McLaren announced today that their sporting director Dave Ryan had been suspended for his part in the Australian GP debacle when McLaren lied to the stewards as to the events surrounding Trulli overtaking Hamilton under the safety car. Dave Ryan had gone with Lewis Hamilton to both of the stewards meetings and instructed Lewis Hamilton to mislead the stewards by not giving all the information.
Lewis Hamilton gave a full and frank statement to the media today in Sepang Malaysia with questions taken after. Here is the full text of that conference.
Let me just start by saying, in Melbourne I had a great race. As soon as I got out of the car I did the TV interviews at the back of the garage and straight away I gave a good account of what happened during the race. Straight after that we were requested by the stewards, and whilst waiting for the stewards I was instructed – and misled – by my team manager to withhold information, and that’s what I did. I sincerely apologise to the stewards for wasting their time and for making them look silly. I’m very, very sorry for the situation – for my team, for Dave, who’s been a good member of the team for many years and whilst I don’t think it was his intention… he’s a good guy. When I went into the meeting I had no intention of… I just wanted to tell the story, say what happened.
I was misled and that’s the way it went. I would like to say a big sorry to all my fans who have believed in me and supported for me for years. Who I’ve showed you I am the past three years is who I am. I’m not a liar. I’m not a dishonest person. I’m a team player, and every time I’ve been informed to do something, I’ve done it. This time I’ve realised that it was a huge mistake, and I’m learning from it. It’s taken a huge toll on me. I apologise for not speaking to you guys yesterday, but there was a lot to take in and a lot to deal with. So I’m here to apologise to everyone and assure you it won’t happen again.
Q: Lewis, may I ask you how you feel about yourself – do you feel comfortable with yourself and what you’ve done?
Lewis Hamilton: No, this is why I’m here sitting in front of you. This is not an easy thing for anyone to do – to put their hand up, step back and realise they were in the wrong. But the fact is I was in the wrong, and I owe it to my fans to let them know. Like I said, I was misled. It’s easy to be misled sometimes and I realised that was the situation, which is why I’m here.
Q: You say you were misled. Did you talk to Dave Ryan before you went to the stewards and say ‘that doesn’t stack up with what I’ve just said or what I believe happened’, and how difficult was it for you to go in, knowing that what you were going to say was misleading?
LH: The thing is, we were rushed. I was still my suit and we straight up… When I came out from the garage we went straight there, and whilst we were waiting for Jarno [Trulli] to walk out, I was instructed. I obviously acted as a team member. If the team have asked me to do something I’ve generally done it. I didn’t have time to think about it, to think about what I was going to do; I went in and felt awkward, felt very uncomfortable. I think the stewards could see that and I guess that’s why I’m in this position. I’ve never felt so bad. Try to put yourself in my position and understand… Like I said, I’m not a liar, I’ve not gone through my life being a liar or dishonest. So for people to have said I’m dishonest and for the world to think that… what can I say?
Q: Were other members of the team involved in the decision about what to say, or was it just you two?
LH: No, it was just me and Dave.
Q: Lewis, there was nothing wrong with what you did on the circuit, or with the radio conversation itself. Didn’t you ask yourself why the hell [Ryan] wanted to present this version?
LH: Like I said, I was literally just walking in so I didn’t have time to really think about it. But for sure afterwards I wasn’t completely sure why we were… I mean, we hadn’t done anything wrong, we were just going in there to give an account of what had happened, regardless of whether I had third or fourth. Jarno did a fantastic race and I had no intention of getting him a penalty. That’s not the way I think; I earn my points and my positions through hard work.
Q: Have you apologised to Jarno, and was it you who put pressure on the team to sack Ryan?
LH: As far as the second part of the question goes, that’s nothing to do with me. Dave is a great guy and he’s worked for the team for many years, so he is feeling it just as much as the whole team. I haven’t had the chance to speak to Jarno. I did actually see him before we went into the meeting and I said sorry for the situation at that time.
Q: When Jarno went off and you passed him – correctly, because he was off the track – why was there any decision at all about letting him back in front of you? I don’t understand that bit at all. Why didn’t you just stay there and why was there any radio communication?
LH: When the safety car comes out the team tell you time and time again, ‘no overtaking under yellow flags’. So, whilst that’s been drummed into, you’re dealing with everything that’s going on. Jarno went off the track and clearly I went by him – I tried to avoid going by him but I went by. Whilst I was sure in my mind that it was not my fault that I went by him, I had to be sure. I’d worked this hard to get from dead last on the grid to fourth place and I didn’t want the hard work to go out of the window by getting a penalty. So I had to be sure. It’s better to be safe than sorry so I asked time and time again.
Q: Lewis, is this the worst thing you’ve ever had to do, and do you fear FIA retribution for the team which a lot of people have speculated on and the FIA have said is possible?
LH: This situation is definitely the worst thing I’ve experienced in my life and that’s why I’m here: because it’s right for me as a human being and as a man to stand in front of you all and tell you exactly what went on, to put my hands up and say I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I’m sorry to my team, to my family for the embarrassment; it is a very, very embarrassing situation.
Q: And the FIA?
LH: I’m sure the FIA will act accordingly and in the right way. I don’t know what else is going to happen in the future. I think now I’ve just got to try and focus on the race and try to move forward from this.
Team manager Martin Whitmarsh also gave a statement
Martin Whitmarsh: Well, okay obviously I have got to comment on what for our team is a very sad day today.
We have suspended a long standing sporting director, Dave Ryan. I think many people in this room will know Dave and will know of Dave. He has been with the team for 35 years. I have personally known him for 20 years and I think anyone who knows him, knows that he is a very straight forward, dedicated, hard working individual. However, it has become clear from discussions with Dave last night and through into this morning that during the stewards’ meeting he was not entirely full and truthful in answers that he gave the stewards and consequently we had no alternative today other than to suspend him. As you can imagine I think it is a very sad day for the team. We have got to deal with this weekend and we have got to look in a bit more detail at all of the events that surrounded that. From my perspective obviously it is a point of deep, deep regret. It is not how I wanted this year in particular to start and it is something for which the team and myself are not only deeply embarrassed but deeply regretful. I think for Dave is has been a shattering day for him.
Questions from the floor
Q: Talking about what happened to Mr Ryan. Does it mean that he was lying then to the stewards? MW: It means he was not truthful and full in his answer which is what I said.
Q: Martin, to follow that up, the impression we are getting from the statement is that Dave Ryan did this on his own. Are you telling us that there was no-one else involved in McLaren, senior to him, in this process? MW: Correct, there was no-one else senior. I think anyone who knows Davey will know that he did not set out with any deliberate intention to mislead the stewards. He went to that stewards meeting with Lewis, I am sure, with the intention of being very clear and straightforward but I think during the course of that meeting, as we explored it more with him, over the last 24 hours it became clear that he was not as full and comprehensive as he could have been.
Q: Could you explain also what Lewis’s precise role was because the stewards made it very clear to us that both Dave Ryan and Lewis specifically said that the team had not told them to allow (Jarno) Trulli to go past. So what did Lewis do? Did he follow Ryan? MW: I think Dave was the senior member of the team there and Dave has to take responsibility for leading that process. I think Lewis is going to talk to the media later and I am sure he will give a full account from his perspective. But this is something that was still unfolding until literally minutes before the first practice session. I had to take an incredibly difficult decision. I have personally known Dave for 20 years. If you go around this paddock and ask any team in any organisation of their experiences of Dave in terms of his dedication and commitment, so he is shattered by what has happened today. We need to take stock of that situation but there were two people in with the stewards but Dave is part of the management, he is the sporting director of this team, and as such he had the responsibility to ensure that the stewards received a full and entirely truthful account of what happened.
Q: There have been some very harsh things said about the team, particularly in the British press, including a suggestion that McLaren is contaminated by a culture of cheating. Is that the case? MW: No.
Q: What is the case? MW: The case is that Dave made a very serious error of judgement in going into that stewards meeting and he is paying the consequences of that. It is something that he deeply regrets, Lewis and I and the team regret, and it is something that we have got to put right.
Q: You say that Dave was not entirely truthful in front of the stewards but what about Lewis, was he truthful in front of the stewards? MW: No, I think that Lewis was not entirely truthful but we have spoken to Dave, he was the senior member of the team and they went into a situation together and I think they were trying to deal with the situation but they got it wrong. Dave, as the senior member of the team was responsible for what happened and therefore I took that decision this morning.
Q: Martin, what is the procedure or the process in terms of deciding what was going to be said? You were on the pit wall and so was Ron Dennis as much as Dave and anyone else. When this process was unfolding and you knew he had to go to the stewards what was done? What happens? MW: In truth the situation was that during this incident we were asking the stewards, well, we were asking race control, for a decision because we realised that Trulli had been let past. We did not think that was right because in fact the original overtake of Trulli was entirely legitimate as Trulli was not on the circuit. We believed that when all of the facts were presented to the stewards that they would recognise and they would restore the positions, so we asked for the race control and the stewards to look into it and Dave and Lewis went to the stewards to give their account.
Q: But did they talk to you about what should be said? MW: No. They did not because it was not necessary. We knew what had happened and there was a belief that a true and honest account of that would get the result, that the positions would have been reversed.
Q: So what got lost in translation? Lewis gave this interview or interviews saying ‘I was asked’ and then said ‘no’ in the stewards’ inquiry. Why, why did that happen? MW: Well, I think Lewis got out of the car and gave a truthful account of what happened. I believe that whilst they were at the stewards, Dave, who had been party to what had happened in Spa, was highly sensitive and I think in the heat of the moment, his judgment was to not give a true account, and I think Lewis was then led by that.
Q: Martin, I was just wondering what we should believe is the next step, given that Dave Ryan has been suspended as opposed to sacked or resigned. What does that mean, how will that develop? MW: What it leaves now is that this is something that happened literally minutes before the first practice session. Dave has been sent home and we need to, during the course of this weekend, understand exactly what happened and make the decisions about Dave’s future.
Q: And finally, from me, I was wondering if you, given all the fall-out from this, have given any consideration to whether you would resign from your role? MW: I think there’s a lot of things going through my mind today and it’s happening during an event in which we’re trying to do the best job we can. I think, as a team, at the moment, we’ve lost someone who is very much a significant anchor in this organisation and we’ve got to make sure that we pull together to do the best job that we can this weekend. I think we’ve got to reflect on everything that’s happened over the course of the Australian weekend, after this race has finished.
Q: So you don’t rule that in or out? MW: I don’t rule anything in or out. I think at the moment, what we are keen and earnest to do today is make sure that we put our hands up and say it was a serious error of judgement during that process and that we make sure that we come clean on that fact.
Q: Mr Whitmarsh, have you had the chance to see the precise words which were spoken between the stewards and your two team members? MW: No, I haven’t. Ordinarily they aren’t minuted and I believe one of the stewards didn’t bring his notebook from Australia but we have no access to that. All we can do is ask the driver and the team manager what was said in that meeting.
Q: But shouldn’t that be recorded for the future? MW: Well, again, I think at the moment it’s not for me to make that judgement. I think what the stewards should rely upon is that when the teams are called before them, they will give a totally true and open account of what happened.
Q: Where do Lewis and his manager stand with the team at the moment, how are relations between them and you and whether their reaction to what’s gone on was the factor in Dave Ryan going and whether it’s still a factor in how you’re evaluating your next step as well? MW: No, it’s not a factor. Lewis is not only a very committed member of the team, he’s a long-standing friend of many of us in the team who have known him since he was a lad. Anthony [Lewis's father] is similarly well-regarded. They are solid supporters of the team, consider themselves to be part of it. They weren’t involved in the sad decision with Dave Ryan, they learned after the event, Lewis didn’t know until after P1 this morning. So they had no bearing on it, they weren’t involved in it. We have to manage the business, they know and understand that and I would say the relationship – at the moment, it’s a very difficult time for the team. We’ve got to make sure that we come out of it understanding and learning and hopefully with even stronger relationships than we started with.
Q: There’s one thing that I don’t understand very much, Mr Whitmarsh. Does it mean that you only learned this morning from Mr Ryan that he was not entirely truthful, because yesterday when you talked to us, it was something completely different, and it was after you read what the stewards sent out as a press release that you saw there was some inconsistency from what you said and what you knew? MW: I think in these situations people strive to convince themselves that they have been entirely true and honest in all of their answers and of course you can technically answer something and convince yourself that it is truth. Dave was clear that he had not lied and we believed that. As we dealt with the unfolding situation of yesterday, the more that we discussed it, the more that we believed that the answers that were given were not full and honest in the way that we would expect them to be.
