Ferrari still seething over spy affair

And the Frenchman downplayed the importance of next month's hearing at the International Court of Appeal, where Kimi Raikkonen's world championship title could be handed over the McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

The ICA has accepted an appeal from Hamilton's McLaren team against the decision of the Brazilian Grand Prix stewards not to penalise the BMW Sauber and Williams teams over fuel temperature irregularities.

Should the teams' drivers be disqualified, Hamilton - who finished the race in seventh place - could potentially gain enough points to overhaul Raikkonen in the standings.

Speaking of the upcoming appeal, Todt said today: "The final result of the drivers' championship is not really a final one, because there is an appeal, which will be judged on the 15th November in Paris. But what's important for us is the result on the track."

Todt was speaking at Mugello, where Ferrari have been celebrating the end of their racing season, in front of 30,000 enthusiastic fans.

And, answering questions from reporters, the team principal also referred to the spying case that clouded the Formula One season.

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney is under criminal investigation in Italy for passing on confidential technical data from the Maranello-based outfit to McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.

McLaren, who since suspended Coughlan, were excluded from the 2007 constructors' championship and fined $100 million US dollars for the affair by the sport's governing body last month.

And Todt admitted the affair has hindered his team over the season.

"We suffered and there were many unhappy moments," Todt said. "I wouldn't have expected this betrayal from one of ours, who for personal reasons wanted to help another team, and I didn't expect them (McLaren) to accept his help.

"But that is what happened. We cried and they cried worse."

Asked if he believes the affair reflected the action of an individual within McLaren or the entire team, Todt replied: "The truth lies in the middle between the two.

"It's a group of people who have accepted to receive information from someone. But you have the same level of information as we had, too.

"Ferrari never thought about any other measures (of winning) than on the race track. Just like Enzo Ferrari did 20 years ago, when he built a car for the Indycar racing series," Todt added.

"Those were different times. Still in the 90s in Formula One Ferrari was the only team building chassis and engine, all the other teams built chassis and used the same engine, the Cosworth, and there was no legal agreement between the teams in the championship either."

"This year was especially difficult. But the result is the result of the team working together. It's teamwork, and we had a good team."

Todt's comments come days after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo launched a scathing attack on the FIA's World Motor Sport Council for letting McLaren off the hook in the first instance.

In an interview with Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport, di Montezemolo said: "It was the season of venom; we've seen people lying, people improving the performance of their cars in an unsporting manner, we've seen our work distracted on to trying to find irrefutable proof of this unfair behaviour.

"We've gone through some bad and difficult times, but the worst was when there was the verdict from the FIA world council, an absurd verdict that acknowledged there was unfairness but this unfairness was not highlighted in the decision.

"In the end we've got a double satisfaction. What we had said was confirmed, the lie was unmasked."

Di Montezemolo, however, remained unhappy about the fact that the FIA elected to punish the team but not exclude the drivers as well.

"The verdict was unacceptable," he told the newspaper. "It created a precedent that allows the absurd principle whereby a jockey races with a doped horse and in the end he wins anyway.

"I had already thought about taking part next season with a 8,000cc engine. They would disqualify the team, but the driver would win anyway."