McLaren to Plead Guilty to All Charges

There are only 2 days remaining to the FIA hearing in Paris, where McLaren are to explain themselves for their actions during the post-race investigation at the Australian Grand Prix. As confirmed by team principal Martin Whitmarsh, it will be only him and the team's lawyers to appear before the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday.

Although several rumors suggested it will be Lewis Hamilton who will explain himself – as active part of the “lie-gate” – ahead of the FIA judges, Whitmarsh revealed he will not be joined by any member of the McLaren team during the hearing on April 29th. In addition, the Englishman confirmed he and his lawyers will not contest the accusations against them, as they'll wait for a less drastic verdict from the international body.

“I will go into the hearing alone. But I have yet to take the advice of the stakeholders and the FIA. It's not a complicated hearing. We have chosen not to contest the charges and that makes the process simpler,” said Whitmarsh ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

What McLaren are after right now is a lighter penalty from the FIA. As the Woking-based team are already a recidivist in terms of non-sporting behavior inside Formula 1 – following the spy-gate two years ago – they could face drastic measures like exclusion or incredibly high fines.

Although the former would be highly unlikely, McLaren have decided to plead guilty to any of the charges decided upon by the FIA, therefore limiting the consequences. As announced by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone weeks ago, McLaren will face point deduction or even a race ban – as harsh as it may seem, they would be lucky to get away with just that – as a result of lying to the stewards after the Aussie race.