Stepney says he didn't tip off McLaren

McLaren boss Ron Dennis on Wednesday said the Italian squad would likely be racing an illegal car had it not been for Stepney telling the British squad about the floor used by Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix.

"Were it not for Mr Stepney drawing this illegal device to the attention of McLaren ... there is every reason to suppose that Ferrari would have continued to race with an illegal car," Dennis wrote in a letter.

"It is in the interests of F1 that whistle-blowing is encouraged and not discouraged. If team members think that their identity will be revealed they will not whistle-blow."

But Stepney, against whom the Italian team have taken legal action for allegedly sending the information to McLaren's Mike Coughlan, said it was not him telling McLaren about the floor.

"It's not true that I revealed those irregularities," Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Stepney's lawyer Sonia Bartolini as saying on his behalf.

"You only needed to take a look at the car to realize what was wrong, it was obvious for people who work in F1. At McLaren they knew without the need for whistle blowing."