FORMULA One is no stranger to industrial espionage, right from the sport's very beginning.

'I remember with great amusement locking another team's aerodynamicist into the back of our truck. He was measuring and photographing parts of our bodywork,' McLaren owner Ron Dennis recalled of one past incident.

'Many photographers are also commissioned to take detailed photographs of other people's cars - and we take detailed photographs of other people's cars.'

Agreeing, former champion Niki Lauda said of paddock espionage: 'You cannot stop it. As long as human beings are around, it will always be there.'

1913

A Peugeot was sent on a promotional tour of England in the care of driver Dario Resta, who was a friend of the boss of the rival Sunbeam team, Louis Coatalen. When they met for dinner at Coatalen's home, Sunbeam engineers stripped the Peugeot down, and measured and sketched every part. The following year, Sunbeam mounted a much stronger challenge, but were beaten by Mercedes.

1977

Several members of the Shadow F1 team, including designer Tony Southgate, broke away to establish the Arrows team. They built their first car in just 53 days and were sued because the Arrows FA1 was a direct copy of the Shadow DN9, which Southgate had designed before he left. Subsequently, Arrows scored some impressive results, until the High Court in London banned the car.

1979

Lotus had lost their lead in the technology race to Williams. At the Austrian Grand Prix, owner Colin Chapman instructed team manager Peter Collins to acquire information on the Williams FW07. Collins then measured the back of the Williams, which had been left unattended. He was later told to measure the front of the car too. He returned, but was caught by Williams' team designer Patrick Head, who threatened to punch him.

1998

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said that the brother-in-law of a rival team's chief aerodynamicist had been caught taking photographs inside the McLaren garage at the Australian GP. Dennis did not name the team and said the problem was not new.

1999

Before his death in 1999, Harvey Postlethwaite, Ferrari's technical director, confessed to friends that he had led a break-in at the Williams' team garage at Hockenheim in 1980. Then, he wanted to know more about the hugely successful FW07, so his engineers spent the whole night in the Williams garage.

2001

Renault-owned Benetton's technical director Jean-Jacques His said computer hackers had targeted the team's headquarters in Paris and taken data about the engine designs. He said they were probably trying to sell the secrets of Renault's designs to rival teams.

2002

Digital television pictures showed two McLaren employees taking pictures of the front of the Williams car after it had qualified for the Austrian GP.

2007

In April, two former Ferrari engineers, Angelo Santini and Mauro Iacconi, were sentenced by an Italian court to nine months and 16 months in jail respectively for stealing confidential engineering data from Ferrari and using it to design cars for rivals Toyota. Both men have appealed.

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