Formula One giants Ferrari said on Thursday they were outraged that rivals McLaren had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the spying row which has rocked the sport and vowed to keep fighting the case.
An extraordinary hearing of the International Automobile Federation's (FIA) 25-strong World Motor Sports Council ruled that there was no evidence the British team had benefited from the confidential Ferrari documents that were found in the possession of their chief designer.
"Ferrari notes that McLaren-Mercedes has been found guilty by the FIA World Council," said a statement from the Ferrari team referring to the fact that by being in possession of the files, McLaren were in breach of the sporting code.
PHOTO: EPA
"It therefore finds it incomprehensible that violating the fundamental principle of sporting honesty does not have, as a logical and inevitable consequence, the application of a sanction," the statement said.
It went on: "Today's decision legitimizes dishonest behavior in Formula One and sets a very bad precedent. Ferrari feels this is highly prejudicial to the credibility of the sport. It will continue with the legal action already underway within the Italian criminal justice system and in the civil courts in England."
A relieved McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said on leaving the hearing at the FIA headquarters at Place de la Concorde in Paris: "The punishment fits the crime."
If guilty McLaren, whose driver Lewis Hamilton leads the championship from teammate Fernando Alonso, had faced having points deducted.
"There is no doubt that the past 24 days have been challenging and the tremendous support we have received from our sponsor partners and the public has been much appreciated," Dennis later told McLaren's Web site.
"Moving forward, McLaren wants to re-affirm our long-standing commitment to honesty and integrity and restate that we believe we have acted correctly throughout," he said.
Hamilton was adamant the ruling was right.
"Whilst it's only my first season in Formula 1 with the team, I already know and appreciate the commitment and dedication of the people there," Hamilton said. "As a result I am pleased with today's decision and can't wait for the rest of the season."
In clearing McLaren, the FIA added a warning that if in the future McLaren were found to have used the information passed to Mike Coughlan, their suspended designer, by a disaffected Ferrari employee then they risked being kicked out of the 2007 and 2008 season.
An FIA statement said: "The WMSC was satisfied that McLaren was in possession of confidential Ferrari information and is therefore in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.
"However, there is insufficient evidence that this information was used in such a way to interfere improperly with the FIA F1 championship. We therefore impose no penalty."
The statement added: "But if it's found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship we reserve the right to invite McLaren back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship."
The FIA said it would be summoning the two men at the centre of the affair, Ferrari's Nigel Stepney and Coughlan, to their Paris HQ "to show reason why they should not be banned from international motorsport for a lengthy period."
The affair erupted after Coughlan was caught in possession of a 780-page Ferrari technical dossier following a search of his home by High Court-appointed officials.
Dennis had always strenuously denied that anyone at McLaren other than Coughlan had set eyes on the dossier.
Hamilton heads the drivers' standings on 70 points, two clear of world champion Alonso, with Ferrari duo Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in third and fourth with 59 and 52.
McLaren also top the constructor standings, with 138 points, 27 clear of Ferrari.
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