The decision by the FIA, the governing body of world motorsport, to hit
McLaren with what appears to be the biggest financial penalty in sporting
history left even the well-heeled world of Formula One in shock last night.
Many of the leading voices in the sport, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart
and Eddie Jordan, the former team owner, among them, were quick to express
their astonishment at what they saw as an overreaction by the FIA in
sanctioning McLaren in such a draconian manner.
Within the sport most people were fairly confident that the team’s drivers,
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, would be left out of the punishment
regime, as indeed they were, but the combined impact of throwing the team
out of the constructors’ championship and levying the fine still came as a
rude shock.
What is clear is that, despite the protestations of Ron Dennis, his lawyers
and his team members, the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) came to the
conclusion that McLaren had cheated by using technical data stolen from
Ferrari.
Although the details of the day-long hearing have yet to be published, the
members of the council clearly rejected Dennis’s oft-repeated claim that the
information garnered by his now suspended chief designer, Mike Coughlan,
from Ferrari had not “contaminated” McLaren’s race operations or their cars.
In any sporting context, cheating, whether it be by taking banned
performance-enhancing drugs in athletics or cycling or using ill-gotten
technical information from a rival in motor racing, cannot be condoned and
must be punished. There is no doubt that, in this case, the FIA felt
duty-bound to chase down evidence that suggested cheating and, once it had
been brought to its attention, the organisation led by Max Mosley has not
been deflected from pursuing its quarry.
As yesterday’s hearing drew nearer there had been attempts to throw the FIA
off the scent as leading voices in British motorsport — among them Martin
Brundle, Damon Hill and Stewart once again — expressed concern that the
investigation of McLaren was turning into a witch-hunt conducted by Mosley
against his old enemy, Dennis. It was also suggested that the way the FIA
was acting was another case of the sport’s law makers doing the dirty work
for Ferrari, a team who many claim enjoy a special status within the sport.
But at some point the arguments about moral equivalence, about the history of
the key players, about whether other teams could be said to be in exactly
the same position as McLaren, about the rights and wrongs of so-called
“whistleblowers”, about whether Coughlan was a “lone wolf” acting on his own
(as Dennis claimed), have to be set aside and cheating has to be recognised
for what it is.
The FIA must be commended for sticking to its task and for following through
on a case that will send a powerful signal to other teams and individuals in
Formula One who may be contemplating — or who are already involved — in
underhand practice. One message that will come across loud and clear is that
every member of a team acts for the collective whole and that trying to
argue that collective responsibility suddenly does not apply when someone
does something wrong will not wash.
As far as Coughlan is concerned, he should never have accepted any information
from the former Ferrari chief mechanic, Nigel Stepney. Quite apart from the
phone calls between the two men, once he received the huge dossier of
Ferrari secrets, which ran to 780 pages, he should have immediately
contacted the FIA or Ferrari. The moment he did not do that, he and his team
were in trouble. The argument that he and Dennis have made, that he did not
use the information, is irrelevant. That defence is like saying to the
police who find thousands of pounds of stolen money in your house that you
should not be punished because you have not spent any of it.
The key question now is whether the punishment fits the crime and in that
area, Dennis and his supporters may well have a strong case. No doubt
McLaren will appeal this judgment and when they do, the WMSC may think again
and scale down the size of the fine.
But this will not affect the principle that the FIA has so robustly upheld.
The nuts and bolts
February 1 Nigel Stepney, Ferrari’s technical manager, says he is open
to offers from rival teams. Stepney is relieved of his duties.
June 21 Ferrari commence court action against Stepney in Modena.
July 3 McLaren suspend their chief designer, Mike Coughlan, after
confidential Ferrari information is found at his home. Ferrari say they have
brought legal action against Stepney regarding the theft of technical
information. Stepney is dismissed, but denies wrongdoing.
July 4 McLaren deny that any of the leaked Ferrari information has been
used on their cars.
July 10 The High Court in London hears how Coughlan copied and kept
Ferrari documents — two computer discs containing 780 pages of technical
information.
July 11 Coughlan provides Ferrari with an affidavit, which the team
agrees not to forward to the Italian criminal authorities.
July 12 The FIA charges McLaren and summons representatives to meeting
of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), in Paris.
July 16 McLaren issue a statement to emphasise nobody at the team was
aware before July 3 that Coughlan had Ferrari information.
July 26 The WMSC finds McLaren guilty of unauthorised possession of
Ferrari information, but imposes no sanction.
July 31 The FIA sends WMSC verdict to appeal after protest by the
Italian motorsport federation.
September 5 The FIA says it is in possession of new evidence and
cancels the appeal hearing.
September 7 The FIA releases a copy of letter sent to McLaren drivers,
warning them of “serious consequences” if they don’t produce written
evidence they have, assuring them they will not face legal action if they
co-operate.
September 8 Italian magistrates visit McLaren before Italian Grand Prix
and advise management that they are under investigation.
September 13 Second WMSC hearing in Paris results in McLaren being
stripped of all constructors’ points and hit with a $100 million (about £50
million) penalty.
Revised standings
1, Ferrari 143pts
2, BMW Sauber 86
3, Renault 38
4, Williams Toyota 25
5, RedBull Renault 16
6, Toyota 12
7, Super Aguri Honda 4
8, Honda 2
*McLaren Mercedes lose their 166 points, are disqualified from the
constructors' championship and can score no more points this season
Unfortunately, the reasoned argument of the correspondent falls down when collective responsibility is not applied to the drivers. Anyone who thinks that this is a stand by the FIA, on the basis of sporting principles, is being very naive. This is the usual fudged compromise by the self seeking "barons" of motoring racing, who treat it as their personal fiefdom, and as a method for settling old scores.
Malcolm Graham, London,
The question of intellectual property (cited elsewhere) raises the issue of whether teams are employing copyrighted or patented engineering, programmes or systems on their cars or car handling.
When intellectual property is stolen it usually concerns property that is protected by patent or copyight. Does this issue arise here. Most teams arrive at using the same technology somewhat better or worse than each other. Most of the performance context is legistlated for and the cars are very similiar - no outstanding differences are allowed let alone oocur. Significantly different technology would generally mean hidden illegal technology.
What is the intellectual property that Ferrari are talking about that has been stolen and is protected by patent or copyright?
The theft of a manual is not the same as stealing specific intellectual property that somone exclusively owns that may or may not be contained in it. Such cases are fought in a court. The FIA can only make a moral gestures.
Wigglesworth, Gachnang,
Maybe Ron Dennis should consider withdrawing his cars for the rest of the season and offering his drivers on loan to whatever others teams might want to use the..or just the last two teams in the championship?
This would give Ferrari what they want, which is to have a championship winning driver. It would give lower ranked teams a chance to show what they can do with highly paid drivers. It would show the lead drivers how much they depend on a winning car and team, and maybe it would show the FIA what happens when you disrupt the most competitive season since the year 2000.
By the way, will McLaren be punished twice? Once by the fine and once by not gaining the share of the F1 pot of gold that is usually related to the number of points won?
Iain Smyth, Monmouth,
Ed Gorman‘s argument is cogent but incomplete. If McLaren are forced to accept collective responsibility for the actions of one employee, then the same must apply to Ferrari. They must take collective responsibility for their employee’s action. In which case, they are guilty of contributory negligence in effectively giving the document away to McLaren?
Richard, Maidstone, England
Basically, the FIA has admitted that Ferrari ran an illegal car in Melbourne. If cheating is cheating, where is the punishment for them? Furthermore, to use your fatuous example, if someone finds thousands of pounds of stolen money in a house, the whole family does not go to jail, nor is held responsible.
Shreeram Shetty, Torrance, California
I believe the huge amount of fine is just part of the FIA politics. They expect McLaren to appeal, which is almost certain, and like what happened to those Italian football clubs involved in the match-fixing scandal two years ago, it is likely that the amount of fine be reduced. Setting the price high allows more room for negotiation.
Nelson, Macau, China,
The problem now is the answer of the team agains fernando, because he was the one giving the evidence of the existing top-secret information, and also considering that he is leaving the team because of the case at the end of the year; they wont permit another team having number one. Sad case, bad luck for fernando choosing the team
victor, madrid, spain
I've been reeding your blog quite a long time, and I usually disagree with your views (let's call it constructive criticism...). But I must admit this time you were extremely fair with the whole situation. Poor leadership brings poor moral principles to the team. Once the dossier is in your hands, you are definitely in trouble. This was not only about legal issues, but about honor and fairness and leadership... And let the show go on in the four thrilling races ahead!! Thanks for your honesty.
Luis , Barcelona, Spain
Did McLaren cheat or not? If they did then their drivers should have been kicked out for being part of the same team. But it hasn't happened because of the uproar it would cause and that has made a mockery of the judgement.
How long ago was it when Bar/Honda were banned from a couple of races due to fuel tank irregularities? That wasn't the driver's fault but they still couldn't race. No, something stinks about this whole situation and F1 is looking rather foolish.
Stephen, Ontario, Canada
Ferrari leaked the info in the first place so they must have some guilt in this.
David Blaylock, Cockermouth, Cumbria
I think the whole discussion is lead with too much passion, which fortunately shows that many people care about Formula 1. It is not Ferrari and the world council against a british team (don't forget, it's McLaren - MERCEDES as well), and it is not a personal fight between Max Mosley and Ron Dennis. It is about fairness and I think this article is well written. Unfortunately, the world council has given to much thought on the impact of the verdict and therefore has left Hamilton and Alonso untouched. But if McLaren Mercedes has been found guilty of cheating, which looking at the result of the meeting they have, than the drivers should be punished as well, since they have not been winning races by running down the track. I am not saying that other teams and drivers have never done anyhing illegal, we all do not know half of what is going on in the circuit. But in this case, industrial espionage has to be punished hard. It is not a minor infraction, it is a criminal act!
Piero Violante, Duesseldorf, Germany
Perhaps the Premier League could take a leaf out of FIA's book when it comes to dealing with cheats?
Chris, Milan, Italy
fair and balanced journalism at last Ed...well done. I suppose you'd have to be an idiot to be still insisting Macca is innocent at this stage.
The times is an international news paper and should reflect that. F1 reachs far beyond boarders and nationalities. When I need a little patriotism I watch England play footie or the Rugby tonight.
Can you ask Martin Brundle, and Damon Hill (nice and sensible guys usually) if they still think this is a witch hunt
P.S - the broom stick is in the silver motor home
Tim, Stratford upon avon, Uk
There'll still be a number 1 & 2 on the McLarens at the start of next season and quite right too!
D Donaldson, Glasgow,
If McLaren was indeed guilty of the charges, then i do not understand how the drivers could suffer no penalty. They objectively won races by enjoying ill-gotten fruits of anothers' team work: Ferrari. It doesn't matter whether the drivers knew of the stolen ideas.
Carmelo, Los Angeles, USA
Great news for Formula 1; congratulations to the FIA for upholding the LAW. According to the 'comments' of many British ex-Formula 1 drivers it seems that cheating in the sport is the norm; after the FIA's Judgment and action perhaps we will now have a clean sport. McClaren will no doubt Appeal but they are lucky that their driver's have not been punished, after all they too work for McClaren. The sole reason must be the amnesty the FIA gave them so that, as Ferrari has said 'the truth has come out'. McClaren's action has brought the sport into disrepute and it appears from the post-FIA hearing comments of Ron Dennis that they even now fail to recognise this. For the good of the sport I can only hope that they do not appeal the decision so this sorry saga can reach closure and Formula 1 can move on.
John Oakes, Bradford, United Kingdom
The bottom line is that the FIA adopted what is, in my opinion, possibly the best compromise. It managed to keep Ferrari happy, save McLaren, the running season, F1 in general and itself (the FIA, Mosley, Ecclestone&co). Not an easy task!! Talking about "justice" would be wrong in itself. The truth is that none of us knows the whole story, and even if we would, when politics and power-struggles transcend sporting abilities, the damage is irreversible.
But the F1 circus will go on, as it has after all the scandals of the past years, feeding its fans with pub-talk. And if the races are predictable and boring, it certainly maintains its interest from a crisis management point of view! Thank you Bernie!
Chris, Kolari, Finland
The truth of the matter is that Formula 1 and the FIA are so riddled with prejudices, personal vendettas and inconsistancies, that no decision can be taken seriously. This is a matter of great importance and should be placed before a court of law for adjudication.
Ray Bailey, Reading, Berkshire
Thank you FIA for showing some backbone and doing the right thing. By not being deflected from their sense of duty by the questionable spoutings of various British former drivers, we have closure. This was what should have been done the first hearing, but was fudged. Now that justice has been done we can all move on. McClaren and other teams have been given a rude awakening, but it will hopefully be a long time before something like this happens again. Cheating is cheating. The sport now recognises this.
Bethany, Johannesburg,
Well written article.I watched the announcement on Sky news last night and was amazed at the reporting and comments from the so called experts.A cheat is a cheat and there is no room for blind chauvinistic patroitism.Well done Mr journalist you have saved the British reputation for fair play. Ron Dennis must take the punishment and get on with it.
Luigi Aldera, Cape Town, South Africa
How funny that only Britons seem to think that this was an unjust sanction..and that McLaren was the victim of overreaction.
Well done FIA, justice is done!
david, London, UK
Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart and Eddie Jordan are all friends of Ron Dennis, I'm curious what the nutrals e.g. Nicky Lauda and other team owners had to say
Tim, Stratford upon avon, Uk
Stripped of constructors points, they deserved it!. $100,000,000 in fines too much! Alonzo & Hamilton not penalized at all, acceptable! But the truth remains, they are guilty of industrial spying! Even if either Hamilton or Alonso wins, the title they will take will be forever clouded!
Froilan, Laguna, Philippines
Finally, someone has the sense to see the case for what it is. This is not about a witch hunt or about Mr. Mosley going after Mr. Dennis. There wasn't anything ambigious about the whole thing. You CANNOT jeopardize the good name of your team/company/whatever by being in possession of highly sensitive documents of a competitor. It doesn't matter that it's F1 or Pharmaceuticals or microprocessors, etc., it breaks all ethical boundaries. The moment Mike Coughlan decided to 'accept' the documents, he put his entire team in trouble. It's all about ethics (or the lack of it). If he didn't intend to use it for the benefit of the team, he should have immediately notified FIA, the legal team and Ferrari. His failure to do so has tarnished his entire team.
James F, London,
"The argument that Dennis have made, that he did not use the information", was not so irrelevant on July 26, when "the WMSC finds McLaren guilty of unauthorised possession of Ferrari information, but imposes no sanction because of a lack of evidence that they benefited".
The "message that will come across loud and clear ... that every member of a team acts for the collective whole" didn't come across two months ago. "To argue that collective responsibility suddenly does not apply when someone does something wrong" washed perfectly then.
Since it has a "special status within the sport", the Ferrari team had to prove that the stolen informations were effectively used, to view it's rights recognized. The victim had to prove to the police that the thousands of pounds of stolen money in your house were efectively spent to see you punished.
And now someone already calls to reduce the oh-so-harsh punishment, since this will not affect the principle that the FIA has oh-so-robustly upheld?
Andrea, Rome, Italy
Why no action on Toyota, Renault, or Spyker?
Juha, Helsinki,
We now have two McLaren drivers "contaminated" with Ferrari techniques, criminally stolen from Ferrari on 800 sheets, explained in detail on hundreds of emails and phone calls. The fact that one of the drivers is discriminated against by his own team doesn't mitigate the charge of cheating. Both of them should have been , and still should be, penalised. Cheating is cheating whether one is African or European.
Marco Borg, London, United Kingdom
These comments may be more acceptable had Ferrari been similarly punished every time its star driver cheated on the track, over recent years. Surely cheating on the track by forcing others off the track, or by intentionally blocking the track is just as serious, if not more so. But, of course, he was driving a Ferrari!
Ian, Son Parc, Menorca, Spain
Finally, the FIA shows some backbone. Bottomline: McLaren had an unfair advantage merely by possessing confidential information. Period. Heck, if it were another team (i.e., Spyker or Super Agurri), they would have been thrown out of F1, and their drivers too. McLaren should be thankful that they left Alonso and Hamilton in there. By the way, Lewis should thank his overly-lucky stars that they didn't chuck him out too - despite a finding that his team is a cheat. Guess he's worth too much now.
Andrea , Napa, California
Sensible outcome. Left the racing alone and focused on the business.
Ferrari will feel hard done by whatever they say as they want to win both the driver and manufacturer championships, but truth be told, their "operation" in toto has not been a match for McLaren this year and thats not all down to spying issues.
phil, sacramento, ca, usa