mx_tifosi wrote:
It's wrong because he's constantly publicly complaining to his team. It's like when children talk back to their parents in public, it's downright embarrassing.
Regarding that as a transgression is however predicated on some notion of 'respect for the race-engineers'. Well that respect is earned, and can be lost.
It is increasingly clear that Lewis (and Jenson too), have lost confidence in the engineering support they recieve. Stategy mis-steps, rain-radar disasters, incorrect information, answering not the question that was asked, miscalls of basic rulebook readings. (Notwithstanding whatever twisted logic eminates from the stewards room)
Ross Brawn is sitting on the pitwall with a banana making a monkey out of the layers and layers and layers of middle-managers that presently occupy McLaren race engineering.
From Dave Ryan and Jarno in Oz, all the way through to watching Jenson this year 'ignoring' the pit-wall and being handsomely rewarded, it is clear he has lost confidence in what he is being told, he is forced to double-guess everything, that's brand new, he used to treat the pitwall and Uncle Ron as infallible.
His attitude to the information that after half a race on a low-brake-wear circuit, that his brakes were gone, was a clear insight into Lewis's thinking on the matter. He couldn't believe it, and had to (emphatically) question the information.
Phil Prew on the similarly public radio, last year in Germany, "you just do the driving, we'll do strategy", now that represents an inexcusable, and unprofessional slap-down in front of a global TV audience, a parent scolding a child ... but this should be nothing to do with parents and children, it is two adults. Lewis is all grown-up now.
Mission Controls, paralysis analysis, paperwork and procedure, that only counts if you are winning, if the driver is outdriving the engineering, then the engineers need to step-up, need to raise their game ... and while they are at it, if someone gets a chance, d'you fancy take the plugs out the raditors, eh?