Шпионские Страсти

Руководитель команды Ferrari в интервью приближенной к Скудерии газете Corriere Della Sera, вновь заявил, что принятое Советом решение было нелогичным. Тодт был весьма эмоционален.

Вы знаете какова была моя реакция после вердикта?

Нет, господин Тодт, расскажите.

Что бы было, если бы команды поменялись местами? Я спрашиваю самого себя, что бы произошло, если бы они нашли 780 страниц конфиденциальных документов другой команды в доме сотрудника Ferrari.

Что бы случилось?

Вот именно. Был бы устроен невероятный скандал и вынесено показательное наказание. Я в этом не сомневаюсь.

Но в случае с командой McLaren им даже штраф не присудили.

У вердикта отсутствует даже минимальная логика. Они виновны или не виновны? McLaren признали нарушителем, но не наказали.

Почему?

Трудно сказать. McLaren во время слушания признала, что обладала секретными документами. Это дело достигло самых верхних эшелонов - самого Денниса. И никакого наказания не последовало.

Как вы лично оцениваете этот вердикт?

Стыд и позор.

Кто должен чувствовать стыд?

Я уверен, мы можем смотреть в зеркало без угрызений совести. Другие, после вчерашнего дня, этого делать не могут.

Но вы продолжите гонки?

Я только что поговорил по телефону с Фелипе Массой и заверил его в этом. Все продолжается и наша цель неизменна - выиграть титулы для Ferrari.

Но вам явно будет довольно тяжело?

Наша задача - контролировать эмоции и чувства. Я требую этого от себя и других сотрудников. Каждое наше действие должно быть выполнено с величайшей точностью. Мы возвращаемся с Гран-при Европы, довольно разочаровывающей гонки, и должны вновь стать на победный путь.

Вы будете подавать апелляцию?

Мы изучим вопрос и позже решим.

Ferrari reacted with fury last night after an emergency hearing into the Formula One spy row resulted in McLaren Mercedes escaping without punishment. The FIA, the governing body of motor sport, gave Lewis Hamilton’s team a “let-off” over the possession of a huge dossier of secret technical information, a decision the Italian team were quick to condemn.

After hearing the announcement by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Paris, Ferrari said that it “legitimises dishonest behaviour in Formula One and sets a very serious precedent”.

The angry reaction in Maranello came as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, his team-mate, were breathing a sigh of relief. The affair could have resulted in both drivers losing points or even being thrown out of the World Championship.

Barely had McLaren digested the good news than their deadly rivals in the paddock, who trail them in the drivers’ and constructors’ battles this season, launched a scathing attack on an FIA process that Ferrari said they regarded as “incomprehensible”.

The Italian team were particularly incensed that McLaren got away virtually scot-free, even though the WMSC had found that the Anglo-German team had been in possession of Ferrari data through Mike Coughlan, their disgraced chief designer, who has admitted having a 780-page dossier of secrets.

Ferrari said that “violating the fundamental principle of sporting honesty” should have resulted, as a “logical and inevitable consequence”, in the application of a sanction. The statement went on: “The decision of the World Council signifies that [the] violations do not carry any punishment.” The Scuderia added that they regard what happened in Paris yesterday as “highly prejudicial to the credibility of the sport”.

The sound and fury in Maranello came after the WMSC had convened to hear McLaren answer a charge of “fraudulent conduct” over the affair but decided against any immediate punishment because it found no evidence that Ferrari technical data had been used on this year’s McLaren race cars.

“The World Motor Sport Council is satisfied that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of confidential Ferrari information — however, there is insufficient evidence that this information was used in such a way as to interfere improperly with the World Championship,” the WMSC said.

The council did impose a suspended sentence of sorts on McLaren when adding that, if evidence is found in the future that the Ferrari information had been used “to the detriment of the championship”, the team would be summoned back to Paris to face the possibility of being thrown out of this year’s championship, as well as being banned from next year’s.

Ron Dennis, the McLaren team principal, who appeared in Paris alongside Ian Mills, QC, the team’s lawyer, emerged from the session looking as though he had lost. “The process has been long and detailed and I’m not completely comfortable with the outcome,” Dennis said.

Then, in what may have been a note of deep irony from the veteran team leader — who has never admitted that McLaren, as a team, did anything wrong — he said: “The punishment fits the crime.”

While McLaren escaped immediate sanction and are free to concentrate on their World Championship campaign, the two individuals at the heart of the scandal were not so fortunate. Nigel Stepney, the former Ferrari mechanic who has denied allegations that he supplied Coughlan with the dossier, and Coughlan, have been “invited” by the WMSC to demonstrate why both should not be banned for a lengthy period from international motor sport.

The let-off for McLaren is all the more astonishing for the fact that the team admitted that Coughlan was in possession of the data for two months, amounting to a comprehensive picture of all Ferrari’s activities. The rules that govern Formula One make it clear that the FIA can punish a team for the actions of any individual within it, even if the team as a whole are not aware what that individual had been doing.

In the run-up to the hearing, the seriousness of McLaren’s position had been underlined by Max Mosley, the FIA president, who chaired yesterday’s meeting and who admitted that the credibility of Formula One had been at stake over the issue.

The most striking thing about the dramatic events unfolding in Paris was the furious reaction by Ferrari to McLaren's unexpected let-off by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.

The decision not to penalise the Anglo-German team incensed Ferrari, which described the FIA's investigation and decision as "incomprehensible". The Scuderia argued that the FIA had, in effect, "legitimised dishonest behaviour in Formula 1" and that it had set "a very dangerous precedent".

What is clear is that the Italians had been fully expecting McLaren to feel the full force of the FIA's wrath. The belief in Maranello was that the admission by McLaren that Mike Coughlan, its chief designer, had received a large dossier of secret Ferrari technical information alone made some sort of sanctions inevitable.

From McLaren's point of view the decision reached in Paris was almost the best they could have hoped for. Under the Formula 1 rules of collective responsibility, it could have faced penalties ranging from a large fine to being thrown out of the championship.

But the FIA seems to have accepted the argument of Ron Dennis, the McLaren team principal, that his team had done nothing wrong and that none of Ferrari's technical secrets had found their way on to McLaren's race cars.

However, the FIA appears to have left what amounts to a Sword of Damocles hanging over McLaren with its assertion that if any evidence does emerge in the future that the Ferrari technical data has been misused then the Woking-based team could be thrown out not only of this year's championship, but next year's as well.

This "suspended sentence" is likely to have the effect of encouraging Ferrari more than ever to try and find the evidence to achieve what they failed to do in Paris.

The McLaren-Mercedes team have said the FIA decision to not punish them was "very balanced and fair".

The FIA Motor Sport Council found McLaren guilty of being in possession of unauthorised documents belonging to rivals Ferrari, but without proof that the data was used, the sport's governing body decided there was no reason to penalize the British team.

The decision angered Ferrari, who said it was setting a dangerous predecent, but McLaren found it fair.

"Following an appearance by McLaren today at the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris, a unanimous decision has been taken by the FIA which in McLaren's opinion is very balanced and fair," said the team in a statement.

"McLaren accepts the that the FIA World Motor Sport Council had no alternative other than to find that there was a purely technical breach by reason of the possession of certain information by one individual at his home, without McLaren's knowledge or authority.

"McLaren is delighted that the World Motor Sport Council determined that this information was not used and accordingly imposed no sanction whatsoever on the team. McLaren looks forward to continuing its fight in what is the most exciting Drivers' and Constructors' World Championship in many years."

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis was happy to leave the matter behind, and he has vowed to focus on winning this year's titles.

"There is no doubt that the past 24 days have been challenging and the tremendous support we have received from our sponsor partners and the public has been much appreciated," said Dennis.

"Moving forward McLaren wants to re-affirm our long-standing commitment to honesty and integrity and re-state that we believe we have acted correctly throughout.

"Now, we have Formula One World Championships to win. As a result we intend to move on, so as to maintain the focus and commitment required to do exactly that."

The news was also welcome by McLaren's drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

"Having only been part of McLaren for a few months I know how important today's decision will be for everybody," said Alonso. "I am looking forward to an exciting second half of the season and to continue our battle for both World Championships."

Hamilton added: "Whilst it's only my first season in Formula One with the team, I already know and appreciate the commitment and dedication of the people there. As a result I am pleased with today's decision and can't wait for the rest of the season."

Renault team chief Flavio Briatore admitted he was baffled by the FIA World Motor Sport Council decision yesterday to apply no penalty to McLaren despite finding them guilty of unauthorised possession of Ferrari documents.

The WMSC found McLaren to be in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code but said there was insufficient evidence to suggest McLaren had used the confidential Ferrari information "in such a way as to interfere improperly with the FIA Formula One World Championship."

Briatore said found the mixed decision baffling, and compared it to Pontius Pilate, who famously washed his hands off the decision to crucify Jesus Christ.

"I don't understand what happened," Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport, "because to begin with you would only gather the World Council if you had proof. Otherwise, if you don't have proof, you avoid such a meeting.

"So I don't understand what happened: if the FIA admits to have established possession of Ferrari material by McLaren, then why is there no retribution? This verdict reminds me of Pontius Pilate."

Briatore also said the entire affair has been damaging to Formula One as a whole, but he empathised with Ferrari's frustration over the verdict.

"These weeks we've all heard and read what happened, and surely this story has been very damaging for the business of Formula One, also considering the great media exposure it has had," the Italian said.

"If someone had some advantage from the possession of the material, it would have been fair for him to pay the consequences. Besides, I too would have liked to know Ferrari's weight distribution...

"I spoke on the phone with [Ferrari chief] Jean Todt, and he sounded very bitter. I also understand [Ferrari president Luca] di Montezemolo's anger."

Мика Сало, который заменял в команде Ferrari травмированного Михаэля Шумахера в 1999 году, сделал в финской печати невероятное заявление.

Пилот сообщил газете Ilta-Sanomat буквально следующее:

“Когда я выступал за Ferrari, мы всегда шпионили за McLaren, слушая их радиообмен. После каждой свободной практики передо мной на бумаге были все переговоры между Хаккиненом и его инженером”, - отметил Сато.