SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — In the aftermath of the FIA World Motorsport Council’s “guilty” verdict on McLaren-Mercedes for possessing stolen Ferrari technical data, not to mention the $100 million fine imposed on the Anglo-German team, some extraordinary revelations have been made. 
Of these, the most startling to emerge is the identity of the whistle-blower who provided the evidence which ultimately convicted McLaren.
The man who phoned FIA President Max Mosley to inform him that two McLaren drivers and a senior McLaren engineer had been circulating technical secrets stolen from Ferrari was none other than McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis.
As Dennis explained to pressmen at Spa on Saturday, his own driver Fernando Alonso “suggested” to him on the morning of last month’s Hungarian GP that he possessed information — clearly obtained illegally from Ferrari — that would be of interest to the FIA.
Alonso, who has been unhappy about his status inside the team since the start of the season, indicated that he would keep the Ferrari data to himself if Dennis promised him favorable treatment in his bid to win the world championship for a third time.
Dennis appears to have assumed that unless he met the Spaniard’s demands, Alonso would inform the FIA that the team possessed, and was making use of, the Ferrari secrets.  Faced with the possibility that Alonso would carry out his threat and inform the FIA, Dennis — who until that moment was not aware of the Ferrari data being circulated inside McLaren’s own test team and drivers — realized that he had no choice but to incriminate himself.
The McLaren boss immediately called both Ferrari boss Jean Todt and Mosley to inform them of the situation.
Despite Dennis’s revelations, Mosley told journalists after last week’s hearing that he still did not trust the team chief’s word. The two men have a long history of mutual antipathy, and in the days after the FIA Council delivered its shattering verdict, Mosley publicly accused Dennis of deliberately withholding information.
Following the discreet intervention of Mercedes, a somewhat unconvincing attempt at reducing the tension was made in the Spa paddock on Sunday morning, when Dennis and Mosley made a staged appearance and shook hands for the cameras.  The forced smiles on their faces indicate that the exercise may not have been a complete success.
Meanwhile, despite Dennis’s claims that Alonso has apologized to him for actions which amounted to personal intimidation, the Spaniard’s future at McLaren remains uncertain.