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Maelstrom in Malaysia
Gentlemen, start your legal arguments
By JOHN WHITE
October 22, 1999
Web posted at 2 a.m. Hong Kong time, 2 p.m. EDT
More than just speed records were broken at the inaugural Formula 1 race at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit Sunday. Also shattered were Ferrari fans' hopes of seeing their beloved prancing horse at the top of the F1 standings. There would be no championship for at least another year.
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Of course, it didn't look that way when the checkered flag came down. Immediately after the race Ferrari's Eddie Irvine was beaming atop the podium, while teammate Michael Schumacher stood grinning in the second-place position. Their rival, Team McLaren's Mikka Hakkinen, finished third, exhausted and barely able to stand for the trophy presentations by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
But things were just getting started. Even as the awards were being handed out--which appeared to put Ferrari into the lead of the World Driver's and Constructor's championships--McLaren was mounting a challenge. Team boss Ron Dennis was already questioning the legality of Schumacher's badly worn front tires and making accusatory noises about an "unsportsmanlike" pass when Schumacher slowed to allow Irvine to take the lead three laps from the finish.
Dennis' ace in the hole was his knowledge of Ferrari's illegal barge boards (aerodynamic devices behind the front wheels), which he had known about since last month's European Grand Prix. In the cutthroat, multimillion-dollar world of F1, a team's secrets are a valuable currency to their rivals. For McLaren, such insights couldn't possibly have more value, as both world championships are at stake. If judges uphold Ferrari's disqualification, McLaren will have secured the Driver's Championship for 1999.
However, all is not yet lost for Ferrari's "tifosi." Friday in Paris, the F1's ruling body, the FIA, will listen to Ferrari's appeal and hear McLaren's counter-arguments. Ferrari's only hope of overturning the ruling would be if the FIA believes that the illegal dimensions of the barge boards did not offer any performance advantage--and that it was an honest mistake made during the manufacturing process and overlooked during tech inspection at the previous race on Germany's Nurburgring. Irvine didn't score any points there, so it could be argued that the barge boards didn't give him an edge.
McLaren is convinced otherwise. If it knew about the illegal barge boards at Nurburgring, then surely Ferrari must have as well. And that may be the crux of the FIA's decision. A team that knowingly uses illegal components doesn't stand a chance of having its appeal upheld. If, however, the FIA believes this was a bona fide manufacturing mistake, the ruling could be similar to one made in 1995. Back then, Schumacher and David Coulthard were found to be using illegal fuel during the Brazilian Grand Prix. The FIA ruled there was no performance advantage and allowed the drivers to keep the points earned in the race. However, their team had to forfeit its Manufacturer's Championship points.
A similar decision would give McLaren the Constructor's Championship it deserves. And it would also give the fans what they want: a Driver's Championship decided at the final race on Japan's Suzuka circuit, rather than in a courtroom in Paris.
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