A bitter row between the Ferrari and McLaren over alleged espionage in Formula One has began at London's High Court.

At Tuesday's preliminary hearing in a case relating to the intellectual property dimension of the row, Coughlan and his wife Trudy were ordered to pay costs following an early morning search of their home by officials last week.

Nigel Tozzi, the lawyer representing Ferrari, told Justice Michael Briggs that the Coughlans should not have had documents which were found during the search.

The defendants had "behaved disgracefully," he said, adding that Ferrari could have remained "blissfully ignorant" of what had happened had it not been for a tip-off.

For the Coughlans, Martin Palmer argued that the defendants had behaved responsibly and any decision should be delayed pending further interim hearings.

The judge noted that Coughlan, who was in court, behaved in an "entirely appropriate" manner when the search was conducted but ruled that payment should be made.

The case was adjourned until Wednesday amid a legal complication.

McLaren was not represented at the hearing.