Why do the press have to suffix any affair or scandal with "gate"? It's such a tiresome tabloid habit, I would have thought the Times would have known better. I know it originates from the Watergate scandal, but "Diana-gate", "Disc-gate" (sic), "Spy-gate", "Renault-gate" .... please?!?! The best one I ever heard was during the trial of the footballer Jonathan Woodgate, which was named - you guessed it - "Woodgate-gate"!! Good job it wasn't the Travelodge otherwise it would have been "Diana-lodge", "Disc-lodge", "Spy-lodge" and "Renault-lodge".

How's about the Times comes up with a new term of reference for such affairs for a change, or would that require too much effort from your headline writers??

On the story, when does the FIA's favouritism toward Ferrari become grand larceny? There's so much money at stake and such a blatant disregard to fairness, impartiality and consistent application of laws by Mosley et al that at some point there needs to be a criminal investigation.

JM, London, UK

Let's put things in the right perspective.

McLaren obtained Ferrari's confidential pieces of information, kept them and were it not for an error of a naive employee nobody would have known a thing about it so that everybody would have been praising the team for such a good job this year.

Renault received McLaren's confidential pieces of information and actually did what everybody would heve expected from McLaren i.e. they informed FIA and McLaren.

The main reason why McLaren was fined is that they did try to take advantage from the data without informing anybody!

Then let's talk about fair play...

Riccardo, Genoa, Italy

"McLaren sought to underline that the French team’s possession of McLaren technical secrets is as bad or even worse than McLaren’s possession of Ferrari secrets."
(yawn)

There's another posibility : not as bad or worse but less bad.
So they finally admit the cheating, you see? at the end of the day Ron is a true gentleman.

ohhh, you evil, floppy floppy disc! we are good, you are bad.

xeron, cardiff, uk

It's time for McLaren to actualize their PC's, and software.

780 Drawings in 11 Floppy Disks means 19Kb size average by Drawing. (Assuming 3 ½ Floppy’s and not 5 ¼!!!)

Is McLaren using “Paint” for car designing?

Ugly Betty's scriptwriters have less imagination than British press and Baker & Mckenzie lawyers!!!

IDR, Madrid, Spain

I 100% back McLaren. It is looking uncreasingly like the reason for the teams £50 Million Fine and the loss of constructors points was a personal score settling by Max Mosely. Now that Renault are caught with information at least as detailed as that which McLaren possessed, the FIA want to forget it.

It is simply not good enough.

S Davies, London,

To rtf in Spain. It wasn't Ron who discussed the Ferrari tecnical info, but Alonso. In my book that make Alonso the cheat, but I don't see him paying the bill for it!

Tom, St Albans,

Newsflash! F1 is a BUSINESS! Teams need to win to attract more sponsorship and make more profits for their shareholders. SO they do whatever they think they need to do.
There is no altruistic ideal here. So don't look for it.

Dave, West country, UK

As usual Mclaren are painted as the bad boys while other teams such as Ferrari and now Renault get away with things (as Renault undoubtedly will) I have followed F1 for 50 years and hold Ron Dennis in high esteem, I believe he is truthful and fair. Oh how envious other teams must be, hence all the recent goings on. Its about time the FIA appeared to be impartial.

ann, Herts, UK

Last season Mclaren didn't win a race and renault won the championship - this season following alledged farrari data Mclaren won over 1/2 the races, and renault following alledged Mclaren data won none.
If they had significantly used mclaren data on their car this year surely the performance of the car would have been as competitve as Mclaren.
I can understand Mclaren's frustration over the way the season has unfolded for them but renault had the worst season they've had for a number of years and clearly didn't benefit from anything isn't it about time Mclaren cut their loses and concentrated on next year.

Helen , leeds, west yorkshire

Funny how it's always the Spanish readers who like to mock Ron Dennis. I doubt if McLaren would have made a fuss about this if Ferrari hadn't set the ball rolling with Spygate 1. I don't blame Ron at all. Flavio Briatore was keen to see Ron stuffed, now he'll get his just desserts. What's good for goose is good for the gander - if you can understand that one my Spanish pals.

Richard Williams, London, UK

Definitely a case of McLaren being held to higher standards than Renault (or Ferrari for that matter.)

How can you say McLaren have a lot to answer for, Ashley, when Renault's infractions predate those of McLaren with Ferrari? Not only that, it is far more serious. The breadth of the use of this data showed it was sponsored by senior management.

And it is clear rtf's views are the usual xenophobic response of someone from Spain who feels McLaren were hard on Alonso, when Alonso was one of the main culprits of using Ferrari data. Not only does he cheat but he knows he hadn't told Dennis what he was doing as Dennis would have done something about it. But uses against Dennis later to bring him down.

In an ideal world Alonso will get picked by Renault and Renault will get fined twice what McLaren was fined and has to fold up.

Poetic justice, I'd say.

Paul, Toronto, Canada

Whatever information Renault may or may not have had about Maclaren cars it didn't do them much good did it?

RJD, Kidderminster, England.

If there is no benifit to ferrari FIA do not care what the rest get up to

Stephen F Ware, fareham, uk

Isn't it odd that McLaren had chosen to "leak" a memo to the British press, and the press took the "bait".... for what purpose may we ask?... except to influence public sentiments - especially the Brits who always see an anti-McLaren world out there.

How pathethic can McLaren get. They couldn't wait for their day in court. Neither can we.

We're rejoicing the fact that McLaren got what they deserved this year..NOTHING, and this showed how right we were.

Dr Leong, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

I think it's time the FIA cleaned their act up and operated a consistant application of their rules. rules are put in place supposedly to bring fairness into the sport, but the manner in which they are currently being applied does nothing to inspire my confidence in them. The whole issue at the moment is begining to smell a lttle.
I don't blame Ron Dennis and Mc Laren for speaking out, They were after all dealt a hefty fine for misdemenors and so quite rightly expect the FIA to apply the same to others now apparently engaging in the same practices.
Roger
Chepstow.UK

Roger Colthart, Chepstow, UK

Would the FIA&Mr. Ecclestone please answer this simple question?
what is good for the goose is good enough for the gander in Formula one? whatever their nationality ?
Who cares if Renault drop out ?what is at stake is the credibility of Formula one ...wether it is a "sport " or a joke.

The correct answer is worth $ 50 million!

G.Pesenti, Talissieu, France

Ron Dennis has become a disgrace for Sport and a liability for business.

Mercedes-Benz and Vodafone should be ashamed of themselves, if they are honest at all.

The Board of Directors of Mercedes-Benz must fire or replace Norbert Haugh at once, an incompetent troublemaker.

Valencia, Spain

PLR, Valencia , Spain

11 floppy disks for 33 files make 0.48 mb for each file.
Even compressed they can't be very detailled drawings.
Maybe it was a copy of an old version of "Toca race driver" or "Need for speed"........

Francesco, Treviso, Italy

Ferrari got $ 100 m by suing MM.
Now, MM are suing Renault to get their $100m back.
Then Renault are going to sue .... humm ... Ferrari ?? .. and so on ....

The only winners of these court battles are always the lawyers.

Froggy, PAris, France

Firstly they are all at it,they all have cameras sound recorders spotters placed everywhere,so its status quo on this front. Draw a line now and solve the main problem facing the sport,the complete lack of close racing.Remove most of the wings to allow slip streaming and have engines derived from production blocks of possibly any size.Cheating is then ruled out and the teams decide the formula,big engine loads of fuel,heavy tyre wear etc.

John Mears, Wokingham, UK

Prove your point, Ron, and go out and wipe the floor with them all, next season.
Stop phaffing around and just do it.

Noel DAIN, Paris, france

It is clear that the FIA are in the real soft and smelly stuff now.

First they conduct a witch-hunt against Mclaren. Then they castigate Mclaren further by saying Mclaren should have acted in an unsporting way in order for the FIA to look at a clear breach of their own rules – i.e. Mclaren should have appealed the Brazil result, thus bringing the sport into further disrepute with the championship at stake and the whole world watching.

The fact that the FIA threw out the fuel appeal in such stark terms has added to their own predicament and total lack of credibility – there is clear ambiguity in THEIR own rules and they failed to provide a clarification.

Many people were quick to slate Mclaren for bringing the Renault case to the FIA’s attention before the prancing horse case. Chief amongst them was a certain Mr Briatore, quoted as saying that Mclaren were desperately trying to implicate Renault to disguise their own troubles and apparent misdemeanour - “Mclaren are throwing stones in all directions...” or something like that. Really?

If the FIA do not act with unprecedented fairness and balance, then they will very soon be part of history. Mclaren are playing a long game and their objectives and targets are clear.

Mclaren, the most prestigious and honourable brand in F1 (Williams, with their heritage, are the other), are doing only what anyone else with a modicum of intelligence would do in their predicament. Faced with a proven Ferrari-biased FIA, they have elaborately (and expensively) thrown a net around the FIA/Mosley and, having cornered their quarry, are now pulling tight.

The attempts by the FIA to humiliate Mclaren should be contrasted with their behaviour (favouritism – monetary and in kind) towards Ferrari over the last 10 – 15 years. Many so-called F1 and Ferrari fans forget it was Ferrari who single handedly almost precipitated the disappearance of F1 as we know it. Their behaviour led to the establishment of the GPMA. Mclaren, I am sure, have not forgotten this whole episode and rightly harbour a sense of injustice.

If the FIA are, as they say, completely unbiased then Renault are for it, big time.
Justice has to be seen to be done. If not, more lawyers are about to get even richer as the whole shebang goes to Brussels.

Mclaren, with today’s leak to the press, are doing something similar (albeit on a lesser scale) to prancing donkey before their case. Remember Ferrari barely had knuckles rapped for doing exactly this some months ago, and were in no way castigated for their unprecedented series of leaks of confidential information.

Don, Surrey, Britain

Ron Dennis has lost all my respect in this past season. He has shown bad leadership, poor judgement, a sad lack of sportsmanship, and totally transparent favouritism towards Hamilton over a proven two time world champion. His complaints against BMW and Renault have the same strategy that a cornered rat employs - when backed into a corner by a sronger opponent, mount a counter attack on a weaker subject so you dont loose face.

Linda, London, UK

McLaren should see how the FIA deal with this case and if the FIA do not deal with it fairly and in the same way they dealt with McLaren then they should take it to the civil courts and sue the FIA for the return of the monies they were fined.
It is common knowledge by those that follow F1 that the FIA is all but corrupt in their political dealings and it is time this was said in the open by the teams (where all bar Ferrari agree with this in one form or another.

D Dobson, Wokingam, UK

The problem with F1 is that is a flatulent, ego-ridden sport that is the spiritual home of anoraks around the world. It is witless, devoid of proportion or humour. With the amount of money involved and the type of people who are therefore associated with the 'sport', it could not fail to be corrupt.

clive, watford, uk

What is becoming increasingly apparent is that the FIA has a very limited patience with McLaren from driver up to team principal. Renault will escape censure quite simply because they are not McLaren. Any team which threatens the Mosley/Eccleston/Ferrari axis of power will have obstacles placed in their path. Paranoid? Consipracy theorist? Think - F1 is the most profitable global sporting event in the world. Any and all measures will be taken by the mandarins to hold onto this wealth - and sport be damned. Maybe I am being too cynical, but I believe the only way McLaren will receive a fair hearing is not through the FIA process but through the civil courts.

John Dolby, Nottingham, U.K.

I think this could be very damaging for F1. Renault, like most teams, are 'guilty' of receiving technical information about other teams. It happens in all walks of life when people move jobs. However, if FIA treat Renault the same as McLaren then they might leave the sport as they won't /can't pay such a large fimne. Others could follow. I think the FIA made the mistake by such a huge penalty on McLaren in the first place. No wonder Alonso hasn't made a decision yet. Renault might have no seats next year.

Bob Gardiner, Kirkbymoorside, UK

So Renault had details of the cars in 2006 and 2007?
Renault won in 2006 but McLaren were useless and vice-versa for 2007. Obviously the data must have been corrupted by a virus at some point!

Rob, Brum, West Mids

I have followed F1 for over 20 years now and have long held the view that things are far from good. The FIA seems to operate dual or inconsistant standards. Ferrari had obvious team orders for years and drivers that did not race which the FIA knew about and allowed. Would Schumacher have been a seven time world champion without team orders? The FIA did nothing to stop it. The FIA seem to favour Ferrari over other teams. The illegal floor Ferrari operated at the begininng of the last season went unpunished. The fact that Alonso & Rosa were not penalized for their part in the spy scandal is also a disgrace. The reluctance to deal with Renault in the way that McLaren were dealt with adds to my thoughts that there is one rule for some and another for others. F1 seems to be more of a business in which sport seems to play a small part in the background with wealth, profit and politics controlling most of what happens. It is not McLaren that has tarnished F1 but the FIA itself in my opinion.

Christopher Fowler, Wakefield, United Kingdom

The Problem with F1 is it is a competition between British engineers. "Our British Engineers are better than yours". That includes Ferrari, so as the engineers move from job to job they are bound to retain some info from their previous employers.
That aside, we must give the Italians their due they contributed the team colours.

F McMillan, Montreal, Canada

Sorry to be a nerd but 11 floppy disks? That's 11 by 1.4MB of storage space. Hard to see how they would get 780 drawings onto that.
I work with CAD and regularly deal with 3D models and drawings several megabytes in size. I assume they must mean CDs.
I'll go and have more coffee now.
Nerd out.

Patrick, Dublin, Ireland

McLaren 07 summary : bad strategy, bad spies, bad losers.

al, stockholm, sweden

Ja ja ja ja ja

Ron you are so pathetic. it is really sad to see what you are doing this season.

Your family should advice you to quit. You have lost your temper. Pay the bill you got for cheating and shut up.

rtf, Madrid, Spain

Can justice truly be served on this score - or is there one set of rules for McLaren and another set of rules for the other teams? This to me seems more damaging than what Ferrari had on McLaren. Let's wait and see what the FIA does to punish Renault and to put to bed this grand larceny once and for all!

Elias, Stevenage, UK

Well, surprise, surprise! Shock! Horror!! Europeans suspected of holding Britain to a far higher standard than ever applies to them!

Philip Davies, Aberystwyth, Wales, U.K.

It is obvious to me, now, that Mclaren have a lot to answer for in terms of the distrust in F1. The pedantic attitide of their Principal, Ron Dennis, makes the 'circus' of F1 quite distasteful. What a shame! Since Lewis Hamilton arrived i was really starting to enjoy the sport once again. Now with Max Mosely arrogantly saying that Hamilton might be bad for the sport it shows that it is inhabited with crusty, mean spirited and downright dishonest people from the top down. What a pity that the 'Glamour' is nothing more than a thin coat of paint over a flawed rotten base.

Ashley, Bangkok, Thailand