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They are still screwed tbh, they either allowed two team member to bring the sport into disrepute, or were complicit with two team members in bringing the sport into disrepute, ether way the top brass at McLaren will be held accountable for Ryan & Hamilton's actions regardless of whether they knew about it.

My only "issue" with this at the moment is Lewis still has his job - he has his own mind does he not?
I cannot really imagine why they did what they did, it would be like arguing black is white, given hindsight, it's a stupid and extremely arrogant thing to do to think you could get away with something like that.

I'm sorry but Lewis is not some wet behind the ear child, he lied plain and simple. Saying he was "misled and that is the way it went" doesn't wash with me, surely he doesn't expect me to believe that he, the Formula One World Champion, was unaware that the FIA record all radio communications between team and driver? If he is that easily manipulated, then he needs some professional help.

Michael Schumacher was deemed to have lied about his 'mistake' in Monaco by the stewards and at the stewards.

interesting observation....

And he started on the last row.

anyway McLaren have asked the FIA to bring forward the hearing to next tuesday at the diffuser appeal. http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5324.shtml

Hamilton, Ryan refused to change story

By Adam Cooper and Jonathan Noble Thursday, April 9th 2009, 11:45 GMT

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's former sporting director Dave Ryan refused to change their story about having deliberately let Jarno Trulli through at the Australian Grand Prix, despite being played radio conversations and media interviews that suggested the contrary in their second stewards' hearing at Sepang.

This week's AUTOSPORT reveals that Hamilton and Ryan maintained their stance in that second hearing that Trulli had taken it upon himself to overtake the McLaren in the closing stages of the Melbourne race, even though the stewards presented them with fresh evidence to say they were lying.

In the first detailed account of the stewards' hearings that have resulted in McLaren being called before the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, AUTOSPORT reports that Ryan and Hamilton stuck to their original story when recalled for the second hearing.

An FIA source told AUTOSPORT: "First of all, Lewis heard the radio exchange. It appeared that the strategy was to be extremely vague and not be very direct with the answers. Then the interview where he said, 'I was told to let him through' was played.

"At that point they both got very uncomfortable, but still denied that's what had actually happened.

"It was a bit surreal, this situation where you had the radio evidence and the interview, and they were putting a completely different interpretation on what the words actually meant. But the words were very, very clear."

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has also revealed that Hamilton denied more than once in the original hearing in Australia that he had let Trulli pass him.

Whiting said: "When asked very clearly, 'Did you consciously let him past, did you pull over to let him past', he [Hamilton] said, 'No'. The question was asked more than once. He was adamant that he hadn't slowed down and hadn't let Trulli past."

What a hypocrite team. Stewards played them the tape and they still lied.

Oh dear. The thing is drivers / teams have been doing this for many years. Schumacher and Senna were guilty of it at Monaco in 2006 and in Japan in 1990 for instance. McLaren and Lewis deserve punishment, but I can't help but think that too much is being made of it.

BACK IN THE DAYS TROLLI AND HAMILTON WOULD HAVE GONE TO A BAR AND GOT DRUNK AND FIGHT ABOUT THAT EXTRA POINT, NOT RUN TO THE STEWARDS LIKE PUSSIES.

to be honest, there never have been times like that . I was watching a race highlight from 1980 and even then politics, driver safety and other issues off the race track were issues. Not much has changed I think.

Fresh insight into McLaren case

April 10, 2009 by James Allen

I’m grateful to one of my readers, doctorvee, for posting a very interesting comment here on the JA on F1 site. He highlights an interview which McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh gave to the BBC at the end of the Australian Grand Prix.

“…there’s some debate about whether it’s a 3rd place at the moment given that Trulli fell off and re-passed under the Safety Car…

[Ted Kravitz asks him to expand on this.]

…At the end, under the Safety Car, Trulli fell off onto the grass and Lewis had no choice but to go past him. He was not on the racing circuit. Trulli then re-took the place under the Safety Car, which ordinarily you wouldn’t do.

I know that the FIA are looking at it at the moment and doubtless we’ll have a ruling in due course.”

doctorvee adds: “Martin Whitmarsh was not asked if there were any radio conversations. But he chose to omit this information regardless. The BBC’s viewers were left with the impression that Jarno Trulli had passed Lewis Hamilton of his own accord, not having been invited to do so. This version of events is very similar to the one we are led to understand was relayed to the stewards.

This would seem to suggest that very soon after the end of the race, a version of events — the official McLaren party line, as it were — was constructed. This is the version of events that Martin Whitmarsh gave to Ted Kravitz and the BBC’s viewers. “

His conclusion from all this is that the line presented by Davy Ryan in the stewards room was the team’s party line, not the act of a ‘rogue employee’, as it is now being presented. The significance of this is that the FIA WMSC will seek to analyse the degree to which others in the team were involved.

Whitmarsh shows that he is eager to secure the third place. But the word ‘ordinarily’ is the one that catches my eye here, it shows that a degree of reflection is taking place, but also that there may be extenuating circumstances. It almost invites a sub clause in brackets, such as …(unless invited to do so…)

What do you think?

Meanwhile the FIA has released some more information on the second stewards’ hearing in Sepang, which appears to show Hamilton and Ryan sticking to their line that Trulli passed without invitation, despite being played recordings of both the original radio traffic and Hamilton’s post race interview, where it is quite clear he had understood that the team was telling him to let Trulli through.

THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN THE DRIVERS WERENT COWARDS. NOW THE DRIVERS ARE TOO AFRAID TO SETTLE THIS ON TRACK OR ON THEIR OWN, THEY NEED TO BE PUSSIES TO GO TO THE STEWARDS AND HAVE OTHERS DECIDE FOR THEM. BACK IN THE DAYS TROLLI AND HAMILTON WOULD HAVE GONE TO A BAR AND GOT DRUNK AND FIGHT ABOUT THAT EXTRA POINT, NOT RUN TO THE STEWARDS LIKE PUSSIES.