Speculation has been rife as to what the dossier that Mike Coughlan, currently suspended Chief Designer of the Mclaren team, contained, where he got it from, whether he showed it to others and if it was sent to him by Nigel Stepney, the recently sacked high profile Ferrari engineer who is under investigation in Italy for suspected sabotage.
UpdateF1 have taken the stance not to add to the speculation by predicting the outcome of this afternoon’s meeting, as the distinction between fact and supposition is difficult to discern following weeks of ‘news’ stories, rumours and suggestions in the press across Europe. Needless to say, should Mclaren be found guilty of anything amounting to impropriety, they should be punished.
The case for the drivers – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – is somewhat convoluted, as they are unlikely to have been party to any of Coughlans actions. However, should the Ferrari intellectual property be found to have been utilised on the MP4-22, they have been unknowing recipients of illicit gain.
It must be said that both teams involved – Ferrari and Mclaren – appear to have behaved with nothing less than honesty and integrity in the run up to this case; Mclaren have repeatedly proclaimed their innocence, while insisting they will follow the ‘right way to do things’, and Ferrari have remained quiet, only answering necessary questions along the way.
Until today, that is; this morning an article appeared in The Guardian, a British mainstream newspaper, in which a Ferrari spokesman declared that “Mclarens superior number of points is a consequence of its chief designer having the Ferrari documents." Among other comments, the spokesman goes on to explain that Ferrari will lose millions of euro should they lose the title, and the brand itself would suffer from the effect.
While being, at once, both prejudicial to the case and – in light of the evidence we have – clearly speculative, this represents an unnecessary move on the part of the Scuderia, who up to now have – as already stated – acted with dignity and tact (at least in the Coughlan/Mclaren part of the saga; the Stepney action is another tale entirely.)
This is not an attack on Ferrari, nor is it a declaration of Mclarens ultimate innocence, but a question as to why, on the morning of the hearing, Ferrari has chosen to muddy the waters with such accusatory statements. The WMSC are the judges, not Ferrari.
Questions arise from the Ferrari statements that confuse the issue, too: if Ferrari are so sure that Mclaren have possession of, and have utilised, such vital and damaging information, why have they not instigated legal proceedings against either Mclaren or Coughlan, as they did in the Toyota case in which Ferrari IP was found to have been used in the development of one of the Cologne cars?
The logical answer is that they do not have clear evidence, which brings us back to the newspaper story of this morning.
Interesting, too, that Bernie Ecclestone has dismissed the saga as ‘a load of nonsense’, implying that nothing will come of the meeting. It has already been stated by one WMSC member (but later retracted) that it will be ‘impossible’ for the Council to prove Mclaren have done anything wrong unless Ron Dennis issues a full confession.
Many in the paddock feel that Mclaren are not a team who would resort to such underhand tactics as using another team’s data – and the question must be asked as to why they should have the need; this is Mclaren, after all, an organisation at the very top of the engineering tree. Of course, that so many have belief in Mclaren – Jo Ramirez for instance, a now retired long time Mclaren employee, I among those who say it is ‘not Mclarens way’ – does not prove anything, but then neither do myriad newspaper reports of illicit e-mails, unsolicited packages, and tip-offs at surprisingly knowledgeable copy shops in Surrey.
I will not go into the details of the various rules quoted in the charges – suffice to say the team could face, if deemed guilty, anything from a fine to disqualification. Further speculation, as stated earlier, shall be refrained from here.
That we are currently in the midst of the most interesting – in terms of the title race – season of Grand Prix racing for many a year is the sad fact of the matter, and it is this that could be affected by any draconian measure the WMSC, and the FIA, may see fit to impose. That may sound like ‘look, who cares if they broke the rules, don’t spoil it’ but in truth it’s a further re-iteration that as far as we know, and from what they insist, Mclaren have broken no rule at all. Coughlan, on the other hand, may – or may not – have done.
The World Council meets this afternoon, and will declare the decision in a short statement – we understand their will be no Press Conference to follow. One thing is for sure – should Mclaren be found guilty, of anything, they will most likely appeal, dragging the whole saga on for many months to come.
UpdateF1 will bring you news as it is forthcoming.
Written by 3 on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:55:15
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