McLaren-Ferrari spy scandal draws to an end
The two-year-old Stepneygate saga – long and complex enough to rival any of the Icelandic sagas – is finally over. A court in Modena, Italy has smacked four McLaren employees with six-figure fines: senior engineers Rod Taylor, Jonathan Neale, and Paddy Lowe are on the hook for €150,000 each (around $190,000 USD); chief designer Mike Coughlan got hit with a €180,000 fine (nearly $230,000). The only thing left to decide: Who is actually going to pay the bill. Reports indicate that McLaren will pay the senior engineers' bill, but Coughlan could be on his own. As for the eponymous instigator of the entire affair, former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney (pictured) is still being sought by Italian prosecutors for industrial espionage and for team sabotage at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix.
[Source: Associated Press (via Google)]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hyundaifans.com 10:42AM (2/24/2009)
Finally its over. Looking forward to the new season!
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Timothy Auhll 11:08AM (2/24/2009)
does that money go to Ferrari? Or Mosley?
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TigerMil 11:51AM (2/24/2009)
LOL. A court imposed the fine...it goes to the Italian court!
Flea 12:37PM (2/24/2009)
it goes where all other fines go, including speeding tickets...
Skelbagz 12:38PM (2/24/2009)
So that's the end of that.
FYI, Wired did an excellent story about the whole thing back in the day: http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/16-06/ff_formulaone
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Tony 7:21PM (2/24/2009)
I know where Nigel isn't. He's defiantly not vacationing in Italy.
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