FIA president Max Mosley says he was “relieved” that the drivers’ world title went to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen last season following the ‘Spygate’ controversy.

McLaren was found guilty of possessing confidential Ferrari information and although it was subsequently stripped of its 2007 constructors’ points and hit with a record fine, its two drivers were allowed to keep their individual tallies and continue their fight for the world crown.

Mosley admitted at the time he would have preferred both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to have also had their points wiped too to ensure no element of doubt remained as to whether or not they had gained an advantage over their Ferrari rivals.

And in an interview with the Guardian newspaper this weekend, Mosley says Formula 1 was “very lucky” that Raikkonen ended up as champion as it ensured the validity of the winner will not be debated in future.

"[I was] Relieved because, if it had been either of the two McLaren drivers, there would always have been a question mark,” he said.

“I'm not sure how big a question mark but it would have been there.

“And that puts you in an incredibly difficult position.

“I think we've been very lucky."

The FIA president also claimed that the controversy did little harm to the image of F1 and that the widely-reported saga actually helped to increase interest.

"People are interested in the human aspect and the whole human aspect of the Ferrari-McLaren thing fascinated a lot of people outside Formula 1,” he said.

“The publicity actually increases interest.

“So I don't think it does any harm to Formula 1 as long as the sponsors and so on feel the sport is honestly run and honestly governed."

Source: ITV F1

Date: Sunday, 23, December, 2007, 11:40