The FIA were forced to take action and strip an entire F1 team of all of their championship points.
With the season drawing to a close, all eyes remain firmly fixated on the battle for the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship with Lando Norris holding a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri heading into the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
McLaren have already secured the constructors’ championship for the second season in a row heading into 2026 when the regulations will change and look set to open up the field again.
Despite their recent success, their time in F1 hasn’t been without scandal and they were once stripped off all of their points after the sport was rocked by controversy back in 2007.
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Back then, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were the team’s drivers, Alonso was also the reigning world champion.
However, a scandal involving rival team Ferrari saw McLaren fined $100 million dollars (£49.2m) and all of their constructors’ championship points removed.
The British team were initially found guilty of fraudulent conduct, being found in possession of a confidential 780-page document that belonged to Ferrari. The team avoided any penalty due to insufficient evidence but new information surfaced and the FIA were forced to take action.
Following a ten-hour meeting, it was decided all of their constructor points in the 2007 season would be stripped and they were no longer allowed to score any points in the remaining races.
Their statement read: “The WMSC have stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructor points in the 2007 FIA Formula One world championship and the team can score no points for the remainder of the season.
“Furthermore, the team will pay a fine equal to US100million, less the FOM (Formula One Management) income lost as a result of the points deduction.
“However, due to the exceptional circumstances in which the FIA gave the team’s drivers an immunity in return for providing evidence, there is no penalty in regard to drivers’ points.
“The WMSC will receive a full technical report on the 2008 McLaren car and will take a decision at the December 2007 meeting after what sanction, if any, will be imposed on the team for the 2008 season.”
Hamilton and Alonso were cleared to continue in their battle for the drivers’ championship despite their team being punished.
Ultimately, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen would go on to claim the 2007 drivers’ championship and McLaren would issue a public apology over their role in the saga. They offered to put a freeze on their developments for the upcoming season that could be seen as deriving from Ferrari information.
Two years later, the matter drew to a close after an agreement between legal authorities in Italy and McLaren’s lawyers.
Topics: Formula 1, McLaren, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso
Marcus Banks