Vodafone Mercedes McLaren Guilty

[smiddyboy1]

Vodafone Mercedes McLaren Guilty have just been found guilty, All constructor point have been stripped but Lewis & Fernando keep their points.
Also a fine of $100 Million fine imposed.

 

[BlackC55]

Gobsmacked.

 

[IanA2]

Vodafone Mercedes McLaren Guilty have just been found guilty, All constructor point have been stripped but Lewis & Fernando keep their points.
Also a fine of $100 Million fine imposed.

Is this for real....???

 

[IanA2]

Is this a wind up..?? Nothing on Google News....

 

[The Dent Guy]

McLaren will appeal.

But removal of points will remove prize money too.

Huge shock - Ferrari will stop at nothing it seems.

 

[IanA2]

Oh my....it is true....


McLaren loses all constructors' points
Thursday, 13, September, 2007, 18:38


The FIA World Motor Sport Council has disqualified McLaren from the 2007 constructors' championship and fined the team $100 million, but Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can continue to battle for the drivers' crown.

After a day of deliberations at the hearing in Paris, the governing body decided to punish the team for breaking the sporting regulations by possessing confidential Ferrari data.

But while the decision to exclude McLaren from the constructors' contest hands that title to Ferrari, McLaren's drivers have not received any penalty.

Hamilton and Alonso's battle for the world championship will therefore continue unaffected in the remaining four rounds.

The team's $100 million fine is the largest in motorsport history.

McLaren will also have to present its 2008 car for examination by the FIA before the start of next season.

The team is due to address the media in Paris within the next hour.

More details to follow...

 

[The Dent Guy]

Is this a wind up..?? Nothing on Google News....

See sky news right now.

Also www.itv-f1.com

 

[portzy]

Is this a wind up..?? Nothing on Google News....

Nope

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6991147.stm

Portzy.

 

[Dave Lewis]

 

[wobbly]

Wow.

 

[verytalldave]

Now THAT is what I call a smack on the wrist................

 

[The Dent Guy]

And whats the main sponsor going to do now???

And what will come of future sponsors and their all important funds, associated with a team which has received a damn good kicking in public???

My chin is on the floor!!!

Surely this will divide the fans of F1........ There's bound to be conflict in the crowds........Ferrari fans ought to be ashamed to wear a ferrari shirt now.

Hopefully the McLaren sponsors will stand side by side with them through this gross mis-justice.

The ramifications will continue well into next season.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

This is HUGE news, intrigued to see how this will unfold.

 

[portzy]

What I cant understand is, if Mclaren have gained an advantage through having the Ferrari dossier then the advantages must be in the cars themselves?, surely?, to prompt the ban. So, why allow the drivers to race this Sunday or the rest of the season?

Not getting at Lewis or Fernando you understand but why single these two out for preferential treatment when the rest of the team must be totally de-motified?

Yeah!, I could see me giving my all with wheel changes and re-fueling knowing that its all rather pointless and I could be out of a job in a few weeks.

Portzy.

 

[SimonsMerc]

Ridiculous. The Italian team go to the Italian police and complain that they aren't winning, and bam.

-simon

 

[Dieselman]

And whats the main sponsor going to do now???

And what will come of future sponsors and their all important funds, associated with a team which has received a damn good kicking in public???

Why will it affect sponsorship.?

Sponsors pay to have their name emblazoned across the cars to get worldwide TV coverage.
As a result of the recent actions and accusations Maclaren-Mercedes have had far more TV and press coverage than any other team.

When it comes to getting a name across, is there such a thing as bad press.?

Maybe Maclaren-Mercedes should charge a bit more.

And BTW, if you're reading this Ron and think it's a good idea, you know where I am...

 

[EJS]

This is a full a statement as I can find from the FIA regarding the punishment handed down to McLaren in the spy saga:



In an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council was held in Paris on the 12th of September 2007, The following decision was taken:


"The WMSC has stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructors' points in the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championshiop an the team can score no point for the remainder of the season *.


"Furthermore, the team will pay a fine equal to 100 million dollar, less the FOM 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 regards to drivers' points **.


"The WMSC will receive a full technical report on the 2008 McLaren car and will take a decision at its December 2007 meeting as to what sanction, if any, will be imposed on the team for the 2008 season."


The full reasons for this decision will be issued on the 14th September 2007.


* Points gained by other teams so far this season will not be affected.

** No McLaren representative will be allowed on the podium should a McLaren driver win in any of the remaining races of the 2007 season.

Alonso was in front of the media today and not at the hearing, I bet his mind was not really focus on answering questions.

It looks like we will have to wait until tomorrow for the full reasons.

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

Do did Alonso rat on his team?

And does anyone feel that $100 million may be a tad on the high side? Perhaps McLaren should have accepted the fixed penalty instead. :-(

 

[EJS]

Full statement from Ron Dennis:

"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.

"Much has been made in the press and at the hearing today of emails and text messages to and from our drivers. The World Motorsport Council received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically that no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren and that they had not passed any confidential data to the team.

"The entire engineering team in excess of 140 people provided statements to the FIA affirming that they had never received or used the Ferrari information.

"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.

"We are also continually asked if McLaren didn't use the information, what was the reason for Stepney and Coughlan collecting all this data about Ferrari? We can only speculate as neither Coughlan nor Stepney gave evidence at today's hearing, but we do know that they were both seeking employment with other teams, as already confirmed by both Honda and Toyota.

"There will be no issue for the 2008 season as we have not at any stage used any intellectual property of any other team.

"We have got the best drivers and the best car and we intend to win the World Championship."

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Was Doctor Evil the judge?? With a fine of $100 million it sounds like it!!