> Stepney's McLaren Links

Honda was approached by spy suspects

Honda has confirmed that the Ferrari and McLaren engineers at the centre of the leaked data scandal currently engulfing Formula 1 jointly approached the team last month with a view to joining its technical staff.

The Japanese manufacturer released a statement at Silverstone this afternoon shortly after McLaren boss Ron Dennis confirmed that a third team was involved in the controversy.

Honda insists that although Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan met with team boss Nick Fry and discussed joining the squad, it did not receive any of the confidential data at the centre of the issue.

"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," read the Honda 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."

Dennis had earlier told the press that he was confident that McLaren would be completely exonerated as new information emerged over the course of the British Grand Prix weekend.

"The team principals involved all met each other this morning, and it was enlightening," said Dennis.

"In the next 48 hours, there will definitely be more information available to the public, and I can say with absolute certainty that we will be completely vindicated."

He also reasserted that he had contacted his Ferrari counterpart Jean Todt and the FIA within an hour of learning that a senior member of his staff had received confidential documents from Ferrari.

Dennis added that the team had supplied a full set of drawings and development documents to the FIA, detailing all updates made to the McLaren chassis since the incident occurred at the end of April.

Well, I dont think FIA will take that severe an action. It kinda seems obvious that McLaren didnt actually benefit from this whole fiasco.

And I dont watch F1 for these controversies I watch them for the racing and the strategy !!

McLaren summoned to FIA hearing

The FIA has called McLaren to appear before the World Motor Sport Council to answer a charge of breaking the sporting regulations by possessing confidential Ferrari data.

McLaren suspended its chief designer Mike Coughlan last week after information belonging to Ferrari was discovered during a search of his home.

The governing body then announced that it would hold its own investigation into the matter to determine whether the scandal breached the sporting code.

"Representatives of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes have been requested to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Thursday, July 26, 2007," said an FIA statement.

"The team representatives have been called to answer a charge that between March and July 2007, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, including information that could be used to design, engineer, build, check, test, develop and/or run a 2007 Ferrari Formula One car."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has strongly defended his team's integrity throughout the saga.

"There is no intellectual property of another grand prix team on our cars, nor will there be, nor has there ever been," Dennis said at Silverstone.

"We have very high standards in our organisation.

"My own integrity is woven into the fabric of our company and I am now, having supervised a very detailed investigation within our own organisation, able to say that with absolute certainty that as this unfolds over the next few days, people will clearly understand all the facts behind what has been a difficult experience for McLaren."

It was later revealed that Coughlan and ex-Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney - who is the subject of a Ferrari-instigated criminal investigation in Italy - had jointly approached Honda in June with a few to joining its technical staff.


McLaren 'disappointed' by summons

McLaren says it is disappointed that the FIA has summoned the team to a World Motor Sport Council hearing over the leaked data scandal.

The FIA announced earlier today that McLaren would face a charge of having breached the sporting regulations by possessing confidential Ferrari information.

"McLaren is extremely disappointed to note that it has been asked by the FIA to answer a charge of being in possession of certain documents and confidential information belonging to Ferrari," said a team statement.

"Whilst McLaren wishes to continue its full co-operation with any investigation into this matter, it does wish to make it very clear that the documents and confidential information were only in the possession of one currently suspended employee on an unauthorised basis and no element of it has been used in relation to McLaren’s Formula 1 cars."

The team suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan last Tuesday after documents belonging to Ferrari were discovered at his house.

McLaren immediately invited the FIA to carry out a full inspection of its cars to ensure that no Ferrari data had been incorporated into the design, and pledged to co-operate with the governing body's investigation.

Looks like trouble for Mclaren
They can set a record by becoming only the second team to be expelled by FIA

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Safin's Signature:

which was the first ??

And I doubt they'll be expelled. At the most, they will remove points from McLaren from the constructors championship.

But not from the drivers championship. FIA has made that very clear.

Bernie Ecclestone. not FIA.

That's ok.... he pretty much runs F1...

but he still can't dictate terms to FIA as long it regulates the sport. if mclaren are found guilty (which is highly unlikely), both their drivers will face severe penalties. personally, in such a situation, i'll be disappointed if they don't penalize mclaren. that, of course, depends entirely on the outcome of july 26th meeting.

well, yeah.... but as you said, it is highly unlikely McLaren will be penalised. And I dont think the drivers will be penalised anyway. I think that would be very unfair.

Assuming the two drivers benfited from this, you cant blame them. They are given a job to do and they do it. Penalise the team, not the drivers.