I am not a McLaren supporter, nor am I a Ferrari fan. If I have a favorite team at the moment, it has to be BMW, and that is mainly because their car is the prettiest this year, in my humble opinion. But I admit to a tendency to believe Ron Dennis in the current battle of words over the Ferrari documents affair.
Ron Dennis
Not that it matters what I think; in due course the several courts involved will reach their conclusions and, hopefully, that will be an end to the matter. In the meantime, however, it is inevitable that our personal preferences will affect the way we feel about it. Ferrari supporters are convinced that McLaren were involved in dirty dealings at the crossroads, McLaren fans are equally sure that the real culprit is Ferrari. It is tempting to echo Alianora la Canta's comment on F1 Fanatic's post, Furious Dennis accuses Ferrari of cheating: a plague on both their houses. But I cannot do so; as I said, I tend to believe Ron.
It's a matter of style, you see. Whereas Jean Todt has allowed his emotions to lead him into accusations against both McLaren and the WMSC, Ron has kept quiet until Max Mosley gave in to pressure and allowed the WMSC decision to go to appeal. It seems a bit unfair to accuse Ron of stirring the pot when it is obvious that he has been driven to answer the slurs made against his company.
Like Bernie Ecclestone, I wish this one would just go away and let us return to racing. But, as long as we remain so fascinated by scandal and intrigue, the details will be argued over again and again. Even though Ron's letter has provided us with a lot more data to debate, we are still in the position of having to believe one side or the other; to make judgements without really knowing what is true, in other words. As has been said several times in the forums, this one will run and run.
We can hope that the Appeal Court will settle the matter once and for all but that isn't necessarily so. Whichever side we happen to take, the ultimate verdict might seem unfair and debate continue. I still feel that the mass dampers banning of last year was a dubious decision, for example. It may be a long time before we can say of the espionage matter that it is "water under the bridge".
There is one aspect that all sides seem to be agreed upon, however. And that is that Stepney and Coughlan deserve to have their backsides kicked mercilessly for having started the whole thing at all. Thanks to their foolish behavior, the sport is being revealed as a much dirtier business than we ever suspected. I would much rather my illusions were left intact, thank you very much.
Ron Dennis
Not that it matters what I think; in due course the several courts involved will reach their conclusions and, hopefully, that will be an end to the matter. In the meantime, however, it is inevitable that our personal preferences will affect the way we feel about it. Ferrari supporters are convinced that McLaren were involved in dirty dealings at the crossroads, McLaren fans are equally sure that the real culprit is Ferrari. It is tempting to echo Alianora la Canta's comment on F1 Fanatic's post, Furious Dennis accuses Ferrari of cheating: a plague on both their houses. But I cannot do so; as I said, I tend to believe Ron.
It's a matter of style, you see. Whereas Jean Todt has allowed his emotions to lead him into accusations against both McLaren and the WMSC, Ron has kept quiet until Max Mosley gave in to pressure and allowed the WMSC decision to go to appeal. It seems a bit unfair to accuse Ron of stirring the pot when it is obvious that he has been driven to answer the slurs made against his company.
Like Bernie Ecclestone, I wish this one would just go away and let us return to racing. But, as long as we remain so fascinated by scandal and intrigue, the details will be argued over again and again. Even though Ron's letter has provided us with a lot more data to debate, we are still in the position of having to believe one side or the other; to make judgements without really knowing what is true, in other words. As has been said several times in the forums, this one will run and run.
We can hope that the Appeal Court will settle the matter once and for all but that isn't necessarily so. Whichever side we happen to take, the ultimate verdict might seem unfair and debate continue. I still feel that the mass dampers banning of last year was a dubious decision, for example. It may be a long time before we can say of the espionage matter that it is "water under the bridge".
There is one aspect that all sides seem to be agreed upon, however. And that is that Stepney and Coughlan deserve to have their backsides kicked mercilessly for having started the whole thing at all. Thanks to their foolish behavior, the sport is being revealed as a much dirtier business than we ever suspected. I would much rather my illusions were left intact, thank you very much.