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Sep. 13th, 2007
PARIS -- The McLaren team was fined $100 million and stripped of its points in the constructors' standings Thursday in the spying scandal that has rocked the sport.
McLaren, which leads the current drivers' and constructors' standings, was punished by the World Motor Sports Council for allegedly using leaked secret technical documents belonging to F1 rival Ferrari.
Team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, currently 1-2 in the championship standings, were not punished.
McLaren will also be excluded from next year's constructors' championship, FIA said in a statement after a hearing. The team can appeal.
Rookie English driver Hamilton leads the standings with 92 points, followed by two-time F1 champion Alonso of Spain with 89. Ferrari teammates Kimi Raikkonen (74) and Felipe Massa (69) are third and fourth. Four races remain in the season, starting with Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Alonso finished 1-2 in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Ferrari's home track of Monza to extend McLaren's lead in the constructors' championship to 23 points. McLaren has 166, Ferrari 143.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=6&id=3017450&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines
http://www.motorsport-total.com/