FIA calls McLaren before the WMSC

As the "Liegate" affair continues to attract attention, the FIA formally announced today that the McLaren Mercedes team has been invited to appear at an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in order to explain the declarations made before the stewards following the Australian Grand Prix.

During the closing stages of the race and while the Safety Car was on the track, Toyota's Jarno Trulli made an error and went wide. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton passed him but immediately enquired with his team if the move was allowed when the Safety Car is present.

Hamilton, unsure, slowed down to let Trulli reclaim his former position; the Italian was afterwards penalized 25 seconds and dropped down from 3rd to 12th position by the stewards for passing while the Safety Car was on track. At the stewards' meeting, Hamilton and McLaren Sporting Director Dave Ryan both assured the stewards that Hamilton has not deliberately allowed Trulli by.

A few days later, a review of McLaren radio communications proved the contrary; Trulli's third place was reinstated and Hamilton's Australian results were excluded from the race.

Since then, the team has been in a whirlwind, with Hamilton apologizing repeatedly and explaining that he had followed Ryan's orders. Ryan was suspended and sent home while team boss Martin Whitmarsh went into damage control, claiming to have missed performing due diligence.

Today the FIA confirmed a special hearing relating to the matter, to be held on Wednesday 29 April.



FIA statement:
"Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, 29 April, 2009, to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it

* on 29 March, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car no. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;

* procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards;

* although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;

* on 2 April, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29 March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;

* on 2 April, 2009, at the second stewards' hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on 29 March, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true."

F1 : FIA calls McLaren before the WMSC - MCLAREN - F1-Live.com

This liargate has hurt McLaren badly. Infact it might well be a deathblow to the team now.

McLaren boss says his future in hands of others


McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said his future was in the hands of Mercedes and other shareholders after a storm over lies told to Formula One stewards. Asked on Sunday whether he had considered quitting, Whitmarsh told reporters at the Malaysian Grand Prix: "I'm not resigning this weekend.
"In the longer term, I can contemplate my own future. Of course it's not self-determining. It's for the shareholders of this team to take a view and they will have to decide what's the best thing," he added.
"We've made a commitment to look at how we arrived in this situation and we've got to learn from it and do a better job. Therefore it would be wrong to rule anything out. I think I've got to look at what is the best way forward for this team."
McLaren are 40 percent owned by Mercedes, with a further 30 percent in the hands of Bahrain's state-owned Mumtalakat holding company and the remaining shares held equally by chairman Ron Dennis and Saudi business partner Mansour Ojjeh.
Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug said the German manufacturer would discuss the situation after the weekend.

I think it will blow over

^^ Imo even if they survive the affair, the damage to their reputation has been immense. First the stepneygate, now this and add to that their top drivers(first Kimi, now Ham) are thinking of leaving. Not good news.

Not really , all said and done they still have the money and the capability to be #1 so they will always get some sponsor or driver when needed

Err but die hard fans like me are facing the music

^ yeah go die j/k

mercedes benz is seriously considering withdrawing from sports.

this ordeal can be the last nail in the coffin.

FIA dont wanna Loose Mc Laren Team....they will take harsh decision, but keeping in mind that F1 also needs Teams...

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/...evere-penalty/

As Formula One's newly-labelled 'lie-gate' scandal continues, Bernie Ecclestone has reminded onlookers of the seriousness of the situation facing the McLaren-Mercedes team. Although the F1 supremo is also confident in believing that the case began as no more than an innocent mistake which has lead to the possibility of severe consequences, with the team now facing the possibility of race bans or even expulsion from this year's World Championship.

"We need to investigate closer into what went on," the Formula One Management (FOM) head said. "It is about stealing a point and a place, but those are worth money so basically it is fraud, although I am sure it started off more innocently and without thought of the consequences. There are many options open if the charge sticks, and it would be a terrible thing if any team were banned from races, but it could happen. It is not so long ago that McLaren were in front of the FIA World Council, and it is never good for anyone if you are back in court quickly for something similar."

With the hearing for the diffuser teams set to take place in Paris next Tuesday, the FIA will also be holding an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday 29 April, with the case including the matter of a possible discrediting of the sport as a result of McLaren's actions.

Ecclestone's mention of fraud refers to the fact that the team seemingly allowed Toyota to retain a penalty, despite knowing more information on the situation than revealed to the stewards. As Jarno Trulli went off the track under safety car conditions in Australia, he was passed by Hamilton. The team then instructed the World Champion to let the Toyota retake its position, which it subsequently did; after the race, Hamilton explained to reporters that the team had asked him to yield the position although, when being questioned by the stewards shortly after, both the driver and team denied this.

With Hamilton and sporting director Dave Ryan giving the same version of events at a second enquiry in Malaysia, the former then made a public apology for his actions, as he admitted that he had simply followed the instructions of Ryan. With Trulli having been penalised by 25 seconds for the pass, the FIA lifted the penalty and disqualified McLaren immediately after recordings of the team's radio channel (from during the race) revealed clear instructions of the team asking their driver to yield the position.

The case is made more serious by the fact that McLaren breached the same regulations in 2007, during the 'spy-gate' situation. On that occasion, the team - despite being allowed to continue racing - was thrown out of the constructors' championship as well as receiving a fine of $100m.

Having now been dismissed, Ryan will not be obliged to join the hearing in Paris, although World Champion Hamilton will be attending. Apart from an overall expulsion, McLaren may risk being banned from races, such as B.A.R in 2005 after the team used fuel as ballast for their car. On that occasion, the team missed two races and McLaren could suffer the same fate, if not with greater effect. It is unlikely, however, that Hamilton could be reprimanded individually, as governing body the FIA has admitted that the focus of the investigation remains on the team itself, following the driver's apology in Malaysia.

In all probability, McLaren could be dismissed for a couple of races or the entire season. So, it is next to impossible for the team to even think of Constructors' Championship.

I need to change affiliations for this season soon..