McLaren boss told of new spy evidence

By Alan Baldwin

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (Reuters) - McLaren boss Ron Dennis effectively turned whistleblower against his own team in a spying controversy that cost them the Formula One constructors' title, he revealed on Friday.

McLaren were stripped of their 2007 constructors' points and fined a record $100 million (50 million pounds) on Thursday after a hearing of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) World Motor Sport Council.

In a statement issued after the governing body had revealed details of e-mails between his Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando Alonso, Dennis was adamant McLaren had not used Ferrari intellectual property to gain any competitive advantage.

To reinforce the point, he added: "It's been recognised that McLaren has been open, co-operative and transparent throughout the entire process.

"I want to stress that once I became aware that new evidence might exist, which I did on the morning of the Hungarian Grand Prix (August 5), I immediately phoned the FIA to keep them informed," he said at the Belgian Grand Prix.

McLaren had escaped sanction at a hearing of the World Motor Sport Council in July which found that the team were in possession of unauthorised Ferrari information but could not prove they had benefited from it.

McLaren were warned at the time that if new evidence emerged, they could be kicked out of this and next year's championship.

The FIA announced on September 5 that it had new evidence -- without saying where it had come from -- and reconvened the council that imposed the heavy penalty on McLaren.