Following the shock admission that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than previously thought, it would appear that some members of the British media, possibly mindful of their accreditation for 2008, are sticking the knife into team boss Ron Dennis, suggesting that he pay the ultimate price.

When the spy saga first broke, there were many who believed that the FIA's pursuit of McLaren was the latest instalment in a long running feud between Max Mosley and Dennis, the two having (figuratively) traded blows many times over the years.

When it was suggested that this might be the case, Mosley, in particular, was keen to say that this was not so, culminating in both men attending a photo opportunity that fooled nobody, not even for the briefest moment.

Consequently, it would be naive to believe that there were not several people within the FIA sporting wide grins this weekend, when Edward Gorman of The Times - unbelievably limiting himself to the use of Lewis Hamilton's name just four times in an article - claimed that Dennis should "pay (the) price after wreckage of McLaren season", while over at The Guardian, Maurice Hamilton predicts that Thursday's apology leaves Dennis with "nowhere to go". At the Place de la Concorde it must have seemed as though Christmas had come early.

However, Dennis, mindful of the fact that many will claim the buck stops with him, insists that Thursday's admission will not affect his future with the Woking team.

"I'm not going to quit," he told The News of the World, like The Times and Sunday Times - which the FIA is suing remember - part of Rupert Murdoch's publishing empire. "That is 100 per cent."

"I know there are people out there who want me to retire," he added, "but I'm not. I do not think it would be in the best interests of the team."