Ferrari’s former head of performance management has admitted that the F2007, which won the constructors’ title, used an illegal floor during the opening race of the season.
Speaking to Racecar Engineering, Stepney gave details of the 2007 ‘spy-gate’ scandal of which he was at the centre of after he passed secret Ferrari data to McLaren’s Mick Coughlan.
Before that though, he admitted he knew the team were using what he thought was an illegal rear-wing and a moveable floor which is deemed illegal under the regulations.
He discussed both developments with his former colleague, Coughlan, during an informal chat ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
“I like to try to win on a fair basis but when I was there I disagreed with something that was going on within Ferrari,” he told the magazine.
“I thought it was not correct, and although I was wrong to discuss it [with a rival], winning until you get stopped was not the correct way. It went against the grain.”
Coughlin reported the revelation to his bosses at McLaren. Then team principal Ron Dennis sought clarification from the FIA on the matter.
The rear-wing was declared legal, but the floor wasn’t. However Dennis chose not to protest the result of the race – which Ferrari won.
In a latter seen by the magazine, Dennis wrote: “We chose not to protest the result of the Australian Grand Prix even though it seems clear that Ferrari had an illegal competitive advantage.”
Had McLaren protested, it’s likely Ferrari would have been disqualified, resulting in the loss of ten points for Kimi Raikkonen and handing the title to Fernando Alonso.
