Spy affair in Formula 1 2007
As a spy case one is scandal in the Formula 1 2007 season, called after the team McLaren-Mercedes illegal technical information about the cars from Ferrari had received. The extent to which this data was incorporated into the further development of McLaren-Mercedes vehicles could not be determined. Team boss Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug denied any use of the documents.
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McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan , received a large amount of internal information from the Ferrari team in May 2007 from Nigel Stepney , Ferrari's chief mechanic. When Coughlan's wife tried to copy the documents in a copy shop in June 2007 , a salesperson employed there reported the suspicious transaction. Ferrari then filed a complaint against Stepney with the prosecutor. Suspicious material was found during a search of Stepney's house.
Acquittal after first hearing
On July 26, 2007, a hearing was held before the FIA - World Council (Eng .: "World Council", the highest body of the FIA) in Paris. McLaren was acquitted of suspicion of espionage for lack of evidence. The FIA assumed that, with Stepney and Coughlan, only individuals were demonstrably guilty. Subsequently, an appeal hearing was scheduled for September 13, 2007 under pressure from the Italian Automobile Association. Ferrari, as the injured party, should also be given the opportunity to present its own evidence.
Self-disclosure
On September 5, the FIA announced that it had received new evidence and that a new hearing would take place on September 13 instead of the appeal hearing. McLaren-Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso previously told Ron Dennis that he had information about the espionage affair and threatened to disclose it. This was seen in the media as an attempt at blackmail against Dennis. Alonso had exchanged information about internal Ferrari data by email with McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa and chief designer Mike Coughlan. Dennis immediately filed a self-disclosure with the FIA. So it was clear for the first time that not only Coughlan knew about the Ferrari data.
punishment
After the second hearing, ahead of the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix , the FIA announced that McLaren would lose all points in the constructors' championship for the 2007 season. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were allowed to keep their points in the drivers' championship. Alonso benefited from a leniency program applied by the FIA . In addition, McLaren had to pay a fine of 100 million US dollars , the highest fine ever imposed in the world in sport. This amount was due within three months of the decision, but could be reduced by the amount McLaren-Mercedes would have received for placing in the constructors' championship had the team not been excluded. The FIA stated that it can be assumed that McLaren had gained an advantage through the data from Ferrari. However, this assumption could not be substantiated. Nonetheless, McLaren did not appeal within the available deadline of September 21, 2007 and accepted the ruling of the FIA World Council. On the same day it was reported that the FIA had inadvertently published the internal Ferrari data for a short time freely accessible as a PDF file on its website. As announced by the FIA on December 18, 2007, the previously announced re-examination of the vehicles for the 2008 season should not take place after a public apology by the team. The 2007 espionage affair had no further consequences. However, the civil trials between Ferrari as prosecutor and McLaren in England and Italy continued.
Renault involvement
On December 6, 2007, the Renault team also had to answer for allegations of espionage before the FIA. In the course of the investigation against McLaren, evidence had emerged that a former McLaren employee had taken documents with him when he switched to Renault that were used in the development of the R27 for the 2007 season. In particular, data on the gasoline system, the transmission structure, the oil cooling system, the hydraulic system and a new type of suspension component from McLaren are affected. It came to the conclusion that Renault-F1 had not been guilty of any offense in the sense of the indictment and thus acquitted the team without further conditions.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The original text of the judgment to reduce the fine: … less any sum that would have been payable by Formula One Management Limited on account of McLaren's results in the 2007 Constructors Championship had it not been excluded .
- ↑ McLaren-Mercedes pays, espionage affair ended. (No longer available online.) At: de.eurosport.yahoo.com , September 21, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 9, 2007 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Data from the espionage affair got online. (No longer available online.) At: de.eurosport.yahoo.com , September 21, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 9, 2007 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Spy files closed: McLaren can drive at World Cup. (No longer available online.) On: www.n-tv.de , December 18, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 18, 2007 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ Formula 1 espionage - Renault is suspected. (No longer available online.) On: www.n-tv.de , November 8, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 9, 2007 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ Allegations of espionage: Renault summoned by the FIA. From: www.motorsport-total.com , November 8, 2007, accessed November 9, 2007 .
Web links
- Chronology of the espionage affair (with world .com September 14, 2007)
- Reasons for the FIA's judgment (English; PDF file; 92 kB)
- Transcriptions of the hearings on July 26, 2007 and September 13, 2007