Ryan made McLaren scapegoat

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Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that director Dave Ryan was suspended due to a "serious error of judgement."

Lewis Hamilton was this week disqualified from the race in Melbourne after it was determined that McLaren had deliberately misled stewards in their investigation into an incident towards the end of the grand prix.

As the senior member of the team representing McLaren at that hearing, Ryan has been held responsible.

"It is a very sad day for the team as we have suspended our long-standing sporting director Dave Ryan," said Whitmarsh.

"He has been with the team for 35 years. I've known him personally for 20 years and anyone who knows him knows that he is a dedicated, straightforward, hard-working individual.

"However, it has become clear during discussions with Davey last night into this morning, that during the stewards' meeting after the Australian Grand Prix, he was not entirely full and truthful in the answers that he gave to the stewards.

"Consequently we have had no alternative today other than to suspend him.

"It's something that the team and myself are deeply embarrassed about but also deeply regretful and I think for Davey, it's been an extremely shattering day for him."

Whitmarsh sought to rationalise the decisions made by the 55-year-old New Zealand native.

"Anyone who knows Davey knows that he didn't set out with any deliberate intention to mislead," said the McLaren chief.

"He went to the meeting with every intention of being clear and straightforward but during the course of that meeting - as we explored it more deeply in the last 24 hours - it was found that he was not as clear and comprehensive as he could have been.

"Dave was the senior member of the team there and has to take full responsibility for leading that process.

"This was something that was still unfolding until literally minutes before the first practice session (in Sepang) and I had to take an incredibly difficult personal decision because I have known Davey for 20 years."

Whitmarsh added: "He's shattered by what's happened but we have to take stock of what has happened.

"There were two people in with the stewards but Davey was the senior member as the sporting director of the team and as such, he had the responsibility to ensure that the stewards received a full and entirely truthful account of what happened.

"Davey made a serious error of judgement going into that stewards' meeting and he is paying the consequences for that.

"That's something that he regrets and is something that Lewis, I and the rest of the team deeply regret and it's something that we must put right."

While agreeing that Hamilton had not been entirely truthful himself during the hearing, Whitmarsh implied that the driver had followed the lead of Ryan when meeting with the stewards.

"I think that Lewis was not entirely truthful but we have spoken to Davey, who was the senior member of the team, and they went into a situation together and they were trying to deal with the situation and they got it wrong," he said.

"Davey, as the senior member of the team, was responsible for what happened and so I took the decision this morning."

Hamilton was elevated from fourth to third by the stewards due to Jarno Trulli being handed a 25-second penalty for passing the reigning world champion behind the safety car late in the race.

But in the light of further evidence, notably radio transmissions between Hamilton and the pit wall, and in an interview given by the 24-year-old soon after race, he and Ryan were discovered to have lied.

Hamilton and Ryan both claimed there was no instruction from the team to the 24-year-old asserting he must let Trulli by.

But radio traffic released by the FIA yesterday confirm he was twice ordered to do so.

Furthermore, in an interview immediately after the race and prior to the stewards' hearing, Hamilton admitted he was told by the team to let the Toyota driver through.

On Sunday, the stewards did not have the benefit of radio exchanges or those comments from Hamilton, instead acting solely on video footage.

In the intervening period, the acquired audio evidence forced them to take the action they did against Hamilton.

As the situation is a serious breach of the International Sporting Code, the FIA have it within their power to pursue the matter further.

If the case is referred to the World Motor Sport Council, they could choose to suspend or exclude Hamilton from the Formula One world championship.

A FIA spokesperson confirmed: "Given the seriousness of this matter, we cannot rule out further action at this stage."