Ferrari dismiss Stepney/McLaren suspend Coughlan

[pottiella]

Gt_R, you misunderstand in which context I used those words. It is not me saying that they are in any way setting Stepney up, and he's being victimised...because like I also said, I wouldn't even begin to speculate who is in the right or wrong without knowing much...but its taking into consideration that he has not been happy at Ferrari, and Ferrari have made it quite clear that Stepney is still under contract with them and will not be leaving, despite the fact Stepney has been so vocal about his discontent with Ferrari.

Now given that they cannot have been happy with him about all that, which no doubt extends further than a few quotes and statements we've heard from Stepney and Ferrari about the discontentment (else it wouldn't have surfaced to that extent in the first place), well even if every allegation is true, it would be naive to think that a giant like Ferrari wouldn't want to make a meal of him (ie "destroy"..meaning make life extremely difficult for him) through this situation when there was clearly some dissatisfaction with him from before. Thus, yes, rightly or wrongly, it APPEARS that he is being targetted with vigour (by what the sequence of events I mentioned before, fuels the fire), and that they will not want him to get off so easily.

Like I said, naive to think this would not be the case, but perhaps also cynical to suggest it to be the case. As for McLaren though, well that goes deeper into the actual allegations rather than Stepney's already-strained relationship with Ferrari, which is what I have been referring to.

[billkirbywofb]

This is becoming more serious. With reports of British Police serving a search warrent on the home of the McLaren employee. And finding Ferrari material in the home.
Now with the police involved, it will answer some questions. If the McLaren designer left the Ferrari material in the original envelope, then that can be traced back to the sender. Plus fingerprints and DNA evidence can be found on the material. Proving exactly who sent it.
McLaren is going to be in a world of hurt. Because they will have to show "the family jewels" to show if the car was modified in any way based on the stolen Farrari information. And that will become a matter of public disclosure in any criminal case. Not going to help Ferrari either. There is a reason that Top Secret was stamped on the material. So some of Ferrari's "family jewels" will also be exposed as this becomes public. So some of the closest secrets both teams have will come to the open.

[terence]

One must assume that these two idiots had had enough of working in F1!!!!

[strider]

Autosport.com has now analysed the story in as much depth as possible at the moment. Here. Sadly, I don't think this one will go away.

[Sodemo]

Whilst any form of espionage isn't nice or tastful, whats the difference between say stealing BAR stealing Williams' chief aero designer?
He is bound to carry with him total technical information about their current car...

[TWRv12]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Whilst any form of espionage isn't nice or tastful, whats the difference between say stealing BAR stealing Williams' chief aero designer?

Someone leaving a team and going to work for another, is par for the course. If the persons contract is up, there not alot a team can do.

Covert sharing of information is not cricket, or F1 for that matter.

More updates on autosport today.

[ss_collins]

Stepney was sacked for what we assume to be sabotage - not leaking info...

Is McLaren Mike's case related.

Or are there two Toyota chaps sat in a jail determined to bring the house of cards down

[Aysedasi]

Should this be joined with the 'McLaren Employee' thread.......?

[MrTTraces]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

Stepney was sacked for what we assume to be sabotage - not leaking info...

Is McLaren Mike's case related.

Well Nigel Stepney did work with Mike at Benetton, so there is a link.

Whether it was Nigel who passed on the info to Mike remains to be seen. I think it's too early to say whether the cases are related.

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by terence bower

One must assume that these two idiots had had enough of working in F1!!!!

One must assume they are innocent until proven guilty.

[JohnSSC]

There are many things Ferrari could "do" to an employee to punish him without having to revert to the lengths implied here by several posters. I am sure the employment contracts have extensive sections enumerating rights and remedies. Implying that Ferrari (or any team) would launch some sort of "witch-hunt" to smear an employee could potentially be considered libel.

From what I know of the situation (which ain't much), it would appear that if the police in two different countries have not only been contacted but also persuaded to search the home of an individual, then there may be some "meat" to the allegations. Say what you want of the Italian police, but the standard for searches is fairly high in the UK and there must be some substance to the probable cause required to justify a search.

Bottom line here is that it is a shame we are even discussing this.

[Gt_R]

One must assume they are innocent until proven guilty.

That's true, but few ever give Ferrari that right whenever conspiracies and allegations came up.

That said, i think that what police had found in the houses of Mike and Nigel are pretty much evidence, unless Mike can convince the authorities that he bought the Ferrari technical data over E-bay or Ferrari's souvenir stores.

[Gt_R]

Those cynical about Ferrari pursuing action through the Italy system should perhaps be aware that Ferrari is also seeking action through English means.

And Ferrari had no issues when better qualified people leave, so why would they want to go to such extent to just ruin Nigel is beyond me. Even if Ferrari wanted to, they couldn't if Nigel had been behaving above board.

But that evidence were uncovered at the homes of the suspects should give us a good indication that who's guilty. but many rather just be cynical about Ferrari than let the details of the case guide their judgement.

We'd see how this unfold, but it's unfortunate that Mclaren and Ferrari have to deal with "potentially" black sheeps in their midst that tarnish the hardwork of the rest of the team.

[Gt_R]

And the difference between hiring a staff and stealing data is that one, you acquire knowledge through the right means, the other is just that -- stealing data and using it for your own.

Just look at Red Bull, they have a car that is designed in similar ideas to that of Mclaren in many areas from Newey's contribution, but it's fine, because the data is provided for by Newey, without ownership of Mclaren. When the Toyota look like that of Ferrari, it's because they took a good look at Ferrari technical discs and papers when drawing their own.

[davyboy]

Was Stepney's home searched too ? I know a search was done by British police on Coughlan's home.

[climb]

The only thing I have to say is that Ferrari have historically been very cautious in revealing internal problems to the press.
If they have chosen such a straightaway strategy they must have very severe evidence of Stepney's misconduct.

[TWRv12]

McLaren have been robust in their handling of this affair, openly disclosed these matters to Ferrari and FIA, has invited the FIA to conduct a full review of its cars.
http://www.mclaren.com/latestnews/mclaren.php

FIA Formula One World Championship - Team Investigation
http://www.fia.com/mediacentre/Press...040707-02.html

[davyboy]

They've no choice.... they're in an incredibly vulernable situation right now with a lot to loose. Conceivably they could be disqualified from the 2007 championship which would cost them millions.

[Sodemo]

They might allow the FIA to inspect the cars, but would they allow Ferrari?

[TWRv12]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

They might allow the FIA to inspect the cars, but would they allow Ferrari?

No, that's what the FIA are for.

the beeb have a stab at it too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/6264904.stm

[TWRv12]

Wonder will Nigel Stepney do the press statement on Thursday that was promised.

[davyboy]

Mods can we merge this thread with the one below ?

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98078

[davyboy]

I wonder why Stepney didn't return from vacation to deal with this. If I was in his position I'd be on the next plane back to Malpensa.

[Gt_R]

Frankly, the whole thing about checking the cars are pointless.

1) Mclaren (and so i choose to believe) is not to be blamed for the act of one man, and there's precious little way to prove how the cars are different to the Ferrari or if they had benefitted from the technical data. Mike could have seen the Ferrari data, then pass it off as his own by adapting the ideas onto the Mclaren. There's just no way to prove, and the drawings and information will still bear Mclaren letterheads.

2) It's unfair to punish the whole Mclaren team, and although Ferrari is the rightful owner to the technical datas and would know, it's also unfair to let Ferrari (a rival team) inspect the Mclaren car, because there are many components that are the hardwork of the Mclaren team.

3) As much as FIA is the governing body, they are still out of their depths against the top teams. They cannot even come up with a concrete case against Aguri/Honda, Ligier/Benetton, Torro Rosso/Red Bull, and had much difficulty doing much for the Ferrari/Toyota case.

Mclaren offered to open up, good. But it's set to go sour that for the hardwork and effort Mclaren put into their winning machine, now there's a black cloud because of one of their "senior employee". Unfortunate.

I think its very unlikely Mclaren will be thrown out of the championship.

[andy_b]

It transpires that a actual Police search of Coughlans home may NOT have taken place.

Have a read of this by Jo Saward.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19356.html