Formula 1 - Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes - Called into Max Mosely's office for Lie-gate

What a difference a year makes! 

So Team McLaren is definitely not having their best week ever.  So far in the last seven days the following has occurred, 

• Both McLaren cars were disqualified post-race for providing false information to race stewards in Melbourne.
  
• There was a story leaked that Lewis Hamilton was considering terminating his contract with McLaren as a result of Dave Ryan, The Team Sporting Director instructing him to lie to the Melbourne Officials.
  
• Norert Haug of Mercedes-Benz has now publicly stated that they are disappointed with recent events, and are questioning their commitment to Formula One.
• And now McLaren is once again getting called before the man.  The World Motorsports council has requested that they appear on April 29, 2009 to discuss McLaren's intentionally providing false information to race stewards.
• UPDATE - McLaren is now reporting that Dave Ryan, the Team Sporting Director has been sacked, which raises the question about who will speak on his behalf.

So if you thought that you were having a bad week, it looks like our friends in Woking might be having a slightly worse one.  See the FIA and McLaren releases below.

EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL

07.04.2009

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, 29 April, 2009, to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it

- on 29 March, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car no. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;

- procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards;

- although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;

- on 2 April, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29 March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;

- on 2 April, 2009, at the second stewards’ hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on 29 March, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true.

Update | 12:37 p.m. 

McLaren Responds:

McLaren acknowledges receipt of an invitation to appear at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on April 29, received this afternoon.

We undertake to co-operate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula One.

This afternoon McLaren and its former sporting director, Dave Ryan, have formally parted company. As a result, he is no longer an employee of any of the constituent companies of the McLaren Group.