This is a farce. Hamilton and Alonso should both withdraw from the championship forthwith and leave Ferrari to compete against Red Bull, exposing the whole corrupt farce for the nonsense it has now become.

Jonathan Wilton, Singapore,

i think the the driver if they learn from the secrets also should be punished. maybe we will wait and see what more information is there later... then we public may make a verdict.

mikkel, Oslo, Norway

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

To say the least, this does not make McLaren's position any lighter from an ethical point of view. The point is, I believe, that here we have an implicit admission of a fraudulent conduct - no intellectual property of another teams should have been available to them. If they did not make use of it does not make them any more honest.

Claudio Frasca-Polara, Ascoli Piceno, Italy

Seems fair. Punish Mclaren not the drivers.

Terry, london,

Fully agree with Tim. McClaren having accepted Coughlan illigal activities, he remains a Mclaren employee even if suspended.
Coughlan has certenly information on the team and they can't simply drop him.

Philippe, Toulouse, France

Are we to beleive that this is the first time, in the history of F1, that this type of thing hase happened? Never at Ferrari, nor Benetton, for example?

David Masu, Zürich,

What is the point at continuing to look at this fiasco.
Im not a McLaren, i like the 'sport'
Give Ferrari a top place and let the other teams continue to battle for whatever is left.
If really they want people to support this type of racing things have to change.
I've followed F1 since the mid 80's and i think i've had enough.
Thank goodness the BBC are putting on MotoGP and i can get to see motor racing in the US.
Ferrari Iternational Assistance. has come to the rescue again.

Gef Smith, Colmar, France

As hard as these teams work, the lopsided season justly brought suspicion. Were these actions resposible for last year's poor showing by Maranello?

Here in USA a pro AM. Football coach just got fined $500k for basically the same offence.

Let's turn off the TV on pro sports until they clean up and play fair. As long as we are watching they will continue to foul it up.

previso, Seneca, S. Carolina/ USA

both, team and drivers should be punished.
Team includes drivers.....they all either knew or benefited from the information and should be held accountable.

Anyway, a big blow to f1!

Claudio D'Amico, San Diego, USA

Answer me this - if you are caught with a lot of stolen money in your house - you cannot protest saying its only one member of your family who brought the money in your house and that you have not spent any of the money. Bottom line is you stole and got caught. And stop trying to pretend that you are innocent. You are no better than the steriod taking athletes who use any means to gain a competitive advantage. As to the drivers championship - the first 4 places will be won by drivers who are using ferrari technology and know-how.

Amol, Mumbai, India

I hope McLaren do all they can to help BMW catch Ferrari for the constructors title.

Alan, New York, New York

It´s great! , now Alonso free the next year. He ´ll be able to leave Mclaren and go to Ferrari or Renault. True teams, not this english shit called "Mclaren". Ok FIA , the next Luisito Hamilton

Marcos , Oviedo, Spain

1 .Mclaren have been fined and stripped points for one of their employees being in possesion of Ferrari secrets-why on earth does Ferrari not get fined for one of their employees making it available? Was it not illegally leaked out?

2. If indeed the same info gave Mclaren an unfair advantage on the track-why should Alonso and Hamilton keep points gained in driving an illegal car?

It would be interesting to know WMSC's reasons for coming up with a punishment of this magnitude and I really hope such inconsistencies are properly explained or this remains looking as suspect as the Italian police's timing of the announcement just before the race last weekend that Mclaren were under investigation by them

Don A, Manchester, UK

Max Moseley should go. He is a discrace. Ferarri has just shown its true colours yet again.The FIA should allow complete freedom of technical information from all teams to be made available. This would allow the lower teams to become more competative, would inevitably produce a fairer sport and would avoid this nonsence in the future.

Paul Collier, Scunthorpe, UK

This is not justice; Ferrari caused this scandal and are rewarded with the constructor’s title. As for the punishment for McLaren, this bears no relation to reality; however it was always on the cards that the punishment would be as big as Max Mosley's ego.

Isn't it time to stop the pretence every year and just award the title to Ferrari at the outset and then let us get on with enjoying the racing without having to contend with politics and tiresome vendettas?

C. Oversby, houston, texas

Max Mosley should resign. He is a disgrace to the sport! A complete and total disgrace. And Ferrari, who have committed so many wrongs in Formula One, should be ashamed of themselves. They have ruined what was an excellent sport!!!

Elias, Stevenage, UK

It occures to me the FIA what ever the decision were never going to get it right, with either the tifosi of the Macca tribe calling foul. As it happens neither set of fans is entirley satisfied. The macca tribe still protests its teams innocence while the tiffosi quite rightly ask
how can a team be kicked out of the constructors while the drive who ultimatley used the the benefits of the espionage, are left intact and free to race the same car ?
If I had the oportunity to put a question to Ron I would ask. Having accepted Coughlan illigal activities, he remains a Mclaren employee (suspended) does this mean we may see him back in the Mclaren garage ?
This suggests Coughlan has something on the team and they can't simply drop him.
Mclaren is not a poor team the financial penalty will hardly rock them but credibility worth a lot more than that has unfortunatly been lost, not without reason.
Live by the sword...die by the sword

Tim, Stratford upon avon, Uk

Will the 100 million dollars be effectively paid?
Who is the money for, who keeps the money? The 26 members of the FIA? Any money for Ferrari?
How do we the public know the payment is made and that all is not just a farce?
Although I am a Spaniard and think Alonso is more likely to win his third championship, why not a punishment for the drivers? They have allegedly taken advantage over Kimi and Massa. Is it a compensation for the money and the constructor`s title?
In the end, all we know is we know nothing.

Tato Dulanci, Vitoria, Spain

At this point in time, I would like to congratulate Ferrari on winning the Ferrari1 (F1) World Constructor's Championship that they've so earnestly deserved with the help of the Ferrari International Association (F.I.A ) I would also like to congratulate the WMSC on an ingenious penalty that does not exclude Ferrari's main competitor McLaren from competing at the helm of the world's best motorsport arena but deviously cripples them for the next few years effectively handing the title to one certain team. The only missing piece of the puzzle is Michael Schumacher's glorious return knowing that his crown at Ferrari has been secured for the next few years. Forza Ferrari?

Regardless of today's ridiculousness, let's turn our attention to the grand theatre that is Spa Francorchamps.

Jonathan C., Highbury, U.K.

Seems to me that Max Mosely and his Ferrari biased World Motorsport Council have finally found a way to poke Ron Dennis in the eye.
That this is the same body, 'led' by the same President, that has over the last few years wriggled like a teenager playing twister to ensure Michael Schumachers wrongdoings and Ferrari's own rulebreaking tweeks were never properly punished.
That Ferrari's car was illegal at the start of this years Championship and the oversize bargeboard controversy last year seems to attract nothing more painful than a frown from teacher and for me totally supports Sir Jackie Stewarts assertions of bias in The World Council and it's President in particular.
Ron Dennis does not deserve the singeing punishment that these clowns have dished out today. To besmirch such a fine man is an appalling travesty.

Ian Edwards, Bedford, UK

It should not be forgotten that the wrongdoings of two individuals, Nigel Stepney from Ferrari and Michael Coughlan from McLaren, are what led to this phenomenal mess.
I don't know if McLaren copied anything from the Ferrari dossier or even if they needed to copy anything. Their cars are more reliable this year, they've had the best developer on the grid working for them (Fernando Alonso; Michael Schumacher already retired), so what's the point in copying Ferrari?
And another thing McLaren have are two excellent drivers, arguably better than the Ferrari pair--Massa tends to be somewhat irregular and Raikkonen drives with a gremlin as his co-pilot.
I hope Ron Dennis keeps his word of remaining in the fight and not retiring yet. He should be able to prove what his team is worth with the help of the two best drivers around. I'm still betiing on Alonso.

Michel Angstadt, Serranillos del Valle, (Madrid) Spain

Terrible is finding McLaren with the "Bible", the assembling instructions, of an other team!
Stirling Moss would have read better the communicate: It clearly specificate that the bill will be devolved from the prize (championship) Mc laren will not win. So it is much less than 100m dollars.
In my opinion, McLaren should be happy about Fia sentence. It should have been worst!

P.S. to whom who said only Coughland shoud be punished: remember that the whole team is LEGALLY responsable for even one cheater member. And in this case the member was the chief engineer!

Fabrizio, Pistoia,

A first judgment said that Ferrari data was stolen but there were no proves that it was used in McClaren cars. Today it was stated that McClaren used the data. For this reason McClaren was punished. It is also clear to all that the improved McClaren-Ferrari have been the best cars in 2007 and that one of their drivers will win the Formula One championship this year. Forget about Ferrari and McClaren, those are only names, and put yourselves in the places of Raikkonen or Massa.

Joao Albuquerque, brussels, belgium

I find it hard to imagine how the team may have gained any benefit from any "secrets" and the drivers did not. If the team is to be sanctioned then so should the drivers.

Raymond A Becket, North Port, FL, USA

Let's see if I get it right: you win races with a car you'd never had if your team wouldn't have stolen secrets from another one and they let you still win the championship; at the same time they bash the team as hard as this.
It doesn't sound very logical to me. Either punish them all, or don't.

Flavio, Rome, IT

Ferrari should pull out of the rest of the season. What's the point of racing against a team that cheats or drivers who cheaty-cheaty cars.

Huijarit hirteen, Helsinki, Finland

The (Ma)FIA is taking too many strange decisions this year (e.g. Hungary, now this). I still would like to know what McLaren has copied from Ferrari into its cars and how it can make such a difference. Nobody seems to know. Are they going to tell us?

Let's see what happens with the sponsors, this may be an even bigger blow to McLaren than what it seems to be at first.

Also, even though I am happy they didn't punish the drivers, it seems a bit contradictory to me to take all the points from the maker and none from the drivers.

Antonio, Quebec, Canada / Spain,

The WMSC decisin not to punish the drivers is non-sensical. From what Ron Dennis said in his press conference following the verdict, it appears that McLaren drivers had access to the Ferrari data - and had spoken to Mike Coughlan about it. It appears that the only guilly people are Mike Coughlan and the drivers - and not the rest of the team. So why does the team get punished and not the drivers or Mike.

Also, even though the WMSC say that McClaren have been stripped off their 2007 points, they later says that their fine is 100m dollars less the money they recieve from the FOA for finishing 1st or 2nd in the WCC. So their points are docked but still get the money. How can that be?

Bulwinder Singh, Bradford, England

It sounds strange to call "sorry incident" a so clear and scandalous case of spying. If Ferrari would have spied on McLaren, will you say that it was a "sorry incident"?
Please, try to be more objective.

Oscar, Madrid, Spain

Ridiculous. FIA = FIASCO. Max Mosley's incompetence reaches stratospheric levels. Light the touch paper Ron and lets get all the paddock folklore since 1950 on the table and marvel at Ferrari's complete hypocrisy and double standards. In the meantime beat the Fiat Punto's on the track and hit 'em where it REALLY hurts. Take 'em up the 'eau rouge'..!

David S, Hull, East Yorkshire

Don´t worry "women love guys that come second" haha

Luis, Madrid, Spain

Very fair decision. $100m is exactly what would they get if they won both years ($50m for the winning constuctor) so instead of execlusion the fine is clever and good news for the drivers who were promised amnesty by the FIA should they cooperate fully. I still hope that Massa can still do it despite all the odds :)

Ali Adams, Paris, France

This is the last straw, I,ve been a F1 fan since the 70s, but ferrari have cheated for years and never been punished.I live in Canada and I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to watch a race, but never again. I can watch NASCAR at reasonable times and I don't have to listen to politics and the crap of max and bernie's pony show.

wayne powers, saskatoon, canada