[bigboydan]

100 million dollar fine.

McLaren drivers can still win title despite team's $100 million fine

PARIS -- 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 championship" and offered them amnesty in return. Mosley also wrote that "serious consequences would follow" if they were later found to "have withheld any potentially relevant information."

The case against McLaren reportedly consists of a 166-page dossier that includes e-mail exchanges between De la Rosa and Alonso, as well as details of phone and text message traffic between Coughlan and Stepney supplied to FIA by authorities in Italy.

Separately, McLaren was notified Saturday that it is being investigated in a separate criminal inquiry in Italy. Dennis and five other team personnel are reportedly under investigation.

Those allegations stem from Ferrari's criminal case against Stepney for allegedly placing a mysterious white powder on the gas tanks of the team's cars before the Monaco GP, in a supposed sabotage attempt.

[rugbybdyb]

And I thought 50,000 and a few owners points was a harsh punishment in nascar......Where do these fu.,k.r.s get all their money, I dont think I would still be in that racing league.......

[bigboydan]

Heres even more evidence of this unbelievable spying scandal.

Emails

E-mails prove Alonso was in possession of unauthorized Ferrari info

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- World champion Fernando Alonso knew a lot about Ferrari -- even down to what high-tech substance it used to inflate its tires to keep them from blistering.

With stunning detail, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) disclosed the extent of what McLaren's drivers knew about their rivals' cars, their setup and even their strategy

In the biggest scandal to hit one of the world's most popular sports, FIA implicated McLaren's top driver and its test driver Pedro de la Rosa through a trail of e-mail exchanges.

"The e-mails show unequivocally that both Mr. Alonso and Mr. de la Rosa received confidential Ferrari information," FIA said Friday in a 15-page explanation of the World Motor Sport Council's decision to fine McLaren a record $100 million and expel it from this year's constructors' championship.

"Both drivers knew that this information was confidential Ferrari information," it said.

The WMSC said it had documents showing the exchange of information between the two drivers and McLaren's then chief designer, Michael Coughlan, about the Ferrari car's weight distribution, flexible rear wing, braking system and a gas used to keep tire temperatures low.

Thursday's fine announcement and Friday's disclosure are the latest revelations in a case that erupted in July when a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of Coughlan, who later was suspended. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who allegedly supplied the documents, was fired.

While Alonso was added to the scandal Friday, teammate and chief rival for the world championship -- Lewis Hamilton -- remained unaffected.

The e-mails showed just how specific the knowledge was.

"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. Thanks in advance, Pedro," FIA quoted De la Rosa's message to Coughlan as saying.

In another e-mail quoted by FIA, de la Rosa wrote to Alonso about a gaseous substance Ferrari was using to inflate its tires.

"We'll have to try it, it's easy," wrote de la Rosa.

FIA said Alonso replied: "Let's hope we can test it during this test, and that we can make it a priority!"

FIA said Thursday it did not penalize McLaren's drivers because they provided evidence in exchange for immunity. Alonso is second in the drivers' standings, three points behind rookie Hamilton with four races left entering Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

McLaren chief Ron Dennis said Thursday that the evidence given by his drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated his team did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.

"The evidence today was primarily e-mail traffic between our drivers, and in one instance, Mike Coughlan," Dennis said. "These were a few e-mails, and the drivers have stated categorically that no information was passed to the team. And of course, the team had no knowledge of this e-mail traffic at any stage."

FIA said Friday the latest evidence made clear that "the information has been disseminated, at least to some degree (e.g. to Mr. de la Rosa and Mr. Alonso), within the McLaren team, and included secret information regarding Ferrari's sporting strategy."

FIA said de la Rosa sought and obtained "secret Ferrari information from a source which he knew to be illegitimate," before sharing it with Alonso.

In an e-mail, FIA said De la Rosa asked Coughlan about the Ferrari brakes. "Can you explain me as much as you can," he wrote. "Are they adjusting from inside the cockpit?"

For the WMSC there was little doubt.

"There was a clear intention on the part of a number of McLaren personnel to use some of the Ferrari confidential information in its own testing," it said.

And it doubted De la Rosa could have acted totally on his own.

"It seems entirely unlikely to the WMSC that any Formula One driver would bear the sole responsibility for handling or processing sensitive Ferrari information," the statement said.

Beyond the 780 pages of documents found at Coughlan's home, FIA said it had evidence of at least 288 text -- or SMS -- messages and 35 phone calls between the two from March 11 to July 3.

The World Motor Sport Council said it "believes that the nature of the information illicitly held by McLaren was information of a nature which, if used or in any way taken into account, could confer a significant sporting advantage upon McLaren."

[rugbybdyb]

Cant anyone just try and win without cheating anymore

[bigboydan]

It sure doesn't look like it Rugby.