“Exchange of confidential information between Ferrari and McLaren”: How a fight between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren led to the biggest fine handed out in Formula 1 history

McLaren were handed a $100 million fine in 2007, which to this date remains the biggest punishment given to a team in F1 history. 

McLaren and Ferrari’s infamous legal battle in 2007 is something F1 fans will probably remember under the name ‘Spygate’. It was a scandal unlike anything racing fans had seen before, and something of that magnitude hasn’t been seen since.

The entire controversy started at Ferrari, revolving around a certain individual named Nigel Stepney. Stepney was part of Ferrari’s dream team, under which they won five World Championships. He worked alongside the likes of Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Michael Schumacher.

After Todt and Brawn decided to step away from the Italian team in 2006, Stepney tried to take over as technical director of the team, something he felt he deserved. That move up the ladder didn’t go through, and it led to the Briton talking to the press about his dissatisfaction and unhappiness at the Scuderia.

Ferrari didn’t want bad press, and took the matter seriously. While they didn’t fire him, they demoted him to a role back at their factory in Maranello.

In June of that year, Ferrari announced that Stepney had been fired from the team. This was followed by a criminal investigation, in which he was accused of sabotaging the team’s cars at the factory.

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How was McLaren involved in this problem within Ferrari’s internal management?

On the same day Ferrari dismissed Stepney, the filed a case against a McLaren employee. Mike Coughlan was an engineer at McLaren that year, and he was accused of exchanging confidential information with Stepney.

Stepney had allegedly printed over 780 pages of Ferrari documentation, which contained information about their car designs and performance. However, the manner in which Coughlan was caught having these documents was absolutely bizarre.

Coughlan’s wife took the papers to a photocopying shop in Woking. She handed the papers over to the cashier, and said she would pick them up the next morning. Unfortunately for her and her husband, the worker at the store happened to be a Ferrari fan.

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After seeing that the documents contained the ‘prancing horse’s’ logo, he immediately realized that his customers were up to something fishy. The worker in Surrey sent an email to Ferrari’s then sporting director, Stefano Domenicali.

Initially the Maranello outfit took the matter to court but later dropped charges. They let go of the case under the condition that Mike Coughlan gives up all documents and cooperates with them by revealing everything he knew.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso’s altercation in Hungary lead to bigger problems

At the 2007 Hungarian GP, then rookie Lewis Hamilton and teammate Fernando Alonso exchanged a heated moment. The team ordered Hamilton to let Alonso pass, something the former ignored. To show his frustration, the Spaniard held Hamilton in the pit-lane during Qualifying. This prevented Hamilton from setting a lap time.

This resulted in docking of Constructors’ points and a five place grid penalty for Alonso. The two-time World Champion was furious and took matters in his own hand thereafter. He reportedly spoke to team boss Ron Dennis, asking them to treat him fairly.

He even threatened the Woking outfit to send his email exchanges with test driver Pedro de la Rosa and Coughlan. The contents of his mails included evidence that showed McLaren employees obtaining confidential information from others including Ferrari and Renault.

Dennis, who insisted that his only intention was the keep the McLaren name clean, contacted FIA president Max Mosley himself. The McLaren boss told him that Alonso’s threat was empty, but Mosley pushed for the investigation to be reopened. The complaint was lodged only against Alonso initially, because of the threats he made.

Dennis’ move to protect the team backfired massively. Mosley was convinced that Alonso’s threats were not empty. Dennis tried to clear things out by later suggesting that he himself wanted to present evidence, something which the FIA president denied.

In December that year, McLaren’s COO Martin Whitmarsh, admitted that certain employees within the team did have access to Ferrari’s technical information. The scandal ended with the British team being given a $100 million fine, which till today remains the biggest in the sport’s history.