Mclaren Summoned Over Ferrari Secrets.

[Dino Scuderia]

Serious implications for the McLaren team.


FIA Summons McLaren Over Ferrari Secrets
Thursday, July 12, 2007 10:13 AM EDT
The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The McLaren Formula One team was charged by the sport's governing body Thursday with unauthorized possession of secret Ferrari documents.

McLaren was summoned to appear before FIA's world motor sport council in Paris on July 26 to explain how it gained possession of the documents, including information that can be used to design, engineer, build, check, test, develop and run a 2007 Ferrari F1 car.

The case reached the High Court in London on Wednesday when McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who was suspended by his team last week when documents were found in his house, agreed to tell Ferrari how he got hold of its design secrets.

Coughlan has been linked to Ferrari's head of performance Nigel Stepney, who has already been fired by the team for allegedly sending the 780-page technical document to Coughlan.

Stepney has denied it, although Ferrari won a court order to search the Coughlans' home and the documents were found, along with computers which are set to be examined by experts.

Ferrari has also taken legal action in Italy against Stepney.

McLaren team chief Ron Dennis has maintained his team did not break any rules.

The FIA did not say what sanctions could be taken against McLaren if found guilty of breaking rules. It's possible the team could face a points deduction or expulsion from the championship.

[NSXType-R]

A classic case of corporate espionage. How interesting.

[Coventrysucks]

The McLaren Formula One team was charged... ...with unauthorized possession of secret Ferrari documents.

...when documents were found in his house

McLaren F1 = Mike Coughlan's house?

The FIA did not say what sanctions could be taken against McLaren if found guilty of breaking rules. It's possible the team could face a points deduction or expulsion from the championship.

How can they prove Tombasis didn't tell Ferrari everything he knows about the MP4/22?

McLaren beats Ferrari on track - Ferrari documents turn up at McLaren - FIA docks points...

Conspiracy!!111!!

[Street_Dreamer]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

McLaren F1 = Mike Coughlan's house?

How can they prove Tombasis didn't tell Ferrari everything he knows about the MP4/22?

McLaren beats Ferrari on track - Ferrari documents turn up at McLaren - FIA docks points...

Conspiracy!!111!!

I don't think McLaren cheated, but then i'm biased... However, Steve Cropley and Alan Henry both agree that McLaren will almost certainly be cleared of any supposed wrong-doing.

I also thought of a conspiracy, based upon the fact that McLaren were suddenly doing better than Ferrari, so they had to do something to bring themselves back to the top. You never know with Ferrari nowadays.

[bmwpower]

Corporations make a business of scape goating. So if the documents were found at Coughlan's house then his career is over, the team will see to it that he's burned to the stake alone or with as few accomplices as possible and continue on. Even if Coughlan talks all other evidence if anyone has it is likely shredded and burned and it'll be a game of he said she said which will go nowhere because that isn't enough to act upon.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

How can they prove Tombasis didn't tell Ferrari everything he knows about the MP4/22?

I think there is a subtle difference between "telling" and "handing over a 500 page document"....don't let your utter dislike of Ferrari influence your normal reasonable way of thinking.....

[faksta]

Meanwhile, before Magny-Cours I haven't seen these 'bridges' on the front wings of Formula-1 cars, at least so widely used. But they appeared in France on both Ferrari and McLaren at the same time. I thought about how could it be before I've heard of this scandal. And now.. what do you think, can this be somehow connected?
In Silverstone I saw such 'bridges' on Red Bull's, too, but that time the week has gone, so it doesn't seem so strange.

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by henk4

I think there is a subtle difference between "telling" and "handing over a 500 page document"....don't let your utter dislike of Ferrari influence your normal reasonable way of thinking.....

Don't let your preconceptions about my likes and dislikes influence your normal reasonable way of thinking...

Whenever a member of staff moves from team to team, of course they take confidential information with them.

You can't suddenly switch off everything you have learned about aerodynamics, for example, whilst you worked there.

I'm sure when Ferrari re-hired Tombasis they stipulated in his contract that he must not use any information he ever acquired whilst at McLaren.

It is something that is totally unavoidable, and is routinely accepted without the FIA and Italian police raiding people's homes when they are on holiday.

What can you do with a document?

Unless you can interpret the information within it, and understand the context and how that integrates with what you are doing, it isn't much help.

I'd say that having the person that authored a document, as opposed to just the document itself is potentially much more of a compromise.

Then, you can hardly call it an F1 season without some controversy including the FIA and Ferrari against one of their main championship rivals, can you?

That you can include the Italian police and a good old fashioned witch-hunt into the deal is just a healthy bonus.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

Don't let your preconceptions about my likes and dislikes influence your normal reasonable way of thinking...

I was not aware that they did....you ended your post with the word "conspiracy" and three exclamation marks

and a document in the hands of experts is quite revealing, you do not need the author to explain it to them....unless of course the Ferrari concepts are way above the normal standard of thinking in the McLaren design department...

[Kitdy]

Originally Posted by henk4

I was not aware that they did....you ended your post with the word "conspiracy" and three exclamation marks

and a document in the hands of experts is quite revealing, you do not need the author to explain it to them....unless of course the Ferrari concepts are way above the normal standard of thinking in the McLaren design department...

I have to agree. Whatever this document is it may have potentially important and useful information. Experts for McLaren could easily use this information to their advantage, but establishing a link that shows that McLaren acted in ill-faith is going to be tricky. McLaren can just say that the employee was working on his own and they never saw the document - simple as that, and how will anyone prove it otherwise?

[Cotterik]

it always seems to involve ferrari..

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Cotterik

it always seems to involve ferrari..

the highest trees catch most of the wind....

[zdriga]

just because one member on McLaren took some documents doesn't necesserelly means that the F1 team should get any action.

besides, who know this isn't a ferrari plan to get an advantage...

[Jack_Bauer]

My personal opinion on this whole bizarre situation based on what few facts have emerged is that I don't think McLaren had anything to do with stealing secrets from Ferrari.

If you look at the ridiculous circumstances of how Coughlan and Stepney were rumbled there's no way McLaren would have been involved IMO. The tip-off came to Ferrari after Trudy Coughlan (Mike's wife) was spotted in a public photocopying shop in Woking getting the whole 780-page document photocopied! I'm sorry, but there's just no way that, if McLaren had gone to all the trouble and been devious enough to get the documents in the first place, they'd be so incredibly stupid as to hand it all over to an employees wife to go down to the local shop and get it copied! You can't tell me that in their multi-zillion dollar uber-sophisticated state of the art McLaren headquarters that they don't have a photocopier or scanner lying around! It all just seems so hopelessly amateurish to have been a sophisticated industrial espionage job!

Also there is the fact that although the FIA have summoned McLaren to answer charges the legal charges filed by Ferrari themselves are not against McLaren but just against the individuals, Stepney and Coughlan. Surely if they suspected McLaren of wrong-doing they'd be bringing the charges against them first and foremost?

If I had to guess at what has been going on it from the statements that have been released I'd say the story goes like this...

Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan are both frustrated or bored with life at their current teams. They get together and hatch a plan to hook up together at a new team and use the secrets/knowledge gained from their current employers. They hear that Honda are throwing about silly amounts of cash for hiring new staff and to desperately try to dig themselves out of the mess they're in. Stepney and Coughlan see their opportunity and arrange a meeting with Nick Fry at Honda about potential job opportunities (a meeting which we know took place in June sometime). Of course, they don't tell Honda that they're up to any kind of skulduggery. The plan is that, bringing the technical info they've pinched from Ferrari, they rock up at Honda and turn the absolute dog of a car that is currently there into a glorious, race winning car for next season. Coughlan and Stepney get hailed by all and sundry as magical, technical geniuses for turning things around so swiftly, and they achieve legendary status. And they all live happily ever after...

...except they got caught red handed.

I'd wager that neither McLaren, Ferrari or Honda had any clue this was going on, it was a two man plot driven by their egos and career aspirations.

I could be wrong of course, but that's my best guess based on the info so far.

[Cyco]

Jack, That is the 1st intelligently written, well considered post I've seen on this topic over several forums. Please stop bringing common sense to a discussion that so far has shown almost no factual information up to this point.