Formula One news

McLaren team claims it did nothing wrong

On Monday afternoon the FIA announced that it had launched an investigation into incidents involving the McLaren Formula 1 team. The FIA believes the team might have given out team orders, which are not allowed in Formula One. The team though quickly responds that as far as they are considered they did nothing wrong.

Speaking about the FIA investigation a team spokesman said: "We are very confident about FIA's investigation into our race strategy. All the decisions that we took before and during the race respect perfectly the International Sporting Code.

Ron Dennis was also very clear about what happened is according to the rules. Ron Dennis said: "Team strategy is what you bring to bear to win a Grand Prix. Team orders is what you bring to bear to manipulate a Grand Prix. And we do not, and have not, manipulated Grands Prix, unless there were some exceptional circumstances, which occurred, for example, in Australia (1998), when at that time someone had tapped into our radio and instructed Mika Hakkinen to enter the pits.

"He entered the pits and I reversed that, because that was unfair, that was an outside influence on the outcome of the race. That is one of the very rare occasions that there's been a team order. I don't feel uncomfortable with them. I sleep easy. I have a clear conscience, both on that particular race - and this race today."

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