PARIS — Defending Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has been struggling on the track so far this season, and it could get worse for the British driver if he is severely punished on Wednesday for bringing the sport into disrepute.

Hamilton has earned only nine points through the first four F1 races this season, trailing championship leader Jenson Button by 22. He could fall further behind if the World Motor Sport Council in Paris punishes his McLaren team for lying to race stewards at last month's Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton could face a race ban or a points deduction — perhaps both — which would further dent his title chances ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next month.

The worst case scenario for the team is that McLaren and Hamilton would be excluded from this year's entire championship, although McLaren has since made efforts at reconciliation and such a severe penalty seems unlikely.

McLaren has been in the firing line before. Two years ago, the team was fined a record $100 million and stripped of its constructors' points for having obtained secret information about rival Ferrari's car.

A fresh shadow was cast over Hamilton and his McLaren team several weeks ago when the sport's governing body accused them of lying to race officials at the season opening race in Melbourne.

Hamilton has already privately apologized to F1 race director Charlie Whiting and could escape further punishment since he has already been penalized with disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix.

A fine, a suspended sentence or a points deduction in the constructors' championship would punish McLaren without derailing Hamilton's title challenge.

Hamilton and former McLaren chief executive Ron Dennis were not expected to attend Wednesday's hearing, likely leaving team principal Martin Whitmarsh to answer the questions by himself.

But the inner turmoil within McLaren could linger.

Hamilton said in a recent BBC interview that he had even considered quitting the sport.

"I wasn't 100 percent sure I wanted to be here for the next five years," Hamilton said, referring to the length of his McLaren contract. "There was so much going on."

Whitmarsh also considered his future, while Dennis has resigned from all his F1 roles.

The team's shareholders also have the power to dismiss Whitmarsh, and engine supplier Mercedes already said it would consider its sponsorship future with the team.

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG, said that "an unreasonable punishment" could result in Mercedes considering its position.

The hearing will examine how McLaren lied to race officials that Hamilton was not given instructions to let Toyota's Jarno Trulli make an illegal overtaking move while the pair were behind the safety car.

Trulli was initially hit with a penalty of 25 seconds for overtaking, giving Hamilton third place.

McLaren then passed up two opportunities to rectify evidence it knew was false, and this led to the FIA docking Hamilton's points and McLaren's results from Melbourne.

Hamilton apologized, saying he was "instructed and misled" about evidence by sporting director Dave Ryan, whom McLaren has blamed for masterminding the deception.

However, both Ryan and Hamilton told stewards that the British driver had received no instruction from his team to move over. The stewards' hearing was then reopened and audio evidence was heard of pit-to-car communication in which McLaren did tell Hamilton to allow Trulli through.

McLaren was officially excluded from the results, negating what would have been a third-place finish.

Ryan was suspended and has since left the team, while Hamilton made an emotional apology ahead of the Malaysian GP.

"We got into a little bit more detail of what happened when Trulli passed Lewis. Lewis did his best to fudge it, I would say, without responding completely and directly," Whiting said. "They were trying very hard to get off the important bit of the subject, and trying to divert the stewards' attention elsewhere. That's the impression I got, anyway."

McLaren then set about limiting the damage in a bid to show good faith to FIA.

"We undertake to cooperate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula One," the team said in a statement.

Dennis resigned on April 16, ceding leadership to Whitmarsh.

McLaren remains hopeful that if it comes out of Wednesday's hearing without a severe punishment, there is still enough time for Hamilton to catch up after an encouraging fourth-place finish at Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Being McLaren, we want to win. We've encouragingly made steps in the right direction," Whitmarsh said. "There is no team that has improved race by race to the extent we have so far."