Renault found guilty of F1 espionage, no penalty imposed

Last month Renault became the second manufacturer participating in F1 this year to be accused of spying on its competitors. In this case, the Renault team was accused of "unauthorized possession of documents and confidential information" pertaining to McLaren's F1 cars. We recognize the ironic twist of fate that McLaren was accused and convicted of spying on Ferrari last summer and penalized by being stripped of all its constructors' championship points for the 2007 season and fined a record $100,000,000 USD. Today Renault was also found guilty of possessing documents on McLaren's cars that included details about "the McLaren fueling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars." What was Renault's punishment for its crime? Nothing. Though it technically was in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code, Renault's getting off scott free. We bet McLaren is none too happy with this verdict considering the heavy penalty its team has paid for their snooping, but the FIA's ruling stands.

Thanks for the tip, Richard!

[Source: f1-live.com]