The McLaren-Mercedes team decided they would not appeal the sentence issued by FIA earlier this month.

On September 13 the World Motor Sport Council stripped the McLaren-Mercedes team of all its points won in this season in the constructors' standings.

FIA decided that the McLaren-Mercedes team has used secret technical documents acquired from Ferrari. The McLaren-Mercedes team was also fined with $100 million dollars. The spy scandal between Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes ignited earlier this year when two computer discs with Ferrari material were found in a search of the former McLaren-Mercedes chief designer Mike Coughlan's house carried out on the orders of the Italian team.

Stepney, the Ferrari mechanic who allegedly supplied the documents in April, was fired and he is also facing criminal charges filed by Ferrari against him in a court in Modena, Italy for attempted sabotage before the Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso kept their points in the drivers' standings though and continue to lead the championship.

Yesterday in a statement published on its website McLaren-Mercedes said that after studying the judgment, they won’t go for an appeal.

"Despite the existence of no evidence that the information was applied, tested or shared with the engineering team (which it was not), this possession constitutes a breach of the Code”, reads the statement.

"To our regret and embarrassment, the content of the previously unknown emails demonstrated possession not being limited to a single person, albeit unsanctioned in any way by the team. For this breach of Article 151c, a very heavy penalty has been imposed on the team," the team added in its statement.

McLaren reiterated its earlier statement that they had not used the information to gain an advantage on its cars.

"McLaren wants to win races and world championships. We are fortunate to have, and continue to receive, unwavering support from our employees, sponsor partners and Formula 1 fans across the world ­ all of whom are equally keen that we totally focus on winning this year's Drivers' Championship and the remaining three races of the season." said the McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis.

McLaren-Mercedes’s decision to accept FIA’s judgement means that Ferrari is the winner of the 2007 Formula One constructors championship

In fact the Italian team has issued a statement about the matter. "Scuderia Ferrari has won the world constructors championship 2007, its 14th title in this competition and seventh over the past nine years," Ferrari said.

“Ferrari will now invest all its efforts over the final three races of this championship in trying to also win the drivers’ world title.”

But Ferrari’s chances to win the drivers titles are purely theoretical as the Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonsio are leading the pack with 97 and 95. Kimi Raikkonen has only 84 points, while the second Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, is seven points behind the Finnish.

There are only three Grand Prix races left until the end of the season: Japan, China and Brazil.