FIA rejects any Ferrari favouritism

"The stewards have repeatedly demonstrated their independence throughout the season," said an FIA spokesman on Saturday.

He pointed to penalties meted out to Schumacher at Monaco, where he was sent to the back of the grid for impeding rivals in qualifying, and in the Hungarian Grand Prix practice for ignoring a red warning flag.

Schumacher's penalty at the Hungaroring left him 11th on the starting grid and followed a similar time penalty imposed on Renault's Fernando Alonso on Friday.

The Spaniard, 11 points clear of Schumacher with six races remaining after being 25 points ahead of the German in June, starts 15th.

"I am surprised by the decisions we have got in the last two or three races towards Renault and me, but hopefully it is finished by the next race and we can race with our car and drivers without any problem," Alonso said on Saturday.

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore had told Italian reporters in Hungary on Friday that he feared the championship was being manipulated.

"Things have started to happen that we don't understand," he said. "This happens when a team that is not winning races needs help. The races are being decided by the referee and not the players.

"There are people who are trying to give a false result to the championship," he added.

"There is a commitment by the FIA, with the help of some teams, to play against us."

Briatore's main grievance was the governing body's decision to ban the use of a 'mass damper' system on grounds that it constituted a moveable aerodynamic device and was therefore illegal.

The spring-mounted dampers, which improve performance by levelling out tyre vibrations and keeping grip levels consistent, have been used by Renault since late last year.

Renault challenged the ban at Hockenheim, with the race stewards ruling that they were legal, but the FIA then said it would appeal against its own officials.

That hearing is scheduled for the week before this month's Turkish Grand Prix.

In the meantime, because of the risk of eventual disqualification, Renault have taken the dampers off their cars and are not using them in Hungary.

"The devices have been in use at Renault since the last quarter of 2005 and we have raced with them at every race up to Germany," said Renault's engineering head Pat Symonds.

Renault have said they will attend the appeal hearing in Paris on August 22.

"Should the FIA win the appeal against the stewards' decision, I think we would have to consider our position of course," said Symonds.

"But we are so convinced that the decision will be upheld - the technical argument is so overwhelming - we haven't actually even thought of that process yet."