Latest news: Hakkinen's victory in jeopardy

[Gerard]

Although Mika Hakkinen won the Austrian GP, his victory might be in jeopardy.

Shortly after the race finished, a spokeswoman for the FIA confirmed that the FIA is investigating an electronic box on Hakkinen's McLaren.
Sources have indicated that the box is missing a mandatory seal and would be the subject of an investigation in London this coming week.

The FIA didn't make any further details regarding the investigation available, but a finding is expected within the coming week.

[Mr.S]

uh oh... bad feeling about this.

[Gerard]

The result of the Austrian Grand Prix could be in doubt after a seal was found to be missing from an electronic unit on the car of race winner Mika Hakkinen.

The FIA will conduct an investigation on the electronic unit which will have been sealed after scrutineering. The box - effectively the computerised brain which controls the car’s electronic functions - has two seals.

Statement by Jo Bauer (the man's becoming famous), technical delegate to the FIA:

'We want to confirm that the seal has broken through wear and tear in the race and that the contents and electronic programming had not been tampered with.
The electronic box of car number 01 is to undergo further investigation.'

Race stewards cleared the car on all other counts.
The investigation could take days or weeks but is likely to resolved before the next race in a fortnight's time.

[Bononi]

Yes I read this on ITV...
And TGF was not angry with Zonta after all, and yet made a joke about his bad luck as they managed to get out the cars off the track before the red flag...
It all sounds suspicious. After a clean, flawless race to the victory, somebody has to put it in jeopardy...
I know it has been scheduled that TGF will win the title, but screw every wining race of McLaren is a little to much... they could use it in the end of the championship, when TGF could be in more danger. Now, all the world will have an eye on this "suspicious manoeveurs" !!!

[EERO]

OH FOR CHRISSAKES!!!!!

So for the second time this season, McLaren will lose valuable points to Ferrari for a minor technical infraction from which they received little or no benefit. And don't think it won't happen.

Of course, it would hand to win to DC...

[Liz]

And Rubens would not mind being promoted to second place, come to that, as he drove the race he was told to drive and deserved better than he got....

But This Bauer Character is turning F1 into WWF and should be drug out into the street and run over by Zonta, who seems to have it down to a fine art.

Not that I care about Cranky Mika winning any races, but racing should be done on the track and men in suits should not decide champtionships except if the results were obvious to a blind man, not including Ron Dennis.

Feh. I'm going to start watching sports cars.

[Mr.S]

Mika deserves that win, he worked his butt off for it. I dont know but every race it looks more and more like there is someone up there pushing buttons trying to make the championship closer. They alow teams to cheat when it suits that cause, but when someone does something out of place, they find a problem with the car. It just makes me so mad when something like this happens.

[Stonegold]

Sorry, but I have to say I disagree with you when you say that he deserves it!!

You say that Mika Hakkinen worked his butt off for it!!
Well I know that if the FIA decides that M.H. will lose his points, I'm extremely happy for M. Gene!! (to score 1 point)

It's not Hakkinen who is working so damn hard to score points, I think that the drivers who always end up last in this circus, (Gene), are working harder to score points than M.H. and his McLaren.

I have a lot of respect voor the team of McLaren and M.H., but if you can't play straight, you have to pay the price!!!!

And do you know why.............Because Stonegold said so!!

[Crash Test]

Rules are rules, and if they let the teams do as they will...you can just imagine it...the precious little racing there is will disappear, and it will become WWF.

The FIA guy wouldn't be coming over as a prick if there weren't problems with the cars, pretty simple aint it?

[Nuvolari]

The fault, if there is any, isn't the FIA's.

It's McLaren's.

Heard on the BBC that Benetton had similar problem earlier in the season, with no disqualification by the FIA.

[Valve Bounce]

Quite honestly, I don't see any reason to worry here. The FIA are going to test the black box. If the programs are legit, then the whole thing will simply disappear. If, on the other hand there is tracs or some other illegal program, then the McLaren should be DSQ'd. We the F1 supporters are in a win/win situation. What I really want to know is wherre exactly on the gear box this sal is located, and how it could have been ripped off. Could the jack have torn it off during the pit stop? Or running over a piece of carbon fibre on the track?

[Tristan]

Oh come on! Why must everything be a conspiracy? Nuvolari, I toatally agree. Anything to get Gené a point, eh?

[Marshal]

I might be mistaken, but I thought that Johnny Herbert finished 7th, so if anyone is going to get the point I'd have thought it would be him.

Interesting to see that the FIA are to assess whether this could have been caused during the race by mistake. I don't recall this being an acceptale defence for TGF at Spa in '94, nor for DC at Interlagos this year. We'll see.

[Mr.S]

1. 1. Hakkinen McLaren Leads
2. 2. Coulthard McLaren +12"600
3. 4. Barrichello Ferrari +33"200
4. 22. Villeneuve BAR +1 lap
5. 10. Button Williams +1 lap
6. 17. Salo Sauber +1 lap
7. 8. Herbert Jaguar +1 lap
8. 20. Gene Minardi +1 lap

Gene was 8th! Johnny would have got the point.

If Hak's parts were illegal then he should be dq. I'm just a fan of his, kind of got me going when I heard about the parts. And Sotnegold, Formula 1 is won by the best drivers in the best cars, not the ones who tried hardest (I'm sorry to say). As someone said before if the WDC was decided on effort then JV would have got it 3 years in a row. And Mika did work damn hard for the win, just because Gene worked just as hard in a far slower car doesn't mean that Mika is any worse. And again if McLaren didn't play strait, they should be taken out.

[Minardi fan]

Indeed Gene was 8th so a dq qould put him to 7th.

Mika outclassed everyone this weekend - let's not have this result ruined by something which had no effect on the car.

[Tristan]

Bugger. I apologise: I was taking Stonegold's word. My fault.

Mikka did seem back "on it" this week. I can't see any chance of a DQ. The seal may have been missing but so what? Surely if the data's cushdie then that's OK I assume.....?

[Valve Bounce]

Still no word - and it's Thursday already. Where can we get some news on this???

[Mr.S]

Well Mika's black box passed the test, the FIA compared it and found it to be normal. But there was still something wrong and they are further investigating. The problem is that the FIA can still leagally DQ Mika because of the missing seal, even if it is proven that nothing in the black box was changed. The car was still technically tampered with.-But I doubt they will if there was no preformance advatage.

And Mr.Bounce: Every day before I come here I go to Formula1.com, very very good site allways up-to-date.

[Schume]

The Latest News from http://www.alphaf1.com

"FIA to Punish McLaren

The latest reports indicate that FIA will punish the McLaren team by taking away it's constructors' points earned at the Austrian GP. Mika Hakkinen however can keep his victory.

There was a missing seal at Hakkinen's electronics box and FIA got extra trouble of checking it. Final decision will be announced on Friday."

[Gerard]

FIA Press Release.

2000 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX - SCRUTINEERING OF CAR No 1

The electronic box of car no1 (Mika Hakkinen – West McLaren Mercedes) has been examined by FIA experts in the presence of representatives of West McLaren Mercedes.

A report has been sent to the Stewards of the Austrian Grand Prix. They will reconvene to examine the report and hear the representatives of West McLaren Mercedes as well as the FIA experts on 25 July at 2 p.m. in London.

It is hoped that the Stewards' decision will be published later that day.

Geneva, 20 July 2000

[Note: The Stewards are the final judges at each Formula One Grand Prix. Of the three Stewards two are appointed by the FIA and one by the National motor sport authority of the country where the Grand Prix takes place. Competitors have a right of appeal from a decision of the Stewards to the FIA International Court of Appeal.]

End of Press Release.

[Mr.S]

Official FIA announcement is on Tuesday.

Shume, I think that makes perfect sense, the team screwed up not Mika. And it is already proven that the contents of the black box wasn't tampered with.

[Minardi fan]

Does sound fair enough to punish the team and not Mika.

HOWEVER, if they are going to let Mika off for this, then I think DC's 6 points from Brazil should also be returned. The FIA is getting a bit too choosy...