'lie gate' - McLaren given suspended sentence

[JayVee]

Well I don't think Hamilton is there yet when compared to the experienced repeat offender Michael but if he continues this way then certainly yes!

As for Senna, for sure that incident with Prost will always remain as a dark spot on his impressive career but the two incidents are very very different and aren't even comparable.

They were teammates, the championship was at stake and it was on the track.

Here it was the first race of the season, there is no rivarly between Hamilton and Trulli and they went and complained

To be completely honest, I cann't understand why they did it and for what ? A point

[Ed]

The latest on the 'lie-gate' scandal is that the FIA are looking into an interview by the BBC with Martin Whitmarsh as they try to determine what exactly happened within McLaren and what they claim to have happened.

More info: FIA requests BBC interview over 'lie-gate'

[jacfan]

Well I don't think Hamilton is there yet when compared to the experienced repeat offender Michael but if he continues this way then certainly yes!

As for Senna, for sure that incident with Prost will always remain as a dark spot on his impressive career but the two incidents are very very different and aren't even comparable.

They were teammates, the championship was at stake and it was on the track.

Here it was the first race of the season, there is no rivarly between Hamilton and Trulli and they went and complained

To be completely honest, I cann't understand why they did it and for what ? A point

Senna even said he would do it beforehand. He was not happy with Prost and I don't blame him. He attacked Ayrton on a personal level and that put a lot of stress on Ayrton and he nearly retired as a result.
As for Hambone well the question would have to be why?????

[Julian Mayo]

And a week later, why??

[Ed]

Reports just in that Ron Dennis is about to announce his complete withdrawl from all the grand prix racing actiivties for the McLaren team. It is beleived he is doing this to try and protect his team from any serious penalty at the hearing scheduled for the 29th of April.

It is also reported that Hamilton will not appear in any media interviews in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday.

More: Dennis to quit F1 over 'lie-gate' affair

[Julian Mayo]

Reports just in that Ron Dennis is about to announce his complete withdrawl from all the grand prix racing actiivties for the McLaren team. It is beleived he is doing this to try and protect his team from any serious penalty at the hearing scheduled for the 29th of April.

It is also reported that Hamilton will not appear in any media interviews in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday.

More: Dennis to quit F1 over 'lie-gate' affair

I don't know if that's such a smart move, now Moseley can heavy the team without fear of being accused of a personal vendetta against Dennis.

[jacfan]

I tend to agree with JM in that I don't know how smart that move is for McLaren.
I love this bit.....

The Daily Telegraph reports that Dennis may have made the decision, including not flying to China this weekend, "due to pressure" from Hamilton's father and manager Anthony, who is said to be furious about his son's implication in the lying scandal.

Anthony Hamilton sounds like he thinks he is in charge just because his son is the "boy wonder"!! Seriously mate, your son is 24 and should know right from wrong and be able to make up his own mind about telling fibs. What the hell did he think he was gaining??? All he did was tarnish his image and show him to someone not to trust.

[Ed]

Ron Dennis confirmed today that he is handing all the responsibilities of the McLaren Racing Group to Martin Whitmarsh as he concentrates on a new entity named McLaren Automotive.

The full statement is available in the McLaren section of the team reports Forumbut here is an extract of the comments made by Ron Dennis

Reflecting on his life in Formula 1, Ron Dennis concluded by saying: “I passed the role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to Martin Whitmarsh on January 16th, the day of the launch of our new Formula 1 car. That day I was asked many times whether I would attend the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. My answer was “yes”. I duly attended it - albeit not as the person in charge of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. It was, I admit, a strange feeling.

“The next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, I watched on TV in the UK – an activity I found surprisingly easy. I’d expected to be more emotional about it, after an unbroken run of attending so many grands prix for so many years.

“I admit I’m not always easy to get on with. I admit I’ve always fought hard for McLaren in Formula 1. I doubt if Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone will be displeased by my decision. But no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

“Equally, I was the architect of today’s restructure of the McLaren Group. Again, no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

“I feel enormously enthused about the prospects for the McLaren Group and for McLaren Automotive, and have no qualms about leaving Martin to report to the board regarding matters connected with Formula 1.”

Related: Dennis steps down as McLaren CEO

[Ed]

Jarno Trulli has spoken out on the McLaren 'lie-gate' and described McLaren as making a joke out of the FIA and beleives that they will be punished hard.

More: McLaren made 'joke' of FIA - Trulli

[Ed]

The latest on "lie-gate":

Whitmarsh offered to quit over 'lie-gate'
Whitmarsh defends Hamilton's media no-show

[Julian Mayo]

I tend to agree with JM in that I don't know how smart that move is for McLaren.
I love this bit.....

The Daily Telegraph reports that Dennis may have made the decision, including not flying to China this weekend, "due to pressure" from Hamilton's father and manager Anthony, who is said to be furious about his son's implication in the lying scandal.

Anthony Hamilton sounds like he thinks he is in charge just because his son is the "boy wonder"!! Seriously mate, your son is 24 and should know right from wrong and be able to make up his own mind about telling fibs. What the hell did he think he was gaining??? All he did was tarnish his image and show him to someone not to trust.

I think anyone trying to "heavy" Ron would come to regard that as an unwise decision fairly rapidly.

[Ed]

The World Motor Sports Council has given McLaren a three race ban but the application of the penalty was suspended. The penalty will only apply 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

Full statement:

At an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council held in Paris on 29 April 2009, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes admitted five charges of breaching article 151c of the International Sporting Code relating to events at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

The following decision was taken:

“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.

“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.”

[Julian Mayo]

The World Motor Sports Council has given McLaren a three race ban but the application of the penalty was suspended. The penalty will only apply 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

Full statement:

At an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council held in Paris on 29 April 2009, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes admitted five charges of breaching article 151c of the International Sporting Code relating to events at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

The following decision was taken:

“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.

“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.”

Or if Bernie or Max wake up in a bad mood..........

[RE30B#16]

Anthony Hamilton sounds like he thinks he is in charge just because his son is the "boy wonder"!! Seriously mate, your son is 24 and should know right from wrong and be able to make up his own mind about telling fibs. What the hell did he think he was gaining??? All he did was tarnish his image and show him to someone not to trust.

Actually, if Anthony Hamilton is Lewis' acting manager, what he is doing is correct with respect to his client.

The key point to remember here is Hamilton made a statement based on being briefed by his team. In other words, the "lie" was a McLaren lie, and not necessarily a Lewis Hamilton lie. This is an admittedly thin clarification, but there is just cause for the anger of Anthony Hamilton towards the team and it may not simply be bluster meant to exonerate his son.

I believe Hamilton was concerned about the rules when he spoke to his team during the race. He was further confused by his team as to how to deal with Trulli on track under the safety car. It appears that after the race, the officials were leaning towards penalizing Trulli (thus gaining McLaren a podium finish), so the McLaren team just sort of helped that error of initial judgment by the track marshals. When the official came to speak to the McLaren team about it (perhaps to help correct their own error), they got double talk, and now we have what we have.

I believe Hamilton was caught in the middle of this mess, and did make an error of judgment in perhaps not being completely straight when giving his statement about the incident. I'm sure he didn't want to make any statements in direct contradiction to his team out of a sense of solidarity. The McLaren team could have cleared this mess up quickly by removing all suspicion from their on-track competitor. They did not, and so if I were Anthony Hamilton, manager of my client Lewis Hamilton, I would be livid.

[Julian Mayo]

A lie is A lie. The guy is a world champ. Some example.