It seems as if things have heated up once again in regard to the spy scandal in Formula one that originally came to light in July with the sports governing body, the FIA, announcing that they have received new evidence in the case and therefore, the appeal hearing set down for next week has been changed and the World Motor Sport Council has been reconvened for a hearing in Paris on September 13th instead.

When the case went before the World Council in July, the decision was that there was insufficient evidence that the information possessed by McLaren was used in such a way as to interfere improperly with the FIA Formula One World Championship, so therefore they opted not to impose a penalty. However, they stated at the time that if an advantage was discovered in the future then McLaren would face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship.

Therefore, with this new evidence in hand, representatives of the McLaren team have been invited to attend the hearing next week and the FIA President’s referral of the matter to the International Court of Appeal has been withdrawn.

“McLaren Racing has been made aware that new evidence has been presented to the FIA as part of their on-going investigation,” the Woking based squad said in a statement. “As a result we have been informed that the Court of Appeal Hearing scheduled for the 13th September in Paris will now comprise a meeting of the WMSC. McLaren will continue to co-operate fully with the FIA.”

At this stage it is unknown what this new evidence is, or where it has come from, but there is no doubt it will come to light in the very near future.