McLaren have categorically reassured Ferrari they have used none of the secrets leaked to one of their technical staff.

The scandal which has rocked Formula One exploded yesterday when McLaren suspended a senior technical engineer, understood to be chief designer Mike Coughlan.

That came hours after Ferrari formally dismissed their head of performance development Nigel Stepney.

Ferrari yesterday confirmed police in England had carried out a search of the McLaren engineer's home in Surrey where they found leaked technical documents.

The Maranello team have since taken legal action against Stepney and a member of the McLaren team in a court in Modena regarding the theft of technical information.

McLaren, fearful of the accusations likely to arise given their bitter fight with Ferrari in both the drivers' and constructors' championships this year, are adamant they have used none of the information to their advantage.

A McLaren team statement today read:"McLaren has completed a thorough investigation and can confirm no Ferrari intellectual property has been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into its cars.

"McLaren has, in the meanwhile, openly disclosed these matters to the FIA and Ferrari, and sought to satisfy any concerns that have arisen from this matter.

"In order to address some of the speculation, McLaren has invited the FIA to conduct a full review of its cars to satisfy itself the team has not benefited from any intellectual property of another competitor."

World motorsport's governing body, the FIA, have confirmed they are launching their own investigation into the matter that will bring added spice in the run up to Sunday's British Grand Prix.