Lewis Hamilton seriously considered quitting Formula One altogether as a result of the Australian Grand Prix controversy which saw the McLaren driver publicly apologize for giving false information to FIA officials.
According to the Sunday Times, Hamilton spoke to FIA president Max Mosley and expressed his frustration at being misled by his McLaren team into being less than truthful while giving testimony before the race stewards concerning his last lap incident with Toyota's Jarno Trulli.
It was Hamilton's original testimony which led the stewards to penalize Trulli 25 seconds, dropping him to 12th place while elevating the McLaren driver to third. This past week, additional evidence came to light which showed Hamilton was not entirely truthful in his explanation and that he had been told by his team manager to withhold certain evidence during the hearing. That led to Hamilton's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix, his manager's suspension from the team and a public apology from the world champion in which he claimed he was "not a liar".
Hamilton was said to be so disenchanted by the whole affair that he was considering leaving the team and the sport. It's believed Mosley talked him out of it.
The newspaper reports Hamilton may have been granted some sort of amnesty against future penalties the FIA may be considering against McLaren in exchange for "coming clean" about the entire affair. Mosley would not rule out further sanctions.
"There may be a report to the World Council. If there is, I will almost certainly be one of the people there to decide what happens. Therefore it would be completely wrong for me to discuss the rights and wrongs of the situation."
Hamilton's father, Anthony, is said to be furious that his son's public image has been tarnished.
"Lewis is terribly upset but his father is even more upset having his son called a cheat," F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone tells the Daily Mail. "Anthony has brought Lewis up not to be like that and he is disappointed somebody has called him a liar when he isn't deliberately lying."
The controversy has also raised questions about the future of team boss Martin Whitmarsh, who took over from longtime team principle Ron Dennis this year.
"I'm considering what to do," Whitmarsh responded when asked about a possible resignation.
Former team owner Eddie Jordan tells the Daily Mail that Hamilton's relationship with the team will never be the same.
"There is clearly no chemistry between him and his team," said Jordan.
Hamilton qualified a distant 12th for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix and adding insult to injury, he was fined for exceeding the pit lane speed limit during the first practice on Friday.