Bernie Ecclestone

Formula One powerbroker Bernie Ecclestone called a crisis meeting at his London headquarters Friday as more damaging details surrounding the sport’s latest spy controversy emerged.

Renault, who face charges potentially more pernicious than the £50 million fine and exclusion from the championship handed out to McLaren because of the extent of information and length of time it was held, suspended the former McLaren engineer at the centre of the controversy.

High-powered representatives from each team, apart from Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, whose cases are ongoing, were ordered to attend Friday’s talks.

Ecclestone is determined to establish the nature and full extent of espionage within F1 and cut out the cancer at source. It is believed teams will submit to root-and-branch internal investigations to flush out suspect practices. The hope is that any indiscretions can be dealt with internally to prevent further damaging revelations.

The boardrooms of motor manufacturers of the global standing of Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, not to mention those of blue chip institutions such as Vodafone, Royal Bank of Scotland and ING, do not want to read about scandal in the minutes. They have not invested in Formula One to be dragged directly or by association into grubby court cases over cheating.

Like it or not, F1 has entered the corporate age, the era of best practice, of transparent governance, of accountability. The days when engineers would sit around the beer and sandwiches discussing the design arrangements of other teams are long gone. It was once a matter of pride to produce detailed drawings from rival teams and copy them wholesale into your product. That does not wash any more.

Ecclestone is F1’s greatest strength, but also its Achilles heel. He runs his empire on a handshake. He is the classic entrepreneur: little is written down, his word is his bond, etc.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH