Whitmarsh on Lewis and the end of the season.

[SgtBhaji]

Taken from the BBC site...

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said:

We enjoy winning and I think we can be competitive, we have some new parts on the car, we have six races left and we'd like to win them.

Both the drivers are motivated and I think we can do a decent job.

Lewis is quite relaxed and I think he's very determined. He has had a difficult season, and he did everything he could to try to stay out of trouble at the last race.

"I told him that was a very disciplined drive but I would like the old Lewis back."

Interesting for me on the Hamilton comments. I sometimes wonder if the mixed messages that Hamilton receives from former drivers, pundits ans his team only serve to confuse him more.

 

[cosicave]

…Interesting for me on the Hamilton comments. I sometimes wonder if the mixed messages that Hamilton receives from former drivers, pundits ans his team only serve to confuse him more.

Yes indeed. I completely agree with you Onion.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, having been indoctrinated to the corporate way, he has not yet really settled in to being his own person. What we are seeing at the moment is him with the burden of the whole world on his shoulders, instead of what he really needs: the simple enjoyment of racing. Only when this happens will we see his full potential. He really needs to find a way to chill-out and become natural again; and for that reason, I think it's good that Whitmarsh says he "would like the old Lewis back".

 

[SgtBhaji]

Yeah... I'm with Whitmarsh on that one also, Cosi. When they put Hamilton in that car, they knew full well of his driving style so I see no reason why they'd want to temper that.

I've found it hard to put my finger on why he's struggled this year, but it's likely down to a number of factors both on and off the track. One of the things that you mentioned was enjoyment and do wonder if the Pirelli's have played a part in removing some of that enjoyment and also added urgency to his overtaking. The tyres punish his particular driving style, so when he's in traffic he's more eager to get past than maybe he would have been in the past which could possibly explain some of the poorly executed overtaking. There have been times this year where he clearly hasn't enjoyed his racing though.

 

[Max Whiplash]

Actually, I think old Wishy-washy has been pretty consistent in saying that Lewis shouldn't change his style. As for Lewis's annus horribilis, I think it's down to losing touch with the title so early in the season and seeing Vettel romp off into the distance and a double WDC before him. I realise that sounds petty but I really think he expected to have achieved more by now and has been struggling to deal with that.

 

[SgtBhaji]

Oh, I wasn't suggesting that Whitmarsh was being inconsistent... more that the advice being offered by various camps is conflicting.

 

[Max Whiplash]

Oh, I definitely agree with that. Miggins says Lewis should get his dad back as manager and I've noticed myself that things have gone awry for him since he got celebrity Svengali, Simon Fuller in to manage him. I don't know for certain but I suspect that this is not a coincidence.

 

[cosicave]

…The tyres punish his particular driving style, …

I know what you mean here Onion but it's really the other way around: Hamilton's natural style punishes the tyres! I have noticed that he has made an effort to incorporate some of Button's tyre management skills but it is not his natural way.

But ultimately, I do not believe the problem is really the tyres in any case. No. That car is fundamentally flawed and has been from the outset. Contrary to what appears to be popular belief in the many F1 fora I read - including this one - I consider the Ferrari to be the second best car on the grid and the Mercedes to be pretty close to the McLaren. Of the four top teams, McLaren's car is the one most lacking downforce, although there is some consolation in mechanical grip due to the long wheelbase. In spite of a series of blunders and ponderous decisions from McLaren, their drivers have done a sterling job; for there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that McLaren's biggest strength is having the best pairing of drivers on the grid - bar none.

 

[SgtBhaji]

I know what you mean here Onion but it's really the other way around: Hamilton's natural style punishes the tyres! I have noticed that he has made an effort to incorporate some of Button's tyre management skills but it is not his natural way.

But ultimately, I do not believe the problem is really the tyres in any case. No. That car is fundamentally flawed and has been from the outset. Contrary to what appears to be popular belief in the many F1 fora I read - including this one - I consider the Ferrari to be the second best car on the grid and the Mercedes to be pretty close to the McLaren. Of the four top teams, McLaren's car is the one most lacking downforce, although there is some consolation in mechanical grip due to the long wheelbase. In spite of a series of blunders and ponderous decisions from McLaren, their drivers have done a sterling job; for there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that McLaren's biggest strength is having the best pairing of drivers on the grid - bar none.

I guess you could have it that way around also.

As far as being the third best car, I don't know about that one... You have to look at it overall. There have been weekends when the McLaren has looked strong and they just haven't capitalized on it, but the same can also be said for Ferrari. Both have been up and down but I'd personally say that overall, the McLaren has been the better car of the two. They've just blundered their way out of 2nd position in the drivers title so far.

 

[SgtBhaji]

Oh, I definitely agree with that. Miggins says Lewis should get his dad back as manager and I've noticed myself that things have gone awry for him since he got celebrity Svengali, Simon Fuller in to manage him. I don't know for certain but I suspect that this is not a coincidence.

I think I'd have to agree on getting his pop back as manager. At first it seemed sensible in some ways. The pressures of F1 are a tad higher than those of junior series on the way up... so a split seemed though it might be good thing to me in that they would be able to have a father/son relationship without the risk of souring their relationship too much.

In hindsight though, I'd say it was wrong. I'm no expert but it seems like part of his whole support structure is missing.

 

[Gwew]

I know what you mean here Onion but it's really the other way around: Hamilton's natural style punishes the tyres! I have noticed that he has made an effort to incorporate some of Button's tyre management skills but it is not his natural way.

But ultimately, I do not believe the problem is really the tyres in any case. No. That car is fundamentally flawed and has been from the outset. Contrary to what appears to be popular belief in the many F1 fora I read - including this one - I consider the Ferrari to be the second best car on the grid and the Mercedes to be pretty close to the McLaren. Of the four top teams, McLaren's car is the one most lacking downforce, although there is some consolation in mechanical grip due to the long wheelbase. In spite of a series of blunders and ponderous decisions from McLaren, their drivers have done a sterling job; for there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that McLaren's biggest strength is having the best pairing of drivers on the grid - bar none.

Wow that was a really good comment and I agree that McLaren do have the best pairing of drivers, definitely! Whitmarsh's comment was the right thing to say, its that driving style that got him where he is today. The drive that I saw of Hamilton in Monza was quite similar to Brazil 2010, he was not taking any risks and was not himself and so did not perform well or as well as he could of. The reason for that performance in Brazil was because he was too focused on finishing the race and so was not taken any risks, just like what we saw in Monza.

 

[cosicave]

Wow that was a really good comment and I agree that McLaren do have the best pairing of drivers, definitely! Whitmarsh's comment was the right thing to say, its that driving style that got him where he is today. The drive that I saw of Hamilton in Monza was quite similar to Brazil 2010, he was not taking any risks and was not himself and so did not perform well or as well as he could of. The reason for that performance in Brazil was because he was too focused on finishing the race and so was not taken any risks, just like what we saw in Monza.

Yes Gwew. Putting aside my comment about McLaren (Onion: actually I think they have a car on roughly equal footing with the Ferrari ), I'd have to agree with the 'dangers' of playing safe.

Indeed, this is one of the reasons I feel McLaren as a team are not as flexible as, for instance, Red Bull: they play safe with what they've rehearsed and 'set' their collective, rather corporate mentality upon. Similarly, we saw Jenson Button tighten up towards the end of what eventually proved to be his winning campaign with Brawn, but when he finally let loose in Brazil, he came out with scintillating performance which left many people open-mouthed in astonishment.

What is needed is the right balance (sic) and such controlled aggression is very natural to Hamilton; but he's been bitten a couple of times and in my opinion, perhaps rather harshly criticized for some of it - and this has knocked him sideways, especially when he sees a team mate ahead of him for the first time in his life (I think)! Hamilton needs to pull himself together and go and do what he can do best. And incidentally, I agree that the fall-out with his father did him no good at all…

 

[u408379965]

Hamilton just needs to do his own thing, he's distinctly average when he's cautious as Jenson showed in Monza. He might crash from time to time when he attacks, but he's a very good driver when he's aggressive. His chopping and changing of approach will do him no good, and hinder his judgement. He's similar to Andy Murray in that respect, who plays very conservatively against lesser players, but attacks against the top players. If he attacked all the time (still on Murray here) he'd be able to maintain his level more consistently against the likes of Nadal. It's the same with Hamilton, if he keeps changing which gaps he's going for he'll have no judgement of when a move is on or likely to land him in trouble. He has to stop thinking the world is against him as well.

Slightly off-topic, and slightly on since he talks about Hamilton, Benson's latest blog is online and it's a pretty decent read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/09/stakes_still_high_in_singapore.html

 

[SgtBhaji]

(still on Murray here)

I bet he's furious!

 

[u408379965]

I bet he's furious!

We have an arrangement.

 

[SgtBhaji]

LOL!