De la Rosa met the magistrate in Modena

Pedro de la Rosa, test driver for McLaren Mercedes, was questioned by an Italian magistrate on Tuesday as part of the espionage case between the British team and Ferrari that shook the F1 world during the 2007 season.

The Spaniard tried to avoid confrontation with the media at all costs when arriving at the offices of Giuseppe Tibis, magistrate for Ferrari, located in a district of Modena.

McLaren has been stripped of all its points in the constructors’ championship in recent weeks, after being found guilty of possessing information concerning Ferrari.

Emails about Ferrari, sent between De La Rosa and McLaren driver Fernando Alonso, were used as evidence during a FIA hearing. This led the head of the sport’s organization to impose a sanction on the British team.

Reminder: Alonso was questioned by Tibis as a witness on October 9.

Ferrari has begun the trial against former mechanic Nigel Stepney, who is suspected of having passed information to McLaren’s chief designer Mike Coughlan about the suspensions of the single-seaters.

However, Tibis has expanded its investigation into McLaren, and several employees were warned last month at the Italian Grand Prix that they were being closely watched.