It appears that the espionage saga that overshadowed much of the 2007 F1 season is not yet over Renault have found themselves dragged into the issue and have been summoned to appear before a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council next month to answer spy charges.
2007 saw McLaren excluded from the constructors championship after their chief designer was found to be in possession of confidential Ferrari technical data. Renault are now facing similar charges with allegations that a former McLaren employee had taken several disks worth of McLaren data across to their new employers, Renault.
On the eve of the McLaren hearing in September, McLaren brought the Renault spying issue to the attention of the FIA. This then prompted an investigation by the FIA which has now cumulated in the summons.
A statement released by the FIA reads, “Representatives of the Renault F1 team have been requested to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on Thursday, December 6, 2007.
“The team representatives have been called to answer a charge that between September 2006 and October 2007, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, the Renault F1 team had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, including, but not limited to the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars.â€
Renault have vowed to co-operate fully with the FIA over the matter. A spokesperson from the team confirmed, “Ever since this matter came to light we have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA and we will continue to do so.â€
