http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2007/07/07/smgars107.xml By Kevin Garside 07/07/2007 "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive." Has Sir Walter Scott's immortal line ever had greater application in sport than in Formula One this week? The great F1 espionage affair embraced a third team yesterday, when Honda joined Ferrari and McLaren as unwitting parties in an extraordinary turn of events The passing of classified technical information, allegedly by Ferrari's Nigel Stepney, to a high-ranking employee at McLaren, believed to be chief designer Mike Coghlan, visited huge discomfort on the British team. The inference that McLaren might have benefited from a sinister information trail linked to their fiercest rivals, Ferrari, hurt team principal Ron Dennis and his team beyond imagination. Imagine his joy then, when he learned that the collusion between Stepney and a McLaren employee, the identity of whom the company has still to acknowledge formally, was not a clandestine attempt to import critical data from Ferrari, but to pool information and offer that expertise to a third team. The problem for Dennis was that the information was yet to make the public domain. As a consequence McLaren were still the wounded party. It was not until the late afternoon yesterday, when Dennis set a hare running by alluding to a third team's involvement, that the picture began to change. Within minutes Honda produced a statement that read: "Given the speculation surrounding the legal investigations at Ferrari and McLaren, the Honda Racing F1 Team would like to clarify that earlier this year Nigel Stepney, formerly of Scuderia Ferrari, requested a meeting with Nick Fry, chief executive officer of the Honda Racing F1 Team. Nigel Stepney subsequently met in June of this year with Nick Fry and brought with him Mike Coughlan of McLaren, with a view to investigating job opportunities within the Honda Racing F1 Team. Honda would like to stress that at no point during this meeting was any confidential information offered or received. Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren." The mention of Coghlan by Honda is the first time any party has formally linked him to Stepney, though the two were spotted at a Barcelona cafe in April. A source close to Honda later added flesh to the bones, explaining that the Stepney proposal to Honda included hiring four technical staff. According to the source, Fry baulked at the offer. It is understood that the only individual who interested Honda was Coghlan. Dennis was clearly frustrated by Honda's failure to alert McLaren to the meeting the moment they learned that Coghlan had been dragged into Ferrari's investigation into leaked data on Tuesday. That failure cost McLaren four days of heavy damage to their standing in the Formula One community and beyond. "I want to be very correct in this process," Dennis said. "The first thing I did when I learned of this problem [on Tuesday] was phone Jean Todt. The second was to phone Max Mosley [president of F1's regulatory body, the FIA]. From the beginning we have been co-operative. The thing that I learned more than anything over the last few days is how fast people are prepared to jump into severe criticism of McLaren. I think over the next 48 hours there will be more information available to people that will give a better insight into motives and what lies behind some people's actions. Too many people are quick to criticise and condemn. The truth will come out." Another truth was demonstrated out on the circuit, where Ferrari gave a further demonstration of their return to form. Though Lewis Hamilton warmed the cockles of chilly British hearts in the morning's free practice session, last week's winner in France, Kimi Raikkonen, kept the red flag flying highest in the afternoon. [...] _____________________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, July 28-August 2 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 30 hands-on training courses and 90 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 70 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. Rates increase on June 1 so register today. http://www.blackhat.com
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