The very first time I read about this disgusting affair I was pretty sure that McLaren was guilty.
If I had been in the same situation as Ron Dennis and I was innocent, I had reported Coughlan through the courts in the same way Ferrari has done with Stephney but, as far as I know, they did nothing but to fire him.
A quite soft punishment to a person who has severely compromised your hard earned reputation.

felix, Bilbao, Basque Country

My God Jim, are you suggesting that the Israeli goalkeeper supplied classified Ferrari documents to McLaren and then tipped off the authorities as retribution for Michael Owen's obstuction? That's a stunning development! Where will this all end?

C Heathcote, Tonbridge,

Over the years there has always been some amount of switch of information data around the teams, either through migration of team personnel or otherwise.

It goes on all the time and is part of the evolution of the sport and you can bet its happened many times even more seriously than this and please note Ferrari are not cleaner than clean in this respect. Nor are many others.

While I agree that this situation is very serious, I would have to say that if McLaren get kicked out of this years and next years championship then its over and out from me as a spectator of F1 as a sport that I have followed avidly since I was a kid and thats more than 30 years .

This sport will be over as a competition if McLaren are made scapegoats.

Bernie I hope you invite Max to watch QPR. It will be a better specatacle than watching F1 going forward, if a fine team like McLaren are out !

I dont condone what McLaren did (if they did it !) but I think people better get a reality check fast.

Joe Kennedy, Kilmallock, Ireland

The last time Mclaren or Mercedes won the championship was in 1998 ! This was also the first and only time for Mercedes since the championship began in 1958. And it turns out the current comeback coincides with the theft of the Ferrari design spec....
come on people! this is way beyond ridiculous now.....

Ferrari would do well to retire from Formula1. Having won from 1999 to 2004, the drastic rule changes at the end of 2004 were obviously designed to hinder Ferrari. Ferrari should perhaps have left back then already.... it would be insane now to put up with espionage and theft, knowing also full well what would have happened if the thieves had not been the anglo-german team...

Trevor, Bristol, England

The real problem in my view is the position of Mclaren under UK criminal Law. After all Mclaren was found guilty by the FIA of posessing Ferrari technical material which , in the UK, would make it liable to criminal prosection for the serious offence of " handling stolen goods"....the lack of action by the police in this matter is surprising, to say the least, but it would appear that there is a clear case to answer as Mclaren did'nt inform Ferrari or the police of the situation. Whether they used the material or not would not be a valid argument under these criminal proceedings and a credible defence is, from what we know at this stage, highly problematic. The silence of the specialised media on this issue is as surprising as that of the police.....perhaps the stakes are deemed to be so high that it becomes a matter of "national interest" ...similar to BAA....

Philippe Marcq, sherston, wilts

I strongly feel FIA at some level is weak and influenced by the high rollers like Ferrari. F 1 is heading for a show down that would affect motorsports. Every team has its own intern rules and security and if they are not clever enough to protect their own interest they should not pass the buck to other teams or the concerned parties. Ferraris frustration in winning should not destroy the essence of clean sports.Every one can see the influence and power Ferrari has in its own turf in Modena. I strongly urge FIA to leave the drivers out of this mess they are innocent sportsman obeying the team orders.They should not be grilled by the FIA.

Prakton Mal, Oslo, Norway

I find timing of this rather diabolical, given the race venue and team qualifying positions-who cannot help seeing this as a calculated disruption?
There's obviously been serious wrongdoing by Mclaren the extent of which we're yet to know but I see this as a deliberate attempt to influence today's race.

Why do the Italian Police get involved? Is it not FIA to take the required action?

Let the FIA do their job and drivers/teams theirs.

Don A, Manchester, UK

In a land where corruption, influence and the courts go hand in hand it is no surprise that Ferrari choose to use what will always be a biased weapon, the Italian legal system. Ferrari race motorcars like Italy play football, falling over and crying a lot when it doesnt go their way. The big looser will be Hamilton whose undoubted talent behind the wheel has rattled Ferrari this season. But in the final analysis of importance in world events this spat rates almost zero, after all it is only a glorified game.

mike gee, bournemouth, uk

As an F1 fan, not Ferrari or McLaren, i'm tired of this now. There are no winners. McLaren's championship is tarnished by association with Coughlan and Ferrari are appearing petulent, careless and vindictive.

There is also a serious matter to consider: There are hundreds, if not thousands, of hard working men and women who's livelihood depend on McLaren. The consequences of exclusion for McLaren are unthinkable on a human, let alone sporting level. Stop this team action now and focus on Stepney and Coughlan - everyone else involved has suffered enough, including the fans.

Martin, Manchester, United Kingdom

ask yourselves this:
where would be at this point in time if Ferrari had been the wrong-doers ?

Trevor, Bristol,

Can anyone tell me when the Italians were anything other than bad losers ? F1 fans want to see racing and Ferrari appear to want to win anyway they can . It stinks and will turn fans away from what is increasingly less of a sport year on year . Ferrari need to take a close look at themselves .

Ivan Jackson, Teruel, Spain

The only vendetta being waged against McLaren, are the wheels of justice which have caught up to them. Knowing the UK press, it is but a matter of time before they try to deflect attention from McLaren’s guilt to 101 conspiracy theories.

Dirk Short, Cape Town, South Africa

Is Max Mosely going to support the Italians and Ferrari demoralise the Brits in the same way his dad Oswald supported the fascists in Europe? This should make interesting reading!

Shaheen, Colombo, Sri Lanka

How can McClaren hold a 780 page dossier belonging to Ferraril? And why were they holding it? How on earth can this be legal?

Frank, Halifax, UK

Michael Owen obstructed the Israeli keeper when Richards
scored - the goal should not have stood - though no one in
England would agree - they will take anything to survive -
commentator John Motson said it was inconsequential -
he is right the goal and the result against Israel will be
since they are not likely to qualify anyway.

Jim Baxter, San Francisco, USA

This sounds like another big boys game which has got out of hand. Clearly Ferrari are windging to the Italian Police who feel they need to issue a few writs while the teams are at Monza. Good timing by Ferrari. While the rest of us want to see the drivers competing on the track some self centered executive is going to mess up FI because his nose has been put out of joint.

Chris, Eastbourne , UK

fernando will win the championship because he is the best

andres, pontevedra, spain