Mercedes does not accuse Ferrari of data theft
A week after the announcement of the lawsuit against one of its former engineers, Mercedes made it known that Ferrari was not concerned by this complaint.
As soon as this announcement was made public, Ferrari stated that it was not involved in this matter since Benjamin Hoyle was not headed for the Italian team. If the latter made such a declaration, it was highly probable that there was no written proof demonstrating such a recruitment.
But in Formula 1, nothing is simple. So it is entirely plausible that there is no written proof, but that does not rule out the possibility that there were discussions and an oral agreement was reached. It’s even possible to imagine that Benjamin Hoyle tried to obtain this information to increase his market value with a potential new employer.
Mercedes, in turn, announced that it was not targeting its competitor and that the investigation was focused solely on Benjamin Hoyle: « The investigation has not shown that information was transmitted to Ferrari, and no legal documents suggest inappropriate behavior by Ferrari. »
The case will not remain there, however, as the team will continue the procedure launched against one of its former key officials: « Mercedes will pursue this investigation until all confidential information is retrieved, which should take another two to four months. »
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
