The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy involves allegations that the McLaren Formula One team was passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team, and that the Renault F1 team was passed confidential technical information from the McLaren team. McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK

The original allegations (referred to either as Spygate or Stepneygate) involves allegations made by the Ferrari Formula One team against a former employee (Nigel Stepney), a senior McLaren engineer, Mike Coughlan, and his wife Trudy Coughlan concerning the theft of technical information. Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing Nigel Stepney is an English born former Formula One mechanic Stepney started in Formula One as a mechanic at Shadow in 1977 then followed Elio McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK Mike Coughlan (born February 17, 1959) is a race car designer

These allegations are the subject of legal action in Italy and an FIA investigation. A High Court case in England was dropped after Ferrari reached an agreement with the Coughlans. For the Cameroonian court by this name see High Court of Justice (Cameroon, for the Israeli court of this name see Supreme Court of Israel.

The second FIA hearing into the matter took place on 13 September 2007, and resulted in several penalties for McLaren. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The most important of these were the team's exclusion from the 2007 Constructors' Championship and a record-breaking fine of $100 million. Pre-season testing Pre-season testing began in November 2006 at the Circuit de Catalunya, with ten of the eleven teams participating in the test sessions

Allegations were subsequently made during November 2007 by the FIA against the Renault F1 team regarding information they were found to have in their possession concerning the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars. 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary These allegations were also the subject of an FIA investigation, with an FIA hearing taking place 6 December 2007. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Renault were found guilty of breaching the same regulation as McLaren, but were not punished.

Contents 1 Background 2 Details 2.1 Allegations against Stepney 2.2 Allegations against Mike Coughlan 2.3 Allegations against Renault F1 2.4 Honda involvement 2.5 FIA investigation 3 Timeline 4 References 5 External links

Background

Along with Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, Nigel Stepney was part of the colloquial “dream team” credited with the change of fortunes of Ferrari in the late 1990s. Michael Schumacher (German pronunciation;) (born January 3, 1969, in Hürth-Hermülheim, Germany) is a former Formula Jean Todt (b February 25 1946 Pierrefort, France) is the executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company's Formula One Ross Brawn (born November 23, 1954) is a British Motorsport engineer Rory Byrne (born January 10, 1944) is a South African engineer and car designer currently Design and Development Consultant for the Scuderia Ferrari Nigel Stepney is an English born former Formula One mechanic Stepney started in Formula One as a mechanic at Shadow in 1977 then followed Elio ^[1]

In February 2007, Stepney made public comments regarding his "unhappiness" following the team’s reorganization which resulted from Ross Brawn’s departure:^[2]

“

I am looking at spending a year away from Ferrari, I'm not currently happy with the situation within the team - I really want to move forward with my career and that's something that's not happening right now. Ideally, I'd like to move into a new environment here at Ferrari - but if an opportunity arose with another team, I would definitely consider it.

”

Later that month, Ferrari announced another change in the team structure which saw Stepney appointed as head of Team Performance Development: "After many years spent working on the Formula One circuits, the last 13 of those as part of the Ferrari Race Team, Nigel Stepney, with the approval of the company, has chosen to take on a different role that will see him no longer have to attend the races. "^[3]

Details

Allegations against Stepney

In the week beginning 17 June 2007, Ferrari filed a formal complaint against Stepney, leading to the commencement of a criminal investigation by the Modena district attorney in Italy. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[4]

On 3 July 2007, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Ferrari had completed its internal investigation and had dismissed Stepney as a result. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. La Gazzetta dello Sport is an Italian Newspaper dedicated to coverage of various Sports It was first published on 3 April 1896 ^[5] At the same time, Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni told ITV Sport that Ferrari’s action against Stepney related to "irregularities discovered at the Ferrari factory prior to the Monaco Grand Prix". The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race and was the fifth round of the 2007 Formula One season. ^[5]

Allegations against Mike Coughlan

On the day Ferrari announced Stepney’s dismissal, the team also announced it had taken action against "an engineer from the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team", later named as Mike Coughlan. Mike Coughlan (born February 17, 1959) is a race car designer Coughlan was suspended by McLaren as a result. ^[6]

A Scuderia Ferrari press release said:^[7]

“

Ferrari announces it has recently presented a case against Nigel Stepney and an engineer from the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team [named by Autosport. Nigel Stepney is an English born former Formula One mechanic Stepney started in Formula One as a mechanic at Shadow in 1977 then followed Elio com as Coughlan] with the Modena Tribunal, concerning the theft of technical information. Furthermore, legal action has been instigated in England and a search warrant has been issued concerning the engineer. This produced a positive outcome.

”

The search warrant is understood to have been related to Coughlan's home and the "positive outcome" is reported to be documents claimed to have originated at Ferrari's Maranello factory. Maranello is a town in the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, 18 km from Modena ^[8] Stepney's dismissal from Ferrari had been announced earlier the same day. ^[9]

On 10 July 2007 a High Court hearing was opened and adjourned until 11 July 2007 to allow Mike Coughlan to submit an affidavit. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant or deponent) and witnessed (as to the veracity of the ^[10] However, details released include the fact that Mike Coughlan is alleged by Ferrari to be in possession of 780 pages of Ferrari documentation, and that his wife is alleged to have taken them to a photocopying shop near Woking. ^[11] Ferrari were unaware that their technical information had been stolen until they received a tip from an employee in the photocopying shop. The staff member saw that the documents were confidential and belonged to Ferrari and, after copying them, decided to contact the team’s headquarters in Italy. ^[12]

Coughlan did not submit the affidavit because of the possibility of it being used against him in an Italian court case. ^[11] However, late on 10 July 2007, Ferrari reached an agreement with Mr. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. and Mrs. Coughlan under which Ferrari dropped its High Court case in return for their full disclosure of all they know about the case and a promise of future cooperation. ^[13]

On 16 July 2007, McLaren announced that its own internal investigation had revealed that "no Ferrari materials or data are or have ever been in the possession of any McLaren employee other than the individual sued by Ferrari. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The fact that he held at his home unsolicited materials from Ferrari was not known to any other member of the team prior to July 3. "^[14]

Allegations against Renault F1

On 8 November 2007, the FIA announced that the Renault F1 team would be summoned before the FIA World Motorsport Council to answer a charge of possession of confidential information relating to the 2006 and 2007 McLaren Formula 1 cars. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK The statement issued by the FIA states that Renault F1 was found to have information "including, but not limited to the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars". The date for the hearing was set for December 6, 2007. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[15] The espionage claims are thought to revolve around an employee, Philip Mackereth, who transferred from McLaren to Renault, according to FIA President Max Mosley. Max Rufus Mosley (born 13 April 1940 is president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA a non-profit association that represents the interests of ^[16]

Honda involvement

On 6 July 2007, Honda Racing F1 released a statement confirming that Stepney and Coughlan approached the team regarding "job opportunities" in June 2007, but that no confidential information had been offered or received. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. ^[17]

FIA investigation

On 4 July 2007, McLaren announced it had conducted an investigation and concluded that "no Ferrari intellectual property has been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into [our] cars. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. " The team also invited the FIA to inspect its cars to confirm these facts; "In order to address some of the speculation McLaren has invited the FIA to conduct a full review of its cars to satisfy itself that the team has not benefited from any intellectual property of another competitor. "^[18] Since the revelation of Coughlan's involvement in the affair, McLaren provided a full set of drawings and development documents to the FIA, detailing all updates made to the team's chassis since the incident occurred at the end of April. The McLaren MP4-22 was Vodafone McLaren - Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2007 Formula One season. ^[17]

On 12 July 2007, the FIA announced that it had summoned McLaren to an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council to answer charges that they had breached Article 151C of the International Sporting Code. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[19] At the hearing on 26 July 2007, FIA found that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of confidential Ferrari information and is therefore in breach of the Code, but with no evidence that they had used the information no punishment was levied. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. However, the FIA reserved the right to reconvene on the matter if any such evidence subsequently came to light. ^[20]

Ferrari labelled the decision "incomprehensible"; Autosport judged the team to be "furious". Autosport is the title of a weekly Magazine covering Motorsport, published in the United ^[21] McLaren said "[a] unanimous decision has been taken by the FIA which in McLaren's opinion is very balanced and fair. "^[22] The matter was referred to the FIA International Court of Appeal, with the hearing scheduled for September 13, 2007. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[23]

On 1 August 2007, Ron Dennis, in an open letter to the president of the Italian motorsport authority Luigi Macaluso, accused Ferrari of giving a false and dishonest version of events and further that the car used to win the 2007 Australian Grand Prix was illegal. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The 2007 ING Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on March 18 2007 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. ^[24] McLaren learned of the "illegal" floor device from Nigel Stepney, with the team describing this contact as whistle-blowing. However the team insists that following this incident, Jonathan Neale instructed Coughlan to cease contact with Stepney. McLaren accuse Ferrari of trying to blur this "whistle-blowing" of which McLaren was aware, with Coughlan's possession of the 780 page Ferrari dossier which it insists it was not aware. ^[25]

The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was a controversial weekend for McLaren; Alonso held Hamilton up in the pit lane during qualifying, denying Hamilton a chance to record a final lap time. The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2007 Formula One season. TV pictures showed Ron Dennis angrily throwing his headphones down as Alonso pulled out of the pits, and after the session was over he was then shown having a serious conversation with Alonso's trainer. On the morning of the race (August 5), Alonso met Ron Dennis in his motorhome and allegedly threatened to send his email exchanges with Pedro de la Rosa and Coughlan to the FIA. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (born February 24 1971 in Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish Formula One driver currently Ron Dennis called Max Mosley and informed him of the conversation and told Mosley that the threat was an empty one, "There’s no information, there’s nothing to come out; I can assure you that if there was something, Max, I would have told you. Max Rufus Mosley (born 13 April 1940 is president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA a non-profit association that represents the interests of ”

On 5 September 2007, the FIA announced that it had received new evidence regarding the case, and would re-open the investigation on September 13. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September This replaced the planned appeal hearing. ^[26] It later transpired that this new evidence were the driver's emails sent to Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder who then informed the FIA. ^[27] The FIA requested the three McLaren drivers (Alonso, Hamilton and de la Rosa) to provide relevant evidence and help FIA in further investigation. In return FIA offered assurance that any information made available would not result in any proceeding against the driver personally under the International Sporting Code or the Formula One Regulations. However, the drivers were notified that if it later came to light that they had withheld any potentially relevant information, serious consequences could follow. ^[28]

On 11 September, McLaren approached the FIA with questions about the Renault F1 team, and possibly other, unknown teams as well. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary It is unknown if this relates directly to the espionage scandal, but a key McLaren argument is that if they are guilty, other teams are as well. ^[29]

On 13 September, the FIA hearing imposed a penalty for illicitly collecting and holding information from Ferrari to confer a dishonest and fraudulent sporting advantage upon McLaren. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September The penalty consisted of exclusion from and withdrawal of all points awarded to McLaren in all rounds of the 2007 Constructors' Championship, a record fine of $100 million (less the TV and travel income lost as a result of the points deduction), and the obligation for the team to submit its 2008 chassis for scrutiny. Pre-season testing The first multi-team test session started in Jerez on January 14 2008. However, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton's points were not affected, and the two are free to contest the Drivers' Championship, because McLaren's drivers were offered immunity in exchange for cooperation. Fernando Alonso Díaz (born July 29, 1981 in Oviedo, Spain) is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born Stevenage, 7 January 1985 The team has not been banned and any drivers points earned will count to only the driver's championship points. Should a McLaren driver win any of the remaining races, no McLaren representative will be allowed on the podium. ^[30]

On 14 September, Ron Dennis announced that he was the one who alerted the FIA that further evidence existed. Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus.

On 15 September, Max Mosley contested Ron Dennis' claim that he alerted the FIA to the existence of further evidence, claiming that Dennis actually alerted him that Alonso had decided to send the E-mails in himself, and that Mosley had been erroneously assured by Dennis that the E-mails contained nothing incriminating. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy.

On 6 December, Renault were found guilty of breaching article 151(c) of the International Sporting Code by another FIA WMSC hearing, but escaped penalty. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev ^[31]

On 13 December McLaren issued a press release detailing a letter sent by Martin Whitmarsh, COO of the team, to the FIA. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Martin Whitmarsh (born April 29 1958) is the CEO of the McLaren Formula One team ^[32] In the letter, Whitmarsh stated that the team accepted that "a number of McLaren employees" had access to Ferrari technical information, and apologised that it took the intervention of the FIA for this to come to light. The team also offered to "enter into discussion. . . as to a moratorium of an appropriate length in respect of the use" of the systems. ^[33] On the same day, the FIA issued a press release stating that the FIA president would ask the members of the World Council "for their consent to cancel the hearing scheduled for 14 February 2008 and, in the interests of the sport, to consider this matter closed. " ^[34]

Timeline

2007

March or April

• McLaren's chief designer Coughlan obtained in March, prior to the Australian GP, documents from Nigel Stepney. McLaren later states this was in April. ^[35]

Sunday, May 27

• An incident occurred prior to the Monaco Grand Prix when white powder, later alleged to be a sabotage attempt by Stepney, was discovered in the fuel tank of Felipe Massa's car and sent to the police. The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race and was the fifth round of the 2007 Formula One season. Felipe Massa (born in São Paulo April 25, 1981) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver currently employed by the Ferrari

Friday, June 22

• Police raid Stepney's residence near Ferrari's Maranello base.
• Ferrari commenced legal action against Nigel Stepney, the action relates to alleged "illegal" behaviour and will be handled by an Italian court.

Sunday, June 24

• Nigel Stepney declares that he is the victim of a "dirty tricks campaign" waged by the Italian team.

Tuesday, June 26

• It emerges that the investigation may not be about sabotage. The suggestion is that Ferrari suspects a new case of espionage, involving the transfer of information to rival teams.

Early July

• Coughlan's home in Surrey (UK) is raided by court officials, who apparently find incriminating evidence.

Monday, July 2

• Ferrari makes an application to the High Court in London for the court's assistance.

Tuesday, July 3

• Ferrari fires Stepney.
• McLaren releases a statement, saying a senior member received technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April. Mike Coughlan is suspended.

Wednesday, July 4

• A spokesman for Ferrari says: "We have proof that Stepney had been supplying technical information to a McLaren employee and we found evidence of that fact in his (Coughlan's) home. "
• F1's governing body launches an investigation into the incident.

Thursday, July 5

• Nigel Stepney is interrogated for more than three hours by Italian police. His house near Maranello was raided for a second time.

Friday, July 6

• Honda team principal Nick Fry met with Stepney and Coughlan in June. Nick Fry, British, (born 29 June 1956) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Formula One constructor Honda. "At no point during this meeting was any confidential information offered or received. Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting. "

Saturday, July 7

• Max Mosley tells reporters that an FIA investigation into the affair, which is being led by race director Charlie Whiting, is under way. Charlie Whiting is FIA Formula One Race Director Safety Delegate Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department in which capacities he generally manages Honda is not part of the investigation.

Sunday, July 8

• Stepney denies allegations that he passed reams of confidential team data to a colleague at McLaren.

Tuesday, July 10

• Coughlan's case hits the London High Court for a public hearing. Coughlan is officially accused of receiving stolen and secret documents.

Wednesday, July 11

• Coughlan does not appear in London's High Court after reaching an agreement with Ferrari. The suspended McLaren chief designer will provide a sworn affidavit to Ferrari in exchange for the information not being available to prosecutors in Italy.

Thursday, July 12

• Representatives of McLaren are requested to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on July 26, 2007 to answer a charge of breaching Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

Monday, July 16

• Coughlan's sworn affidavit details come out: he told several fellow McLaren employees about his possession of reams of secret Ferrari material. McLaren reacts the same day, denying Coughlan's allegations.

Wednesday, July 18

• Stepney requests a meeting with his former boss Jean Todt.

Friday, July 20

• Stepney's Italian lawyer Sonia Bartolini reveals that Ferrari has turned down her client's request for a meeting with Jean Todt. Jean Todt (b February 25 1946 Pierrefort, France) is the executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company's Formula One

Thursday, July 26

• The World Motor Sport Council finds McLaren to be in breach the International Sporting Code for possessing confidential Ferrari information. The World Motor Sport Council is the most powerful body of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA They impose no penalty because of insufficient evidence that this affected the championship. ^[36]

Friday, July 27

• Ferrari release to the press "A reaction in the cold light of day", a lengthy monologue in which Jean Todt complains that though McLaren was found in breach of FIA's sporting regulations, "no sanctions were imposed. " He states why Ferrari believe sanctions should have been applied. He also describes a request from Ron Dennis, received by Jean Todt early in the 2007 season, to establish a better relationship between the two teams to avoid "future denunciations to the sporting authority. " Though initially sceptical, Ferrari came to such an agreement with McLaren on June 9. ^[37]

Monday, July 30

• Luigi Macaluso, the President of the Automotive Sport Commission of the Automobile Club of Italy (ACI/CSAI) writes to the President of FIA, Max Mosley, asking that Mosley submit this case to the International Court of Appeal of the FIA. Macaluso states he finds it difficult to justify no penalty for McLaren though they are in breach of the sporting code. ^[38]

Tuesday, July 31

• Mosley replies to Macaluso by letter and agrees to send the matter to the FIA International Court of Appeal. He explains why the WMSC chose not to punish McLaren, and outlines McLaren's argument before the WMSC on July 26, as well as some of the elements of McLaren's case which the WMSC considered "suspicious". ^[39] The FIA said the hearing would likely be at the end of August. ^[40]

Sunday, August 5

• The morning of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alonso tells Ron Dennis he will send incriminating messages exchanged between himself De la Rossa and Coughlan to the FIA, Dennis informs Max Mosley

Tuesday, August 7

• The date of the ICA hearing is confirmed as September 13. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September ^[23]

Wednesday, September 5

• The FIA announces that the case will be re-opened following the emergence of new evidence. It is confirmed that the new investigation will take place on September 13, replacing the ICA hearing. ^[26]

Thursday, September 13

• The second hearing commences. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton is called as a witness. Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born Stevenage, 7 January 1985
• Following the hearing it is announced that McLaren is to be fined $100m, have their points stripped from the 2007 Constructor's Championship, and be required to submit their 2008 car designs to the FIA by December 2007, pending exclusion from the 2008 championship if they are found to contain Ferrari's intellectual property. McLaren's drivers are not directly affected. ^[30]

Friday, September 14

• The FIA issues a statement detailing its reasons behind the sanctions imposed on McLaren. In the statement, the FIA said that emails between the McLaren drivers proved that the British-based team used information leaked from title rivals Ferrari. The FIA statement also said "The emails show unequivocally that both Mr Alonso and Mr de la Rosa received confidential Ferrari information via Mike Coughlan. Both drivers knew that this information was confidential Ferrari information and that both knew that the information was being received by Coughlan from Nigel Stepney". ^[28]

• The FIA has also published an email exchange between De la Rosa and Alonso. "All the information from Ferrari is very reliable," De la Rosa wrote to Alonso on 25 March in an exchange about the Ferrari's weight distribution. "It comes from Nigel Stepney, their former chief mechanic - I don't know what post he holds now. He's the same person who told us in Australia that Kimi (Räikkönen) was stopping in lap 18. Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (ˈkimi ˈmɑtiɑs ˈræikkønen born October 17, 1979 in Espoo) is a Finnish Formula One race car driver currently He's very friendly with Mike Coughlan, our chief designer and he told him that. " In addition, the gas that Ferrari uses to inflate its tyres is discussed, as is the team's pitstop strategy and braking system. ^[28]

• Ron Dennis says he is to decide whether to lodge an appeal against the FIA's penalty, and will make his decision after the Belgian Grand Prix that is taking place that weekend. Ron Dennis CBE (born June 1, 1947) is the Chairman, CEO and 15% owner of the McLaren Group. The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the F1 calendar after a year's absence

• Ron Dennis reveals that he learnt of the emails and texts between Coughlan, De la Rosa and Alonso after the Hungarian Grand Prix and immediately informed the FIA - resulting in the hearing of 13 September. ^[41]

Saturday, September 15

• Max Mosley refutes Dennis' claim regarding the emergence of the evidence. ^[42]

Sunday, September 16

• In an interview with Steve Rider, broadcast during ITV's coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix, Ron Dennis states he is "unlikely" to appeal the penalty handed out by the FIA. Stephen Rider (born 28 April 1950 in Dartford, Kent) is a well known English sports presenter and is currently anchorman of ITV 's Formula Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the F1 calendar after a year's absence

Monday, September 17

• It is alleged McLaren may file a complaint against Renault about alleged use of technical information. 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary FIA president Max Mosley said "It's allegedly an employee who took some floppy disks with him. Max Rufus Mosley (born 13 April 1940 is president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA a non-profit association that represents the interests of We haven't had the complaint or the detail we have been promised from McLaren about that, but when we get it, we will investigate. We've had a dossier from Renault which doesn't look particularly damning, but then again, you wouldn't expect it to. " But Renault boss Flavio Briatore insists the situation bears no link to the spy row between McLaren and Ferrari which was resolved in Paris last Thursday. ^[43]

Wednesday, September 19

• FIA publishes transcripts of the World Motor Council's hearings on July 26 and September 13

Wednesday, November 7

• The FIA announce that the Renault F1 team have been summoned before the FIA World Motorsport Council on 6 December, to answer a charge of possession of confidential McLaren technical information. A statement from the FIA read that the information included "the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car". The FIA statement goes on to say that Renault F1 were accused of "unauthorised possession" between September 2006 and October 2007 "of documents and confidential information belonging to McLaren, but [was] not limited to, the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars. "^[15][16]
• It emerges that up to 15 Renault F1 employees knew of the McLaren data. ^[44]

Friday, November 23

• McLaren accuse Renault of possessing their team information and gaining an "unfair advantage" from it. A McLaren dossier says the information was "knowingly and widely disseminated" within Renault. McLaren's dossier - which has been submitted to the FIA - includes 18 witness statements in which Renault F1 employees admit that they viewed confidential technical information belonging to McLaren. ^[45]
• McLaren also contend that 33 files belonging to the team, containing more than 780 individual drawings outlining the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars, were loaded onto Renault's computer system in September 2006. ^[45]

Wednesday, December 5

• McLaren COO Martin Whitmarsh writes letter to the FIA, accepting that "the inspection [of McLaren technical data] provides some support for the conclusion. Martin Whitmarsh (born April 29 1958) is the CEO of the McLaren Formula One team . . that 'a number of McLaren employees. . . were in unauthorised possession of. . . Ferrari technical information'. . . We apologise wholeheartedly. . . that it has taken the intervention of the FIA and a time consuming process to expose all of the facts emanating from this matter". In the letter, Whitmarsh also identified certain systems on the car and offered to "enter into discussion. . . as to a moratorium of an appropriate length in respect of the use" of the systems. ^[33]

Thursday, December 6

• At an Extraordinary General Meeting of the World Motorsport Council, Renault are found to be guilty of breaching Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. They are not punished. ^[31]

Friday, December 7

• Another meeting of the World Motorsport Council to determine the legality of McLaren's 2008 chassis, the MP4-23 defers the decision to February 14, 2008, pending input from the McLaren and Ferrari teams into the final report. Pre-season testing The first multi-team test session started in Jerez on January 14 2008. The McLaren MP4-23 is Vodafone McLaren - Mercedes ' Formula One Car for the 2008 Formula One season. Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[46]

Thursday, December 13

• McLaren issue a press release (and their 5th December letter to the FIA) via their website, stating that "As a result of the investigations carried out by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile it has become clear that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated", and issued a public apology to "the FIA, Ferrari, the Formula 1 community and to Formula 1 fans throughout the world". ^[32].
• The FIA later published a press release stating that "In the light of McLaren's public apology and undertakings, the FIA President has asked the members of the World Motor Sport Council for their consent to cancel the hearing scheduled for 14 February 2008 and, in the interests of the sport, to consider this matter closed. " ^[34]

References

External links

• World Motor Sport Council Transcripts from 26 July 2007 and 13 September 2007

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