Massa and Alonso to skip hearing

There was speculation over the weekend that the pair had been summoned to appear in person but the Italian team said on Monday that their drivers would be made available by conference call should they be required. Team principal Stefano Domenicali will attend with Ferrari lawyers.

It would be strange indeed were the drivers not asked for their thoughts since their understanding of what occurred in Germany will be crucial to determining whether Ferrari lose all of, some of, or none of the points they accrued in that race.

The Scuderia were fined $100,000 by stewards on the spot after they were deemed guilty of using coded instructions to order Massa aside and allow Alonso through to win the race, while the matter was also referred to the WMSC for further consideration.

It is difficult to enforce the ban on team orders since there are so many ways to disguise its use. Ferrari will argue on Wednesday that no explicit order was given.

They will also highlight the fact that other alleged coded messages – for instance McLaren's instruction to both their drivers to "conserve fuel" in Turkey earlier this summer – went unpunished.