The spy saga is one thing that has taken the world of F1 by storm (apart from Lewis Hamilton that is...). So what is it?? The whole thing began way back after the Monaco Grand Prix in May. Some white powder was discovered on the fuel tanks of the Ferraris. It was thought that Nigel Stepney, Ferrari's team co-ordinator, was sabotaging the car so that it would not perform as it should. They sacked him from the company and it was later found that it was not a sabotage case, but a espionage one. Stepney was leaking secrets to someone else in the F1 paddock. That someone happened to be working for arch-rival and Championship (both of them) leader, McLaren. His name was Mike Coughlan. He was a senior engineer at McLaren. Over time, it was revealed that Stepney had leaked about 780 pages of information to Coughlan. Ferrari began legal proceedings against Coughlan and McLaren investigated the affair. While Ferrari dropped the case against Coughlan because he agreed to file a sworn affidavit explaining everything he knew and did, McLaren concluded its investigation and said that the information was available only with Coughlan and no one else knew of it. As it happened, Coughlan had shown the documents to one or two people at McLaren and had been advised to dump them. Ferrari approached the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) and they called McLaren for an Extraordinary meeting before the WMSC (World Motor Sport Council) on the 26th of this month. It was ruled that while McLaren were found guilty for possessing those documents, they couldn't be punished/penalised due to lack of evidence. Ferrari were, understandably, furious. They now plan to appeal the verdict and McLaren maintain that the punishment fits the crime. Given the fact that the punishments could have changed the outcome of this year's Championships, it was a very important day for both Ferrari and McLaren. The punishments ranged from a fine to banning for a race or two to suspension and even exclusion, as the documents that were leaked could have been used to "design, engineer, build, check, test, develop and run" a Ferrari F2007. From this, it is very clear that Ferrari wanted McLaren to be penalised and McLaren wanted to avoid a penalty. Ferrari CEO Jean Todt said that he felt very bitter about the whole issue and that if the situation had been reversed, Ferrari would have surely been penalised. He maintains that mere possession of the documents should have warranted a penalty, if not anything else and that he (or they, Ferrari) found the FIA's ruling "incomprehensible". Ferrari will continue legal proceedings against McLaren at Italy and London, where it all began. Let's wait and see how things turn out. I, for one, want McLaren to come out clean in the legal proceedings and fight Ferrari on the track - where it's supposed to be done.
2 comments:
It's my first time around here Akshay, and believe me, you've got me hooked! I must confess however, that I know as little about F1 racing as Lalu Prasad would know about Rugby!
Still, I went through your website unfettered; without any preconceived notions... and I am stunned at what I found here.
Amazed at the clarity of thought; highly impressed by the manner in which you pepper a topic such as F1 racing with your little exciting twists and turns; speechless at the way in which you have dealt with the subject in an engaging way.
It's not often that one comes across a good writer. You are one. Having spent a considerable amount of time as a journalist in the print media, I am well-equipped to judge good copy from bad. Your effort is laudable.
That's tragically something I can't say about journalists these days; for they can't seem to dot their i's and cross their t's. The end result? A tragi-comical "report" that lacks punch.
But you have it all within you. And for a writer such as me who believes that one is either born with the talent to write or not, a visit to your blog just reaffirms my conviction in this regard.
No journalism school can teach you to express yourself in the beautiful language you have chosen to hold forth on all-things F1. That's an innate, inherent... a God-given gift.
Such skill is rare, and rarer still are passionate people like you. So no matter what, consider a career in the field of Sports writing, seriously. You'll make a mark for yourself, I'm sure.
If you pursue your dreams in the same vein, I am confident that you'll carve a niche for yourself, a place where others can only dream of reaching.
I wish you well on this journey of discovery... always follow your heart in whatever you do. My best wishes are forever with you. May God guide you from strength to strength.
Hi Akshay, Nice Blog. Though I don't know anything about the sport, I love the lean and mean looking FERRARI. And now I can educate myself on the sport too...Keep it up! Manju(Suma'SIL)
Post a Comment