> Renault accused as FIA call second Spygate hearing

Renault have been summoned to appear before a hearing of the World Motor Sport Council next month to answer charges of spying.

During the first round of Stepneygate hearings earlier this year, during which it was McLaren's authorised possession of Ferrari secrets that was being probed, Renault's name came up in McLaren's own investigation.

The Woking team's investigators alleged that a former McLaren team member had passed on several CDs filled with their information to Renault.

Although this matter was not looked into at the first round of hearings, McLaren's lawyers passed the information on to the FIA, who launched their own investigation into the matter.

And that has now led to motorsport's governing body calling Renault up on charges of spying.

According to a FIA statement, Renault stand accused of being in possession of technical details relating to McLaren's 2006 and 2007 F1 cars.

The FIA alleges that between the period of September 2006 and October 2007, Renault had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to McLaren.

The infomation included the 'layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars.'

Renault will have to face the WMSC at a hearing in Monaco on Thursday, December 6.

Source: planet-f1

Renault summoned over new 'spy' charges

The FIA has summoned representatives of the Renault F1 team to answer charges of possessing confidential McLaren information, as a new spying scandal threatened to engulf the sport on Thursday.

Two months after McLaren was disqualified from the 2007 constructors' championship and fined up to $US100m when its staff were found of having secret Ferrari technical documents, the governing body has turned its attention to the team which won both titles in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso and leads the chase to re-sign the uncontracted Spaniard.

"Representatives of the Renault F1 Team have been requested to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on Thursday, December 6, 2007," read an FIA statement.

"The team representatives have been called to answer a charge that between September 2006 and October 2007, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, the Renault F1 Team had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," the statement continued.

"Including, but not limited to the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars."

McLaren lawyers informed the FIA that Renault had the information during the September 'Spygate' hearings, but Flavio Briatore publicly denied his team had done anything wrong.

“First, if somebody tells me it’s the same [as McLaren's situation], I sue somebody, quickly,” he said in the FIA press conference during the Belgian Grand Prix.

“Second, it’s not an investigation regarding myself and the team.

“Third, we give all the information to the Federation, at least when we found out something, and this is it.

“And I give the evidence as well to McLaren.”

Source: itv-f1

Renault pledges full cooperation with FIA

Renault says it will continue to give both the FIA and McLaren its full cooperation after it was summoned to appear before a court hearing over allegations of spying.

Officials from the Anglo-French squad will answer charges of possessing confidential McLaren information before the World Motor Sport Council on December 6.

The team says it will continue to assist in the investigation as it has done since the matter first surfaced in September.

"Ever since this matter came to light, we have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA, and we will continue to do so," a Renault spokesman said.

McLaren’s first informed the FIA of the issue during the period during which it itself was in the WMSC dock over the possession of confidential Ferrari information.

FIA president Max Mosley confirmed over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that he was awaiting a report on the matter from McLaren and that the Woking squad, with Renault’s consent, had sent experts to look at its rival’s computer system.

Renault managing director Flavio Briatore also revealed that his team had submitted its own dossier on the matter to both the governing body and McLaren.

However he publicly denied that the team had committed any wrongdoing.

Source: itv-f1

Renault seeks to clarify 'spy' allegations

Renault has denied any wrong-doing in the latest spy scandal to rock Formula 1 and has moved to clarify its role in the controversy surrounding its FIA summons to explain charges of possessing confidential McLaren intellectual property.

In a statement released Friday, the team admits that McLaren proprietary information was brought into the team by former McLaren engineer Phil Mackereth when he joined Renault in September 2006, but vehemently denies using the information on its 2006 or 2007 race cars.

The team claims that as soon as senior management were made aware of Mackereth's actions, a year after hiring him, it launched an immediate investigation into the matter and suspended the engineer from his post.

The team admits that the McLaren engineering drawings and technical spreadsheets, contained on 'old-style floppy disks', were uploaded onto Mackereth's computer but that it was done without the knowledge of senior management.

"Our formal investigation showed that early in his employment with Renault Mr Mackereth made some of our engineers aware of parts of this information in the form of a few reduced scale engineering drawings," added the statement.

"These drawings covered four basic systems as used by McLaren and were: the internal layout of the fuel tank, the basic layout of the gear clusters, a tuned mass damper and a suspension damper.

"Subsequent witness statements from the engineers involved have categorically stated that having been briefly shown these drawings, none of this information was used to influence design decisions relating to the Renault car.

"In the particular case of the tuned mass damper, these had already been deemed illegal by the FIA and therefore the drawing was of no value."

Renault claims to have kept both McLaren and the FIA fully informed of its investigation, cleansed its team's computers systems of the relevant information and impounded the disks with its solicitors for return to McLaren.

"Renault F1 have co-operated fully with McLaren and the FIA in this matter to the extent that the team has invited McLaren's independent experts to come and assess the team's computer systems and inspect the cars and the design records, to demonstrate that this unfortunate incident has not in anyway influenced the design of the cars," read the statement.

"Renault F1 have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA, being proactive in solving this matter and we are fully confident in the judgment of the World Council."

Source: itv-f1