Prost insists McLaren not spies

(GMM) Alain Prost has thrown his support behind his former employer McLaren, as the espionage scandal continues to tarnish the name of the British team.

With the Ferrari saga and record $100 million saga now in the annals of 2007 history, quadruple world champion Prost spoke out about the situation as it continued to drag on last week with the raids on top McLaren chiefs including Ron Dennis.

"I was in grand prix (racing) for twenty years and I saw engineers, or even journalists sometimes, trying to get information about the (rivals') car.

"But a bit here and there doesn't help," he told the Daily Mail, also describing the FIA's response to McLaren's offences as not "decent".

Frenchman Prost, who raced seven seasons at McLaren in the 80s, and also ran a team between 1997-2001, said the improper exchange of information between teams recently has been over-stated.

"The car is a complete package. You take one part from a Ferrari into a McLaren and it is a disaster. So I cannot support the ($100m) fine for McLaren," he said as he raced in Paris in the Andros ice-racing series.

"There were a lot of teams I saw very much on the limit, but not McLaren," Prost added.