FIA hits back at Hill's claims

Hill told The Daily Telegraph this morning that he feared F1 could suffer if it was felt the FIA did not treat Renault in the same manner as McLaren over the spying matter.

The former world champion cited his concerns on the back of what he felt were inconsistencies in the governance of the sport in the past.

He said he did not understand why Ferrari were allowed to race with a questionable floor design at the Australian Grand Prix, or why Toyota were not punished over their involvement in a spying controversy several years ago.

"In this country we are quite sophisticated sport and political spectators," Hill said. "If things don't stack up, and continue to fly in the face of what we regard as being just and fair, then the danger is people will just walk away.

"It's a problem that has existed for a long time in this sport, not knowing whether to believe things or not."

Hill's comments have prompted a critical response from the FIA, however, which feels that Hill's criticisms are unfounded and not based on the truth.

An FIA spokesman told autosport.com: "The FIA would not normally respond to the comments attributed to Damon Hill but unfortunately they have appeared in various news reports as statements of fact.

"The FIA would not take issue with the expression of informed opinion but regrettably these latest comments are based on a fundamental misunderstanding not only of the facts but also the rules of F1."

Explaining what happened with the Ferrari floor, which Hill suggested had been 'illegal', the FIA spokesman said: "This device fully satisfied the tests which were in place up to and including the Australian Grand Prix. It was therefore completely legal at that event.

"On learning how the device functioned, the FIA concluded that although it complied with the letter of the rules, it was outside the spirit. Ferrari were therefore asked to modify it as were McLaren and Red Bull who were running similar devices.

"The Renault mass damper in 2006 was eliminated in the same way as were the 'wide' Michelin tyres in 2005. In the latter cases, the FIA was criticised for insisting on change rather than for failure to exclude cars."

And after Hill questioned why Toyota had not faced investigation over the fact that some of their employees had used Ferrari information, the spokesman explained: "Only if a dispute between teams involves something which affects a motor sport competition can, or should, the FIA become involved.

"It cannot and will not attempt to substitute itself for the ordinary courts or seek to supervise all aspects of teams' conduct. A moment's reflection will show why this has to be the case.

"The FIA has received no complaint and has no reason to believe that anything which took place between Ferrari and Toyota falls within its competence."