some folks at McLaren he had the docs and nobody wanted to look at them and everyone told him to get rid of them. I wonder how many here would pick up the phone and call the police if their spouse or child came home and said they hit a parked car and got scared and drove off? I'll wager... ohh... about 0% of you would. It's only natural to defend one's own, whether it be an employee or family member. It's clear Coughlans motive was to leverage a higher paying job at a new team, so divulging all that info to McLaren would be unhelpful to him. McLaren was not in posession of the info - that much is clear. Some want to say that just because an employee had the info, its the same as the team having it and willfully using it - yeah, right! Thats like saying that having access to a gun is the same as using it to kill someone. They likely did not use the info, and did not even look at it. Surely Coughlan saw it and knew much of it, but I bet very little, if any, made it to the actual car. McLaren shouldn't be penalized any points, nor should the drivers. They should not face any kind of race ban. Maybe they ought to pay a fine or issue some sort of apology for their employees behaviour, but that's about it. Of course, if McLaren wins the WDC and/or WCC this year, people here will forever want to call it a Ferrari win. Let's wait to see what happens officially, I think. Most here are extremely biased, and if anything the FIA is Ferrari-biased. Whatever comes out of there in terms of a decision will be a lot fairer than anything decided here.
Extremely biased, eh? Would anyone care to comment on the issues of prejudgement, contradictory statements, and the evidence of bias right here in these statements?
Not in the least. I am not the one who raised the issue of Ferrari ownership in the first place. You did with your idiotic post. Your time is better spent saving kittens in tree than trying to add an intelligent comment to this thread. You have nothing to add but insults and personal attacks. You certainly have no insight into this scandal nor F1 in general.
And why not ? If i work for an ad agency and we are bidding to get the next big budget and somehow i discover the big flashy clever line from the competition but do not tell anyone else in the company . Then at the next brainstorming meeting, i submit it as my own idea and we win the budget .. How is that fair ? We won but by cheating. So the company shouldmt have the budget and i should be fired or more.
Look i do tend to Agree on what you have to say. But... Now maybe i might be buyiest as I am a Ferrari Fan but we have to remember that he is PART of the "TEAM". He Knew it was illegal but chose to do it. He knows how Ferrari work. He Has showed other members, of the team the info. They Would have some knowlege of how Ferrari Work, and they can deny it all they like! i know in the end we will see the truth but, Cheatin is Cheatin and they must be delt accordinly. Even though it will be bad for the team, but worse The Sport and FANS. Its like saying "SORRY" even when you dont really mean it. Eg. You shoot someone and say "SORRY" "i didnt mean it" you still did it now pay the consequene. He Is part of the "TEAM" Now the Team have to pay the consequene.
Coughlan and Stepney went to Honda with the documents in hand to offer themselves out as a design team. It is pretty clear that he actively solicited the documents for his own personal gain, not on behalf of McLaren. If McLaren is responsible becuase the employed Coughlan, then is not Ferrari also complicit since they employed Steney?
