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Enthusiast Groups => Motorsports => Formula One => Topic started by: fasteddy on July 03, 2007, 10:22:16 PM
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By Adam Cooper Tuesday, July 3rd 2007, 23:03 GMT
'Stepneygate' has sent shock waves through Formula One in recent days, and Tuesday's news that a senior McLaren employee is involved in obtaining stolen documents belonging to Ferrari has added yet another dimension to the story.
Ferrari and McLaren have had a highly charged rivalry for three decades now, but this latest episode is perhaps the strangest yet.
The 'Dream Team' Disbanded
Nigel Stepney began his motorsport career in the 1970s, when he worked for the Broadspeed touring car team, before moving through stints at Shadow and Lotus - where he worked with Ayrton Senna.
From 1988 to 1992 he was at Benetton as chief mechanic. He earned a reputation as a good organiser who paid attention to detail and kept the troops in line. That was just what Ferrari needed when he was head-hunted by former Benetton colleague John Barnard in 1993, shortly before Jean Todt joined the Italian team.
He knew Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne in his time at Benetton, so when they came to Maranello in 1996 and 1997, it was a reuniting of the old gang.
Through the Schumacher glory years, Stepney received a lot of the credit for getting the team on track, especially in terms of reliability and improved preparation. He also became better known after Schumacher ran him over during a pitstop in the 2000 Spanish Grand Prix; after that incident, he gave the lollipop job to someone else...
His job title changed from that of chief mechanic to that of race technical manager. He was clearly a key part of the 'Dream Team', and indeed on occasion he went on to the podium to represent Ferrari and pick up the constructors' trophy.
There was no reason to suspect he was anything but very happy at Ferrari until some time last year, when in conversation he casually mentioned that he was hoping to switch to a factory-based job in 2008.
Schumacher was about to announce his retirement, and Brawn was going on a sabbatical. Like them, Stepney used up a lot of energy through those championship-chasing years, and presumably he quite liked the idea of slowing down, thinking about new challenges.
But he also made it clear that with Schumacher not driving, and even more importantly with Brawn gone, the team would no longer be the same. In essence, he wasn't too happy about being involved in something that potentially was going to go downhill with a new regime in charge.
In fact, Stepney had quite a colourful way of expressing his feeling at the time, and his candour was quite surprising.
Then, during the winter, Stepney made his feeling publicly known in an interview with Autosport magazine, much to Ferrari's displeasure.
House Search at Casa Stepney
By the time Formula One arrived at Melbourne for the opening race of the season, there was no sign of Stepney, whose new factory role was head of team performance development.
This followed by rumours that Stepney was contemplating a move to Honda - entirely logical, considering he is a Briton who presumably always fancied moving back home (throughout his Ferrari years, Brawn always maintained a double life, with a house in the UK). With Brawn's name also linked to Honda, it seemed plausible that both men could end up there.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, came the bombshell news that Stepney was under criminal investigation in Italy, following action taken by Ferrari, and that he had 'disappeared' abroad.
All sorts of mixed messages came out in the days that followed. Key among them was talk of a white powder being found in or around the Ferrari F2007 fuel tank before the Monaco Grand Prix, and the suggestion therefore Stepney tried to sabotage the cars.
The police duly raided the Briton's house in Italy, and it was reported that they had taken away a canister, which we could only presume was related to the aforementioned white powder.
Things took a different turn on June 24, when the Sunday Times reported Stepney's view. Journalist Jane Nottage, who knows Stepney well and has written an officially sanctioned book about the inner workings of Ferrari, called him in the Philippines, where he was holidaying with his girlfriend and their child.
"I have confidence that I'll be cleared by the legal process that is now taking place," he told her. "It is just part of a dirty tricks campaign and everything is in the hands of my lawyer, so we'll wait and see what happens.
"I am on a planned holiday with Ash and our baby. Why would anyone say I am not contactable? I booked the flights through the Ferrari travel office. They know where I am."
In a further twist, a Ferrari spokesman told autosport.com at Magny-Cours last weekend that this last statement was not true, and indeed, Stepney was not even on an official leave.
Meanwhile, the rumours continued to fly around, and bits of information come out in dribs and drabs. I've been told that the police officers who visited Casa Nigel didn't just recover that canister, but other items of interest, reportedly including a couple of steering wheels that should not have been there.
Sources have also suggested that Stepney was allegedly seen behaving suspiciously around the cars in the factory at a time when he thought he was alone, and/or that there is incriminating CCTV footage.
In addition to the white powder business, there were also rumours of some form of industrial espionage.
It seemed obvious to assume that any such behaviour might involve a potential future employer such as Honda, but there was a whisper last weekend that McLaren were the recipient.
Sabotaging the cars, helping McLaren by passing on secrets... The story got weirder and weirder. What was Stepney supposedly up to?
The only conclusion a casual observer could make was that some internal strife at Maranello, possibly involving Stepney not being allowed contractually to make his move to Honda, had caused him to extract some sort or revenge.
House Search at Fort Coughlan
However, the story took another serious turn on Tuesday morning when Ferrari revealed that Stepney had been sacked.
And, that afternoon brought the stunning news that McLaren were indeed in the loop a statement from the Woking outfit revealing "senior member of [McLaren's] technical organisation was subject of a Ferrari investigation regarding the receipt of technical information."
McLaren's statement further revealed that this senior staff member " had personally received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April."
McLaren concluded by saying the individual has been suspended by the company, pending a full investigation.
Inevitably there was considerable interest in just who might be involved at Woking, and logic suggested it was someone at McLaren who has worked with Stepney in the past. There was certainly more than one high profile name that fitted that bill.
After that came a statement from Ferrari, which confirmed they have instigated legal proceedings against Stepney and a McLaren employee, in both Italy and England.
It didn't take long for it to emerge that the McLaren man under investigation was chief designer Mike Coughlan.
He worked with Stepney at Benetton and, from 1993 to 1998, at Ferrari - although Coughlan was mostly at John Barnard's Surrey base rather than in Maranello.
On Tuesday, Coughlan's house was visited by the UK police, and apparently Ferrari documents were found there.
Clearly the saga has caused some disruption at Ferrari, but the fact that this affair has now spread to McLaren as well must be big relief to the Maranello team, as some of the negative attention has been diverted.
If, as must now be considered possible, Coughlan does not return to work once the investigation is complete, he will leave a hole in McLaren's staff that has to be filled.
McLaren may have strength in depth, but losing the chief designer in the middle of a title campaign - and just as serious work gets going on the 2008 car - is not exactly ideal.
Inevitably, too, some would also be very happy for the fans to draw the conclusion that McLaren's turnaround in form after Spain was in some way related to the information that was passed on, although clearly there is no evidence that this is the case.
Indeed, it remains unknown if the alleged information was actually used by Coughlan in an attempt to benefit McLaren, or if indeed it was of any value to a team running a completely different car.
The other possibility is that the information pertained to something that Ferrari were doing that was of potential interest to McLaren - advanced wing design and flexing bodywork, for example.
The Gathering Storm
Ferrari interestingly made a point of ending their statement on Tuesday by saying the team "reserve the right to consider all implications, be they criminal, civil or of any other nature, according to the applicable laws." (emphasis added)
The last time Ferrari made a similar threat was in 2003, after the FIA found the tread width of Michelin tyres to be outside the legal width - following a protest by Ferrari. Back then, Ferrari also "reserved the right" to challenge race results after the season was over, should they deem it necessary.
Ferrari never pursued legal action in 2003 - the team, after all, won both titles that season - but Maranello's suggestion that some teams may not have won fairly was made very clear.
This time around, McLaren were unequivocal in their Tuesday statement that 'Stepneygate' involves one individual inthe team, and not McLaren.
"Whilst McLaren has no involvement in the matter and condemns such actions, we will fully cooperate with any investigation," the team said, and there is no reason to question this. For all his shortcomings, Ron Dennis's integrity has never been at doubt.
Either way, though, this really is a sorry saga that will overshadow the British team's widely anticipated homecoming Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
It's also unclear how all this affects Ross Brawn and any plans he has to return to Maranello.
The former technical direct is very close to Stepney, but on the other hand he is a Ferrari man to the core, and if there has been any wrongdoing, one presumes he will side with the team.
So now we wait to find out not only what Stepney has to say when he returns to Europe, but also what happens at McLaren.
It remains to be seen what the FIA, too, will do - if at all - in this affair, and what are the legal implications for Stepney, Coughlan, Ferrari and McLaren.
Recently, two former Ferrari employees were found guilty of stealing Ferrari secrets and taking them to Toyota.
And, considering that that affair took four years to reach its court resolution, it's safe to say that 'Stepneygate' has only just begun.
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McLaren reassure Ferrari about leaked data
By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, July 4th 2007, 12:38 GMT
McLaren say no intellectual property from the Ferrari team has been used in the design of their cars.
Rivals Ferrari have accused their former technical manager Nigel Stepney of passing secrets to McLaren after searching the house of chief designer Mike Coughlan in England on Tuesday.
McLaren did not name Coughlan but said their employee had been suspended pending an investigation into the receipt of classified information.
However, the British team said on Wednesday that, after a thorough investigation, they could confirm that no Ferrari intellectual property has been used in their cars, and that no other member of their team had received the information.
"Following our statement of 3rd July 2007, McLaren has completed a thorough investigation and can confirm that no Ferrari intellectual property has been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into its cars," said the team in a statement.
McLaren also invited the FIA to conduct a full review of the cars.
"McLaren has in the meanwhile openly disclosed these matters to the FIA and Ferrari and sought to satisfy any concerns that have arisen from this matter," the statement added.
"In order to address some of the speculation McLaren has invited the FIA to conduct a full review of its cars to satisfy itself that the team has not benefited from any intellectual property of another competitor.
"No further comment will be made."
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Dennis: McLaren have done nothing wrong
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, July 5th 2007, 16:59 GMT
An emotional Ron Dennis insisted on Thursday that his McLaren team would never act 'incorrectly', as he predicted them to be cleared of any wrongdoing in the spy investigation surrounding chief designer Mike Coughlan.
In the wake of Coughlan facing a legal investigation about Ferrari documents allegedly found in his position, Dennis said his team were ready to prove they were not involved in Coughlan's actions.
Clearly upset that his own team's uprightness had been called into question over the matter, Dennis fought back the tears at the opening of his new Brand Centre motorhome to state that he would never sanction any illegal activities.
"I live and breath this team," said Dennis before taking a lengthy pause and composing himself. "And there is no way anything incorrect would ever happen in our team. Thanks."
McLaren have suspended Coughlan after Ferrari began their legal action earlier this week. The team have also made it clear that there is no intellectual property owned by Ferrari that features on their McLaren car.
Dennis, a man who prides himself on his honesty, made it clear that the events of the past week had not been easy for him to deal with.
"It has been a difficult two or three days, especially for me," said Dennis. "My personal integrity is very important to me and my company's integrity is even more important to me. The press releases we have put out really say everything.
"We are in a process. We are working closely with the FIA and closely with Ferrari.
"This matter does not involve our company. Of course, that is not the way understandably everybody sees it at the moment. Some of you (the media) have been very supportive of McLaren, I think some of you have been a little harsh on McLaren.
"But I understand depending which country you are in, and depending on the information you have available to you, you are going to form opinions."
Dennis was sure that the FIA and Ferrari investigations would clear his team of having done anything wrong.
"I am absolutely confident that with the passing of time, and it is a little difficult to put any timing on it, you will see and the world will understand that McLaren's position is one that is reflective of our statements," he explained.
"We have never to my knowledge, and certainly over the past few months over this period, ever used other people's intellectual property. It is not on our car. I am sure the FIA will confirm that either now or in the future, and that is the key message.
"We are both ourselves, the FIA and Ferrari, going through a very careful process. And I have a complete confidence in the outcome. We are (also) completely focused on this week's Grand Prix, an important Grand Prix for us."
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Stepney, Coughlan approached Honda
By Jonathan Noble Friday, July 6th 2007, 16:31 GMT
Honda Racing have become embroiled in the espionage scandal surrounding Nigel Stepney after admitting on Friday that they were approached by the former Ferrari engineer and McLaren's Mike Coughlan for jobs earlier this year.
Just minutes after McLaren boss Ron Dennis said that he had been informed of fresh developments in the affair by an unidentified 'third party', Honda issued a statement confirming speculation that they too were involved in the spy scandal.
"Given the speculation surrounding the legal investigations at Ferrari and McLaren, the Honda Racing F1 Team would like to clarify that earlier this year Nigel Stepney, formerly of Scuderia Ferrari, requested a meeting with Nick Fry, Chief Executive Officer of the Honda Racing F1 Team," said the team in a statement.
"Nigel Stepney subsequently met in June of this year with Nick Fry and brought with him Mike Coughlan of McLaren, with a view to investigating job opportunities within the Honda Racing F1 Team.
"Honda would like to stress that at no point during this meeting was any confidential information offered or received. Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren."
Speculation that more teams than McLaren and Ferrari were involved in the Stepney affair had been mounting over the day at Silverstone - with insiders suggesting that Honda would also be dragged into the matter.
Although team boss Nick Fry refused several times during the course of the day to comment on the situation, in the end the statement was published in a bid to quell the mounting rumours about the level of his and Honda's involvement in the case.
The confirmation of Honda's situation, and the nature of Fry's meeting with the two espionage suspects, makes it increasingly likely that the controversy is more about Stepney and Coughlan looking at future job prospects than out-and-out espionage.
Dennis reiterated his belief that McLaren would be cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter, after confirming that fresh clarity had been brought to his view of the situation by a conversation between himself, Todt and Fry earlier in the day.
"Three team principals discussed this situation this morning," he said. "Again it creates in some ways more clarity.
"I want to be very correct in this process. The first thing that I did when I first learnt of this problem was to phone Jean Todt. The second was to phone Max Mosley and from the beginning we have been cooperative.
"We immediately brought independent people into the company to analyse and go through a process. I feel that as much as the reputation of McLaren has been challenged and in some instances, all instances, unfairly challenged, the important thing is to set an example and to behave in a very correct way.
"I can give a full and detailed understanding to everybody about what has happened over the last few months, but it is just inappropriate. The way of the world is that all the truth comes out.
"Probably the thing that I have learned more than anything over the last few days is how fast people are prepared to jump into severe criticism of McLaren when it has had, certainly in the last 20 odd years, an impeccable reputation in every aspect of how it conducts its racing team and how it conducts its business affairs."
And pre-empting Honda's confirmation about Coughlan and Stepney's approach, he said: "Over the next 48 hours there will definitely be more information available to people and some of that will give a better insight into motives and what lies behind some people's actions. But it is not for me to criticise. We will let things unfold.
"This is all being conducted under civil law and therefore there are no police involved. But this does not mean there it does not follow a proper procedure. Too many people are quick to jump and criticise, and effectively condemn, but as in most things in life the truth will come out. I doubt there will be many apologies afterwards but the truth will come out."
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Q & A with Max Mosley
By Jonathan Noble Saturday, July 7th 2007, 17:05 GMT
Q. Can you explain a little about how the FIA is involved in the Nigel Stepney affair?
Max Mosley: Our job is to ensure that there is sporting equity between the teams, and that everything is fair and properly run. So to that end we have obviously instituted an inquiry into the whole thing and both teams are cooperating fully in giving us all the information we seek. When we have got that information we will decide what to do.
We are concerned solely with the sporting aspect, and only with the team - not with the individuals who are outside our control. They don't have licences, so it is Ferrari and McLaren we are concerned with.
Q. So you have to work out whether there has been a breach of the Sporting Regulations?
MM: What we focus on is whether there has been a breach of the International Sporting Code.
Q. Does this go behind just intellectual property in terms of the benefit a team may have had?
MM: It depends how you define intellectual property.
Q. Well, what about beyond just actual designed parts?
MM: It is not just designs, it is all other sorts of other information. For example if you knew precisely the procedure that a car went through at the start it would be useful, or the procedures people might have for saving fuel. There is endless information and things, and we simply don't know. We are looking into it now.
Apart from that, there is also the question of whether any of that information actually went into McLaren. And obviously whether it did or whether it didn't makes a big difference.
Q. So you can confirm that the investigation goes beyond the pure design aspects. You will look at every bit of information that there was?
MM: The thing is, if you know enough about a team, and you knew everything that a team did, this would undoubtedly be helpful in all sorts of ways. It is not really fair if one team has that information about another team. But we don't yet know what information there was, to what degree it was passed on. We are in the process of looking into that.
Q. Where you do believe collective responsibility starts and ends in terms of the actions of a rogue employee?
MM: Well, that is in the Formula One regulations. A team is responsible for its personnel.
Q. Is the FIA involved with the police in this investigation?
MM: The only police that I think are involved are in Italy. I don't believe there are any police involved in England. We are not concerned with any police or civil action that might be taking place at the moment. We are simply interested in whether or not there has been a breach of the Sporting Code.
Q. Bernie Ecclestone said that even if McLaren were found guilty, you would not punish the drivers. Do you agree with that?
MM: That is wrong. It is incorrect.
Q. So even the drivers could be punished?
MM: I don't want to speculate on what might happen, but it is only in the most absolute exceptional circumstances that a penalty for a team is different from a penalty for the driver.
Q. How serious are the FIA treating this matter?
MM: We are taking it very seriously because the credibility of Formula One and sporting fairness is at stake. I think it is important at the end that everybody knows what has happened, that if people turn out to be completely blameless that this is made clear, and that there has been a proper and credible investigation that makes that clear.
Q. What is the process that you will go through with the investigation?
MM: In all probability the matter will be dealt with by the (FIA) World Council, which will then decide in light of the information in front of it what, if anything, they should do.
Q. Is there a possibility to have two different verdicts, one from the sporting side of things and one on the civil side?
MM: Well, the legal thing is a completely different thing. As far as we are concerned it is just trying to make sure that the sport is run fairly. That one team does not have an unfair advantage over another team. That is all we are concerned with.
Anything to do with who took which documents where, and any civil or criminal aspects, that is completely separate. That concerns the individuals. We are only concerned with the team because the team are the only thing we have any authority on.
Q. Do you think your verdict on the matter will come quickly?
MM: I think with our inquiry, I would be very disappointed if we haven't got to the end of this from a sporting point of view within the next three weeks or so.
Q. Have you been involved in any discussions with Jean Todt, Ron Dennis and Nick Fry?
MM: I have had no conversations at all with Nick Fry because if he did or did not have a meeting with the engineers, then that is entirely between him and the engineers. There are no rules against meeting other people's engineers.
I have had conversations with Jean and Ron, and they have been along the lines of trying to gather the facts and understand what is happening. I must say that Ron has been completely open with me. He immediately rang me to tell me what is going on, and his conduct in that respect has been impeccable. And Jean the same.
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Stepney denies giving Coughlan documents
By Biranit Goren Saturday, July 7th 2007, 22:59 GMT
? Nigel Stepney's full account of the affair
Nigel Stepney has publicly denied any wrongdoing in the espionage affair that has revolved around him, rejecting accusations that he had transferred secret Ferrari documents to McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.
Stepney has been under criminal investigation in Italy following action taken by Ferrari, who accused the Briton of stealing information from the team's Maranello factory and transferring it to other Formula One teams.
McLaren have suspended Coughlan earlier this week after a house search allegedly unravelled hundreds of documents belonging to Ferrari, while the Italian dismissed Stepney when he was on vacation in the Philippines.
Stepney returned to Italy on Wednesday to face the criminal charges against him, but he has since left the country to an unknown location, claiming he was in danger while there.
"There have been high-speed car chases," Stepney told the Sunday Times, in an exclusive interview with a select group of British journalists.
"We've been followed by more than one car, with Italian plates, and when we cornered one of them last Thursday evening the men in it refused to speak.
"I don't believe they were journalists. [Girlfriend] Ash has been stalked at the house. There was tracking gear on my car. Someone was going to get hurt. I had no option but to get out of Italy."
Stepney was also adamant that he had done nothing wrong, specifically denying the claims that he had transferred to Coughlan hundreds of confidential pages from the Ferrari factory.
"I categorically deny that I copied them [the documents], or that I sent them to Mike Coughlan," Stepney told the newspaper. "I knew I was being watched all the time at the factory and that everything I did or said was being reported back and that people knew whenever I accessed files on the computer.
"I have no idea how anything came into Mike's possession. If he has some documents, they came from another source."
Stepney also said he was a victim of Ferrari's internal politics, saying his trouble began when he told the team management he was unhappy with his job.
'Ferrari took that badly," Stepney said. "I began to feel like I was some sort of traitor. As soon as I went against the system at Ferrari, I got squeezed.
"I'm anxious, naturally, but I haven't done anything wrong."
Nigel Stepney's full account of the affair:
"The first sign of a potential problem came in September last year when Ross Brawn said he would be taking a sabbatical and the technical management structure would be changing.
"I wanted to report to Aldo Costa, the head of chassis design. He was the right person to respond to. I didn't want to respond to Mario Almondo, the new technical director.
"By mid February, the relationship had started to break down. I couldn't work with them. I missed the one-to-one relationship with Ross. He knew exactly what I could do; I always had 100 per cent support from Ross. Now I had four or five people to report to. It was very frustrating.
"I told Jean Todt I didn't want to travel any more. I wanted to sit back and consider the future. Ferrari took that badly.
"My role became head of performance development based at the factory. I began to feel like I was some sort of traitor, just because I no longer wanted to travel.
"At that stage, I wasn't looking anywhere else. But whenever I discussed anything with people in the factory in the course of doing my job, it got fed back to senior management. People became scared to talk to me.
"I was put in a position where it was difficult to do my job. By the end of March the situation was unbearable. I started to look at other teams, and approached [Honda team chief] Nick Fry.
"I met up with Mike [Coughlan] at the end of April. I'd had one meeting with Nick and didn't want to go into a second one alone.
"At first, Mike wasn't looking at a move, although he was unhappy with the McLaren management. Then, three or four people at Ferrari indicated to me, after reading stories of my approach to Honda, that they would be interested in joining a technical group to go to another team. They wanted to follow us to go into a structure in which they felt comfortable.
"I categorically deny that any technical information passed between Mike and I during that meeting, or at any time.
"We mainly discussed the sort of infrastructure and tools we would need to get the job done in another team. I saw the future as helping to put such a structure into place at Honda.
"You don't just take one team's structure and bang it into another team. These things have to evolve, but Mike and I agreed to pool our expertise and talked about what we could bring to a team.
"Then we met Nick Fry together on 1 June at Heathrow.
"On 17 May, when there were legal moves against me by Ferrari, people were taken from the factory to the Carabinieri (Italian police) headquarters to be interviewed, but no charges were made against anyone.
"My house in Serramazzoni has been raided twice.
"After the thing with the Carabinieri, I called Jean Todt to say I was going on holiday to the Philippines - I'd filled in the relevant form but it was on my desk and I hadn't handed it in - and wouldn't be coming back until this was all sorted out. We haven't spoken since.
"I admit it looks blatantly obvious, but something is happening inside Ferrari.
"I was accused by Mario Almondo of taking some drawings. I had them in my possession legitimately because I needed them for work on the simulator, but it was reported to him by the drawing office that I had them. I got the papers and threw them on Almondo's desk. The next day they were back on mine!
"I categorically deny that I copied them, or that I sent them to Mike Coughlan. I knew I was being watched all the time at the factory and that everything I did or said was being reported back and that people knew whenever I accessed files on the computer.
"I have no idea how anything came into Mike's possession. I don't even know for sure that he has had documents. Do you know for sure? Categorically, he didn't get them from me. If he has some, then they came from another source.
"I would be a bit stupid to go anywhere if I had such material, wouldn't I? I put a lot of the systems and working practices in place at Ferrari, relating to the operations of the test and race teams and the preparation of the cars, information I am told was supposed to be in the documents.
"I had worked on them with Ross and Aldo Costa. So if I already had all that material in my head, why would I need it all again? I am seriously doubtful that Mike has these documents.
"I have nothing to hide; I might as well have left the keys to my house with the caretaker so anyone from Ferrari could go in.
"Ferrari is terrified that what I have in my mind is valuable. I guess I know where the bodies are buried from the last ten years; and there were a lot of controversies in that time.
"But do you think (chief designer) Nicolas Tombazis came to Ferrari from McLaren without something in his mind? The new Ferrari front end aero came from McLaren, because it was in his head.
"I'm just a bit confused. I was never a yes man and as soon as I went against the system at Ferrari, I got squeezed.
"I started to get the blame for things, and began to feel framed. I have been accused, but have not been charged with anything; right now, there is just an investigation. But I feel like I am in the wilderness.
"Ferrari is unique in Italy; it's a religion. If you go against it, it's like going against the Vatican.
"I'm anxious, naturally, but I haven't done anything wrong and I believe in the legal system in Italy."
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Q & A with Jean Todt on the spy affair
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, July 8th 2007, 17:36 GMT
Q. Have you read the interview with Nigel Stepney that appeared this morning? And can you give us some details on the case on Tuesday?
Jean Todt: The situation unfortunately is quite clear. To the first part of the question, yes I have been reading the magazines that have been writing about that. But unfortunately at the moment I am not allowed to make any kind of comment. But as I have said before, it is just a question of time to have more details.
I wish I could answer and be more detailed, already now, but as it is a court case I am simply not allowed. If you analyse all the different official statements that have been done, there are some people involved in it and you can clearly make your own judgement from what has been officially stated and what was in some interview.
But at the High Court there will be a public hearing next Tuesday.
Q. I understand that you cannot comment on the court proceedings, but Nigel Stepney has categorically denied handing any information over. Are you satisfied that there is nobody else involved in this?
JT: I think we have to, how can I say, stop talking about that for the time being. I am simply not allowed to speak about it because it is a court case. So don't ask me if it is only one, two or three (people). The things will come over the next days, over the next weeks, and then when everything is settled then probably it will be easier for us to comment and to answer to details.
But at the moment unfortunately I am not in the position to talk. There is a court case happening - one in Italy and one in the UK.
Q. How difficult has it been to keep the team, the drivers and the mechanics concentrated on just this race considering everything that has been going on?
JT: Quite easy. Fortunately I have said very often, inside the team there is a very good spirit. People are focused. They want to see how to improve the situation, how to move forward in the championship. And we try to leave them away from it.
I am not happy about the situation. I feel it is unnecessary to arrive at this type of situation, but unfortunately that is a situation we have to face. Considering the team, it is not something where they are involved, they are aware of it, and the only thing they try to do is be competitive.
Q. I know you cannot talk about Ron Dennis and Mike Coughlan personally, but Ron Dennis has said he is convinced his team are innocent of all the problems and it is only an isolated case. Do you believe Ron and if the team are found guilty that they should be penalised for being involved in this scandal?
JT: I understand that some of you have spoken with the president of the FIA over the weekend, and I think he is in a better situation to answer than me. So we will have to answer some questions from the FIA in the coming days, and from that that will be their problem.
Q. Do you believe that McLaren are innocent?
JT: It is not a question to believe or not to believe. At the moment I am sure I am not able to comment about those facts.
Q. Can I ask you a procedural question? With the court case on Tuesday, can you just confirm the individuals who are going to be named in that court case and what the accusation is against them?
JT: The first procedure was our lawyers, together with some independent experts, went to visit the house of one of the top management people from a competitors' team. They decided after that, that they have some facts, which allowed them to move forward. And to move forward is to go to the High Court on Tuesday.
Q. Ron Dennis said at the press conference earlier this weekend that you spoke with him and you mentioned that you believed in his integrity and the integrity of the team. Can you confirm what you said?
JT: It is true that Ron called me a few times, since the information came officially. But I am not going to comment on the telephone discussions we had.
Q. With all that has happened in the last week, will this have any bearing on the future of Ross Brawn and his decision. Is he still talking to Ferrari about coming to Ferrari?
JT: We are talking about two completely different matters. Ross is a great guy; he had some fantastic achievements at Ferrari. He decided to take a sabbatical year. I don't want to speak for him, but he is very sad knowing all that has happened. We are all very sad about what has happened.
And there is nothing that will interfere in the choices we have to make for the future. It is something you should ask him, and it is true to say that I mentioned we will meet over the next weeks, and I confirm that we will meet over the next weeks.
Q. It has been written that Ferrari took action after being tipped off by an individual in a copy shop in England, which seems bizarre. Can you confirm that?
JT: I cannot confirm that. But as I said, I can understand the question. But it will come out very quickly and then you will, or you will not, have some answers to the questions that you may want to have answered. All of that will be covered.
Q. Honda have confirmed that they spoke to Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. Are you happy that they are no longer involved in the investigation?
JT: Again, I don't have everything in hand to comment about that. We had a team principals' meeting on Friday, which finished about 1pm. Nick Fry came and informed me for the first time about this meeting. That was the only time I spoke with him about that.
Q. This morning in the newspapers Nigel Stepney said that he knows where, 'the bodies are buried.' Referring to processes put in place within Ferrari in the last 10 years that should remain a secret. Are you concerned that he could talk about secrets inside Ferrari, and whether or not this is a way to silence Nigel because he knows too much about it?
JT: You know. It makes me smile, and it is good sometimes. But after 10 years, or the last 14 years, it is true it is like being in the family. There are so many things that do happen. But we have had over 14 years with the team, some good times and some tough times, but nothing that cannot come out.
So you know very well in this business that if something has to come out it does not wait 10 years. We have about 900 people employed in the company, so the answer is quite easy.
Q. When it does all come out, and we find out whoever is right and whoever is wrong, do you think it is unfortunate for the image of F1 that this is happening anyway?
JT: I will let you decide about the answer. I would prefer to speak and comment about the race, the great race we had today, the problem that Felipe had, and the championship that is an interesting championship rather than having to comment on these types of things. Unfortunately that is the fact when you are facing some irresponsible people.
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Interview with Nick Fry on the spy affair
By Adam Cooper Monday, July 9th 2007, 15:16 GMT
The complexion of the Ferrari spying affair changed on Friday at Silverstone when Honda announced that team CEO Nick Fry had been in contact with Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan.
This revelation suggested the whole affair might not be about attempts to transfer confidential Ferrari information to McLaren but rather, perhaps, an attempt by Stepney and Coughlan to take a 'dream team' package to Honda.
Of course, one big question was left hanging in the air. If this was indeed the case, why had Honda waited so long before making these facts known?
Three whole days had passed since the initial announcement on Tuesday afternoon that a McLaren employee had been suspended, and for three whole days the world at large had little choice but to assume that any information that Coughlan had allegedly received was for the purpose of benefiting McLaren and therefore, presumably, his own standing within the company.
An earlier announcement from Honda could have possibly limited the initial damage caused to McLaren. However, Fry was travelling to and from Japan on Honda business as the story broke, so his first contact with McLaren on the matter was not until Thursday, when he called McLaren F1 CEO and his personal friend Martin Whitmarsh.
However, Fry's first contact with Ferrari did not come until 1:00 pm on Friday, when he spoke to Jean Todt and Ron Dennis at the end of a Formula One team principals meeting on other matters.
It was several hours later, after Dennis had made it clear in a regularly scheduled FIA press conference that a third team was involved, that Honda put out a public statement.
Honda's press release was very carefully worded. "Earlier this year Nigel Stepney, formerly of Scuderia Ferrari, requested a meeting with Nick Fry and brought with him Mike Coughlan of McLaren, with a view to investigating job opportunities within the Honda Racing F1 team.
"Honda would like to stress that at no point during the meeting was any confidential information offered or received. Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren."
The timing of informing Todt and Dennis was not specified, while intriguingly, none of the official documentation from Ferrari or McLaren to this point had actually named Coughlan.
Sources close to Ferrari have made it clear that the management was not impressed by Honda's slow response. The feeling at Maranello is apparently that Fry should even have contacted Todt and Dennis as soon as Stepney and Coughlan appeared together, as this twin approach was a 'strange' situation.
To be fair to Fry, that idea seems a little far fetched, because teams have contacts with other people's employees all the time - confidentiality is a two-way street, and if someone sounds you out about job opportunities, you don't go telling their current boss.
However, the story did change as of Tuesday, especially as it became a legal matter. At that stage Fry and Honda clearly did have an opportunity to clarify matters with McLaren and Ferrari.
Of course, the priority of team bosses is to look after the interests of their companies, and it could be argued that everyone would have done the same in Fry's position - explore all avenues that might benefit the team and not get involved when other people's dirty washing is done in public.
But at team principal level, there can be a surprising degree of respect and trust when the big picture is being discussed, and the feeling at both Ferrari and McLaren is that Honda could have handled the situation differently.
There is no evidence to suggest that Honda or Fry did anything improper, or that they knew about the existence of any Ferrari documents. Indeed, had they ultimately signed up Coughlan and Stepney's 'dream team,' possibly involving the extra four Ferrari stuff Stepney says were willing to come along too, the team could have been congratulated for a great coup.
It's only natural to look to Ferrari and McLaren to find people with the ability to improve your fortunes. Folk at other struggling teams might even have asked themselves - why didn't those guys call us?
Fry says that he was talking to lots of people, and some appointments have already been made and announced.
It's not really clear how far any discussions with Stepney/Coughlan proceeded or who else at Honda was in the loop and aware that the pair were in contact with the team.
The story continued to develop through the weekend, and on Sunday Stepney revealed to the Sunday Times that he had an earlier meeting with Fry, and had only taken Coughlan to a second one.
Later on Sunday morning, autosport.com caught up with Nick Fry. He confirmed that there was an earlier meeting with Stepney at the beginning of May, prior to the one that involved Coughlan on June 1, both having taken place at Heathrow airport.
Q: Can you clarify the situation with regard to Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan?
Nick Fry: "I think people love the conspiracy theories and whatever, but to me they were just two guys who wanted a job. The discussions we had was in line with similar discussions we had with lots of other people."
Q: In June, the 'white powder' stories came out. What was your reaction to that - did it make you suspicious or confused?
Fry: "Not so much suspicious or confused, but when that type of thing happens, then clearly you wonder what's been going on. It wasn't of any great concern to us, because as I say they were just two guys who'd come along for an interview.
"I did wonder whether there were other things going on. Certainly in America (during the US GP), when rumours started of the police getting involved, then it was looked on from our side more or less just of interest rather than anything else, because we didn't have any involvement beyond interviewing them."
Q: The big question is about what happened this week. When McLaren issued the statement on Tuesday afternoon that they suspended a senior staff member, what was your reaction to that? There are suggestions that you could have reacted quicker
Fry: "There's no reason. I think that's a ludicrous suggestion, probably put forward by McLaren. McLaren did something on Tuesday when I was on my way to Japan, as it happens. There was no reason at that point for me to ring up a competitor and say 'oh by the way, we just interviewed one of your chaps'.
"I mean, you interview people on the basis that it is confidential, and if people thought that you were instantly going to ring up their boss and say, 'oh by the way...', you'd be giving away a lot of trust there.
"Logistically, firstly McLaren hadn't mentioned Mike Coughlan's name, so it would have been bizarre for me to ring up and make that telephone call at that stage. Secondly, I was en route to Japan and was in Japan on Wednesday. When I got back on Thursday afternoon, which was 4:00 pm into Heathrow, my PR lady briefed me that from other sources - probably Nigel - mentioned had been made that I'd seen both of them. And at that point I phoned Martin Whitmarsh.
"That was around 5:00 pm on Thursday afternoon. I landed at 4:00 pm and within an hour, having been briefed, I rang Martin and said, 'It's now got this far, and Mike's name is clearly out in the open, just be aware that he did come and see me. Nothing was offered and nothing was accepted.'
"Then Friday morning I saw Ron and Jean, and we discussed it a bit further. To us it is an issue between McLaren and Ferrari, and if the FIA would like to see copies of emails from us, we're more than happy to provide them, on the basis that they are 'let's meet at 6:00 pm on blah, blah, blah'."
Q: I understand your position that you are an innocent party, haven't seen any information, and were just talking to them. But from the point of view of the situation that McLaren were put in, couldn't you have said something that limited the damage?
Fry: "Again, why would I want to do that? It was nothing to do with us."
Q: But in terms of your personal relationship with other team bosses, has that been damaged by all this?
Fry: "No, not at all. I'm not concerned in the least, and they would have behaved in exactly the same way. There's no reason to get involved until the point where it was clear that the person's name was out in the open. They wouldn't ring me up and say 'by the way, we've just interviewed one of your people'."
Q: But the fact that it had become a legal situation as of Tuesday made things different...
Fry: "A legal situation where McLaren hadn't named the person, and still hasn't, as I understand it."
Q: Well, you named him
Fry: "That's by the by. But all I've named is someone we've interviewed."
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Analysis: Ferrari see Coughlan in court
By Biranit Goren Tuesday, July 10th 2007, 15:10 GMT
Ferrari are seeking a search order for a computer 'in possession of a third party', which has been used by McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan, it has emerged today.
It is believed Ferrari's request relates to Coughlan's workstation at McLaren, although the specific details of Ferrari's application were not made public.
The hearing at Court 59 in London's High Court today followed up on a search order granted by the court last week, with the judge consenting to transfer to Ferrari the material recovered during that search.
The search at Coughlan's house recovered two computer discs, which are said to include 780 confidential pages with technical information belonging to Ferrari.
These discs have since been held by an independent supervising solicitor appointed by the court, but today Ferrari requested these discs will be transferred to them, and with no objection from Coughlan's lawyer, the right honourable Judge Briggs has consented.
Another request made in today's application relates to permitting Ferrari to hand over the information and material so far gathered under the court order to the Italian legal authorities, where a criminal investigation is held against ex-Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney.
Ferrari are bound by the court to keep all information tied to the case in confidence and may not transfer the information to anyone, including the Modena district attorney or the FIA, without the court's permission.
Judge Briggs is set to hear Ferrari's arguments tomorrow and could make a decision then.
But tomorrow's session, at 10:30am, will primarily centre around Mike Coughlan's affidavit - or lack of it.
Coughlan was ordered by the court to provide an affidavit detailing his involvement in this case and how he came in possession of Ferrari's documents.
But his attorney asked today for a continuance, saying it is yet unclear whether or not Coughlan's affidavit could be self-incriminating and used against him in criminal proceedings in Italy.
Coughlan is not named as a defendant in the Modenese court case, while the London case is a civil one.
His lawyer explained that they are still waiting for clarification regarding the Italian law, apparently concerned that Coughlan's affidavit could then be used to bring criminal charges against him in Italy.
Ferrari's lawyers, however, argued that Coughlan, who so far co-operated with the court-ordered search and subsequent investigation, has already waived any privilege against self-incrimination.
The court adjourned the debate until tomorrow, at which time Coughlan either provides an affidavit, or the two sides argue whether or not he can claim privilege. Coughlan's lawyer must, however, inform Ferrari's lawyers this afternoon what he decides to do, to allow them to prepare for tomorrow's hearing.
If Coughlan decides to argue privilege, it will be down to Judge Briggs to decide whether to accept this or not, and that decision may not necessarily be made immediately tomorrow.
Ferrari's lawyers emphasized the importance of such affidavit, stating there are a few crucial questions that remain unanswered or unclear.
Firstly, they pointed to a discrepancy in the dates of the events. According to the evidence gathered from the photocopying agency, which tipped Ferrari off to begin with, the documents were copied, scanned or printed on or around the 2nd or 3rd of May.
McLaren's statement last week said Coughlan obtained Ferrari's documents at the end of April, and Ferrari are not satisfied with the explanations so far provided to them by Coughlan on how exactly he obtained these documents and what he did with them thereafter.
Furthermore, Ferrari want to know when exactly Coughlan told McLaren team manager Jonathan Neale about these documents - although the Italians made it clear they are not taking legal action against Neale himself.
All the while, Coughlan himself sat at the back row of Court 59 looking despondent and perhaps overwhelmed. His affidavit, should he end up submitting it, will no doubt shed light on this entire affair. But that affidavit too will not be made public, not just yet. And for now, at least where the media is concerned, Coughlan maintains his silence.
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Ferrari, Coughlans reach agreement
By Biranit Goren Wednesday, July 11th 2007, 10:04 GMT
The court hearing scheduled for this morning in the matter of Ferrari versus Mike Coughlan has been cancelled after the Italian team and the McLaren chief designer reached an agreement late last night.
Autosport.com understands Coughlan and his wife Trudy have agreed to submit a sworn affidavit to Ferrari outlining all they know in the espionage affair and continue to cooperate with Ferrari's investigation.
In return, Ferrari have agreed to withdraw their request to the High Court to make the information and material collected - including the affidavit - in their application against Coughlan, available to the Modena district attorney in Italy.
Coughlan did not provide his affidavit yesterday as it was unclear if it could be self-incriminating and used against him in criminal proceedings in Italy.
The Modena district attorney opened criminal investigation against Ferrari stalwart Nigel Stepney, after the Italian outfit filed a formal complaint against the Briton.
It remains to be seen whether any further court hearings will be scheduled in London over this affair.
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Stepney ready to prove his innocence
By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, July 18th 2007, 10:34 GMT
Nigel Stepney is ready to talk to Ferrari bosses to prove he has done nothing wrong, and says all the espionage and sabotage claims are part of a conspiracy against him.
Ferrari are taking legal action against their former engineer Stepney, whom they suspect of leaking the 780 pages of technical information allegedly found in McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan's home.
The Italian police are also investigating sabotage claims following the discovery of a white powder on Ferrari's cars prior to the Monaco Grand Prix. Stepney was dismissed from Ferrari at the start of this month.
Stepney has insisted, however, that he had nothing to do with any of the accusations.
"I'm ready to speak to [Ferrari principal] Jean Todt and to president [Luca di] Montezemolo," Stepney was reported as saying by his lawyers on Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I want to clear my position with Ferrari; I want to let everyone understand it's nothing to do with me.
"And I want to reveal some names of people inside Ferrari who had more interest than myself in doing what I'm unfairly accused of.
"I have nothing against the team and I could never have done such things. I repeat: it's a conspiracy."
Stepney's lawyer Sonia Bartolini added: "Nigel reiterated many times to me that he is totally innocent and that Ferrari must realise he's the victim of a conspiracy.
"If Coughlan really admitted he received certain things from him, then he will have to answer for it: because it's true they met, it's true they perhaps talked about a new work group, but our client never handed over files or documents.
"That's why he wants to meet Ferrari's lawyers or even go to Maranello: he intends to collaborate, he's confident to demonstrate he's innocent. He will also name other people inside Ferrari, because there are other people unhappy about their situation there.
"As for the letter with the sacking notice from Ferrari, it hasn't yet arrived. He still feels attached to the team."
Gazzetta dello Sport also quotes Ferrari's legal department as saying that they could consider talking to Stepney if it helps the case.
"Ferrari are ready to take in consideration every element that can shed light on the issue," they said.
Corriere della Sera also published today segments of what the newspaper says is the Modena police report on the Stepney investigation.
According to the newspaper, a policeman first interrogated Stepney on May 18th, confiscating the trousers he was wearing at the time after finding that now infamous white powder in Stepney's pockets.
"I really can't say how that sand has ended up in my pockets," the newspaper quoted Stepney as telling the police.
"Anyone could have put it there. Last night I left the trousers unattended in the changing room while I was taking a shower."
The newspaper further reports that the initial suspicions arose after a mechanic found what looks like a finely grained, sandy powder near the Ferrari F2007 cars on May 17.
Stepney was linked as a suspect because, according to Modena district attorney Giuseppe Tibis, the Briton was seen twice that day "in immediate proximity to the refuelling machine and the computers" of the two cars.
Furthermore, the police report states that an eyewitness claims to have seen Stepney supposedly emptying the left pocket of his trousers in the location where shortly after the powder was found.
Commenting on the police report, Stepney was quoted by Corriere della Sera as saying: "It's true, I emptied the pockets, as can be confirmed by a friend that was with me at the time. But I don't know how that powder ended in there."
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Stepney warned Coughlan of Ferrari floor
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, July 19th 2007, 14:22 GMT
Nigel Stepney emailed McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan on the eve of the season to tip him off about Ferrari's moveable floor design, this week's Autosport magazine reveals.
McLaren will face an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council next week to face charges of 'fraudulent conduct' over the possession of secret Ferrari documents from March to July this year.
The matter was originally only thought to relate to a 780-page Ferrari technical dossier, which McLaren said Coughlan had in his possession only from the end of April.
However, a reliable source has revealed to this week's Autosport magazine that the March date the FIA has referred to relates to early contact between Stepney and Coughlan.
In particular, the source says it relates to a specific email that Stepney sent to Coughlan, revealing Ferrari's floor design and tipping the McLaren designer off about taking possible action about it.
Although it is not known if Coughlan passed on this information to the team, McLaren did ask for a rule clarification about Ferrari's movable floor design at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
That action resulted in the FIA changing its floor tests and outlawing the design Ferrari ran at the time - which is believed to have hindered their form.
The background to McLaren's actions in Melbourne will likely play a key part in the FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing next week, as the sport's governing body faces the task of working out whether or not the team did anything wrong.
Autosport also reveals that the Surrey copy shop that tipped off Ferrari about Coughlan having the 780-page dossier was asked to scan the information in order to transfer it into electronic format and in to a computer disc.
It is understood that after the information had been put on disk, the actual Ferrari document was shredded and burned in Coughlan's back garden.
Coughlan is understood to have been advised to destroy the document after showing a glimpse of it to McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale at a golf club. It is not known, however, when this incident took place.
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Hamilton backs McLaren in F1 spy storm
By Alan Baldwin Friday, July 20th 2007, 08:35 GMT
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton backed McLaren on Thursday to emerge unscathed from a spy controversy that threatens his Formula One title hopes.
The 22-year-old British rookie sounded more concerned with beating a bout of 'flu than the prospect of his team being punished by the sport's governing body at a meeting in Paris next Thursday.
"I've only been with the team for a year but I have known (team boss) Ron (Dennis) for nine years now and this (cheating) is something that Ron would never do," he told reporters at the European Grand Prix.
"That's why I have such great belief in the team.
"I do feel they are one of the most honest teams out there. There are always teams trying to bend the rules in some way but I honestly believe we are the most honest. I think we will be fine," added Hamilton.
McLaren have been summoned by the International Automobile Federation to answer charges of unauthorised possession of Ferrari technical information found at the home of chief designer Mike Coughlan.
Should the Mercedes-powered team be found guilty of fraudulent conduct, they could be docked points or even kicked out of the world championship. They are 25 points ahead of Ferrari.
McLaren say nobody at McLaren was aware before July 3 that the now-suspended Coughlan had Ferrari data and none of the information had been used in making the team's cars.
Hamilton, who leads double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso by 12 points at the halfway stage of the season, said the saga would not throw him off his stride.
"I have a huge amount of belief in the team, I'm very, very confident it (the hearing) is going to go well so it is not really playing on my mind at all," he said.
"I've not spoken to anyone about it and it's not something I need to focus on. I have a job to do this weekend."
Hamilton has been on the podium in all his nine races to date and could become only the third driver to string together 10 successive podium finishes.
He cautioned however that the second half of the season demanded a different approach from the first and recognised that he was everybody's target as leader.
"It gets harder and harder to continue with the performance that you've had and the consistency you have had," he said.
"In the first few races, you just go out and push to the limit and it's so close to the limit that you could easily come off and lose the race. I am not going to put the team points or my points at risk (now).
"But we still want to win and will do everything we can to win, just as always," added Hamilton.
"There's not a limit but we've got to bear in mind that we need the points. It's not about trying to win at the first corner."
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Stepney warned Coughlan of Ferrari floor
By Jonathan Noble and Steve Cooper Thursday, July 19th 2007, 14:22 GMT
Nigel Stepney emailed McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan on the eve of the season to tip him off about Ferrari's movable floor design, this week's Autosport magazine reveals.
McLaren will face an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council next week to face charges of 'fraudulent conduct' over the possession of secret Ferrari documents from March to July this year.
The matter was originally only thought to relate to a 780-page Ferrari technical dossier, which McLaren said Coughlan had in his possession only from the end of April.
However, a reliable source has revealed to this week's Autosport magazine that the March date the FIA has referred to relates to early contact between Stepney and Coughlan.
In particular, the source says it relates to a specific email that Stepney sent to Coughlan, revealing Ferrari's floor design and tipping the McLaren designer off about taking possible action about it.
Although it is not known if Coughlan passed on this information to the team, McLaren did ask for a rule clarification about Ferrari's movable floor design at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
That action resulted in the FIA changing its floor tests and outlawing the design Ferrari ran at the time - which is believed to have hindered their form.
The background to McLaren's actions in Melbourne will likely play a key part in the FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing next week, as the sport's governing body faces the task of working out whether or not the team did anything wrong.
Autosport also reveals that the Surrey copy shop that tipped off Ferrari about Coughlan having the 780-page dossier was asked to scan the information in order to transfer it into electronic format and in to a computer disc.
It is understood that after the information had been put on disk, the actual Ferrari document was shredded and burned in Coughlan's back garden.
Coughlan is understood to have been advised to destroy the document after showing a glimpse of it to McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale at a golf club. It is not known, however, when this incident took place.
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Dennis slams affidavit leaks
By Damien Smith Saturday, July 21st 2007, 18:45 GMT
Ron Dennis criticised today recent reports allegedly quoting from chief designer Mike Coughlan's affidavit, but the McLaren team chief refused to be drawn into discussing details of the affair.
McLaren are preparing for an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council to be held in Paris next Thursday, when the world championship leaders will face charges of 'fraudulent conduct' over the possession of secret Ferrari documents.
If found guilty, the team could be docked points or even face a multi-race ban that would derail their championship ambitions.
But while Dennis refused to give much away about his opinions of the events of the past two weeks, he did confirm that the team submitted a dossier of information to the FIA on Friday this week.
And for the first time, he also publicly named Coughlan as the employee who has been suspended from duties at the team.
"The first step was yesterday when we put in the submission to the FIA," Dennis told reporters at the Nurburgring on Saturday afternoon.
"Whilst it would be wrong to say I am looking forward to Thursday, I am eager to get into the process and put it behind us."
Earlier this week, Dennis moved to deny information published in the Italian press regarding the affidavit submitted by Coughlan to Ferrari following a hearing in London's High Court. The affidavit is confidential, and Dennis made it clear in the team statement that the information published was inaccurate.
"First of all, probably few people really understand what the circumstances surrounding this process are," he said on Saturday. "Or they certainly lack the understanding of the deeper implications of not adhering to the instructions of the court.
"The High Court ruling led ultimately to three recipients of Mike Coughlan's affidavit being told in no uncertain terms that it was privileged information, and that they would be committing a legal breach in the event of any of it being shared with third parties.
"I am quite sure the FIA understands the nature of the court order, so I can only assume the other parties who had this material have chosen to share distorted excerpts with other people.
"It is important to remember that at the end of the day it is the sworn statement of one individual in this affair, and as such, one would expect it to be the truth as he sees it. But we've not had any input in the process.
"Up until today I have not even acknowledged that Mike Coughlan is the suspended employee.
"There is a way to go through life and that is to follow the correct procedures. If other people choose to go down a different path that leads to the very damaging process where people have seen fit to spin and make derogatory remarks about the integrity of McLaren, fine. But that's not my style.
"We have given a full dossier to the FIA. The FIA is going through a process and we will follow strictly that process and after that process if there are any unanswered questions we will provide them."
A verdict from the hearing is expected on Thursday afternoon.
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FIA imposes no penalty on McLaren
By Biranit Goren Thursday, July 26th 2007, 13:56 GMT
The FIA World Motor Sport Council has found McLaren guilty of possession of unauthorised Ferrari documents, but with no evidence that the team had made use of the information, the governing body elected not to punish McLaren for now.
The WMSC said, however, that it reserves the right to call McLaren back should it be found that McLaren had used the information, in which case they may be excluded from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 one.
"The WMSC is satisfied that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of confidential Ferrari information and is therefore in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code," said verdict said.
"However, there is insufficient evidence that this information was used in such a way as to interfere improperly with the FIA Formula One World Championship. We therefore impose no penalty.
"But if it is found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship, we reserve the right to invite Vodafone McLaren Mercedes back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship."
Luigi Macaluso, the Italian representative at the WMSC, told Gazzetta dello Sport after the hearing: "There was no proof, nothing more could be done."
McLaren boss Ron Dennis was also pleased with the verdict. "The punishment fits the crime," he was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.
Unrelated to the McLaren decision, the FIA also plans to hold a hearing for Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney and McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan, to allow them to defend their behaviour in the spy affair.
"The WMSC will also invite Mr Stepney and Mr Coughlan to show reason why they should not be banned from international motor sport for a lengthy period and the WMSC has delegated authority to deal with this matter to the legal department of the FIA," the verdict added.
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McLaren say decision 'balanced and fair'
By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, July 26th 2007, 17:37 GMT
The McLaren-Mercedes team have said the FIA decision to not punish them was "very balanced and fair".
The FIA Motor Sport Council found McLaren guilty of being in possession of unauthorised documents belonging to rivals Ferrari, but without proof that the data was used, the sport's governing body decided there was no reason to penalize the British team.
The decision angered Ferrari, who said it was setting a dangerous predecent, but McLaren found it fair.
"Following an appearance by McLaren today at the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris, a unanimous decision has been taken by the FIA which in McLaren's opinion is very balanced and fair," said the team in a statement.
"McLaren accepts the that the FIA World Motor Sport Council had no alternative other than to find that there was a purely technical breach by reason of the possession of certain information by one individual at his home, without McLaren's knowledge or authority.
"McLaren is delighted that the World Motor Sport Council determined that this information was not used and accordingly imposed no sanction whatsoever on the team. McLaren looks forward to continuing its fight in what is the most exciting Drivers' and Constructors' World Championship in many years."
McLaren team boss Ron Dennis was happy to leave the matter behind, and he has vowed to focus on winning this year's titles.
"There is no doubt that the past 24 days have been challenging and the tremendous support we have received from our sponsor partners and the public has been much appreciated," said Dennis.
"Moving forward McLaren wants to re-affirm our long-standing commitment to honesty and integrity and re-state that we believe we have acted correctly throughout.
"Now, we have Formula One World Championships to win. As a result we intend to move on, so as to maintain the focus and commitment required to do exactly that."
The news was also welcome by McLaren's drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
"Having only been part of McLaren for a few months I know how important today's decision will be for everybody," said Alonso. "I am looking forward to an exciting second half of the season and to continue our battle for both World Championships."
Hamilton added: "Whilst it's only my first season in Formula One with the team, I already know and appreciate the commitment and dedication of the people there. As a result I am pleased with today's decision and can't wait for the rest of the season."
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Ferrari furious with McLaren's reprieve
By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, July 26th 2007, 16:39 GMT
The Ferrari team have labelled as "incomprehensible" that the FIA has decided not to punish McLaren despite finding them guilty of possession of unauthorised documents.
The FIA said after the Paris hearing that there was insufficient evidence to prove McLaren had benefited from leaked Ferrari data found at the home of their chief designer Mike Coughlan.
The governing body said, however, that McLaren were guilty of having breached article 151c of the International Sporting Code.
"Ferrari notes that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been found guilty by the FIA World Council," said the Italian team in a statement.
"It therefore finds it incomprehensible that violating the fundamental principle of sporting honesty does not have, as a logical and inevitable consequence, the application of a sanction. Today's decision legitimises dishonest behaviour in Formula One and sets a very serious precedent.
"In fact, the decision of the World Council signifies that possession, knowledge at the very highest level and use of highly confidential information acquired in an illicit manner and the acquiring of confidential information over the course of several months, represent violations that do not carry any punishment.
"The fact that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of such information was discovered totally by accident and, but for this, the team would continue to have it. This is all the more serious as it has occurred in a sport like Formula One in which small details make all the difference.
"Ferrari feels this is highly prejudicial to the credibility of the sport. It will continue with the legal action already under way within the Italian criminal justice system and in the civil court in England."
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Todt: Ferrari would have been penalised
By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde Friday, July 27th 2007, 13:57 GMT
Ferrari would have been penalised by the FIA had they been in McLaren's situation, according to the Italian squad's boss Jean Todt.
The sport's governing body on Thursday found McLaren guilty of being in possession of confidential documents belonging to Ferrari.
The FIA said, however, that there was insufficient evidence that they had gained any benefit from it and so decided not to penalise McLaren.
Todt believes that if the situation had been reversed, Ferrari would have been heavily penalised.
"I wonder what would have happened with the roles reversed," Todt told Corriere della Sera in an interview. "I wonder if they had found in the house of a Ferrari chief designer 780 secret papers, 780 classified documents of another team...
"There would have been cries of a scandal, an exemplary punishment would have been demanded. And it would have been granted, I have no doubt.
"There is not even a sign of logic in this verdict. Either they are guilty or they aren't. McLaren were found responsible of having violated the regulations of F1, of having behaved in a fraudulent manner, but they haven't been punished.
"That's not all: McLaren during the hearing admitted to have received secret material, and that the knowledge of this operation of espionage arrived at the top level, even to Ron Dennis, and there hasn't been any penalization. It's shameful.
"One thing is certain: we at Ferrari can calmly look at ourselves in the mirror. I think others, since yesterday, can't do the same thing," added the Frenchman.
Todt also said the leaked documents have given McLaren a "huge advantage" in this year's championship.
"From this verdict a strange situation comes up: it's like having played poker against a rival who knows your cards," he added. "The advantage is evident, it's huge, even. Well, it was pretended nothing happened.
"I've been in this world for about 40 years, I've seen all kinds of stuff so I don't get surprised by anything, but this state is really at the limit.
"On the job I always try to control the emotions and the feelings. I must be rigorous first of all with myself and then with my co-workers. Every professional action on our part must be carried out properly. This attitude translates into a precise condition: we must be competitive against our rival.
"We come from a disappointing Grand Prix in Germany, especially as far as technical reliability is concerned, so we must immediately get back on the right track."
The Frenchman added that Ferrari have not yet ruled out appealing the FIA's verdict.
"We'll evaluate what to do and then we'll decide," Todt said.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo added: "I just want to say to our fans, who are contacting Ferrari from all over the world and who are offended by the decision taken yesterday in Paris, that they can stay calm because this story doesn't end here."
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Todt accuses McLaren of hypocrisy
By Biranit Goren Friday, July 27th 2007, 19:30 GMT
Ferrari CEO Jean Todt continued his scathing attack on McLaren and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council's decision not to penalise the Woking-based team, the Frenchman accusing McLaren of hypocrisy and hinting the Italian team could take further legal action against their rivals.
In a lengthy monologue released by Ferrari this afternoon, titled "A reaction in the cold light of day", Todt further reveals that shortly before the spying affair erupted some month ago, McLaren and Ferrari signed an agreement to establish a better working relationship between the two embattled rival teams.
"I am bitter about it: what happened yesterday is serious," Todt begins. "On the one hand a verdict of guilt was handed down and on the other, no sanctions were imposed. I cannot understand it.
"During yesterday's meeting, the McLaren bosses, with no exceptions, admitted that their chief designer had obtained since back in March, prior to the Australian GP, documents from Nigel Stepney.
"Some of this data was used to prepare a clarification request submitted to the FIA, aimed clearly at us, given that throughout the Melbourne weekend, McLaren team principal and his closest colleagues made statements in which they threw doubt over 'some cars'.
"Therefore, such information was in fact used to obtain an advantage over us: not through an improvement in their performance, but instead through limiting ours.
"It is important to underline that the information used to try and damage Ferrari through the FIA might be only a part of the information received by McLaren.
"In an attempt to justify its actions, McLaren has tried to claim the immunity normally accorded to a whistleblower in some legal systems.
"But it should be noted that usually, an informant or whistleblower goes to the competent authority to denounce something, whereas in this case he went to Ferrari's main rival who, and it is not us who say this but the FIA, took great care not to mention that the information was obtained in this way.
"Let us move on. McLaren has confirmed that it has had to install a firewall to prevent further information from Stepney from reaching the team in the form of documents. Furthermore, Coughlan has been asked to tell the very same Stepney to stop sending him information.
"It is a shame that before this, Coughlan asked [Stepney] for information on our brake balance system, then went to lunch with him in Spain, before calmly returning home with 780 pages of designs, diagrams, data and a whole lot more - as stated by the FIA release - with which to design, develop run and race a 2007 Ferrari Formula One car.
"As confirmed in that decision yesterday, the violation was already there in the simple possession of the information, which in itself constitutes an enormous advantage in a sport like Formula One.
"In Ferrari's opinion, it is like playing a hand of poker with a rival who already knows what cards you are holding.
"It remains incomprehensible that apart from possession, one must also demonstrate the effective and visible use of this information on the McLaren car.
"Actually, this very same fact, on the basis of available information which the FIA used to find McLaren guilty, shows that the offence lies in the possession without the need to prove anything else. The proof is there and this led to the FIA's decision. Therefore I find it difficult to understand how the verdict makes sense.
"Furthermore, I have to say that the proof of effective use requested by the FIA is impossible for Ferrari to furnish, because of course, Ferrari does not have access to the McLaren car.
"A few weeks after the race in Melbourne, the McLaren team principal proposed that we should reach a sort of agreement to establish a better relationship between our two teams, thus avoiding any future denunciations to the sporting authority.
"I replied that I found it impossible to believe him, because on several occasions we had seen that certain commitments had always been disregarded by McLaren. There was an exchange of views and, believing in their good faith, I agreed to sign this agreement on 9 June last.
"Since that time and even earlier, McLaren was perfectly aware, not only of the emails sent by their informer within our company, but also of the fact that their chief designer had stayed in contact with him and had received and continued to be in possession of a significant amount of technical information that belonged to us.
"So, on the one hand, they had come to say 'let us trust one another', and on the other they were hiding serious facts such as those just stated above, but making no effort to inform us as would have been in the spirit and to the letter of our agreement.
"Finally, it should be noted that yesterday's meeting was not an appearance before a tribunal, but a meeting of the FIA World Council, at which only McLaren was asked to respond to accusations and in which we were present only as observers.
"Therefore there was no possibility to play an active role as we would have wished. I was only able to ask a few questions and reply to some, but we were not able to present our case nor the documents to support it.
"This decision remains very disappointing and surprising. It is not acceptable to create a precedent in such an important case in which the guilty verdict for serious and persistent violation of the fundamental principle of sporting honesty does not automatically incur a penalty.
"For our part, we will press on with the legal actions currently taking place in Italy and in England, and we do not rule out taking further action."
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FIA sends spy case to Court of Appeal
By Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, July 31st 2007, 14:58 GMT
Ferrari will get the chance to tell their version of the spying affair after FIA president Max Mosley decided to send the case to the Court of Appeal.
Mosley's decision comes after a letter from Italy's automobile federation president Luigi Macaluso, in which the Italian was critical of the World Motor Sport Council's ruling to not penalise McLaren despite finding them guilty of being in possession of confidential documents belonging to Ferrari.
In a letter replying to Macaluso, Mosley said the matter will now be taken to the Court of Appeal, where Ferrari will be able to give their version of the story.
The Italian squad were unable to appeal the verdict as they were only invited to last week's WMSC hearing.
"Your letter suggests that the outcome may have been different if the Council had given Ferrari further opportunities to be heard beyond those that were in fact offered," wrote Mosley in the letter.
"Because of this and the importance of public confidence in the outcome, I will send this matter to the FIA Court of Appeal under article 23.1 of the FIA Statues with a request that the Court hear both Ferrari and McLaren and any other Championship competitor who so requests and determine whether the decision of the WMSC was appropriate and, if not, substitute such other decision as may be just."
An FIA spokesman said the hearing was likely to be in Paris at the end of August.
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Renault to attend spy appeal hearing
By Alan Baldwin Friday, August 3rd 2007, 16:32 GMT
Formula One champions Renault will attend an appeal court hearing into a spying controversy between McLaren and Ferrari, team head Flavio Briatore said on Friday.
The Italian told a news conference at the Hungarian Grand Prix circuit that the French team would be there because the affair was damaging the sport's image and the outcome was important to everybody.
"This story involves everybody sooner or later," he said. "I want to know exactly what is going on because I think it is part of our job.
"If you see the newspapers in the last two months, we are not talking about who is the guy winning the race or losing the race. The spy story, if you want, is predominant in everything," added Briatore.
"I believe this story is damaging everybody a little bit, including me...Stuff like this is not good for the sponsors or anybody."
Red Bull team chief Christian Horner, whose cars are powered by Renault engines, said they would not be attending.
"The matter doesn't concern our team or any employees of our team and we trust in the governing body to make the right decisions," he said.
Briatore said Renault, winners of both titles for the past two seasons, attended a hearing in Paris last week that found McLaren to have been in unauthorised possession of Ferrari documents.
No penalty was imposed on McLaren, 27 points clear of Ferrari with seven races remaining, because of insufficient evidence that they had benefited from the data.
The team have said they did not know their now-suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan had 780 pages of Ferrari information at his home.
The affair has been sent to appeal, with a date yet to be decided. If the earlier verdict is overturned, McLaren could face suspension or even exclusion from the championship.
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Q & A with Jean Todt
By Jonathan Noble Monday, August 27th 2007, 01:01 GMT
Q: What are you impressions from today's race?
Jean Todt: "Definitely, it is very pleasing and very rewarding. We knew we had a competitive car. We knew Ferrari would be quicker in the race than during qualifying, like since the beginning of the season. And we chose to go with the softer tyres, which maybe was not as competitive during the race. But still it probably helped for the start.
"Felipe did a great start. Kimi as well. We were first and second. We had to push for most of the race but the race went perfectly well. Very often when you are first and second it happens, and this was the case today."
Q: There are only five races to go. How do you see your chances for the championship?
Todt: "We feel it is still open. It will be tough, but it is always tough. And as I always said, we will try the best until the end and I believe we still can carry this on."
Q: Both drivers in both teams are fighting for the world championship. Looking at the remaining races, have you thought about the need to impose a hierarchy on the drivers at a certain point if one of them is slightly ahead going into the final few races? Is there a plan or tactic to safeguard the world championship?
Todt: "No. It will be something that will be inappropriate for drivers like Felipe and Kimi, doing such a good job, after 12 Grands Prix with just one point difference. Most of them have had problems because of some mistakes that we did.
"They made some mistakes, but that is normal. We are human beings, and at the moment there is not any plan to make any kind of strategy between one or the other one."
Q: We had the impression that your car is more at ease on circuits with long bends, like this one rather than the ones with chicanes, like Monza. Is that true?
Todt: "I don't think we can say that. Probably our weakest point can be sometimes in qualifying, as I said before. Otherwise the car has been competitive. We have developed the car since the beginning and we will carry on developing the car until the end of the season to optimise it."
Q: Felipe Massa won here last year and now has five wins. How do you see his development as a driver?
Todt: "Well, I said before. Both are doing a very good job. There is a very good harmony in the team, they both want to win and there is definitely the same chance. Like Kimi, he is superb."
Q: Do you think F1's (technical) rules need changing because pole position is a bit too important for the final results of the race?
Todt: "That is why it is very important and difficult to get it. It is very difficult to change. We know that already that it will be difficult. We know it is better to be in the front. It is such high competition but everything must be perfect if you want to achieve it. I don't see what can be done at the moment to improve the situation."
Q: If you are to win either title, do you feel you are going to need more misfortunes on McLaren's part like Lewis (Hamilton) had today?
Todt: "Lewis did a fantastic race. After what happened he was quite lucky to bring four points home but when you look at what he has done this season he is doing a great job, but he has been quite successful when he had a problem today. It can happen to us, and it is part of racing."
Q: Can you tell us something about the technical information of Ferrari's test at Monza?
Todt: "Well, we are going to be testing in Monza next week. We know that Monza is a specific circuit, with special specifications. We will have of course a package moulded for the race."
Q: Fernando Alonso said that Ferrari appeared to be ahead in the race, with start systems and qualifying. Would you agree?
Todt: "I can only thank him to give such a high opinion about Ferrari."
Q: Last year when Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn left the team you spoke of your need to stay here to ensure continuity and consistency of the operation. Can you give us any indication of what Ross will do next year and your own plans for your future?
Todt: "I am not at all prepared to retire. I feel still very motivated, with the same anxiousness before every race. The same happiness when we are successful. The same unhappiness when we are not successful.
"So I hope I can only be here a few more years. Bernie when you ask him, there is 15 years difference, is still very motivated. For me I am not thinking at all about stopping working. I am sorry...
"On Ross. We had some discussions, we will have other discussions. And at the moment no commitment from either side has been made. We are just discussing about his options, and our options. Maybe we will find some common point, maybe we will not find some common point.
"But still we will always be friends, we will always have respect for each other. He has been doing a tremendous work at Ferrari, and Ferrari have given him a lot. So our partnership has been good for him and good for Ferrari."
Q: The FIA Court of Appeal is meeting on the Thursday after Monza. Is that proving to be a distraction either for yourself or the team. Are you preparing any new evidence? Are you having to do much work for that or are you able to keep that aside from your championship efforts?
Todt: "It is completely different matters. Everything we do we try to do the best we can. The race today was very important, the preparation for it was very important and the preparation for the next five races will be very important. As will be very important this hearing of the 13th (September).
"We want the truth to appear. And it will appear. That is something for me, which for Ferrari, for the sport, for me, I want it to appear. And it will appear."
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Dennis worried title could be tainted
By Jonathan Noble Monday, August 27th 2007, 10:31 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis believes that any title success his team achieve this year will be tainted if his team are not completely exonerated in Formula One's spy affair by the FIA Court of Appeal.
The appeal hearing on the Thursday before the Belgian Grand Prix is due to hear detailed evidence from Ferrari about their view on the spying controversy that erupted following McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan being found with secret Ferrari documents.
And although McLaren have already escaped punishment at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting last month, Dennis believes that the satisfaction of his entire season now rests on the appeal judges backing that original verdict.
"We are in F1 to win. But the most important thing is not just winning, it is how we win," he said. "I do not know what twists and turns are going to take place in the Court of Appeal.
"If we do not come out of that Court of Appeal with an unblemished reputation then the results of this season will be tainted.
"I know the truth and the truth is that McLaren as a company are not involved in this matter. And I just do not want to find through some process that our reputation is damaged. The rumours and spin that I have heard about this matter just leave me amazed.
"I cannot believe that people can construct some inaccurate views based on no fact whatsoever and be quite comfortable to project them into the pack as being true. It is ridiculous."
Ferrari team principal Jean Todt said on Sunday night that he would ensure the truth from his outfit's perspective will come out in his team's presentation at the meeting.
"(It) will be very important this hearing of the 13th (September). We want the truth to appear. And it will appear. That is something for me, which for Ferrari, for the sport, for me, I want it to appear. And it will appear."
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FIA says has new evidence in spy case
By Alan Baldwin Wednesday, September 5th 2007, 15:06 GMT
Formula One's governing body said on Wednesday that it had received new evidence relating to a spying controversy involving McLaren and Ferrari and an appeal hearing scheduled for next week had been withdrawn.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that its World Motor Sport Council had instead been reconvened for a hearing in Paris on September 13, the date scheduled for the appeal.
It added that representatives of championship leaders McLaren, who could face exclusion from the championship, had been invited to attend.
"Following receipt of new evidence, the World Motor Sport Council has been reconvened for a hearing in Paris on September 13," it said.
Asked about the new information, an FIA spokesman said the world body was "not in a position to make any comment at this stage."
The World Motor Sport Council decided in July not to impose any penalty on Mercedes-powered McLaren because of insufficient evidence that they had benefited from Ferrari data in the possession of their suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan.
However the governing body said at the time that the matter was not closed.
"If it is found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship, we reserve the right to invite...McLaren back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship," it said .
Ferrari, McLaren's title rivals, were incensed by the original council verdict and FIA president Max Mosley sent the decision to the body's International Court of Appeal.
"The FIA President's referral of the matter to the International Court of Appeal has been withdrawn," the FIA said on Wednesday.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso by five points going into Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari's home race, at Monza.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa is 15 points behind Hamilton with teammate Kimi Raikkonen one point further adrift with five races remaining.
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McLaren respond to FIA announcement
By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, September 5th 2007, 16:16 GMT
McLaren have responded to the news that the FIA has found new evidence in the spy case by saying they will continue to co-operate with the governing body.
The FIA said on Wednesday it had received new evidence relating to the spying controversy involving the British squad and Ferrari.
The governing body announced its World Motor Sport Council had been reconvened for a hearing in Paris on September 13 following the cancellation of the appeal hearing originally scheduled for that day.
McLaren said they have been made aware of the news, and that they would continue to co-operate with the FIA.
"McLaren Racing has been made aware that new evidence has been presented to the FIA as part of their on-going investigation," said the team in a statement.
"As a result we have been informed that the Court of Appeal Hearing scheduled for the 13th September in Paris will now comprise a meeting of the WMSC.
"McLaren will continue to co-operate fully with the FIA."
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FIA reveals letter sent to McLaren drivers
By Jonathan Noble Friday, September 7th 2007, 11:58 GMT
The FIA has responded to mounting speculation about the nature of the new evidence in the McLaren spy saga by publishing copies of the letters it sent to the team's drivers last week.
Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and test driver Pedro de la Rosa were asked to present any evidence they had relating to the ongoing spy investigation in the light of the FIA becoming aware of an email exchange about Ferrari set-up information.
As autosport.com revealed yesterday, the drivers were offered an amnesty from punishment if they cooperated - and warned that they faced 'serious' consequences if they withheld information.
The letter said: "You will appreciate that there is a duty on all competitors and Super Licence holders to ensure the fairness and legitimacy of the Formula One World Championship. It is therefore imperative that if you do have any such information, you make it available to us without delay.
"I can confirm, given the importance of this issue, that any information you may make available in response to this letter will not result in any proceedings against you under the International Sporting Code or the Formula One regulations. However, in the event that it later comes to light that you have withheld any potentially relevant information, serious consequences could follow."
It is understood that de la Rosa and Alonso responded to the FIA's request for information earlier this week, providing the evidence that resulted in a new World Motor Sport Council hearing being convened.
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Letter confirms drivers had new evidence
By Jonathan Noble and Steve Cooper Friday, September 7th 2007, 09:19 GMT
FIA president Max Mosley confirmed in a letter to Formula One teams last week that the new evidence that has led to a fresh hearing over the Ferrari spy saga did come from McLaren's drivers, autosport.com can reveal.
Speculation at Monza ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix pointed towards an email exchange between Fernando Alonso and McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa that took place shortly after the start of the season.
Sources have revealed that in the emails, de la Rosa makes reference to Ferrari set-up secrets that he had obtained from McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan.
It is unclear at this stage who tipped off the FIA about the existence of the email exchange.
McLaren and the FIA have not commented on the nature of the new evidence, but autosport.com can confirm that all F1 teams were informed last week that McLaren drivers had been in possession of 'written evidence relevant to this investigation.'
Mosley wrote to all 11 teams last Friday making it clear that it was their duty to provide any evidence relating to the spy affair.
Similar letters were also sent to Alonso, de la Rosa and Lewis Hamilton, asking them to provide any evidence they had in exchange for an 'amnesty' over any possible sanctions.
Although the FIA has not publicly confirmed or denied that the letter was sent to the teams, autosport.com has obtained a copy from an unidentified source detailing the nature of its latest investigation.
In it, Mosley says the FIA was made aware of: "an allegation that one or more McLaren drivers may be in possession, or that such drivers have recently been in possession, of written evidence relevant to this investigation."
Mosley says it is the FIA's duty to find out if this allegation is true and therefore requires the cooperation of all teams involved to provide documents, and then he drops a big hint about email exchanges.
The letter adds: "In particular (though without limiting the generality of this request) the FIA wishes to receive copies of any electronic communications (howsoever conveyed or stored) which may be relevant to this case and which make reference to Ferrari, Nigel Stepney or any technical or other information coming from, or connected with, either Ferrari or Mr Stepney."
It is understood that Alonso and de la Rosa subsequently provided the information about their email exchange at the start of this week, which prompted the FIA to recall the World Motor Sport Council for a hearing on September 13.
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Todt says spy row damaging F1
By Mark Glendenning and Jonathan Noble Sunday, September 9th 2007, 17:11 GMT
Ferrari team principal Jean Todt acknowledges that Formula One's image is being damaged by the spy saga surrounding his team and McLaren - but thinks it more important that the case is followed through so the truth comes out.
With just four days to go before McLaren face a hearing of the FIA Motor Sport World Council to discuss new evidence in the spy case, Todt said his team were 'sorry' that the matter had erupted in F1.
"I mean, it's a taint on the sport every time that there is a bad controversy," he told reporters at the Monza circuit on Sunday night.
"It can happen in athletics, it can happen with gold medal winners, it can happen with cycling, it can happen with football, and now it is something that is happening in Formula One.
"I think that we are sorry that it is happening in Formula One, but we are in the position where we want the truth to appear. And that's all that we want, and all that we have been working on and doing. And we are confident that the truth will come through."
Ferrari are set to present fresh evidence at the hearing on Thursday, and Todt has made it clear that the matter is likely to carry on whatever the outcome for McLaren.
"For us it is something which is too important and we will move forward in Italy," he said.
"With the FIA, I'm not going to comment on what the decisions will be because I don't know what the decisions will be, and [will] outline what can happen once the decision has been taken. And we will move on with the civil case in the UK as well."
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FIA Strips Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team Of All Points In Constructor's Standings And Imposes $100 Million Fine.
http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Sep07/14_FIA_Strips_Team_Vodafone_McLaren_Mercedes_F1_Team_Of_All_Race_Points_And_Imposes_100_Million_Fine.html
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McLaren won't appeal WMSC verdict
By Jonathan Noble Friday, September 21st 2007, 14:19 GMT
McLaren have decided not to appeal against the punishment they were handed for their involvement in Formula One's spying controversy.
The Woking-based team were excluded from this year's constructors' championship and handed a $100 million (USD) fine in the wake of chief designer Mike Coughlan being found with secret Ferrari documents in his possession.
After deliberating whether or not to appeal the verdict this week, with a deadline of 5pm CET today to notify the FIA of their plans, the team have decided against a challenge in the best interests of the sport.
They hope that the matter can now be put behind them as they focus on helping Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso win the drivers' championship.
Team boss Ron Dennis said: "We believe the time has come to put this huge distraction behind us. McLaren wants to win races and world championships.
"We are fortunate to have, and continue to receive, unwavering support from our employees, sponsor partners and Formula One fans across the world - all of whom are equally keen that we totally focus on winning this year's drivers' championship and the remaining three races of the season."
In a statement issued by the team on Friday, it said: "McLaren Racing has notified the FIA of its intention not to appeal the verdict of the World Motor Sport Council, as announced on 13th September 2007.
"Having now had time to study the judgement of the World Motor Sport Council with its lawyers and shareholders, McLaren thinks it is in the best interests of the sport, and its goal of winning races and world championships, not to appeal."
Although McLaren accept that Coughlan's possession of the documents was a breach of the F1 rules, the team still insists that no information was shared with other engineers at the team. It is also adamant that it gained no on-track benefit from the information.
The statement added: "It is clear from the full judgement that the World Motor Sport Council concluded that the charge that a McLaren employee had 'unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information' was proven.
"Despite the existence of no evidence that the information was applied, tested or shared with the engineering team (which it was not), this possession constitutes a breach of the Code.
"To our regret and embarrassment, the content of the previously unknown emails demonstrated possession not being limited to a single person, albeit unsanctioned in any way by the team. For this breach of Article 151c, a very heavy penalty has been imposed on the team.
"The major principle of the issue for McLaren is: this information was not used to gain advantage on its cars.
"Moving forwards, and in consultation with our shareholders, we will now review and further strengthen our internal compliance structures and processes."
McLaren's decision not to appeal means that Ferrari have now won the constructors' world championship.
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Mercedes reaffirms its commitment
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, September 18th 2007, 12:19 GMT
Mercedes-Benz has insisted that it is totally committed to Formula One and its partnership with McLaren, despite the controversy over the spy affair.
Although McLaren have lost all of their constructors' championship points for this year and been fined $100 million (USD), their engine partner Mercedes-Benz has made it clear that the matter will have no dent on its devotion to the sport.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug was quoted as saying by The Guardian on Tuesday that his company was not entertaining any change of plan in the wake of recent events.
When asked whether Mercedes-Benz stood by F1 as it did before the verdict, Haug said: "Of course we do. This is not up for discussion. We also stand by our partner McLaren. And we refrain from putting the blame on anybody."
Then speaking about whether or not there were any worries about a possible withdrawal by Mercedes-Benz, Haug said: "No worries at all. And I don't make out the image problems we are supposed to have. On the contrary, we get a lot of support and encouragement from outside."
Haug's comments come in the wake of a statement issued by Mercedes-Benz last week, in which it made clear that it wholly supported McLaren's stance that it had not used any of the Ferrari information that is at the centre of the case.
It also pointed out that the FIA had not accepted invitations from McLaren to inspect their car to prove the team's innocence.
The statement, issued on Friday, said: "Our partner McLaren stated absolutely clearly that our Formula One car does not incorporate any third-party concepts or ideas from design drawings created outside the team. The same applies to speculation concerning knowledge of other teams' race strategies, the distribution of weight in F1 cars, etc.
"Mr. Coughlan, the team member involved and suspended since the allegations emerged on 3 July, confirmed in a statutory declaration that at no point in time did he pass on any of the material to McLaren, which he received privately from a member of the team which currently ranks immediately behind us.
"Our partner McLaren repeatedly suggested to FIA that our F1 car should be examined and checked against the competitor's documents; however, FIA has not made use of this offer to this day.
"No evidence of any culpable action has been submitted or made known to McLaren to date, and McLaren states that the team has not been involved in any culpable action whatsoever."
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McLaren bosses to face spying questions
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, February 7th 2008, 12:47 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis and F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh are among four senior personnel from the Woking-based team who have been invited by Italian magistrates to answer questions over last year's spy affair, autosport.com has learned.
Although the FIA has drawn a line under the matter following a public apology from McLaren about their possession of Ferrari intellectual property in 2007, the legal actions underway in Britain and Italy are ongoing.
As part of those investigations, the Modena magistrate in charge of the investigation, Giuseppe Tibis, has been questioning individuals involved in the case. Last year he invited Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa over the matter.
Now, he has informed McLaren's lawyers in Italy that he wants to speak to Dennis, Whitmarsh, chief designer Mike Coughlan and engineering director Paddy Lowe about the matter. They have all been asked to meet him from February 18.
Former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who supplied information about his former team to Coughlan, has also been asked to appear.
McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale and senior design team leader Rob Taylor are also likely to be invited, but Italian magistrates have deferred their questioning because they do not have their home addresses, so cannot officially inform them that they are required.
McLaren have not officially commented on this latest development.
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Stepney to face FIA as Coughlan punished
By Jonathan Noble and Michele Lostia Thursday, February 14th 2008, 11:19 GMT
Former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney is to meet the FIA soon to explain his role in last year's F1 spy scandal before any punishment is handed down, with a sanction already believed to have been imposed on McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan.
Sources have revealed that Stepney could face up to a two-year ban from international motor racing for his part in the exchange of information between Ferrari and McLaren last year.
Autosport.com understands that Coughlan has already been punished by the FIA following an apology to the governing body and Ferrari, although there are no details on what sanction he has been given.
The FIA has made it clear that it has no comment on the matter at this stage.
Stepney had been due to meet the FIA's legal department last week but the meeting was postponed because of unforeseen circumstances. A new meeting will be rescheduled for the near future.
Despite the FIA's unwillingness to comment officially on its plans, president Max Mosley wrote a letter to Italian publication Autosprint this week explaining that it was important Stepney and Coughlan had the chance to defend themselves.
This was in response to an open letter published in the magazine a fortnight ago asking why Stepney had not been questioned by the FIA and why he was not banned from FIA sanctioned events.
In the letter Mosley wrote: "No one can be sentenced without having first had the opportunity of defending himself. This is a fundamental legal principle."
He added: "You are wrong in saying that his guilt is an unquestionable fact before he's had the opportunity to defend himself. In condemning someone without giving him the chance to be heard, you deny the justice that is the right of everyone, whatever their responsibilities."
It is understood that in the wake of the spy scandal, the FIA is considering implementing a licencing system, similar to that used for drivers, for all personnel in F1. This would allow them to withdraw licences from - and effectively ban - people who breach FIA regulations.
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Stepney 'calm' after meeting magistrate
Monday, February 18th 2008, 17:34 GMT
Former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney told reporters he was "very calm" after being interviewed on Monday by an Italian magistrate probing last year's Formula One spying scandal.
The Briton, sacked by Ferrari, is accused of supplying technical information about the Italian team to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who is now suspended.
McLaren were stripped of their 2007 constructors' points and fined $100 million in September by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) but legal probes into the controversy continue, with Modena prosecutor Giuseppe Tibis weighing up the evidence.
Tibis said Stepney had been "collaborative and thorough".
Stepney's lawyer Sonia Bartolini said her client did have contact with Coughlan but had denied passing on the information. She told reporters other people have not been investigated enough in the affair.
World champions Ferrari have also accused Stepney of attempted sabotage after a mysterious white powder was allegedly found around the fuel caps of their cars before the Monaco Grand Prix in May last year.
McLaren bosses, including team principal Ron Dennis, were also due to meet with Tibis on Monday but their appearance has been postponed to another date.
Tibis has already interviewed McLaren's former driver Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who left for Renault in December, and Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa.
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Stepney disappointed with Coughlan's take
By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, February 19th 2008, 10:35 GMT
Nigel Stepney is waiting for Mike Coughlan to explain his position in the spy scandal, after insisting on Monday that he had not handed any Ferrari data to McLaren's suspended chief designer.
Stepney was interviewed on Monday by an Italian magistrate probing last year's spying scandal, and the former Ferrari mechanic said he had nothing to hide.
His lawyer Sonia Bartolini said Stepney had again denied having given any Ferrari information to Coughlan.
"When questioned my client rejected the accusation of having given Coughlan the 780-page dossier with Ferrari projects to give to McLaren," Bartolini was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.
"There were always contacts between them, but there never was a hand-over of written documents.
"It's true that Nigel met Coughlan in Barcelona last spring to organize a move to Honda. They scribbled some drawings, that's it. In fact Nigel struggled to identify those 780 pages because he never had them at his disposal. Maybe all that material got stolen, but that has nothing to do with Stepney.
"This is why he's disappointed with Coughlan and his contradicting statements, while Stepney's statements to the magistrate are consistent with those given to the FIA."
Gazzetta reports that there is a possibility Coughlan and Stepney will be interrogated at the same time, face-to-face.
"At the moment, the interrogation of Stepney is more than enough," Magistrate Giuseppe Tibis said. "He collaborated by answering every question. As for the other people under investigation, it will be up to them to decide whether to show up or not.
"I've already invited them, maybe I'll see some of them in March."
Bartolini added: "The confrontation is fine, Stepney has nothing to hide. If anyone, it's Coughlan the one who has to make his position clear: from Great Britain we understand that he's never been removed from McLaren. We count on getting hold of documentation that testifies Stepney's good will."
Tibis was was to question leading McLaren figures, including team boss Ron Dennis and F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, on Monday but the meeting was put back.
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McLaren staff questioned in spy affair
By Jonathan Noble Wednesday, February 27th 2008, 17:48 GMT
McLaren personnel were questioned in Britain today as part of the continuing Italian investigation into last year's spy scandal, the team confirmed this evening.
With legal processes ongoing despite the FIA having drawn a line under the matter, four leading McLaren staff members including team principal Ron Dennis and F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh were last month invited to Italy to answer questions about their involvement in the case.
That meeting was postponed, but McLaren revealed tonight that Italian investigators instead had travelled to Britain to visit staff members at their homes and the McLaren factory.
A statement issued by McLaren said: "McLaren Racing has today continued its co-operation with enquiries instigated by the Modena Magistrate.
"The Surrey Police accompanied Italian investigators to the homes of a number of McLaren executives as part of their ongoing investigation. A similar process has been performed at the McLaren Technology Centre.
"The police are completely satisfied with the co-operation they have received. These actions are part of a normal judicial process in connection with the ongoing investigation, and are supported by McLaren Racing."
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McLaren evidence useful, say police
By Mark Meadows Thursday, February 28th 2008, 18:53 GMT
Useful evidence connected to Formula One's spy scandal has been collected from McLaren which shows where responsibilities lie, Italian police said on Thursday.
McLaren executives were questioned by Italian investigators in Britain on Wednesday as part of a legal probe into the team obtaining Ferrari technical information last year.
Material taken from the team "will fit into the ample picture of evidence" from which "clearly emerges the responsibilities of the management and some technicians at a high level in McLaren", a police statement said.
Giuseppe Tibis, a prosecutor in Ferrari's home province of Modena, launched the legal investigation which led to Wednesday's events.
Police said they went to McLaren Technology Centre and the homes of McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, chief executive Martin Whitmarsh, engineering director Paddy Lowe and senior employees Jonathan Neale and Rob Taylor.
McLaren said on Wednesday the police "were completely satisfied with the co-operation they have received".
The team suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan in July after a dossier of Ferrari technical information was found at his home in England.
Ferrari, who won both titles last season after McLaren were fined a record $100 million (USD) and stripped of all their constructors' points, have accused their now-dismissed engineer Nigel Stepney of sending him the material.
Tibis has already interviewed McLaren's former driver Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who left for Renault in December, and Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa.
Stepney, who is also accused of sabotage by Ferrari but denies the charge, met the prosecutor in Italy last week.
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McLaren deny Italian police claims
By Pablo Elizalde Friday, February 29th 2008, 14:51 GMT
The McLaren team have slammed as "grossly inaccurate and misleading" claims from the Italian police that they had found evidence that showed the responsibility of certain members of the team in the spying affair.
Top McLaren executives were questioned by Italian magistrates on Wednesday as part of a legal investigation into Formula One's spying scandal.
The police said in a statement that they had found evidence from which "clearly emerges the responsibilities of the management and some technicians at a high level in McLaren."
McLaren said on Friday, however, that the statement was misleading, as the Italian police were yet to have access to the material taken from the McLaren Technology Centre and the homes of the top executives.
"McLaren Racing wishes to record its extreme displeasure with the wording of a statement that the Italian Police are reported to have made yesterday," said McLaren in a statement.
"If those reports accurately reflect the police statement, the statement is grossly inaccurate and misleading.
"The reports incorrectly claim that the searches produced material which clearly shows the responsibility of certain people at McLaren Racing.
"In fact, the Italian police have not yet even been given access to any of the material taken, nor have they even started to review that material. We would be extremely surprised if the review of the documentation reveals anything which has not already been disclosed as a result of the extensive investigations already carried out.
"McLaren Racing believes that due process needs to be respected and that the conduct of an investigation process should not be construed adversely or used for publicity purposes.
"It should be noted that none of the extensive searches or investigations completed to date have produced any evidence that the Ferrari documents which Mr Nigel Stepney handed over to Mr Michael Coughlan were ever passed to anyone else at McLaren Racing or used on the McLaren Formula One car.
"McLaren Racing will continue to co-operate with Surrey Police regarding any further searches and enquiries they are required to undertake. McLaren Racing wishes to thank Surrey Police for the helpful and courteous manner in which they have undertaken the process."
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McLaren to involve Home Office in spy row
By Pablo Elizalde Friday, February 29th 2008, 15:27 GMT
McLaren plan to contact Britain's Home Office over their concerns about the way the Italian police is handling the latest developments in Formula One's spying affair.
McLaren issued a statement on Friday denying claims in an Italian police statement that there was evidence showing the responsibility of certain members of the British squad in the spying row.
The team claimed the statement from the Modena police was "grossly inaccurate and misleading".
A McLaren spokesperson has revealed the team plan to contact Home Office, the British government department dealing with law and order, to inform them about their concerns on how the Italian police are treating the affair.
"In the light of this type of publicity, which has apparently been generated by the Modena police, perhaps people can now understand our caution in engaging in such a process with them," said the spokesperson.
"Indeed, we intend to contact the Home Office to convey our concerns regarding the conduct of the entire matter."
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Dennis has full support, says Whitmarsh
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, February 28th 2008, 17:11 GMT
McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh says there is no question that Ron Dennis has the full support of all his company's shareholders, and has rubbished suggestions there is pressure on Dennis to stand down.
There has been rife speculation this week that Dennis could be forced to relinquish his role as team principal in the wake of last year's spy scandal and the impact it had on the Woking-based outfit.
Those rumours intensified in the wake of the visit by Italian investigators to the homes of leading McLaren executives, including Dennis, on Wednesday.
But Whitmarsh has made it clear that Dennis maintains the full support of the team and their partners. He says that any talk Dennis could be forced to move aside is wide of the mark, and any decision to change roles in the future will be Dennis's entirely.
"The rumours are unfounded - for a number of reasons," Whitmarsh told autosport.com.
"First, the visits were merely part of ongoing enquiries by the Italian authorities, who used the Surrey Police as intermediaries. As such, they weren't really very surprising, or therefore very stressful.
"Second, and most important, people who suggest that Ron may be forced to step down don't understand the corporate structure of the McLaren Group.
"Ron is fully supported by all our shareholders, all our management, and all who work for our team and our company. He currently has three roles: Chairman, McLaren Group; Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Group; Team Principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
"It therefore follows that it is for Ron to decide when and if he should step down, step away, step back, or whatever."
When asked if Dennis would attend the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Whitmarsh replied: "Yes."
Whitmarsh also emphasised that McLaren were happy to co-operate with the Italian investigators, who were accompanied by members of the Surrey Police.
"The visits were part of ongoing enquiries by the Italian authorities, who used the Surrey Police as intermediaries," he explained. "The policemen involved were efficient and courteous, and went about their business with minimal fuss.
"We welcomed and co-operated fully with their enquiries, and the police professed themselves entirely happy with the co-operation they received from us."
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Italian police statement misunderstood
By Jonathan Noble and Michele Lostia Saturday, March 1st 2008, 13:11 GMT
The Italian police never made the claims that led McLaren to consider involving Britain's Home Office in Formula One's spying affair, autosport.com has learned.
Reports on Thursday suggested the Italian police have stated that evidence obtained in searches at McLaren this week prove senior team personnel were involved in industrial espionage against Ferrari.
Subsequently, McLaren on Friday heavily criticised these allegations, saying the Italian police couldn't have reached such a conclusion given that they did not yet examine the material seized in the searches.
A team spokesperson also added that "In the light of this type of publicity, which has apparently been generated by the Modena police ... we intend to contact the Home Office to convey our concerns regarding the conduct of the entire matter."
However, it appears this latest controversy is down to a misunderstanding of the Italian police's statement.
In fact, the statement - made by Italy's Postal and Communications Police - clearly says that the evidence obtained in the McLaren searches will be examined by the Surrey Police along with Italian investigators in the next few days.
The statement does claim, though, that information already obtained by Italian investigators throughout this investigation - that is, prior to the searches at McLaren - have already given clear indication of McLaren's responsibilities in this case.
The statement says: "In the following days British detectives, with the collaboration of Postal and Communications Police investigators, will complete the inquest activities requested by the Italian Magistrate and will begin analysing the documents and the digital material mentioned above, with the aim of finding possible traces of the crimes concerned in the investigation.
"Such findings will be added to vast circumstantial and factual evidence already collected in the criminal investigation coordinated by the Modena Attorney, which shows clearly the responsibility of the management and some technicians at a high level in McLaren for the occurrence of 'industrial espionage' against team Ferrari, as well as for the matter of having taken advantage - both from a business and sporting level - of the data and information regarding both the design of the car that contested in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and the race and qualifying strategies of the Italian team."
The statement details that 50 Surrey police detectives were involved in the searches on Wednesday - which took place at the McLaren factory and at the homes of team principal Ron Dennis, F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, managing director Jonathan Neale, design team leader Rob Taylor and engineering director Paddy Lowe.
The information obtained included new testimonies on the use of email and telephone systems at McLaren, seized paper documents, electronic appliances and the copies of email systems.
Surrey Police have declined to give any further details on the information obtained in the searches or when the results of their searches will be handed over to Italian investigators.
A spokeswoman told autosport.com: "Surrey Police officers have conducted searches of McLaren headquarters in Woking and have searched the homes of five people in the investigations by Italian police in connection with allegations of industrial espionage in Formula One racing. Three of the five live in Surrey, the other two in Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
"Surrey police officers are acting on a letter of request from the Italian authorities approved by the Home Office. The Surrey officers at the McLaren headquarters were accompanied by the senior investigating officers for the Italian police, Detective Chief Superintendent Dr Tommaso Niglio. Other Italian officers were in Surrey to advise and observe.
"The case is being overseen by the public prosecutor of Modena, Giuseppe Tibis. And the deputy chief of divisional investigation Sergio Mariotti.
"Due to ongoing investigations we will not be commenting further at this time."
Tibis himself emphasized today that his office would not have asked for the searches in the UK had there not been good reasons for it.
"If nothing is found then it's all good for McLaren," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "But if we have done the searches, it's because we had good reasons to do so."
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Dennis ready to step aside
By Jonathan Noble Monday, March 3rd 2008, 10:50 GMT
Ron Dennis and Martin WhitmarshRon Dennis is likely to hand over the role of McLaren team principal to F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh before the end of this month, autosport.com has learned, but has not yet decided exactly when he will do so.
There has been mounting speculation about Dennis' future in recent weeks, with the 60-year-old believed to be increasingly keen to focus more on family matters and other aspects of the McLaren Group business than just the F1 team.
Dennis is also understood to believe that his departure as team principal will help relieve tension remaining at the team in the wake of last year's spy scandal, which left the team stripped of their constructors' championship points and fined $100 million (USD).
Sources have made it clear, however, that although Dennis is planning to change his role within McLaren, he has not yet settled on exactly when that will be.
It could be within a matter of days, or may not happen until after the season, which kicks off in Melbourne on March 16, has begun. However, a decision on the exact handover is expected to take place later this month.
Last week, Whitmarsh made it clear that Dennis still had the full support of McLaren's shareholders - and that any decision about his future was for him to take alone.
"Ron is fully supported by all our shareholders, all our management, and all who work for our team and our company," Whitmarsh told autosport.com.
"He currently has three roles: Chairman, McLaren Group; Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Group; Team Principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
"It therefore follows that it is for Ron to decide when and if he should step down, step away, step back, or whatever."
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Italian police calm on McLaren criticism
By Michele Lostia and Jonathan Noble Monday, March 3rd 2008, 17:37 GMT
The Italian Postal and Communications Police have said they are 'calm' about McLaren's criticisms of a press statement they issued last week.
In the wake of searches of the McLaren factory and the homes of five senior team personnel, the Italian police issued a media release detailing their actions.
They also explained that the information obtained would be added to evidence they had already gathered in which "clearly emerges the responsibilities of the management and some technicians at a high level in McLaren."
That statement drew a stinging response from McLaren, who said the statement was 'grossly inaccurate and misleading' as the Italian police had not had access to the evidence yet.
Furthermore, the team said they would complain to the Home Office about the manner of the Italian police's actions.
However, the full statement from the police suggested that the Italian police statement had been misunderstood by McLaren - as it made clear that the evidence was to be examined by the Surrey Police.
Despite the angry McLaren stance, the Italian Postal Police have said they are not upset by the criticisms - and they have put the matter down to a simple misunderstanding.
Division chief Sergio Mariotti told autosport.com: "I think they (McLaren) misinterpreted what was written in Italian.
"We said that the findings of the activity carried out in England at that time against McLaren and some of their managers, once analysed, would be added to vast circumstantial and factual evidence already consolidated by activities carried out in Italy and abroad in the past.
"By contrast, they understood that what was being acquired at that time in England was itself proof of McLaren's responsibility in the espionage case. I'm sorry they understood or translated wrongly, but we think we wrote fairly well how things stand."
Mariotti added, however, that the Italian police did have good reason to believe that the evidence they were searching for was important for their spy case investigation.
"As made clear by the district attorney in charge of the Italian investigation, Dr (Giuseppe) Tibis, if we got to the point of a rogatory (request) all the way to England, it means that we had some elements of proof or at least some evidence.
"Otherwise, I don't think a magistrate could obtain an international rogatory (request) based on unclear elements.
"And on top of that, there was also the FIA verdict, which expressed itself in a certain way against them, and those facts have already been acquired. So there were good reasons to go to England with a rogatory.
"Therefore I'm sorry there was a misunderstanding, but we are calm about it."
When asked when he expected the Italian police to examine the new evidence, Mariotti said: "The activity is yet to start, so we'll talk about the beginning of the analysis in the following days.
"So some time will go by before getting some results, because there is rather a lot of digital material."
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McLaren terminate Coughlan's contract
By Jonathan Noble Friday, March 14th 2008, 02:11 GMT
Mike Coughlan, the designer at the centre of last year's Formula One spy scandal, has finally had his contract with McLaren terminated, autosport.com can reveal.
Coughlan had been suspended from his role as chief designer at the Woking-based team ever since Ferrari documents were found at his house last July.
Although McLaren were eventually thrown out of the constructors' championship and fined $100 million (USD) in the wake of that Ferrari information passing into the team, Coughlan was kept suspended throughout the affair.
It is understood that Coughlan could not be sacked by McLaren because of legal issues.
However, senior McLaren sources have confirmed to autosport.com that Coughlan is now no longer part of the outfit and his contract with McLaren has been terminated.
Coughlan recently met with the FIA to explain his role in the affair and, after apologising to the governing body and Ferrari, it is understood he has been banned from international motor racing until July 2009.
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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.”