Skip advert
Advertisement

McLaren gets suspended ban

McLaren Formula 1 team given suspended ban for misleading race stewards

Lewis Hamilton

McLaren has escaped an immediate ban as the FIA punished the Formula 1 team for misleading stewards.

Instead, the Woking-based team (headed this year by Martin Whitmarsh) has received a three-race suspended ban, ready to be imposed if further facts about the case emerge or if McLaren breaches the International Sporting Code again in the next 12 months.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The incident occurred at the end of the Australian GP, when McLaren accused Toyota’s Jarno Trulli of overtaking Lewis Hamilton while the safety car was deployed. As a result, Trulli was given a 25 second penalty, promoting Hamilton to third place and a podium finish.

It later emerged that the team had made radio contact to Hamilton, instructing him to let Trulli pass. Hamilton was disqualified for lying to race stewards, and made an emotional public apology. There was even talk of him quitting the sport. He faces no further punishment from the FIA and is free to race in the Spanish GP on May 10.

Here is the FIA’s statement – ‘Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC (FIA World Motor Sports Council) 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 151c of the International Sporting Code.’

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

£2m McLaren W1 makes public debut – 1257bhp P1 successor eyes Ferrari F80
McLaren W1
News

£2m McLaren W1 makes public debut – 1257bhp P1 successor eyes Ferrari F80

First F1, then P1… and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren’s Ultimate Series has arrived to challenge Ferrari’s forthcoming new hypercar, and we've ta…
14 Jul 2025
Lanzante 95-59 debuts as £1.2m tribute to McLaren F1’s Le Mans win
Lanzante 95-59
News

Lanzante 95-59 debuts as £1.2m tribute to McLaren F1’s Le Mans win

Lanzante’s celebration of its Le Mans win in 1995 has 850bhp and uses a McLaren 750S as its basis, revealed at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed
14 Jul 2025
McLaren adds ex-Ferrari boss to its team following reshuffle
McLaren Artura Spider
News

McLaren adds ex-Ferrari boss to its team following reshuffle

Former Ferrari Chairman Luca Montezemolo joins McLaren to spearhead growth under new owners
30 Jun 2025
McLaren V10 hypercar will race Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin at Le Mans
McLaren Le Mans hypercar
News

McLaren V10 hypercar will race Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin at Le Mans

After years of speculation, McLaren has finally teased its top-level hypercar that will race at Le Mans in 2027
11 Apr 2025
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week
Gould GR59
Features

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week

In issue 336 of evo Magazine, we had an audience with the Gould GR59, a dominant hillclimb car with five records to its name. These are our favourite …
23 Aug 2025
The Nissan GT-R is finally dead after 18 years
Nissan GT-R finishes production
News

The Nissan GT-R is finally dead after 18 years

The Nissan GT-R has finally ended production, at over 48,000 units after 18 years on sale. It’ll be missed.
26 Aug 2025
The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen
F Type podcast
Features

The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen

The Jaguar F-type was a sports car 40 years in the making. We reunite the team that made it a reality, which includes our very own co-founder and edit…
22 Aug 2025