Motor Sports Title Race

McLaren could face expulsion from the championship this year the world of Formula One, and the destruction of the challenge Lewis Hamilton the title, if found guilty of industrial espionage at a meeting of the Council World Motor Sport Villa which has been called up on July 26, Thursday.

In the latest development of the controversial alleged spying, has invited representatives of McLaren to the headquarters of the governing body to respond to charges that between March and July, they had "possession of unauthorized documents and confidential information belonging to Ferrari, including information that can be used to design, engineer, construction, inspection and test development and / or run the 2007 Vehicle Ferrari formula one. " The head of McLaren, Ron Dennis, and came in possession of documents and his chief designer, Mike Coughlan in April.

Said McLaren, who was in the middle of the season, held a one-two in the drivers championship by Hamilton, the British and Spanish Fernando Alonso, before Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, are also 25 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors championship, last night: "You feel very disappointed for the team McLaren noted that he had been requested by the FIA to answer charges of possession of certain documents and confidential information belonging to Ferrari.
"Whilst McLaren wishes to continue to cooperate fully with any investigation into this matter, it does not wish to be very clear that the documents and confidential information were only in the possession of the employee is currently one with a stay of execution on the basis of unauthorized and any element that has been used with regard to cars Formula One McLaren. "

Charges the FIA and Ferrari documents relating to the found in the home of Surrey Coughlan last week. The Italian team was alerted to its presence by a tip from a photography shop and King that he had asked for copies of documents 780 of wife Coghlan, and Trudy, and told the Supreme Court this week.

Even before the Coughlans appeared in court on Tuesday to answer questions from lawyers Ferrari, building pressure within the Italian team to establish how much McLaren knew about the existence of data and made decisions about what to do with this article.
It was said in court had been told McLaren boss administrative, Jonathan Neal, Coughlan was in possession of data, and Motor Sport Council will seek to determine when he was told, he said how quickly answered and if informed Dennis and head officer operating, Martin Whitmarsh. Ferrari and take legal action against Italy in their former engineer Nigel Stepney, who has denied sending the information to Coughlan.
McLaren are being called to an alleged breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code which covers "any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally." Sanctions can range from a reprimand to expulsion from the tournament. Under the Formula One technical regulations, teams must design and manufacture a complete car and this dispute is about whether McLaren could have had any interest in adapting Ferrari technology in the design of their model MP4 - 22 present.

Mclaren's Online Reputation

The testimony took place last week Mike Coughlan McLaren can say that the most valuable and sought-after document in motor sport. The lie clues to many questions, not least that of whether to put McLaren Mercedes of the world championship, and turned for the first time Lewis Hamilton dream into a nightmare.

Coughlan was found in possession of confidential documents belonging to Ferrari technology. Agreed McLaren chief designer, currently under suspension, to benefit in return for Ferrari Supreme Court to halt the proceedings against him. Apart from the discovery of how much - if any - of the information was used by McLaren and Ferrari are just keen to detect the source of the leak inside their headquarters in Maranello, Italy.

Nigel Stepney is still the most likely suspect. Ferrari's former high level officer, and currently being investigated in Italy, has strongly denied the Observer last week that he had submitted Coughlan with any sensitive information - although he did admit that they had made a joint approach to the Honda F1 team in respect of employment as possible.
Moment, however, takes more attention with regard McLaren act stupid designer product by senior officials. And occupied this intervention is intended to appear by McLaren more serious turn on Thursday when the sport's ruling body, the FIA, McLaren and called for an emergency meeting of the World Council on July 26. If, and suspects, and saw the certificate Coughlan International Automobile Federation, and after that was enough to raise questions and prompt the administrator that McLaren were in possession of unauthorized confidential information that could be used to promote their cause in the championship 2007.

The stated Ron Dennis, CEO of McLaren, and unequivocally that it is not present, their car, the McLaren MP4 - 22, and are affected by Ferrari in the manufacture or control. Dennis may be many mistakes, but deception is not among them. Unfortunately for Dennis, personal integrity is not sufficient if one of his staff had acted illegally. It is worse if, Jonathan Neil, director of the McLaren management, and some of the other suspects, was aware of the possession of Coughlan of Ferrari documents. It will be a question of when they knew, regardless of whether they advised Coughlan to destroy the documents. He spoke Dennis last week of Coughlan access to information at the end of April; a statement the FIA The March, thus opening the time period of knowledge possible, and make it more difficult for McLaren to prove that none of them have been used for the benefit of the team either or, just as significantly, as a weapon against Ferrari.

Governing Council may wish to note, for example, it now seems an interesting coincidence that McLaren should draw the attention of the FIA to the fact that some teams were running their cars on the flexible floor, a gap designed to improve performance. The Ferrari, one of the teams targeted by the request for McLaren to clarify the rules, the practice is common and legitimate, but, in this case, is very sensitive because it took place in mid-March, and begging and thus the question: How McLaren know about the exploitation of the gap? F1 teams very clever that McLaren may be found by means of their own. However, the timing is unfortunate in light of what has happened since then. FIA regulations amended immediately and the floor, coincidentally, Ferrari and performance fell away during the next few races.
Can find a solution to the dilemma lies in the McLaren in the hands of Coughlan. If Ferrari has acquired information for its own purposes in the pursuit of employment elsewhere - and says a lot as is the case in court - and then a lot of heat will be removed from the team that worked with him since 2002.
On the other hand, if there is suspicion of staying in McClaren has made the use of the modus operandi of a detailed main rival, then you can choose the International Automobile Federation of the number of penalties, ranging from fines to death in the ultimate removal of the 2007 world championships. Do you automatically Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will be excluded from the Championship drivers, although they are completely innocent.

World Motor Sports Council

McLaren will know whether their conciliatory to build bridges with the Formula One's governing behind pushed the scenes off when they appear before the FIA World Council of cars in the morning tomorrow Paris to answer five charges that they brought the sport into disrepute by lying to supervisors in the race Australian Grand Prix.

Deceive the allegations stem from events that took place in the final stages of the race in Melbourne, and when Lewis Hamilton, and encouraged what seems to by a team of former sporting director Dave Ryan, Toyota's Jarno Trulli to illegally pass the McLaren him during the period that had been deployed car safety. He denied all of the men later this in two consecutive meetings of the rulers, despite being played recordings of the conversation over the McLaren pit to car radio.

The British driver and his team face the prospect of being excluded from the world championships, or at least suspension of a number of races but McLaren were working hard behind the scenes to demonstrate that its approach to become the FIA less confrontational.

Showed the first signs of this strategy during the race last weekend's Bahrain Grand when Richard Lapthorne, and McLaren, who was appointed recently as Chairman Non-executive, having lunch with Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights, and Donnelly, Alan, and the President of the FIA Max Mosley's right forearm. Ryan has already been sacked and also withdrew McLaren principal Ron Dennis former, who was nervous and tense relationship with Mosley, from one format to focus on developing a new set of cars on the roads.
Home Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren, hopes all this will help the cause of his team in the hearing but was ready to put this issue on his own without any help of any defense counsel. It is well known that it will simply read a prepared statement, take questions from the court in an effective manner and provide the team for their expert opinion without further discussion. Will be accompanied in court by McLaren in the house of Lawyer Tim Murnane, who will not occur.

And Whitmarsh will be the hope that comes through clean and throw himself on the mercy of an effective court he will go some way towards alleviating the risk of any sanctions.