http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/13935658.stm Sensationalistic journalism by the BBC again or could it be true? Discuss
Well, first of all, I did appreciate his analysis of why McLaren were uncompetitive in Valencia. As for the sensationalism, well, the short answer is that as a BBC journalist it's his job to hype up any point of interest which may get more viewers tuning in for the next race, especially after the insomniac's dream that was Valencia. A line like 'Someone who should know said in Montreal that Hamilton was "one unhappy bunny at McLaren and would leave tomorrow if he could"' is at once vague, extreme, inflammatory and, conveniently, impossible to corroborate. It seems unlikely to me and yet it sits nicely on the back of his Monaco outburst and his recent on-track antics. It doesn't help McLaren that their drivers and Whitmarsh are sending out mixed messages as these just fan the flames. But, yeah, in a season which looks to be over in terms of the championships, journalists and broadcasters are going to have to whip up some excitement from elsewhere.
I believe in the space of about three days Hamilton has said he can win the title, he can't win the title, he can't win at Silverstone, he can win the title. The team are clearly reeling. Hamilton almost certainly wants an RB8 but can't have one. Button is clearly frustrated as well and things don't look like getting any better. This season is virtually a write off, and it's probably going to be the same story the season after. It's pretty bleak for them at the moment.
The season's a write-off for Ferrari too and it's a pretty bleak time for all but Red Bull. I'm not sure that the team are reeling though, despite the mixed messages. It has been said before but it's in any drivers DNA to believe he can and will win but, after a bad race, it's perfectly normal to feel disheartened and defeated. Then, after sleeping on it, the fighting spirit returns. I don't read this as "reeling" myself, though, as is so often the case, Lewis should think more carefully about what he says because the World is listening and the media are always looking for a story.
What you will get though is Ferrari and Mclaren stopping development. Red Bull will then follow... Then you could have an oppertunist team like Sauber, Willaims or even mercedes and Renault getting good results and maybe wins. Lets hope so
They could rationalise the 'failure' (in championship terms) of 2010. They were in with a decent shout of the WDC up until the last couple of races, although they were ultimately pipped to the post by Alonso and both Red Bulls. To be out of it so early in 2010, regardless of the fact that Ferrari are out of it, too, can't be easy for them to get their heads round especially when the car's pretty good. In reality it's no more bleak for McLaren than it is for Ferrari but I don't think they're coping with having their arses handed to them as well as Ferrari. Ferrari have a plan and are in the process of putting it into operation. Whether it's a good plan remains to be seen but I don't see much responsiveness from McLaren and I'm not entirely sure what they can do. They seem to have as much direction as a horde of BBC journalists flapping about, looking for a scoop, without really understanding the point of what they're writing about.
The main reason why Mclaren and Ferrari have failed is because they do not have Adrian Newey. Adrian Newey pinpointed the diffuser as being the more important aspect of the car in terms of performance and he designed the entire car around it while Mclaren and Ferrari failed in doing this. It is this holistic design philosophy that Newey has which I think makes him a cut above the rest.
This is the kind of silver lining I'd love to see; the top three teams locking out the big points almost every race is as big a negative for me as the championship being over so early.
I think that is actually a very good point to make. Yes both Ferrari and Mclaren are in the same boat, grossly outperformed by RBR and Vettel but Ferrari are coping with it far better. The leadership at Mclaren seems, on the face of it, weak. In particular it's been mentioned before that Whitmarsh is so poor, he couldn't get coke up Katona's nose. Ted even noted the ever increasing presence of Ron Dennis in his post race roundup. If Mclaren have a plan, they are tight lipped about it. The "greatest in season development" team are not cutting it this time, the drivers are clearly feeling the strain/frustration. As am I
Well, it is sounding like a team is only as good as its last race but only a couple of weeks ago, Button won for McLaren in great style.
Both Ferrari and McLaren would have been well out of the running last year by this point had Vettel not had so many early DNFs/failures, and Webber hadn't been taking points off of him. Personally I think it quite likely there are 22 other drivers on the grid, possible 23, who feel the same way as Hamilton. Lewis just has a habbit of speaking to the camera before his PR people can get to him and feed him the company line. I bet if we caught Fernando walking back to the pits after Canada we'd have got similar quotes from him, you only need to look at his portfolio of hand gestures this season to see he's just as frustrated.
Rain is a great leveller though no? That drive was due to Button more than the car in my opinion. He made some great calls on tyres and drove the conditions far better than anyone else. Schumacher was another example of this in the same race. Vettel, by rights, should have one that race and by a large margin. He admitted to being far too cautious, which allowed Button to close the gap. It's not about one race, RBR just have a huge gap in performance over their rivals and there is not enough time to close that gap. Mclaren took a punt on a radical car (exhaust), it failed and they got lucky with their revisions. It's been uphil ever since. Ferrari had simulation data issues and now that's been corrected they are increasingly competitive. I am a Mclaren fan and yes, Valencia was just not right for them while Canada was. However, there are clearly issues with how they are working at the moment... Hindsight is a wonderful thing - it's only natural to be overjoyed when teams win and down when teams lose. People react emotionally, yes we are awesome or, as in this case, we are ****. Looking back at Canada after this has made me realise that it was more Button that the car.. that's all
Yes, I agree and while it does appear from here that all is calm within Ferrari right now, they have been making key personnel changes motivated by their lack of form and I can't help but wonder whether the Italian media are dealing with this as calmly or whether they've got a few knives out for Ferrari; perhaps Forza has some information. Anyway, Alonso had his mini-meltdown this time last year and this year he's sensibly keeping well out of it.
Canada was a great individual race victory and I hope there'll be a few more of those this season, whether for Button, Hamilton or Alonso. In terms of the championship battle, however, it was another race in which Vettel extended his lead over second place. In that scenario, you're only as good as the championship table says you are.
Spain - Hamilton didn't really have a chance to overtake. The RB7's traction out of the final corner was simply astounding. Couple in that Vettel did not have KERS (I may stand corrected on that), the race was his to be one. Monaco - we'll never know how that could of panned out but (god it pains me to say it) Vettel won it and there is nothing to say that Alonso or Button would of gotten past. RBR and Vettel retained track position by utilising the 1 stopper and it worked. China - Yes Hamilton won, but that was down to an excellent strategy call while people were getting used to the tyres. Sadly, I think that will be a one off as the rest of the pack know what to expect now.
While this is most certainly true, it doesn't change the fact that McLaren had a competitive car in normal, dry conditions and not just the changeable, safety car ridden ones in Canada.
