6doublefive321
09-14-2007, 08:26 AM
And you thought that Belichoke's fine was steep!
McLaren fined $100M in F1 spying scandal
PARIS (AP) — Accused of using leaked secret data from its main rival Ferrari, the Formula One team McLaren was hit with a record $100 million fine Thursday by the World Motor Sport Council in the biggest scandal to hit auto racing's premier circuit.
Although McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso escaped punishment Thursday, the espionage claims have rocked the sport and tainted McLaren's lead in the drivers' standings.
The team, also stripped of its constructors' points, already was battling accusations that it had used team orders to decide which driver would win races this season. Now, it is facing a new crisis.
And it's not the only major sports franchise accused of espionage. The New England Patriots have been accused of violating league rules by videotaping New York Jets coaches sending defensive signals to players. And at the women's World Cup in China, Denmark team officials found two men with video cameras sitting behind a two-way mirror in a hotel conference room where the team was about to hold a strategy meeting.
The F1 case broke in July when a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan, who was later suspended. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who allegedly supplied the documents, was fired.