General Message Board

ViewSummary |  Expanded
AsThreaded |  Message List
  • McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

    Richard by Richard . Aug 24, 2007 23:01 . Permalink

    As a fan and follower, I have attended many grand prix in person and rarely missed a single race on TV in the last 16 years. I have never seen such a time that my faith in the sport has been at an all time low. If McLaren escapes punishment for their crimes after the upcoming appeal, I will be boycotting F1 for at least 1 season. I am not a Ferrari fan, I don't even like Massa, or Kimi and could care less if either win. This is based off simple principle, that a team that is found guilty of things, should be brought to justice.

    I think that Flavio said it best in his comments about the switch to Bridgestones, and that McLaren should receive severe punishment for their cheating.

    I know that many will have their judgment clouded by silly things, some odd sense of national pride (UK and Spain), but the fact remains that the only fair thing to do is to punish the drivers and the teams, as they have brought the sport into disrepute and caused fans to question the fairness of the competition. Any fans out there who are not fan boys of Hamilton or Alonso will be asking them selves, how can a team like McLaren, who failed to win a single race the year before come out the next year on brand new tires they are not used to, and be unbeatable? Even more so, how can they do this with a rookie, who clearly depends entirely on his car to win, with no ability to win from anywhere other than pole with his team (and the FIA) launching him to victory?

    F1 World Champions are a rare thing in this world, and it would be disgusting to see 1 crowned based off such dirty means.

    Additionally, how can the FIA now allow all teams next year to run a Microsoft McLaren designed electronics package? I refuse to watch a sport where a cheating team like McLaren designs parts for use in all cars in 2008, who knows what they have planned to get an edge over the competition.

    Anyone else planning to stop watching F1 because of cheating related issues?

    • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

      Toby by Toby . Sep 8, 2007 19:39 . Permalink

      Knowing Ferrari and the Italians for many more years than yourself, I personally will give...

      Knowing Ferrari and the Italians for many more years than yourself, I personally will give up watching Formula 1 for good if McLaren are punished.
      It would not surprise me if Ferrari staged the whole thing and sacrificed one man to end up winners.
      We do not hear anything about the supplier of the information being charged in Italy for Industrial Espionage.
      He has probably got another good job elsewhere with their conivance

    • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

      hornyb66 by hornyb66 . Sep 10, 2007 09:21 . Permalink

      I think your all missing the point. It was two guys - one from ferrari and one from mcclar...

      I think your all missing the point. It was two guys - one from ferrari and one from mcclaren trying to sell THEIR services to HONDA that started this whole think off. People move from team to team and take info with them all the time, do you think Kimi has kept quiet about his time at mcclaren - HELL NO. Also the info is on LAST YEARS ferrari not this years. Also has everybody forgotten that ferrari run an illegal car in the first race this season but got no punishment cause they changed the car and says it came about as the way they interpreted the FIA's rules. Also like Bernie said at Monza if this was ferrari verses spyka or one of the smaller teams you wouldnt be hearing so much about it but cause its their main rivals it gets blown out of proportion.

    • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

      Flying Lobster 27 by Flying Lobster 27 . Aug 24, 2007 23:50 . Permalink

      More to the point, Bob, the McLaren MP4/21 rarely finished a race! Let alone win one! And ...

      More to the point, Bob, the McLaren MP4/21 rarely finished a race! Let alone win one!
      And here we are in 2007, arguably the unluckiest man in the paddock has left the Woking-based team, and has been replaced by Alonso. And, behold, a miracle: The MP4/22 went 6 or 7 races before encountering its first technical problem! After three races, my eyebrows had risen above my lounge's ceiling!

      However, I'd be more inclined to turn the TV off if McLaren WERE banned. Cos it's unfair on the whole team, when clearly only one man acted independently.
      It's a sad tradition now that once a championship becomes interesting, politics spoil it. This tradition dates back to 1982. It's a long and tragic story which I won't tell now. All the F1 racing fans out there probably know it anyway.

      • View Replies
      • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

        IronMaiden_RuLeZ by IronMaiden_RuLeZ . Sep 12, 2007 12:09 . Permalink

        "A suggestion has been made to Dennis that should he opt to retire, then all of his team's...

        "A suggestion has been made to Dennis that should he opt to retire, then all of his team's problems relating to the spy furore would disappear......believe it Now!"

        So its just "a sugestion"? Any clue where did this genious "suggestion" come from?

        Lets get some facts strait: This is not a Fia vs McLaren dispute, this is Ferrari vs Mclaren as far as i know(correct me if i`m wrong pls, maybe i`ve missed some major info about this case)

        As such(Ferrari vs McLaren), do you really think Ferrari would drop their case against McLaren if Ron Dennis promisses to retire at the end of this season? I doubt. So all the people that say that this is all about FIA wanting to get rid of Ron Dennis doesnt make any sense to me.

        If you really believe that "suggestion" you might as well believe this scenario as to what might happen in the future:
        13-09-2007:Mclaren is found guilty(rightly so) but this time is also handed a punishment... expelled from F1.
        March 2008: The new F1 season begins... upps there a new team called McLadren in the grid... ohh hold on, i think i know that guy, he looks like...(name comes up on screen) Don Rennis... nevermind, its not what i thought it was.

        Anyway, back on topic... I think FIA should just deduct to McLaren some constructors points from this seasons championship, but FIA should not touch driver`s points. Thats my opinion.

        (to whoever thinks that FIA is pro-Ferrari) Even tho McLaren might deserve to be expelled from F1 for a year, that will never happen. Do you guys have any clue how much revenue in general FIA would lose if McLaren is banned for 1 season? Personally i dont, all i can say is that we`re talking about millions of £.

        (to whoever thinks that FIA is pro-Ferrari) from 2002 up to 2005 FIA kept changing rules and car regulations like never before season after season with the only porpose to STOP FERRARI`s DOMINATION in F1(because F1 was becaming too boring with MS winning every race) untill they finally achieved it. Its a fact.

      • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

        DB by DB . Sep 12, 2007 23:03 . Permalink

        If any punishment takes place It will probably be no more than the FIA taking a certain am...

        If any punishment takes place It will probably be no more than the FIA taking a certain amount of points away to still give Hamilton and Gonzo a chance at taking the title lead back again. They'll probably erase all team points from McLaren, but I highly doubt they'll punish the drivers too much. That's IF they are found to be guilty.

        I am a Ferrari fan, but I believe that unless the evidence is guilt proven without a shadow of a doubt then McLaren can't be punished.

      • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

        by A Yahoo! User . Sep 13, 2007 20:33 . Permalink

        You are absolutely correct. If the championship is decided in a quasi court of law, it mak...

        You are absolutely correct. If the championship is decided in a quasi court of law, it makes a mockery of the 'sport'. Let's face it, Ferrari are by no means squeaky clean, and they are bad losers. Note Luca di Montezemolo's recent comment that Ferrari "deserve to win" (made at the Frankfurt Auto Show). Doesn't that sum up their attitude to the whole affair ? Even one of their former drivers admitted that Ferrari had hacked into other teams radio conversations - surely that isn't permitted in the rule book, but don't forget it was Ferrari that did it, so no doubt the FIA turned a blind eye.

      • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

        by A Yahoo! User . Sep 13, 2007 04:57 . Permalink

        We all know that Ferrari have 'friends in high places' at the FIA, and that they will do A...

        We all know that Ferrari have 'friends in high places' at the FIA, and that they will do ANYTHING to win - in a court of law even if they can't on the track - but the actions of one rogue employee of McClaren, plus a dissillusioned one of their own, are being used by Ferrari to RUIN the championship for this year and even possibly for next year too. If the FIA rules in favour of the 'bad losers', I for one (along with many others, I suspect) will cease watching Formula 1. I want to watch motor racing, not courtroom battles. Such a ruling would be an unmittigated disaster for the sport, but I dare say that the guys in Paris don't care about that so long as they keep their Italian buddies happy, and provide them with the most hollow championship win in the history of the sport. This year has been, so far, the most fascinating championship battle that I can remember, so I just hope that sanity will prevail over the desire to pander to vested interests, and not cause Formula 1 to become a thoroughly second rate sport. Is this too much to hope ?

    • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

      jonathan by jonathan . Aug 25, 2007 00:17 . Permalink

      Hi there Bob You summed it all up, for me, and thank you for that. if you look closely,...

      Hi there Bob

      You summed it all up, for me, and thank you for that.

      if you look closely, you are not the only one on here that feels this way. Some of my posts and others point it out, and i copy/pasted the statement from briatore, which for me, says it all. He said how much he wished he had the tech specs of Ferrari, adapted to Bridgestone for over the past decade! Renault would certainly not be performing so badly had they possessed those documents, even the tiniest details.

      The FIA won't punish McLaren because it would really mean that F-1 is not a fair sport but a bunch of teams spying on eachother for technolgy improvements... It would be like admitting that its ridden with #$%$...
      What hurts is that Ferrari is the victim of a huge fraud here but because of its past with Schumi, the Scuderia will always be seen as a bunch of cheats by thousands of fans, talk about reversed roles! So i doubt that the FIA would do something so un-popular as to remove McLaren out of the season...
      And the FIA sees in Hamilton a sort of "rebirth"...they have been waiting for a new Senna for years, and now they have it. You think they'll strip him of his crown? i wish it but i doubt it.

      I told my friends i would stop watching it altogether if they didnt dismiss McLaren out of the competition altogether. But i have faith in what happens on the tracks, and i take a lot of Joy in seeing those "nasty red cars" breathing down Ron Dennis' neck right now... And how did McLaren know about the new chassis of the Ferrari car when they compleined about it after Adelaide??? They knew more than the FIA stewards who cleared the car for the race (before, during and after the race by the way). You cannot know that kind of info from the photographs that teams usually take of their opponents' cars. There is simply and absolutely noway to know without having very detailed info on that chassis...so they call Ferrari cheats when the only way for them to do that was to cheat in the first place....

      I will simply add this, i live in the UK, and over here, absolutely noone shares the same point of view as you or me, because they've been dreaming of this for so long, they FINALLY have a sportsman they can be proud of....regardless of the fact that McLaren should be out of the competition by all means...people still believe Ron Dennis is a honest and clean man devoid of any bad inclination...so clean he never opened those technical specifications ever!!!

      I was never particularly a Ferrari "fan", before all this i couldnt really care less, i just always had a lot of admiration for jean Todt, who i see as a legendary personality of motor sports in general. But this whole saga is too much for me, and right now all im hoping is that Ferrari will give McLaren a nice trashing on the tracks... Actually i hope even Toyota, Honda, Red Bull, STR and even Spyker performs better!
      Also, we rarely saw drivers as arrogant as the McLaren pair. I dont wish them any good either. But thats a whole different topic!

    • Re: McLaren Punishment Appeal - 2007/2008 -redux

      Ted by Ted . Sep 11, 2007 16:07 . Permalink

      Didn't McLaren use Bridgestone tyres before switching to Michelin because Bridgestone was ...

      Didn't McLaren use Bridgestone tyres before switching to Michelin because Bridgestone was putting more emphasis on supporting Ferrari -- e.g. have engineers working at the Ferrari factory? (Hmm, I wonder if those Bridgestone engineers gave away McLaren secrets?)

      Does anyone know how Ferrari found out about this information transfer? The press said Nigel Stepney claimed he was followed by Ferrari people so he would be damn stupid to do it in front of these people.

      If McLaren was accused of cheating because Mike Coughlan worked for McLaren at the time when the Ferrari information was discovered, and Nigel Stepney was working for Ferrari at that same time, shouldn't Ferrari be equally responsible for transferring the information to McLaren then?

      Bruce and Enzo, hope you rest in peace.

    • View More Messages