McLaren will not appeal Hamilton’s exclusion

McLaren has decided not to appeal Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix.

He was disqualified from the race on Thursday after a new investigation by the FIA stewards, which found that the Briton and his McLaren team had acted in a manner detrimental to the conduct of the investigation by providing deliberately misleading evidence to the stewards. The case follows the Melbourne race, where Hamilton gained a position following a penalty for Jarno Trulli of Toyota.

After the discovery of new evidence such as radio transmissions, Trulli and Hamilton were summoned today. The Italian was able to reclaim his original position.

McLaren stated Thursday that the team believed the FIA had already reviewed the radio transmissions after the race, and did not think it was necessary to discuss with the race delegates at that time.

The Woking team has therefore confirmed that it will not appeal Hamilton’s exclusion.

« The FIA stewards reviewed their decision from Sunday, March 29, 2009, and excluded the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton, from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, » McLaren stated in a press release.

« Vodafone McLaren Mercedes understands that the stewards made their decision based on the study of radio transmissions between the driver and the team. »

The team mistakenly believed that the radio had been examined by the FIA on Sunday, March 29, 2009, and therefore did not think it was necessary to discuss it with the stewards on that date.

« Nevertheless, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team now regrets not having done so, accepts the decision, and will not appeal. »