http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slu...&type=lgns

September 13, 2007

PARIS (AP) -- The McLaren team was fined $100 million and stripped of its points in the constructors' standings Thursday in the spying scandal that has rocked the sport
McLaren, which leads the current drivers' and constructors' standings, was punished by the World Motor Sports Council for allegedly using leaked secret technical documents belonging to F1 rival Ferrari.
Team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, currently 1-2 in the championship standings, were not punished and can continue to compete for the season title.
``Ferrari is satisfied that the truth has now emerged,' the Italian team said in a statement.
The $100 million penalty includes McLaren's expected loss of income, and McLaren still could be penalized for the 2008 championship, FIA said in a statement after a hearing.
``We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home,' McLaren team chief Ron Dennis said. ``The issue is: was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven today.'
McLaren escaped the harshest possible penalty, as FIA could have kicked the team and its drivers out of the 2007 and 2008 championships. In December, FIA will decide on any possible sanctions against McLaren for the 2008 season.
FIA said it did not penalize McLaren's drivers ``due to exceptional circumstances' because they provided evidence in exchange for immunity.
``We believe we have grounds for appeal,' team chief Ron Dennis said. ``But of course we are going to wait for the findings of the FIA which are going to be published. The most important thing is that we go motor racing this weekend, the rest of the season and next season.'
The case broke open in July when a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan, who later was suspended. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who allegedly supplied the documents, was fired.
Rookie English driver Hamilton leads the standings with 92 points, followed by two-time F1 champion Alonso of Spain with 89. Ferrari teammates Kimi Raikkonen (74) and Felipe Massa (69) are third and fourth. Four races remain in the season, starting with Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
Alonso and Hamilton finished 1-2 in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix -- at Ferrari's home track of Monza -- to extend McLaren's lead in the constructors' championship to 23 points. McLaren had 166, Ferrari 143.
Under Thursday's ruling, McLaren loses all its constructors' points and is ineligible from scoring any more in the season's final races.
The World Motor Sport Council ruled in July that McLaren was guilty of fraudulent conduct for possessing the Ferrari documents but did not punish the team because there was insufficient evidence the material was misused. However, the council warned that McLaren could be kicked out of the 2007 and 2008 series if it is found in the future that the information has been used ``to the detriment of the championship.'
FIA announced last week it was calling a new hearing of the council after ``new evidence' had emerged.
Among those appearing at the hearing before the 26-member council were Hamilton, Dennis and McLaren test driver Pedro De La Rosa. Alonso did not attend.
Others attending included Ross Brawn, Ferrari's former technical director, and team officials from Red Bull, Williams and Spyker.
FIA president Max Mosley sent letters to Alonso, Hamilton and De La Rosa on Aug. 31, saying the sport's regulator had been told that ``one or more McLaren drivers may be in possession ... of written evidence relevant to this investigation.'
Mosley asked the three drivers to cooperate ``in the interests of the sport and the championshi

 

HOLY CRAP! If it were NASCAR they would be fined about $45. I wondered how the last few years McLaren couldn't finish a race without breaking down and now this year they are unstoppable. The other thing that didn't make sense was for Alonso to leave Renault after winning the championship for two years in a row and now Renault can't even score in the top 6, now I'd guess that he knew what was going on and was part of the cheating.

 

What a bad example for sport racing in general.[:@]

(I hope Honda finds a damn manual to Stoners bike)

 

wow 100 million dollars... that is some serious incentive not to cheat

 

Nascar has no secrets to steal.

 

Hold on a second!!!

Pushrod technology andsneakin highly"REFINED"diesel ina racecarare not a laughin matter!!!!!!!!

 

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I was thinking the same thing, oh well, I hope ferrari comes through and one of their drivers will win the championship this year, cause I really don't like either Hamilton nor Alonso, but if one of those will win I hope Alonso takes it.[/blockquote]

 

The only reason the team didn't get suspended entirely (yet) is because Hamilton draws and enormous crowd and was Bernie's bid to increase interest in F1.They don't want another USGP 2005 situation on their hands where they lose out on lack of spectator interest because the biggest attraction on the circuit is gone. If the FIA and FOM weren't so damned self-serving, they should have suspended the entire team and stripped the drivers and constructors of all points and banned them from the sport entirely after fining them all.

I have been a rabid F1 fan most of my life (odd in the US) and havenot watched more than half this season and really don't feel I've missed anything.