McLaren has been given a suspended three-race ban for bringing the sport into disrepute after lying to stewards at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

"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 151c of the International Sporting Code."
(source)

Whitmarsh chose to appear at the FIA hearing in Paris alone, staying for less than an hour to apologise for all that had happened.

"I would like to thank the FIA World Motor Sport Council members for affording me the opportunity to answer their questions this morning," said Whitmarsh.

"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 World Motor Sport Council members that we had taken appropriate action with a view to ensuring that such mistakes do not occur again."
(source)

So basically all they got was a warning - "if you screw up again or we find that you weren't telling the whole truth, you're out for 3 races"

Stepneygate followed closely by Liegate doesn't show everyone (including the FIA) exactly how McLaren operate?

They got off lightly with a suspended sentence...

Quote from amp88 :

Stepneygate followed closely by Liegate doesn't show everyone (including the FIA) exactly how McLaren operate?

They got off lightly with a suspended sentence...

I have to say I agree with that sentiment. I think they got lucky personally. The FIA are probably more worried about the overall effect that punative action on a team would have with the spectators perception of the sport.

Stepneygate, liegate, diffusergate....

What's with the "gate"? What the frack does that mean?

Quote from Mattesa :

Stepneygate, liegate, diffusergate....

What's with the "gate"? What the frack does that mean?

Just media shite, probably started by the Watergate thing.

Quote from Mattesa :

Stepneygate, liegate, diffusergate....

What's with the "gate"? What the frack does that mean?

It's just a general term used to describe a scandal, it started with the Nixon scandal, which was called Watergate because the Watergate Complex was where it started

I actually think it’s a fair sentence (for want of a better word).

They have already been penalised for the initial incident by being disqualified in the Australian GP and with the conclusion of this investigation they have warned Mclaren that any similar breach of the ruling or if they haven’t told the truth during the investigation then it will result in a heavier penalty.

Although no doubt we will have the FIA conspiracy nuts come and say that Mclaren have been dealt harshly, and that the FIA always pick on Mclaren and that it was all a bigger boy who did it and ran away.

Quote from Mackie The Staggie :

....... and that it was all a bigger boy who did it and ran away.

That's one of the funniest things I've read on here for a long time. So true......

Quote from Mattesa :

Stepneygate, liegate, diffusergate....

What's with the "gate"? What the frack does that mean?

It's designed to make it easier for the punter to spot lazy journalism.

Well, Martin was smart to send out that letter explaining one more time what happened and apologising, before the hearing. I think only because of that did the FIA let them off lightly. Anyway, i am happy

To quote an old footballing adage:

"That's a yellow card for McLaren. They'll have to be careful now."

Fortunately for McLaren, it looks like the FIA have done what they think is best for the championship this season by keeping them in the mix.

Arguably, the more contenders there are for the title, the more potential there is for an entertaining season.

on balance probably fair though i expected a fine as well.

the problem the fia had was that bernie had in the past blatently lied on a few occasions regarding the primary functions of some features on his cars and max could well have been described as bringing the sport into disrepute last year. add in the fact that after the mcalren/ ferrari spying row they found themselves faced with renault having similar charges against them and let them off lightly compared to mclaren and this may have been a decision to redress the balance slightly now ron dennis is less likely to be a thorn in max's side.

Its all a farce , thank god the racing has been entertaining at least.


But while the head honcho of the sport is deemed ok to wear a Nazi outfit while a prostitute balances on his knob , lying about who overtook who doesn't really matter all that much..

at least they dont miss GB.

Quote from richo :

Its all a farce , thank god the racing has been entertaining at least.


But while the head honcho of the sport is deemed ok to wear a Nazi outfit while a prostitute balances on his knob , lying about who overtook who doesn't really matter all that much..

+1

but who really wants to know what an old man does in his private time... that was just epicly stalkin the ol' man

Quote from SilverArrows77 :

!dohgate

As a side note, i think Toyota getting caught out in prac/qual (i forget which session it was) in Melbourne using flexy wings was a bigger issue than mclarens little lie. They outright went against the rules hoping not to get caught, and fixed the issue only once it had been spotted ...yet their intentful attempt at cheating has gone unmentioned in the shadow of what in comparison is a rather small issue with mclaren (small issue as far as mclarens recent past goes anyway lol)

EDIT - must have been qual, cause if i recall correctly toyota lost their qualifying positions due to this

why must you sweep the issue at hand under the table when its the thread title, Toyota didn't lie thats the big issue.

There is being economical with the truth, and there is lying when all the facts, data and footage show the opposite. McLaren did the latter. Toyota (if they even intentionally cheated, which we don't know - if they did, it wasn't a clever attempt if they didn't get through qualifying before being found out) did the former.

Glad it's over though. I think it was the correct punishment.

In 2005 BAR had a two race ban imposed on them for having a hidden fuel tank. Compare that pre-meditated cheating and lying to McLaren's reactionary lying, it's quite different.

This is the right outcome, but I still feel that comparatively the decision was still too harsh. The only reason their ban was suspended was because people got sacked and someone wrote a letter of apology. I'd like to know what BAR did to only get a two race ban, because sure as hell the whole team knew about the hidden fuel tank.

Quote from SilverArrows77 :

As a side note, i think Toyota getting caught out in prac/qual (i forget which session it was) in Melbourne using flexy wings was a bigger issue than mclarens little lie.

have you got any data to back that claim up eg the actual measurements of how much the wing flexed?
since toyota were able to fix the problem before the race in australia which is half the world away from their factory in germany its fair to assume that whatever excessive flex the wings exhibited was minimal or else they wouldnt have been able to fix it in time

Quote from dawguk :

This is the right outcome, but I still feel that comparatively the decision was still too harsh.

oh please they got no punishment at all... by what poissible measure is that too harsh?
let me guess this is some elaborate ploy again to support ferrari which are beyond help anyway

yes it could have
theres a set limit for how much wings are allowed to flex and thus the wings are designed and built to be withing and probably right at that limit (since any less flex would be a disadvantage)
a mistake in the design or in manufacturing could cause the wing to flex too much making the car illegal under the rules
also if the wing were designed to intentionally flex too much its doubtful that they would have managed to fix the problem in one night

no idea about it being intentional or not but as i recall the fix was a cobbled together solution involving carbon fibre strips being bonded onto the wing structures. given the nature of the repair i would have thought it would have had a detrimental effect on the aero efficiency so it may well be that the loss of performance was due to the fix rather than from any gained advantage whilst the flex was present