From eurosport.yahoo.com :
McLaren will not be punished despite being caught in possession of confidential Ferrari technical data, a FIA hearing has determined.
McLaren, who lead Ferrari by 27 points in the championship after winning last Sunday's European Grand Prix, had been charged with a breach of the rules that could have cost them heavily.
Following a six-hour hearing of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris, FIA's highest power, the verdict was "no penalty."
The team of Britain's Championship leader Lewis Hamilton and defending champion Fernando Alonso were let off of the hook because of "insufficient evidence" that the secret information had affected this year's championship.
McLaren could still face exclusion from this year's championship as well as next year's, however, if the information stolen from Ferrari is found to be used in the future.
After the hearing McLaren team chief Ron Dennis said he was "not completely comfortable with the outcome but the punishment fits the crime."
The scandal erupted after Mike Coughlan, the team's now-suspended chief designer, was passed the secret information by a disaffected Ferrari engineer.
The FIA said it would be summoning the two men at the centre of the affair, Ferrari's Nigel Stepney and Coughlan, to their Paris HQ "to show reason why they should not be banned from international motorsport for a lengthy period."
Ferrari's lawyers argued in a document submitted to the London High Court last week that it was 'likely' McLaren owed their championship lead to Coughlan obtaining some 780 pages of highly sensitive data from the Italian team.
Dennis had always strenuously denied that anyone at McLaren other than Coughlan had set eyes on the dossier.
Hamilton heads the drivers' standings on 70 points, two clear of world champion Alonso, with Ferrari duo Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in third and fourth with 59 and 52.
McLaren also top the constructor standings, with 138 points, 27 clear of Ferrari.
Legal action in Italy and Britain remain pending against both Stepney and Coughlan.
AFP/Sporting Life / Reuters
Oh, thank god they are not fucking up the championship because of this - please file criminal and/or civil charges on the two assholes Stepney and Coughlan, but leave us the best and fairest battle for the championship we have had in the last many many years
From crash.net :
Ferrari has reacted angrily following the news that McLaren will not be punished by the FIA - Formula 1's governing body, even though the Woking-based team were found to be in possession of confidential documents belonging to the Scuderia.A statement from Ferrari emphasised that how the World Motor Sport Council could conclude that they broke article 151c of the sporting regulations and then not apply any penalty was ‘incomprehensible'.The Maranello-based outfit also added that the decision ‘legitimises dishonest behaviour in Formula 1 and sets a very serious precedent'.Ferrari now plans to continue with its legal actions already underway in Italy and the UK.The full statement from the Scuderia read:“The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team has been found to be in breach of article 151c of the F1 Sporting Regulations and to have therefore behaved in ‘a fraudulent manner and therefore in a manner prejudicial to the interests of competition or motor sport in general'.“The World Council has nevertheless decided that, in the absence of any definite proof that information that is the property of Ferrari has been effectively used on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car competing in the current championship, it can impose no sanction without further evidence.“Ferrari notes that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been found guilty by the FIA World Council. It therefore finds it incomprehensible that violating the fundamental principle of sporting honesty does not have, as a logical and inevitable consequence, the application of a sanction."Today's decision legitimises dishonest behaviour in Formula 1 and sets a very serious precedent. “In fact, the decision of the World Council signifies that possession, knowledge at the very highest level and use of highly confidential information acquired in an illicit manner and the acquiring of confidential information over the course of several months, represent violations that do not carry any punishment.“The fact that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of such information was discovered totally by accident and, but for this, the team would continue to have it. This is all the more serious as it has occurred in a sport like Formula 1 in which small details make all the difference.“Ferrari feels this is highly prejudicial to the credibility of the sport."It will continue with the legal action already under way within the Italian criminal justice system and in the civil court in England.”
Well, I think the criminal and civil courts are the correct place to settle this. Actually I do not like the approach of Ferrari to try to get the FIA to take steps against McLaren. Is this a remnant of the Scumbag attitude to win at any price ? They couldn't beat Renault now for two years and now a new player is messing up their plans, so try to get them banned and let the racing fans have a totally BORING second half of the season. We should ban them for trying to do this, but hey - we are not like that, are we ?
McLaren's title prospects were plunged back into doubt when Formula One's governing body agreed an appeal court should have the final say on the 'spy saga' gripping the sport.
Max Mosley (pictured), president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), granted an Italian request for a review of last week's controversial FIA decision not to punish McLaren for unauthorised possession of Ferrari information.
A FIA spokesman said the appeal hearing, in front of a panel of at least three judges, was likely to be in Paris at the end of August with leaders McLaren again facing sanctions ranging from a reprimand to being kicked out of the championship.
McLaren, with 22-year-old British rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton two points clear of double world champion team mate Fernando Alonso, lead Ferrari by 27 points with seven races remaining.
The next grand prix is in Hungary on Sunday. McLaren, who suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan after the Briton was found to have some 780 pages of Ferrari technical information at his home at the beginning of July, said they were confident the appeal court would also clear them.
The Mercedes-powered team had argued Coughlan was a disgruntled employee acting in isolation and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council decided there was insufficient evidence that the team had benefited from the data.
Ferrari argued that the decision "legitimises dishonest behaviour" and Luigi Macaluso, the president of the Italian Automobile Federation, wrote to Mosley on that team's behalf to seek an appeal.
He said Ferrari, who were not allowed to appeal in their own right, had not been able to present their side of the story.
Mosley, in a reply published on the FIA's website, agreed they had a case.
"Exclusion or withdrawal of points did not seem appropriate if it was really just a case of a rogue employee illegitimately acquiring information for his own purposes," he said.
"Your letter suggests that the outcome may have been different if the council had given Ferrari further opportunities to be heard beyond those that were in fact offered.
"Because of this and the importance of public confidence in the outcome, I will send this matter to the FIA Court of Appeal under article 23.1 of the FIA statutes," he added.
Mosley said he would ask the court to hear both Ferrari and McLaren as well as "any other championship competitor who so requests" to determine whether the first decision was appropriate.
If not, he added, the court should "substitute such other decision as may be just."
Ferrari, who are taking legal action in England against Coughlan and in Italy against their own dismissed employee Nigel Stepney, welcomed the FIA's decision as "a sensible one".
McLaren accused Ferrari of waging a "thoroughly misleading press campaign".
"McLaren is not aware of any new information or arguments that have arisen since the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council and therefore assumes that these same materials will now be considered by the FIA International Court of Appeal," the team said in a statement.
"Whilst this is both disappointing and time-consuming, McLaren is confident that the FIA International Court of Appeal will also exonerate McLaren and we will in the meanwhile continue to focus on our current World Championship programme."
Reuters
Oh, man - seems that it is not over yet. Why can't they take the responsible persons to criminal or civil court and leave the sport alone ?