The Stepneygate postmortem -- what really happened in the F1 espionage scandal
Wired has posted a lengthy and thorough dissection of what really happened in last year's Stepneygate F1 scandal. The affair turned Ferrari an even more scarlet red, sucked $100,000,000 from McLaren's bank account and eliminated the team from the constructor's championship, ended the F1 careers of two F1 honchos, and possibly ended Ron Dennis' marriage.
And of course, being F1, it all starts with a tall blond, a sheaf of illegally-possessed documents, and a copy machine. After that come clandestine meetings in airports, furtive text messages, and sabotage. It's probably as close as you're going to get to Bourne or Bond in real life. Follow the link to read the full story.
Thanks for the tip, Todd!
[Source: Wired]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael 7:18PM (5/22/2008)
Oh man not this story story again. The digger we deep, the more it stinks.
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ericnorsworthy 7:42PM (5/22/2008)
Good read.
Ian Anderson 7:44PM (5/22/2008)
I submitted a tip about this 2 days ago... no love.
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Nobody 8:02PM (5/22/2008)
This article is pretty good but incomplete. It makes absolutely no mention of the fact that Renault was caught with Mclaren technical data at the same time and received no punishment whatsoever while McLaren was fined 100 mil and lost their constructor's points for the year (which earns them money). It was this fact that illustrated just what Stoddart said, FIA - Ferrari International Assistance.
Dave 8:04AM (5/23/2008)
I'm pretty sure the fine was $100M minus the money they would've made had they not been stripped of their constructor's points.
M 4:00PM (5/23/2008)
Nice post Nobody. I didn't know about that side of the story.
Good article though. overall it was an interesting read and was easy to pick up even if you don't follow F1
cly 8:14PM (5/22/2008)
I agreed. The article is a good read. But they left out the Renault involvement.
It's pretty obvious Ferrari share holders run the FIA. I won't be surprise at all if Jean Todt become the next FIA president.
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pmiddle5 9:19PM (5/22/2008)
considering he is currently the head of Ferrari that would be the next logical step up the ladder.
Richard 9:38PM (5/22/2008)
Oh! Todt will undoubtedly be the next head of the FIA.
In a coupe of weeks, Max will be freed up to pursue his other interests full time.
Jvijil 10:41PM (5/22/2008)
spectacular article....This season is going to be full of surprises hehe.
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Chris 10:04AM (5/23/2008)
Let me get this straight--- a lead designer in a multi-million dollar race team has the smarts to DESIGN an F1 car, has the forethought to tell his wife to burn the papers and buy them.. but allows her to go do a god damn 'Kinko's to have them copied?! WTF.
If you are going to do something like this, why wouldn't you spend a $100 on a home scanner and do it yourself. Jesus christ that has to be the most idiotic thing ever.
Call Me George 1:59PM (5/23/2008)
@pmiddle5, Head of Ferrari? I believe he is the head of FIAT division, not Ferrari.
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M 4:08PM (5/23/2008)
http://www.answers.com/Jean%20Todt%20
Donatello 1:17PM (5/23/2008)
"... he Googled Ferrari until he found the name and email address of the company's Formula One sporting director, Stefano Domenicali ...". Very impressive, 6 months before he got the job, Stefano Domenicali was already the sporting director on Google.
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