Ferrari wants bigger McLaren penalty

The Ferrari team he leads released on Thursday a statement expressing satisfaction with the $100m fine and constructors' championship exclusion.

But Todt told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, "Perhaps I would have preferred more. The evidence was clear."

Even Renault boss Flavio Briatore, however - thought to have been accused by McLaren in recent days of a separate spying offence - said the penalty was harsh.

"I think it is very tough. What else could they have given McLaren that was worse than that?" the Italian wondered.

The editorial in La Gazzetta reckoned that the penalty is about right.

"This is a fair remuneration for Maranello after the theft of its intellectual projects."

Tuttosport does not agree: "A farce," the Italian newspaper wrote. "This is another triumph for sporting unfairness.?

"The judgement at first appears Draconian, but on a sporting level it will have little effect. Ron Dennis must do without a title that only interests experts in the first place.

"The fine appears hard, but when you consider the shareholders of the Mercedes-powered team, including those in the Arab world, it is not so bad. In the end only the drivers' title counts, and Hamilton and Alonso are still fighting for that."

La Repubblica said the biggest damage is to McLaren's reputation, while the future of Dennis "seems bleak".

Corriere della Sera agreed, "McLaren's reputation is destroyed."