[Driver] Lewis Hamilton

[henners88]

It was quite clear from Hamilton's reaction on the radio he was unaware of the fuel situation in Spain. The team may have tried it on but I dont believe for a second Lewis was in on it, and I don't believe he is a liar. They knew the rules had been changed after Canada 2010 regarding stopping after qualifying so its also reasonable to suggest it may have been a simple miscalculation on the teams part. Fuel corrected or not, he was still the fastest that weekend.

[garcon]

I think it's a simple case of the team not being as tight as it once was and prone to mistakes when by necessity operating at the margins.

It was a huge mistake - because it rightly attracted a huge penalty - which I doubt they'll repeat.

[stripedcat]

McLaren do seem very error prone these days. I can't imagine this sort of thing happening in the 1980s(with Lauda, Senna and Prost at the team - and Ron Dennis) as well as the 1990s(with Mika there).

They made a big mistake in Spain. Lewis probably had the speed for an easy pole.

[Bononi]

Hopefully it won't happen again, they are no Ferrari, you see...

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Bononi

Hopefully it won't happen again, they are no Ferrari, you see...

As badly as Ferrari seem to be doing, they are rather more consistent in their efforts of getting things right for their number one driver. Maybe McLaren should have a number one driver?

[henners88]

Originally Posted by Marbot

As badly as Ferrari seem to be doing, they are rather more consistent in their efforts of getting things right for their number one driver. Maybe McLaren should have a number one driver?

How do they sit down a WDC and tell them they are no longer going to give him equal treatment? Both drivers are far too good to act as a supporting driver and both have determined personalities where they wouldn't accept such a role.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by henners88

How do they sit down a WDC and tell them they are no longer going to give him equal treatment...

you dont sit them down at all. you just start helping one driver more and the other will eventually figure it out.

then you hire Webber!

[alfettafan]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

People who think that McLaren tried it on at Spain, Jesus.

I know they are a chaotic bunch at McLaren but do me a favour love. I very much doubt they thought they'd get away with it having been let off once, they were more likely to be punished for it having done it once.

Edit: I have re-read your post and realised you implied Hamilton was also in on the cheating. Good stuff!

Doesn't seem too far fetched to me, both team and driver have previous after all!!

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by henners88

How do they sit down a WDC and tell them they are no longer going to give him equal treatment? Both drivers are far too good to act as a supporting driver and both have determined personalities where they wouldn't accept such a role.

Don't worry, that's never going to happen, like I said, they are not Ferrari.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by henners88

How do they sit down a WDC and tell them they are no longer going to give him equal treatment? Both drivers are far too good to act as a supporting driver and both have determined personalities where they wouldn't accept such a role.

Agreed. But it certainly wouldn't be too difficult to imagine Massa having to let his team mate by, even if he were leading the race on the final lap. It wouldn't be a popular victory, but who cares about popularity when the stats say that you now have three WDC titles.

Massa is already way behind Alonso in terms of points and is probably already accepting his role as real gunner in a very 'magnanimous' way.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Marbot

Agreed. But it certainly wouldn't be too difficult to imagine Massa having to let his team mate by, even if he were leading the race on the final lap. It wouldn't be a popular victory, but who cares about popularity when the stats say that you now have three WDC titles.

Massa is already way behind Alonso in terms of points and is probably already accepting his role as real gunner in a very 'magnanimous' way.

Let's face it up against Alonso (contrary to my prediction) Massa is clearly No2. (No pun intended.)

[beau1]

Originally Posted by Bononi

Don't worry, that's never going to happen, like I said, they are not Ferrari.

Yeah because McLaren have never taken part in team orders have they.

[henners88]

Originally Posted by beau1

Yeah because McLaren have never taken part in team orders have they.

Not to the extent of other teams no, so you're right.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by garcon

I think it's a simple case of the team not being as tight as it once was and prone to mistakes when by necessity operating at the margins.

It was a huge mistake - because it rightly attracted a huge penalty - which I doubt they'll repeat.

I totally agree garcon. It's the old 'never put down to malice what can be explained by incompetence'.

[trevisio]

I think Lewis is a very quick racing driver, maybe the most exciting to watch on the grid, and he's always, to me at least, outclassed his team mates, by various margins. We just don't know, beyond guesswork, how he compares to drivers who've never driven the same car,

The trouble with Lews, I think, is that an awful lot of nonsense has been written and stirred up around him, which he has let unsettle him. He has also lost a lot of points this year, and in previous years, due to non-driver related issues and questionable penalties.

Let's not forget that he won the championship in his second season in F1, and he would have won the WDC in his 1st F1 season, 2007 were it not for ridiculousness re: tyres in china and inexplicably strange happenings in the last race in Brazil. So its fair to say he is without doubt a top F1 driver.

I believe I'm right in saying:
He has suffered more penalties than any main rival in the past 3 seasons
He has suffered more mechanical failures than his main rivals in the past 3 seasons
He has suffered more time lost in pitstops than his main rivals in the past 3 seasons.

It must be incredibly frustrating for him and I can understand if it has got to him and unsettled him, thereby affecting his performances. However he would be a more complete driver if he dealt with all of the frustrations better or just ignored them (if thats humanly possible).