McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh looks ahead of the forthcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, a very different challenge for the team following its success at the British and German Grand Prix.
The drivers have described the MP4-23 as being particularly well-balanced in high-speed corners, how do you expect it to cope with the low-speed twists and turns of the Hungaroring?
"The two circuits on the calendar that most resemble the characteristics of the Hungaroring are, bizarrely, Montreal, which is dusty and low-grip, and Monte Carlo, which requires a high-downforce set-up to cope with the minimal straights and numerous low-speed corners. And the reality is that we were reasonably competitive at both those circuits."
"While it has been true to say that one of the key strengths of our car is its pace in high-speed corners, we’ve done a lot of work to the package to strengthen its weak spots. At Silverstone, we were comfortable with our pace through the last sector, and at Hockenheim, we were comfortably quickest through the stadium section of the track, which is tight and reliant on good mechanical grip."
"We won in Hungary last season and travel to Budapest confident that we have strengthened the weaknesses of our package. Nonetheless, we are fully prepared for a battle with our rivals, whom we can never under-estimate."
Heikki (Kovalainen) proved rapid in practice and qualifying in Great Britain and Germany but didn’t seem able to exploit the car under him to the same extent during the race. Is the team working to alleviate some of the handling problems he has encountered?
"Firstly, let’s not forget that Heikki is a brilliant racing driver. His pass of Robert Kubica at Hockenheim reminded anybody who needed reminding that he has all the speed and skill to be battling at the front. But there’s no magic in Formula One and we still need to work with Heikki to extract his full potential. At Hockenheim, he didn’t get the best out of himself or the package and we need to work on how we fine-tune the car’s set-up and how Heikki is involved in that process."
"He was at MTC on Tuesday to carry out his pre-race programme and is working hard with his engineers to find a set-up that allows him to maintain his speed throughout a race stint without suffering from some of the rear-end nervousness he has encountered in recent races."
With the traditional F1 testing ban coming into effect immediately after the Hungarian Grand Prix, how has the team structured its development programme for the rest of the summer?
"The whole team has been incredibly busy and productive this year. Throughout the summer, we’ve been working hard to evaluate several substantial developments at each test and were able to sample major new aerodynamic steps at both the Silverstone and Hockenheim tests. This week’s Jerez test was no different: as well as evaluating the latest iteration of Bridgestone slick, we also tried out antler wings on the nosecone to improve the front-end flow as well as a number of more detailed aero solutions."
"Over the three-week break, we have also scheduled two 50km shakedowns and will be working hard back at Woking and Brixworth to enable us to keep the development programme on schedule before we resume the season in Valencia."
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mjhzxc is right - have you looked at the dates of the first 12 or so posts - i don't think they are related to this story at all!
Yahoo have combined posts from a previous Q&A. Some of the dates here go back to June/July.
perfectly said Daniel S. I really dont get why we are talking about Ferrari and even Hamilton (shocking I know!) on a page about Whitmarsh. It is stupid and pointless and you need to get a life
ENOUGH of this Ferrari vs McLaren, Hamilton vs. Schumi, my prick is bigger than yours B U L L S H I T ! ! ! ! ! !
People, grow up!!! No one knows what REALLY happened with all that "stolen" technology c r a p, so don't even go there. Ferrari whines, McLaren whines, Renault whines.... just give them some freaking cheese with all that "whine"!
Ferrari and McLaren are the 2 best teams in Formula 1 right now. They gave us a great championship to watch last year, and they are doing it again. Lewis is a great new driver who still has much to achieve. He's won some races, and he's looked good doing it, but he has not done anything that really matters yet!!! Wait until he wins, for God's sake!
JUST ENJOY THE DARN RACES AND ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM. STOP BASHING FERRARI, MCLAREN, LEWIS HAMILTON OR ANYONE ELSE, AND START MAKING INTELLIGENT COMMENTS THAT DON'T INVOLVE SOMEONE ELSE'S WIFE OR MOTHER.
to sagittarius 1958, if Hamilton is still a kid in F1 and has to grow up, who in hell was driving in the wet at the GB grand prix at a pace that all the others could only wonder at. Perhaps Shumihas come back to drive for Mcmclaren in make up to foll us all.
world champion in 2 years is my forcast but I cant get any odds at the bookie
This is strange. Check the dates on some of these posts. It's a mish mash of posts mostly from over a month ago.
Looks like yahoo have messsed up! and added comments from the previous M Whitmarsh Q&A last month.
SAGITTARIUS1958: Another rejected test tube experiment that calls himself a Ferrari fan, were you always this stupid or have you worked hard over the last 20 years to achieve it. Always degrading comments about Mclaren & or Hamilton never facts. Like a dripping tap. get a life.
go2tss. #11
Your observation below about Sagittarius is correct. Below he gives you the impression that he cares about LH. Mclaren but he really does not care the good thing about it is neither LH and Mclaren care about his existence either. The boy is koolly making his millions and enjoying his life. Believe me mr Sagittarius LH will not hire you or anyone else as an injury lawyer should anything go wrong. Why are you not worried about TGlock, Kubi, and sutil and Red Bull team. FIA was worried at one point about their car. Age does not determine how fulfilled you are. By the way Martin told us after 2 races that Kovalinen was special and summed up that his times in race condition was better than LH. So LH is not Lord at Mclaren. Give it to the boy he has given up his holiday to help the team deliver a better car. For Goodness sake the PM is on holiday while the whole country is in you know what.
You have made this prediction about something untowards happening to LH in recent times. Any thing could happen to any f the drivers in FIA do you recall the incident with Coultards car in montreal when it flew inches over another drivers head at the start of last season no one could predict that. If you have a prayer pray for safety of every driver in FIA. By the way mile for mile and speed for speed its safer than the M25.
Sagittarius 1958 - virtually every time you comment here, it's to run down Lewis Hamilton. That boy rules your world, I suspect. Maybe your spouse likes him and you hate that. Whatever the reason, I'd like to remind you that there is life beyond even LH.
Mclaren still having Ferrari Data haha don't make me laugh please
Mclaren are faster than Ferrari at the moment therefore how can Mclaren still have Ferrari Data
to you know something we dont know?
I bet my last UK pound McLaren would have made a bigger fuss out of it than Ferrari did.
l o l
...if McLaren have Ferrari information you can bet it is the other way round too. Just Ferrari make such a big deal of everything
HOW TO YOU SPELL BU**SH*** IN ENGLISH ?
"Clearly, Felipe (Massa) was strong in Budapest, particularly in the early part of the race and we come away from Hungary with a clear intention of understanding where that perceived uplift of performance came from. But the reality is that Lewis' pace behind Felipe during the first stint was very respectable - he was able to peg him to around the three-second mark until the first pitstops - and we weren't unduly concerned about the Ferrari's pace."
What a load of garbage! If you think the trading of secrets is a one way street then I feel really sorry for you. Open your eyes to reality - if McLaren have Ferrari information you can bet it is the other way round too. Just Ferrari make such a big deal of everything, but whenever they are in the wrong just brush it under the carpet - look at some of the underhand activities which schui any other team would get a £50M fine for the same antics.
Yes you are right. I still think it is time for McLaren to give the 'stolen' technology back so Ferrai can catch back up. And also give back the technology from the McLaren F1 from ten years ago so that Ferrari can at last fix the Enzo/FXX and bring it up to date a little. Darn those pesky thieves at Woking HQ.
mjhzxc,
The reason Ferrari dosn't use their own technology is because they just don't have it anymore, (remember, it was stolen). The only way those dasterdly devils at Mclaren can win is by stealing things like solid engineering, great driving, and well trained pit crews. How unfair!
I think McLaren should give back the 'stolen' Ferrari technology. They have been using that for the past 40 years you know. And they will probably use it for the next ten years at least. Well, everytime they win you will know that they are just using that special 'stolen' technology again. It's not Hamilton's driving or anything. God forbid!
What I don't understand is Ferrari's apparent reluctance to use their own technology, the technology that was stolen from them. Like last year when they were losing the constructors championship?
I don't really see McLaren with a gun to Lewis's head. Most of the time they seem to have to try to intervene to slow him down and stop him from overdriving, same him from himself as it were. This is the only consequence of his inexperience. But what a consequence to have.
Well said! The pressure Hamilton is under has got to be crushing. I know he is paid huge sums of money and the fame is overwhelming, but Hamilton is still just a kid with very little experience in F1. I wish him all the best, but I don't think I would like to be in his shoes.
At the risk of sounding facetious, does Whitmarsh not realize that it does not matter how much work goes into a race because in the end, it all ends up in the hands of the driver? McLaren has put all its eggs in one basket, namely Hamilton who in effect is still a rookie in F1 racing... why are these people surprized that this young man is not their lord and saviour? Leave the kid alone, he has a lot of growing up to do and all McLaren is doing is forcing him to perform beyond his capabilities... Though I am not normally pessimistic, but in view of the speeds these cars travel and the necessity for split second decisions, I suggest they stop harassing this kid to be more than what he is BEFORE tragedy strikes.
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