Race bans possible for 'liar Lewis' - press

Britain's mainstream sports press branded Lewis Hamilton a "liar" overnight, after stewards revealed he and the McLaren team deliberately misled them in Australia.

At a reconvened inquiry in Malaysia, Jarno Trulli had his podium reinstated while 24-year-old Hamilton was excluded from the results, regarding the incident behind the safety car at Albert Park days earlier.

But additional sanctions are now possible, given the FIA's right to refer the matter to the World Motor Sport Council because Hamilton was charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.

"It is potentially an extremely severe situation," a spokesman for the Paris body said at Sepang. "We cannot rule out further action."

The British press is musing the possibility of race bans, or total exclusion from the world championship.

But the worst damage is likely to be to the reigning world champion's image.

The Daily Star headlined the story 'Liar Lewis', and The Sun tabloid said 'You're a liar, Lewis'.