Post by MS7XWDC on Nov 1, 2007 10:26:05 GMT -5
Eurosport - Thu, 01 Nov 15:04:00 2007
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren could be forced to start next season's Formula One World Championship on negative points if they are found to have used any Ferrari information on their 2008 car.
That is the opinion of Max Mosley, president of the sport's rulemakers the FIA.
The British team were fined £50.2 million and thrown out of this year's Constructors' Championship after being found to have knowingly possessed confidential Ferrari technical documents leaked to their suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan from Ferrari.
Additionally, they were told that the sport's governing body the FIA would thoroughly probe their 2008 machine to ensure that no ideas from the Italian team will be used in the future either.
Mosley told the BBC what penalties McLaren could expect if found in breach of this rule.
"You're not going to find on the McLaren a part that was designed by Ferrari," said Mosley.
"But what you may find are ideas and at this level of technology at this level of motorsport, if the idea is given to the chief designer he will make a component utilising that idea which bears no relation at all to the component perhaps being used by the other car.
"So we will be looking for the ideas. The investigation will be thorough, it will use outside experts and we will do everything we possibly can to make sure that either of the McLarens has no element of Ferrari intellectual property in it or if it does we will then have to consider taking some sort of action.
"That would not necessarily be preventing them from running. It would be more likely that they would be given a negative point allocation."
Mosley would not confirm whether or not any penalty would be confined to the team, like the spy scandal penalty was, or whether Hamilton and his team-mate, whoever that may be, would also be punished.
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren could be forced to start next season's Formula One World Championship on negative points if they are found to have used any Ferrari information on their 2008 car.
That is the opinion of Max Mosley, president of the sport's rulemakers the FIA.
The British team were fined £50.2 million and thrown out of this year's Constructors' Championship after being found to have knowingly possessed confidential Ferrari technical documents leaked to their suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan from Ferrari.
Additionally, they were told that the sport's governing body the FIA would thoroughly probe their 2008 machine to ensure that no ideas from the Italian team will be used in the future either.
Mosley told the BBC what penalties McLaren could expect if found in breach of this rule.
"You're not going to find on the McLaren a part that was designed by Ferrari," said Mosley.
"But what you may find are ideas and at this level of technology at this level of motorsport, if the idea is given to the chief designer he will make a component utilising that idea which bears no relation at all to the component perhaps being used by the other car.
"So we will be looking for the ideas. The investigation will be thorough, it will use outside experts and we will do everything we possibly can to make sure that either of the McLarens has no element of Ferrari intellectual property in it or if it does we will then have to consider taking some sort of action.
"That would not necessarily be preventing them from running. It would be more likely that they would be given a negative point allocation."
Mosley would not confirm whether or not any penalty would be confined to the team, like the spy scandal penalty was, or whether Hamilton and his team-mate, whoever that may be, would also be punished.