Whitmarsh: “I’d be disappointed if Jenson wasn’t trying to win”

Brazilian Grand Prix

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Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren, 2010

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh fielded questions from a group of journalists including F1 Fanatic ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Phone-in.

Here’s what he had to say:

In Korea you were right at the front all weekend until Q3, and then Red Bull and Alonso got away in the pole battle, which left Lewis and Jenson baffled. Have you pinpointed why this happened? Do you expect to be back on the pace in qualifying in Brazil? Or do you think you’ll have to outwit your rivals from behind in the race?

Firstly, in Korea, you’re right, we were on the pace. In P1, P2 and P3 I think we were first, third and second through those and we were competitive through Q1 and Q2.

I’m sure we’ve all got different forms of qualifying mode and times when we develop or exploit those qualifying modes. I think it was tight but we didn’t quite get the performance.

I think in Jenson’s case we didn’t give him a car he was comfortable with throughout qualifying so he did a good job just to get it up there anyway. I don’t really know but certainly Red Bull found extra pace in Q3 relative to everyone.

In answer to your next question, we’re bringing developments to Brazil, we’re pushing hard, we have a range of tests we will perform on Friday before we finalise the spec of the car to be used on Saturday and Sunday.

Naturally, of course, we hope those will put us way out in front. But I think a realistic expectation is they will make us competitive and if we, the team, the drivers and ourselves work together there’s no reason why, if we deliver on that performance development, we can’t be competing for pole position and therefore try and win from the front.

In answer to your last question, if we’re not at the front then we’ll try and win from behind. We’ve done that a few times this year as well with two great racing drivers so there’s no reason why we can’t do that. Generally, Brazil provides an exciting race so let’s hope, for everyone, that we have an exciting race and we keep the championship alive until Abu Dhabi.

You’ve said you’ll allow both drivers to fight for the title. But with Lewis in such a superior position have you worked through situations in which you might ask Jenson to help him out?

Well, as I think we all know, there are no team orders in the sport. I think the right thing for a racing driver is to go there and win. I would be disappointed if Jenson isn’t going there trying to win.

I think the championship for Jenson in particularly is tough but if he was telling me that he’d given up then I’d be deeply disappointed. So I think the right thing is if he’s getting his car in front of all our competitors that is absolutely the right target, we’ll see what happens during the course of the weekend.

There’s a good relationship between the two drivers. I’m sure they are going to co-operate with each other. I think Jenson is a remarkably composed, mature, thinking driver and he should go there with the attitude of trying and seeking to win the race. During the course of the weekend I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to fulfil the ambitions of the team.

When you say that the scenario might change over the weekend does that mean you are thinking of the possibility of Jenson helping Lewis out if things aren’t going well for him?

I think Lewis and Jenson are both going to try and win the race. In the race itself we’ll see what that situation is. If we’re in the fortunate position of running in a strong one-two position then that’s a nice challenge to have. But I think the right frame of mind for the team and both drivers is we should be going to any event trying to win it and trying to have a one-two.

In order to do that we’re going to have to deliver the performance improvements we’re seeking on the car. We’ve got to perform well in setting up, we’ve got to perform well as a team and the drivers have got to be performing as well. We can try and consider a variety of scenarios, we’ve been in championship hunts many times before, so have both these drivers, the best thing to do is try to go there and win.

We are not in the fortunate position of defending a lead, we are going there to attack and try and win.

Presumably conversations over those scenarios are taking place?

The conversations are “guys, let’s focus on making the car as good as we can, see if we can win.” That’s the depth of conversation that’s going on at the moment.

There’s a lot of talk about engine use ahead of the final couple of races. Jenson and Lewis, like most of their rivals, have used their eight. Can you clarify the situation at all regarding how many low-mileage units you have left, and whether you think you’re in a better position relative to Ferrari and Red Bull?

I think we are but we’re not going to get overly confident. Mercedes-Benz have done a great job. We will not expect engines to run more than two race distances in races until the end of the season. Certainly some of our competitors are going to have more mileage on their engines and their engines, classically, have not been quite as reliable as the Mercedes-Benz engines.

So I think there’s a potential advantage we have there. But that can change in one revolution of an engine.

We are fairly comfortable and confident of where we are with the engines. It would appear that some of the title contenders will have to use higher-mileage engines than either of our drivers.

Can you explain what a ‘point’ of downforce is, and what would you say you have gained as a percentage over the course of the year?

When we’re developing a car we are measuring downforce generated by the aerodynamic package, we turn that into coefficients, which is a ratio of the frontal area of the vehicle. Pretty meaningless currency, really, and in fact not everyone uses the same frontal area and therefore their coefficients aren’t the same. In general terms people are talking about an efficiency, which is a ratio of their drag and downforce, of about 3.6.

In simple terms, about 25 points of downforce typically – and it varies for every circuit – is about a second of lap time. Maybe that’s a more relevant way of looking at it. So one point is roughly one-25th of a second of lap time on average.

And what would you say you’ve gained over the season?

In downforce terms we’ve certainly gained probably around twos seconds of lap time since the start of the year as a consequence of aerodynamic development.

Christian Horner said earlier this week that if Alonso were to win the world championship “it would be frustrating because we’ve obviously been working under the auspices that team orders had been illegal”. Do you share that point of view?

I have lots of private views on the outcome. I think if anyone other than a McLaren driver wins the championship it’ll be very frustrating!

So I’m not going to cast aspersions. We run our team as we wish to and we understand the rules in one sense. It may well be that other teams have got a different view on that but at the end of the day Red Bull have produced a fast car and they’ve been highly competitive all year.

And Ferrari, you’ve got to give them credit. Regardless of the team orders debate and all those other things, Ferrari have gone from been really struggling at mid-season, they’ve had a resurgence and they’re looking very competitive and Alonso is a formidable competitor.

I think we shouldn’t detract from what really, probably, is one of the greatest Formula 1 championships in our history with issues about what team did or didn’t do things during the course of the year.

It’s been a fantastic championship, genuinely. At the moment there are a number of contenders from three different teams competing for this championship and I think that’s been fantastic.

We’ve had three one-twos, we’ve had some great moments, we’ve had some struggling moments, Red Bull have had moments of triumph and tragedy and so have Ferrari and that’s moved around during the year. I hope the last two races see McLaren resurgent and dominant and scoring one-twos in the last two races would be a nice end to the season for everyone I’m sure.

What you seem to be saying is it would reflect badly on the sport if Hockenheim were seen to have been decisive in the championship outcome?

I don’t think I said anything of the sort, I think you were saying that and it’s for you to make your own observation. I certainly didn’t make that observation I don’t know if the line broke down while I was talking…

The impression I got from you was you were saying we’d had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about more than what happened at Hockenheim?

I think we’ve had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about full stop, that’s what I think I said.

Regarding the circuit characteristics of Interlagos, some people have observed that this year’s [McLaren] is not as compliant over bumps, for example, as maybe some other cars. How much of a concern is it?

I think it is quite difficult to predict and I think that’s good. Maybe other teams and other pundits, I can’t predict it. I’d like to believe we’re going to be quick there.

I think our advantage in F-duct territory has diminished, as you’d expect, it was a very innovative concept, but it was very cheap to implement and people have implemented it. We may have stayed ahead a little bit but I think our advantage has diminished, maybe we still have a little bit of an edge as the original inventors and creators of it.

With regard to the bumps, we’ve made a number of developments. I think you’re right to observe that on a number of occasions – Bahrain the very first race with the new part of the circuit, and Silverstone, which had for various reasons become bumpier than it had ever been – were relatively low moments for us in our performance.

So we were aware of that challenge. At Brazil we’ve got a number of things that we have done which we hope will help us, but whether they help us enough we’ll start to establish in the next 48 hours.

Certainly we’ve made some progress. I think there’s no reason why we can’t be competitive and win in Brazil. I believe that, the engineers and the drivers believe it. But I’m sure that in this championship at the moment Ferrari and Red Bull won’t stand still, they’ll do everything they can to win. Frankly, that’s the great thing again about this championship.

No-one, I think, with high levels of confidence, whether you’re within a team or outside a team, can predict which cars would be quicker around Interlagos between a McLaren a Ferrari and a Red Bull. Which is great!

In your team press release Lewis said he thought you would go to Brazil with the third-fastest car. With this in mind, do you hope the weather might come to your advantage?

No I don’t, yet, we’ll see. I think we’ve got some interesting developments, I’d like to run them in the dry on Friday. Friday is a test day for all of us and it’s easier to do that in the dry.

I’d certainly like Friday to be a dry day and thereafter if we’re competitive then, we’ve seen many times, wet races are exciting but if you’re competitive and it’s wet you can have difficulty executing the result that you’re competitive enough to deliver.

I don’t know about you guys but when you look at the forecasting I’ve seen forecasts telling me it’s going to be dry every day and I’ve seen forecasts telling me it’s going to be wet every day. I think there’s a reasonable probability of some water on the track, there often is in Brazil.

Either way, Brazil is a circuit which maybe some modern day circuit designers ought to go and have a look at because generally it produces some fantastic races. It’s a great theatre when you go and watch it – not just the atmosphere, which also can be extraordinary there.

It’s a great venue and, considering how long it’s been around, I think there’s a few lessons that can be learnt there for many a budding circuit designer.

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    64 comments on “Whitmarsh: “I’d be disappointed if Jenson wasn’t trying to win””

    1. I’d certainly like Ferrari to be a dry day

      I think he meant he’s like Friday to be a dry day!!

      1. Ferrari Day… sounds like an Italian national holiday to me.

        Great interview Keith, looks as if he really does not want to take sides in the team order debate.

        Brazil is a circuit which maybe some modern day circuit designers ought to go and have a look at

        Take note, Tilke!

        1. He said that twice!

        2. lol! Will it rain on the Ferrari day or not? And when is it? :D

        3. Jraybay-HamiltonMclarenfan
          4th November 2010, 15:27

          I forget who it was but it was a Le mans driver who is friends with Herman tilke and he invited him to some of Americas premiere circuits so that he can make a good one in Texas for formula 1 : D

      2. Fixed the typo.

    2. W

      ell, as I think we all know, there are no team orders in the sport.

      Uh huh…

    3. What you seem to be saying is it would reflect badly on the sport if Hockenheim were seen to have been decisive in the championship outcome?

      I don’t think I said anything of the sort, I think you were saying that and it’s for you to make your own observation. I certainly didn’t make that observation I don’t know if the line broke down while I was talking…

      The impression I got from you was you were saying we’d had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about more than what happened at Hockenheim?

      I think we’ve had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about full stop, that’s what I think I said.

      What a lame attempt by an obviously anti-Ferrari reporter. Full makrs to Martin Whitmarsh though. He warded off the controversial questions with poise and confidence.

      1. That was me :-)

        I also asked the preceding question.

      2. It looked to me as if Martin was asked if he shared Christian’s view, to which a definitive yes or no answer was avoided. A clarification was sought and avoided once more. I fail to see how this is anti-Ferrari.

        1. Martin was indeed asked whether he shared Horner’s views, and he repeatedly said No. He said, “won’t cast aspersions”. He applauded Ferrari and used the words, “regardless of the team orders debate”. Martin gave a very clear, unequivocal NO, but still the journalist (infact, it is Keith) asked for a ‘clarification’ which was not necessary IMO. That is why I feel, it is anti-Ferrari.

          1. Martin gave a very clear, unequivocal NO

            No he didn’t, he gave a six-paragraph answer which is a fair amount to take in in a phone call. But as I said to John below, I followed up with a further question because I wanted to understand what his answer was, not make an attempt to mis-represent it.

            If I had been looking for a particular answer and not got it, do you think I would have bothered transcribing it?

          2. Martin gave a very clear, unequivocal NO

            Not really he said:

            I have lots of private views on the outcome.

            and then he went on to look at the positives on the season. He sidestepped the question.

            If he wanted to say No then he would have said it. That’s why the follow up question.

          3. Martin said, “Regardless of the team orders debate and all those other things, Ferrari have gone from been really struggling at mid-season, they’ve had a resurgence and they’re looking very competitive and Alonso is a formidable competitor.”

            Look at the words in bold, he did not side-step the question. He does follow it up with a six-paragraph digression and I can now (after reading reply to JohnH) understand why Keith needed a re-clarification. It is easier to read and interpret rather than doing it real time on a telephone interview.

            1. I think you need to look up the definition of “Regardless”.
              By using that word Martin was moving away from the question asked by Keith that was a straight:
              Yes – I agree with Christian Horner because..
              or
              No – I do not agree with Christian Horner because..
              Hence he sidestepped the question.

        2. This is what Martin originally said in the interview…

          I think we shouldn’t detract from what really, probably, is one of the greatest Formula 1 championships in our history with issues about what team did or didn’t do things during the course of the year.

          …and therefore Keiths later question was a valid a good summary of that point…

          The impression I got from you was you were saying we’d had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about more than what happened at Hockenheim?

          …Martins reply, unfortunately does not entirely reflect his first answer…

          I think we’ve had a very good championship and that’s what we should think about full stop, that’s what I think I said.

    4. Whitmarsh: “I’m not going to cast aspersions”

      Journo: “So, would you say that you are trying to cast aspersions?”

      Whitmarsh: “I said nothing of the sort”

      Classic.

    5. I think Alonso (after Ferrari wasting engines in the beginning of thge season) and Vettel (after the failure in Korea) are those who should be concerned about their engine situation. McLaren hasn’t seemed to have any problems and Webber just started to use his 8th engine in Korea, so they should be in a stronger position.

    6. Shame about putting words in Whitmarsh’s mouth about the 7 points. I actually think he’s handled it pretty well. I’m sure Ferrari wouldn’t be so forgiving based on their ridiculous statements this season.

      Everyone knows what Whitmarsh must be thinking, but he can’t say it at any interview, even the small ones because it will be plastered across the press in big quote marks.

      1. “Putting words in his mouth” is exactly what I was trying to avoid doing. That’s why I put the second question forward.

        1. “What you seem to be saying is it would reflect badly on the sport if Hockenheim were seen to have been decisive in the championship outcome?”

          That question doesn’t seem to relate to anything he just said. Sorry Keith.

          1. … perhaps I’m treading on dodgy f1fanatic ground here, but just being honest $:)

            1. Not at all, that’s what the comments are here for.

              If you don’t like the question I don’t mind but I wanted to clear up exactly what his point of view was and I think that’s been established.

            2. What is with all these – “Championship will be devalued, if Alonso wins the championship by less than 7 points margin”??? Are we expecting him to accept that he had been favored with 7 extra points and to give up the championship or FIA to accept their mistake and strip Fernando his title, if he wins it by less than 7 points? :)

              Every team played their cards and Ferrari so did Ferrari with some offense to the regulations, and got away with it. That was their luck, just a bit cruel on others. We just have to accept it. So, having a – to use your term – devalued title isn’t something new to F1. It isn’t that we shouldn’t be critical in our response on such actions, but it is just that we should know not to over-react.

              There is nothing wrong about Keith asking this question to Whitmarsh, after all, it is an interview. But to me, that question looks unnecessary – that is just my opinion. Whatever Whitmarsh thinks, is not going to change anything on this matter. Having an ideal and clean season is something we can’t expect every year. It is just natural.

            3. To be clear, My comment wasn’t because of the fact that I’m a Ferrari fan. Just got bored to hear the same again and again, but from different people :)

              I personally think, FIA should have stripped those extra 7 points Alonso had gained on that occasion and should have given a suspended ban or warning to Ferrari. But, that wasn’t the case.

              Is there something wrong with the comment section, I don’t have “Reply” option to some of the comments in this thread.

          2. I have to say I agree with John H on this one. I don’t think Whitmarsh said anything to imply that he thought “it would reflect badly on the sport if Hockenheim were seen to have been decisive in the championship outcome.”

            The first question though was quite a good one, but those questions were answered so well they reveal more about what Keith’s views than Whitmarsh’s

            1. I don’t agree – his answer ran the gamut from “I have lots of private views” to “I’m not going to cast aspersions” to “we shouldn’t detract from… one of the greatest Formula 1 championships in our history”.

              And, again, I don’t have the benefit of seeing it all written down and being able to weigh up the nuances of each word before deciding whether to ask another question – either you ask another question or you’ve missed your chance.

            2. You’re right it’s far too easy for me to sit and judge from behind a PC screen.

            3. @mani Whitmarsh is still chairman of FOTA, so I think his opinion does matter and hence the question.

              @Ads21 “You’re right it’s far too easy for me to sit and judge from behind a PC screen.” Me too!

        2. Jraybay-HamiltonMclarenfan
          4th November 2010, 15:31

          Well I thought you did a good job Keith. I didnt know you were able to speak to Martin… I learn something new here everday I love this site : D

    7. But he said he wont win this year. Interesting what happens if he is 1st and Hami is 2nd?

      1. Imagine the scenario:

        Alonso has retired from the race. Button leads Hamilton with Webber and Vettel behind. At this point Button would enter the final round with 21 points’ deficit to Webber, 17 to Alonso, 14 to Hamilton and 4 to Vettel. In short, needing a miracle to be world champion.

        However, if he lets Hamilton through, he is out of the championship – but Hamilton now ties with Webber on points and both are 4 ahead of Alonso, with Vettel only having an outside chance on 17 points.

        What does Button do?

        1. He wins the race.

          1. Because miracles (2008) do happen.

            1. Add 2007 and various other years to that list too!

          2. That made me giggle, thanks :)

        2. There are no team orders in F1 this year ;)

          1. who are u trying to fool? Yourself?

    8. In downforce terms we’ve certainly gained probably around two seconds of lap time since the start of the year as a consequence of aerodynamic development.

      I did a little research and found that if you compare Hamilton’s best times from this year and last year in qualifying, at different races you get different margins. In China, it’s -0.8, in Suzuka it’s -0.5. But in Spain he was actually a few hundredths slower than last year (1:20.829 v 1:20.805)!

      So basically what Martin’s words imply is that the undeveloped MP4-25 was actually slower than the developed MP4-24. Either that or however much time has been gained in downforce terms, it doesn’t actually all convert into actual lap time.

      1. The MP4-25 has an aversion to being developed. This is trully a very bad F1 car. They have not been able to get any decent development parts to work on it all year.
        But everyone is towing the company line; “next time we will get it right”. What a pile of it!

      2. You can not take lap times and compare from the same race a year ago. Track conditions, weather conditions etc. Ideally times would be better, but not if the temperature was 30{F) degrees different for example

        1. Not to mention kers…

    9. Regarding the Jenson-Lewis thing, he repeatedly says, “We will see what the situation is”, so he is definitely not ruling out Jenson moving over for Lewis, which I think is the correct approach.

      Assuming Jenson-Lewis-Alonso are 1-2-3 with the last lap remaining (Both red Bulls retired), where it is virtually sure that Alonso’s engine won’t fail and Jenson is out of the championship, Jenson should move over. In the bizarre scenario, that Jenson moves over and then Alonso’s engine fails on the last lap, well, that is a chance Mclaren will have to take.

    10. Whitmarsh is just so much more likable than Dennis :).

    11. The only driver who can actually ask his teammate some help is Webber. Vettel is normally faster than him so he will need his help.

      People are talking about Massa helping Alonso. He really “helped” him once.He didn’t help him much after germany and even almost take him out in Monza. If i was Alonso, i’ll rather want him far from me.

      Jenson outperformed Lewis fair and square only twice ( China and Monza). I don’t expect jenson to be ahead of lewis anyway. He’s the one who will need help to find grip and the right balance for his car to pass Q2.

      Some of you will ask me, what about Australia?
      well,Australia was luck. He didn’t change his tires as a strategy but because he was struggling with the ones he had and thanx to Vettel car failure, he was able to win the race. But the BBC crew and his fans want me to believe he was outstanding and smart.

      Alonso & Hamilton only have themselves to win the race.

      1. Or maybe just crash or do a jumped start or something. :)

    12. PS – Keith I meant no disrespect referring to you as “Journo”…

      I didnt realize that was your question.

      Eeep.

      Now I am rather embarassed.

      Good work as always.

    13. From Whitemarsh’s comments to Keith and others, I have come to believe that he prefers Jenson to Lewis. That’s ok, we all have our preferences, but I would like to be a fly on the wall at MTC and hear his true thoughts about his drivers.
      Nevertheless, it is what happens on the track that count so Jenson has some catching up to do and Whitemarsh support can help him there. The winter should be quite interesting at Woking.

      1. typo: Not “can help him there” but “Cannot help him there”

      2. OMG, I misspelled Mr Whitmarsh name! My bad!

      3. It’s no secret he prefers Button like Dennis prefered Hamilton. Martin W. is trying his best to make Button look great but just failed. Most of mclaren updates are made with Button’s input (no wonder the team is going backward).

        1. Most of mclaren updates are made with Button’s input (no wonder the team is going backward).

          Part of what I was referring to when I said an interesting winter in Woking. Paddy Lowe said the car was designed to be neutral in order for it to accept development throughout the season but in my opinon something has gone horribly wrong. There developmental efforts have been nearer to Force India than to Red Bull, Ferrari or even Renault.

        2. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but I do believe in human-nature.

          And I still feel there is a significant distance between Whitmarsh and Hamilton.

          Irrespective of opinions of the real villain or hero, the Alonso/Hamilton rivalry, ended up in Paris and a hairsbreadth away from the roof being collapsed in on the whole team … if you had spent twenty years walking behind Ron, waiting for your moment to come, and just as it was due, you almost saw it snatched away, that must inevitably put emotional distance between yourself and the one driver/protagonist who remains.

          In the Heikki years it was Martin’s job to specifically put his arm round the driver, while Ron looked after Lewis. They stood on either side of the garage, this was all about being as fair as possible to both drivers, but it didn’t do much to foster any closer relationship between Whitmarsh and Hamilton.

          His first week in charge was the Trulli Safety Car balls-up … he came pretty close to having to lose the job he spent years waiting for, again indirectly, because of Lewis. In the end Ron took the FIA bullet.

          If you wanted to build your legacy as a team principal, a team in your image, then having the team leader be someone so closely associated with your direct predecessor may not really be ideal to your way of thinking.

          If your first big executive decision was to hire Button, if in any circumstance during the year that there was a decision to be made, and even if you were trying to be fair and even-handed, if one outcome was to help the driver that you personally signed, or the other outcome was to slow that driver, and therefore diminish your decision to sign him, which would you choose?

          No one needs to get too hysterical about any of this this, like I say its all just human-nature, but still, I do think that for half a season we all saw a clearly destablized Hamilton as he struggled to comprehend what exactly was happening around him in the team (his team, as was), and even now, he has got to be wondering what decisions/prioritites have been made by management, and what sort of car will appear in the winter.

          1. I don’t agree. I simply think Button has been better than everyone (Hamilton and his fans included) expected. If the car was being developed in Button’s favour we’d expect to see him improving relative to Hamilton as the season progressed – but if anything the opposite is true. And the car couldn’t have been designed for Button at the start of the year since it was mostly completed by the time anyone even suggested he might leave Brawn.

            1. Well said, Andy. Button has been surprisingly good relative to hamilton this year.

            2. Opinons about whose the best, Hamilton or Button are subjective. The only facts are the points (210 to 189), the design concept for the MP-25 and the resturcturing of the racing team.
              Paddy Lowe in a interview with Autosport.com stated that the car was designed as a neutral car to allow it to be developed over the season. He said they decided to go this route instead of designing the car around a driver.
              Martin Whitmarsh discribed the extent that McLaren had gone to make sure Jenson was comfortable at his new job. Lewis’s engineer, Phil Prew was assigned head race engineer of the racing team. Lewis and Jenson were assigned new race engineers; Lewis (Andy Latham) and Jenson (Jakob Andreasen). Jakob was an assistant race engineer for Lewis during his first two years at McLaren. All race related engineering is cleared through Prew before implementation.
              In the final analysis both drivers have had to deal with a bad car and Lewis has simply done a better Job. The questions that remains are, is this having any impact on the development of the MP-26, and will next year be the last for one of the drivers.

            3. Jeffrey Powell
              4th November 2010, 10:40

              There is no doubt that Jenson is a fast and highly intelligent, mature driver and if Mclaran design a car totally to suit his driving style and support him in favour of Lewis thereby upsetting our hero, who though undoubtly superfast and committed ,perhaps is able to be undermined, being a more emotional being. Jenson might win another title next year if the car is a second a lap quicker than the opposition (or Jenson should just let Lewis’s tyres down, ha!).

    14. The problem with McLaren lacking pace in the qualifying has to be solved by upgrading the car. Simply the thing in racing is that your competitors will only show off their real potential when they have to. So when Ferrari and Red Bull suddenly jump ahead, it is not because their mechanichs have found a magical setup, it is simply because their cars are better.

      Lets theoretically say that Red Bull and Ferrari run with a maximum of 95% throttle in the three practice sessions. Then come qualyfiyng they turn it up, if it is nescessary. As long as McLaren are not pushing Red Bull and Ferrari in qualifying they wont stand a chance at winning.

      1. So true, so true.

    15. Keith, assuming this was you doing this interview with Whitmarsh, I think you would be fully within your rights to politely ask Autosport.com to at least give credit where it’s due and refer to the source of their quotes

      1. Ah, I guess it wasn’t just you interviewing.

    16. For Mclaren to win they need Button to support Hamilton as that’s the only way they can do that now if they let both their drivers to fight then they may both have a DNF & hand over the title to their rivals so the sensible thing to do will be put Button behind Hamilton & help Lewis to win the title.

    17. Unless Jenson is ahead of his rivals he’s irrelevant to the standings and we can see from recent results he’s just not fast enough

      1. He doesn’t crash enough for my liking.

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