FIA confident McLaren have changed

The FIA have published the full details of McLaren’s World Motorsport Council hearing which resulted in a slapped wrist and a suspended race ban for the Woking team.
The FIA have pointed to the organisational and cultural changes that team principal Martin Whitmarsh pushed through in the wake of the lying scandal, which included sacking sporting director Dave Ryan, as being key to their decision to suspend the ban.
The penalty will only be enforced if “facts emerge regarding the case or there is a further breach by the team of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.”
The FIA had a range of tougher sanctions available to them, including disqualifying the team from the world championship.
Crucially, as part of their considerations, the FIA viewed McLaren’s involvement in the spygate scandal in 2007 as a reason to enforce a tougher penalty.
“Recidivism is a strong indicator that the sanction previously imposed was not sufficiently deterrent and recidivism is thus a circumstance which may justify an increase in the severity of the penalty which might otherwise be imposed,” the FIA explained in the document.
“The purpose of taking recidivism into account in setting a penalty is to induce teams which have demonstrated a tendency towards infringing the rules in the past to change their conduct in the future. The WMSC therefore also takes into account, as an aggravating factor, McLaren’s 2007 breach of Article 151(c) ISC.”
However, in what the FIA described as an “exceptional” decision to suspend the ban, this ‘aggravating factor’ was offset by the changes Martin Whitmarsh made to the team.
“Exceptionally, and in light in part of the Mitigating Factors (including the open and honest way in which the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear had taken place), the penalty shall be suspended for twelve months from the date of this Decision.
“In the event that, during the period of suspension of penalty (b), either: (i) further facts emerge that are relevant to the WMSC’s assessment of the gravity of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ breach; or (ii) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes commits a further breach of Article 151(c), the WMSC may implement penalty (b) in relation to the breach set out in this Decision.
This raises the question of whether McLaren would have escaped with what is effectively a slapped wrist had former boss Ron Dennis elected not to quit grand prix racing.