Ferrari Finds McLaren's Lack Of Punishment 'Incomprehensible' : Ferrari new car review article 2008

Ferrari Finds McLaren's Lack Of Punishment 'Incomprehensible' : Ferrari new car review article

Ferrari Finds McLaren's Lack Of Punishment 'Incomprehensible'
by Anthony Fontanelle
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council opted not to impose any punishment as it could find no evidence that McLaren Mercedes had made use of the data from Ferrari, which was found in the hands of Mike Coughlan, the team's chief designer. The decision was reported on the Official Web site of Formula One.Right after the decision was released, Ferrari team voiced their aversion. The Scuderia team said that they found it "incomprehensible that violating the fundamental principle of sporting honesty does not have, as a logical and inevitable consequence, the application of a sanction," and added that they believe the decision "legitimizes dishonest behavior in Formula One and sets a very serious precedent.""The decision of the World Council signifies that possession, knowledge at the very highest level and use of highly confidential information acquired in an illicit manner and the acquiring of confidential information over the course of several months, represent violations that do not carry any punishment," Ferrari continued. "The fact that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of such information was discovered totally by accident and, but for this, the team would continue to have it. This is all the more serious as it has occurred in a sport like Formula One in which small details make all the difference. Ferrari feels this is highly prejudicial to the credibility of the sport."The team added that it will continue with the legal action already under way within the Italian criminal justice system. Ferrari, at present, is pursuing cases against both Coughlan and Nigel Stepney, the team's engineer who allegedly provided the 'spy' dossier. Coughlan and Stepney have also been summoned to appear before the FIA.It seems that the Scuderia team is not the one to dissent to FIA's decision. A number of watchers also share the same view."By any calculation, the decision made at the FIA's headquarters in Paris yesterday was about as far from sporting fairness as it is possible to get. Yes, it allows one of the most engaging seasons in recent Formula One history to run its natural course. But for all those cosmetic reasons, there is no escaping the stench of whitewash wafting out across Paris," said Jonathan McEvoy of the Daily Mail."Quite the most draconian penalty ever applied by motor racing's governing body, the FIA, came midway through the 1984 season when the British Tyrrell squad was thrown out of the championship. This penalty is still regarded by many within the formula one community as one of the most significant miscarriages of justice the sport has seen. It came as a direct result of the fact that Tyrrell were competing with naturally aspirated engines at a time when most of the top teams had switched to more powerful, but fuel-hungry, turbocharged engines," noted Alan Henry of The Guardian."What is clear is that the Italians had been fully expecting McLaren to feel the full force of the FIA's wrath. The belief in Maranello was that the admission by McLaren that Mike Coughlan, its chief designer, had received a large dossier of secret Ferrari technical information alone made some sort of sanctions inevitable," said Ed Gorman of The Times. "From McLaren's point of view the decision reached in Paris was almost the best they could have hoped for. It could have faced penalties ranging from a large fine to being thrown out of the championship."But some race aficionados find the decision reasonable. And they will be greatly jubilant to see McLaren compete at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend. They hope that the Mercedes Benz Distributor Rotor and race parts would not fail McLaren drivers.