F1: McLaren judgement delivered on Friday

[Rory Phoulorie]

Thursday 6th December 2007

Lewis Hamilton will on Friday discover whether his 2008 season will be severely compromised months before it is due to start.

The World Motor Sport Council will again sit in judgment on McLaren, this time in Monaco, just under three months after handing the team the biggest fine in sporting history.

At a WMSC hearing in Paris in September, McLaren were found guilty of fraudulent conduct, namely being in unauthorised possession of technical information belonging to Ferrari.

As punishment for their role in the spy scandal, McLaren were hit in the pocket to the tune of �50million and stripped of all their constructors' points for 2007 season.

The Council confirmed at the time that a full technical report on the 2008 McLaren car would also be undertaken to ensure no Ferrari data has been used on next year's model.

FIA inspectors have already carried out a thorough search of the team's Woking-based headquarters.

If it has been discovered McLaren have not just copied components, but have incorporated design ideas that can be traced to Ferrari, then the WMSC will impose further sanctions.

At worst, the team could be thrown out of the 2008 championship, or they could start next season on minus points.

At the time of the Paris hearing, team principal Ron Dennis was adamant the matter would not spill over into next year.

He said: "There will be no issue for the 2008 season as we have not at any stage used any intellectual property of any other team."

FIA president Max Mosley insists the hearing is vital to the integrity of Formula One.

"Just suppose the 2008 McLaren incorporates everything from the 2007 Ferrari that McLaren had not already got themselves," explained Mosley to 'The Paddock' magazine.

"That would be possible.

"Whereas it would not have been possible, having received all those documents (the 780 pages of Ferrari information discovered at the home of former McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan) on 28 April, to incorporate much of that intellectual property in the 2007 McLaren because that car was already running.

"But they could put just about all of it in the 2008 McLaren, were they so inclined.

"Now, if they'd done that and we didn't look, it would be absolutely unfair not just on Ferrari, but on all the other teams too.

"If we want a level playing field, we've got to make sure, as far as we're able, that the 2008 McLaren doesn't incorporate any Ferrari intellectual property that's been illegitimately required.

"Some things they can legitimately observe in the pit-lane or whatever, but we're only interested in the illegitimate.

"The only way we could ascertain that was to have a major inquiry, which we've had, and to the best of my knowledge McLaren have fully co-operated.

"It meant getting forensic experts in there, looking at all their computers, interviewing relevant engineers.

"I hope it will turn out there's absolutely nothing. But it would be utterly wrong for us not to look."

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