Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone insists there is 'no way' Lewis Hamilton will be docked points in the Ferrari-McLaren spy row.
There have been fears Britain's rookie sensation, who leads the drivers' standings by a massive 14 points, could find himself penalised in the wake of the scandal which has rocked the sport in recent weeks.
Motor racing's governing body, the FIA, are due to launch an investigation into allegations Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney leaked design secrets to McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.
But Ecclestone stressed that while the teams, if found to have breached the rules, could lose points in the constructors championship, 22-year-old Hamilton's tally will be unaffected.
He said in the London Times: 'Firstly, they [the FIA] have got to prove that if any information was given by Ferrari, it was used. And if it was used, did it affect in any way the performance of the car and, if so, where?
'In that case, they could take away constructors' points from the team. But there is no way it would affect the driver. It is nothing to do with the driver - he's got a car, he gets into the car; he has no idea.'
Ecclestone has every confidence in the FIA's ability to get to the bottom of the affair.
'It will be dealt with in the correct manner,' he said.
'What is important is that there are no mistakes made. If somebody is saying 'you did something wrong', we need to make sure we know what we are talking about. We don't want to go in there firing a gun with no bullets in the chamber.'
Ecclestone believes the full story has yet to emerge.
He said: 'We don't know the McLaren side of things or the guy who allegedly took the drawings - is it him personally? Or is McLaren involved?
'Ron [Dennis, the team principal] says it's not McLaren - he's completely transparent - and if it's the guy himself, did he buy them? Did he know they were stolen when he received them?
'Because he is in just as big trouble as the person who stole them, isn't he?'
