Stepney could face court over Ferrari affair

Nigel Stepney could find himself in court by the end of the year if the current Italian investigation determines he has a case to answer.

Stepney has this week stepped out of the spotlight as the focus has been on McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who along with wife Trudy, faced a preliminary hearing at London’s High Court on Tuesday in relation to the theft of technical information.

Then the FIA yesterday announced they were summoning McLaren to an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council later this month where they will answer a charge of “unauthorised possession of documents…belonging to Ferrari.”

In the meantime, the investigation that revolves around Stepney, sacked last week as Ferrari’s head of performance development, is ongoing.

Stepney faces claims of sabotage, with a suspicious white powder discovered in, on or around the Ferrari cars prior to the Monaco Grand Prix.

Tests are being conducted on the powder, with Modena district attorney Giuseppe Tibis confirming: “On August 3 or 4 everything will be revealed: the substance, its concentration, its effects.”

If a conclusive link is found between Stepney and the powder, that will lead to a court date being set.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Tibis added: “If everything fits, as I think, we’ll be able to be ready by the end of the year at most.”