Flavio Briatore has threatened to sue McLaren after the FIA’s World Council investigates espionage allegations in a Monaco hearing on Thursday.
“A lot of very bad things have been said about us by McLaren in the last few weeks; very damaging,” the Renault boss is quoted as saying by the Daily Express.
“We will be cleared and once the verdict is announced we will consider legal action. Our reputation has been defamed,” he added.
The Italian’s warning followed what other British media described as an “embarrassing” retreat by Ron Dennis’ Woking based team, which earlier in 2007 was heavily penalised by F1’s governing body for a similar spying saga.
The Daily Mail said the McLaren statement issued to the press on Wednesday amount to an admission of having “falsified information” in what had originally been an anonymous leak to the press.
“The FIA has asked us to correct certain factual errors contained in a press briefing given on our behalf by one journalist concerning Renault F1 and we are pleased to do so,” the team said.
The statement described how McLaren’s case against Renault had been exaggerated, such as the fact that only 9 – not 18 – Renault employees have admitting to viewing and discussing the stolen McLaren secrets.
