Well, I guess it's all in how you see it. The adjourned court hearing for today has now been cancelled, Mike Coughlan having agreed to provide the sworn affidavit that Ferrari wanted. But whether that means the British side of the affair has fizzled out or not depends on which report you read.
Ron Dennis, McLaren boss
Autosport seems to think that the worst is over and Ferrari will now concentrate on the Stepney case in Italy; Pitpass is not so hopeful and warns that the case could still be pursued in the High Court in England. But it is certain that the content of the affidavit will never be made public.
The likelihood is, therefore, that we will have to be content with vague descriptions and speculation as to the actual content of the Ferrari documents. The High Court seems to have been satisfied that they were important enough for the case to be investigated and we must presume that it is correct. Whether McLaren could have benefited from Coughlan's possession of the documents is a moot point, however.
It does look as if Ferrari are most concerned about Stepney; much of the action in England has been about finding evidence to connect their former employee with the documents, rather than going after Coughlan. No doubt we will see how that pans out in due course.
So far the Brits are losing this one hands down. Ron Dennis was of the opinion that McLaren would be cleared of all blame in the near future but it doesn't look as if that is going to be possible. As long as some details remain secret, there remains a suspicion, in some minds at least, that knowledge gained from the documents found its way into the McLaren cars.
Mike Coughlan is most probably out of a job, too; I don't see how McLaren can take him back now. And that means they lose their chief designer, surely a bit of a blow in mid-season. In Italy, Nigel Stepney has been effectively put on ice; as long as the case continues, he is unlikely to be employed by another team and must be careful what he says in public. Bearing in mind the speed (or lack of it) of the Italian legal system, that situation could continue for a long time yet.
It all adds up to a general loss of heat from the strange affair. In the coming months less and less will be heard of it and, when a final verdict is given, no doubt it will hardly be noticed. Life goes on and there are races to be won and lost; who will care in a year's time whether there is any substance (or even a white powder) in something that happened so long ago?
Ron Dennis, McLaren boss
Autosport seems to think that the worst is over and Ferrari will now concentrate on the Stepney case in Italy; Pitpass is not so hopeful and warns that the case could still be pursued in the High Court in England. But it is certain that the content of the affidavit will never be made public.
The likelihood is, therefore, that we will have to be content with vague descriptions and speculation as to the actual content of the Ferrari documents. The High Court seems to have been satisfied that they were important enough for the case to be investigated and we must presume that it is correct. Whether McLaren could have benefited from Coughlan's possession of the documents is a moot point, however.
It does look as if Ferrari are most concerned about Stepney; much of the action in England has been about finding evidence to connect their former employee with the documents, rather than going after Coughlan. No doubt we will see how that pans out in due course.
So far the Brits are losing this one hands down. Ron Dennis was of the opinion that McLaren would be cleared of all blame in the near future but it doesn't look as if that is going to be possible. As long as some details remain secret, there remains a suspicion, in some minds at least, that knowledge gained from the documents found its way into the McLaren cars.
Mike Coughlan is most probably out of a job, too; I don't see how McLaren can take him back now. And that means they lose their chief designer, surely a bit of a blow in mid-season. In Italy, Nigel Stepney has been effectively put on ice; as long as the case continues, he is unlikely to be employed by another team and must be careful what he says in public. Bearing in mind the speed (or lack of it) of the Italian legal system, that situation could continue for a long time yet.
It all adds up to a general loss of heat from the strange affair. In the coming months less and less will be heard of it and, when a final verdict is given, no doubt it will hardly be noticed. Life goes on and there are races to be won and lost; who will care in a year's time whether there is any substance (or even a white powder) in something that happened so long ago?