Whitmarsh: Lewis wasn't going to quit
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has denied reports that FIA president Max Mosley had to talk Lewis Hamilton out of quitting Formula 1 in the wake of the Melbourne scandal.
According to the Sunday Times, Hamilton was so disillusioned by this week's events that he telephoned Mosley to express his annoyance at McLaren's actions and to say that he was contemplating walking away from the sport.
Whitmarsh vehemently denied this suggestion, and said that as far as he was concerned, the world champion and his father Anthony remained utterly committed to McLaren.
“We have asked Anthony only five minutes ago if this is true, and Anthony has told us that Lewis has not spoken to Max,” said Whitmarsh.
“I knew that on Friday morning both I and Anthony spoke to Max, I also spoke to Charlie Whiting, and to Alan Donnelly, but I am told that Lewis has not spoken to Max.
“I've read some stories this morning, but I've obviously spoken to Lewis and Anthony on quite a few occasions.
“In all of those conversations, the commitment from Lewis and Anthony to this team has not altered, it has been extreme, and there has been no hint of what has been reported this morning.
“At the moment I don't believe what has been reported this morning, but what I do know is that as a team we've got to learn from the mistakes that have been made.
“Everything that Anthony and Lewis have said to me has been incredibly supportive, appreciative of what this team has done for them, and there has been no hint in anything that they have said to me that they would contemplate – for this or any other reason – leaving this team.
“Something different has been reported in the media, but the leading part of that is that Lewis has spoken directly to Max.
“I don't believe that happened, because Anthony told us minutes ago that there was no truth in that story.”
According to the Sunday Times article, the Hamiltons resent the damage the saga has done to Lewis's reputation and believe McLaren's actions exacerbated this.
But Whitmarsh said Hamilton felt just as responsible as his team.
“I don't think Lewis believes he is without blame, in fact I know he doesn't believe that,” said the team principal.
“He made a mistake, he's a world champion, and he didn't set the standards he holds dearly, and he feels very bad about that.”
But Whitmarsh said McLaren – which suspended its stalwart sporting director Dave Ryan over the affair yesterday – had no plans to take disciplinary action against Hamilton.
“There is no doubt that what happened was very serious,” said Whitmarsh.
“But I have to reflect on the fact that, as sporting director, Davey was the senior member of the team, he had the duty of care to guide Lewis as an ambassador.
“We fell short in that regard, and that's why I came to that conclusion regarding Davey.
“While Lewis inevitably, just as the team, comes out with blemish and shame, I think that he has been penalised both in a very tangible sense in terms of points removal, and also quite a lot of other pain and shame that's happened this weekend.”
Source: itv.com/f1
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has denied reports that FIA president Max Mosley had to talk Lewis Hamilton out of quitting Formula 1 in the wake of the Melbourne scandal.
According to the Sunday Times, Hamilton was so disillusioned by this week's events that he telephoned Mosley to express his annoyance at McLaren's actions and to say that he was contemplating walking away from the sport.
Whitmarsh vehemently denied this suggestion, and said that as far as he was concerned, the world champion and his father Anthony remained utterly committed to McLaren.
“We have asked Anthony only five minutes ago if this is true, and Anthony has told us that Lewis has not spoken to Max,” said Whitmarsh.
“I knew that on Friday morning both I and Anthony spoke to Max, I also spoke to Charlie Whiting, and to Alan Donnelly, but I am told that Lewis has not spoken to Max.
“I've read some stories this morning, but I've obviously spoken to Lewis and Anthony on quite a few occasions.
“In all of those conversations, the commitment from Lewis and Anthony to this team has not altered, it has been extreme, and there has been no hint of what has been reported this morning.
“At the moment I don't believe what has been reported this morning, but what I do know is that as a team we've got to learn from the mistakes that have been made.
“Everything that Anthony and Lewis have said to me has been incredibly supportive, appreciative of what this team has done for them, and there has been no hint in anything that they have said to me that they would contemplate – for this or any other reason – leaving this team.
“Something different has been reported in the media, but the leading part of that is that Lewis has spoken directly to Max.
“I don't believe that happened, because Anthony told us minutes ago that there was no truth in that story.”
According to the Sunday Times article, the Hamiltons resent the damage the saga has done to Lewis's reputation and believe McLaren's actions exacerbated this.
But Whitmarsh said Hamilton felt just as responsible as his team.
“I don't think Lewis believes he is without blame, in fact I know he doesn't believe that,” said the team principal.
“He made a mistake, he's a world champion, and he didn't set the standards he holds dearly, and he feels very bad about that.”
But Whitmarsh said McLaren – which suspended its stalwart sporting director Dave Ryan over the affair yesterday – had no plans to take disciplinary action against Hamilton.
“There is no doubt that what happened was very serious,” said Whitmarsh.
“But I have to reflect on the fact that, as sporting director, Davey was the senior member of the team, he had the duty of care to guide Lewis as an ambassador.
“We fell short in that regard, and that's why I came to that conclusion regarding Davey.
“While Lewis inevitably, just as the team, comes out with blemish and shame, I think that he has been penalised both in a very tangible sense in terms of points removal, and also quite a lot of other pain and shame that's happened this weekend.”
Source: itv.com/f1
