Espionage at Ferrari and McLaren

[ben_watkins]

I started a new Renault spy thread

viewtopic.php?t=4886

[Shaddock]

vblh,

Work hard during the winter or spy after McLaren?

Remember McLaren didn't break into the Ferarri factory in the middle of the night and photograph their blueprints. Nor did they hack into any Ferarri server or database. A disgruntled Ferrari employee posted and texted information to McLaren. If you don't actively seek the information then surely it can't be spying

[Mikey_s]

vblh,

Work hard during the winter or spy after McLaren?

Remember McLaren didn't break into the Ferarri factory in the middle of the night and photograph their blueprints. Nor did they hack into any Ferarri server or database. A disgruntled Ferrari employee posted and texted information to McLaren. If you don't actively seek the information then surely it can't be spying

Well then, that nice Mr Profumo and all the cold war spies probably were not really bad guys after all then were they....

[ben_watkins]

Well the final Italian legal proceedings in the Ferrari/McLaren have now finished.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx ... 4&PO=45154

That puts a line under the whole affair.

[Rob W]

=D> =D> =D>

I am tempted to say 'told you so' to a lot of people but, essentially, this is what I said would happen in the various thread (including this one) over the past year.

F1 just wants to move on. Pursuing this further would always end up with way more tears than F1 could handle the bar PR from (again).

[donskar]

Anyone have a wooden stake handy?

Silver bullet?

GARLIC?

Please let this monster die.

[NickT]

Anyone have a wooden stake handy?

Silver bullet?

GARLIC?

Please let this monster die.

Well said and about time please [-o< [-o< [-o<

[xpensive]

Naaah, after only 51 pages? Anyone wanna have another go if Ron really knew what was going on?

[Henning]

Anyone have a wooden stake handy?

Silver bullet?

GARLIC?

Please let this monster die.

Unfortunate choice of words; Isn't the "Silver Bullet" a limited edition Mercedes model?

[WhiteBlue]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsp ... 045983.stm?

There is now closure to this old case with Stepney accepting a guilty verdict and getting away with a suspended sentence.

[andrew]

£500 fine and a jail term that seems unlikely to ever happen. Not much of a punishment really.

Does anyone have any info on the reputed sabotage to Raikonnen's car? Given the amount of engineers that feverishly work on the car prior to the start of the race I would have thought this would have been near impossible to get away without another mechanic spotting something was amiss?

[Pup]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsp ... 045983.stm?

There is now closure to this old case with Stepney accepting a guilty verdict and getting away with a suspended sentence.

I suspect that the terms of the settlement will prevent any real closure; i.e., ever hearing Stepney's side of the story.

[mep]

I think that was the story where they found some kind of powder in the tank and the refuel opening of the cars.

One thing I always wonder about is if Schumachers car also got sabotaged in the last 2 races of 2006? Remember during Suzuka race Schumacher suffered under a very surprising engine failure on his way to win the world championship. It was the first time the car had a engine failure and a technical failure at all since (I thin it was) Hockenheim 2001.
Then in the next race at Brasil there was trouble on his car again. During qualy he had some unexpected trouble causing him to start from a very bad position in the race. They said it was something like fuel pump or so and they said the problem is solved. Nevertheless during the race the car almost stopped a few times. For me this is very suspicious when you keep in mind that this was the most reliable car of all the times and over several years. It never failed for years and then 2 times in row.

Stepney probably already knew at that time what kind of job he will get the next year so already was pissed and had a reason to sabotage the car.

[Rob W]

£500 fine and a jail term that seems unlikely to ever happen. Not much of a punishment really.

Yep, pretty much as I'd said a number of times elsewhere here... Ferrari either couldn't prove the case or didn't want to because of what else might come out. From their initial accusations etc this really is a tacit admission to me that they'd rather this went away without too much more fuss. The old adage you simply can't push people any further than into a corner before they bite back seems likely here.

[donskar]

£500 fine and a jail term that seems unlikely to ever happen. Not much of a punishment really.

... Ferrari either couldn't prove the case or didn't want to because of what else might come out. From their initial accusations etc this really is a tacit admission to me that they'd rather this went away without too much more fuss. The old adage you simply can't push people any further than into a corner before they bite back seems likely here.

No. As a matter of fact, the case was proven. Stepney was found guilty. The penalty is beside the point. He was found guilty in a court of law. Of course, some will disparage the result because it was an Italian court, but the fact remains: Stepney has been found guilty.