The Biggest Cheating Scandal in Formula 1 History

on May 2nd 2014 a man got out of his car walked onto the M20 Highway in Kent and right into the path of an oncoming lorri seemingly taking his own life the man was pronounced dead at the scene and yet the medical examiner would leave his cause of death as an open verdict many suspected a conspiracy and for good reason but why am I talking about him well this man was Nigel Stephany he had been Ferrari's chief engineer having been at the team for 14 years and he was also The Man Behind the biggest scandal in Formula 1 history this story is one that F1 doesn't even want to acknowledge at times severe punishments nasty politics fractures and Rising tensions across the sports search warrants arrests and even a war on track between alono and Hamilton this scandalous Affair is one that was almost too tragic to believe and this wasn't just a chapter in Formula 1 it started long long before the actual Scandal saw the light of day so if we want to understand why things happened the way they they did we must go back to the old days to the McLaren era and the man who ran it Ron Dennis the most successful decade of mcclaren's History began with the merger of project 4 racing and run Dennis in the 1980s the team had won seven championships under the leadership of senna Frost and louder and in the early 1990s with the legendary Aon Center at the wheel McLaren looked ready to prolong their domination in Formula 1 however Ron Dennis's era of Glory hits a roadblock the McLaren found themselves in a prolonged struggle for nearly a decade one of those stumbling blocks was the fact that Williams Rose to the top of the industry due to Adrien ne's groundbreaking designs and revolutionary active suspension and as if things weren't already Tough Enough Honda suddenly disappeared leaving McLaren to find a replacement engine after a failed agreement with Renault and a disastrous 1994 alliance with perso McLaren's problems were only getting worse the rescue came in 1995 when the Company formed an alliance with the German automaker Mercedes David Kart's victory in Australia in 1997 marked the beginning of a turnaround for McLaren who had had a difficult 1996 season things would take a turn for the better as Adrien Nei came on board in 1998 and 1999 with the papaya outfit winning two consecutive constructor's championships but at this point McLaren had no idea that this would be the last time they would win a constructor's title in the years that followed Ferrari Renault and of course Fernando Alonso took Center Stage leaving Cen to struggle for over a decade to regain their former Grandeur in 2006 McLaren would suffer a major setback when Adrian Nei left for Red Bull with the precious mounting and teams racing ahead of them finding a way to get McLaren back on top was an immense priority for Ron Dennis the team needed a competitive car and most importantly of all they needed a special driver lineup they certainly got that Ander Fernando Alonso two-time world champion and Michael Schumer's personal Nightmare and Lewis Hamilton one of the best pro ects the sport has seen in a long time both of them were the horses to bet on this race would have outside interference enter Nigel Stepney Mike coglin Trudy coglin and an unsuspecting photocopying shop employee Nigel stany Chief mechanic at Ferrari during the team's successful Heyday with Michael schumacker was at the core of the Spy Gates controversy Stephanie was not just Desiring a promotion but also felt he was rightfully entitled to one when the stronger lines consisting of Schumaker team principal Jean Todd technical director Ross bra and chief designer Rory burn came to an end in 2006 at the end of this year I've decided together with the team that I'm uh going to retire from from racing his desire was motivated by a combination of factors including his belief in his role in turning Ferrari into an F1 Powerhouse and the disappointment he felt from unmet promises I am looking at spending a year away from Ferrari I'm not currently happy with the situation within the team I really want to move forward with my career and that's something that's it's not happening right now ideally I'd like to move into a new environment here at Ferrari but if an opportunity arose with another team I would definitely consider it in response to his comments Ferrari announced a new role for Stepney as head of team performance development their statement read after many years spent working on the Formula 1 circuits the last 13 of those as part of the Ferrari race team Nigel stepy with approval of the company has chosen to take on a different role that will see him no longer have to attend the races now that that's the Cor way of saying get the out with his dreams dashed Stephanie would turn into Ferrari's worst nightmare he secretly broke into the Ferrari factory and stole 780 pages of sensitive documents which meant he effectively had the schematic drawings technical reports pictures and financial information for the 2007 Ferrari he then gave these documents to a trusted associate of his Mike Cogan who was then also McLaren's lead designer their plan however was undergone when Mike Cogan's wife Trudy walked into a copia shop a stack of 780 pages in hand she instructed the clerk to scan the documents onto two CDs Now ordinarily this would be no big deal but one of the most recognizable emblems in the world the Prancing black horse of Ferrari was printed on every page and for a copy shop clerk that usually wouldn't mean anything but this clerk he was different he was a DieHard Ferrari fan sensing that something was a mess he asked the woman for her name and Trudy told him when Trudy left this clerk decided to Google who she was the man found out she was Michael coglin's wife the lead designer for mcclaren's Formula 1 team after that he used Google to check out Stefano Dominic Ali the Formula 1 sporting director at Ferrari Dear Mr Dominique CI the clerk typed he then proceeded to reveal the peculiar story of the woman who had what seemed to be highly classified Ferrari documents in her possession Dominic Calli found the message from sori the following morning when going through his email Trudy Cogan then received the two copies of the two CDs a few days later she then destroyed the originals to get rid of the evidence on Mike's instructions but little did she know the time bomb had already begun its countdown this event becomes even more intriguing when we find out that Nigel Stepney had been suspended by Ferrari a month ago on suspicion that he had tried to sabotage one of the Formula 1 cars at the factory and also in the last couple of weeks we had the news that the Italian police are investigating the senior Race Engineering Ferrari Nigel sty am made all kinds of allegations and rumors about sabotage and Espionage as well stepanie of course strongly denied the allegations those allegations however would stay in his shadow all his life battles broke out in the Italian and British courts as well as inside the domain of F1 Authority is the situation severeness grew it was decided that Mike Cogan had behaved independently the stolen data though had certainly reached other members of the McLaren team but doubts continued and were eventually cleared up at a later hearing the repercussions were harsh a whopping $100 million in fines and disqualification from the constructor's championship were handed down for the unlawful acquisition of knowledge that was believed to provide an unfair competitive Advantage a 30-year history of mutual disdain had fueled Mosley's desire to deliver a blow so severe that it could potentially expel Dennis from the world of Motorsport it would be the second hearing however that brought the drivers into sharp focus and what followed was something straight out of a soap opera Fernando Alonzo had joined McLaren with the expectation of being their number one driver and a title Contender a status he had been promised by team boss Ron Dennis in the backdrop of this Lewis Hamilton in his debut season had emerged as a sensation with a stellar start to his F1 career his remarkable pace and competitiveness upset the delicate equilibrium within the team well known to be promising Hamilton's unexpected press had become a problem for the team he wasn't supposed to use up the dominance of Fernando Alonso understandably the spaniard's competitive Spirits caught fire and part of his Siege mentality was fueled by the belief that a British driver in a British team led by a British boss would potentially relegate him to a secondary role The Monaco Grand Prix added fuel to the fire when Dennis mishandled the aftermath of a one-w finish with alono leading throughout you know when you're taking these decisions you have to think for the team Hamilton felt he had been denied the opportunity to challenge Alonso the Hungarian Grand later that summer brought a darker turn to an already 10 season from McLaren during qualifying Lewis renaged on an agreement to let Fernando pass and ruined his chances at Pole Position Alonzo really didn't like that in a swift response Alonzo took matters into his own hands and so one of formula 1's most shocking moments was borne but he's definitely putting the harder tires on there's Le Hamilton queuing up behind him and they have they raised the lollipop to let Alonso out yep they want him out of there now is not getting on with it only a minute 40 to go he's is he blocking Hamilton here is that a bit of a tactic within the team there to give Hamilton a bit of a headache I think it might well be that's really really I don't know if he has you know D I think he deliberately did that Ron Dennis was Furious and Alonso was handed a five Place grid penalty on race day August 5th things had boiled over so much that Fernando Alonzo had confronted run Dennis in the confines of his motor home rumor had it that Alonzo threw down the gauntlet and threatened to unleash a trove incriminating email exchanges involving McLaren's test driver Pedro dear Rosa and the controversial cogin to the FIA Max Mosley later accounted how Dennis initially downplayed the threat assuring him there was no substance to it well I go back to the question if you say it's not credible then you must believe that from the very top that team was involved in deceit and cover up well I'm trying to be kind uh well I'm asking you to be honest well yes but the thing is that you don't actually know if somebody looks you in the eye that you've known for 40 years and says Max believe me I didn't know it's actually quite difficult to say well I think he's telling a lie but Dennis had underestimated this situation and he had underestimated his star driver alonso's threats were not Hollow and the most expensive scandal in sporting history was on the brink of detonation on September 5th 2007 the FIA dropped a bombshell declaring that new evidence had emerged in the case instead of a routine appeal hearing the entire case was set to be reopened on September 13th as it turned out the Smoking Gun was indeed a collection of driver emails sent to Bernie eckl the commercial rights holder of F1 it seemed Alonzo had followed through on his earlier threats prompting the FIA to summon Alonso delar Rosa and Lewis Hamilton and the trio was promised immunity provided they were transparent it would be on September 13th when the pivotal hearing took place the team stakeholders waited in cold anticipation for the decision a decision that would come as a horrifying shock to those from the working outfit McLaren were disqualified from the 2007 constructor's championship and slapped with a record $100 million fine internally McLaren was in absolute shambles an unbeknown to the public Alonzo had already set plans in motion to join Ferrari for the 2008 season cutting short his tenor with McLaren the wheels were in motion and everything was going off the rails as for the driver's Championship thanks to lobbying from eklon and the corporation of the drivers Hamilton and alono retained their points keeping the title race alive meanwhile things were heating up in the McLaren garage as Hamilton was 12 points ahead of Alonzo going into the Chinese Grand Prix Hamilton started the weekend in poll but things got heated when he claimed the crew was trying to lower his tire pressure even though he started out in the lead when the rain hit Hamilton eventually fell behind due to strategic mistakes and damaged tires renan took advantage of the situation to win the race while alono finished in second position igniting a thrilling three-way fight in Brazil Hamilton was in first place with 107 points four ahead of alono and seven ahead of renan as the championship finale approached in Brazil fans enthusiasm was contagious and F1 ratings were skyrocketing even before the race began McLaren faced an unusual situation an FIA representative was specifically assigned to them to ensure equal treatment for both cars a response to alonso's previous claims of sabotage the race commenced with Hamilton dropping to Third off the line and then everything went curiously wrong as he lost all gears on lap eight but no he's slowing impossible despite a remarkable fight back and an incredible season Hamilton's Championship dreams had crumbled McLaren's strategic prowess couldn't Salvage the situation Kimmy reiken and would go on to claim victory with Fernando Alonzo only being able to finish third both McLaren had finished on equal points but Kimmy had overtaken them with one point point and clinched the driver's title for Ferrari the series of blunders by McLaren so uncharacteristic for the team left many puzzled the FIA dropped the investigation into McLaren's 2008 chassis in December the difficulty we have is that you're not going to find on the McLaren a part that was designed by Ferrari the best evidence perhaps that McLaren had sabotaged Hamilton's car was when he was asked in 2012 about the events of Spygate only for him to say I didn't know at the time but I do now it's not something I can talk about this certainly hinted towards a strategic game orchestrated by Dennis and McLaren manipulating the situation to ensure the FIA backed off the 2008 car investigation and before the dust could settle on the 2007 season and McLaren's controversy on December 11th 2007 McLaren accused Renault of possessing sensitive information about their 2007 car a hearing was scheduled for December and on December 6th 2007 Renault was found in breach of the sporting code but unlike McLaren they escaped penalties for reasons that were not completely explained separately an Italian Court would deal with the Fallout for Spygate core participation Nigel Stephanie the court sentenced stepanie to 1 year and 8 months in prison for sabotage industrial Espionage sporting fraud and attempted Serious injury Stephanie was also labeled Persona nrata by the FIA who warned teams not to hire him without first conducting extensive background checks Nigel stepy would also play no further part in the world of Formula 1 and he only continued to work in the world of Motorsports for a few more years before the tragic event that unfolded on May 2nd 2014 when he was hit by a lorry on the M20 Highway seemingly of his own will what could have possibly driven him to do this did the Fallout from Spygate follow him and Shadow His Thoughts at every turn or were there more Sinister reasons at play unfortunately the only man that could have answered those questions was Nigro stepy for the teams the ramifications ran deeper and lingered longer than anticipated Mercedes who were at the time McLaren's partner and engine supplier bore the brunt of the financial penalty a substantial $40 million the relationship between the two corporations deteriorated further when Ron Dennis took the daring task of building the mp412c McLaren's second Road car against Mercedes desires for McLaren 2009 was a challenging year that began with their least competitive Formula 1 car in years and ended with a disappointing season the champ I ship title slipped through their fingers ultimately secured by Brawn after Honda pulled out Russ Brawn took charge of the team and made sure it survived Mercedes dreamed of having their own team more visibility and total control as they considered doing it alone this strategy change needed mcclaren's consent due to the exclusive Alliance needless to say they got it thus began Mercedes reign of terror in 2014 the landscape changed for McLaren post 2010 they were no longer the sole focus of Mercedes despite being title contenders in 2010 and 2012 McLaren's competitive standing dwindled by 2013 by 2014 Mclaren found themselves trailing by 2 seconds and from 2015 the loss of Mercedes engines marked the start of an absolute circus act that was McLaren's partnership with Honda this stormy Road ended in 2017 when Ron Dennis the architect of McLaren's greatness was outed following a falling out with his longtime partner and former friend mansor OJ the company's comeback began under new leadership and since 2021 they've been a Mercedes engine client again despite winning a race in 2021 and breaking a 9-year dry spell McLaren is still far from the competitive dominating force it once was and that's all of that because of a series of events set in motion by one man who is no longer here to reveal why he kickstarted the biggest scandal in F1 history that being said if you're looking for a story that ended on a better note you should check out my first video on my new channel dfu Recaps where I will make short 5 to 6 Minute videos on legendary and current F1 races see you guys there

Channel: DailyFuelUp

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Keywords: DailyFuelUp, DFU, DFU Originals, Formula One, Formula 1, F1, Spygate, Stepneygate, Spygate F1, Nigel Stepney, F1 Scandal, Ferrari, Mclaren, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, F1 Controversy, F1 Conspiracy, F1 History, Ferrari Spygate, Spygate Scandal, F1 Spygate Documentary, Spygate Explained, Mclaren Spygate, Spygate Documentary

Id: o9FCP3DzDVk

Length: 17min 9sec (1029 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 10 2024