Lewis Hamilton could face the FIA World Motorsport Council alone when the body investigates McLaren’s actions after the Australian Grand Prix.
McLaren were disqualified from the grand prix for lying to stewards in a post-race enquiry.
The FIA has summoned the team to an extraordinary meeting of the full council on April 29 to probe the specific actions of Lewis Hamilton and sporting director Dave Ryan whose stories surrounding Toyota’s Jarno Trulli in the post-race enquiry contradicted team radio evidence.
However, McLaren suspended and fired Ryan immediately after the Australian Grand Prix for his actions, and this means Hamilton could face the charges alone.
According to the Guardian, Ryan has no obligation to attend the World Motorsport Council now that he is no longer a member of the team.
“The FIA has jurisdiction only over its licence holders and their employees,” a FIA source told the British Newspaper “We cannot compel Dave Ryan to attend or give evidence if he feels unwilling to do so. We have yet to hear precisely who will be representing the McLaren team in attending the meeting.”
In a further twist to the scandal, the source also confirmed reports that Ryan and Hamilton were unwilling to change their story – that Hamilton did not slow down to let Jarno Trulli pass in the closing laps – even in light of new radio evidence.
“First, Lewis heard the radio exchange. It appeared that the strategy (Hamilton and Ryan’s) was to be extremely vague and not be very direct with the answers,” the FIA source said.
“Then the interview where he (Hamilton) said ‘I was told to let him past’ was played. At this point both got very uncomfortable, but still denied that’s what actually happened.”
