Apologies for the lack of blog updates (busy times which should be easing off soon, hopefully) and also for the very corny pun in the title of this update – I couldn’t resist!
Am I happy that Lewis Hamilton won in Turkey? yes, I’m over the moon. Would I prefer it the victory had have come from actually beating the Red Bulls rather than capitalising on the collision between Weber and Vettel? of course, but the improvements of the McLarens are very encouraging and Hamilton and Button were within pouncing distance of Weber and Vettel for the whole pre-collision race. This victory out Hamilton right back into the title race, something which comes as a huge relief to me, and lots of other people too, I’m sure.
Now, onto more serious matters, and the information that has come out of the radio communications that can be heard on formula1.com, which went something like this:
Team to Hamilton “Save fuel”
Lewis Hamilton- “If I save fuel will Jenson pass me yes or no?”
Team- “No Lewis He won’t”
Of course we all know what happened next. So, was this a case of the team not communicating to Jenson what they had just told Lewis or was this Jenson deciding to race for the win ignoring what the team had said/ No doubt we’ll get an explanation from Martin Whitmarsh at the next race, as I am sure the BBC team will ask him what went on. With no team order there can be no real blame for Jenson wanting to race, but he was given the passing opportunity due to Lewis slowing down, so the fault lies with the lack of communication.
If Lewis needed to save more fuel than Jenson, as the case may have been, would the team have been right to tell Jenson not to pass Lewis? Conserving fuel, just as with tyres, is part of the race and if Jenson has done than better than Lewis then all credit to him, surely, and a shot at the win in his right. Of course this is only mass speculation but I know that if the shoe were on the other foot than I’d want Lewis to be given that chance at victory.
If we assume the team didn’t pass on Lewis’s concerns, why would that be? Could it just be an innocent communication breakdown or could they have realised that if Jenson gets the win then he’d be top of the Driver’s Championship, while their team points would remain the same, seeing them top of the Constructor’s Championship. It’s maybe a cynical look at what occurred but as a fan of McLaren that doesn’t mean we have to be blinkered, we have to consider all angles, especially given the large amounts of money involved in Formula 1.
Until we hear from McLaren themselves, all we can do is guess any number of scenarios. The facts are that McLaren are now competitive with Red Bull, and with that in mind the rest of the season should be very exciting indeed.
McLaren Fan Blog 