2007 Formula One espionage controversy
As an espionage scandal in the 2007 Formula 1 season is called after the team McLaren -Mercedes had received illegal technical information about the cars from Ferrari. The extent to which these data were incorporated into the development of the cars of McLaren - Mercedes, could not be determined. Team boss Ron Dennis and Mercedes- Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug denied any use of the documents.
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The chief designer of McLaren, Mike Coughlan, received in May 2007 on a large scale internal information of the Ferrari team from Nigel Stepney, the Ferrari chief mechanic. In June 2007, the wife of Coughlan wanted to copy the documents in a copy shop, reported the suspicious process, an employee there seller. Then Ferrari filed a complaint with the prosecutor's charges against Stepney. During a search of the house Stepneys suspicious material was assured.
Acquittal after first hearing
On 26 July 2007 a hearing took place before the FIA World Council ( German: " World Council ", the highest body of the FIA) in Paris. McLaren was thereby acquitted for lack of evidence from the suspicion of espionage. The FIA was based on the assumption that Stepney and Coughlan with only had proven guilty individuals. For the 13th September 2007 and subsequently an appeal hearing was scheduled to pressure the Italian Automobile Association. This also Ferrari should be given to an injured party the opportunity to present their own evidence.
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On September 5, the FIA announced that new evidence were available and would be held instead of the appeal hearing on September 13, a new hearing. The McLaren - Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso explained previously given Ron Dennis that he had information to commit espionage affair, and threatened to announce them. This was seen in the media as blackmail against Dennis. Alonso had exchanged e -mail with the McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa and chief designer Mike Coughlan via internal data of Ferrari. Dennis then immediately refunded yourself to the FIA. Thus was the first time realized that not only Coughlan about the Ferrari data knew.
Punishment
After the second hearing, the FIA announced before the Grand Prix of Belgium 2007 that McLaren are disallowed in the 2007 season, all points in the constructors' championship. However, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are allowed to keep their points in the drivers' standings. Alonso benefited from a leniency program applied by the FIA. In addition, McLaren has to pay a penalty in the amount of 100 million U.S. dollars, the highest fine that until then was ever imposed in the sports world. This amount is due within three months of the decision, but shall be reduced by the amount that would be received McLaren -Mercedes for placement in the constructors' championship if the team had not been excluded. The FIA declared that it must be assumed that McLaren had given by the data of Ferrari an advantage. However, this assumption could not be substantiated. Nevertheless, McLaren put in the available period to 21 September 2007, no appeal and accepted the judgment of the FIA World Council. On the same day it was reported that the FIA had the internal Ferrari data inadvertently released for a short time freely available as a pdf file on their website. As announced on 18 December 2007 announced by the FIA, which initially announced re-examination of the vehicles will not take place for the 2008 season, after a public apology from the team. The case of espionage in 2007 will thus have no further injury. The civil processes between Ferrari and McLaren as a prosecutor in England and Italy, however, continued.
Involvement of Renault
On 6 December 2007, the Renault team also had to answer charges of espionage before the FIA. As part of the investigation against McLaren evidence had emerged, according to which a former McLaren employee took away documents when he moved to Renault, which had been used in the development of the R27 for the 2007 season. Specifically, data on fuel system, the gear assembly, oil cooling system, the hydraulic system and a novel suspension component of McLaren are concerned. You came here to the view that Renault F1 had made no offense as charged guilty, and the team talked thus freely without any further requirements.