Mercedes has filed a lawsuit against a Ferrari-bound employee for copying confidential data and documents before moving to the Italian team.
Bloomberg is reporting Benjamin Hoyle, who has been Performance Application Team Leader at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) since May 2012, informed the engine team earlier this year he intends to join Ferrari after the conclusion of his contract in December. Mercedes' suit alleges Hoyle searched for and saved files including "a race report for the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix and mileage and damage data relating to engines and files containing code required to decrypt raw race data files."
After being informed of his decision to leave the team in May the world champions had reassigned Hoyle's roles in an attempt to limit his exposure to sensitive data. However, Hoyle was still found to be attempting to access confidential information and later deleted files in attempt to conceal his wrongdoing, the team alleges.
Though Mercedes' lawsuit does not accuse Ferrari of any wrongdoing it does stress the fact Hoyle's actions could have given the Italian team an advantage.
"Mr Hoyle's actions were calculated to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust. Mr. Hoyle and potentially Ferrari have gained an unlawful advantage."
Mercedes is seeking the return of all documents and information, payment of its legal fees, and wants to block Hoyle from joining Ferrari or any other F1 team until after the 2016 season.
"A legal action is underway involving Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd and an employee who is due to leave the company at the end the year," a Mercedes statement said. "The company has taken the appropriate legal steps to protect its intellectual property. We ask for your understanding that we do not wish to comment further on this matter."