mike coughlan

Former Williams F1 chief engineer Mike Coughlan has been appointed technical director for the Richard Childress Racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR team Michael Waltrip Racing is suing Williams Grand Prix Engineering and their newly-appointed chief engineer Mike Coughlan over accusations of breach of contract, say reports.

Rubens Barrichello admits that he will be sad to see Williams technical director Sam Michael depart the scene come season's end in F1 2011 - but acknowledges that change is most definitely needed at the struggling Grove-based outfit

There is trouble brewing behind-the-scenes at Williams, it would appear, with Adam Parr and Patrick Head disagreeing over the latter's retirement plans - and Sam Michael and Jon Tomlinson being labelled 'scapegoats'

Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan - the two men who came close to bringing Formula 1 to its knees with the well-publicised espionage row of 2007 - have been pronounced free to return to the top flight by FIA President Max Mosley.

The espionage scandal that rocked Formula 1 last year and saw McLaren-Mercedes disqualified from the constructors' world championship and fined a sporting record $100 million USD is far from over yet.

Former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney remains insistent he was not responsible for the spying scandal that rocked Formula 1 in 2007 and which ultimately saw McLaren-Mercedes fined a sporting record $100 million USD and thrown out of the constructors' world championship.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has personally invited the Surrey photocopy shop employee who helped uncover the McLaren 'Spygate' scandal to Italy to thank him.