I just read an article about BAR's Oliver Panis. He was quoted as saying it would be "morally wrong" to reveal any vital information from his time as the McLaren-Mercedes test driver. He said that his "respect" for McLaren would prevent him from giving away too much information. That sounds noble, doesn't it?

Panis, however, needs to ask himself, whether or not nobility will help him win races. Panis makes his "secret" information seem pretty important. Is it important enough to give BAR, and consequently, Panis, a leg up on McLaren? Are we to believe that Panis would not use ANY information from his time at McLaren for the betterment of BAR and himself?

My technological expertise, and inner-knowledge of modern F1 teams techniques sits high up in the cheap seats. I have no clue if the information Panis knows would benefit BAR in any way. But if it could, wouldn't Panis be a damn fool for not taking advantage it? Is he STILL under contract at McLaren?

It makes one wonder about Oliver Panis' F1 goals. Are they to become a champion? Or are they to please Ron Dennis? Surely, Panis is blowing smoke up our backside. Surely. Put yourself in Ron Dennis' shoes. Your McLaren team hasn't been doing so great. Say Oliver Panis just won a World Championship in a dominant Williams. Say you signed Panis to a contract. Think it's possible that you might ask Panis a question or two about Williams?

Now put yourself in Craig Pollock's striving shoes. You're the boss for the underachieving BAR team. You just signed McLaren's chief test driver. The car that Panis tested on, the McLaren-Mercedes, has been the car to have the past few seasons. Think you might have a few questions for Panis? And you have millions of reasons to expect Panis to reveal all he knows.

If we know one thing, it is this: the modern Grand Prix driver is a greedy, selfish bastard. He knows no bounds when it comes to getting his hands on the latest, fastest, most advanced equipment around. If that means cutting the knees out from under a teammate, so be it. Whatever it takes. That's not hyperbole. That's fact. Even from the cheap seats, it's crystal-clear.

If Panis wanted to be truly noble, he would have stayed on at McLaren as a test driver. There, he could give Dennis and McLaren all the respect they could ask for. But Panis wanted to race. At McLaren, he didn't have that opportunity. Hence, the move to BAR.

Maybe we take Panis at his word. Perhaps he wants to exercise his race legs till an opportunity at McLaren shows up. If that's the case, Panis will not endear himself at BAR. But recent comments from BAR team boss, Pollock, indicate the opposite. Indeed, Pollock has indicated that Panis already has the team fully behind him. In other words, whatever Panis learned from McLaren, however significant, has already been utilized. Panis didn't sign at BAR for Ron Dennis. He signed there for his own selfish reasons. To win.