FEBRUARY 29, 2008

McLaren upset again

McLaren Racing has issued a statement saying that it wishes to place on record "its extreme displeasure" with the wording of a statement that the Italian Police are reported to have made yesterday.

McLaren Racing has issued a statement saying that it wishes to place on record its extreme displeasure with the wording of a statement that the Italian Police are reported to have made yesterday. The team says that if the reports accurately reflect the police statement, the statement is grossly inaccurate and misleading. The reports in question claim that the searches produced material which clearly shows the responsibility of certain people at McLaren Racing.

"In fact, the Italian police have not yet even been given access to any of the material taken, nor have they even started to review that material," the McLaren statement said. "We would be extremely surprised if the review of the documentation reveals anything which has not already been disclosed as a result of the extensive investigations already carried out."

McLaren added that "due process needs to be respected and that the conduct of an investigation process should not be construed adversely or used for publicity purposes".

The team added that "it should be noted that none of the extensive searches or investigations completed to date have produced any evidence that the Ferrari documents which Mr Nigel Stepney handed over to Mr Michael Coughlan were ever passed to anyone else at McLaren Racing or used on the McLaren Formula 1 car".

The team says it will continue to co-operate with Surrey Police regarding any further searches and enquiries that they are required to undertake. The team thanked the Surrey Police for its "helpful and courteous manner" in the process.