KEY POINTS:
Australian ex-Formula One team owner Paul Stoddart has accused the International Automobile Federation of damaging the sport after it fined McLaren-Mercedes US$100 million ($142.30 million) over the "spygate" drama.
Stoddart accused FIA boss Max Mosley of pursing a personal grudge against fellow Englishman and McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, and of embarking on a personal quest for power.
McLaren has been hit with the massive fine and excluded from the Formula One constructors' championship following a second inquiry into the industrial espionage incident.
Drivers Lewis Hamilton, who leads the championship, and second-placed teammate Fernando Alonso, have been allowed to continue their title bids.
The FIA acted after it found McLaren had possessed sensitive data from rivals Ferrari, allegedly handed over by a high-ranking Ferrari team manager, who has since been sacked.
Stoddart, who took on the FIA at the 2005 Australian grand prix in Melbourne and won, is now a successful Champ Car team owner in the United States.
He claimed the Formula One governing body was heavily biased towards Ferrari.
"What does FIA stand for? It stands for Ferrari International Assistance and that's been proven time and time again to be the case," Stoddart said.
He pointed to the US$100 million paid to Ferrari at a time the manufacturers were threatening to walk away and start a rebel series.
"The FIA has consistently helped Ferrari all the way down the line. The only difference is that lately it's been so blatant even a blind man can see it. And the reality is that it's damaging the sport," he said.
"People are frustrated by what they see as manipulation of the sport.
"Last year when Renault and Alonso won the championships and Mosley's interference came to nought, people were satisfied.
"Had [Michael] Schumacher and Ferrari won, people would have said that the whole thing was a farce."
Stoddart is an unlikely ally for Dennis, with whom he has had several disputes, but the Australian said that this time he was being "badly treated".
"There's probably only one person in the sport hated more by Mosley than me and that's Ron [Dennis]. Max is a power junkie, I have no doubt about that," said Stoddart, who believes Mosley is on the brink of ruining Formula One.
"What he has done so far, in my opinion, has not yet affected the pureness of the sport.
"It's come close ... but this year he's sailing close to the wind."
McLaren said they have been harshly treated.
"We shouldn't have been punished in this way," said chief executive Martin Whitmarsh. Dennis said: "The most important thing is that we will be going motor racing this weekend, the rest of the season and every season."
"This means that our drivers can continue to compete for the World Championship.
"However, having been at the hearing today I do not accept that we deserved to be penalised in this way.
"Today's evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated that we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage."
- AAP, Reuters
