The FIA publishes the verdict of the McLaren case

Following the extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday, the FIA released its verdict in the McLaren lying case. This announcement reveals how close McLaren came to being completely excluded from several races.

Although found guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute, the FIA approves of McLaren’s behavior since the controversy spread. According to the governing body, open-mindedness, taking responsibility, and public apologies justified the suspension of the three-race ban.

The team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, apologized to the World Council and in writing on behalf of his team. He takes full responsibility for the accusations of lying. The FIA’s verdict also highlighted his assurance that such a situation will not happen again in the future.

The verdict follows: « The McLaren team principal assured the members of the WMSC (‘World Motor Sport Council’ in French) that there is a change of culture within McLaren. Furthermore, he claims that these misconducts or other similar incidents will not happen again. »

The FIA was also affected by Lewis Hamilton’s statements at the press conference on Friday of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The fact that the sporting director, Dave Ryan, is no longer an employee of the team is considered positive.

The WMSC’s verdict added that the espionage scandal in September 2007 in which McLaren was the main protagonist was considered an aggravating factor in the assessment of the penalty.