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The FIA has summoned McLaren to an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council to respond to charges that it breached Article 151c of the International Sporting Code (ISC) at recent stewards meetings at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix in the last fortnight. The news comes just days after Lewis Hamilton was thrown out of the Australian Grand Prix after he and his team were found to have misled stewards in a post-race investigation.

Article 151c of the ISC states that “Any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interest of motor sport generally” is a breach of the code, prompting the FIA to call a special meeting of the WMSC to examine the details.

The post-race investigation at the Australian Grand Prix concerned Lewis Hamilton’s overtaking of Jarno Trulli behind the safety car in the closing stages of the race, when the Italian ran wide. However, after being told to by his team, Hamilton let Trulli by again later in the lap, but in the stewards meeting directly after the race, both Hamilton and the team insisted that no instruction was given to let Trulli by. After hearing evidence to the contrary and after listening to Hamilton’s pit-to-car radio, the world champion was subsequently disqualified from the race.

More concerning to the FIA however is that Hamilton and McLaren continued to plead their innocence at the season hearing in Malaysia, at a time when the stewards had already heard the pit-to-car radio and a post-race interview given by Hamilton confirming he had been told to let the Toyota through. Soon after the Malaysia hearing, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh continued to deny that Lewis had lied to the stewards, saying “I don’t think there is any indication of [a lie]. There is no suggestion that Lewis lied to the stewards”.

Sanctions against McLaren could range from points deductions and fines, to the extreme case of being disqualified from the constructors’ championship for the second time in three years. Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to be punished individually.

The WMSC hearing will take place on Wednesday, 29 April 2009, just three days after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Full statement from the FIA:
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, 29 April, 2009, to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it

• on 29 March, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car no. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;

• procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards;

• although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;

• on 2 April, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29 March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;

• on 2 April, 2009, at the second stewards’ hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on 29 March, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true.

Source: Manipe F1