Mercedes 'spy' out in the cold after Ferrari fail to offer contract to engineer Ben Hoyle

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Benjamin Hoyle was expected to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari
The engineer is now subject of a High Court action over confidential data

Published: 17:41 EST, 9 December 2015 | Updated: 06:51 EST, 10 December 2015

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The alleged ‘spy’ at the centre of Formula One’s latest espionage scandal appears to have been left without a job after he was disowned by Ferrari, his supposed future employers.

Ben Hoyle, a leading engineer at Lewis Hamilton’s world championship winning Mercedes team, is facing allegations in the High Court that he saved data with a possible view to handing the information to rivals.

Hoyle was thought to be joining Ferrari when his Mercedes contract expired at the end of the month but Ferrari washed their hands of him on Wednesday.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were crowned F1 world champions for the second successive year in 2015

A spokesman told Sportsmail: ‘He never signed a contract with Ferrari. Therefore, he’s not going to join us at any time.’

Ferrari did admit there ‘were talks’ with Hoyle but said that ‘nothing led to a formal contract’.

Mercedes are wary of giving away the secrets of their dominant engine — the hybrid masterpiece that Hoyle was involved in developing at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd.

Mercedes allege that Hoyle saved confidential files ‘in actions calculated to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust’.