During the 2007 F1 season, a major controversy involving Ferrari and McLaren came to light. It started when a Prancing Horses employee gave his friend at the Woking-based team confidential information. After they were caught, their actions had wide-reaching effects. First, it led to the latter team receiving a hefty fine. Then it exposed the internal strife that was within the organization between drivers and management. The scandal was dubbed ‘SpyGate’, given the corporate espionage that took place.
‘Spygate’ starts with Nigel Stepney. Stepney was upset at being denied a promotion after he had been chief mechanic for Ferrari during their strong years with Michael Schumacher. When he wasn’t given the chance to rise through the ranks, he retaliated. He stole almost 800 pages worth of information, which was the technical details of the Scarlet team’s 2007 vehicle. Stepney then gave the information to Mike Coughlan, Chief Designer of McLaren, and his old friend. But they were caught in an unexpected way.
Coughlan gave his wife the pages to photocopy, and she took them to a shop in the same town where McLaren is based. However, the owner of the photocopy shop was a Ferrari fan. He found the documents to be suspicious, and as a loyal member of the Tifosi, he emailed the Italian team.
This prompted legal proceedings that took place in Italy and the UK, and the FIA launched an inquiry as well. They ended up clearing the McLaren team based on the fact that no information had been shared with other team members, and found that Coughlan acted alone.
How do the F1 drivers fit into ‘SpyGate’?
The 2007 season saw McLaren’s driver lineup feature two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and rookie driver Lewis Hamilton. Between the two, there was no clear number one driver, despite Alonso believing it should’ve been him. The season featured clashes between the two in a battle to be better than the other. But the first major incident took place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton was asked not to battle with the Spaniard during the race, and even though they ended up finishing 1-2, the Briton didn’t hide his displeasure. Alonso was insulted by team boss, Ron Dennis’ orders to Hamilton, which affected his belief of being the number one driver.
In Hungary, the situation escalated. During qualifying, Hamilton didn’t allow Alonso to go past, affecting his chances at pole. The two-time WDC winner retaliated in the same session. While the British driver waited behind him in the pit box, Alonso just stopped. He spent enough time to prevent Hamilton from getting a chance to do another lap. For this, he was given a five-place grid penalty, and the relationship between him and Dennis deteriorated further.
Then came a moment where Fernando Alonso threatened the F1 team’s boss, stating that he would share e-mails related to the spy case if they didn’t run Hamilton out of fuel in the race.
Dennis went to FIA President Max Mosley with Alonso’s claims, sharing that there would be nothing in the e-mails that would be of any consequence. But it was pointless. Mosely already knew about the e-mails, and he convened a second hearing.
Later, Alonso apologised and retracted his comments, which prompted Dennis to think that the e-mails didn’t exist. However, it was too late.
What happened after the second “SpyGate” hearing?
It was at this second hearing that McLaren was handed a fine of $100 million, as well as being disqualified from the constructors’ championship. However, there was no evidence found suggesting that the team had incorporated Ferrari’s designs into their vehicle. Reportedly, after the verdict was given, during a photo opportunity, Mosely told Dennis why the fine was so large. $5 million was for McLaren’s actions, and the other $95 million was for Dennis being an expletive four-letter word.
Meanwhile, in the Italian court, Stepney was found guilty and banned for life from F1. He was also given a prison sentence of one year and eight months, but he did not serve any time. In 2014, he died in a road accident, where he was hit by a lorry on the M20 motorway in Kent.
Coughlan spent time with the failed F1 team, Stefan GP, before moving to Williams, then did some time in NASCAR working for Richard Childress Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.
As for McLaren, the fine had little impact on their drivers’ championship. Alonso and Hamilton ended up finishing the season with a tie of 109 points each. But, they both were one point short of the championship, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonnen taking home the trophy, and the Italian team also won the constructors’ championship.
