The Scuderia Ferrari is not planning to let the matter go

Ferrari is ready to accept the FIA’s decision to cancel the February 14 hearing but has made it clear that it is maintaining its legal action.

On Thursday, McLaren, through Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s director, published a letter of apology to FIA president Max Mosley. The apologies concern not realizing the extent to which information from Ferrari had been introduced into the British team.

Moreover, the team suggested freezing the development of certain parts of their 2008 cars, on which the FIA had estimated that McLaren had been influenced by confidential Ferrari information.

The apologies and the proposal to freeze are sufficient for the FIA. The latter has asked the World Motor Sport Council to cancel the hearing scheduled for February, during which certain plans for the 2008 cars were to be examined.

In response to these events, Ferrari released a statement saying it will respect the FIA’s decision if the World Motor Sport Council approves the cancellation request. It also clarified that it doesn’t intend to end the ongoing legal action in Britain and Italy.

« Ferrari notes the apologies made by the McLaren Group following the investigations carried out by the FIA Technical Department presented before the World Motor Sport Council on December 7, » the statement said.

« The written and verbal statements made by senior McLaren officials during the Council meetings on July 26 and September 13 and of course through the media are therefore false. »

« Consequently, it is acknowledged that the confidential information that belonged to Ferrari was indeed disseminated within the British structure. This team also confirms the seriousness of the behavior of those who participated in the disclosure of this information in recent months. »

« In light of McLaren’s apologies and the assurances it has presented, Ferrari respects the FIA President’s proposal to cancel the World Motor Sport Council hearing scheduled for February 14. However, it is confirmed that the legal action undertaken in Italy and Great Britain remains ongoing. »