McLaren get suspended three-race ban

• WMSC praise team principal for 'open and honest' response• Ban will only be enforced if there is a further breachMcLaren have been handed a suspended three-race ban by the World Motor Sport Council after apologising for lying to race officials.The team's pro-active approach in the run up to the extraordinary hearing of the WMSC in Paris appeared to have played its part in softening the blow as McLaren escaped a heavier punishment, having pleaded guilty on all five counts of breaching the International Sporting Code.A WMSC statement read: "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 151 c of the International Sporting Code."As expected, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has avoided any further punishment after his disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton was initially promoted from fourth to third after the race stewards in Melbourne handed Jarno Trulli a 25-second penalty for passing the Briton behind the safety car.Hamilton and Dave Ryan, since sacked as McLaren sporting director, insisted at the time no order was relayed from the team demanding he allow Trulli to pass. However, evidence in the form of pit-to-car transmissions and an interview Hamilton gave immediately after the race contradicted their story, and resulted in the case being re-opened.Deciding they had been "deliberately misled", the stewards at the Malaysian Grand Prix disqualified Hamilton and McLaren from the classification. Ryan was soon suspended, while Hamilton apologised for his actions in the FIA press conference room in Sepang where he also notably blamed Ryan.The FIA then charged McLaren with five counts of being in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code which relates to fraudulent conduct and acts prejudicial to the sport. As it was recognised by the FIA that Hamilton had been put in an "impossible position" by Ryan, it appeared at that stage McLaren would be hauled over the coals by the WMSC.However Ryan was sacked, meaning he could not answer to the World Council as they are unable to summon any person no longer in the employ of a particular team. Of considerable significance, Ron Dennis announced his decision to stand down as chairman of the McLaren Group as from 1 June, and as CEO of McLaren Racing with immediate effect.In taking up the running of the automotive side of the company, Dennis insisted his motive had nothing to do with F1. Many observers, though, felt his action was designed to appease the FIA – with whom he has often had a fractious relationship – and to save McLaren, a team he had built up since taking over in 1981.Since his exit, Whitmarsh – whose offer to resign was rejected by the shareholders – has since knocked down a few barriers that had previously existed between his team and the FIA. Celebrating his 51st birthday today, Whitmarsh has kept an open channel between himself and the governing body in a bid to repair the damage, and to deaden the impact of any penalty. That building of bridges appeared today to have played its part in what must be viewed as a lenient sentence.McLarenLewis HamiltonFormula oneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

McLaren get suspended race ban

• World motor sport council suspends three-race ban• 'Change in culture' helps draw line under incidentMcLaren were fortunate to get away with a suspended three-race ban today when the world motor sport council passed judgment on the team's admission that they had lied to race stewards. Lewis Hamilton has avoided further punishment following his disqualification from the Australian grand prix and can focus on the remainder of the season, starting with the Spanish grand prix on 10 May.In a statement the council said: "Having regard to the open and honest way in which [the] 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 be applied only if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151 (c) of the International Sporting Code."McLaren pleaded guilty on all five counts of breaching the ISC in relation to fraudulent conduct and acts prejudicial to the sport. Hamilton had been promoted from fourth to third place in Australia after Toyota's Jarno Trulli had been judged to have overtaken his McLaren when running behind the safety car. When pit-to-car radio transmissions later revealed that Hamilton had been ordered to let the Toyota overtake, both the reigning world champion and the then McLaren race director, Dave Ryan, continued to deny, at a meeting with the race stewards four days later in Malaysia, that the manoeuvre had been an orchestrated tactical ploy.Within 48 hours Ryan had been sacked after 34 years with the team and Hamilton admitted he had been economical with the truth. On 16 April Ron Dennis, the man behind McLaren's 10 drivers' championships since 1981, stood down as chief executive of McLaren Racing, leaving Martin Whitmarsh in charge after 20 years as his right-hand man. Dennis said his move to the automotive side of the company had nothing to do with the case and denied it was a sop to the FIA and its president, Max Mosley, with whom he had a long-standing and fractious relationship.Whitmarsh, whose offer of resignation was rejected by the McLaren board, began an immediate damage-control campaign that included a letter of profuse apology to the FIA. This appears to have played its part in reducing a punishment that, at worst, could have excluded the team from the 2009 championship. One of the key aspects of the WMSC statement is the reference to "the change in culture" within McLaren. That significant transformation began with the departure of Dennis and the latest example was Whitmarsh's lone appearance at today's hearing,for­going the customary team of lawyers that might have accompanied him.Whitmarsh, who celebrated his 51st birthday today, said: "I would like to thank the FIA world motor sport council members for affording me the opportunity to answer their questions this morning. We are aware that we made serious mistakes in Australia and Malaysia and I was therefore very glad to be able to apologise for those mistakes once again. I was also pleased to be able to assure the FIA WMSC members that we had taken appropriate action with a view to ensuring that such mistakes do not occur again."Given the trauma which ensued and its effect on Hamilton, such mistakes are unlikely to be repeated. Whitmarsh and the team can put a very difficult month behind them and continue to build on their much needed improvement in performance that gave Hamilton fourth place in Bahrain on Sunday. The resurrecting of McLaren's once-proud reputation may take longer, particularly after this affair ripped apart wounds that had only just begun to heal following the much more serious Ferrari spy scandal in 2007.Unlike his predecessor Whitmarsh has learned lessons from two years ago and the only significant casualty on this occasion appears to have been Ryan. Only McLaren know why an employee with an impeccable reputation of 34 years' standing should take it upon himself to engage in a form of subterfuge that was so blatant and basic. Given the former ethic of rigid control and now questionable claims of integrity espoused by Dennis – who was present in Melbourne – it might be fair to assume that the departure of the two men from the team is not unconnected.Formula oneMcLarenLewis HamiltonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Bahrain sets pace as McLaren seeks car funds

Ron Dennis, the former head of the McLaren Formula One team, appears to have secured his first investor as he seeks £250 million to launch a new range of British-built sports cars.

McLaren racing cars: Speed merchants

A Formula 1 team spreads its wingsA SLIPPERY rain-soaked circuit in Shanghai did Lewis Hamilton no favours in the third Formula 1 (F1) race this season. The young British world champion, who came sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix on April 19th, nonetheless praised the efforts of his McLaren team to boost the performance of his car back at their base in Woking. Workshops elsewhere in Britain were busy too: first and second places in Shanghai went to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing, headquartered in Milton Keynes. Jenson Button, of Brackley-based Brawn, came third. Six of the ten leading F1 teams are based in Britain.Motor racing is a big British success story. From a motley collection of enthusiastic racers and specialist designers, a cottage industry has arisen that is unrivalled around the globe. Some 4,500 firms are now involved in racing, sports-car engineering and related functions such as event management. Their annual turnover is reckoned to be in the region of GBP6 billion. ...

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Dennis steps down from McLaren

• Investigation into Australian grand prix forced hand• Lewis Hamilton will lose his mentorRon Dennis has stepped down as chairman of McLaren, the formula one team has confirmed. There had been continued speculation that the 61-year-old would be forced to resign his position after an investigation in the team's actions during the Australian grand prix. He did not travel to China for this weekend's race and is thought to be addressing staff at the team's Woking headquarters.Dennis has been involved in formula one for 43 years but, after what the company called "major restructuring", he has now passed on responsibility for the team to Martin Whitmarsh. "No one asked me to do it," he said. "It was my decision."The former chairman says he will now focus on the automotive side of the company, in which he owns a 15% stake, and hopes to launch a new McLaren sports car in 2011.Dennis gave up his role as team principal on 1 March, to be replaced by Whitmarsh again, and since then the team have faced difficulties after their 2009 car proved to be slower than most of those of their rivals. However it was the incident in the opening race of the season that is thought to have sparked Dennis' exit.Though Lewis Hamilton, Dennis' protégé, finished in fourth in Melbourne – before being promoted to third when Jarno Trulli was penalised by 25 seconds – he was eventually disqualified. Tapes of race conversations with the pit lane showed that the British driver had been instructed to allow Trulli past and further investigation concluded that McLaren had provided "evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards".The investigation into the affair is continuing after Hamilton claimed he was told not to tell the race stewards about the comments of his team director Dave Ryan, who has been sacked. There is a World Motor Sport Council hearing scheduled for 29 April, at which further sanctions are expected.Formula oneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds