Ferrari boss hits back

Ferrari's head of performance development Nigel Stepney claims he is at the heart of "a dirty tricks campaign".

A criminal investigation has been launched against Stepney after the Maranello team filed a formal complaint against him earlier this week.

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The Modena district attorney is currently looking into the claims of Ferrari, although the team have refused to reveal the nature of their complaint.

Stepney, though, insists he has done nothing wrong as he said: "I have confidence I'll be cleared by the legal process that is now taking place."

Speaking to The Sunday Times, he added: "It is just part of a dirty tricks campaign and everything is in the hands of my lawyer, so we'll wait and see what happens."

Stepney, who is currently on holiday in the Philippines with his family, is puzzled as to claims by Ferrari and the Italian police that they have been unable to contact him.

Stepney said: "I'm on a planned holiday with Ash (his fiancee) and our baby.

"Why would anyone say I am not contactable? I booked the flights through the Ferrari travel office. They know where I am."

Despite the ongoing investigation, Stepney remains an employee of Ferrari, although has made no secret of the fact he is looking to leave the team.

The Briton joined the Scuderia from Benetton in 1992 as chief mechanic, and rose to the position of race and test technical manager during Ferrari's period of world championship domination between 2000 and 2004.

Stepney then moved to a factory-based role earlier this year after voicing his dissatisfaction over the direction of the team in the wake of Michael Schumacher's retirement and Ross Brawn's decision to stand down as technical director.