McLaren successfully argued the £32million fine they were handed over the 2007 spying scandal should be tax deductible, it has been revealed.

John Watson is hoping Lewis Hamilton found a way to counterbalance his life during Formula One's winter break if he is to become world champion again this season.

Team Lotus have confirmed the appointment of John Iley as their new performance director.

Revenue at supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive fell by 10 per cent to £82.2m in the year ending 31 December 2009 according to its latest accounts. The fall was driven by a drop in production of McLaren's SLR which will be superseded next spring by the 200mph MP4-12C.

Shocking news from One Hyde Park, a posh apartment block being developed in the heart of Knightsbridge: the residents of this exclusive development will have to share it with a car showroom. Now, admittedly, the cars on show are from McLaren Automotive, the racing car team, which is launching the McLaren MP4-1C high-performance sports car next year – yours for $250,000 – but even so.

McLaren has revealed its long-awaited, technology-packed new road car, the MP4-12C. Several of its technical features draw upon McLaren's experience in motor racing. The most notable of these is probably the extensive use of carbon fibre, which makes for an exceptionally strong and stiff body structure.

If you are the kind of gnarly old Hollywood grand-daddy who seems to have been hewn from the very rock on which America was built – in other words, Clint Eastwood – your film career can probably be oversimplified to three or four props. In his case these might be: horses, guns, stubble and cars. Automobiles have always been central to Eastwood's machismo, as important to his masculine image as the once-ever-present cheroot hanging from his mouth.

Ferrari agreed yesterday to end legal action against McLaren over last year's spy scandal for the good of Formula One.

McLaren yesterday confirmed that, as part of the ongoing Italian investigation into last year's "Stepneygate" formula one spy scandal, several team personnel were questioned in the UK by representatives of Modena magistrate Giuseppe Tibis, accompanied by Surrey police.