Brawn Frustrated by Cheating Allegations

Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn promised on Friday to hunt down paddock rumourmongers who suggested ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix that the Italian team are cheating.

Reports understood to have appeared in German newspaper Bild this week suggested the team had been modifying their tyres to improve performance by spraying them with a special softening chemical that offered added grip.

Brawn firmly denied the allegations and warned: "I don't know if there's any substance for us to take legal action but if we establish the individual who has been putting this about we would have a stern word with them at least.

"I don't know where these stories come from because Michelin say we are not doing it, we are saying we're not doing it - and we're the people who should know - and the FIA are saying we're not doing it.

"Why would we want to do it? We've a fantastic car with great tyres, the best driver, so we are not going to mess around with stuff like that. You could not do discreetly and we wouldn't do it anyway because it's illegal."

Brawn criticised the renowned Formula One rumour mill for creating stories that bring the sport into disrepute and said it was "frustrating" to hear yet more allegations directed at the World Champion team.

But he admitted that the fact the they have dominated their rivals and won the last five Constructors' World Championships and the last four Drivers' World Championships has not helped matters.

"If we had more exciting racing, then maybe the stories would go away," said Brawn. "But our success has been achieved with a group of people who have put a massive effort into getting there.

"People always want to look for an easy reason and sometimes cover their own backsides because they have to go back to their board of directors and explain why they are not winning races.

"It's an easy thing to say 'we're not winning because they are doing something they shouldn't be doing'. It's a very easy excuse to make. It is frustrating, but unfortunately that's the nature of Formula One."