Ferrari has moved to distance itself from the legal action being taken by Mercedes against Ben Hoyle, saying the engineer is not set to join the team.
Mercedes is suing Hoyle - who worked for Mercedes' engine department High Performance Powertrains - for taking confidential data and information which he should no longer have had access to. Mercedes also stated it understood Hoyle intended to move to Ferrari at the end of this year. In the court filings, Mercedes claims: "Mr Hoyle and potentially Ferrari have gained an unlawful advantage."
However, while Ferrari admits it did hold talks with Hoyle about potential employment, the team insists no contract is in place and says it will not be hiring the Mercedes engineer.
"Benjamin Hoyle has no contract with us, therefore he’s not going to Ferrari," Ferrari stated when contacted by F1i. "We feel that the whole matter concerns Mercedes and one of its (former) employees, there is no point commenting on ‘alleged advantages’ since it’s crystal clear that we are not, at any stage, going to hire him."
Hoyle's employment at Mercedes was due to end on 31 December 2015, having informed the team back in May 2014 he would be resigning at the end of his contract.
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