Q & A with Max Mosley

Max Mosley: Our job is to ensure that there is sporting equity between the teams, and that everything is fair and properly run. So to that end we have obviously instituted an inquiry into the whole thing and both teams are cooperating fully in giving us all the information we seek. When we have got that information we will decide what to do.

We are concerned solely with the sporting aspect, and only with the team - not with the individuals who are outside our control. They don't have licences, so it is Ferrari and McLaren we are concerned with.

Q. So you have to work out whether there has been a breach of the Sporting Regulations?

MM: What we focus on is whether there has been a breach of the International Sporting Code.

Q. Does this go behind just intellectual property in terms of the benefit a team may have had?

MM: It depends how you define intellectual property.

Q. Well, what about beyond just actual designed parts?

MM: It is not just designs, it is all other sorts of other information. For example if you knew precisely the procedure that a car went through at the start it would be useful, or the procedures people might have for saving fuel. There is endless information and things, and we simply don't know. We are looking into it now.

Apart from that, there is also the question of whether any of that information actually went into McLaren. And obviously whether it did or whether it didn't makes a big difference.

Q. So you can confirm that the investigation goes beyond the pure design aspects. You will look at every bit of information that there was?

MM: The thing is, if you know enough about a team, and you knew everything that a team did, this would undoubtedly be helpful in all sorts of ways. It is not really fair if one team has that information about another team. But we don't yet know what information there was, to what degree it was passed on. We are in the process of looking into that.

Q. Where you do believe collective responsibility starts and ends in terms of the actions of a rogue employee?

MM: Well, that is in the Formula One regulations. A team is responsible for its personnel.

Q. Is the FIA involved with the police in this investigation?

MM: The only police that I think are involved are in Italy. I don't believe there are any police involved in England. We are not concerned with any police or civil action that might be taking place at the moment. We are simply interested in whether or not there has been a breach of the Sporting Code.

Q. Bernie Ecclestone said that even if McLaren were found guilty, you would not punish the drivers. Do you agree with that?

MM: That is wrong. It is incorrect.

Q. So even the drivers could be punished?

MM: I don't want to speculate on what might happen, but it is only in the most absolute exceptional circumstances that a penalty for a team is different from a penalty for the driver.

Q. How serious are the FIA treating this matter?

MM: We are taking it very seriously because the credibility of Formula One and sporting fairness is at stake. I think it is important at the end that everybody knows what has happened, that if people turn out to be completely blameless that this is made clear, and that there has been a proper and credible investigation that makes that clear.

Q. What is the process that you will go through with the investigation?

MM: In all probability the matter will be dealt with by the (FIA) World Council, which will then decide in light of the information in front of it what, if anything, they should do.

Q. Is there a possibility to have two different verdicts, one from the sporting side of things and one on the civil side?

MM: Well, the legal thing is a completely different thing. As far as we are concerned it is just trying to make sure that the sport is run fairly. That one team does not have an unfair advantage over another team. That is all we are concerned with.

Anything to do with who took which documents where, and any civil or criminal aspects, that is completely separate. That concerns the individuals. We are only concerned with the team because the team are the only thing we have any authority on.

Q. Do you think your verdict on the matter will come quickly?

MM: I think with our inquiry, I would be very disappointed if we haven't got to the end of this from a sporting point of view within the next three weeks or so.

Q. Have you been involved in any discussions with Jean Todt, Ron Dennis and Nick Fry?

MM: I have had no conversations at all with Nick Fry because if he did or did not have a meeting with the engineers, then that is entirely between him and the engineers. There are no rules against meeting other people's engineers.

I have had conversations with Jean and Ron, and they have been along the lines of trying to gather the facts and understand what is happening. I must say that Ron has been completely open with me. He immediately rang me to tell me what is going on, and his conduct in that respect has been impeccable. And Jean the same.