Sep.10 (GMM) Sir Frank Williams has played down the seriousness of the espionage saga involving his close paddock ally Ron Dennis.

Admitting that his countryman's Woking based team could be heading for trouble at the World Motor Sport Council this week - with the maximum sanction being total exclusion from the championship - the British team boss and co-owner said the movement of information within pitlane is actually a common occurrence.

McLaren is accused of using information from a 780-page dossier obtained by its suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan from disaffected Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney.

"Every time we take an employee from BMW, or we lose one to Honda, or a Renault man goes to so and so, there's always some transfer of information," Williams is quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper.