LEWIS Hamilton faces the threat of suspension or disqualification from the Formula 1 World Championship after being caught lying to FIA race stewards.
Just four days after one of the drives of his career to finish third in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton was yesterday excluded from the classification.
Hamilton was elevated from fourth to third by the stewards due to Jarno Trulli being h
anded a 25-second penalty for passing the reigning world champion behind the safety car late on.
But in the light of further evidence, notably radio transmissions between Hamilton and the pit wall, and in an interview given by the 24-year-old soon after race, he has been caught out.
Hamilton and McLaren have been accused of acting "in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards" at the hearing on Sunday.
In re-opening the investigation, stewards at a further hearing in Malaysia ahead of Sunday's race at the Sepang circuit have taken the appropriate sanction against Hamilton they felt was necessary.
However, the situation contravenes the International Sporting Code and is viewed as so grave that the FIA has it within its power to pursue the matter further. A FIA spokesperson confirmed: "Given the seriousness of this matter, we cannot rule out further action at this stage."
As Hamilton has been excluded from the race at Melbourne's Albert Park, should motorsport's world governing body take up the case, only two additional punishments are open to them.
One would be to suspend Hamilton from a further race or races, or alternatively they could disqualify him from the championship altogether. In an effort to be more open and transparent this year in relation to decisions taken by the stewards, the FIA is now publishing the key considerations of its findings.
On Sunday, the stewards did not have the benefit of radio exchanges or comments from Hamilton to the media, and instead acted solely on video footage.
In their submissions, they note: "During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the stewards and the race director (Charlie Whiting] questioned Lewis Hamilton and his team manager, David Ryan, specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and team manager stated no such instruction had been given. The race director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted he had not done so.
"The new elements presented to the stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened stewards' meeting clearly show that: a) Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the stewards' meeting he gave an interview to the media where he clearly stated the team had told him to let Trulli pass. b) Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the team contain two explicit orders from the team to let the Toyota pass." To lend weight to its case against Hamilton, the FIA has also included the audio clips of the interview and radio exchange. In the interview Hamilton explains: "I was behind Trulli under the safety car, and clearly you are not allowed to overtake under the safety car, but he went off at the second to last corner.
"He went wide on to the grass. I guess his tyres were cold, and I was forced to go by. I had slowed down as much as I could." Crucially, Hamilton adds: "I was told to let him back past, but I don't know if that's within the regulations, and if it isn't then I should have had third."
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has made it clear there will be no appeal, although has jumped to Hamilton's defence, insisting he did not lie.
Speaking before the FIA made public its findings, Whitmarsh said: "There is no implication Lewis lied to the stewards ... but, according to the stewards, the team should have provided a fuller account of what happened."
The full article contains 681 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
