Title photo from Getty Images: The Wally With The Brolly

Wednesday's child is full of woe, or so says a popular rhyme dating back to the early 19th century.

April 29 is the date set for McLaren F1 to face the FIA's World Motor Sport Council to face five charges relating to the 'lie-gate' affair, and the outcome will be important in both the short and long terms.

The charges are that McLaren:

1. March 29, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car No. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;
2. Procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards;
3. Although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;
4. On April 2, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of March 29 but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;
5. April 2, 2009, at the second stewards' hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on March 29, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true.

So who are the judge and jury? According to article 14 of the FIA Statutes :

The World Motor Sport Council shall consist of :
• the President of the FIA;
• the Deputy President;
• the 7 Vice-Presidents;
• the 17 Members;

A total of 26 Members who, with the exception of the President of the FIA, must represent an ASN having at least one event entered on the International Sporting Calendar of the current year, of whom 21, with the exception of the President, the Deputy President and the three Members by right, shall be of different nationalities.

The President of the CIK, the President of the FIA Sporting Manufacturers' Commission, and either a representative of the Formula One Constructors or the President of the Formula One Constructors Association appointed by the World Motor Sport Council shall be Members by right of the World Motor Sport Council.

For questions concerning Formula One, the vote of the President of the Manufacturers' Commission may be exercised by another person if provision is made for this in the agreements which govern the Formula One World Championship.

We know who the FIA President is, Max Mosley. The Deputy President for sport is Nick Craw, a big cheese in US auto racing and a former driver, though not in F1.

The President of the CIK (the FIA's carting division) is Luigi Macalus, an architect and business tycoon who owns the Girard-Perregaux watch brand. You can buy his Opera Three Westminister Platinum watch for only £460,000. Delivery is free.

By now you will have guessed who the President of the Formula One Constructors Association is, step forward and take a bow Mr Bernie Ecclestone. Please do not confuse FOCA with FOTA, FOCA was the instrument used by Bernie Ecclestone in the FISA/FOCA wars of the 1980s, and he retains the presidency.

It becomes apparent that the WMSC accurately reflects F1; it is a rich man's club. Whereas I have been unable to determine the names of other members, I am confident none of them are on welfare.

What penalties are available to the WMSC? There will be a penalty, that is one of the few notes of certainty I can strike.

McLaren could be fined, disqualified from the sport for a few races, or even for a year. In the F1 media it has been widely speculated that McLaren will be suspended for two or three races; I doubt that.

One of the media stories surrounding the lie-gate affair I find believable is that Anthony Hamilton, Lewis's father and manager, made an approach to Max Mosley when the scandal first blew up.

It has been claimed a deal was made, in which Lewis would make a public confession of his monstrous guilt and point the finger at his team, in return for the FIA taking no further action against him.

Thus we saw Lewis choking back the tears at a press conference staged by the FIA in Sepang. If McLaren are suspended, then Lewis's slender hopes of defending his world title vanish altogether, something the (alleged) deal was made to avoid.

More likely, I feel, is a fine and some pompous strictures. Of course I could be wrong, and I often am.

Whatever the outcome on Wednesday, it will be bad news for McLaren, particularly in relation to their sponsors.

Vodafone are in the process of axing jobs in order to boost their already substantial profits; could they see an excuse to walk away? Spanish banking giant Santander would surely like their name on a car driven by Fernando Alonso, they could be tempted to switch.

Some readers, if any have made it this far, may sense that my sympathies are with McLaren.

They are.

Lewis lied. McLaren lied. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, and that precludes Max Mosley and his wealthy chums from sitting in judgment.