Mclaren admit to being at fault.
Discussion
Sadly, there's also this one:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64369
Maybe there was even more to come out and McLaren are trying to difuse the situation? Even offering to pay for the FIA's investigation costs, doesn't look good at all...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64369
Maybe there was even more to come out and McLaren are trying to difuse the situation? Even offering to pay for the FIA's investigation costs, doesn't look good at all...
Statement as posted on one of the sites.
The McLaren Formula 1 team surprised a few as it published a statement late Thursday afternoon that it became clear to the team that that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated. In McLaren's statement the team furthermore apologises and regrets that these things has happened within its team.
The full statement of the team said:
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. McLaren greatly regrets that its own investigations did not identify this material and has written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise for this.
McLaren has written a letter to the FIA which in the interests of transparency it is publishing with this press statement. That letter speaks for itself and the sentiments expressed in it are sincerely held by McLaren. McLaren has also written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise that it has taken an FIA investigation to find this information and have expressed our deep regret that our understanding of the facts was improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own investigations. McLaren has recognised that this entire situation could have been avoided if we had informed Ferrari and the FIA about Nigel Stepney's first communication when it came to our attention. We are, of course, embarrassed by the successive disclosures and have apologised unreservedly to the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
To avoid even the possibility of Ferrari information influencing our performance during 2008, McLaren has offered a set of detailed undertakings to the FIA which will impose a moratorium on development in relation to three separate systems. During the course of these incidents, McLaren has conducted a thorough review of its policies and procedures regarding the recruitment and management of staff. The proposals arising from this thorough review have been disclosed to the FIA and McLaren has agreed to demonstrate that all of these policies and procedures have been fully implemented.
McLaren wish to make a public apology to the FIA, Ferrari, the Formula 1 community and to Formula 1 fans throughout the world and offer their assurance that changes are now being made which will ensure that nothing comparable to what has taken place will ever happen again. McLaren have also agreed to pay the costs incurred by the FIA for their investigation.
McLaren now wishes to put these matters behind it and to move forward focusing on the 2008 season.
The McLaren Formula 1 team surprised a few as it published a statement late Thursday afternoon that it became clear to the team that that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated. In McLaren's statement the team furthermore apologises and regrets that these things has happened within its team.
The full statement of the team said:
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. McLaren greatly regrets that its own investigations did not identify this material and has written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise for this.
McLaren has written a letter to the FIA which in the interests of transparency it is publishing with this press statement. That letter speaks for itself and the sentiments expressed in it are sincerely held by McLaren. McLaren has also written to the World Motor Sport Council to apologise that it has taken an FIA investigation to find this information and have expressed our deep regret that our understanding of the facts was improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own investigations. McLaren has recognised that this entire situation could have been avoided if we had informed Ferrari and the FIA about Nigel Stepney's first communication when it came to our attention. We are, of course, embarrassed by the successive disclosures and have apologised unreservedly to the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
To avoid even the possibility of Ferrari information influencing our performance during 2008, McLaren has offered a set of detailed undertakings to the FIA which will impose a moratorium on development in relation to three separate systems. During the course of these incidents, McLaren has conducted a thorough review of its policies and procedures regarding the recruitment and management of staff. The proposals arising from this thorough review have been disclosed to the FIA and McLaren has agreed to demonstrate that all of these policies and procedures have been fully implemented.
McLaren wish to make a public apology to the FIA, Ferrari, the Formula 1 community and to Formula 1 fans throughout the world and offer their assurance that changes are now being made which will ensure that nothing comparable to what has taken place will ever happen again. McLaren have also agreed to pay the costs incurred by the FIA for their investigation.
McLaren now wishes to put these matters behind it and to move forward focusing on the 2008 season.
And the full letter as posted on Autosport website.
Mr Max Mosley and Members of the World Motor Sport Council
President
Federation Internationale de L'Automobile
7 Boulevard de Moulins
MC9800
Monaco
05 December 2007
Private & Confidential
Dear Mr Mosley and Members of the World Motor Sport Council,
We have very recently received a copy of the report by the FIA Technical Department, to the World Motor Sport Council pursuant to its 13th September 2007 decision. In the light of this report and its conclusions we felt that it was appropriate to write directly to you to express our sincere regret in regard to some of the matters that had been brought to light.
Whilst with great respect to the authors of the report, we do not agree with all of the conclusions that have been drawn following this most impressively thorough and daunting investigation into the engineering processes of McLaren Racing, we accept the central conclusion that some pieces of Ferrari information may have been disclosed via Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan, directly or indirectly to individuals within McLaren other than Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando Alonso.
It is a matter of deep regret for us that our understanding of the facts has improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own prior investigations. We apologise unreservedly if our prior ignorance of some of these facts has misled the World Motor Sport Council and we can only assure you all that this was never our intention.
We must nonetheless accept that our own investigations into this matter were insufficient, although we would ask you to have regard to the fact that such investigations were conducted during a highly intense racing season and under significant time pressure. As a result, our investigations focused most strongly on satisfying ourselves that no Ferrari confidential information had been used directly or indirectly on the 2007 and 2008 cars.
The FIA investigation was extremely exhaustive, comprehensive and we trust that it is apparent, as is acknowledged in the report, that McLaren co-operated fully and speedily with all requests made by the investigating team. We also believe that the investigators found no evidence of concealment or data cleansing as they reviewed the comprehensive materials supplied.
To put this investigation into context, the investigating team interviewed 20 key engineers, accessed 22 personal computers belonging to key members of the organisation and retrieved by computer search 1.4 Terra Bytes of data stored on the central computer systems of McLaren Racing (this latter data is equivalent to approximately 75 million sheets of A4 typed information).
We would respectfully suggest, however, that despite our embarrassment that pieces of Ferrari information may have penetrated our organisation beyond our previous belief, the inspection has not reached any conclusion that McLaren used Ferrari confidential information on the 2007 or 2008 car (subject to issues as to the deployment of quickshift, fast fill, or CO2 as a tyre gas for 2008, in respect of which see below).
We do, however, accept that the inspection provides some support for the conclusion that is set out in paragraph 8.11 of the WMSC's decision of 13 September 2007. In particular that "a number of McLaren employees... were in unauthorised possession of ... Ferrari technical information" for which we have been most severely punished. However, it does not establish that the information in question was used on the 2007 or 2008 cars.
We understand that the World Motor Sport Council does not have time to receive a full hearing in regard to this matter during its meeting on 7th December. However, we are aware that the Council will make a procedural decision to determine how this matter is now addressed and taken forward.
In this regard, we can only seek to provide the Council with the briefest understanding of the impact of this matter upon our team and respectfully request that the Council appreciates these facts and determines a process which is proportionate to the seriousness of the case, taking into account the penalties that have already been inflicted upon the team.
We respectfully request that the members of the Council consider the significant disruption that has occurred within the team as a consequence of this matter. Whilst McLaren has a strong partnership with Mercedes-Benz, which supplies its engines, it is still an independent team which is responsible for the generation of the majority of its own budget for the design and development of the chassis and the subsequent operation of the cars.
Therefore, apart from the morale sapping consequence within the team, its ability to continue its task of generating investment has, as I am sure anyone can imagine, been made virtually impossible.
Consequently, the long term damage to the team's previously outstanding record and commercial capability is significantly greater than that potentially envisaged by the fiscal penalty that was previous imposed upon the team.
We would respectfully ask that in the light of this and the fact that it is reasonable to assume now that all of the damaging facts have been presented, that it may be appropriate and also incidentally in the interests of Formula One generally, to bring an urgent conclusion to this affair.
Toward that end we would like to express our willingness, despite not agreeing with the findings, to enter into discussion with the FIA Technical Department as to a moratorium of an appropriate length in respect of the use of quickshift, fast fill and CO2 as a tyre gas.
We trust that the seriousness with which we regard this matter is apparent from this letter and that it gives you confidence that we will do everything in our power to avoid any repetition of these events. We have reflected on these matters carefully and critically and in particular on the comments made by the FIA President, Max Mosley, to the effect that had we contacted Jean Todt as soon as we were aware of the "whistleblowing" information coming from Stepney these matters could all have been avoided.
Moving forward, we would like to reassure the Council that we have put in place procedures to prevent further recurrences of such conduct and would like to offer to the FIA if this of interest to open a dialogue whereby McLaren would make every effort to try and improve its relationship with the FIA.
We apologise wholeheartedly once more that it has taken the intervention of the FIA and a time consuming process to expose all of the facts emanating from this matter, but we hope that when the Council members have had time to consider the circumstances surrounding this case and the pressures that have been placed upon McLaren during our investigations, that our lapses in this respect are at least partially excusable.
We remain at your convenience if we can further assist your deliberations in respect of this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Whitmarsh
Chief Operating Officer, McLaren Group
Mr Max Mosley and Members of the World Motor Sport Council
President
Federation Internationale de L'Automobile
7 Boulevard de Moulins
MC9800
Monaco
05 December 2007
Private & Confidential
Dear Mr Mosley and Members of the World Motor Sport Council,
We have very recently received a copy of the report by the FIA Technical Department, to the World Motor Sport Council pursuant to its 13th September 2007 decision. In the light of this report and its conclusions we felt that it was appropriate to write directly to you to express our sincere regret in regard to some of the matters that had been brought to light.
Whilst with great respect to the authors of the report, we do not agree with all of the conclusions that have been drawn following this most impressively thorough and daunting investigation into the engineering processes of McLaren Racing, we accept the central conclusion that some pieces of Ferrari information may have been disclosed via Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan, directly or indirectly to individuals within McLaren other than Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando Alonso.
It is a matter of deep regret for us that our understanding of the facts has improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own prior investigations. We apologise unreservedly if our prior ignorance of some of these facts has misled the World Motor Sport Council and we can only assure you all that this was never our intention.
We must nonetheless accept that our own investigations into this matter were insufficient, although we would ask you to have regard to the fact that such investigations were conducted during a highly intense racing season and under significant time pressure. As a result, our investigations focused most strongly on satisfying ourselves that no Ferrari confidential information had been used directly or indirectly on the 2007 and 2008 cars.
The FIA investigation was extremely exhaustive, comprehensive and we trust that it is apparent, as is acknowledged in the report, that McLaren co-operated fully and speedily with all requests made by the investigating team. We also believe that the investigators found no evidence of concealment or data cleansing as they reviewed the comprehensive materials supplied.
To put this investigation into context, the investigating team interviewed 20 key engineers, accessed 22 personal computers belonging to key members of the organisation and retrieved by computer search 1.4 Terra Bytes of data stored on the central computer systems of McLaren Racing (this latter data is equivalent to approximately 75 million sheets of A4 typed information).
We would respectfully suggest, however, that despite our embarrassment that pieces of Ferrari information may have penetrated our organisation beyond our previous belief, the inspection has not reached any conclusion that McLaren used Ferrari confidential information on the 2007 or 2008 car (subject to issues as to the deployment of quickshift, fast fill, or CO2 as a tyre gas for 2008, in respect of which see below).
We do, however, accept that the inspection provides some support for the conclusion that is set out in paragraph 8.11 of the WMSC's decision of 13 September 2007. In particular that "a number of McLaren employees... were in unauthorised possession of ... Ferrari technical information" for which we have been most severely punished. However, it does not establish that the information in question was used on the 2007 or 2008 cars.
We understand that the World Motor Sport Council does not have time to receive a full hearing in regard to this matter during its meeting on 7th December. However, we are aware that the Council will make a procedural decision to determine how this matter is now addressed and taken forward.
In this regard, we can only seek to provide the Council with the briefest understanding of the impact of this matter upon our team and respectfully request that the Council appreciates these facts and determines a process which is proportionate to the seriousness of the case, taking into account the penalties that have already been inflicted upon the team.
We respectfully request that the members of the Council consider the significant disruption that has occurred within the team as a consequence of this matter. Whilst McLaren has a strong partnership with Mercedes-Benz, which supplies its engines, it is still an independent team which is responsible for the generation of the majority of its own budget for the design and development of the chassis and the subsequent operation of the cars.
Therefore, apart from the morale sapping consequence within the team, its ability to continue its task of generating investment has, as I am sure anyone can imagine, been made virtually impossible.
Consequently, the long term damage to the team's previously outstanding record and commercial capability is significantly greater than that potentially envisaged by the fiscal penalty that was previous imposed upon the team.
We would respectfully ask that in the light of this and the fact that it is reasonable to assume now that all of the damaging facts have been presented, that it may be appropriate and also incidentally in the interests of Formula One generally, to bring an urgent conclusion to this affair.
Toward that end we would like to express our willingness, despite not agreeing with the findings, to enter into discussion with the FIA Technical Department as to a moratorium of an appropriate length in respect of the use of quickshift, fast fill and CO2 as a tyre gas.
We trust that the seriousness with which we regard this matter is apparent from this letter and that it gives you confidence that we will do everything in our power to avoid any repetition of these events. We have reflected on these matters carefully and critically and in particular on the comments made by the FIA President, Max Mosley, to the effect that had we contacted Jean Todt as soon as we were aware of the "whistleblowing" information coming from Stepney these matters could all have been avoided.
Moving forward, we would like to reassure the Council that we have put in place procedures to prevent further recurrences of such conduct and would like to offer to the FIA if this of interest to open a dialogue whereby McLaren would make every effort to try and improve its relationship with the FIA.
We apologise wholeheartedly once more that it has taken the intervention of the FIA and a time consuming process to expose all of the facts emanating from this matter, but we hope that when the Council members have had time to consider the circumstances surrounding this case and the pressures that have been placed upon McLaren during our investigations, that our lapses in this respect are at least partially excusable.
We remain at your convenience if we can further assist your deliberations in respect of this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Whitmarsh
Chief Operating Officer, McLaren Group
ing hell.
As a Ferrari fan I think it will be a shame for the sport if McLaren start off next season with any kind of points deficit or further penalty.
There is the whole Stepney-gate issue of the folder of information, but it has been stated by many within F1 that the "sharing" of information is hardly new.
Last season was one of the most exciting for a long time. I hope McLaren are right up there again next year, but I fear that they may have (understandably) taken their eye off the ball with the development of the 2008 car whilst all this legal fracas has been going on.
Shame.
There is the whole Stepney-gate issue of the folder of information, but it has been stated by many within F1 that the "sharing" of information is hardly new.
Last season was one of the most exciting for a long time. I hope McLaren are right up there again next year, but I fear that they may have (understandably) taken their eye off the ball with the development of the 2008 car whilst all this legal fracas has been going on.
Shame.
Given that the letter talks about December 7th in the future tense I would take it that this is a letter sent in response to the findings of the investigation, and a request to be given extra time to sort out the areas which were of concern. Therefore, it maybe explains the delay until February of the decision.
I think the letter shows how honourable the McLaren organisation is as a whole, there are certain teams who I cannot imagine would be so open and honourable.
As it appears the FIA have a concern over the fact that McLaren appear to be considering using CO2 in their tyres, and that was something which became common knowledge after the FIA released transcripts, they don't appear to have found many major issues where the McLaren maybe uses what could be considered to be Ferrari IP.
I think the letter shows how honourable the McLaren organisation is as a whole, there are certain teams who I cannot imagine would be so open and honourable.
As it appears the FIA have a concern over the fact that McLaren appear to be considering using CO2 in their tyres, and that was something which became common knowledge after the FIA released transcripts, they don't appear to have found many major issues where the McLaren maybe uses what could be considered to be Ferrari IP.
just seems a case of Mclaren eating humble pie to allow the FIA to back down as well
FIA to close McLaren investigation
Espionage scandal finally coming to a conclusion
13/12/07 19:50
McLaren set for the green light for the 2008 season
This afternoon the McLaren Mercedes team apologised to the FIA, World Motor Sport Council - amongst others - for its role in the industrial espionage scandal that rocked the series this year.
This evening, the FIA took a conciliatory tone in that a line can now be drawn underneath the whole 'spy' saga and that McLaren can start its 2008 campaign afresh.
This is good news for the sport heading into the Christmas break, as the team and its very eligibility for the 2008 season had been under question following record fines and an exclusion from the ’07 championship.
The following is a press release from the FIA.
"In the light of McLaren's public apology and undertakings, the FIA President [Max Mosley] 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.
"In the interests of transparency a redacted copy of the Report by the FIA Technical Department to the World Motor Sport Council is attached to this press statement [link below]."
http://www.fia.com/public/mclaren.pdf
Another report on the FIA come-down
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64373
I guess given the amount of decisions and rulings the FIA have had to make over the past few months, there always was the chance that they'd actually make a reasoned and sensible decision eventually!
Although Mclaren undoubtedly have done wrong, I just hope that the FIA have learned from this as well, and will act a little differently in future for the good of the sport.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64373
I guess given the amount of decisions and rulings the FIA have had to make over the past few months, there always was the chance that they'd actually make a reasoned and sensible decision eventually!
Although Mclaren undoubtedly have done wrong, I just hope that the FIA have learned from this as well, and will act a little differently in future for the good of the sport.
Edited by LocoBlade on Thursday 13th December 19:45
Clearly a deal has been done, on the back of the farce that was the Renault decision the FIA needed a way to get the whole mess out of the media spotlight, McLaren had little choice in their aproach here as you simply cant win when faced with a court that is looking for reasons to punish you, so this deal was it's best option to allow them to get back to what matters to them, the racing.
Hopefully now we will see Heiki signing for McLaren.
Hopefully now we will see Heiki signing for McLaren.
Why do I feel uncomfortable about all this sudden lovey stuff?
I have a vision of Martin Whitmarsh waving a bit of paper announcing "we have peace in our time..."
I have this foreboding about Mad Max being quite able to do an about turn and stiff them on something else. Leopards never change their spots - this is a man who has a personal grudge against Ron Dennis.
I hope McLaren don't drop their guard.
I have a vision of Martin Whitmarsh waving a bit of paper announcing "we have peace in our time..."
I have this foreboding about Mad Max being quite able to do an about turn and stiff them on something else. Leopards never change their spots - this is a man who has a personal grudge against Ron Dennis.
I hope McLaren don't drop their guard.
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