Latest FIA Disclosures Implicate Alonso in Spygate

Yes, It is Cheating ...

Both the Sporting Life and the BBC have reported on the involvement of world champion Fernando Alonso in the McLaren/Ferrari spying debacle. The former have a fairly detailed transcript of an email chain between Fred and test driver Pedro de la Rosa, including de La Rosa’s statement that, “All the information from Ferrari is very reliable.”

It is obvious that Ferrari’s Stepney was providing McLaren’s Coughlan for an extended period of time and that more than just the design documents were being shared. Undoubtedly, the flow of information into McLaren benefited the team, if nothing else providing them with confidence in their decisions and continuous pressure to improve their own designs.

It will be interesting to learn more about Alonso’s involvement, and how much he benefited from the Ferrari data. Also intriguing is the revelation that Ron Dennis learned of his driver’s email communications during the Hungarian Gran Prix and reported the discovery to the FIA the day of the race – this may be further explanation of the poor relations between the team boss and the world champion.

The FIA will be publishing the full judgment next week after, “both McLaren and Ferrari have been given the opportunity to redact any confidential technical information.”

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Thursday’s FIA World Motor Sport Council Rules on McLaren Spying Case

Is it really cheating if there isn’t a discernable benefit?

According to a posting on the FIA website, McLaren through their own admission, “was in breach of the International Sporting Code through their possession of confidential technical data belonging to rivals Ferrari, who are now all but assured of the 2007 constructors’ title.” In addition to the loss of the constructor’s title McLaren will also be fined $100 million. The good news for the team is that the drivers, Alonso and Hamilton, will not be effected by the ruling and will continue to compete for the driver’s championship.

While it is clear that McLaren has cheated to some degree through the acquisition and possession of confidential Ferrari documents one has to question the penalties. Certainly the team should suffer repercussions for their indiscretions but do they really deserve to be ejected from the constructor’s title? Ferrari’s relative poor performance this year has largely been due to reliability issues. McLaren has consistently run more reliable races and often been faster.

The McLaren cars have demonstrated better suspension characteristics, being easier on tires and more capable at handling varying road conditions. If anything, they’ve benefited by not doing what Ferrari have done. While the fine seems appropriate (after all, what’s $100 million to an F1 team) the title penalty seems severe.

I wonder what evidence the drivers presented. Something was definitely afoot with Fred not saluting the team at the end of the last GP - perhaps Dennis was pressuring him re testimony. I
have to believe Lewis would have been a good soldier and not provided anything to damning to the team; Fred would be focused on his championship opportunity.

Ferrari may win the cup but it will be marked by an * and we will all know who the better team was.