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MILAN - Nigel Stepney, the former Ferrari employee accused of leaking information to Formula One motor racing rivals McLaren, said he was "surprised" by the actions of the Italian team and again denied any wrongdoing.
Ferrari have dismissed former technical manager Stepney and taken legal action in Italy against him and a McLaren employee "regarding the theft of technical information".
Italian news service ANSA said Stepney, a 47-year-old Briton, had rejected the accusations after arriving back in Italy following a break in the Philippines.
Police from Ferrari's home base in Maranello had also told Stepney he was being investigated for "various crimes", ANSA said, adding that two other people were also being probed.
McLaren, who have suspended a senior employee widely identified in the media as chief designer Mike Coughlan, have assured the Italian team that no information had been incorporated into their cars.
They have asked the sport's governing body FIA to inspect their vehicles to prove that is the case.
Italian media said Stepney's Italian home had again been searched today and that he had been in dialogue with lawyers.
McLaren are 25 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors' standings with British rookie Lewis Hamilton leading double world champion Fernando Alonso by 14 points before the British grand prix on Monday (NZT), the ninth round of the season.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said McLaren drivers Alonso and Hamilton will not lose championship points as a result of the 'spying' scandal.
- REUTERS
