In response to Sebastiano from Toronto, yes I do blame Ferrari - after all it was one of them that gave it to Maclaren (and accoring to the aforementioned Article 123, they're collectively responsible for the actions of their employees). I also blame Maclaren for their employee taking the information. Irrespective of the various arguments of who saw the information, was it a set-up and whether it actually impacted the performance of either car, both teams should have had processes in place to avoid confidential information being leaked, so they're both culpable in my view.

The shame is that if Hamilton gets penalised, one of the most refreshing new storylines in years will be stopped in its tracks, with the inevitable result in loss of viewers which can only damage the sport. I just hope that the FIA use their common sense.

JM, London, UK

It has been a nice championship this year but there is no doubt now (affidavit is a proof) McLaren cheated and should be thrown out or penalised so as to make it impossible for the team and its pilots to win the championship. It would be damaging to F1 if McL won after being caught cheating. The team (unfortunately also pilots are part of team) "was caught" as noone did what was to be done: immediately denounce and fire the guy only for having in his hands those docs. Not doing that (even if they did nothing else) they became accomplices. McL instead played smart and - since MC is not a doorman but the chief designer - will have to pay for this. To tell the murderer to destroy the evidence of a murder (the 780 page report) means being accomplices (if not worse ie co-murderers which is likely in the case of Mclaren...) not innocent at all. Dennis should realise his team cheated, stop claiming innocence and clean up the mess. If not, who believes in him not knowing?? I do not.

Popper, London,

The main thing is:
i. did ferrari guy approch mclaren guy offering documents
or
ii. did mclaren guy approach ferrari guy with offer for specific documents

The former is barely even a crime, and certainly not espionage (i mean imagine if one of Goldfinger's henchmen e-mailed James bond with passwords and schematics of his secret mountain island base - that is not espionage) since the information was offered to them freely whereas the latter is actively seeking to break the rules. Real life comparison:

i. guy approaches you, "heres ten thousand pounds"
ii. you approach guy, "heres 500 pounds to help me steal ten thousand pounds".

Justin, London,

If the team is culpable for the action of its employees then surely Ferrari ("the giver") and McLaren ("the receiver") are equally guilty?

Another sad day for F1

Mark Robinson, Stafford, UK

This is for Iain C Chapmen .

You asking what`s the fuss all about ?
The different is , someone at McLaren got caught !
They just got to estabilish how high did they know ?
If they guilty the team & drivers should be suspended !

And for J M London , U K
So now you blame Ferrari , for the dossier , to have found
it`s way to Coughlan`s hands ?

I hope they repramend both teams .

Sebastiano, Toronto, Canada

If Mclaren cheated they must pay for it. Sadly their drivers will be penalised as a consequence. F1 is about cars and in the past most of the best pilots of their time started their career in poorly competitive teams and rarely won until they joined a top team, obvious proof that the car is a major component of success. So if the McLaren was a better car by using unfair methods then the results their pilots obtained are unfair too.
About Lewis Hamilton :
LH is without any discussion a very talented young man but all this noise about him in the UK is a bit "too much" and doesn't necessarily do him any good.
J. Villeneuve finished 2nd with 4 victories in his first year in F1 while Senna finished 9th with no victory and only 13pts in his first year... Guess who prooved to be the best pilot in the end... Not sure the british press helps LH very much... Last monday no headline at all in the papers for a guy who "only" had the pole finished 3rd and was still leading the champ...

Patrick, Sittingbourne, Kent

I am a new convert to Formula 1.
I think the emergence of Lewis Hamilton and the fierce rivalry with Raiikonen, Alonso and Massa has given this sport (as a viewing spectacle) a much needed adrenaline shot.
A driver can only drive the car in front of him.
If any drivers are disqualified or lose points (Hamilton in particular, obviously) Formula 1 will put itself back 10 years and lose thousands of new invigorated fans.
Sometimes decisions or solutions need to be made for the better good in all walks of life.
But i am sure the power/s that is/be (Bernie) is/are well aware of this.

David Buchanan, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England

It all sticks of media hype - just like the supposed favouring of Lewis over Fernando.

Think about it - if McLaren had the documentation, they wouldn't let an employee's wife take it down to the local shops to photocopy and be discovered!! I'm sure McLaren have the money to buy their own photocopiers...

If anyone is to blame for bringing the sport into disrepute, it should be Ferrari. If every team bears a collective responsibility for the actions of their members, Ferrari are the team responsible for this documentation. Their employee gave it to someone else. They are responsible for starting this whole fiasco.

Roll-on the "trial" so we can stop reading all this rubbish!

Norm, Swansea, UK

I really hope they'll disqualify them... I'll throw a party =) but then I'm totally biased... lol

Moa, Leeds,

If Lewis is penalised then so too will be Alonso and the Ferrari drivers. If they all have points deducted then Lewis can still win the title. The FIA is not likely to ban the 4 top drivers and the 2 top teams for the rest of the season.

Stuart, Sutton Coldfield,

If this was the other way round everyone would be slating, branding Ferrari as cheats and this as typical behaviour by them. McLaren are NOT innocent if they are innocent why suspend Mike Coughlan? Ron Dennis' team should pay the price as they deserve it. As previously stated in the article they have one of the biggest budgets in F1 why then do they want Ferrari information........Simple...... Ferrari have the better car.

Rickardo, Bearsden, Glasgow,

This is going to hurt F1 and I fear the "Circus" tag will resonate for many years to come because of this. Make no mistake, all employees at these levels understand what "technical and Intellectual" property means. My question to both Stepney and Coughlan is, "Who are you both really working for?"
At the best, this meeting between the two was just a pathetic little joke that nobody finds funny. Not Likely.
The bad situation would be poor old Stepney looking for another job with MacLaren and hoping to impress? Possible.
At the worst, Stepney engaging in espionage for some consideration and MacLaren grabbing it until it became a hot potatoe and now it's "run brothers, run!" Ouch.
MacLaren cannot simply deny and reassure Ferrari that they didn't really look at the material. It has been established that Coughlan held the "package" and Jonathan Neale knew of it's existence prior to Ferrari instigating legal proceedings in Modena against Stepney. I'm afraid Neale has acted too slowly.

Mark, Perth, Australia

Is anyone surprised that that FIA.. in otherwards the "Ferrari Inc. Assoc." would not find against McLaren...The FIA have been incredibly biased in Ferrari's favour for the past 8-10 years, making car changes and judgements to suit them.
I may not really like Ron Dennis, but one thing you can say is that he is a man of integrity.. even his worst enemy will vouch for that.
Unfortunately Mosely and his brownshirts ( or was that red shirts) will do whatever they can to ensure a Ferrari victory and we should not be surprised by any arbitrary judgment in Ferarri's favour with little or no tangible evidence.

James Stuart, Inverness,

If they pull the plug on Hamilton and Alonso then that's my viewing of Formula one this season, completed. This sport seems to turn shooting itself in the foot, into a science. Of course if major infringements have been made then punishments must be made.

However with justice comes the fall-out and that will damage far more than just McLaren, its drivers and their sponsors. It will damage the credibility of the sport at a time when it cannot afford to do so. I would expect a fine or maybe a race ban at worse. If the authorities choose the draconian option of chucking McClaren out of the championship then Formula 1 is a dead duck.

Ton Henry, London, UK

Doesn't it seem weird? I mean, last year McLarens weren't much more than very expensive torches - ask Kimi about that- and all of a sudden they're competing face to face with Ferrari? And considering they had to adapt to Bridgestone?

Reckon there's something fishy going on...

Alfredo Nieto, Madrid, Spain

jorge (Zaragoza, Spain), perhaps you wanted to refer to the hysteria of the Spanish media regarding Alonso? I can tell you that the British press is not as half as hysterical as the press back where you live.

Pedro Jimenez, Liverpool, UK

It's truly unfortunate that F1 will not return to Indy, or anywhere else in the United States in the very near future.

But until the F1 venues and the governments that subsidizes them around the world finally say 'enough, Bernie', he will continue to hold them hostage in order to fill his pocket book with more money.

What a shame.

PJ Rizk, The Woodlands, Texas, USA

This whole hearing is a joke. Remember who really runs the FIA, the british. Does anyone really think they will penalize the most prominent british team? Don't think so. But as soon as McLaren lodged a complaint about the "floor" on the Ferrari, they were quick to rule in their favor.

McLaren should not worry about getting fined/banned/suspended, they need to worry about the Prancing Horse.

Lets go Kimi!!

Dave, New York, US

The improvement in the car in the 3 races from Monaco was huge, apart from that, without the job of Alonso in the car , Maclaren would be after Ferrari in the Championship.
I would like to see Hamilton alone in the scuderia, 0,8 second per lap slower than now.
Surprises only begin

iker, madrid,

The sport is NOT ruined. There are tons of great drivers other than Schumi. I hope Mclaren proves innocent. Things are most interesting with them being in the race. Besides, secrets or no secrets, drivers still must have great skill to race F1 cars. It's no cake walk. I agree with Ron Dennis of Mclaren, one man's mistakes should not be counted against the entire team.

Johnny Adams, Wiesbaden, Germany

Does anyone else find it hilarious that, if Mike Coughlan was indeed involved in illegally obtaining information from Ferrari, he would send his wife to the local copy shop to have all the incriminating evidence photocopied? It's hardly surprising that someone at the shop got suspicious and informed the authorities.

I'm sure he has enough money to buy his own photocopy machine and do it at home. Clearly he is no criminal mastermind!

Daniel, Sheffield, UK

I knew the sport would deteriorate with the retirement of that paragon of the F1 scene, Michael Schumacher.

Tom Marshall, Lichfield,

It´s very ashame. Mclaren is destroying all his image.
First promoting a junior against a two times world championship (Alonso) , and now spyng Ferrari. It´s very, very pathetic.

Fernando you must get out from Mclaren as quick as posible and talk with the best : Ferrari. There you´ll receive what you deserve as champion. And Mclaren... with the junior Hamilton.

Javier, Madrid, Spain

The real casualties will be us, the spectators. All professional sport is entertainment, pure and simple. If the FIA excludes Maclaren or deducts points from its drivers rather than deducting points in the Manufacturers' Competition, then it will destroy a perfectly balanced Drivers' Competition at the expense of the paying public.

Guy Shirra, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

I dont understand what all the fuss is about-industrial espionage is rife in all commercial activity, the trick is not to get caught.Why should motor racing be any different? Win at any cost?Of course!!

Iain C Chapman, Marciac, France

If this was the other way round everyone would be slating, branding Ferrari as cheats and this as typical behaviour by them. McLaren are NOT innocent if they are innocent why suspend Mike Coughlan? Ron Dennis' team should pay the price as they deserve it. As previously stated in the article they have one of the biggest budgets in F1 why then do they want Ferrari information........Simple...... Ferrari have the better car.

Rickardo, Bearsden, Glasgow, Scotland

I suppose that Max Mosely will penalise McLaren in terms of points and maybe a fine, however leave Lewis Hamilton out of the equation, he is the greatest and most refreshing English driver we have seen in F1 for a very long time, with apologies to Sir Stirling Moss, Nigel Mansell, Sir Jackie Stewart, Jim Clarke, James Hunt and Damon Hill !

David Smith, Cannes, France

Formula One used to be fun. Where's Team Lotus when we need them?

Michael, Austin,

According to the above, Article 123 states that "every team bear a collective responsibility for the actions of their members". Then how is it that Maclaren bear a collective responsibility for the actions of their one (alleged) "rogue" employee, however Ferrari are immune to collective reposiibility over the actions of their (alleged) "rogue" employee. Given that no evidence has been presented which categorically demonstrates whether anyone actually benefited or suffered as a result of this issue, I can't see how they should be treated any differently?

Ferrari have just as great a responsibility to prevent leaking "inside information" as Maclaren do to avoid using it. If this was bank employees leaking / using inside share information, both the employees would be reprimanded as well as both institutions for letting it happen.

JM, London, UK

Mclaren should be suspended for the whole season. Anyone who believes that they did not benefit from this scam need to have their heads examined.

Paul Jandu, Baltimore, USA

Hamilton is potentially a great driver but let's face it, in F1, the car is the star.
There are drivers still in F1 who used to regularly appear on the podium but who now languish mid field or worse. They haven't become inferior drivers, it is just that their cars are inferior. If Hamilton had been in any one of a number of teams who fill the back of the grid, he'd have been fortunate not to end up like Button, who has the talent but didn't get the breaks.
If McLaren have been cheating then Hamilton will have won in cars boosted in prformance through industrial espionage.
At least McLaren haven't broken rules on specification as one manufacturer was widely believed to have done in the early 1990's , catapulting their star young driver to the top. Mind you, that driver had the ability to pull a team together and make it a success, something Button has not been able to do and which Hamilton may not be able to do either. If guilty, the entire McLaren team should be penalised.

ian, bristol, UK

If the McLaren is found Guilty why the drivers shouldn't give back the points gained with unfair practices of their team? They had unique personal advantages since their team knew the competitive practices. I'm fine with simple things like putting Ferrari in front of them during these few races when McLaren had the information.
Why shouldn't they pay? Because it is a sport? Haha sport, go and tell to Ron Dennis what a sportsman he is.

Gabriel, USA, USA

Just like calciopoli, ferrari know they cannot win so they turn to dirty tricks Mc Laren do not need their technology or their cars. So ferrari have their own spies in the UK close to the McLaren factory referring to that tip off. Now it is a question of sports politics in which ferrari r masters, just like juventus back in italy if u cannot win buy the ref good idea eh? McLaren r too clever to in involved in such cases they win on the track and not in courts. In italy it has become a habit to win titles in courts , they do anything to win its in their mentality and they do not know how to loose finding all sorts of excuses refering to the white powder in their petrol maybe it is the same white stuff italian cyclists use to win who knows??

tony grech, Malta,

Hey Wilfredo Vargas from Miami / US,

Is George Bush the type of human that would try to take advantage of other countries by cheating ???? Come on man, help us out here, you people got to get your mind sorted.

Tiago, London, UK

It seems to me that both Stephney and Coughlan were looking for new jobs. Ron needs to check what secrets have been stolen from Mclaren. The pairs worth would be greatly improved with files of both Ferrari and Mclaren. Coughlan will now say anything to save himself. Ron may be a difficult guy most of the time but his integrity has never been in question. It shouldn't be now.
Of course Ferrari wouldn't set this up to discredit Mclaren.....would they?

David, Leeds, UK

God bless Ron Dennis.

john olohan, london,

In recent tests at Silverstone it appeared that Ferrari had found some "extra performance" from somewhere and this has been shown in the last two races. Where they gained this significant improvement from who knows? Maybe they have had some outsiders on the payroll?

Industrial Espionage is not just spying / using information from previous employers, but there is the other side whereby people may "stitch up" others use scape goats to regain an advantage - it is also interesting that Schumacher has made a bigger presence at races of late cannot help but think this is a Media storm to detract from underhand play by Ferrari after a poor start to the season.

Oh and as for the bookies - I wonder how many of the team employees or people closely related put money on the non-michelin teams like Minardi scoring points and/or podiums at the US Grand Prix a couple of years ago! would we really believe that they did not know the Michelin runners would not race (wonder if Bernie had a bet :)

ST2, Northampton,

Well, I do hope McLaren drivers are not disqualified; because if the hype on Hamilton is almost unbearable by now, I do not even want to see the degree of hysteria the british press can reach, if confronted with an ''unfair'' dismissal of their favourite boy.

On the other hand, maybe all the FIA should do is to disqualify the McLaren drivers from the 2 north american races... I am sure Alonso will be smiling on the inside, knowing full well that Raikkonen will mess up on his own sooner or later...

jorge, zaragoza, spain

Hope they do not disqualify Hamilton: maybe they could just consider to punish the McLaren as a team, leaving out the drivers. I'd like to see a winning Ferrari (with Massa more than Raikkonen), but withouth help from any judges and hopefully after an interesting row of exciting races. If not that way, I would rather prefer that Hamilton got the prize for the best driver.

Despite all that, I must admit that Coughlan was unfair, a bit clumsy and even a bit dull: it seems sort of a funny spy story (people photocoping secrets at a public store: could have been the plot of a comedy-cartoon, but unfortunately it isn't...).

Good Luck, anyway.

Pasquale, Naples, Italy

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Rick, London,

McLarri are innocent!!! Just good engineering to pick up a second at the end of April for the North American races, when did the dossier appear in the UK? Merely coincidental to be sure.

J McAlister, Leicester, Leicestershire

This is a real shame if formula one board of directors punish the hole team for something that one "employee" did.
Mr. Ron Dennis is not the tipe of human that will try to take advantage of any other team by cheating.
Is easy to see that this gentleman is genuine and will never go for something so low as this.
I honestly believe tha he is full of integrity and really cares about his team and the sport. If there's somebody out there that will play fair is this man!!!

Wilfredo Vargas, miami, united states