McLaren fate to be known Wednesday?
With its MP4-24 clearly not working well enough to put the Woking team on a par with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari in the pursuit of the 'diffuser three', McLaren will be hoping to get off with a slap on the wrist when the FIA decides what punishment to dole out, but it is unlikely to get off that lightly.
Along with world champion Lewis Hamilton, the team has already been stripped of the points it scored in Melbourne, after the Briton and sporting director Dave Ryan were shown to have been economical with the truth when called to discuss a safety car infringement involving Toyota's Jarno Trulli.
While Hamilton subsequently appeared before the media to offer an apology – and claim that he was led by Ryan – the team could face the loss of all future points, a heavy financial penalty or worse should it be called before the FIA's World Motor Sport Council. McLaren veteran Ryan, meanwhile, has been suspended from duty pending further investigations.
"We are now awaiting reports from the FIA observer and stewards before consideration can be given to further investigation of [the] team's conduct," an FIA spokesman told Reuters.
With those reports expected imminently, it has been reported that McLaren's fate could be known as early as tomorrow [Wednesday], although any sanctions may not be forthcoming until the WMSC can convene, and that could leave the team hanging until the start of the European F1 season next month. Crash.net