Nigel Stepney ( born Nigel Stepney ; November 14, 1958 - May 2, 2014 ) is an English Formula 1 engineer.
| Nigel Stepney | |
|---|---|
| English Nigel stepney | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
| Citizenship |  Great Britain |
| Occupation | Formula 1 Car Engineer |
| Awards and prizes | |
Biography
He first came to Formula 1 as a mechanic in the late 1980s, worked in the Benetton team. In 1996, together with Michael Schumacher and Ross Brown, he moved to Ferrari . Known for the fact that at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2000 he was shot down by Michael Schumacher. Stepney refueled when a mechanic with a sign accidentally gave the rider a signal to start. The car started, breaking Stepney's ankle.
Stepney was later promoted to chief mechanic and chief test engineer at Ferrari and has not been involved in racing since 2007.
In mid-2007, Stepney became involved in a scandal involving industrial espionage in favor of McLaren . Suspicious white powder was found in the tanks of Ferrari cars after the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. The management of Ferrari sued its employee, accusing him of sabotage , as well as transferring information to competitors. According to Ferrari, Stepney sent data about the machines of his team to McLaren employee and his friend Mike Cohlen. Stepney himself rejected these allegations. In 2010, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison and fined [1] .
He died in a traffic accident on May 2, 2014 [2] .
See also
- Cohlen, Mike
- Formula 1 espionage scandal