Formula One news

McLaren believe punishment fits the crime

McLaren-Mercedes has accepted its wrongdoings which led to Wednesday's FIA hearing in Paris, from which the Woking-based team has emerged with a three-race suspended ban to be declared null and void if not brought into action within the next twelve months.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh met with the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) to share his side of the story; the governing body felt that - with an 'honest' response and action already taken to avoid further occurrences (removing team manager Dave Ryan from the organisation) - no immediate penalty or fine was required.

"McLaren accepts the FIA World Motor Sport Council's decision and wishes to thank the FIA World Motor Sport Council members for the very fair hearing they have given us this morning," an official McLaren statement read.

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal to McLaren-Mercedes

"We now look forward with enthusiasm to continuing our efforts to develop a closer and more co-operative relationship between ourselves and the FIA. We will also continue to focus our efforts on closing the performance gap that exists between our car and the fastest cars."

The statement concluded that, after Lewis Hamilton clinched fourth place - his best of the year so far - at last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, the team is now 'optimistic' heading towards the European season.

"I would like to thank the FIA World Motor Sport Council members for affording me the opportunity to answer their questions this morning," Whitmarsh said, who was the team's sole representative at the meeting, on his 51st birthday. "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."

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