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GUILTY... BUT NOT GUILTY!

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  • This is around 10% of their annual budget. This is not too much. If someone had approached Mclaren by the end of last year asking "Would you pay 100 MD for the 2007 drivers championship", I don´t think they would blink.
  • According to a Q & A on Autosport Ron reckons that they will pay $50 million after the TV money has been taken off which as Nuvolari said is about 10% of turnover. Depends if they appeal obviously and if they suffer from sponsors? Does this mean Fernando can walk if he gets a better offer?

    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62320
  • I meant 100 MD is 10% of their usual anual budget, which is close to a billion.
  • Close to a billion? Do you have a source for that? I think I once read Toyota is the biggest spender with around 400 million USD.
  • Brazilian media repeteadly say 900 million. Some years ago the Ferrari budget was around 550 million, which matched their Marlboro sponsorship, I believe.

    Anyway, say it is 500 MD. So their fine is 20% of their budget. From no wins in 2006 to probably 2007 (drivers) champions, I still think it´s a good deal.
  • Its a farce. The problem is the perception of the way things are run within the FIA. There is no fairness. Toyota employs TOIT employees who have illegal possession of TOIT IP and the affair goes to the civil courts. STR have RED Bull Racing IP on their car and the FIA refuse to intervene in the case. If McLaren have been fined for having access to another team's IP lets put STR up before the WMSC as well.
    No, if I were Ronzo head for the civil courts and take the affair out of Moseley's and Ecclestone's greedy hands. After all we already have the precedent of the Toyota case.
  • From the Autosport Q&A with Dennis and Whitmarsh, Dennis said:

    "But as you can see if you read our accounts, we turn over roughly $450-500 million USD a year, and we are debt-free, so obviously we are a very strong company with phenomenal growth."

    And they didn´t look to bothered by the amount itself.

    They say that the drivers knew it all, but the team didn´t. If they have defended themselves with dignity, for example through the line of tought Petroltorque followed above (which I do not fully agree), then one could take them seriously. But, please, their version is offensive.
  • TOIT taking the moral high ground. That takes the biscotti. I am, of course, biased. We all are.

    IF one believe that info was used on the McLaren car (in April, May?), why was Stepney getting away with it for so long - or was he set up, as he says? Italian 'postal police' have tracked hundreds of emails and texts between him and Coughlan.

    The penalty is ludicrous and this wonderful season is forever tainted, whoever wins.
  • did you guys see Todt's face on TV when they closed the door of the court room? I dunno whom I admire more for their human qualities, Todt or Ronzo :P
  • Have to agree with you Viges. There's a bad smell. Althought no TOIT IP was on the Macca it looks like via Stepney Macca were able to determine the weight bias to optimize the Bridgestone rubber. Something that might take half a season to determine without inside knowledge.
    One things for certain, Steppo is going directly to goal, he will not pass go and he will not pick up £200. If he's not careful Coughlan could be joining his bum chum in chokey as well.
    Deary me, all this palaver because the FIA could not accept a tyre war!
  • FIA release today (Fri) on de la Rosa emails to Alonso:

    "All the information from Ferrari is very reliable. It comes
    from Nigel Stepney, their former chief mechanic -- I don't know
    what post he holds now," De la Rosa e-mailed Alonso on March 25
    in an exchange about the Ferrari's weight distribution.
    "He's the same person who told us in Australia that Kimi
    (Raikkonen) was stopping in lap 18. He's very friendly with Mike
    Coughlan, our chief designer, and he told him that."

    POLICE ANALYSIS
    A few days earlier he had asked Coughlan "Hi Mike, do you
    know the Red Car's weight distribution? It would be important
    for us to know so that we could try it in the simulator."
    On April 12, De la Rosa e-mailed Coughlan asking for details
    of Ferrari's braking system.

    ##

    Apparently, the Spanish boys submitted their emails to the FIA after being guaranteed immunity. All very damning.
    Although this phrase doesn't ring true "It comes
    from Nigel Stepney, their former chief mechanic" - Alonso knows who he is and, surely, you would use code?!! Not that I would ever do this sort of thing ...
  • Ouch!! That really doesn't leave much doubt as to other members of the team knowing about the information or not....

    Prehaps the "Red Car" was as good as the code got viges???
  • It's a stitch up - or a set up.

    Presumably, given the tie up with FOM money, the answer to who gets the money is Bernie - as usual. As ever, the punishment is cynically pragmatic, with scant respect for any sense of logic. And it does destroy the credibility of the Championship for us purists. But what do we matter? Inconsistency is the FIA's middle name. Don't know what the F and the A stand for.
  • After reading of Alonso's attempt to blackmail Dennis into giving him lead status I feel the interest of the championsip is best served if Hamilton became WDC.
  • i just heard that alonso is barred from participating in any tests with McLaren this year...
  • Wasn't Alonso the outspoken critic of Schumi and Ferrari because of it's policy of getting Schumi in front of No2!

    Whatever the truth, Alonso showed in Spa that Lewis better watch out.

    Senna and Prost revisited? Can't wait till the final race.
  • Lewis effectively told ITV the gloves are off. What an amazing season. Alonso's move was borderline - he didn't have to do it. Reminded me of a German driver who once did that to Fred at Silverstone.

    There's no way Alonso can stay at Macca now; apparently, Ron has put a stop to him paying each of his mechanics £1000 per race to keep info secret from the other side of the garage. The last three circuits will suit Macca much more. Shame they're not going to Suzuka ...
  • Originally posted by viges
    apparently, Ron has put a stop to him paying each of his mechanics £1000 per race to keep info secret from the other side of the garage.
    You are kidding??? Nice little earner for the mchanics though:D
  • In the Telegraph.
  • Fred is the best driver in the championship. Hamilton is amazing but Fred is just a tad better :D
  • Odds Favour Alonso as experience will out.
  • i agree, alonso's better. but if he'll win, at the end, the spot of the great swindle of F1 will stay on that victory anyway. and that's a shame
  • Alonso genuinely seems to believe that the situation within the team favours Hamilton, but his behaviour off track this year has nevertheless not been classy. Excusable in the circumstances, perhaps, but not exactly pretty.

    On track has been fascinating. Up until Silverstone, Alonso was all over the shop a lot of the time, he made more mistakes in half a year than in the rest of his F1 career combined. He seems now to have harnessed his anger into something a bit more productive, and it's been great to see. There was nothing wrong with the Spa start (by modern standards of driving, at least). Hamilton was not alongside at La Source, and it was not as if there was no run off.

    If neither has any reliability issue, the last 3 races will be pure strength of will - there's nothing in it in terms of pace.

    Shame on Stepney and Coughlan - without the advantage that must have given McLaren, we would have a genuine 4 horse race.
  • Originally posted by Petroltorque
    After reading of Alonso's attempt to blackmail Dennis into giving him lead status I feel the interest of the championsip is best served if Hamilton became WDC.
    I think in the best interests of the Championship both Alonso and Hamilton be excluded.
  • Originally posted by viges
    In the Telegraph.
    Funny that no other media i've come across has quoted this.... hell, you don't think the British media could be biased and making up stories, do you?! God No!

    [Edited on 21-9-07 by MinardiP1]
  • I think the McLaren drivers should be excluded as well. Hamilton has thrown his lot in with the team, and the evidence they both knew what was going on is out there. It would cool things down too. This has been a continuing exercise in damage limitation from both maclaren and FIA, now the emails are out now mclaren suggest the drivers knew but the team management didn't - yeah, right.
  • P1; several other papers had it too.

    silverghost; I think alot of Alonso's problem this year has been tyre-related and he's got on top of it just in time.

    PS which other team would continue to give parity to an employee who'd tried to blackmail the boss?
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