- 13 Sep 07, 23:16#13714This is what i have to say about this whole thing.
Today's decision proves that's politically motivated. Why punish ML but not the drivers. It doesn't make sense, if they all succeded because they cheated then punish all of them. Suddenly ferrari is satisfied with the ruling. So F never cared about its drivers, they only wanted the constructor's title. If F really cared about justice and they were confident that ML used their data then they should appeal and ask for the drivers to be thrown out as well. But they didn't, why?
So far, we have not heard or seen any evidence of ML using F technology. It's been all about allegations. Of course, you can't disclose specific details about F technology, but you can tell the world how did ML use them and how they benefited from but the FIA did not show us anything (lower the floor and stuff like that is hardly considered technologically advanced). I'm talking about engineering stuff (engine, chassis) that really gives ML the edge. Also, if the FIA/F are so sure than why didn't they investigate ML cars. When you accuse someone of a crime, first thing you do is to investigate them and look for evidence, not emails and phone calls...The FIA had 3 months since this case became public to check the ML cars but they didn't! Why wait till 08, why didn't they check the cars before every race since this thing started or during the summer break. They had plenty of time to look for hard evidence and prove once for all that ML is guilty. But they chose to look for emails and phone records. Take those cars apart and look everywhere for evidence or otherwise shut up.
So the whole case revolves around whether or not other people in ML new about the dossier. If that is true, than ML should be punished. But $100 mill and removing all points is not a fair punishment. Because of the action of 1 man at ML the whole team has to pay for it. Well, how about Ferrari? Why isn't it the same thing with them. Imagine 1 employee at Microsoft shares sensitive material about Windows with their rival. I guess more than 1 head will roll. But for whatever reason it's not the case with F. Stepney stands to be the only one. If I were Montezemolo, I would fire anyone who was above him.
Another thing I would like to add is that what guarantees ML that when FIA check their 08 car no info will be leaked to F. It is well established that FIA is biased towards F. So how do they guarantee that no new technology from their car will pass illegally to F. This sets a new precedent in terms of FIA involvement in F1 car development. So if this a team is not doing well, but by next year they are in better shape, the FIA should check their car. It's going to be a nightmare if they apply the same logic to everyone else from now on. Also, if ML did use F technology to win this year (I don't believe they did), this proves that the heads at ML are a lot smarter than at F. If I were Luca, I'll fire every last person at F and bring the guys from ML.
Again, it's not an argument of who's right or wrong. It's about hard evidence that ML used F technology to their benefit. So far all we have is that ML had knowledge of F info, but nothing about whether or not they used in 07. Yes ML should get punished for knowing about it and not doing anything. Up untill now the FIA has not shown any proof of ML used F info to win and to punish ML so badly is unfair.
Sorry for the lenghty comment, but I hope that others will use more common sense and add some serious thoughts so we can shed more light on this thing.
Last edited by Fact Man on 13 Sep 07, 23:20, edited 1 time in total.
Youngest Double World Champion Ever
21st member of the Grand Slam Club
Twice is definitely better than once because 2 times in heaven is better than 1
