SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND
Two top Formula One technical men have been implicated in an espionage scandal. It’s alleged that Nigel Stepney provided a massive amount of Ferrari data to a McLaren designer.
A Ferrari statement on July 5 said that it had been notified by a third party “that a senior member of the technical staff within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team might be in possession of highly sensitive Ferrari information.”
The story making the rounds at Silverstone was that someone in a photocopy shop in England tipped off Ferrari when they saw somebody making more than 500 copies of obviously very technical data. It’s understood that the papers covered not only car design but also a variety team operating procedures and other confidential information.
Ferrari obtained a warrant issued by the High Court of London on July 2 that allowed lawyers — not police — to search the house of a McLaren employee, where they found a substantial amount of data. Meanwhile, an investigation is being carried out into the same subject in Italy by the Modena Court.
Ferrari subsequently fired Stepney. McLaren has suspended its employee.
“The team has learned that this individual had personally received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April,” a McLaren statement said.
As soon as he heard about the incident, McLaren boss Ron Dennis notified Ferrari boss Jean Todt and FIA president Max Mosley.
No one at Ferrari or McLaren would confirm who the McLaren person is.
On July 7, Honda released a statement saying that Stepney and McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan offered to work for the team during a meeting with Nick Fry in June. While Coughlan has been widely reported by the media as the McLaren leak, the Honda statement was the first official document to actually publicly name him.
“Honda would like to stress that at no point during this meeting was any confidential information offered or received,” the Honda statement said. “Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren.”
The FIA has launched its own investigation, which it hopes to resolve in three weeks, and both teams are cooperating fully. McLaren has provided a complete set of drawings of its car to prove that no intellectual property of the Ferrari ended up on the McLaren.
Should the FIA decide that McLaren broke the FIA's International Sporting Code, both the team and drivers could be punished, and this could include losing points.
“I live and breathe this team,” said Dennis, fighting back the tears. “And there is no way anything incorrect would ever happen in our team.”
Stepney says he is innocent.
“I categorically deny that I copied them (the documents), or that I sent them to Mike Coughlan,” he told British newspapers. “I knew I was being watched all the time at the factory and that everything I did or said was being reported back and that people knew whenever I accessed files on the computer.
“I have no idea how anything came into Mike’s possession. If he has some documents, they came from another source.”
Stepney says his sharply deteriorating relationship with various senior members of Ferrari’s management following the departure of Ross Brawn meant that “by the end of March the situation was unbearable.” At that time Stepney began looking for jobs with other teams.
As the saga continues to unfold and new information becomes available, it’s thought that more than two people may be involved in the scandal.