Friday 24 August at 11:21 : Bernie Ecclestone in Turkey said McLaren are not likely to be punished when the spy saga reconvenes next month.

The FIA's International Court of Appeal will hear the case on September 13, where Ferrari will press its argument about a McLaren employee's confessed possession of team secrets.

But F1 chief executive Ecclestone, a member of the World Motor Sport Council that recently found McLaren guilty but did not hand down a sanction, argues that the appeal is likely to produce a similar result.

"Unless something new comes up, there's not an awful lot one can do because you've got to catch the guy with the shooter in his hands, pulling the trigger," he is quoted as saying by The Sun.

76-year-old Ecclestone admitted, however, that a punishment is still possible.

"They can still be in trouble under the different sections in the rules where they should be in control of what goes on in the company.

"But the big thing is, people would have to show that they were involved in the theft and they were using the material -– that's where they would be in big trouble."