Sep07
13
The $100 Million Mclaren Mess
As you know, I love sport. When it comes to motor sport, I’ll watch the World Rally Championships or even the A1 Grand Prix long before forking out the time to watch the soap opera that has become Formula One. It’s seems each year I watch Formula One there are more rules, more restrictions (ok so more people live when cars go hurtling into walls at 200m/ph so I can sort of understand that), and more melodrama. It has only been the appearance of the phenomenal talent of British rookie Lewis Hamilton that has kindled any interest for me this year.
Suddenly this evening I stumble across a news report that McLaren Mercedes have had all their championship points stripped and have been fined $100 million!!! Has there ever been an equivalent fine in any sporting code, ever?
The synopsis is that McLaren have been found guilty of being in possession of secret documentation about Ferrari cars that was obtained under dubious circumstances. People are being fired left, right and center and there’s much finger-pointing going on. Fortunately the drivers will not have their points stripped so both Alonso and Hamilton are still in the running for the driver’s championship.
Bloody heck. Maybe this is exactly what F1 needed to get interesting…
Dude I nearly fell off my chair. Those Italians don’t like cheaters!
Happy Birthday for Monday… hope it was an awesome day and that your fingers recovered from the Facebook flood, I’m afraid I didn’t want to be part of the mess.
it looks like sport is not about sport anymore it is about the drama, like soapies “chuckle”
The report from the hearing makes interesting reading, and solidly implicates (at least) de la Rosa, Alonso, Coughlin and Stepney. The drivers were lucky to be offered immunity in exchange for information, because this is pretty damning: http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/17844641__WMSC_Decision_130907.pdf
As hectic as the ‘punishment’ sounds I can’t help but wonder if they’re not all breathing a sigh of relief.
It coulda been worse. It coulda been a disqualification with side order of BAN.
Personally it’s all good news to me, since the impressive young lad Hamilton isn’t going to have his career thrown down the toilet after kicking ass so splendidly this season. Shit, and I’m a Ferrari fan no less.
Drivers keep their points, and ag… whats $100 million in F1 money anyways