‘Stepneygate’ sabotage scandal returns
September 5th 2007 11:41
Evidence against Stepney
The Modena magistrate Giuseppe Tibis confirmed that there is a case against the former Ferrari engineer, who is accused of being responsible for a mysterious white substance (thought to be detergent) found within Ferrari fuel tanks prior to the Monaco Grand Prix.
Initial analysis of the powder and a pair of Stepney's trousers provided a case against the former Ferrari chief designer, Tibis said.
"Certainly from sworn testimony the suspicion exists that it was Stepney who handled the powder that has polluted the petrol," Tibis told Italian media.
He later told The Guardian: "We have reasonable proof that Stepney was involved in this."
"We found powder in the fuel, while such a modest quantity was found on the trousers that I was concerned about destroying evidence and am asking for a further study to be undertaken by a judge."
"I will also ask the judge to assess the effect of the powder on the car engine and the car if it had driven," said Tibis.
A hearing into the matter of Stepney's clothes and the powder is scheduled later this month, after which a legal trial may take place.
Stepney's legal representative Sonia Bartolini said two experts would attend the hearing to prove his innocence.
"Nigel believes he is the victim of a plot," said Bartolini, who also claimed that a suspicious vehicle tailed her client and that he had recorded the number plates.
McLaren may have escaped Stepneygate relatively unscathed, but the man himself is still in very hot water.
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