McLaren will learn their punishment for misleading race officials when motorsport's governing body, the FIA, holds an inquiry on Wednesday.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh has apologised and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix after breaking overtaking rules.
McLaren are charged with five counts of bringing the sport into disrepute.
Potential penalties include expulsion from the championship, suspension, a fine or points deduction.
A final verdict is expected to be delivered on Thursday.
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The last team to be suspended from the championship was BAR, predecessors to Honda and current leaders Brawn GP, in 2005 for having a hidden extra fuel tank.
As a result, BAR missed the Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix - which happen to be the next two races on the 2009 calendar.
The incident at the heart of the McLaren inquiry happened in the opening race of this season in Melbourne.
The safety car came out after a late collision between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber.
Toyota driver Jarno Trulli slid off the track and was passed by world champion Hamilton, who let him pass again again.
Hamilton was initially promoted to third place in after it was ruled that Trulli had illegally overtaken him while the field was being controlled by the safety car.
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CHARGES FACED BY McLAREN
Told Australian Grand Prix stewards that no instructions were given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue
Got Hamilton to support and confirm the untrue statement
Despite knowing a rival team had been unfairly penalised because of their untrue statement, took no action to rectify the situation
At a second meeting, continued to maintain the untrue statement was true
At that meeting continued to procure Hamilton to repeat the false statement
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But it emerged that Hamilton had let Trulli past and that he had been told to do so by the team - both of which he and former team sporting director Dave Ryan denied when asked by the stewards.
Hamilton has laid the responsibility for his actions at the door of Ryan, who has been blamed for concocting the plan to mislead the stewards.
McLaren face five charges.
They are charged with telling stewards that no instructions were given to Hamilton, knowing this statement to be untrue, procuring Hamilton to back up the statement to stewards, and then taking no action, despite knowing a rival team had been penalised as a result of their untrue statement.
Furthermore, at a second hearing following the race, they made no attempt to correct their untrue statement - in fact maintaining it was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording which revealed it was not - and again they got Hamilton to repeat the false statement, while knowing what he was saying was untrue.
Hamilton insisted he did not lie over the incident but was instructed by Ryan, who has since been sacked by the team after 35 years' service, to "withhold information".
Contrite Hamilton will not be punished - Coulthard
"I am not a liar or a dishonest person, I am a team player," said Hamilton afterwards.
"If the team ask me to do something, I generally do it. But I felt awkward and uncomfortable.
"This is not an easy thing to do, to step back and realise I was in the wrong. But I was in the wrong, I was misled."
Hamilton has come back down to earth with a bump this season.
He has taken only nine points from the opening four races, been through the Australia scandal and seen both Ryan and long-time mentor and team chief Ron Dennis leave the McLaren set-up.
Hamilton, 24, told BBC Sport that he was so upset by the Australia incident he had considered quitting, but whatever punishment is handed down to the team, he is unlikely to face further punishment himself.
The FIA have said they "recognised his efforts in trying to put the record straight" after he was "put in an impossible position".
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