Do you think that the FIA's decision not to punish McLaren is fair?

I think yes, had this been a team at the bottom of the rankings, there would be no doubt of a punishment. Banning a team like Spyker--for example--would not really affect the championship. Banning McLaren, though, would change everything. The result today is a PR move.

Is if fair? Maybe; maybe not. It depends. Did Coughlan actually use the information he had to benefit developments at McLaren this season? Or was he planning to use it to benefit Honda (as he did go to Honda looking for job).

While it has been suggested Nigel Stepney did tip-off McLaren to the moving floor thing, that could be hard to prove yet. F1 has always been a sport where one team's work is looked at by another's. It is nothing new that teams try to take from each other; moreover, since they put their cars out there in front of each other, it is hard NOT to notice some developments.

Ultimately, the decision is not so much fair as it is one that makes financial sense to the FIA. Dropping McLaren from this season and next would probably mean a drop in sponsor income for races (would Santander, for example, still want to sponsor the British GP if McLaren was banned?).

RP

If they thought that it was just the one individual's fault, then they wouldn't have given McLaren a guilty verdict. And that would have been fine. But the fact that they decided McLaren was guilty means they know more about McLaren involvement / believe in the team's liability.

So if the team's liable, or was more involved than we currently know, where the hell is the punishment?! That is not fair.

However, I have an inkling that this isn't over yet. Ha. And when I think about it some more, I mean they really couldn't do that much as it stands, I guess they're waiting on the other investigations to be carried out. But it's still disappointing.

And yes, they would have reacted differently if it was say... Spyker. Even with the lawyers they have...

I think the FIA did the only thing they could do as the situation stands right now. They can't make the assumption that McLaren misused the information without evidence of it, because if they were wrong in making that assumption, there isn't room on a single sheet of paper for the number of zeroes in a financial amount McLaren could sue them for. So they said, look, you already broke the rules, and if its proved you benefitted by doing so, you'll be in real trouble later. Best they could do I think. Plus it sounds like Stepney and Coughlan are going to get banned. I can't stand McLaren and would have liked to see them get slapped down hard, but realistically I think this is about all anyone could expect. And I don't think it would have been any different with any other team -- they all have more than enough money to hire entire battalions of lawyers.

The FIA made the right decision. They wouldn't of cared as much if it was spyker or aguri (Honda B team). It would have been unfair to punish alonso and especially Hamilton as they had done nothing wrong and it was out of their control.

One Employee of MacLaren behaved incorrectly, not the team. However the ISC (international sporting code) states that the team would be responsible for the behaviour of it's members, this is why they were "Guilty" as such. It is all a load of politics and shouldn't be on the back page.............

Hamilton for Driver's title !!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes a correct decision.

No FIA would not react differently given the same level of evidence.

the FIA would have looked at all the evidence and come to there own conclusions. it was down to 2 men, 1 from Ferrari and 1 from McLaren. they have obviously concluded it was not down to the team. they (stepney & coughlan) should now punished. ferarri should at least sue them to cover their legal expences.

jb, the honda thing was usuing fuel as balast in the fuel tank. the whole team knew about it as they had to fit it. however i do understand where you are coming from

Well i would say it is fair because the team didn't know and it was one man out of 300 people. But they are still being held, if they use the information then they will be in trouble. So they have to look out.

why did stephney steal ferrari documents?maybe to put them in a frame?

it's obvious that stephney was a mc laren spy. be honest when you say mc laren is not guilty...

it's not possible that mc laren is declared guilty and it pays nothing.fia didn't declare that stephney wasn't right but the whole mc laren team so it's right the whole team pays.however, is a team responsable of his men or is this just an idiom?

what would you have thought if a ferrari man had spied mc laren?maybe that his one was an individual initiative?

by a ferrari fan who tries to be objective

It was just the one individual involved, the documents never went to McLaren.

It could have been a setup to drop him in it. The board who have heard all the evidence do not think the team is at fault.

Fairness is a rare virtue in F1.

Despite being a Ferrari fan, I am not that disappointed. I'd rather see a title fought for and lost, rather than given on a platter.