Sepang, Malaysia - McLaren sports director Dave Ryan was suspended on Friday in the wake of incidents that led to Lewis Hamilton's disqualification from the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Hamilton was deemed to have given race stewards "deliberately misleading" evidence in connection with an overtaking move concerning him and Toyota's Jarno Trulli during a safety car phase in Sunday's Melbourne race.

Ryan, 54, had been with the world champion Hamilton at the hearings by the ruling body FIA in Melbourne.

Trulli was docked 25 seconds as he lost third place to Hamilton. But McLaren team radio evidence then prompted stewards to disqualify Hamilton on Thursday and reinstate Trulli as third-place finisher.

"His role in the events of last Sunday, particularly his dealings with the FIA stewards, has caused serious repercussions for the team, for which we apologise. Therefore, I suspended him this morning and he has accepted this," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh was quoted as saying.

Whitmarsh spoke of an unfortunate incident for Ryan, who had been at the team for 35 years, saying "I doubt if I've met a more dedicated individual than Davey" and that Ryan "played a crucial role in the team's many world championship successes." (dpa)