Renault face McLaren spy charge

By Andrew Benson

Renault are facing a fine or ban if found guilty of spying

Renault have been summoned before Formula One's governing body to answer a charge of possessing confidential McLaren technical information.

McLaren were fined $100m (£47.5m) and thrown out of the constructors' championship after being found guilty on a similar charge in September.

Renault are to appear before the FIA world motorsport council on 6 December.

The information included "the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car", an FIA statement said.

The FIA made the announcement on the day it emerged that its inspectors had visited McLaren as part of their investigation to ensure no Ferrari ideas would be on the 2008 McLaren car.

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An FIA statement said Renault were accused of "unauthorised possession" between September 2006 and October 2007 "of documents and confidential information belonging to McLaren".

That, it added, included "but [was] not limited to, the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars."

The charges levelled against Renault - the first hints of which emerged in September around the time of McLaren's punishment - are remarkably similar to those McLaren faced.

FIA president Max Mosley said at the time that the accusations against Renault revolved around an employee who had left McLaren to join Renault and taken the information with him.

A Renault spokesman told BBC Sport: "Ever since the matter was brought to our attention, we have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA and we will continue to do so."

A McLaren spokeswoman said the team would not be commenting on the matter.

Renault won the Formula One drivers' and constructors' titles in 2005 and 2006, but failed to win a race in 2007 following the departure of world champion Fernando Alonso to McLaren.

The Spaniard is now tipped for a return to the team where he enjoyed his greatest success, although Red Bull are also in the frame to sign him.