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Team: Ron Dennis (CEO), Martin Whitmarsh (COO), Jonathan Neal (MD), Paddy Lowe (ED), Simon Lacey (HA), Pat Fry (CE), Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (1), Heikki Kovalainen (2)
Anyone heard if this was indeed heat-sensitive color-changing flo viz paint? Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!lkocev wrote: Is that paint on the underside of the lower rear wing the termal type of paint that changes color with heat exposure (I think some of them lighten with heat exposure)??
Sorry for the WTF, there have been so many posts on the various threads that have been based purely on personal hate for the team stating that the times they have been doing are rubbish that I felt compelled to reply and was a little too grumpy. So apologies for singling you out, it was more a general WTF at all those who seem to only want to bash McLaren no matter what is going on with their test times.Spencifer_Murphy wrote:Thanks for the explaination myurr. Altho i don't understand the need for the "wtf" comment. I'm in my final year at uni and due to the increasingly difficult workload I'm under I find it hard to keep up to date with ALL things F1 atm. I simply don't have the time to look at websites showing times & laps etc like some people do. I thought if I'd ask an innocent question to a group of people (some of) who CAN look at that information I might have gotten a response from somebody who might appreciate that not everyone is as clued up as they are with what time are clearly quali and which ones are long stints.myurr wrote:WTF? Yes it was a quali run, just like all the others (except some of the Brawn laps) that were in that region.
Allowing for it being testing, so some salt is required, this lap would put McLaren 0.4s behind the Brawn, 0.2s behind the Williams, and 0.1 AHEAD of the Renault. Considering they were 2s behind just a few days ago I'd say that was amazing progress.
(I am aware that quali laps will be faster than long stints, what I'm saying is, for all I know everyone else could have been doing long stints that day...it is possible)
Lewis Hamilton: “There is no better place to begin the FIA Formula 1 World Championship than in Australia. The weather is fantastic, the facilities are excellent and the people of Melbourne make us all feel extremely welcome. Most importantly, everyone arrives with an air of enthusiasm and expectation. Despite weeks of winter testing, it’s still difficult to know exactly who has the best package, and finding out over the weekend in Albert Park is always fascinating. Perhaps Vodafone McLaren Mercedes doesn’t come to Melbourne with the same prospects to challenge at the front that we experienced in both 2007 and ’08, but the whole team will be working tirelessly to help us move back to the front.”
Heikki Kovalainen: “I had a great race in Melbourne last year on my debut for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. It’s a track I love – a circuit that you really have to attack with a lot of enthusiasm if you are to get the best from the car. The fast esses at the back of the circuit are probably the most demanding corners – getting it just right is a hugely satisfying feeling. Elsewhere, I enjoy the ‘back to school’ feeling of the new season – you meet up with everybody, share your stories from the winter and look forward to another good season. Everybody in our team is really motivated and, while we probably won’t start the season as favourites, we will work around the clock to get back there.”
Martin Whitmarsh, team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: “We go into the start of the 2009 season fully aware that we do not yet have the technical package that will allow our drivers to fight at the front. In Formula 1, there is nowhere to hide: that’s what makes our sport so demanding and yet so endlessly fascinating. And as a team that goes grand prix racing with the expectation of winning races and challenging for world championships, we therefore go to Melbourne with realistic expectations. Nonetheless, we begin our season with huge determination to re-assert ourselves at the front and we will not rest for a moment until we have done that. Most importantly, we haven’t forgotten how to win.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Melbourne is the city where – 12 years ago – McLaren-Mercedes achieved their first of 58 grand prix wins since then. After a total of four victories at Albert Park, this time it may not be possible to repeat Lewis’s success of last year. Considering our test results we will not be as competitive at the season opener as we intend to be, and so I do not expect a qualifying result at the front of the grid. However, we will all work hard to return to the front as soon as possible and in Melbourne everybody in the team is fully motivated to do everything to achieve the best possible result."
I skim read it, so perhaps I missed something, but they say they're not as strong as last year and not going to fight for the win. When they talk of fighting at the front they mean pole, not being in the top 10 or something less ambitious like that.Conceptual wrote:So now Hamilton, Kovi, Whitmarsh and Haug all say that McLaren is off the pace, and they do NOT expect to fight for the podium at Melbourne!
I took it as they believe they are not one of the top 2 teams, thus will place fifth at best...myurr wrote:I skim read it, so perhaps I missed something, but they say they're not as strong as last year and not going to fight for the win. When they talk of fighting at the front they mean pole, not being in the top 10 or something less ambitious like that.Conceptual wrote:So now Hamilton, Kovi, Whitmarsh and Haug all say that McLaren is off the pace, and they do NOT expect to fight for the podium at Melbourne!
I still think that they have a chance of a top 6 qualification with a podium finish. But lets just wait and see...
I have to believe the combination of excellent reliability, excellent organization, excellent tactics, and excellent driver will result in a competitive car. (And I hope I'm WRONG!Spencifer_Murphy wrote:Comments like that could be (but not nessicarily is) just covering his back though. I mean they might be more confident than that but if they say "Yeh, we've worked out some of the issues, we'll be in contention." and then end up at the back of the grid they'll have some major egg on their faces.
BUT, if they say "We might only be capable of the back thrid of the grid." Then when they finish the race in, say, 4th place, thay can look all smug saying "We shose to show our full hand at only the last moment." Whether or not that statement is true.
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