Autoblog

Formula One teams have long tried to glean insight into what their competition is doing, but this year's spying scandals have exploded into all-out espionage. After the whole Stepneygate/Ferrari vs. McLaren thing, we thought that was the last we'd hear of spying until at least next year. But now we have some new accusations of espionage to consider. And in an odd twist of fate, the alleged culprit in the first spying scandal is claimed to be the victim in this most recent one.

According to the AP, the FIA has asked Renault to appear before the World Motor Sport Council on Dec. 6 to face accusations that it had "unauthorized possession of documents and confidential information" of McLaren's (!) cars between September 2006 and October 2007. As tired as we are of this whole spying thing, the result could be that next season is contested with McLaren and Renault unable to earn points. The FIA is still waiting to look at the 2008 McLaren car to see if it can spot any evidence that the team may have learned something useful from the Ferrari technical data it allegedly stole. We don't want to jump to conclusions, but if McLaren and Renault are both found guilty of spying, it could mean Ferrari has a lot less competition next year. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the tip, Devin!

[Source: AP via ESPN, photo by Clive Mason/Getty]

We're going to call this one a rumor for at least a little while, but wow. We just got wind of this monster deal that would really cause a major stir in the already tumultuous world of Formula One. News of the World just reported that two-time world driving champion Fernando Alonso is leaving McLaren-Mercedes next year. While that was considered a sure thing in the wake of Stepneygate and all, the real shocker is that he isn't headed to Renault to be reunited with Flavio Briatore as expected. Instead, they have him going to Ferrari of all places. The report says that a cool $40 million was the price to secure Alonso for the scuderia. As they point out, it should be a relatively easy transition for Fernando, who has already been *ahem* studying design features of the Ferrari all season.

With current Ferrari pilot Felipe Massa headed to Toyota, Fernando will be joining current #3 in the driver's race, Kimi Raikkonen, in '08. It should make for another interesting battle over who's number one. The same article that tells of Fernando going to Maranello also bolsters the rumor that Ross Brawn will be stepping up as team manager when Jean Todt leaves at the end of the season. It's not often that the silly season starts this early, but this has been a very atypical year for the FIA and its premier racing class. We'll do some digging and see if we can find other sources to back this one up. But until then, this can only make the last three races of the season more compelling TV.

[Source: TopSpeed]

Remember the case of the former Ferrari Formula 1 tech who shared his company's secrets with rival McLaren-Mercedes? The FIA has announced that it has concluded its investigation into that matter and Team McLaren-Mercedes will not be penalized. Formula 1's governing body held an "extraordinary meeting" of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris today and found that although McLaren did in fact have possession of confidential Ferrari material, there was 'insufficient evidence that it had been used in such a way as to interfere improperly with the FIA Formula 1 World Championship'. So no penalty was given to McLaren-Mercedes.

But the announcement came with a warning. If that information is used "to the detriment of the sport" in the future, the FIA might not be so lenient next time. The suggestion was made that if this were to occur, Ron Dennis and his team would face the 'possibility of exclusion' from the 2007 championship, which they are currently leading. They would also be eliminated from competing in 2008. Disqualification should be a pretty big deterrent, we imagine. Not getting off as easy are the two men at the heart of the issue.

McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan, and Ferrari's former head of performance development, Nigel Stepney, have been 'invited' by the FIA to 'show reasons why they should not be banned from international motor sport for a lengthy period'. Ouch. Should be interesting to hear their responses. We'll keep you posted.

[Source: Crash.net]

Rumors surfaced in the German press Tuesday that minority shareholder DaimlerChrysler is close to buying the remaining 60 percent of McLaren F1 and McLaren Automotive that it does not yet own. DaimlerChrysler currently owns 40 percent, with the remaining 60 percent split equally between managing director Ron Dennis, and Saudi investor Mansour Ojjeh. The Mercedes stake in McLaren was valued at $400 million in 1999 when the automaker became part-owner.

If it happens, the deal would see DaimlerChrysler/Mercedes-Benz joining Renault, BMW, Honda, Toyota and Ferrari in having controlling interest in their respective Formula 1 teams.

The deal could also make sense if Mercedes plans to increase McLaren's road car production in future, whether for new versions of the SLR, or for a less expensive supercar to compete with the likes of the Ferrari F430.

[Sources: Reuters, GrandPrix.com]