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Spying Case Following Alonso In Belgium

The Associated Press

Published: September 15, 2007

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - World champion Fernando Alonso was fastest during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday. And yet, the Spaniard could not outpace controversy.

One day after his McLaren was fined $100 million and kicked out of the constructors' championship in the F1 spy scandal, the sport's governing body FIA published e-mails from Alonso that it said implicated him.

With stunning detail, FIA disclosed the extent of what McLaren's drivers knew about their rivals' cars, their setup and even their strategy.

In the biggest scandal to hit one of the world's most popular sports, FIA implicated McLaren's top driver and its test driver Pedro de la Rosa through a trail of e-mail exchanges.

'The e-mails show unequivocally that both Mr. Alonso and Mr. de la Rosa received confidential Ferrari information,' FIA said Friday in a 15-page explanation of the World Motor Sport Council's decision to fine McLaren a record $100 million and expel it from this year's constructors' championship.

'Both drivers knew that this information was confidential Ferrari information,' it said.

On the 4.325-mile circuit Friday, Alonso drove his McLaren in 1 minute 46.654 seconds. He held .111 edge over teammate and standings leader Lewis Hamilton, who has not been implicated in the McLaren scandal.

With Ferrari slowly fading, the question remains whether two-time champion Alonso or Hamilton will take the title over the last four races.

After winning the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, Alonso is on a roll. The Spaniard trails Hamilton by 92-89, compared to a 14-point gap after the French Grand Prix on July 11.

Raikkonen is in third place with 74 points and needs to repeat his 2005 win to stand a chance for the title.

The spy case broke in July when a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan, who was later suspended. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who allegedly supplied the documents, was fired.

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