Chinese GP debrief with Martin Whitmarsh

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team driver Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship at Shanghai, but in the Constructors' Championship, the team is 11 points behind Ferrari. Martin Whitmarsh discusses the Chinese GP.

"The reality is that we strive to make MP4-23 well-balanced in every race, but sometimes we are able to achieve better results at certain tracks than at others. While both drivers and their engineers worked hard to bounce back as convincingly as possible from the disappointments of Fuji, the groundwork had already been done back at the McLaren Technology Centre and at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines. The engineers were able to provide the race team with a very focused set of performance parameters around which they were able to refine the car for the racetrack with the minimum of difficulty. And that’s the approach we will take into Brazil next week: methodical and iterative analysis and evaluation of the data to eliminate the rogue variables that could distract from our core focus. It may not sound exciting, but it’s the number-crunching that ultimately allows you to win races."

"Of course, we are keenly aware that the world championship could be won or lost by a mechanical failure. As a result, we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to minimise this possibility. For example, that meant consciously turning down Lewis’s engine on the run to the flag in China in order to give him plenty of engine life for Brazil."

"Regrettably, yes - but we don’t foresee this being an issue. Lewis’s engine will be on its second race in Sao Paulo while Heikki will use a brand new V8, so we can balance the two approaches to engine life. In terms of gearbox life, Lewis’s will be on race three while Heikki will start the weekend with a new ’box - but the level of reliability inherent in the gearbox means we anticipate fewer problems in this area."

"Clearly, we can afford to be more conservative than normal in our approach to Lewis’s race, but we are still pushing to win the constructors’ championship and it would be wrong of us as a team to overlook this fact. There are 18 points available in Brazil and there’s no reason why we can’t take forward the pace and form we showed in China to achieve a one-two in Brazil.

"As a result, we do have a number of minor aerodynamic upgrades in the pipeline that we are evaluating for inclusion on our Brazil-spec car. As with every race this season, we have brought something to the car - even if it has only been generating a few extra hundredths’ of laptime - and it would be wrong of us to close down that option for Interlagos."