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Without explaining its reasons – yet – the FIA World Motor Sport Council today found Renault guilty of obtaining secret information from McLaren-Mercedes. The case centered on information purloined by a McLaren employee as he left that company to join his new employer, Renault. Renault has self-reported itself to both the FIA and McLaren when it discovered that the employee had brought floppy discs with McLaren information when he joined Renault.

The FIA announced that the reasoning behind the decision would be made available on Friday, and the transcript of proceedings published after that.

Though Renault was judge guilty of “brining the sport into disrepute,” no penalty was imposed by the Council. Inside word has it that the decision against imposing a penalty was based on the conclusion that Renault had not used the information.

A similar rationale had been used when McLaren initially appeared before the Council last year, charged with spying on Ferrari. The later penalty imposed by the FIA occurred only after it became apparent that McLaren had, in fact, used the stolen information.


Source:International Herald Tribune