McLaren Mercedes F1 Team: Found Guilty Of Spying Motoring Channel Staff - 14/September/2007 | 
The McLaren Mercedes F1 Team has
been disgraced after being found guilty of
stealing secrets from the Ferrari F1 Team
Ron Dennis Stands FirmAfter
the FIA handed down its judgement via the World Motor Sport Council
late yesterday, Ron Dennis, the McLaren Mercedes F1 Team Boss, had this
to say: "The
most important thing is that we will be going motor racing this
weekend, the rest of the season and every season. This means that our
drivers can continue to compete for the World Championship. However
having been at the hearing today I do not accept that we deserved to be
penalised in this way. "Today’s evidence given to the FIA by our
drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated that we did not use
any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage. "We have
never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal
possession of one of our employees at his home. The issue is: was this
information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been
proven today." - Ron Dennis, McLaren Mercedes F1 |
|
Paris, France — Following up on our news story concerning
the Stepneygate scandal involving the Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes F1
Teams, the World Motor Sport Council judged the Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes F1 Team to have committed industrial
espionage by stealing technology from Ferrari. As
punishment Ron Dennis's McLaren F1 Team been fined a landmark
US$100,000,000. Furthermore, the team has been disqualified from
the 2007 Constructors Championship, all but handing victory to Ferrari. However,
the Drivers Championship is there to be taken by either of McLaren's
two drivers as they currently sit first and second on the driver
standings. Between
the two McLaren drivers, reigning champion Alonso Fernando and the
young racing prodigy that is Lewis Hamilton, either can and probably
will win the 2007 F1 Drivers Championship. But it will be a hollow
victory tarnished by the team's allegedly nefarious deeds. Ron Dennis, the McLaren
F1 Team boss, has a huge amount of power in the world of F1 and is
expected to appeal the judgement, which alleges that McLaren illegally
acquired and used Ferrari technology on its cars. There will also have
to be assurances that McLaren will not use any of this misappropriated
technology before it can contest the 2008 season. If McLaren cannot
show this, it will be barred from competing next year. After a 10 hour meeting at the FIA's headquarters in France, it released a document reading: "The
WMSC have stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructor points
in the 2007 FIA Formula One world championship and the team can score
no points for the remainder of the season. "Furthermore,
the team will pay a fine equal to $100m, less the FOM (Formula One
Management) income lost as a result of the points deduction. "However,
due to the exceptional circumstances in which the FIA gave the team's
drivers an immunity in return for providing evidence, there is no
penalty in regard to drivers points. The WMSC will receive a full
technical report on the 2008 McLaren car and will take a decision at
the December 2007 meeting after what sanction, if any, will be imposed
on the team for the 2008 season." This is arguably the
biggest scandal to hit Formula 1 in decades, and though embarrassing
for the team and the sport, it will probably ignite renewed interest in
the sport as the season winds up. The World Motor Sport Council's
US$100,000,000 fine for the McLaren Mercedes F1 Team is the largest
ever seen in motor sport, and being disqualified from the Constructors
Championship will go down in the annals of F1 history as one of
the most disgraceful acts yet. Some would argue it's just what
the sport needs, while others will lament the dirty tricks and
espionage that has, and will, continue to go on behind the scenes of
the world's most prestigious motor racing discipline. |
