19/07/2007 08:30

Nurburgring - Ferrari have arrived in Germany for the European Grand Prix in a positive mood, while off the track, the legal proceedings relating to the Formula One spy drama rumble on.

Kimi Raikkonen has won the last two Grands Prix for the resurgent Italian team, his victory in England earlier this month following a similarly impressive performance in France.

Raikkonen has gained crucial momentum in the race for the drivers' world championship and while the Finn is still 18 points adrift of British rookie leader Lewis Hamilton, he is now only six behind Spaniard Fernando Alonso in second place.

The McLaren pair of Hamilton and Alonso looked set to run away with the championship after dominating the two North American races last month. Since then though Raikkonen and his Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa have stepped up their pace significantly.

To sustain his challenge this weekend Raikkonen will have to improve on his dismal record at the Nurburgring. In 2003 and 2004 he retired with engine problems, while a last lap suspension failure cost him victory in 2005.

But the Finn's recent record indicates that he is on top form and unsurprisingly he believes his bad luck in Germany is due to come to an end. "I have never had a perfect race at Nurburgring with my former team. It's time to succeed," he said.

"It was great to win two races in a row: the team and I needed that. But we must continue to work hard to stay ahead of our main rivals.

"Let's hope we can make a hat-trick: just like in Magny-Cours and in Silverstone."

Ferrari's recent comeback has blown the championship race wide open but with just eight races remaining Raikkonen knows he cannot afford to relinquish his current speed advantage.

"After the two races in North America people thought we had nothing more to give," he added. "But now, after two wins they celebrate us like kings.

"The second part of the championship has begun and you can see how the performance pendulum is easily swinging from one side to the other. Obviously I want it to stay on our side and that I continue to win: and at the end of the season we'll do the calculations."

Raikkonen's Silverstone win was somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of a sensational espionage controversy.

Former Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney is alleged to have leaked Ferrari technical secrets to McLaren through the British team's chief designer Mike Coughlan.

McLaren, and in particular team principal Ron Dennis, have strongly denied any wrongdoing and maintain that no Ferrari information was used in any aspect of developing their car.

However, Formula One's governing body has summoned McLaren to a special meeting on July 26 to answer charges that they have breached the International Sporting Code.

It has been speculated that McLaren, currently leading the constructor's championship, could be docked points and that Hamilton and Alonso could also face penalties.

But, Joaquin Verdegay, one of the 24 FIA stewards who will be present at the hearing, thinks such a scenario is unlikely.

"It's very hard to prove that McLaren used that information and that they used it knowing what they were doing," Verdegay told a newspaper in his native Spain.

"The more normal situation, and I hope that's what happens, would be that there's not even a reprimand for Ron Dennis' team because it's almost impossible to prove anything."

Ferrari meanwhile, have taken legal action against Stepney who is accused not only of leaking a 780 page dossier to McLaren but also of sabotage.

The Englishman has protested his innocence throughout the drama and now believes he is the victim of a conspiracy.

"I want to clear my position with Ferrari, I want to let everyone understand it's nothing to do with me," Stepney reportedly told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

"And I want to reveal some names of people inside Ferrari who had more interest than myself in doing what I'm unfairly accused of.

"I have nothing against the team and I could never have done such things. I repeat: it's a conspiracy."

There is sure to be more drama, both on and off the track, at the Nurburgring.