Atleast the FIA are consistent

We all remember that row over McLaren stealing information from McLaren and the outcry after McLaren were charged $100,000,000. And now the FIA have made a decision that is consistent with this following the accusations from McLaren that Renault had some of their data.

They said it couldn’t be done. They said that no other team could withstand a dine like that, and that the FIA couldn’t possibly issue similar penalties for spying. Well they were wrong, it has been done again. Not the fine, not the issuing of penalties, but it’s happened again. Mclaren have lost a legal battle over spying.

Renault had the data, that is proven, and the FIA have acknowledged that in their statement which read:

The World Council found Renault F1 to be in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code, but imposed no penalty.

Now, let’s get this straight, that is the article 151c that was used to charge McLaren $100,000,000 backed up in the statement wit:

the WMSC [does not] need to show that any information improperly held led to any specifically identified sporting advantage, or indeed any advantage at all. Rather, the WMSC is entitled to treat possession of another team’s information as an offense meriting a penalty on its own if it so chooses.

Note that last part, ‘if it so choses’. So in other words if it wants to, it can, if it doesn’t want to there’s a nice loophole saying that it doesn’t have to.

Renault was in possession of 11 floppy discs holding technical data, but it didn’t use it on any of the cars. a very similar situation to what we had earlier in the year.

There have always been questions about the real interests of the governing body in formula one, from back when we had the incident in Indianapolis, and even earlier, and now we find that which team is being looked into really does make a difference in investigations of this nature.

The outcome of this clearly shows the FIA and the WMSC are operating with the best interests of the sport’s best interests in mind, not changing results after the season. It’s just a shame they didn’t have the same intention last time there was a spying row.

MTFBWY