Formula One Tip

[burnleyjoe]

With McLaren notching a 1-2 in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, bookies say the title race is between Hamilton and team-mate Fernando Alonso, the new favourite.

But I command you to back Ferrari challenger Kimi Raikkonen at 6-1.

This title race will be decided in a Paris courtroom on Thursday when I am certain McLaren will be docked enough points to rule them out of the title reckoning, leaving Raikkonen to clean up.

Even celebrity lawyer Lex Loophole will struggle to get McLaren off the hook on this one, although I hear he's hoping to get them off with a speeding fine. Get on Kimi, he's a gimme.

World Drivers' title (Betfair): 11-8 Alonso, Hamilton, 6-1 Raikkonen, 19-1 Massa.

[dilus]

I seriously can't see any court decision effecting the drivers points bj and neither should it unless they are involved which I very much doubt in Lewis's case, Alonso could be a different story mind ;)

[nhggfu]

I just quizzed my f1 fanatic buddy about this - mclaren are in court because one of there employees had some confidential ferarri documents.. Quality.
:fencing:

[burnleyjoe]

DETAILS

The new evidence against McLaren in the so-called Stepneygate scandal that will be presented at Thursday's FIA hearing is reported to run to 166 pages.


McLaren were cleared of using stolen Ferrari documents to their advantage at a hearing in Paris two months ago. The case focused on claims that Nigel Stepney, a Ferrari mechanic, handed over a dossier of technical information to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.

However, a new hearing has been convened after FIA announced they had received incriminating 'new evidence'.

According to The Times, 'The information at the heart of the new evidence predates the transfer of the dossier between Stepney and Coughlan in late April and is thought to centre on incidents in March.


Evidence

'The dossier of new evidence collected by the FIA is thought to centre not just on e-mail traffic between the McLaren test driver, Pedro De La Rosa, and Hamilton's teammate, Fernando Alonso, but also on details of the phone and text message traffic between Coughlan and Stepney supplied to the FIA by the authorities in Italy.

'Although the evidence does not include details of what was said in phone calls and texts, the FIA is thought to be able to demonstrate how the rate of calls and messages between Stepney and Coughlan allegedly matches e-mail traffic between Alonso and De La Rosa.

The implication being that if the drivers needed a detail checked, they then referred the matter to Coughlan, who passed on queries to Stepney.'


Defence

McLaren insist they have done nothing wrong and have vowed to launch a vigorous defence. The team has already been presented with the evidence against them and 'will argue that the e-mail traffic was limited in scope and does not show that Ferrari information was used on their race cars.'

The view among sources close to the team is that the case linking the e-mails with the phone calls between Coughlan and Stepney is at best tenuous.

[dilus]

Like I said earlier, I don't think Lewis has anything to be worried about but Alonso is another story. He was not impressed at all with Ferrari tactics employed by Schumacher and Ferrari at Monaco last season ( Rascassegate ) the imfamous parking scandal and would do anything to get one over Ferrari, it has just come to light this week that Alonso planned a grid protest at Monaco last year if Schumacher was not penalised for parking his car in qualifying, he was seriously thinking of lying infront of Schumachers car on the grid at the start :biggrin:
I would not put anything past him to get one back on Ferrari despite the fact that Schumacher has retired.
I have been a lifelong fan of Formula 1 and as it has become more and more a business rather than a sport all too often things get dragged through the courts, which spoils it for everyday fans but what sport nowadays doesn't have its controversies ?
I sincerely hope that tomorrows findings do not implicate Lewis and effect the drivers points and if that is the case I cannot see Raikkonen getting close enough to fight for the Drivers title, it will be between Lewis and Alonso, but stranger things have happened :banger:

[BookieAlerts]

The hearing is today, Räikkönen's odds have fallen to about 5/1, however the contructors championship's odds make more interesting reading -

Some have McLaren at about 0.5/1 and others 1.5/1. Ferrari are now definitely favourites.

[dilus]

$100.000.000 fine and McLaren banned from this seasons Constructors title and maybe next years too:flamethrower::rearend:. But the drivers points are not effected :thumb: Go Lewis :fencing:
Think the fine is far too extreme and would imagine the appeal will get it reduced

[SonicMan]

I agree the fine is way too big

[burnleyjoe]

F Alonso 4/5

L Hamilton 11/8

K Raikkonen 6/1

01 Lewis Hamilton 97
02 Fernando Alonso 95
03 Kimi Räikkönen 84
04 Felipe Massa 77
05 Nick Heidfeld 56
06 Robert Kubica 33
07 Heikki Kovalainen 22
08 Giancarlo Fisichella 17
09 Nico Rosberg 15
10 Alexander Wurz 13

[nhggfu]

what are the numbers after the drivers in the 1-10 list?