Alonso ignores Hamilton sabotage reports

Fernando Alonso has fended off the latest press revelations about his stormy relationship with McLaren and Lewis Hamilton in 2007.

In his newly-launched biography about Bernie Ecclestone, author Tom Bower said Spaniard Alonso had asked his then boss Ron Dennis in Hungary to sabotage the sister car driven by Hamilton so that it ran out of fuel.

Bower’s ‘No Angel’ book also claimed that Alonso, who now drives for Ferrari, tried to blackmail Dennis into making him the team’s number one driver in exchange for keeping quiet about spygate emails.

“I ignore what is said from other countries,” Alonso was quoted by the Spanish press at a sponsor event in Madrid.

Asked about the Bower accusations specifically, he added: “I don’t know — everybody is getting on with their own jobs.”

Source: YallaF1

'Alonso wanted to sabotage Hamilton's car'

Any biography about Bernie Ecclestone is bound to come with a few surprises, the latest being that Fernando Alonso allegedly tried to sabotage Lewis Hamilton

The acrimonious relationship between the two during their year together at McLaren in 2007 is well documented. The duo not only fought on the track but also off it.

Following qualifying for the Hungarian GP, Alonso was stripped of his pole position for blocking Hamilton in the pits during qualifying, preventing the then-rookie from challenging for pole position.

Added that, there was the Stepneygate spy scandal where McLaren received secret technical information about Ferrari's 2007 challenger.

The scandal reportedly came to light when Alonso threatened to report team boss Ron Dennis to the FIA if he was not handed number one driver status.

But it now appears that those were not the only controversies during the Spaniard's time at McLaren.

According to The Star, Tom Bowers' recently published biography "No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone", claims that Alonso asked Dennis to sabotage Hamilton.



The book alleges that, hours before the start of that tension-fraught 2007 Hungarian GP, Alonso approached Dennis, telling him to short-fuel Hamilton's McLaren so that the Brit would run out of fuel and fail to finish the grand prix.

And although Hamilton and Alonso have insisted in recent months that they have buried the hatchet, these claims may spark yet another war between the two World Champions.

Source: Planet-F1

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney sentenced to Jail!

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney, who was accused of sabotage and leaking confidential data to McLaren in a 2007 Formula One spy scandal, has been given a jail sentence after a plea bargain.

Local media reported that Stepney was sentenced on Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison and handed a 600 euro ($817) fine. Italy's legal system means he is highly unlikely to serve any time in jail.

"We are satisfied, even if my client has always denied sabotage," his lawyer Sonia Bartolini was quoted as saying by the Gazzetta di Modena website after a hearing in Sassuolo, near Ferrari's Maranello base.

"We have to thank the prosecutor for agreeing to a plea bargain. Initially the sentence was much higher."

Neither Stepney nor court officials could be contacted immediately.

Briton Stepney was accused of passing technical Ferrari data to rivals McLaren and trying to damage Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa's cars before the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix while still working for the team.

McLaren were fined a record $100 million by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and stripped of all their constructors' points at a 2007 hearing after being found guilty of possessing a 780-page dossier of Ferrari data.

Both Stepney and McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan were sacked by their teams.

The FIA took no formal action against Stepney, since he was not a licence holder of the governing body, but recommended that teams should have no professional ties with him for a two-year period.

Stepney has consistently denied allegations of sabotage. Ferrari had said a mysterious powder was found around the petrol caps of both their cars before the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix.

Source: Reuters

RÄIKKÖNEN'S SABOTEUR FINALLY TO COURT

MTV3 12.05.2010

Ferrari's former head mechanic Nigel Stepney was today in court for his sabotage three years ago, ANSA -news agency tells.

They suspect Stepney put some white powder in Kimi Räikkönen's and Felipe Massa's car tanks six days before Monaco GP 2007.

The powder they found from the fuel tanks was the same they found in Stepney's trousers and it contained vitamins and additional nutrient. If it had been mixed with the fuel it could have caused a DNF or at least bring down the engine revs. They had time to remove it before it caused any damages.

The court is held in Italy in Sassulo which is close to Maranello. Stepney wasn't present.

Stepney got angry at Ferrari because he wasn't promoted after Ross Brawn left the team. Stepney also gave Ferrari-car's drawings to McLaren's head engineer Mike Coughlan and created a huge spy scandal.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole