darwin_dali wrote:McLaren Fan wrote:A year later, in 1999, McLaren were robbed off the constructors' title, as Ferrari were allowed to keep the points they scored in the Malaysian Grand Prix, even though the cars had oversized parts.
Ah, the old myth again!
The measuring equipment the stewards used in Malaysia was sub-standard and the measurements were faulty. Subsequent measurements clearly showed that the parts were within the FIA regs and tolerances. 
That's only half the story, I'm afraid. On the Sunday evening on which the two Ferraris were disqualified, Ross Brawn came out to the world's media and said that the part was manufactured incorrectly and was in breach of the regulations (being 10mm too large when the tolerance was 5mm). A day or two after, Jean Todt offered to resign, but di Montezemolo told him to carry on running the team until the end of the season. Back in Italy, however, Ferrari brought out their big guns and came up with an interesting interpretation of the rules, to say the least, so the part was, therefore, only 5mm too large, i.e. just on the maximum allowable tolerance margin. That the measuring equipment was inadequate only helped to persuade the FIA. That and other personal and political pressures. It's true that Ferrari would have got an insignificant performance advantage, but the fact is rules were breached and you must be punished. In the spy scandal, for example, the FIA even agreed that McLaren gained very little from Stepney's dealings with Coughlan, but a harsh punishment was handed out. There's just no consistency at all with the FIA.
Mikep99 wrote:Now this is someone I admire as a driver and a person. I wonder if he will be reprimanded for not spinning the usual McLaren 
Well, given that McLaren quickly and unreservedly shot down claims that the FIA were victimising the team, I take it that means that you are saying that those comments were vomit and that the FIA are really picking on the team.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007 McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
- By hass25