Ferrari denied on Friday that their cars were illegal in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and castigated Formula One rivals McLaren for making "serious and false" accusations against them.
McLaren in turn pointed the finger at the Italians, accusing them of "grossly misleading statements" in an increasinglyv itriolic public slanging match between the title contenders.
With the two teams locked in a spying controversy that shows no signs of abating, Ferrari responded to a letter sent by McLaren team boss Ron Dennis to the head of the Italian Automobile Club, Luigi Macaluso.
Dennis had written on Wednesday that Ferrari, who won in Melbourne with Kimi Raikkonen, had used a device on the floor of their cars that gave them "an illegal competitive advantage". He said McLaren sought a clarification from the governing body after being tipped off by now dismissed Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney, whom he described as a 'whistle blower" and whom Ferrari accuse of feeding information to their rivals. More stringent floor tests were then introduced.
"Ferrari wishes to state very strongly that its (McLaren's)letter contains accusations that are both serious and false," Ferrari said in a response issued ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"Contrary to the statement put forward by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Ferrari never illegally gained any advantage. The two F2007 cars used in the Australian Grand Prix were deemed by the Stewards to be in conformity with the technical regulations, before, during and at the end of the event. If there had been any illegalities, they would have been disqualified."
Ferrari said that the International Automobile Federation(FIA) had followed established procedures by issuing aclarification and demanding any necessary modifications.
"There are actually numerous examples of this in both the recent and distant past which have also involved other teams,"added the statement.
Ferrari have accused championship leaders McLaren of gainingan advantage from documents sent to their now-suspended chiefdesigner Mike Coughlan. The FIA's World Motor Sport Council decided last week to impose no penalty on McLaren despite establishing that they werein unauthorised possession of Ferrari data.
There has been a steady flow of letters between the sides since Tuesday, when the FIA published correspondence between Macaluso and FIA president Max Mosley and announced the first verdict would go to appeal.
In another letter published on the McLaren Web site Dennis disputed Macaluso's contention that Ferrari had insufficient opportunity to present their arguments prior to thefirst hearing.
He said Ferrari had submitted a 118 page written submission and also asked questions of witnesses.
"It is therefore not a case of an insufficient opportunity but just dissatisfaction with the outcome," said Dennis.
McLaren in turn pointed the finger at the Italians, accusing them of "grossly misleading statements" in an increasinglyv itriolic public slanging match between the title contenders.
With the two teams locked in a spying controversy that shows no signs of abating, Ferrari responded to a letter sent by McLaren team boss Ron Dennis to the head of the Italian Automobile Club, Luigi Macaluso.
Dennis had written on Wednesday that Ferrari, who won in Melbourne with Kimi Raikkonen, had used a device on the floor of their cars that gave them "an illegal competitive advantage". He said McLaren sought a clarification from the governing body after being tipped off by now dismissed Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney, whom he described as a 'whistle blower" and whom Ferrari accuse of feeding information to their rivals. More stringent floor tests were then introduced.
"Ferrari wishes to state very strongly that its (McLaren's)letter contains accusations that are both serious and false," Ferrari said in a response issued ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"Contrary to the statement put forward by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Ferrari never illegally gained any advantage. The two F2007 cars used in the Australian Grand Prix were deemed by the Stewards to be in conformity with the technical regulations, before, during and at the end of the event. If there had been any illegalities, they would have been disqualified."
Ferrari said that the International Automobile Federation(FIA) had followed established procedures by issuing aclarification and demanding any necessary modifications.
"There are actually numerous examples of this in both the recent and distant past which have also involved other teams,"added the statement.
Ferrari have accused championship leaders McLaren of gainingan advantage from documents sent to their now-suspended chiefdesigner Mike Coughlan. The FIA's World Motor Sport Council decided last week to impose no penalty on McLaren despite establishing that they werein unauthorised possession of Ferrari data.
There has been a steady flow of letters between the sides since Tuesday, when the FIA published correspondence between Macaluso and FIA president Max Mosley and announced the first verdict would go to appeal.
In another letter published on the McLaren Web site Dennis disputed Macaluso's contention that Ferrari had insufficient opportunity to present their arguments prior to thefirst hearing.
He said Ferrari had submitted a 118 page written submission and also asked questions of witnesses.
"It is therefore not a case of an insufficient opportunity but just dissatisfaction with the outcome," said Dennis.