Who Else Expected the FIA to Throw out Mclaren's appeal?

Question

I am just suprised it took so long

Answer 1

Yes like you I was a bit fumed that it took so long but come on everyone knew they were gonna be kicked to the curb! Kimi gets to keep his crown!!!

Answer 2

Not suprised at all. The FIA were already upset with McLarens spy scandal thing. Anything they did was not going to be met without ocnsidering past incidents. Everyone wanted Lewis to win, it would brought alot of pride back to the people of Britan. But with Kimi winning everyone on the planet felt he is deserving. If the decision was reversed then Formula 1 in itself would have lost many of it viewers it gained back in the last 3 years, which it lost in the Ferrari donminance years 2000-2004.

But I can understand the point that McLaren stood by. The cars with the cooler fuel was not withing the specification outlined by the FIA. Which means the cars were illegal. Did it serve as an advantage? Possibly since cooler fuel makes it possible to put more into a single tank and produce a little more horsepower.

A few years ago BAR Honda had something similar where they had a small tank inside fuel tank to hold some fuel to bring the weight of the car to the minnimum required FIA weight. This meant that the cars weight was actually less then the required weight when all the fuel in the reserve tank was burned off meaning quicker lap times. This served as a unfair advantage. But how many places did they gain? Proably just as much as the Sauber's and Williams in Brazil. But they were served with a race suspension. Monaco of all places where they could entertain alot of big sponsors.

Answer 3

I was and I wasn't. McLaren's point was simple and true: if Williams and BMW use cooler fuel, they gain an illegal advantage over every single car on the track. This means the cars in question were illegal cars.
Should they have been disqualified? Probably not. They broke the law, but the advantage they gained, while being illegal, was not great enough to be worthy of being thrown out of the race. So I am not surprised in that issue. However, I am surprised that no action was taken against the teams involved. However small their advantage, they still had one, and an illegal one at that, and in my opinion should have been at least fined, or, at the extreme, deducted some constructor's points.

However, if the race in question was the first race of the season, would any action have been taken? would the outcome have been different? Maybe. Again, I doubt they would have been thrown out of the race, but since Kimi had won, celebrated etc, this would have entered the FIA's mind, although it shouldn't have. McLaren's lawyers implored the FIA to treat this as any other race, maybe they did, maybe they didn't, it's over now, no way out for Hamilton.

Answer 4

The point that ICA ruled that McLaren’s appeal was inadmissible is totally correct: McLaren was presenting an appeal against the stewards' decision, when they must have first PROTEST at Interlagos the decision, and after it was rejected by the stewards' McLaren could appeal. So it's all procedure, yes but that is how it is.

Now, going to the technical aspect: McLaren was only trying to squeeze itself between a gray area related to "minimum fuel temperature on board the cars", so that they could obtain the F1 Drivers Championship, taking at the same time, in a nominally way, the F1 Constructor Championship (which they lost also in the tracks: Ferrari 204 McLaren 203 - remember McLaren lost the points from Hungary).

Lets analyze what happen at the Brazilian GP:
a) The ambient temperature shown on the FOM timing screens a peak of 37oC, meanwhile the contracted meteorologists Meteo France show 33oC.
b) Bauer based his report on the FOM timing screens.
c) Williams and BMW cars had a fuel temperature of 24oC.

d) So under FOM they are using an illegal car because fuel temperature in the cars was more than 10-degrees C beneath the ambient temperature, but under Meteo France they are legal.
e) The stewards ruled they didn't have a clear reading of the definitive ambient temperature because of the discrepancy between the ambient temperatures recorded by FOM and by Meteo. This provided them with SUFFICIENT DOUBT as to the true ambient temperature and that it was therefore inappropriate to impose a penalty.

Now, what we know about FOM and Meteo temperature:
a) For nearly 2 years the FOM temperature sensor has been considered not very accurate. It was define as unreliable and in the Sporting Working Group meeting on DECEMBER 2006, it was determine that is was in no way accurate enough to be used as REGULATORY.
b) Because there is doubt about the FOM temperatures, then METEO's temperature is used to crossreference.
c) In any moment Bauer did a crossreference with the Meteo temperature, to check the correctness of FOM's reading.

It's my opinion that based in the previously expose, that the stewards' decision was correct, and also the ICA decision.
So, this leaves as with the question:
Was McLaren trying to squeeze in, between holes in the rules that don’t define an official measurement on board the car and likewise there is no official measurement off-board the cars?
What the FIA has to do is define and clarified this aspect related to temperature within the regulations, defining what, when, how to and where related to the measurement.

Answer 5

I'm just trying to figure out why the hell they decided to go along with the appeal in the first place! That's the surprise to me! I'm glad that the FIA rejected them; they had nothing to prove and now come in Dec for the hearing of the 2nd spy scandal with Renault, I can pretty much say that Mclaren are gonna make an *** out of themselves again!

Answer 6

Its no surprise that the decision was all the Ferrari tribe wanted and against McLaren. After all we are talking of a decision taken by the Ferrari International Assistance (Fia).

Answer 7

I thought they would at least consider giving Lewis the title, but based on stuff that I read, it seemed as though it would be impossible to strip Kimi's title. For one, doing that would mean making enemies of BMW and Williams, as well as causing serious injustice towards Kimi and Ferrari.

Secondly, that would definitely go down in history as a controversy because some people would find it wrong. It's also a hollow and meaningless way for Lewis to win his first title.

And thirdly, what kind of sport would strip someone else's title and reclassify others and move someone up so that they would be able to win? It's not necessary and it's just odd.

I'm not surprised that it took so long for the discussions to be held and settled with, but I'm surprised that they could even possibly strip Kimi of his title. That seems very wrong and unfair. I'm glad that they didn't.

Answer 8

I didn't.
I mean, I expected it to fail, really a few degrees off the regulation temp!
But throwing it out, much better!
Mclaren Highlander, it's the Federation of International Autosport, so stop whining and just hope Lewie can do it next season. Which might happen...

Answer 9

yeh even if the Mclaren won the appeal, Montezemolo of Ferrari was pretty sure that the teams in breach of the rules would be stripped of the constructors points and not the drivers.
Mclaren led by Ron Dennis should just keep their mouth shut these days because they were really fortunate not to have been stripped of their drivers' points for their own cheating scandal.

Ethics and Integrity used to be important for Dennis and Haug but lately they have been desperate to win in anyway possible after Mclaren became a bottom feeder during Schumy years.

Answer 10

i expected them to fine Williams and BMW, but nothing more
no way will they hand the title to Hamilton. especially after the spy saga