Шпионские Страсти

Ferrari believe McLaren's advantage in the world championship this year is "likely" because their chief designer Mike Coughlan was holding confidential Ferrari documents.

As McLaren prepare to appear in front of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Thursday, Ferrari's standpoint on McLaren's involvement was made public for the first time since the affair began less than a month ago.

According to British newspaper the Guardian, Ferrari state in a recent document submitted to the London High Court that the stolen documents found in Coughlan's possession were beneficial to the McLaren team in the Formula One championship.

"The difference between the two teams [in the world championship standings] is so close that it is likely that McLaren's superior number of points is a consequence of its chief designer having the Ferrari documents," Ferrari's representatives write.

According to Ferrari, the fact that Coughlan "was in possession of the Ferrari documents has given McLaren an unfair advantage over Ferrari" and that "Ferrari will suffer loss of at least 5.5 million euro" if they lose the constructors' championship - as well as "suffer loss in respect of damage to the Ferrari brand."

According to the Guardian, Ferrari's court document also contests McLaren's claim that Coughlan was the only employee who knew about the documents.

The newspaper report says Ferrari's lawyers list five different occasions on which confidential Ferrari information was made known to high ranking McLaren executives, including McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, and the team's engineering director Paddy Lowe.

These occasions include not only ex-Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney informing McLaren about Ferrari's floor, but also leaking to McLaren information about Ferrari's brakes and rear wing-flap separators.

Ferrari are adamant the information Coughlan obtained unlawfully benefited McLaren.

"The chief designer is part of the key group of three to four people who drive the technical team to improve the car," Ferrari's lawyers have told the High Court.

"The opportunity for a chief designer to influence the car's performance in all areas is huge."

Ecclestone admits to hoping that there is no substance to the charge that the Woking team breached Article 151c of the International Sporting Code

"I don't think anyone's going to make a decision on the world championship without really looking into everything," Ecclestone told The Times. "Please God, nothing's gone wrong and it will all be a lot of nonsense. It would be better it didn't happen in the first place and it would be obviously beneficial if it was cleared up and everybody was sort of happy."

Although most within the industry are absolutely convinced that McLaren, certainly under Ron Dennis, would never cheat

Are you looking for the guilty party in the spying scandal surrounding Ferrari and McLaren?

Easy. It is all Michael Schumacher's fault.

Газета Corriere Della Sera опубликовала копии искового заявления Ferrari. Сообщаются дополнительные сенсационные подробности.

Этот же документ накануне получила газета Guardian, однако итальянцы разместили полный оригинал заявления в Высокий суд Лондона.

По данным юристов Ferrari, Майк Кофлэн получил информацию от Найджела Степни на электронный адрес в доменной зоне McLaren. Кофлэн показал электронное письмо о гибком днище Ferrari Мартину Уитмаршу, который отдал непосредственное указание Падди Лоуву разобраться с этой проблемой. Именно Лоув отправил письмо Чарли Уайтингу с просьбой уточнить легальность днища Ferrari. Майк Кофлэн предоставил схематическое изображение элемента согласно информации Найджела Степни. Это изображение было передано Лоуву и отослано в FIA. Кофлэн также перенаправил детали, связанные с конструкцией заднего крыла F2007, которые также были отосланы Уайтингу. После Гран-при Австралии, Кофлэн сообщил Джонатану Нилу о том, что он получил важные письма от Ferrari.

После встречи с Найджелом Степни в Барселоне, Майк Кофлэн показал Робу Тейлору, старшему конструктору в McLaren, схему сборки тормозной системы F2007, которая была передана Найджелом Степни. По данным источника, Кофлэн еще несколько раз передавал документы Ferrari Джонатану Нилу.