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The BBC is reporting today that the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team has dismissed its chief designer, Mike Coughlan.

Coughlan had been suspended by the F1 team since the allegations surfaced last year that the McLaren team had received a confidential technical report from its rival F1 constructor Ferrari.

Ferrari sacked its performance director Nigel Stepney for handing the report to Coughlan and McLaren was thrown out of the 2008 constructors' championship.

The BBC report says that Coughlan has now apologised to the FIA motorsports governing body and has been banned from the sport until July 2009.