Espionage in the fast lane: Ferrari F1 secrets given to McLaren

With no disrespect to Fernando Alonso or Michael Schumacher, the first eight races of this year's Formula 1 World Championship have probably been more entertaining on- and off-track than the previous four or five seasons combined. The latest shenanigans come via the two front running teams, McLaren and Ferrari. Ferrari has been saying for a while that someone gave away its technical secrets, finally fingering Technical Manager Nigel Stepney last month. Ferrari said it had evidence of illicit behavior, but Stepney claimed it wasn't him. Now it turns out that Michael Coughlin, Chief Designer at McLaren, has been suspended by the team for receiving Ferrari technical information, which was found when police searched his house. No one's been charged yet, but Stepney and Coughlin have known each other for 17 years, and Stepney was miffed last year at not being promoted by Ferrari to fill Ross Brawn's shoes. McLaren, meanwhile, says it has conducted a thorough investigation and found that no Ferrari information was given to any other team member or used in the design of its cars. The FIA is now investigating.

[Source: F1 Technical]