MILAN - LEWIS Hamilton may have sold the rights to his 'story so far' for US$2 million (S$3.04million) to publisher HarperCollins, but he could yet be in for a nightmare ending to his debut season.
The British rookie's McLaren team are again facing the threat of a two-year expulsion, which will destroy his championship hopes.
For new evidence has emerged that the British team may have used rivals Ferrari's technical secrets on their own cars.
The latest development in the long-running spy scandal came in a statement from the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body of motorsport.
It has received new evidence and its World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) will sit on Tuesday to consider the matter in Paris.
It did not say where the new evidence had come from, but seasoned observers believe it to be serious.
The FIA had been planning to hold a session of its Court of Appeal yesterday to allow Ferrari to contest the council's decision not to punish McLaren over the scandal.
But this hearing has now been cancelled.
The saga began when McLaren were found to be in possession of Ferrari's 780-page technical dossier, which was obtained by their chief designer, Mike Coughlan.
In July, the council found that, although McLaren had the information - allegedly supplied by former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney - there was insufficient evidence that the British team had used the knowledge to their benefit.
However, the council left open the possibility of what amounts to a 'retrial' if new evidence emerged.
It said: 'We reserve the right to invite McLaren back in front of the WMSC, where they will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 but also the 2008 championship.'
The big worry for McLaren is that the FIA, and its president, Max Mosley, would not have reconvened the council, which involves flying 26 members from all over the world to Paris, had it not been given serious evidence.
The new information could include a letter Stepney sent to the FIA.
In it, he acknowledged that he had met Coughlan to discuss Ferrari's technical data, but 'only to exchange an opinion,' reported Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo welcomed the latest developments, saying: 'We said that it wouldn't finish there. We have always been convinced that the truth will come out in these matters.'
Hamilton, who has 84 points, leads teammate Fernando Alonso by five points with five races to go.
