McLaren Files Notice of Appeal
The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team confirms that it has,
via its UK governing body, the MSA, filed a notice of appeal
to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal against the
decision not to exclude cars 09, 10, 16 and 17 from the result
of the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Rules of the FIA International Court of Appeal allow
a team only a short period in which to file a notice of appeal
and McLaren has complied with that. The team has taken the
view, from the information that we currently have available
that there was non-compliance with the Regulations. The team
believes that the FIA has, in written clarification of the
Technical Regulations and in its minutes of two Formula 1
Team Manager meetings, made clear how it would interpret and
manage the Regulations and Procedures associated with the
control of fuel temperatures. This process was followed in
the normal manner by the FIA Technical Delegate following
the Brazilian Grand Prix and the irregularities were reported
by him to the Stewards of the meeting. Consequently the team
does not understand the justification as described in the
decision published late on Sunday evening.
The significance of this matter and its timing is, of course,
regrettable. The team wishes to win races and Championships
on the track. However, if there has been an irregularity,
which is not the fault of the team, we feel that the matter
must be properly examined to ensure that the rules are applied.
This is something that we believe the FIA would fully support
and would wish to be seen to have done.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wishes to stress, however, that
it does not question the integrity of either the BMW or Williams
teams. We know, without even enquiring, that neither team
would have sought to achieve a performance advantage by such
an irregularity and that the situation could only have arisen
as the consequence of an operational error within the team
on the day.
Ultimately we feel that the FIA should determine whether
an irregularity occurred or not, and the team will fully respect
the process and any decision that is ultimately given.
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