The FIA's investigation into alleged team orders by McLaren in the Monaco race leads one to wonder whether this was a case of the British media propelling an issue or whether another team had filed a complaint.
Within minutes of having received the constructors’ cup last Sunday, McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said that he would have preferred it had both drivers being able to win the race, but they were prudently asked to bring the cars home safe.
Frankly, I do not think that message was received by Lewis Hamilton, since he continued going into the corners on three wheels most of the time and putting the pressure on. It was only after another skid at Rascasse corner that he appeared to be easing off.
One can well remember Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna chasing each other at Monaco with no overtaking, since overtaking here is very difficult.
A team manager’s role is to win races and obtain the maximum points for the team. In Monaco, thanks to its huge advantage, the McLaren team could control the race. It would have been suicidal to permit both drivers to fight it out on a circuit where a tiny mistake would have cost it the race. The team also needed to conserve the engines for the next race in Montreal.
So why all this fuss? This was far from being the same thing as happened in Austria in 2002. What we saw last Sunday was a superior team which excelled on track.
Bernie Ecclestone has gone so far as to say that McLaren could be expelled from the championship if team orders were issued in breach of the rules. I do recall that this is sport and yes if team orders where issued against the FIA sporting regulations, the team will have to justify its actions. However last Sunday was a fantastic and closely fought race so why spoil the fun? Within a fortnight, racing will resume in Montreal where Mclaren might not be so competitive, so let them enjoy the Monaco result.
Incidentally the FIA will issue their verdict today. Following are the comments of both McLaren drivers after the race
Fernando Alonso, McLaren (1st): “This win means a lot to me and our world championship campaign. It’s a very nice surprise to see how the team’s hard work during the last couple of weeks has made our car so competitive. I have never had the experience of being more than one minute ahead of the competition which probably makes this one of my best victories. I didn’t get off the line brilliantly from pole position, but as there is such a short run to the first corner I was pretty sure that I would be able to keep the lead. However, as I was able to save fuel in my first stint I was able to stay out for two more laps than originally planned. After that the race was pretty quiet with only the backmarkers causing a few problems especially shortly before my second pitstop when I lost a lot of time. I will enjoy this victory and look forward to the races in North America.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren (2nd): “To finish second and running similar lap times to Fernando (Alonso) at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix makes me very happy. The team has done a fantastic job, and Fernando and I were able to give them the result they deserved. My start was quite good, and I could run close to Fernando but obviously it didn’t make sense to try anything crazy as our job is to ensure the maximum amount of points for the team. It’s almost impossible to overtake in Monaco and as a result your only chance is for the guy in front of you to make a mistake. However, Fernando is a double world champion so I knew there would be none. I had good pace in the beginning, but then I had some graining on my front tyres which didn’t help. It was an exciting race which also saw me tapping the guardrails a couple of times, fortunately without influencing the handling of the car. All in all a great weekend for the team and me.”
Within minutes of having received the constructors’ cup last Sunday, McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said that he would have preferred it had both drivers being able to win the race, but they were prudently asked to bring the cars home safe.
Frankly, I do not think that message was received by Lewis Hamilton, since he continued going into the corners on three wheels most of the time and putting the pressure on. It was only after another skid at Rascasse corner that he appeared to be easing off.
One can well remember Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna chasing each other at Monaco with no overtaking, since overtaking here is very difficult.
A team manager’s role is to win races and obtain the maximum points for the team. In Monaco, thanks to its huge advantage, the McLaren team could control the race. It would have been suicidal to permit both drivers to fight it out on a circuit where a tiny mistake would have cost it the race. The team also needed to conserve the engines for the next race in Montreal.
So why all this fuss? This was far from being the same thing as happened in Austria in 2002. What we saw last Sunday was a superior team which excelled on track.
Bernie Ecclestone has gone so far as to say that McLaren could be expelled from the championship if team orders were issued in breach of the rules. I do recall that this is sport and yes if team orders where issued against the FIA sporting regulations, the team will have to justify its actions. However last Sunday was a fantastic and closely fought race so why spoil the fun? Within a fortnight, racing will resume in Montreal where Mclaren might not be so competitive, so let them enjoy the Monaco result.
Incidentally the FIA will issue their verdict today. Following are the comments of both McLaren drivers after the race
Fernando Alonso, McLaren (1st): “This win means a lot to me and our world championship campaign. It’s a very nice surprise to see how the team’s hard work during the last couple of weeks has made our car so competitive. I have never had the experience of being more than one minute ahead of the competition which probably makes this one of my best victories. I didn’t get off the line brilliantly from pole position, but as there is such a short run to the first corner I was pretty sure that I would be able to keep the lead. However, as I was able to save fuel in my first stint I was able to stay out for two more laps than originally planned. After that the race was pretty quiet with only the backmarkers causing a few problems especially shortly before my second pitstop when I lost a lot of time. I will enjoy this victory and look forward to the races in North America.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren (2nd): “To finish second and running similar lap times to Fernando (Alonso) at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix makes me very happy. The team has done a fantastic job, and Fernando and I were able to give them the result they deserved. My start was quite good, and I could run close to Fernando but obviously it didn’t make sense to try anything crazy as our job is to ensure the maximum amount of points for the team. It’s almost impossible to overtake in Monaco and as a result your only chance is for the guy in front of you to make a mistake. However, Fernando is a double world champion so I knew there would be none. I had good pace in the beginning, but then I had some graining on my front tyres which didn’t help. It was an exciting race which also saw me tapping the guardrails a couple of times, fortunately without influencing the handling of the car. All in all a great weekend for the team and me.”