With the spy saga of 2007 still fresh in our minds, 2008 looks as though it could be equally fraught, certainly during the opening rounds, with Jean Todt claiming that the new rule, whereby all teams will use a Standard Electronic Control Unit produced by McLaren Electronic Systems, a subsidiary of the McLaren team, will give the Woking team an advantage this year.

"We would have preferred that the unit for all teams was built by another company," he told reporters at Fiorano, as the team began its 2008 preparation in earnest. "However, we must accept the fact that McLaren, along with Microsoft, put forward the most economic proposal.

"It is clear it is a situation to monitor," he added. "But it is obvious that, at least at the start, McLaren will have an advantage in the championship."

The 2007 championship was overshadowed by a spy saga which ultimately saw McLaren issue a shock apology, admitting that illegal Ferrari information was "more widely disseminated" within the Woking team than was previously communicated.

Though Ferrari is continuing with its (criminal) investigations in Britain and Italy, McLaren's admission was enough for the FIA to decide to draw a line under the matter in mid-December. Prior to this, the Woking team, having been excluded from the 2007 Constructors' Championship, faced the possibility of further punishment when the World Motor sport council was scheduled to meet in February as it continues its investigation in to whether Ferrari IP had been incorporated into the MP4-23.