Previous scandals that have rocked F1
In 2007, the F1 world was shaken in the wake of the now-infamous ‘Spygate’ saga.
It resulted in McLaren receiving an unprecedented and eye-watering $100million fine and being thrown out of the 2007 constructors’ championship.
The scandal followed Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney stealing nearly 800 pages of confidential technical information from the company and giving them to his friend Mike Coughlan, who was the Chief Designer at McLaren.
Stepney was exposed after asking his wife to copy the secret documents at a local photocopy shop, in Woking, and a worker informed Ferrari.
It cost both men their jobs and led to Ferrari taking legal action against Coughlan, who reached an agreement with the racing giant.
Following the uproar, an investigation from McLaren found none of the documents “had been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into our cars”.
However, when new evidence was produced, McClaren was disqualified from the championship and served the record-breaking fine.
That year, the battle between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton led to Kimi Raikkonen sweeping in and claiming the 2007 title.