New evidence in Stepneygate

Thanks, Andreas, I didn't know that. My first instinct is to ignore what is being said in the Italian press.

Belay that...my first instinct is to ignore what is being speculated on here...



I hope these rumors are false as I would hate to see the best F1 season in a long time ruined by this debacle. If McLaren is, in fact, guilty, then they are definitely screwed. I would hate to see a championship won (or lost) by any team this way.

 

So you're ignoring all my posts then? Oh well...

I agree this is not what I thought would happen when I boldly used "KIMI WDC 2007" signature at the beginning of the season. But it is not Ferrari's fault, that McLaren committed these crimes. I even doubt, that they were necessary. The irony is, that McLaren would have won this year's championship all on their own. They had a great car, fantastic drivers and Ferrari and its drivers made exceptionally many mistakes.

 

Excellent post Andreas...

 

X2

 

How great would the car have been without Ferrari tech and setup data ? I think they would have been floundering like the rest of the old Michelin teams are this year. The very fact they had this data whether they used any of it or not clouds any achievements they've accomplished this year.

 

+1

Mclaren are screwed on here guilty or not.

 

This is something I agree with but to remain a total unknown.. they are certaintly more reliable which i doubt be from data recieved..

 

I think you got it all backwards. McCheaters are guilty, whether they get punished or not.
Getting punished for something you did and blatantly lied about is not my definition for being screwed.

 

rightfully so, cheating bastards, totally against the old English ethic of fair play

there may be some good members of the McL team but we ain't heard about one yet .... maybe even the tea lady puts vino in the teapot

I heard Lucifer had to get the McL cars painted a second time when they came out of the paint booth RED, seems the idiots read the 780 pages too closely

 

And here are my two cents about this whole fiasco.
McCheaters need to be punished mainly because the precedent it creates in the sport and the message it sends to the rest of the teams. They should be fined AND excluded from the 2007 season. Their drivers should lose all their points for 2007, which is a pity but if they have someone to blame it would be their own team.
I have great respect for McLaren as one of the great names in the sport. I do not have any respect for what they are doing this season. I don't think that they should be excluded from 2008 season as it would kill any trill left in F1 (IF there is any left) but they should be made to give the option to their drivers to go to other teams if they want.
WHAT I BELIEVE would really happen is that no matter what is decided on the 13th it would not be final and naturally McCheaters are going to continue to compete and eventually when stripped of their points it would not really matter as it would become just a mere change in the statistics.
WHAT I HOPE would happen is Ferrari to beat them on the track fair and square no matter what the decision on the 13th comes out to be and win at least one of the championships. This would be the only way a win would be sweet and there is going to be no room for people saying that it was tainted or a gift or whatever.

 

Good post and I'll go along with that. I still think McLaren will get slapped with a big $20M fine that will be paid out of their deposit with the FIA and be forced to pay the balance so they can compete again next year.

As for the championship, yes, Alonso is my favorite driver but the only way this season can be salvaged is if Kimi straps on the Acme rocket skates and beats everyone. I don't think Massa has the consistency or determination to do it, and Ferrari cannot afford another "hydraulic system failure" or else, as Kimi said, they have noone to blame but themselves regardless of what McLaren has done.

 

+1. While it may sound cynical, I think McLaren was dumb enough to get caught. I think people are always looking for the edge in competitive sports and the rules are constantly broken. But, as the saying goes, it's only cheating if you get caught. McLaren got caught.

Somehow, I wish this entire season weren't compromised by this episode. There should absolutely be penalties, but it's a shame that McLaren will get tossed (of that I'm pretty certain, based on the reports). I hope they don't get tossed in '08. I like the Scuderia to win championships on the track.

 

Alonso "morally obliged" to spill beans on Mclaren

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/motorsport.html?in_article_id=480693&in_page_id=1954&ito=newsnow

Fernando Alonso has revealed the threat of an FIA sanction led to "a moral obligation" to co-operate with their spy investigation.

Alonso claims he had "no choice" but to reveal what he knows, even if that could lead to McLaren being punished when the World Motor Sport Council reconvenes to discuss the matter on Thursday.

The FIA, the sport's world governing body, last week launched an investigation into an allegation "one or more" of McLaren's drivers are, or may have been in possession of material relating to the case.

That led to president Max Mosley writing a letter to all Formula One team principals - as well as Lewis Hamilton, Alonso and McLaren reserve Pedro de la Rosa - urging them to come forward with any details to substantiate the claim.

Mosley promised the drivers they would not be punished should they divulge any details, otherwise "serious consequences" would follow should they later be found to be withholding information.

Alonso told Spanish sports newspaper AS: "I only see one option, and that is to support this investigation and give them what they ask for.

"When the highest authority in a sport asks you to co-operate, there's nothing you can object to. You've no choice.

"I can't race thinking that I didn't act correctly. There are moral reasons that tie me to my sport.

"I can't hide information that could be revealed by others and run the risk the FIA accuses me of hiding information and sanctioning me.

"The only thing I have done is met a moral obligation and responded to what the FIA asked of me.

"I won't start judging what I've sent them. They should decide this."

The new evidence, reportedly an e-mail exchange between Alonso and de la Rosa, has led to the FIA scrapping a planned hearing of the Court of Appeal, with the 25-man Council to now sit in judgment.

McLaren were found guilty by the Council of fraudulent conduct at the initial hearing on July 26, namely being in possession of unauthorised documents belonging to Ferrari.

However there was not enough evidence to prove a 780-page dossier found at the home of suspended McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan had been used by the Woking-based team, and so they avoided any sanctions, to the outrage of Ferrari.

If the allegations are subsequently proven, it is possible McLaren could be expelled from this year's championship, and that of 2008, which would ruin Hamilton's title hopes.

 

"Morally obligated" eh...wow, where were those morals early in the season when you knew your team was in posession of Ferrari tech data and that it was illegal?

Sounds more to me like a "Super Liscense Retention" move, of which I wouldn't blame him. But, PLEASE, get off of the psuedo-sacrimonious high horse declaring your moral superiority over your teammates.

I'll take "Hamster" 1,000,000 times before I'd touch Alonso. If charismatic=robot, I'll take a robot instead of a self-serving, primadonna ***** of a man. Alonshole is simply a disruption on the team and a progenitor of disharmony.

 

"Hopefully this will cap his blazing career as only an idiot would pick him up after this."

Unfortunately there are some who will sell there souls to win and picking this idiot up is just that. The human mind is a wierd one.

 

Sounds to me he's making excuses so he can bailout on his team .

 

Swiss Blick's Roger Benoit speculates, that it was FA's manager who sent a couple of emails to the FIA. That got their interest and then they summoned the drivers and sent out that letter.

All this to get FA out of the McLaren contract and into the Renault next year without having to pay the $ 40 million bailout money.

 

That would have been my guess. There is no honor in what McLiaren has done, but for Alonshole to throw the rest of the team under the bus, save his arse and get his release without bailout is as slimy as it gets.

And before we go to the "what team would want him?" card, he's already on board at Renault. In fact, Briatore knew about the e-mails a long time ago. Remember after the verdict he opined "I sure would want to know how Ferrari optimized the Bridgestone set up. It would save us 2 months of testing". Look for Alonshole and Heikke as a team next year, and he gets to take whatever knowledge he had on the Ferrari balance to Renault now. If I were Ron Dennis, I would go down swinging on Fernando.

I hope Alonshole's car does the ol' 'ker-BLAM-o' tomorrow and the rest of the season.

 

*IF* McLaren gets stripped of its constructor's points on Thursday, but is allowed to keep its drivers in the WDC fight (a likely scenario by some pundits), I would expect Alonso's car to go kablamo a few times. As a little payback "for services rendered" and more importantly to assure Hamilton the title.

 

I don't know that the hell happened with that guy. I thought he was a revelation his first year with Renault, a true young talent his first championship, then he turned into a boorish little primadonna last year and a conniving, whiny unsportsman-like critter this year. Teams always look to bend the rules to get an edge...I think that's just a fact of sports. But to blow a hole in the bottom of the ship while you jump off of it and land safely on another is reprehensible.

I used to root against Unfairnando because I am a Ferrari fan. Now, I really hope he finds his way out of F1.

 

Actually the way I look at it, is more like Luke Skywalker just blew up the Death planet. A very good thing.

 

Alonso is as disruptive as MS (or any double wdc champ for that matter) would be under the circumstances.
Above all, Alonso is a progenitor of performance.

LH is more egotistical and a bigger can of worms - wait
until this guy's and his dad's egos bloom fully.

kimi + lh ... between the 2 of them F would have a great car ...

I don't see F signing either of the mcl drivers.

 

+1 Excellent post.