This morning, just as the FIA hearing in Paris got underway, two newspapers, The Guardian and Corriere della Sera, quoted leaked London high court documents they have obtained as saying that Ferrari's lawyers claim that McLaren's lead in the F1 title race is "likely" down to the unfair advantage that the English team has through its access to the Italian team's confidential information.

McLaren and Ferrari are both in Paris today to address the 25-member FIA World Motorsports Council, with McLaren facing a charge "fraudulent conduct", that the F1 championship-leading team "had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Ferrari." All the major players were in Paris this morning with Jean Todt (Ferrari) who usually sits on the Council and Ron Dennis (McLaren) mobbed by cameramen and reporters as they arrived at the FIA's headquarters at 8 Place de la Concorde. Also in evidence were FIA President Max Mosley and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"The difference between the two teams is so close that it is likely that McLaren's superior number of points is a consequence of its chief designer having the Ferrari documents," The Guardian quoted Ferrari's lawyers as saying, this morning. The documents the newspapers had access to were were lodged with the high court in London last Friday and pertain to Ferrari's case against McLaren Chief Design Mike Coughlan who was found with confidential documents belonging to the team uncovered after a search of his house. The lawyers also contend that the stolen 780-pages of information in the hands of Couglan was seen by other executives within his team on at 'at least five occasions'. Names to be quoted by the lawyers include McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh and Engineering Director Paddy Lowe.

Ferrari's lawyers also reckon that there will be severe financial repercussions for the Maranello-based team if they lose the F1 World Championship as a result of McLaren having an unfair advantage. "Ferrari will suffer loss of at least 5.5 million euros" in payments under the agreement that governs the constructors' championship. But, in addition quotes The Guardian, they "may suffer loss in respect of damage to the Ferrari brand" - sponsorship and sales.
 

Ferrari apparently hasn't dropped its case in the London high court against Mike Coughlan and his wife Trudy, who is also named and accused of arranging to copy the documents, contrary to recent reports in the media. It was Trudy Coughlan's visit to a nearby photocopying shop to transfer the paper documentation into electronic format that saw the scandal erupt into the public domain after a sharp-witted shop assistance recognised the value of the paperwork. The case against the Coughlans is thus still on-going and the court is now awaiting their response.

The Guardian said the stolen documents contained a wealth of sensitive details of major use to a dishonest rival right down to quotes of "freight rates, which would enable a competitor to evaluate the amount of material shipped from Ferrari's headquarters in Italy to each grand prix". While it has been reported in recent weeks that former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney tipped off Coughlan in March about Ferrari's 'moving floor' design, which the McLaren-Mercedes team raised with the FIA during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the Ferrari lawyers - says The Guardian - also claim that Stepney tipped Coughlan off about new brakes and rear wing flap separator designs. McLaren continue to strenuously deny that any information stolen from Ferrari was incorporated on its F1 cars; and Ferrari's lawyers' don't respond to this point instead stressing: "The chief designer is part of the key group of three to four people who drive the technical team to improve the car. The opportunity for a chief designer to influence the car's performance in all areas is huge."

Meanwhile Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo was quoted in this morning's La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying: "My body is in Maranello but my thoughts are in Paris. We absolutely must expose disloyal behaviour in Formula One."