Hamilton's Phantom Tyre Puncture

Guys, I just stumbled across this article. I've attached a link below for your perusal. It's an interview with Jonathan Neale, Managing Director at Mclaren.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95281

Particularly interesting is the quote below;

"If you watch the race traces as I have done, and look at the way he carved through, overtaking a number of people, when he got the opportunity, I think he did a good job to bring that car back.

"But he was always going to be on the back foot with a three-stop strategy called in before lap 10. When we were looking at whether that was puncture, tyre pressure or tyre temperature related, I think we may have got a slightly wrong steer from the data in that first stint and I think we might've compromised him on his second stint."

The plot thickens.

and the part where he sais "BOTH drivers are getting better",i thought was strange too,because lewis hasnt been at his best,so how is he getting better.
and i personally dont think the team are 100% behind lewis from what ive seen.but i do think that now lewis is no longer a threat to button because of the points difference,things will go back to normal untill he is a threat again.
so we'll see lewis quicker in atleast one practice session.we'll see lewis outqualify jenson again.and we'll see lewis get more points from the next race.and then ppl will say "see theres nothing dodgy going on".

Until Hamilton signs a new contract at Mclaren, strange things will keep happening to him

Exactly supremeskills. Seriously how much more 'substancial evidence' is required for people to realise and understand something fishy is going on. It's either Mclaren is run by the most unprofessional and error prone individuals or there is something contrived against Lewis and 'genuinely' clear bias under Whitmarsh's leadership in favour of Jenson. Another admission of guilt from a team which has performed disgracefully over recent seasons.

BoR - I agree with you. BUt from Mclarens perspective isnt going about it this way being counter-productive in regards to lewis signing a new contract. After all, he wont want to sign a new contract if he thinks things will continue as they are.

Unless of course Mclarens plan is to put Lewis off wanting to resign a contract? [shrugs shoulders]

I would love to hear what Ron thinks about all this.

Critical_Mass

I think Mclaren are smarting over a variety of comments attributed to Hamilton earlier this season including his supposed talks with Christian Horner and are teaching him a lesson.

It's a calculated gamble by Mclaren, in my opinion. They know Hamilton wants a competitive car and the only cars capable of winning races this season are the RedBull, Mclaren and Ferrari. Hamilton contract ends the same time with Webbers at RedBull so they ar hoping he'll have signed up by then or risk losing a competitive ride and are kind of forcing his hand because I do not believe that pit stops and strategies from one side of the Mclaren pit wall compromise only one drivers race. (obviously i'll be called a member of the tin foil hat brigade). I've seen this happen in motogp on countless ocassions and I believe Ferrari did it to Kimi as well

Hamilton will be in this sport longer than Button and putting all their energies in a driver with a short f1 career left and limited race pace is a truly ridiculous thing to do.

We'll see.

Belgarion of Riva wrote:Critical_Mass
Hamilton will be in this sport longer than Button and putting all their energies in a driver with a short f1 career left and limited race pace is a truly ridiculous thing to do.

That is so very true. I'll eat my hat if he leaves McLaren.

Whoever thinks Lewis is 'contracted' or obliged to stay at Mclaren for the rest of his F1 life because of the opportunity and support they gave to him during his childhood and early racing career is stupid. Lewis has stated he is in F1 to win multiple world titles and if Mclaren cannot provide Lewis with the machinery next season then there is no doubt in my mind his representatives will move him on to Red Bull in replacing Mark Webber.

Lewis and Mclaren have enjoyed a fantastic working relationship since his arrival in 2007, culminating in his WDC triumph in 2008. Since then, Lewis' career has stagnated due to various changes within the sport and the arrival of a new 'special' relationship between his team principle & Jenson Button. It has clearly had a negative effect upon Lewis' career, as that 'special' relationship he once enjoyed with his team has now been 'broken' and the support & focus he received is now being delivered to his rival teammate. All relationships, whatever the sport have there high and low points and the relationship between Lewis & Mclaren and the emotional 'bond' they once enjoyed, has evidently been effected over the last two seasons. The fact that Mclaren have also continually provided uncompetitive racing cars to their rivals has also caused friction and strained relationships. Another factor was the introduction of Pirelli tyres which has ultimately made Lewis' opportunities even more difficult as tyre management is now a fundamental requirement to be successful in F1. This has withheld Lewis' ability due to tyre management being the complete anti-thesis of his driving style compared to his teammate who has enjoyed this change and has flourished.

All special sporting relationships end for various reasons. In this case I think Lewis' ambitions and determination to win more titles will be the decisive factor in his decision to leave Mclaren. Ayrton Senna was an example of a driver who nobody thought would leave Mclaren, however he did and decided to join Williams in search of more titles. David Beckham left Manchester United, the club he loved, who nurtured him throughout his teenage years and early career. I too would be amazed if he left Mclaren, however history suggests that all good things come to an end. I think that the upcoming winter and the development of the 2012 car is one of the biggest and most important few months for Mclaren. Failure to provide a title winning car or one that is competitive with Adrian Newey's Red Bull could have dramatic implications for the team long term and could ultimately end up with losing one of Britain's most talented racing drivers of this generation.

Watch 'Senna' really tells it all re so called team-mates

Watched senna last night and ive got to say its a BRILLIANT film and VERY touching. I also saw some parallels (spell) with lewis.