I think it's pretty well known when Stepney gave the documents to Coughlan. Coughlan has said when it happened, they know when they were copied, the people at McLaren know when they were first told of the availability of the documents, and McLaren and the FIA know when the protest was lodged. It seems pretty clear to me that McLaren did not use the documents to glean information about Ferraris moveable floor, but rather Stepney sold out Ferrari because he was a disgruntled employee. Its a pretty long stretch to think otherwise, based on the facts we have, IMO>
Unfortunately that circumstantial evidence would not hold up in any court of law, nor the court of the FIA. As for what McLaren knew and when, it has been shown that Coughlan got the documents when he met Stepney in Barcelona. But McLaren protested the Ferrari floor before that, so of course their protest was not based on examining the documents. Now, on the tires - I think its no way even close to enough evidence to suggest McLaren must have seen the documents. If they had used such info, why are their aeros not better than the Ferraris? Its not a stretch to imagine that McLaren (one of the best funded teams on the grid, and a perennial achiever in F1 who has been 2nd or 3rd for quite a while - NEVER a backmarker) has engineered a fine car. The latest of many fine and fast cars. BMW, IMO, has made greater leaps this year vs a year and two years ago than BMW has. Renault has fallen more than most teams have. Does this mean that BMW "obviously" is cheating and Renault "obviously" is a victim of cheating? Of course not. Fortunes change. There is quite simply no evidence - not even circumstantial - to support the notion that McLaren must have used the Ferrari documents. The only thing to support that is the wishful thinking of people who are very very biased against McLaren and who really want the maximum penalty possible to be levied against them at all costs and with any justification.
From autosport.com- "Briatore said that he did not state categorically that McLaren should be excluded from the world championship after having been judged to be in unauthorised possession of Ferrari documents. McLaren were not penalised by the FIA World Motor Sport Council following the hearing last week because there was said to be insufficient evidence that the team had benefited from the data. Briatore told autosport.com he was confused by the outcome of the hearing: "No, I never said they should be excluded," he explained." apparently Italian media spinning, or Flav retreating..
I think its a really long stretch to assume McBenz didnt read and absorb all the data. But thats not the point, the point is that they were in possession of stolen property and knew that they were. It doesnt matter who stole it, or if nothing was done with it, it only matters if someone could prove you knew it was stolen when you handled it. I'm pretty sure if someone handed me a 720 page dossier from Ferrari with all the blueprints and test results for thier current F1 car, I would know it was stolen. Ferrari can in no way be held responsible for being imbezzled by a trusted employee. McBenz can be held responsible for theft because they were aware the data were stolen, were aware thier own employee was involved, and kept it secret for almost 4 months or more. If they didnt know, why do they admit attempting to install a firewall? One minute Stepney is a hero whistle blower giving them information they look over and conclude is accurate and notify FIA, but on the other they want him to stay away? First they accept documents and study them, next they shun them and wont look? Come on already. Once again I ask, why hasnt Coughlan been fired? Ferrari sure didnt waste any time firing Stepney.
i do agree with what your saying obviously you cant punish ferrari for a staff member becoming a traitor and stealing from them - it would be absolutely ridiculous. however if you punish mclaren for the actions of their staff member either (without proving the company read the docs) then they are going to say the "if rules say we are liable for the actions of our staff, then that rule counts for all teams" and ferrari would have to be punished - this as we all agree is ridiculous and cannot happen. bottom line is that the rule needs changing - this situation shows that its really not possible to implement. coughlin needs to come up with a damn good explanation for why he didnt destroy/return the info. if he hasnt got one then he should be punished. (but him and him alone) if McLaren used the info then they also deserve a punishment - however they got the info it wasnt theres, and if they used it then theyre in the wrong. then unfortunately they cant be punished. you always have to give the benefit of the doubt in such situations. hasnt it already been established that the flexi floor info etc was given well before any documents changed hands ??? i do have a thought about the tyre thing. is it fair that all the teams have to use the one tyre and some teams already have data on that tyre whilst others do not ? is that not an unfair advantage ?
Translation; "Hey everyone. Im not getting enough press with my crappy results this year. Look at me. I have blue glasses. "
While I love Briatore...he is way off base on this one...he's just mad because he lost Alonso to McLaren...silly Italians...
What if they clicked "Fit to Page" while printing and printed everything on 1 page? ~shahedc . Image Unavailable, Please Login
