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