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Bartolini claims Ferrari has got its way...
Speculation went into overdrive on Wednesday as the Ferrari-McLaren spy scandal continued to rock the Formula One world.

Just days ahead of the British Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton was expected to make a glorious debut home race with his Woking based team, the barrage of rumours and official statements issued by both teams and even the FIA has cast a dark cloud over the sport.

The leaking of sensitive information from the sacked Nigel Stepney to McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan was believed to have been the centrepiece of the saga, but there is more to it than espionage, the Daily Mail wrote in an expose today.

Ferrari veteran Stepney allegedly tried to ‘spike’ Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen's fuel tanks with detergent before they were sent to race at Monaco.

Previously, the 'sabotage' material was thought to have been white powder that was seized by Italian police on a raid of the Briton's house near Maranello.

Stepney is expected to return to Italy from a holiday in the Philippines on Thursday, while his lawyer Sonia Bartolini said: "It seems to me that Ferrari have at the end of the day got their way.
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They wanted to get rid of Nigel and that's what they have done.”

"Nigel's reputation has been severely damaged by all this. He denies any sabotage. He and I both believe that this is all part of a campaign instigated by Ferrari to get rid of him."

Amid the confusion and how it might affect the outcome of the 2007 championship battle between Ferrari and McLaren, bookmaker William Hill said it was nervous that court battles might ultimately crown the official world champion.

"Any inquiries or investigations which go on beyond the final day of the season will not be taken into account for betting purposes, but any punishments or points deductions which might be levied before the final day of the campaign will count for betting purposes," said spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gallactico

hmmm... what about the new f1 scandal?

Yeah, I've been laughing to the whole thing. McLaren is screwed right now. If the court finds the whole Team Mclaren quilty, it's a possibility that they can't race anymore this year. They say all around, that after Spain GP McLaren had huge improvement to their car, and at the same time they had the first lead towards this case.

I'm going to watch this really closely.

Whats your gut feeling on this one? I personally think they will be ok... I want the championship to be fought out on the track and not in courts!!!

Hundreds of drawings of this year's Ferrari were allegedly found at the home of McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan during a raid on Tuesday.

According to reports, the incriminating evidence was found by private detectives after Ferrari obtained a search warrant through the British courts earlier this week.

McLaren have assured Ferrari that they have not used any of the data, allegedly stolen from their Maranello base, and are believed to have 'worked closely' with the Italian team after being informed that 'a senior member of its technical organisation' had 'personally received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April'.

Coughlan, who has been suspended by McLaren, has yet to make any comment.

McLaren have denied gaining any advantage from the 'technical information' allegedly passed on to the team's chief designer, Mike Coughlan, by Ferrari's Nigel Stepney.

The team confirmed on Tuesday that it had suspended 'a senior member of its technical organisation' after he had 'personally received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April.' In a separate statement, Ferrari announced: "We have proof that Stepney had been supplying technical information to a McLaren employee and we found evidence of that fact in his [the employee's] home. This is a very serious situation. We are talking about a lot of information being given to a prominent McLaren engineer."

Amid fears that the crisis could result in the World Championships being won and lost in the courts, McLaren have insisted that 'a thorough investigation' had found that 'no Ferrari intellectual property has been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into its cars.'

Such is the team's confidence that they have invited the FIA, the sport's governing body, to inspect their cars to ensure that they had not been altered by the Ferrari information.

'McLaren has in the meanwhile openly disclosed these matters to the FIA and Ferrari and sought to satisfy any concerns that have arisen from this matter. In order to address some of the speculation McLaren has invited the FIA to conduct a full review of its cars to satisfy itself that the team has not benefited from any intellectual property of another competitor.'

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton wants to see out his career with McLaren.

Hamilton has made an astonishing start to his debut season in Formula One, claiming a podium finish in each of the eight Grands Prix to date to open up a 14-point lead at the top of the drivers' standings.

The 22-year-old Briton will this weekend be backed by an 85,000 crowd at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix as he looks to maintain his phenomenal rise.

Speaking at an evening hosted by personal sponsors, Tag Heuer, Hamilton conceded his personal ambition is to remain with a team who have nurtured him since he was 13.

"It's a privilege for me to be racing for McLaren," said Hamilton.

"It's a team I have always wanted to race for and, to be honest, I really want to see out my career with them.

"I have been there since I was 13 years old and to be a British driver in a British team is good for the fans over here.

"To finally have another British driver doing well is also great for the sport.

"With the fans growing with every weekend, as I say, I am proud to be part of the team."

Hamilton admits he has taken himself by surprise with how well things have gone since he was announced as a Formula One driver for the Woking-based outfit late last year.

"It has been a fantastic journey to get to F1," added Hamilton.

"To finally get here and to be doing so well - to have eight podiums - is definitely something I never expected.

"But I have a great team behind me and a great opportunity to race against the two-time world champion (Fernando Alonso) and it's an opportunity I have to grab with both hands.

"It has gone smoothly so far and now I just have to try and keep it all going."

Hamilton, though, was left trailing in third - his poorest finish since the opening race in Australia - in Sunday's French Grand Prix and Magny-Cours behind Ferrari duo, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

The Marinello team appear to be back on song and in the picture, but Hamilton is unconcerned.

He added: "You cannot always be at the front .

"There are times when you have bad races and, if that was a bad weekend for us, then we will definitely take it."

This is a sad situation to the whole F1. First case ever, and it definitely doesn't help these two teams to compete. If this starts to affect their performance, all the smaller teams will benefit.

But the main thing is; that guy is a big boss in McLaren, he is the one who is responsible of building the car. And they found Ferrari F2007 design-papers from his house! Top secret material. We don't know if he has been using that information in McLaren cars, we don't know who has seen those designs, we don't know if other teams outside McLaren has seen those papers(?) and we definitely don't know what's the real scale of this scandal.

yeah... well i hope things return to normal soon. We want to see racing not CHEATING and spying... Well The FIA said they will investigate. What r ur predictions for the Championship now?

I still stick to Kimi or Hamilton. Massa and Alonso worry to much about their ego and image.

I like this guy Hamilton right now, but I hope he will keep the current image of him. Some people think the current success will change him into something worse. I hope he manages to keep the boy'ish image of him and concentrate to the racing.

I've always liked Kimi and I'm standing on his side till the end. I just fucking hate foreign media, they bash the guy like a fucking horse. It's sad these cunts don't understand one thing; Kimi worked for 5 years in McLaren, and switched to Ferrari. How the hell they can think a man can change his working routines in one day to something else? I'm pretty sure English team is quite different compared to Italian team. And the car of Ferrari isn't the best right now either.

Its funny, now when Kimi won the race, Italian media is saying "Kimi is Schumi!!". Wow, they forgot really fast the old Kimi who has lost the ability of driving fast.

yeah HAmilton is trouncing Alonso. Every race he is beating him. And he is a ROOKIE.... Imagine him next year.. Shew...

Kimi needs to do the same to Massa. Massa was saying Kimi got a lucky victory. I think Massa is highly overrated.. When he was at Sauber he was useless. Now cause hisagent is Jean Todt's son he thinks he is the best in the world. I remember Schumie killing im almost every race last season. Kimi must now do the same. IF not this year then next year for sure.

Well this whole F1 scandal is bad for the sport. or maybe its just what it needs to get more publicity.

On a personal note i am looking to buy a Go-Kart and start racing here in SA... I think it will be fun.

Speculation went into overdrive on Wednesday as the Ferrari-McLaren spy scandal continued to rock the F1 world.

Just days ahead of the British Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton was expected to make a glorious debut home race with his Woking based team, the barrage of rumours and official statements issued by both teams and even the FIA has cast a dark cloud over the sport.

The leaking of sensitive information from the sacked Nigel Stepney to McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan was believed to have been the centrepiece of the saga, but there is more to it than espionage, the Daily Mail wrote in an expose today.

Ferrari veteran Stepney is also thought to have tried to "spike" Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen's fuel tanks with detergent before they were sent to race at Monaco.

Previously, the 'sabotage' material was thought to have been white powder that was seized by Italian police on a raid of the Briton's house near Maranello.

Stepney is expected to return to Italy from a holiday in the Philippines on Thursday, while his lawyer Sonia Bartolini said, "It seems to me that Ferrari have at the end of the day got their way. They wanted to get rid of Nigel and that's what they have done."

"Nigel's reputation has been severely damaged by all this. He denies any sabotage. He and I both believe that this is all part of a campaign instigated by Ferrari to get rid of him."

Amid the confusion and how it might affect the outcome of the 2007 championship battle between Ferrari and McLaren, bookmaker William Hill said it was nervous that court battles might ultimately crown the official world champion.

"Any inquiries or investigations which go on beyond the final day of the season will not be taken into account for betting purposes, but any punishments or points deductions which might be levied before the final day of the campaign will count for betting purposes," said spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gallactico

Massa was saying Kimi got a lucky victory. I think Massa is highly overrated.. When he was at Sauber he was useless. Now cause hisagent is Jean Todt's son he thinks he is the best in the world. I remember Schumie killing im almost every race last season. Kimi must now do the same. IF not this year then next year for sure.

Exactly! Massa and Alonso are just ego boosters who keeps finding excuses. Useless people.

well I'm late getting here so here is my throw in...

Massa don't know shit, Kimi is a middle field driver, alonso is a spoiled baby, I am hoping Hamilton stays on the ground.

every one else aint worth thalking about.

@ 'caris, don't get all mad dude... I remember Kimi talking MUCH smack about 2 years ago. he was right behind Schumacher (Idon't remember the race but it had to be in August) then his rear spoiler flew off. he parked (crashed) got out, threw his helmet, walked accross the track, yelled at his crew, then talked shit about how McClarin sucks to every newspaper on the planet; finally he got married the very next week and shrugged off the honeymoon. some ICEman

Quote:

Originally posted by Still

then talked shit about how McClarin sucks to every newspaper on the planet

No, he didn't. You're pretty much exaggerating that issue.

Kimi is a good driver, there is no doubt about that... although there is a lot of hype surrounding him. I don't think he is any better than Button, infact i would go as far as saying Button is probably one of the top drivers around, shame he dedicated his future to Honda. (mind you im a Button fan)

Hamilton i like, and i agree with Ascaris, i hope he keeps his current image, but sometimes ya do get the hint his confidence turns into arrogance when he is interviewed. Mind you, he is doing an amazing job, and he is English, so im happy

So for me, Hamilton or Kimi for the title, id love to say Button, but it aint gonna happen. Aslong as Alonso and Massa get shit on from a great height, all will be good.

Quote:

Originally posted by Watty

Button is probably one of the top drivers around, shame he dedicated his future to Honda. (mind you im a Button fan)

He really is. I like that guy and rate him to top fellas. I'm a huge Honda fan, and I'm not going to say Honda is not going to rise. I assume you know how many championship titles honda currently hold? How many victories has been taken with Honda engine? Yes, many.

But the issue is, Honda had HUGE problems with the new windtunnel, it was a big flop from the start. The values given from the tunnel didn't match with the ones from the track. So you can think the chassis is a huge error. The succesful, modern F1 car is 80% of body design, if your whole body is made with values given by flawed tunnel, well, you can see the results.

I'm sure Honda and Jenson will rise later this year, or next year. And I'm going to take a glass of bubbly with you when Jenson is winning again!

Quote:

Originally posted by Åscaris

[reply=Still]
then talked shit about how McClarin sucks to every newspaper on the planet

No, he didn't. You're pretty much exaggerating that issue.
[/reply]

of course I am. Not every news paper on the planet gives a shit. Still, he did make statements about how "he ain't got the title because his car sucks."

Quote:

Originally posted by Still

Still, he did make statements about how "he ain't got the title because his car sucks."

Really? I remember Kimi giving tough critics, but he never said his car is shit. But hey, that's just the official comments in Finnish. We know foreign media likes to twist his words everytime, unlike Finnish media. I give more value to the words I heard from him in Finnish, and he has never said it's shit.

I wish Senna was still around... to show these kids a thing or two....

Quote:

Originally posted by Gallactico

I wish Senna was still around... to show these kids a thing or two....

What do you think, how would senna adapt himself into the new modern F1 car? The car Senna drove, was a lot different than nowadays.