Analysis: the remarkable Stepneygate saga

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Schumacher to help distribute McLaren fine

   Thursday, March 27th 2008, 09:30 GMT

Michael Schumacher during testing at BarcelonaFerrari's retired world champion Michael Schumacher will help distribute $60 million paid by McLaren as punishment for last year's spying controversy, Formula One's governing body said on Wednesday.

The seven times world champion, who quit in 2006, will form part of a five-man management committee for the worldwide Motor Sport Safety Development Fund.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the intention was to use the fund over the next five years to concentrate on three safety programmes for drivers, officials and facilities.

Other members of the committee are FIA president Max Mosley, former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug and Nick Craw who represents the national sporting associations.

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Ferrari, McLaren bring closure to spy row

By Jonathan Noble    Friday, July 11th 2008, 10:40 GMT

Ferrari and McLaren have agreed to bring closure to the spy controversy that marred last year's fight for the Formula One world championship after settling any remaining differences they had over the matter.

McLaren were fined $100 million and thrown out of last year's constructors' championship after they were found guilty in the spy saga when a dossier of secret Ferrari information was found to be in possession of one of their employees.

Although the matter was brought to a formal close by the FIA last December, when McLaren publicly apologised for their behaviour, there remained some unresolved issues between the Woking-based team and their Maranello rivals.

However, in separate statements issued by McLaren and Ferrari on Friday morning, the teams confirmed that they had sorted out all outstanding issues in a bid to allow both of them and F1 to move on.

"In light of the formal closure in December 2007 of the FIA and FIA World Motor Sport Council proceedings against McLaren, and of McLaren's public apology to Ferrari which we have reiterated, Ferrari and McLaren have agreed to bring the various disputes between them in relation to this matter to a final conclusion," said a statement from McLaren.

"McLaren have also agreed to the reimbursement of Ferrari's costs and expenses relating to these matters and a concluding payment."

Ferrari welcomed McLaren's actions and said they would donate the money they received from their rivals to good causes.

"Ferrari acknowledges McLaren's reiterated apology for the well known events which occurred during the 2007 F1 Championship and, in the best interests of Formula One and taking into account the formal closure in December 2007 of the FIA and FIA World Motor Sport Council proceedings against McLaren, it confirms that it has accepted to put an end to all outstanding controversies between the two teams," said a statement issued by Ferrari. "Ferrari will donate to charity the concluding payment received from McLaren."

Although legal action against McLaren has begun in Italy regarding the matter, the fact that Ferrari have now settled their differences means there is unlikely to be an impetus to push forward on this front.

However, Ferrari have made it clear that they will continue their claims against former chief mechanic Nigel Stepney over the matter. Stepney is alleged to have handed over the 780-page dossier of information to McLaren's former chief designer Mike Coughlan.

The Ferrari statement added: "Ferrari will pursue its claims against Nigel Stepney in connection with the matter."

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Ex-Ferrari Formula 1 mechanic Nigel Stepney killed in road accident
   Friday, May 2nd 2014, 15:30 GMT

Nigel Stepney

Nigel Stepney, the former Ferrari mechanic who was at the centre of the 2007 Formula 1 'spygate' scandal, has died.

The 56-year-old was involved in a road traffic accident in Kent in the early hours of Friday morning.

A statement from the Kent Police said that investigations were underway as to the cause of the incident.

PC Glen Braidwood of Kent Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "A silver VW caddy van, driven by a 56 year-old man from the Essex area, had stopped on the hard shoulder of the M20 Londonbound carriageway at Ashford.

"For reasons yet to be established, the man appears to have entered the carriageway and was then in collision with an articulated goods vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene."

Stepney enjoyed a lengthy career in F1, working for Shadow, Lotus, Benetton and Ferrari.

Having left F1 in the wake of the 2007 spy affair between McLaren and Ferrari, Stepney most recently worked in sportscars - joining the JRM outfit in 2010.

James Rumsey, the owner of JRM, was one of the first to pay tribute to Stepney.

"Nigel was an intense and fierce competitor and always strived for excellence in our racing," he said.

"We certainly could not have achieved our level of success without his leadership and experience.

"Away from the track, he was a focused, driven and passionate member of the JRM Group, and a loving father to his family.

"The rest of the engineering and race team here at JRM learned an unimaginable amount from Nigel in the four short years he was with us and his death this morning has shocked everyone to the core.

"Today, the motorsport world has lost one of its greatest characters and competitors. He will be sorely missed and we send our sincere condolences to his family and the many friends he leaves behind."

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F1: Nigel Stepney autobiography set for 2012 release
   
By Auto123.com (Auto123.com),
Monday, July 16, 2012
From GMM

Nigel Stepney's almost certainly highly controversial account of the 'spygate' scandal looks set to be published late this year.

In the wake of the sacked and disgraced former Ferrari engineer's plans a few years ago to release an explosive autobiography, the publisher pulled out.

It was rumoured at the time that Ferrari requested the book be withdrawn.

Nigel Stepney confirmed that his former publisher had been "put under pressure" by an unnamed party.

But he vowed to press on with his account of what happened amid the famous espionage scandal involving McLaren and Mike Coughlan back in 2007.

An official book description at Amazon said 'Red Mist' will include "an in-depth and honest account of the recent 'Stepneygate' saga in his own words."

The German-language Speed Week said it should hit the shelves in time for Christmas.

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/05/spygate-protagonist-nigel-stepney-killed-in-road-accident/



Nigel Stepney, one of the key figures in Ferrari’s all conquering F1 team which won five world titles with Michael Schumacher in the 2000s has been killed in a mysterious road accident in Kent, England.

Stepney, who was 56 years old at the time of the accident, is perhaps best remembered for his part in the 2007 Spygate scandal, whereby he passed intellectual property relating to the design and operation of Ferrari F1 cars to McLaren designer Mike Coughlan, a scandal that culminated in McLaren being fined US $100 million by the FIA, then under the presidency of Max Mosley.

In one of the more curious episodes of recent times, he was also accused by Ferrari of trying to sabotage one of the cars by putting powder in the fuel tank.

It was a troubled end to a relationship which had brought great success to the Scuderia. Stepney was the chief mechanic and working under technical director Ross Brawn he brought a military level of discipline to the mechanics at the team which raised the standard of their work and especially their pit stops. Along with Brawn, designer Rory Byrne, Jean Todt, engine boss Paolo Martinelli and Stefano Domenicali, they were the figures behind the astonishing run of success.

It is believed that Stepney became disaffected when he was not promoted as the management shuffled around in the wake of Schumacher’s retirement and Ross Brawn’s departure on sabbatical.


Stepney’s death is shrouded in mystery. He appears to have parked a van on the hard shoulder of the M20 motorway and according to police, “For reasons yet to be established, the man appears to have entered the carriageway and was then in collision with an articulated goods vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.”


Stepney left Ferrari and more recently was working with NISMO and its president Shoichi Miyatani, issued a statement this evening,

“It is with great sadness that we learn today of the loss of our friend, Nigel Stepney.

“As the head of engineering at JRM, Nigel worked with NISMO since 2010. He led the JRM Racing team to the 2011 FIA GT1 World Driver’s Championship with the Nissan GT-R GT1 and most recently focused his efforts on the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, which won the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am Championship in the hands of Nissan GT Academy team RJN.”