Over 15 Renault men involved in spy case
At least 15 engineers at Renault knew about the McLaren technical information that is at the centre of the latest spy investigation, autosport.com has learned.
Renault are to face a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council next month to answer charges that they had in their possession intellectual property belonging to McLaren.
This information was part of a number of floppy disks that engineer Phil Mackareth brought with him to the Enstone team from McLaren in September 2006.
Renault have admitted that Mackareth had the information transferred to his computer at Renault, and showed scale drawings to ’some engineers’, but are adamant that the details were not used to influence their car design.
McLaren have also conducted their own investigation into the matter at Renault’s Enstone headquarters, having used the independent Kroll company, and it is believed a dossier of evidence about the matter has been submitted to the FIA.
Autosport.com understands that Renault and McLaren’s investigations have revealed that more than 15 engineers in total examined the information from McLaren, which included details on the 2007 car. It is believed each of these has confirmed the fact in writing.
Sources have suggested that the engineers are not just junior staff members, but also include head of vehicle performance and R&D, deputy technical director, deputy chief designer and chief designer Tim Densham.
The extent of knowledge within Renault about the McLaren information mirrors similar claims surrounding the McLaren/Ferrari case, where the depth of the knowledge about Ferrari secrets extended well beyond just chief designer Mike Coughlan.