Actually, people forget that McLaren DID complain about Renault having their IP at the time of the WMSC hearing. Mosley said it was irrelevant to the Ferrari case, and advised Dennis to raise an official complaint against Renault at the appropriate time.

Which is what Dennis has done. I think there is perfect symmetry in all this. McLaren was condemned and continues to live under the sword based on a SUSPICION that it used Ferrari IP. Renault must be treated on the same basis.

Michael, Cairo,

I think I have chosen the wrong season to start following F1. I do not know if in the past there were so many controversies, but my feeling is that there were not. Being Spanish, I have chosen the wrong season because 1) FA was WDC in 2005 and 2006, and not this year, I could enjoy a lot more! , and 2) I am feeling really tired of seeing so many problems, controversies and unfair treatments everywhere. Please, I need a better season for 2008 to keep following F1! So do many new F1 fans! Some salt and pepper is OK, but this tastes too spicy!

Feli, Granada, Spain

It is correct that McLaren pursue the Renault issue - they should also have appealed the fine. MacLaren and all the other F1 teams should have protested Ferrari not being penalised for their illegal moveable floor. (This would have effected the Drivers Championship that Hamilton is so easy about losing - he lost it off the track as Kimi R won it off the track.) The reason to pursue each of these matters is simple - there are rules and punishments or there are not. But if they are not coherent rules then coherent punismnet is impossible. If no coherency can be proved then the fine to McLaren is not valid at any amount but the FIA have in any case to justify the amount of the fine.
The issue here is with the FIA not the teams.

PKW, Zurich,

Good analysis Ed!
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Joe Minglemayer, Inverness,

I am waiting to see how low on the hip Max Mosley comes out shooting on this one - it will surely be fiery. It is hard to like Mosley's modus operandi but the guy is in charge of FIA and i guess the fans just have to put up with his lack of professionalism, lack of finesse and lack of logic in handling motor sports matters. He may have pushed the sport forward to the next level in his first years, but like all human leaders, his time is now over.

Leonard Ndinyo, NAIROBI, KENYA

Looks to me like Renault have fallen foul of the same rule as McLaren in that they were in procession of confidential information belonging to another team.

We'll now see if Mosley acted impartially when handing down that draconian $100 million fine to Mclaren. If he doesn’t find Renault guilty of the same breach and hand them the same fine then it will prove what we suspected all along that Mosley has a personal vendetta against Ron Dennis and has used the offices of the FIA to pursue it thereby bringing the sport into disrepute.

c. oversby, houston, texas, usa

Renault claim that although they had the information, they didn't 'use' it. Exactly the same was claimed by McLaren with the Ferrari information but Mad Max said words to the effect of 'they would say that wouldn't they'. The only difference between McLaren and Renault seems to be that McLaren didn't hire Stepney but does that make it better or worse for Renault?

Stan, Canterbury, UK

The only team where Alonso can pose a threat to Dennis and Co., supposedly tarnished by a spionage scandal. What a coincidence that it's Dennis and Co. that have blown the whistle. Elegance in defeat, please.

Eva, Gijon, Spain

Could Mclaren have complained at this stage because the FIA is going to try to argue that whether or not McLaren will be allowed to contest the 2008 season depends on whether the 2008 McLaren incorporates any Ferrari 'ideas'? How on earth one will show if an 'idea' has been incorporated no-one has any inkling. Of course, whatever test will be used in the Renault case will have to be applied in the McLaren case ... After all, it was Mosley who suggested that merely having the 'idea' in their possession might lead to penalties at McLaren. Little difficult to see how any designer could move from one team to another and not take ideas with him though.

In other words, Dennis is saying, OK, FIA, you want to throw us out? Well, guess you'll have to sling Renault out as well, won't you? The whole thing is just getting silly, apparently because as is said the FIA appears to be making it up as it goes along in a personal crusade by Max Mosley against Ron Dennis.

EB, Slough,

Now just watch the FIA bias. If McLaren were find $100,000,000 then at the very least Renault should face the same sanction and probably more so if it is proved the information was on Renaults computers.
In addition the FIA must carry out the exact same exercise on the 2208 Renault to ensure NO McLaren idea's have been incorporated .

No way will this happen and I urge McLaren if any bias is shown towards Renault that the sue the FIA for the return of $100,000,000 plus damages.

The truth is the FIA have made a complete hash of this so called 'spygate' affair and it will now come home to roost.

Dale, Wokingham, England

The fact that Fernando Alonso may sign up with Renault makes it quite dangerous for the French team, not because of Alonso per se, but because the FIA will go after him the way they did at Monza 2006 and Budapest 2007 (grid penalties).

Not only will McLaren be under close scrutiny in search for 'Ferrari ideas', but now Renault will likewise be subject to the same scrutiny, notwithstanding any economic fine they might be handed. And if they are fined, it could be deducted from the McLaren fine so that the total fine across the two teams adds up to $100 million. Since McLaren blew their chances of taking the DWC, the FIA might consider softening their penalty.

Renault say they did not use any of McLaren's intellectual property. I still doubt whether McLaren used any of Ferrari's intellectual property.

There are some interesting opinions by Damon Hill at this link (Ed, please delete if required)

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/09112007/58/hill-fears-damage-f1.html

Michel Angstadt, Serranillos del Valle, (Madrid) Spain

If this is the way things truly rolled out -- full disclosure as early as possible -- Renault seem to actually understand "transparency" -- a much discussed but infrequently practiced concept in the world of F1.

But what's missing in the story above is the "when". Briatore says he notified McLaren and the FIA "as soon as he became aware" of the issue. That statement carries a lot more moral weight if the transparency came sooner rather than later.

If Renault did indeed bring the situation to light early on -- say autumn of 2006 -- then McLaren taking action now is all the more shameful.

These fellows (all of them) have been given a golden goose to play with. I wonder if any of them know how the original fable turned out?

Paul, Groton, USA,

It would seem that Rebault's computer systems had the technical data uploaded onto their systems since shortly after Mackereth arrived (Sept 2006). So that's around a YEAR B4 Briatore says he first found out and "instantly" informed both McLaren AND the FIA. A ful year and around 16 members of Renault's technical staff (at all levels) were shown the data and had access to it. Ergo this goes far deeper than the Ferrari/McLaren incident. The FIA having waved the big sword against McLaren have no choice now. What's strange is the FIA looks the other way, as a matter of policy, until or unless a team makes a formal complaint. Why is the FIA so stand offish. Even Nascar acts more quickly.

Ian, Madison, NJ, USA

This is the way to do things, clear from the very beginning.
Dennis didn't know how to handle his situation and now he wants somebody else to be blamed as well. In this case Renault has told the Fia and Maclaren and they gave all the information required, on their own accord. If Mr Ecclestones hadn't warned the Fia about Maclaren's situation we would have never found out. Fia must establish some rules and every team should enforce them, not play them by ear depending on the team.

Alan, Brighton,