MONZA, Italy (Reuters) – Formula One leaders McLaren have accused the Italian authorities of a deliberate attempt to disrupt the team's preparations for Ferrari's home grand prix.

Magistrates investigating the leak of a 780-page technical dossier from rivals Ferrari notified McLaren executives, including team boss Ron Dennis, on Saturday that they were under investigation.

The Mercedes-powered team, who later saw champion Fernando Alonso and title frontrunner Lewis Hamilton finish first and second at Monza, issued a statement yesterday questioning the timing of events.

"McLaren did receive some contact from the Italian authorities yesterday but was not charged with anything," it said.

"We strongly suspect that the nature and timing of this wholly unnecessary contact, just before the start of qualifying, was to disrupt our preparation for this important session and Thursday's World Motor Sport Council hearing. McLaren is completely confident that were any proceedings of this type ever to be brought we would be completely exonerated," the statement said.

Italian media said seven people, one of them former Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney and another the suspended McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, had received an "avviso di garanzia" from the prosecutor in Modena.

The avviso is a legal notification that the person is suspected of a crime and is being investigated. However, it may not necessarily lead to a charge.

A hearing of the governing body's World Motor Sport Council will meet in Paris on Thursday to consider 'new evidence' in the controversy.

In a worst case scenario for the team, McLaren could be kicked out if this and next year's championships.