Former McLaren driver David Coulthard fears Formula One's spying controversy could seriously damage the sport's image.

"The whole saga is disappointing," the Scot, who races for Renault-powered Red Bull, said in a column for the ITV Web site (www.itv-f1.com).

"This isn't a Hollywood movie where when you get to the end credits it's the end of the story.

"This could have a long-lasting damaging effect to the integrity of the sport," added the 36-year-old, who had no doubts about the integrity of championship leaders McLaren and team boss Ron Dennis.

Coulthard recognised that espionage existed in Formula One, a sport with major manufacturers spending billions of dollars on technology, but said it was wrong.

"It's not good, it's not sporting and it should really have no place in F1 competition," he said. "It's as dodgy as blood-doping in cycling."

Formula One's governing body summoned McLaren on Thursday to a hearing in Paris on July 26 to face a charge of unauthorised possession of confidential Ferrari information.

If found guilty, possible sanctions range from a reprimand to disqualification from the championship.

The team have already suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan, alleged to have had two computer discs with 780 pages of Ferrari information on them.

Ferrari have dismissed their former engineer Nigel Stepney, who has denied passing the information to Coughlan, and are taking legal action against him in Italy.

British newspapers on Friday highlighted the threat to the title prospects of McLaren's rookie leader Lewis Hamilton, currently 12 points clear of double world champion and team mate Fernando Alonso.

McLaren lead Ferrari by 25 points in the constructors' championship.