Former Ferrari race and test team manager Nigel Stepney also offered classified team data to Formula One rivals Honda but the Japanese team turned him down, auto, motor und sport magazine reported on its website Friday, ACCORDING TO DPA. McLaren-Mercedes announced earlier this week that it had suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan in the wake of allegations from Ferrari that he had illegally received information from the Italian marque. According to the report, Stepney and Coughlan offered the Ferrari information to representatives from Honda, who turned it down. McLaren also appear to be relieved from blame as McLaren's technical director Jonathan Neale subsequently demanded Coughlan to destroy the files he received from Stepney. Ferrari announced last Tuesday that it had sacked Stepney following an internal investigation. Stepney, who has pleaded his innocence, faces a criminal investigation in Italy after Ferrari filed a formal complaint with the public prosecution office in Modena last month. Coughlan's house in Britain has since been searched on the basis of a warrant applied for by Ferrari. The search reportedly led to the discovery of Ferrari documents. McLaren head into this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone 25 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' standings and with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso occupying the top two places in the race for the drivers' title.
