Three former members of the Toyota team have been charged following an investigation into claims that technology was stolen from Ferrari.

The three men are Gustav Brunner, the Japanese team's former chief designer, Rene Hilhorst, former head of aerodynamics, and, sensationally, Ove Andersson, former Toyota vice-chairman and team principal.

The charges have been confirmed by the public prosecution service in Cologne, where the Japanese F1 team is based. The three men have been charged with violating German competition law.

Toyota was quick to distance itself from the situation. A statement issued by the team, which launched its 2006 contender on Saturday, read:

"Toyota Motorsport would like to stress that the charges have not been brought against the company.

"Toyota Motorsport has not been formally notified of the matter and does not have full knowledge of the specific issues. For this reason, Toyota wishes to refrain from further comment, but remains confident that the situation will be resolved with a positive conclusion for those involved."

The prosecutors in Germany will now take their case before a judge who will decide if the case should go to court.

Pitpass' regulars will not be surprised by today's event, for Mike Lawrence has written a number of articles on the subject, many of them based on inside information. In particular, we recommend 'Spot The Join', written in November 2003.