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Old 11-16-2007, 02:00 PM
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Arrow F1: Ferrari hit back at the mclaren ???hypocrites??™


Ferrari warn mclaren appeal could hurt F1

Nov 16 2007 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

McLAREN were yesterday accused of being naked opportunists in their bid to see Lewis Hamilton crowned this years Formula One world champion.

In the run-up to the Court of Appeal hearing into the cool fuel row, McLaren officials including Hamilton insisted they did not want to win the title in the courtroom.

Yet that was in stark contrast to the submissions of lawyer, Ian Mill QC, who called for a reclassification of the championship. That led to a sharp retort from Ferraris legal representative, Nigel Tozzi QC, defending the interests of the team and of Kimi Raikkonen, who claimed the crown on the track.

This is not the way a Formula One world championship should be won, insisted Tozzi towards the end of the four-hour tribunal, with a verdict due today.

Mr Hamilton himself, potentially the only beneficiary, has said very clearly he does not want to win the championship this way.

Mr Norbert Haug, head of Mercedes motorsport, has again gone on the record and said McLaren are not appealing in order to claim the championship.

Mr Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren F1 CEO) in an interview yesterday said finding a way to award the world drivers championship to Lewis retrospectively, is not at all what this is about.

It could be said McLaren are shameless hypocrites devoid of any integrity, or maybe what their representatives have said should be taken at face value.

If what they want is clarity, then by all means let them have that, but do not allow them to have the world championship this way. It would be a serious injustice to Mr Raikkonen should the world title be taken away from him, a fact recognised by Mr Hamilton and Mr (Fernando) Alonso.

On the evidence presented, it appears extremely unlikely Hamilton will be handed the title, so bringing the curtain down on the most dramatic of seasons.

McLaren had appealed the verdict of the stewards at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix not to punish BMW Sauber and Williams for fuel irregularities. Hamilton could only finish seventh behind race-winner Raikkonen at Interlagos, missing out on the championship by a point.

If the four judges presiding over the case opt to disqualify Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, they could also opt to promote Hamilton up the order, so handing him the title.

Mill pointed to 26 instances in Formula One history where there had been disqualifications and a championship reclassification.

We offer no special plea on behalf of the team, but I ask you to do what normally happens, said Mill. Its clear the infringement of this rule did have a performance-enhancing effect. If you put in cool fuel it increases the horsepower.

The principle is clear: if there was a performance enhancement, there was a breach and there has to be a disqualification.

I ask you to address this as though it was any team at any stage of the season.

It cannot make a difference it was the last race of the season, and that it will decide the championship.

Invariably, whenever there has been a disqualification, there has been a reclassification.

Tozzi, however, argued against such an outcome, stating, It would be highly damaging for the sport if the title were to be won this way.

The fans would probably feel it had been achieved by grubby manoeuvring by the lawyers rather than by skill on the track.

As McLaren are fond of saying, The championship should be decided on the track and not in the courtroom.

The four judges John Cassidy from the United States, Vassilis Koussis from Greece, Jose Nacedo E Cunha from Portugal and Jan Stovicek from the Czech Republic will initially determine if McLarens case is admissible.

If there is a case to answer, then they will look at the arguments surrounding the temperature of the fuel used and whether there was a performance advantage.

Source: [url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/sports/sports-news-round-up/2007/11/16/f1-ferrari-hit-back-at-the-mclaren-hypocrites-91466-20114579/]ic Wales[/url]
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