MARANELLO, Italy (AP) _ Ferrari has fired a British technician
following an internal investigation into attempted sabotage before
the Monaco Grand Prix.
``All I can say is that Nigel Stepney is no longer our
employee,'' Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni said Tuesday.
The Italian Formula One team has also filed a criminal complaint
against Stepney, who was responsible for team performance.
Later Tuesday, McLaren said it had suspended a senior member of
its technical staff.
``The team has learnt that this individual had personally
received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee
at the end of April,'' McLaren said in a statement.
The English team said it had no involvement in the matter,
condemned the behaviour and said it would fully co-operate with any
investigation.
Ferrari said it had lodged a complaint against Stepney and a
technician from McLaren ``about theft of technical information.''
The complaint was filed with a court in Modena, near the team's
headquarters in Maranello, northern Italy.
A search of the technician's home turned up the information,
Ferrari said.
``Ferrari reserves the right to study all implications _ of
criminal, civil and possibly other nature _ according to applicable
laws,'' a statement said.
A mysterious powder reportedly was found on the gas tanks of
Felipe Massa's and Kimi Raikkonen's cars on May 21, six days before
the Monaco race.
The parts were replaced before the race and the powder was sent
to the police to be examined.
Massa finished third in the race and Raikkonen was eighth.
Stepney reportedly was disappointed that he was not promoted to
technical director when Ross Brawn left the team after last season.
Stepney criticized Ferrari in an interview last month with a British
newspaper and the team responded by not sending him to races
anymore.
Raikkonen and Massa finished first and second respectively in the
French Grand Prix on Sunday to cut McLaren-Mercedes' lead to 25
points in the team standings after eight of 17 races.
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are 1-2 in the
driver's standings, while Massa and Raikkonen are third and fourth.
