I have been following F1 for longer than most fans have been on this earth. And for a long time I was a Ferrari fan. Over the past few years I have been turned away from my position in shame. The blatant favoritism displayed by the FIA for Ferrari in so many decisions and choices (V8s, Bridgestone, and others) on and off the track have been embarassing to any fan capable to look at events without bias.

The McLaren punishment, for having tried a method for inflating tires (nothing more), was grossly exagerated and out of proportion with the crime.

It seems to me that the only true FIA motivation was to givre Ferrari the Constructors championship. Nothing else. Luck and a bit of panic from a young driver did the rest.

Now, with even more evidence stacked against them, Renault is spared, and that adds insult to injury. As I see it, the FIA is simply serving Ferrari's interests.

Raphael Cohen, Clarenceville, QC, Canada

Thanks Mark for the only F1 driver to have balls and talk the truth, the double standards of the FIA is outrageous mad max should be fired.

Kay, Kent, England

I have read the original Martin Brundle article, and am amazed. It seems reasonable and balanced, and I cannot see anything to sue anyone about.

It did not take Martin, or anyone else, to make me feel that there is some kind of vendetta going on. Ive never been much of a fan of Ron Dennis, but it seems quite unfair to punish Mc Laren, while Renault go free.

I am concerned that Jackie Stewart was attacked as he was, so shockingly by Mosley, now Martin Brundle comes under fire.

Why the delay? Games are being played, and F1 is going to be the loser.

Please stop this nonsense FIA, or my supporting days are over, after 50 years. lets have fair racing, Ferrari are good enough to win on merit, Crippling the opposition can only detract from their achievements.

Dudley Jones, Chepstow, UK

Martins article is fair and balanced.

The Mclaren car was already designed and winnining by the time the Ferrari information was provided. So this is plainly not the reason for the performance increase.

Mclaren are not blameless in this and should be punnished, but to the extent they where, I dont think so. The FIA found no evidence that Ferrari Information had been used on the 2007 car just like there was no evidence Mclaren info had been used on the Renault car. But Mclaren recived a fine, Renault didn't. Mclaren and Renault did use infomation from the documants to improve there standing in the championship through objections to the competitors technology

To me it is clear that the rules have been broken but the bigger issue is the double standards of the FIA.

The FIA now want to shut up journalists like Martin and hence the legal action. Martin is an excelent comentator and the FIA's actions are underhand.

Aaron, Larne, N. Ireland

I have been following F1 for 34 years. Although I am a Ferrari fan, I also consider myself a fan of the sport, and I always applaud the winner of a GP, whether he is in a Ferrari or not. I truly love the sport, and I consider myself very fortunate to have seen, live, great drivers like Gilles, Jackie Stewart, Ronnie Peterson, Nicki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Schumacher, to name a few. This year's greatest disappointment, for me, has been the blatant anti-Ferrari-ism, and wilfull blindness, of the British media. McLaren lied, and they cheated. Period. Full Stop. They went from winning 0 races in '06, to fighting for the titles in '07. Coincidence? That they were beaten to both titles on the track, (regardless of the points-stripping), is poetic justice. They should hang their heads in shame, and shut up (and so should the press). Ferrari have been covering themselves in glory for 60 years. I love all the teams, but Ferrari are the best. Deal with it.

Ron DiVincenzo, Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Ferrari had an illegal floor, the FIA did nothing.

This is not true. McLaren knew about this from the Ferrari info, but if you all would read what the FIA wrote. They changed the way they did there tests on the cars. So it was not illegal before.

Stop wining about this. McLaren had the documents and Ron Dennis did nothing about it, he just kept lying and did not even suspend the major suspects before it was to late.

McLaren was a good team, but I can not say anything good about them any more.

Jesper, New York, USA

Ferrari had an illegal floor, the FIA did nothing.

Schumaker's team mates always had to move over so he could win, the FIA did nothing.

The Indianappolis track was unsafe. The FIA could have put in a chicane.. or let Ferrari win.

Martin., your article is spot on!

Robert, WIndsor, UK

Has certain people at the FIA gone off their trolley?

They impose a $100 Million fine on McLarren. This is an insane amount.

When Renault was faced with a similar fine, their share price PLUMETED 20%.

Did anyone at the FIA & their associates short-sell Renault's shares prior to the announcement?


I hope they will examine the 2008 Renault to see if it contains any McLaren designs. Or is it a McLaren Witch Hunt.

Robert, WIndsor, UK

All the FIA have done is made Alonso the bad guy and put him out of an '08 seat unless he lines up in a less than perfect Renault. BMW would be the time to go to so Fernando should take a sabbatical..

Sam, wagga wagga, NSW

The FIA has got far too many people with personal interests in some teams to ever be impartial in their decisions. Having an Independent board may also help in avoiding some gagging tactics.

Ed, London,

Mclaren have breached the rules of the sport and gained unfair advantage so punishment must follow and the balance readdressed. Clear and simple no which hunt there.
If that means deducting driver and constructor points (because they benefited too) then so be it. I would hate to see Macca off the grid for a whole season but there you go rules are rules.

Tim, Stratford upon avon, Uk

A "witch hunt" is exactly what this is. The FIA and in particular Max Mosley should be ashamed of themselves for encouraging Ferrari, who initiated this problem, to ultimately benefit from dragging F1 into the gutter. But why should we be surprised, this is the hallmark of Max Mosley, a man full of his own self importance and tragically for F1, out of touch with reality.

If the FIA thrown McLaren out next Thursday I for one will never bother watching another F1 race and the FIA might just as well award all future championships to Ferrari from the off.

Give us back our sport please before it’s too late!!

C. Oversby, houston, texas

The last time Mclaren or Mercedes won the championship was in 1998 ! This was also the first and only time for Mercedes since the championship began in 1958. And it turns out the current comeback coincides with the theft of the Ferrari design spec....
come on people! this is way beyond ridiculous now.....

Ferrari would do well to retire from Formula1. Having won from 1999 to 2004, the drastic rule changes at the end of 2004 were obviously designed to hinder Ferrari. Ferrari should perhaps have left back then already.... it would be insane now to put up with espionage and theft, knowing also full well what would have happened if the thieves had not been the anglo-german team...

Trevor, Bristol, England

Martin could not have said it better. Being a F1 fan for more than 20 years, I am utterly sick of whatever collusion between the FIA and Ferrari, especially in the Todt era. The way Ferrari portrayed themselves as victims in the 'spy' case is just disgusting, particularly just a few months after the depart of their number one driver who had generated much discussions, along with the team, with regard to unsportsmanlike conducts. Some Ferrari fans, who endured such criticisms of their beloved team in the last few years, understandably jump on this case and mark McLaren as some evil organization. One just has to wonder whether the case will be pursued at all if both Ferrari drivers and the team are way ahead in the championship.

KM, Hong Kong,

Martin (yes I know M.Brundle wrote the column)
It is rarely in a blue moon that I disagree with your commentry however, to the contrary hard-core fans are interested in the off track injustices. I dont want to see Macca off the grid at any season but what would damage the sport is if the FIA failed to settle these injustices.
I take your point about the spykers and toyotas but that just confirms the FIA is toothless and interested more in the commerce than the sport.
Have the other 20 drivers not suffered an injustice at the hands of the Macca drivers bennefitting from ill-begotten technolodgy ? and hence driver points dcking should not be so easily be dismissed.
The on track battle has already been tainted simply by the fact macca MAY have used that dossier.

Few of us, are without bias.

PS good analogy Marco

Tim, Stratford upon avon, Uk

Brilliant analysis Martin.

I too see this as a blatant manipulation by certain interested parties. No doubt it will seriously damage the sport (even if it hasn't already).

On a sporting note, Button got to the top ten for the first time in ages!

Peter Mallett, Leighton buzzard, Beds

Which is it going to be? Do we expect and require that there be no cheating or not? Because McLaren is ahead in the championships this year, you are saying that they should get a pass, while shifting the blame for the whole sorry mess to Ferrari. Get a grip! McLaren was getting valuable information based on Ferrari know-how even before they got the 780 pages of top secret technical information. I say "McLaren" advisedly here, since it now appears, contrary to what McLaren has sworn up and down, that a lot more people knew about the purloined Ferrari information, and acted on it. Perhaps this is why McLaren is ahead in the championships? McLaren seems to have had the benefit of Ferrari expertise since March. If this proves to be true, McLaren, despite its protestations of purity, has been cheating since March. The icing on the cake is that no one at McLaren came clean until caught red handed -- and even then held back information from the FIA. Doesn't sound honest to me.

Alex Reed, Weston, CT, USA

ask yourselves this:
where would be at this point in time if Ferrari had been the wrong-doers ?

Trevor, Bristol,

McLaren should win at Monza today - it's got the best of both cars - Ferrari and McLaren. But then it's not any worse than the lady ahtlete with a history of avoiding drug-testing being allowed to compete.

Marco Borg, London, UK

Sorry Martin, but I don't agree with you one bit here. I care very much what happens in the Paris courtroom and the result of it. If McLaren are found guilty, the should be excluded, effective immediately from this years AND next years championships. They deserve to loose their sponsors and anything else bad that comes their way, because they cheated. Maybe McLaren should have thought about the consequences before they had Ferrari's data in their possession. Plain and simple.

Clay Mifsud, Nana Glen, Australia, New South Wales

A Witch - hunt Martin ?
Wake up ! This is a major incident ,and as an avid F1 fan I do care what happens next week . The crediblity of future championships rests on the outcome .
This years championship has unfortunately already been tainted .
Remember as a fellow racer " Bending the rules is ingenious " Our sport is built on creativity and innovation . Outright espionage on this scale is reprehensible .
I'd kick their butts !

4xchamp, East Greenwich, U.S.A.