McLaren Mercedes moved yesterday to try to limit the damage caused by the alleged illegal acquisition by their technical director of design information from Ferrari, claiming that the material had not been used to improve their race cars.

The assertion by McLaren came as Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s ringmaster, quashed speculation that the “spying” scandal could lead to Lewis Hamilton, the Briton who leads the drivers’ championship, either having points deducted or being thrown out in his record-breaking rookie year. “I don’t see that,” Ecclestone told The Times.

After revelations that stunned Formula One on Tuesday about the alleged illegal transfer of Ferrari design secrets from Nigel Stepney, the disaffected former Ferrari mechanic, to Mike Coughlan, McLaren’s chief designer, the team based in Woking, Surrey, said that they had completed a thorough investigation into the matter.

McLaren said that they could confirm that “no Ferrari intellectual property has been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into its cars”.

The statement continued: “McLaren has, meanwhile, openly disclosed these matters to the FIA [the sport’s governing body] 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 that the team has not benefited from any intellectual property of another competitor.”

The claim by McLaren that no one apart from Coughlan was involved – which was greeted with scepticism by some paddock insiders – came as the FIA launched its own inquiry into the affair.

The FIA said that its remit would focus solely on the requirements of the International Sporting Code – which covers all motor sports – and Formula One regulations. The organisation has a range of possible penalties it can impose should McLaren be found to be in breach of either the code or the regulations, ranging from a reprimand or a fine to the team being thrown out of this year’s championship.

However, Ecclestone said that this was not likely. “Firstly, they [the FIA] have got to prove that if any information was given by Ferrari, it was used. And if it was used, did it affect in any way the performance of the car and, if so, where?” Ecclestone said.

“In that case they could take away constructors’ points from the team. But there is no way it would affect the driver. It is nothing to do with the driver – he’s got a car, he gets into the car; he has no idea.”

Ecclestone added that he had every confidence in the FIA’s ability to get to the bottom of the affair. “It will be dealt with in the correct manner,” he said. “What is important is that there are no mistakes made. If somebody is saying, ‘You did something wrong’, we need to make sure we know what we are talking about. We don’t want to go in there firing a gun with no bullets in the chamber.”

Ecclestone said that the full story at McLaren had still to come out. “We don’t know the McLaren side of things or the guy who allegedly took the drawings – is it him personally?” he said. “Or is McLaren involved? Ron [Dennis, the team principal] says it’s not McLaren – he’s completely transparent – and if it’s the guy himself, did he buy them? Did he know they were stolen when he received them? Because he is in just as big trouble as the person who stole them, isn’t he?”

The affair has done nothing, it seems, to drive a wedge between McLaren and Hamilton, the young driver even admitting that he wanted to see out his career there.

Speaking last night at an event hosted by Tag Heuer, his sponsor, Hamilton said: “It’s a privilege for me to be racing for McLaren. It’s a team I have always wanted to race for and, to be honest, I really want to see out my career with them. I have been there since I was 13 years old and to be a British driver in a British team is good for the fans over here.”

Hamilton is looking forward to this weekend and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and what he said would be the biggest race of the season for him as he makes his Formula One debut on home soil.

“It is going to be another new experience,” Hamilton said. “I expect the atmosphere will be incredible and I cannot wait to race in front of my home fans. To win at this race would be immense, but we have to be realistic with our expectations.”

Fernando Alonso, his teammate and main championship rival, who trails the British rookie by 14 points, said that Silverstone, where he won last year, has always been a special track for him. However, he has also admitted that, just as he had the best strategy to win his home race in Barcelona in May, he is expecting Hamilton to get the benefit of the same treatment by the team at Silverstone.

“We will be in England and we have a Spanish driver and an English driver and the Englishman is leading the championship. So if he wins, it will help the team,” Alonso said. “The team wanted me to win in Barcelona and they will want Hamilton to win at Silverstone.”