The mysterious history of the McLaren MP4-22

In 2007, Formula 1 entered a new era: Michael Schumacher and Han-Pablo Montoya left the Circus Maximus, which led to personnel changes in the top teams. So Fernando Alonso, who won two titles at Renault, signed a contract with West McLaren-Mercedes. And Kimi Raikkonen, the star of the Silver Arrows, moved to Ferrari.


In the off-season, another important event took place: in Formula 1, they decided to abandon the "tire wars". The Japanese company Bridgestone was chosen as the monopoly supplier. Largely because of the scandal that erupted at the 2005 US Grand Prix. Recall that Michelin, which created tires not strong enough for Indianapolis banking, inflicted serious reputational losses on the “Queen of Motorsport”.

Ferrari vs McLaren

Since McLaren had fallen out of contention for the title the previous season, little more was expected of the team than occasional race wins. However, the very first stages presented a surprise: it turned out that the new MP4-22 is not inferior in speed to the Ferrari F2007! In the course of the season, the scales leaned one way or the other, but in general, parity was observed between the fireballs.


Closer to the summer, the struggle between the two teams spread to the legal field. Ferrari has accused employee Nigel Stepney of sabotaging and leaking confidential information to McLaren design chief Mike Coughlan. It was nothing less than a 780-page document! Ferrari filed a lawsuit, but could not prove the use of data in the development of the MP4-22.

McLaren even said that they learned about this case from the newspapers: “No McLaren employee has ever received or possessed any Ferrari data, except for the person against whom they filed a lawsuit. The fact that Coughlin kept confidential Ferrari material at home was not known to any other member of the team until July 3rd."

The consequence is established

Obviously, McLaren was not afraid of an investigation, so they agreed to any FIA checks regarding the MP4-22. At the end of July, the World Motorsports Council (WMSC) issued a verdict: "the use of materials has not been established, which means that there was no violation of the rules by McLaren."

However, this did not cancel Article 151c, so the Italians, dissatisfied with the verdict, filed an appeal, hearings on which were scheduled for September. And then Ron Dennis went on the counteroffensive! The boss of the Silver Arrows stated that Stepney was acting from noble motives when passing the information to Coughlan. After all, according to the former chief mechanic of Ferrari, the Italians violated the technical regulations! Recall that in this case we were talking about the design of the bottom.

Like Senna and Prost

Most likely, the legal confrontation would end in nothing, and would soon be forgotten. If not for the fierce battle between Alonso and Hamilton! The young Briton was too fast, and it got on Fernando's nerves.


By the middle of the season, Alonso was convinced that McLaren was playing against him: Ron Dennis once again preferred the driver in the yellow helmet!

A Sound of Thunder

In Hungary, a black cat seemed to run between the pilots of the "silver arrows". First, Lewis prevented Fernando from passing the "bonus" lap, ahead of him at the exit from the pit lane. This violation of the agreement finally infuriated the Spaniard! At the decisive moment, Alonso stood in the pits for an extra 10 seconds, in turn not allowing Hamilton to catch the decisive attempt.

Pole went to Fernando, but not for long. The judges considered that the Spaniard should be punished for such defiant behavior, and “moved” him 5 places on the starting grid. This was the last straw that overflowed Alonso's patience.

Completely offended, he blackmails Dennis, demanding that Hamilton be left with a "dry tank" in the race. Otherwise, Alonso will turn over to the FIA ​​evidence that McLaren used confidential Ferrari information.


Ron Dennis makes what he thinks is a brilliant move. He calls Mosley and declares that there is no evidence, and cannot be! And that he would fire Alonso immediately. Mosley reassures McLaren's boss, claiming that he trusts him completely, and persuades him to leave Alonso alone. Ron agrees. Then he did not yet suspect that he had fallen into ingeniously placed nets!

The Federation strikes again

With the evidence in his hands, Max Mosley was going to disqualify McLaren for at least a couple of seasons. Such a severe punishment would be tantamount to the death of the team. As a result, the punishment was mitigated, as a result of which McLaren:

✅ Deprived of points scored in the Constructors Cup
✅ In case of victory, only pilots were allowed on the podium
✅ Fined $100 million
✅ Next year's car must be checked for "anti-plagiarism"
✅ Racers are not subject to disqualification

As a result, McLaren got off pretty lightly. After all, all this did not affect the fight for the championship title this season, and the development of the car for next year!

Operation "Chinese Box"

Before the Chinese Grand Prix in the individual standings, Hamilton was in the lead, ahead of Alonso and Raikkonen by 12 and 17 points, respectively. In qualifying, Lewis took pole, and Fernando burst into another accusation against McLaren. The Spaniard flatly refused to believe that he could lose more than half a second to his partner on the same machines!

From the start, the race was led by Hamilton, until the degradation of the rear tires allowed Raikkonen to first catch up, and then get ahead of Lewis. At that moment, it became obvious that the worn-out “inter” did not hold the track at all, and it was time to urgently “change shoes”. When the team decided that the tires were brought to the desired condition, Hamilton was called into the pits. But at the entrance to the pit lane, Lewis was unable to cope with the uncontrollable car and flew into the gravel!


And then there was Brazil: a lost start, and the subsequent strange technical failure. Having lost a quarter of a minute, the Briton rolls back to the tail of the peloton, but immediately begins to recoup. Hamilton's pace looks unbelievable and Lewis would have easily managed to finish fifth, which would have guaranteed victory in the World Championship. But McLaren decided to switch Lewis to the tactics of three pit stops, which led to the loss of another 28 seconds. As a result, Hamilton finished in 7th position, losing to Raikkonen in the race for the title by one point.

Very strange things

Here I would like to put an end to it, they say - there are two versions of what is happening: conspiracy theory and official. Choose whichever you like. For example, fans of conspiracy theories believe that in such a cunning way, the English team diverted attention from the next season's car.


After all, if McLaren had won the title, Ferrari would have been bombarding the FIA ​​all winter with requests for the originality of this or that decision of the Silver Arrows. The Italians would seek disqualification for the slightest provocation! Given the frankly hostile personal relationship between FIA President Mosley and McLaren boss Dennis, it's not hard to predict what will happen next. Allegedly, therefore, Ron played so that both the wolves were fed and the sheep remained intact. Good version! But there is something even more interesting.

invisible puppeteer

Looking more closely, you can see that something strange looms in the case. Or a really incredible coincidence that happened once every hundred years. Or you will have to consider McLaren's staff geniuses of tactics and strategy! Such people were obliged to win all the championships and races in which they went to the start.

Or maybe these events were orchestrated by a third force: always standing nearby, and being aware of what was happening. It had its own interest, which goes far beyond the showdown between the two teams. For example, the signing of the “Consent Agreement”, which ended on December 31, 2007. But this is the cornerstone of the financial world of Formula 1. And, as a rule, in such negotiations, Dennis was extremely uncompromising.

Deal King

Bernard Charles Ecclestone is a man without whose knowledge nothing happened in Formula 1. His influence on this process is as indisputable as the fact that the Sun rises in the east. Describing the events of the “spy scandal”, we deliberately did not mention that Bernie knew about the secret correspondence between McLaren employees. And long before Dennis complained to Mosley about blackmail!


It was Ecclestone, even before the resumption of the process, "in a friendly way" advised Dennis to surrender, and later defended Ron from Mosley's attacks. After all, Bernie was not interested in the destruction of McLaren, quite the contrary! It is clear that considerations of altruism are alien to the cold and prudent mind of a genius. It's just that Ecclestone needed an accommodating boss McLaren, who owed him the salvation of the team - no more, no less! And, as a bonus, the resulting hype and intense rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren increased the popularity of F1.

It is also worth considering that the September decision of the WMSC meant that the “spy scandal” would be put to an end in early December. That is - after the end of the championship! If McLaren "had reared up", hardly anyone could even for a second doubt the results of the scheduled meeting: two years of disqualification.


Of course, these are just unsubstantiated hypotheses: no one has ever admitted to anything like that. Even years later, Lewis Hamilton avoids answering, escaping with only hints: “Now I know what happened then. But I can't say anything." Mosley took the secret to the grave, and Dennis and Ecclestone are silent. The mystery of the lost title still remains unsolved.