Now that McLaren has sent its open letter of apology to the FIA and the inspection report has been published, no doubt I am expected to eat humble pie and take back all that I have said on the matter. Well, I admit to thinking that was necessary when I read the first reports but then I looked a bit closer.
Once again, the case is based on surmise rather than cold, hard facts. The inspectors consider it likely that some of the Ferrari information did penetrate McLaren and that there was an intention to use some of it but their strongest point is the use of the word "mole" by one of the McLaren engineers. The point remains that there might be influence on the design of the 2008 car - and we already know that is sufficient for the FIA to convict.
Understand what I'm saying here. If you were to ask my opinion on whether the information has influenced McLaren's work on its new car, I would answer yes, I think it has. What little evidence there is leads one to infer that one or two projects were started as a result of the engineers hearing about Ferrari systems. But this is inference and opinion only - there is still no absolute proof of anything.
You may say that McLaren's letter is all the proof we need but then you'd be ignoring the possibility that it is actually an attempt to salvage McLaren's entry to the 2008 season. They know that, having found a few apparent cases where information may have been used, the FIA is likely to proceed to ban them from the races next year - which would effectively kill the company's reason for being. If they can retain their entry by making a public apology, then that would be the painful but sensible way to go.
The fact that Max Mosley is calling for an end to the matter and a cancellation of the extra WMSC meeting in February lends strength to this view. Max has what he wanted all along: the example of McLaren to hold up before the other teams and the vindication of the FIA courts. McLaren will be handicapped by being unable to develop certain aspects of their car in 2008 and the anomaly of the Renault judgement will be forgotten in the drama of McLaren's apology and apparent guilt.
Whatever the reason for Max's wish to end the matter, he is absolutely right. The affair has been extremely damaging to F1 and needs to be put aside so that the sport can get back to its real business: racing. McLaren have paid many times over for whatever misdemeanors they are guilty of and have found a way to continue, even if it means being handicapped to some extent.
Before anyone asks, I still believe that Ron Dennis knew nothing of any Ferrari information being passed around amongst his engineers. His confidence before the report that the car would pass inspection tells me that. It could be said that it was his duty to know such things but that depends on how hard his staff worked to keep it from him. If they felt that the boss would not allow the information to be used, they may well have never mentioned it to him. So calls for his resignation are unjustified, I think, although he would do well to have a good look at his staff and consider whether he really wants people working for him when they are not letting him know important facts.
How much this will affect McLaren's competitiveness in the coming season remains to be seen but the likelihood is that the team will lose a little of their edge. That will not bother Heikki Kovalainen (who has now been confirmed as the second driver), since he experienced worse at Renault this year, but Lewis Hamilton might notice the difference.
So, in the spirit of "all's well that ends well", it could be that we will have quite a season on our hands, with McLaren losing a little performance, Ferrari doing the same through over-excitement, BMW and Renault gaining a few tenths of a second, and Red Bull hovering to profit from any slips by the big guys. Let's hope it happens - I am tired of McLaren/Ferrari shows.
Once again, the case is based on surmise rather than cold, hard facts. The inspectors consider it likely that some of the Ferrari information did penetrate McLaren and that there was an intention to use some of it but their strongest point is the use of the word "mole" by one of the McLaren engineers. The point remains that there might be influence on the design of the 2008 car - and we already know that is sufficient for the FIA to convict.
Understand what I'm saying here. If you were to ask my opinion on whether the information has influenced McLaren's work on its new car, I would answer yes, I think it has. What little evidence there is leads one to infer that one or two projects were started as a result of the engineers hearing about Ferrari systems. But this is inference and opinion only - there is still no absolute proof of anything.
You may say that McLaren's letter is all the proof we need but then you'd be ignoring the possibility that it is actually an attempt to salvage McLaren's entry to the 2008 season. They know that, having found a few apparent cases where information may have been used, the FIA is likely to proceed to ban them from the races next year - which would effectively kill the company's reason for being. If they can retain their entry by making a public apology, then that would be the painful but sensible way to go.
The fact that Max Mosley is calling for an end to the matter and a cancellation of the extra WMSC meeting in February lends strength to this view. Max has what he wanted all along: the example of McLaren to hold up before the other teams and the vindication of the FIA courts. McLaren will be handicapped by being unable to develop certain aspects of their car in 2008 and the anomaly of the Renault judgement will be forgotten in the drama of McLaren's apology and apparent guilt.
Whatever the reason for Max's wish to end the matter, he is absolutely right. The affair has been extremely damaging to F1 and needs to be put aside so that the sport can get back to its real business: racing. McLaren have paid many times over for whatever misdemeanors they are guilty of and have found a way to continue, even if it means being handicapped to some extent.
Before anyone asks, I still believe that Ron Dennis knew nothing of any Ferrari information being passed around amongst his engineers. His confidence before the report that the car would pass inspection tells me that. It could be said that it was his duty to know such things but that depends on how hard his staff worked to keep it from him. If they felt that the boss would not allow the information to be used, they may well have never mentioned it to him. So calls for his resignation are unjustified, I think, although he would do well to have a good look at his staff and consider whether he really wants people working for him when they are not letting him know important facts.
How much this will affect McLaren's competitiveness in the coming season remains to be seen but the likelihood is that the team will lose a little of their edge. That will not bother Heikki Kovalainen (who has now been confirmed as the second driver), since he experienced worse at Renault this year, but Lewis Hamilton might notice the difference.
So, in the spirit of "all's well that ends well", it could be that we will have quite a season on our hands, with McLaren losing a little performance, Ferrari doing the same through over-excitement, BMW and Renault gaining a few tenths of a second, and Red Bull hovering to profit from any slips by the big guys. Let's hope it happens - I am tired of McLaren/Ferrari shows.