Stepney risks years in jail - report Nigel Stepney risks four years in jail if he is ultimately found guilty by Italian prosecutors of espionage and intentional sabotage, according to reports. In an expose on the so-called formula one 'spy scandal' affair, La Gazzetta dello Sport said the 780 pages of confidential data sent to McLaren by the sacked engineer related not only to "intellectual property" such as specific car designs and working methods. McLaren boss Ron Dennis insisted recently: "There is no intellectual property on our cars that belongs to another grand prix team -- never has been and never will be." Also in chief designer Mike Coughlan's possession, however, were items including detailed reports from grands prix and test sessions -- not necessarily data that can be simply applied to a rivals' car but still in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. It is suggested that McLaren, whose rookie Lewis Hamilton leads the world championship, minimally faces race bans. The Italian reports also revealed that searches of other engineers at Ferrari's Maranello HQ took place on Ferrari "in order to establish if Stepney had any accomplices". F1 Complete July 14, 2007 http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/5177/617/
Well, there goes the season - it will always now hang under a cloud. And the biggest losers are the fans and Hamilton if this happens. FIA has a Sophie's choice - act to punish a grievous wrong IF proven true and kill the season, or allow the season to continue and lose credibility and integrity as a highest form of motorsport.
I'd guess they lose all their WCC points, get a stiff arsed fine, then a two race ban. Or just make McLaren revert and use last year's cars.
I'm still holding out until we hear the final decisions. Hopefully it was an isolate incident and that will keep the season from being tainted.
keep in mind - this article is based on another article author of which probably did have access to the Couglan's affidavit himself. I wouldn't necessary trust the information in it. --------------------- http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/60794 GO TO EARLIER STORY GO TO THE NEWS INDEX Coughlan confided with several colleagues By Jonathan Noble and Michele Lostia Saturday, July 14th 2007, 13:54 GMT McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan has confided with several of his team colleagues about secret Ferrari documents in his possession, according to a report in Italy today. The Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica quotes from what it claims to be Coughlan's affidavit, which was handed to Ferrari on Wednesday as part of the team's legal proceedings in England. The affidavit was provided to Ferrari under condition that they will not hand it over to the Italian authorities, who are currently running a criminal investigation on related matters. Moreover, only Ferrari and the FIA are understood to have had access to the affidavit, which is not even available in the London High Court records. According to La Repubblica, Coughlan confirms in his affidavit that he had Ferrari's technical drawings and internal documentation in his possession. Coughlan also allegedly reveals that he showed these documents to several people at McLaren - and not just to managing director Jonathan Neale, as had previously been known. According to La Repubblica, Coughlan states that all McLaren employees responded in the same manner, by distancing themselves from these documents and advising him to destroy them. Furthermore, Coughlan has reportedly not confirmed that his source for the documents was indeed ex-Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney, and the newspaper only cites Coughlan as saying he received the documents via an express courier mail service. The extent of the knowledge of Coughlan's activities inside McLaren is still uncertain, with even Ferrari admitting they are not yet sure who within the team knew about it. Ferrari lawyer Massimiliano Maestretti told RAI television that there is still some uncertainty regarding who knew about the documents and just when some of them were delivered to Coughlan. "We don't know what Neale's role is, but we know he was aware Coughlan had the documents and he likely saw part of those documents," said Maestretti. "The McLaren statement mentioned the documents were received at the end of April, but we have proof that there were more later than that with a May date." McLaren have been summoned to appear before the FIA to answer charges of 'fraudulent conduct' over Coughlan's possession of the Ferrari documents. The team have insisted several times, however, that they have done nothing wrong. A statement issued by the outfit on Thursday, following news of the FIA summoning, said that the 780-page technical dossier at the centre of the controversy was solely the responsibility of Coughlan. "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 One cars," said the statement.
Kyle and Steve, I agree with you guys. What I find interesting is that there's a case in the works involving attorneys from both sides - you would think that confidentiality of the case would be foremost on their part until there was a verdict issued. I'd hate to hire them for my business, especially the Ferrari lawyer who was on RAI talking about the case - he should have simply said an investigation in the matter is currently underway and information will be furnished at the proper time. I would hope Neale has a good attorney for this: "We don't know what Neale's role is, but we know he was aware Coughlan had the documents and he likely saw part of those documents," said Maestretti. Carol
The damage has already been done. No matter what happens now, its already tainted. You can thank Mclaren for that.
We can't "thank anyone at this point. If it was isolated with Coughlan then McLaren has done nothing wrong. If Stepney was the cause of this as well we can't just blame McLaren.
Was Coughlan employed by McLaren while he was in posession of the documents? Coughlan either knew or should have known that was in violation of the rules, and immediately refused or turned over the documents the the authorities.
+1 why something this stupid would ruin a great season really is pathetic. Shame on Stepney and Coughlan for pulling a stunt like this.
And yet Ferrari stands blameless for employing Stepney, allegedly nurturing his malcontent resentment and keeping him on in a sensitive position despite that? Your fair-mindedness and logic are staggering.
I agree . He should have destryed it and informed Ferrari right away . Sort of the same thing you do when you receive an email by error.
So please tell me which FIA rule THAT violates? I still don't see how McLaren can come out on top of this. They had the documents since the beginning of the season, in violation of 151c, and others within McLaren admit to knowing about the documents, and yet they never made ANY attempt to disclose it?! If they had disclosed it immediately then things would be a lot better. But they didn't. It wasn't until his wife was caught red handed COPYING the documents 5 months later that it came to life. 5 months is a lot of time for people to read and study the documents. And its not like Couglin was a janitor or something. He was the Chief Engineer. He should have known better. I can't see how FIA is going to take any of that lightly.
In further breaking news the Italian courts decree Ferrari as world champions for the next three years.
Aren't you assuming an awful lot? Where's the proof that senior management at McL (apart from the Coughlans) were complicit in espionage? If you're right and McL was knowingly complicit, they are guilty as hell. Just like Ferrari would've been culpable if they'd known Stepney was siphoning off info from them and did nothing about it. But if neither McL or F on the whole were aware of what was going on, neither of them are to blame. So reserve your judgement until something concrete emerges. You have no business blaming the entity Mclaren at this time.
According to Italin newspaper La Repubblica, Couglin released an affidavit today saying that he showed the documents to several people within McLaren including managing director Jonathan Neale.
All this should have zip, zero, ziltch effect on current point standings. Its not the FIAs job to police factories doings unless the F1 "formula" ( physical measurements ) is broken.
According to the italian press Ferrari stripped Stepney of the special key giving access to the F1 plans and all data, when Rossn Brawn left in December. It is unclear whether he obtained another key or had an accomplice or accomplices. It is also interesting to note that while Ferrari fired Stepney, McLaren only suspended Coughlan.
I'm not sure what you mean by "physical measurements". Its FIA job to enforce regulations, through articles. I believe the articles in question are the following: Article 3.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations state that "it is the competitor's responsibility to ensure that all persons concerned by his entry observe all the requirements of the Agreement, the Code, the Technical Regulations and the Sporting Regulations" Article 151c relates to "any fraudulent conduct, or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition, or to the interests of motor sport generally." As for if that could affect point standings, that is entirely up to FIA how if/when they decide to enforce violations.
Here are a few recent quotes that make you go hmmmmmm: "All this should have zip, zero, ziltch effect on current point standings. Its not the FIAs job to police factories doings unless the F1 "formula" ( physical measurements ) is broken." "And yet Ferrari stands blameless for employing Stepney, allegedly nurturing his malcontent resentment and keeping him on in a sensitive position despite that?" "We can't "thank anyone at this point. If it was isolated with Coughlan then McLaren has done nothing wrong. If Stepney was the cause of this as well we can't just blame McLaren." After reading these posts I had to run outside and see if there was only 1 moon in the night sky and then into my garage to see if my 355 only had 4 wheels and not 6. It makes one wonder if common sense really is that common anymore. If some of you were making the laws of our land we would be in really big trouble.
