Whiting received a private apology from Hamilton

In Malaysia, a few days ago, Lewis Hamilton apologized to the FIA race director, Charlie Whiting, for lying to the stewards in the case of his disqualification in Australia.

Over the course of the hearings, it became apparent that Hamilton regretted the way he behaved before his somewhat emotional press conference on the Friday of the Malaysian weekend.

Whiting, present at these hearings, stated that he had noticed a change in the reigning world champion’s behavior between the two meetings.

I felt unease in Lewis’s attitude between Sunday (in Australia) and Thursday (in Malaysia). He was just doing what he was asked to do. On Sunday, he was lying, Whiting asserted.

The fact that he came to see me to apologize in Sepang sums up his position quite well. He came to see me to speak privately. He just wanted to apologize for everything he had done.

Whiting also provided new information on Hamilton’s behavior during the second hearing in Malaysia. The driver then admitted to having been misled by his team.

« We got a little more detail on what happened between Trulli and Hamilton. I remember that Lewis was doing his best without answering the question completely and directly, » he added.

Furthermore, the FIA race director had no reason to question Ryan’s behavior before this hearing in Australia, where he lied about the overtaking between Hamilton and Trulli.

« I have always found Dave very rigorous in his statements. I would never have thought he could lie to such an extent. But it seems he tried to deceive the commissioners. »

McLaren has been summoned to appear before the World Motor Sport Council to explain its behavior. The team could be sanctioned for bringing the sport into disrepute.