Spy saga would have cost Mclaren ECU contract

Mclaren has been excluded from the 2007 Constructors’ Championship, but in 2008 every car’s ECU will be provided by a sub-company from Woking, “McLaren Electronic Systems” in collaboration with Microsoft. Had the tender been awarded later than july 2006, after the espionnage affair had unveiled, it would have ruined McLaren’s bid to supply ECU’s from 2008 to 2010.

Serious opposition from other teams has been expressed. First of all, the functionality is very low, then, there’s the stained reputation following the greatest scandal in recent years.

Franz Tost, Toro Rosso manager: “If the contract had been awarded this year, McLaren would not have secured the tender.”

Flavio Briatore, Renault manager: “How an I to trust a company that is at the centre of a spying scandal?”

ECU is common practice in MotoGP for years.