munudeges wrote:Yes, teams do turn down the engines once they have enough of a lead to save them and the gearbox. However, to me that is nothing out of the ordinary and is done as a matter of course. They know very well what pace the cars are running at and it wasn't a particularly fast race. It isn't getting your calculations wrong and I just don't know why McLaren feels the need to drop the hint to be honest. It's a little....odd.
Almost everything they say is mind games, especially JB.
He'll for instance make it look like he's struggling at a certain time, then all of a sudden be dangerous once he gets on track.
People will be talking about how other teams were closing in on them as time went on, so they're making a statement that they weren't even pushing in order to downplay the notion that they will be caught later in races.
This can be "backed up" by the fact that Hamilton created a 2 second gap from Vettel on slower tyres, and how Button basically decided to setting fast(est) laps once the safety car let Vettel get closer to him.
Tbh though, trusting what the drivers/principals say 100% isn't worth doing. With all the politics and attempts to misdirect other teams going on, you're better off just taking it for what it is and watching the races as they come to make your own conclusions.