Fernando Alonso could be the key witness in the 'spying' row being waged between McLaren and Ferrari.
e-mails between world champ and McLaren test driver under scrutiny
Fernando Alonso could be the key witness in the FIA's spy case against McLaren after reportedly revealing the team used Ferrari's set-up back in March.
The sport's governing body announced earlier this week that its World Motor Sport Council would convene again on Thursday to hear McLaren's part in the 'Stepneygate' affair, rather than the Court of Appeal sitting originally scheduled.
The FIA claimed they had received new evidence, and it now appears that it may have been handed to them by Alonso and McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.
According to
The Times, Alonso together with Pedro de la Rosa and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton were approached by the FIA asking them to disclose anything untoward in the spy scandal that they may have knowledge of.
E-mails
'In addition to appealing to them to co-operate with the FIA's investigation, it is thought to have promised them amnesty from punishment should any disclosures they make lead to sanctions against McLaren,' the newspaper reports.
'The Times understands that the FIA's inquiries and the subsequent responses concerned an e-mail exchange between de la Rosa and Alonso that allegedly included sensitive technical information garnered from Ferrari via Mike Coughlan, the McLaren chief designer who has been suspended.'
The information allegedly dates back to the start of the season in March, once again extending the timetable for the saga beyond the April date when Coughlan is known to have received an 780-page dossier of Ferrari's technical secrets.
Ferrari set-up
And, according to the
Daily Mail, the information relates to McLaren making use of Ferrari's set-up for their own cars.
'The precise details of the emails are unclear, but it appears that they relate to Ferrari's car set-up. That would mean McLaren could have gained a performance advantage in their own car - flying in the face of their previous denials,' it reports.
The latest twist in this saga could spell disaster for Alonso's McLaren career, which is already on the rocks following comments made by the Spaniard about being unhappy, not to mention the on-going struggle for supremacy with Hamilton.
However, the Mail claims the Spaniard is 'expected to claim that he had no choice but to comply with the FIA's invitation to respond, though why they thought to question him in the first place remains a moot point.'
If found guilty next Thursday of using confidential Ferrari information to gain a performance advantage, McLaren face the prospect of being thrown out of both this year's and the 2008 championship.
