Crunch day is tomorrow, when the WMSC meet to decide whether there is just cause to penalize McLaren for bringing the sport into disrepute - a charge that the council has already ruled upon. I had my say on the matter yesterday but today it seems that every other F1 site is giving their viewpoint.
Max Mosley
Autosport has an overview of the matter that seems a fair summary of the facts, Grand Prix dot com goes a bit further and joins with me in hoping that the court shows balance and fairness in its decision, but the pièce de resistance, an exclusive interview with Paul Stoddart of Minardi fame, is recorded by Pitpass. If you read nothing else on the subject, read this one; Stoddart is always forthright and he pulls no punches when speaking of the the pending WMSC meeting.
What has become very clear (and little else has) from the involvement of the FIA in the "espionage case" is that F1 is sharply polarized into two camps. On one side Ferrari, the Italian press, some unlikely allies such as Flavio Briatore, and the tifosi have been demanding draconian punishment for what they see as McLaren's illegal use of Ferrari information to build this year's car. On the other, the British press, old F1 champions, many of the other team owners and the non-Ferrari fans have been calling for care and restraint in the FIA's handling of the matter, pointing out that McLaren's involvement has not yet been proved to be anything more than the legal technicality that Mike Coughlan was an employee of theirs.
Maybe the FIA now has more damaging evidence, maybe not. That we shall see in due course, but what we can have no doubt about is that the extreme opinions and emotions raised by the events of this season have revealed how deeply the sport is divided. Ever since I started watching F1 in the early sixties, there have been suspicions that the FIA favors Ferrari above other teams; but now those suspicions have hardened into certainties in many minds as the governing body continues to bow to Ferrari's wishes, even when there is no need to. As an instance, the original ruling of the WMSC was not automatically subject to appeal but Max Mosley authorized that process after Ferrari's strenuous protests over the ruling.
It is natural in a sport in which the stakes are high that the participants should be rivals and that their supporters be partisan in their views as a result. But, when feelings run so deep as to threaten the sport itself, something is wrong somewhere. In this dispute it seems that one side is so determined upon what it sees as justice that no thought is given to the damage done to the sport in pursuing things to extremes. On the other, suspicion of the FIA's motives is so ingrained that there is disbelief in the WMSC's ability to reach a correct and just conclusion.
Whatever happens in that meeting tomorrow, it is difficult to see how such a polarization can be healed. If McLaren are seen to be getting off lightly, the matter will be pursued further in the law courts, we are told. And, if the team is penalized to the extent of handing this year's championship to Ferrari, it will forever be seen as a tainted award achieved through manipulation of the governing body.
It really is time that someone bashed a few heads together and made the warring sides kiss and make up. But who has the power to do that? Max Mosley? Now there's an unlikely thought...
Max Mosley
Autosport has an overview of the matter that seems a fair summary of the facts, Grand Prix dot com goes a bit further and joins with me in hoping that the court shows balance and fairness in its decision, but the pièce de resistance, an exclusive interview with Paul Stoddart of Minardi fame, is recorded by Pitpass. If you read nothing else on the subject, read this one; Stoddart is always forthright and he pulls no punches when speaking of the the pending WMSC meeting.
What has become very clear (and little else has) from the involvement of the FIA in the "espionage case" is that F1 is sharply polarized into two camps. On one side Ferrari, the Italian press, some unlikely allies such as Flavio Briatore, and the tifosi have been demanding draconian punishment for what they see as McLaren's illegal use of Ferrari information to build this year's car. On the other, the British press, old F1 champions, many of the other team owners and the non-Ferrari fans have been calling for care and restraint in the FIA's handling of the matter, pointing out that McLaren's involvement has not yet been proved to be anything more than the legal technicality that Mike Coughlan was an employee of theirs.
Maybe the FIA now has more damaging evidence, maybe not. That we shall see in due course, but what we can have no doubt about is that the extreme opinions and emotions raised by the events of this season have revealed how deeply the sport is divided. Ever since I started watching F1 in the early sixties, there have been suspicions that the FIA favors Ferrari above other teams; but now those suspicions have hardened into certainties in many minds as the governing body continues to bow to Ferrari's wishes, even when there is no need to. As an instance, the original ruling of the WMSC was not automatically subject to appeal but Max Mosley authorized that process after Ferrari's strenuous protests over the ruling.
It is natural in a sport in which the stakes are high that the participants should be rivals and that their supporters be partisan in their views as a result. But, when feelings run so deep as to threaten the sport itself, something is wrong somewhere. In this dispute it seems that one side is so determined upon what it sees as justice that no thought is given to the damage done to the sport in pursuing things to extremes. On the other, suspicion of the FIA's motives is so ingrained that there is disbelief in the WMSC's ability to reach a correct and just conclusion.
Whatever happens in that meeting tomorrow, it is difficult to see how such a polarization can be healed. If McLaren are seen to be getting off lightly, the matter will be pursued further in the law courts, we are told. And, if the team is penalized to the extent of handing this year's championship to Ferrari, it will forever be seen as a tainted award achieved through manipulation of the governing body.
It really is time that someone bashed a few heads together and made the warring sides kiss and make up. But who has the power to do that? Max Mosley? Now there's an unlikely thought...