Todt: Ferrari would have been penalised

The sport's governing body on Thursday found McLaren guilty of being in possession of confidential documents belonging to Ferrari.

The FIA said, however, that there was insufficient evidence that they had gained any benefit from it and so decided not to penalise McLaren.

Todt believes that if the situation had been reversed, Ferrari would have been heavily penalised.

"I wonder what would have happened with the roles reversed," Todt told Corriere della Sera in an interview. "I wonder if they had found in the house of a Ferrari chief designer 780 secret papers, 780 classified documents of another team...

"There would have been cries of a scandal, an exemplary punishment would have been demanded. And it would have been granted, I have no doubt.

"There is not even a sign of logic in this verdict. Either they are guilty or they aren't. McLaren were found responsible of having violated the regulations of F1, of having behaved in a fraudulent manner, but they haven't been punished.

"That's not all: McLaren during the hearing admitted to have received secret material, and that the knowledge of this operation of espionage arrived at the top level, even to Ron Dennis, and there hasn't been any penalization. It's shameful.

"One thing is certain: we at Ferrari can calmly look at ourselves in the mirror. I think others, since yesterday, can't do the same thing," added the Frenchman.

Todt also said the leaked documents have given McLaren a "huge advantage" in this year's championship.

"From this verdict a strange situation comes up: it's like having played poker against a rival who knows your cards," he added. "The advantage is evident, it's huge, even. Well, it was pretended nothing happened.

"I've been in this world for about 40 years, I've seen all kinds of stuff so I don't get surprised by anything, but this state is really at the limit.

"On the job I always try to control the emotions and the feelings. I must be rigorous first of all with myself and then with my co-workers. Every professional action on our part must be carried out properly. This attitude translates into a precise condition: we must be competitive against our rival.

"We come from a disappointing Grand Prix in Germany, especially as far as technical reliability is concerned, so we must immediately get back on the right track."

The Frenchman added that Ferrari have not yet ruled out appealing the FIA's verdict.

"We'll evaluate what to do and then we'll decide," Todt said.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo added: "I just want to say to our fans, who are contacting Ferrari from all over the world and who are offended by the decision taken yesterday in Paris, that they can stay calm because this story doesn't end here."