McLaren given suspended three-race ban by WMSC
McLaren given suspended three-race ban over Lewis Hamilton 'lying' controversy
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Wednesday, 29, Apr 2009 10:47
The McLaren formula one team have been given a suspended three-race ban by the sport's governing body over the controversy surrounding Lewis Hamilton at the Australian grand prix last month.
The Woking-based team learned their fate at the extraordinary meeting of the World Motorsport Council (WMSC) in Paris today, after pleading guilty to five charges of bringing the sport into disrepute.
And despite fears that the team could have faced stern sanctions - including possible expulsion from the F1 world championship - the ban is suspended, meaning they will only serve it if they break the sport's rules again over the next year.
A statement from the WMSC hinted that the change in management instituted within McLaren - since Ron Dennis stepped back from the manufacturer's F1 arm earlier this month - had helped their cause.
"Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren team principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the application of the penalty it deems appropriate," the statement said.
"That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA formula one world championship.
"This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the international sporting code."
Despite apologies from Whitmarsh and Hamilton and the sacking of former sporting director Dave Ryan - as well as the punishment of excluding the team from the Melbourne standings - McLaren still faced further sanctions because of the fall-out from the incident.
Hamilton was found guilty of deliberately lying to the race stewards over his actions to allow Jarno Trulli to pass under safety car conditions, which resulted in the Italian being given a 25-second penalty.
After an impassioned apology from the Stevenage-born driver, in which he claimed he nearly quit the sport over the incident, the team and Hamilton now hope the matter can be forgotten.
In a statement the team said they accept the ruling and thanked the WMSC members "for the very fair hearing they have given us".
"We now look forward with enthusiasm to continuing our efforts to develop a closer and more co-operative relationship between ourselves and the FIA," the statement added.
Whitmarsh, who attended the hearing in person to answer direct questions from the WMSC, also thanked the sport's governing body, adding: "We are aware that we made serious mistakes in Australia and Malaysia, and I was therefore very glad to be able to apologise for those mistakes once again.
"I was also pleased to be able to assure the FIA World Motor Sport Council members that we had taken appropriate action with a view to ensuring that such mistakes do not occur again."