Comments on: Pedro de la Rosa criticises McLaren driver equality

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:00:31 +0000

I don’t think by ‘equal’ they mean that both cars start the race with the same set-up. But I would expect each driver was not allowed to hide developments or knowledge from the other, which would not be in the team’s best interests.

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:38:07 +0000

One of Alonso requests during the season was he didn’t want his set-up data shared with Hamilton. After his distant finish at Brazil he remarked, “I just drove what they gave me”………….
I might read into this that Alonso did NOT get his request, perhaps Ron Dennis was trying to keep the cars “equal” but let’s face it Hamilton was long term family, Alonso was an outsider taken in, equal cars maybe but equal mates, I think not!

By: George

George — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:50:03 +0000

Schumacher’s ultimate achievement off the track was building a team that was completely focused and dedicated to him. And he put in the work to earn that commitment. Unparalleled in motorsport? Maybe, which is why Lewis (or anyone else for that matter) will never reach the same level of achievements, regardless of the mad man’s predictions.

By: Michael K

Michael K — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:10:45 +0000

Well, to say that “taints” Schumi’s career is a bit harsh. I never used to like him but at some point a couple of years ago I realised that I was lucky to watch one of the all time greats of racing. That he never had a top class teammate and beat him is an achievement that he simply doesn’t have, Senna of course managed that, but it doesn’t really taint his career…

By: Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:08:36 +0000

for me, thats one thing that taints schumacher’s acheivments!
he never had a top class teammate!
he did start with piquet at benetton but he was passed it by that stage!
look at senna! he beat prost in what was regarded as prosts own team at the time!

By: George

George — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:09:58 +0000

“And if any of you think Kimi “won” at Brazil last year, you need to realize he sacrificed a home victory to allow Kimi the chance at the title. And was rewarded with a contract extension and a chance at more wins this year.”

Correction: Please insert “Massa” in lieu of “he” in the above.

By: George

George — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:07:58 +0000

All drivers on all teams are treated equally, given the same opportunity to win, until strategy comes into play. One of the drivers will receive a preferred pit window or qualifying strategy, it’s only logical.

And if any of you think Kimi “won” at Brazil last year, you need to realize he sacrificed a home victory to allow Kimi the chance at the title. And was rewarded with a contract extension and a chance at more wins this year.

Ron has always managed to excessively defend issues needlessly, just get on with the racing and shut up!

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:27:21 +0000

The FIA report of December 5th was simply an attempt to extract as much pain from McLaren to satisfy the people who had been disappointed by the total hash the FIA itself made of the previous proceedings (I’m not just referring to the decision – though the evidence in the transcripts doesn’t support the decision – I mean the way the investigation and hearings were conducted). Since the FIA had said prior to the investigation that it was taking “ideas” (a concept it never bothered to define) rather than more concrete things as proof, every single team “could be interpreted as” cheating because F1 teams attract great minds and great minds think alike (whether they correspond improperly or not). Since the entire background of the investigation was dodgy and the standard of proof the FIA had declared was known to be extremely low, none of the FIA’s own conclusions can be taken seriously.

If Pedro was looking to secure his place in McLaren the way McLaren used to operate, I would have expected him to say he was treated equally but suffered from “bad luck” or something equally vague. However, in a McLaren that appears to be priming itself for open favouritism, Pedro’s comments as published make total sense.

Personally, I prefer drivers to be treated equally unless there’s a crunch situation where not favouring one driver over another is likely to lead to seriously bad consequences (usually this would mean a championship battle, but I could imagine a handful of other circumstances – such as a race where overtaking attempts would likely result in a double DNF – where driver favouritism is reasonable).

By: Vittorio84

Vittorio84 — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:52:49 +0000

I think drivers equality it’s important at the beginning of the season, simply because you don’t know which of them will better fit the car. But at the end of the season, if you’re fighting for the Campionship with just one of your drivers, you would be crazy if you don’t get priorities.

By: Architrion

Architrion — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:31:29 +0000

If de la Rosa is to be believed, he explained McLaren equality some time ago. When he raced at Bahrain, three years ago because of Montoya’s injury (playing tennis?) he explained that he was told not to attack Kimi at the start, and because of that he had a busier race in the traffic…. That’s the real equality policy behind the curtains at the McLaren’s soap opera.