McLaren have got away with their latest treachery, liegate, when they received a suspended 3-race ban from the World Motor Sport Council today. If they manage to keep themselves from bringing the sport into disrepute for the next 12 months, this should be the last we hear of it.
Having fully admitted they were lying cheaty bastards to the FIA the team from Woking was lucky to escape with their light reprimand today, especially in light of their monster $100m fine from two years ago fresh on the minds of many. However, it seems their scapegoating of Dave Ryan, shuffling out the door of Ron Dennis and general lack of speed on the race track has spared them from any draconian punishment in this latest F1 "Drama".The handing down of a 3 race ban suspended for 12 months was roughly what everyone expected, McLaren are still guilty of telling porkies but the championship won't be effected in any way. It's also expected that Mercedes will be pleased with this result, as any actual race banning could've seen them pull the plug quicker than a Mexican taking a bath in a pigs trough
The FIA parchment read "That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the International Sporting Code." The WMSC seemed pleased enough that Whitmarsh will be above board for a little while now, and that he seems dedicated to root out the evils within the McLaren team.
The decision finally lays to rest the storm-in-a-teacupgate that started when Lewis Hamilton allowed Jarno Trulli to pass him under safety car conditions at the Australian GP in March. Dave Ryan and Hamilton then fibbed to the stewards after the race saying they hadn't let Trulli past, despite telling the media they had...oh and telling everyone else over the now free-to-air team radio that they had.
With the saga drawing to a close, new McLaren head honcho Martin Whitmarsh will be sighing with relief, as he can now concentrate on making their dog of a 2009 challenger slightly less doggy; "I would like to thank the FIA World Motor Sport Council members for affording me the opportunity to answer their questions this morning" barked Martin "We are aware that we made serious mistakes in Australia and Malaysia, and I was therefore very glad to be able to apologise for those mistakes once again."
So, as the F1 circus gets ready to bore the world again in Barcelona in a little over a weeks time, Patty is glad that another part of the off-track rubbish surrounding F1 these days has been put to bed, and everyone can concentrate on the cars following each other around Catalunya at 2 second intervals.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
