The big talking point today is McLaren's case at the FIA Court of Appeal. Although we will not hear the verdict until tomorrow, apparently, some news has filtered through already.
Lewis Hamilton
Perhaps the most important snippet is that the appeal will be heard and not thrown out on a technicality. Some thought that, since the 25 second penalty was a substitute for a drive-through penalty (which cannot be appealed for obvious reasons), McLaren's appeal might be dismissed. Word is that this argument has been talked through and it has been agreed that the penalty imposed after completion of the race can be appealed.
So now the lawyers will start on the incident itself, examining the facts to see whether there was justification in the stewards' findings. The famous radio conversation between Dave Ryan of the McLaren team and Charlie Whiting, the Race Director, went as follows, according to Autosport:
Ryan: 'Do you believe that was okay? He gave the position back.'
Whiting: 'I believe it was. Yes.'
Ryan: 'You believe it was okay.'
Whiting: 'I believe it was okay.'
There has been some discussion, thanks to Mosley's comments on the matter, as to whether Charlie was the right person to consult or whether McLaren should have sought clarification at all. The inference is that McLaren should know the rules without having to harass the Race Director during the race. But that ignores the fact that these particular rules are not written and are subject to confusing precedents. It was the fact that McLaren did know how debatable were the conventions that led them to seek clarification.
I must admit that I did not think the case would get as far as being heard. Perhaps I was being cynical, but the most likely outcome seemed to me that the Court would avoid the issue as they did with the "cool fuel" episode at the Brazilian GP last year. Now that the matter is going to be debated, I cannot see how the Court could possibly uphold the decision of the stewards. Whatever advantage was gained by Hamilton in the incident was given back according to the convention as understood at the time - even Charlie Whiting agreed on this. Any subsequent "clarification" of the convention is irrelevant to the case and cannot be taken into account, especially as what precedent there is shows that Hamilton and McLaren interpreted things correctly.
But my cynicism leads me to add that this is an FIA Court and, as seen in the Ferrari documents verdicts in 2007, its decisions are not necessarily based upon logic. That verdict used Mosley's opinion as its foundation and we might expect this latest case to be decided in the same way, therefore. The main hope for McLaren has to be that Mosley is not in charge of proceedings this time and so cannot influence decisions as he did last year. It remains to be seen how much notice the Court will take of Mosley's stated opinions as reported in the press.
So, aside from being potentially an important case in terms of this year's championship, the matter is also significant in its relation to how we perceive the FIA's impartiality. From the point of view of public relations only, it would be beneficial to the FIA if the decision were to go in favor of McLaren. Some would argue that such a verdict would impair the authority of the stewards but it seems to me that this is questioned already. Far more important is it that the FIA be seen to be fair and logical in its governance of the sport.