I wonder if the other F1 teams are baffled as well ? http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61166
I love this line: "Besides, I too would have liked to know Ferrari's weight distribution..." I just don't see how you can have the info and not gain an advantage.
Have you guys read what Todt has to say as of about 3 hours ago? Eye opening indeed. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61180
...you see?...even Flavio knows that even reading that kind of info in the bathroom is...glorious...only weight distribution will help!!!!
seems like there was more there than everyone thought... I find it hard to believe that they did not gain an advantage, after all the mercs were not doing too hot at the AUS GP but had a big resurgence 3 races in to the year...
from what JT says, and he has had many fights with the FIA long before he came to Ferrari, this was a most disgraceful ruling for the sanctioning body considering all the information presented. Lucifer has no integrity following the clarification ruling, Tifosi12 is right, McL can burn in hell
If everything Todt said in that statement is true and there was that much data being passed between Stepney and Coughlan and McLaren did know about it. I don't think McLaren should be on the race track for a while.
this is what was "reported" to have been said by JT I was once reported as saying ALL Ferrari owners have more than one Ferrari when what I actually said was most Ferrari owners have more than one car reporters, particularly the Fleet Street reporters, never let the truth get in the way of a good story
He is linking to an autosport article that quotes "a lengthy monologue released by Ferrari this afternoon, titled 'A reaction in the cold light of day' " So rest assured the words were finely crafted to mean what they say and say what they mean.
IF everything reported in the article is perfectly CORRECT and cannot be refuted by ANYONE then all this proves is that Ron Dennis is a deceitful lying scumbag that you wouldn't trust with you dog lesson here for the kiddies : NEVER MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
I wouldn't go so far as to say that all the statements are 100% correct, just saying that all of the statements were in all likelihood made by JT. Whether or not they are his biased opinion is another matter; although most of it does seem to be statements of supposed fact. But yes, as you said, if all of this were completely correct, Mclaren has lost a lot of respect from me.
So what he was saying is McLaren didn't use any of the information to improve their cars but used it to bust Ferrari on the 'Flexi-floor-boards' which were deemed illegal. In other words "McLaren got information on our car and then McLaren told the FIA about our cheating, as we were using an illegal floorboard system, they were whistle blowers. We're really p*ssed that we weren't able to continue to cheat as we would have been faster than the McLarens with that illegal floorboard. Instead we had to comply with the rules like everyone else." I suspect the FIA looked at both parties, Ferrari who were caught cheating and McLaren who were caught steeling, and basically said, OK guys it's a wash. We didn't dock you Ferrari any points for using the illegal floor, with which you won races, and so we're not going to dock McLaren any points for having the tech sheets as it was a Ferrari employee who sent the items to them.
Every element of an F1 car is at the margin of the rules. Mclaren effectively used stolen information to gain insight into something which was borderline. Without the benefit of this stolen information they would not have had a clue. It would be interesting to know who RD went to lunch with from the FAI when this matter was first broached. For sure an informal ruling was in RD's back pocket before his no infamous "Some teams.." statement.
great article 355 very glad ferrari and todt are revealing alot more facts proves once and for all what a low life mister integrity ron dennis really is!!!!! somebody hack into mclarens and fia website and post that article so the truth be known
You have the floorboard row all wrong. The floors WERE NOT illegal. The FIA decided to make them illegal upon request for a rules clarification by Mclaren. This is why Ferrari was not docked points. The rule is not ex post facto. It cannot be applied to races that occurred before it was written. The FIA simply changed how they would test for floor flexibility, thus outlawing Ferrari's design. This same situation occurred last year with the mass dampers. It was determined that such a device would, from that point on, be considered a movable aerodynamic device. If their use was continued, this would be cheating, but no penalty was given for their earlier use. The situation also occurred in late 2003 when Ferrari and Bridgestone raised a question regarding Michelin's front tires. The tires would start their life cycle at the proper width, but through their use they would become wider, possible producing extra grip. The FIA responded by deciding to start measuring the width of the tires before and after the race. Michelin was forced to redesign the tires before the next race, but no penalty was given for their earlier use. Ferrari was not cheating. Mclaren were not whistle blowers. There was no wash.
IIRC the FIA changed the rule slightly at Melbourne which made the Ferrar floor illegal. So the floor was never used during any race. I can't wait for Monza!
My opinon of the matter is that there is absolutely no possibly way they could have disqualified McLaren from the championship. Think of what would happen if they had to drop out, there would be no competition. Who would watch a race, besides me, where Ferrari just absolutely dominates without any interference and a complete lack of challenge. Nick's only chance is if Massa black flags again. The F1 series is still a business.
In the "clarification request" McLaren pointed out to the FIA that some teams were running a "flexible floor" on their cars, a design strategy to improve performance. McLaren requested a rule clarification in March and the FIA subsequently revised the floor regulations after the season-opening Australian grand prix. Ferrari were one of the teams affected. The Scuderia's Kimi Raikkonen won in Australia but they were then beaten in Malaysia by Fernando Alonso for McLaren. Todt said last night: "Such information was in fact used to obtain an advantage over us, not through an improvement in their performance but instead through limiting ours." NOTHING was at that point illegal it was made illegal ipso facto!
"and hinting the Italian team could take further legal action against their rivals". JT quote. Which basically means if we cannot beat them to the title we will sue them out of it!! How did Ferrari and Mcl know about Renaults mass damper last year, and why did they only complain about it after they could not get it to work on their cars ?? Why did Bridgestone not complain about Michelins tyres a couple years ago until after they realised they could not catch up in time. The list of this sort of thing goeson all the time in F1 always has and always will. Only difference is this time some one got caught withe their hand in the cookie jar. I could not be more against what Mclaren and the FIA have done to the sport, but I would like to see Ferrari act like men and say to the world , " look they have all our info and we still can beat them fair and square on the track". Either that or JT walks up to RD and punches him in the snout! Wayyyyyyyy to much politics for me !
