Alonso

Although offered protection from punishment by the FIA, Fernando Alonso may not be immune from repercussions by McLaren Mercedes as the Formula One spying scandal took another sensational twist Friday.

Allegations emerged that Alonso had threatened to tell the FIA about the team’s possession of Ferrari secrets unless he was confirmed as their No 1 driver. The Spanish double world champion’s future with McLaren is in serious jeopardy.

It was revealed that Ron Dennis, the team prinicipal, and Alonso had a big row on the day of the Hungarian Grand Prix in early August, when Alonso argued that he should be treated as the lead driver ahead of Lewis Hamilton or be allowed to leave the team at the end of this season.

At some point in the exchange, Alonso is alleged to have told Dennis that he was prepared to reveal to the FIA, the sport’s governing body, that he had e-mails on his computer that showed that McLaren had been contaminated by secret technical information stolen from Ferrari.

Dennis decided, more or less on the spot, to inform the FIA, stealing Alonso’s thunder. Ironically, it was that which prompted the FIA to reopen its investigation into McLaren’s possession of Ferrari secrets.

This culminated on Thursday in a judgment in Paris by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), which fined McLaren a record £50 million for cheating and threw them out of this season’s constructors’ championship.

There was no official confirmation by McLaren sources of the exchange between Dennis and Alonso, who is under contract to McLaren until at least the end of next year on an annual salary believed to be about £15 million.

However, it was widely known about Friday in the paddock in Spa. Dennis chose not to refer to the conversation explicitly in a statement that he issued last night. Nor did he comment on the intense speculation about Alonso’s future.

THE TIMES, LONDON