Alonso happy to uncover 2007 'spygate'

McLaren was excluded from that year's championship and fined $100 million after it was discovered the team was in possession of Ferrari technical data.

Alonso was driving for the British team at the time and he collaborated with the FIA in making the spy row public.

Speaking in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, the two-time champion said he was happy to help the governing body.

"With the spy history I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Alonso told the newspaper. "But I was very happy to help the FIA discover everything."

Alonso left McLaren before the end of his contract after a torrid season in which the Spaniard was very critical of the team's approach to the championship.

The two-time champion suggested he was not being treated equally to then rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver believes McLaren will have learned lessons from that year, and is hopeful world champion Jenson Button will have no problems this year, having joined Hamilton at the team.

"We'll see," Alonso said. "Obviously I don't know how McLaren is now but if he arrived in my time then, for sure, it would be very tough for him. But, hopefully, it's now better for Jenson because I learned a lot from that season and McLaren did as well."

He added: "At the time McLaren and Ferrari were fighting each other and it was very close. In the end I think we had the better car but we finished second and third. Unfortunately we did something wrong."