With the 'Stepney-gate' saga of 2007, in which McLaren were fined a record $100 million and stripped of all their constructors' points for being found in possession of secret Ferrari technical data, seemingly a thing of the past, the two teams have vowed to work together for the good of the sport.

Ferrari's media chief Luca Colajanni this week became the first contemporary employee of the Italian team to visit McLaren's Woking factory."It was definitely a strange feeling," Colajanni said of his visit. "If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing this I would not have believed you," he added.

The backdrop of an economic crisis has meant that Formula One has been forced to cut costs, and the formation last July of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to represent teams in talks with the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) and commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone, has meant that teams have been working together with a common interest in mind.