good move by kovi pulling over to let lewis pass at the start and then getting in the way of raikkonen.seems like mclaren have finally learned this is the best way to fight for a wdc.
Well , if Hamilton was on a 3 stopper and Heikki was on a 2 stopper, it would be counterproductive to have Heikki block Lewis from a team viewpoint , don't you agree ?
It has nothing to do with Heikki being the de facto #2 yes man here.
Compete against each other or not, there is an overall team strategy and one doesn't shoot oneself in the foot as a team by having the heavier fuel loaded driver slow down the lighter fueled driver.
They should battle each other into the last stop, not at the beginning of the race.
There is the WCC to consider as well.
I think McLaren - after the Alonso fiasco last yr - has a lot of proving to do regarding their statements that both drivers get not only equal equipment but also equal strategic preference.
DC said that they didn't have it in his day with Mika and common sense suggests that preference was leaning towards Lewis' way last yr.
Heikki so far has gotten the short end of some "bad luck" with his tyre failure (Enkei's fault not McLaren's) and the rear tyre puncture from Kimi today but those in no way suggest that he's the supporting driver yet.
if moving over for your teamate who was unable to qualify faster than you is not a sign to you that he is being the supporting driver fine with me, and what purpose is their in fighting to the last pit stop if you already pulled over for him to pass you, so what you are basically saying is that hey since i am lighter than you even though you outqualified me let me pass and then we can fight it out to the last pit stop.
Compete against each other or not, there is an overall team strategy and one doesn't shoot oneself in the foot as a team by having the heavier fuel loaded driver slow down the lighter fueled driver.
They should battle each other into the last stop, not at the beginning of the race.
There is the WCC to consider as well.
I think McLaren - after the Alonso fiasco last yr - has a lot of proving to do regarding their statements that both drivers get not only equal equipment but also equal strategic preference.
DC said that they didn't have it in his day with Mika and common sense suggests that preference was leaning towards Lewis' way last yr.
Heikki so far has gotten the short end of some "bad luck" with his tyre failure (Enkei's fault not McLaren's) and the rear tyre puncture from Kimi today but those in no way suggest that he's the supporting driver yet.
well if moving over for a lighter fueled teammate who you outqualified is not a sign of being a supporting driver
fine with me. i can just imagine what we would be saying if on the first lap of every race we saw teammates moving over to let lighter fueled drivers pass
Well , if Hamilton was on a 3 stopper and Heikki was on a 2 stopper, it would be counterproductive to have Heikki block Lewis from a team viewpoint , don't you agree ?
It has nothing to do with Heikki being the de facto #2 yes man here.
well if he was competing to win it would not make too much sense to help lewis beat him so either he is driving to win or driving to help lewis, cant have it both ways.
dont get me wrong i agree with mclaren doing this as in my opinion lewis is a better bet for wdc.
Well , if Hamilton was on a 3 stopper and Heikki was on a 2 stopper, it would be counterproductive to have Heikki block Lewis from a team viewpoint , don't you agree ?
It has nothing to do with Heikki being the de facto #2 yes man here.[/quo
Compete against each other or not, there is an overall team strategy and one doesn't shoot oneself in the foot as a team by having the heavier fuel loaded driver slow down the lighter fueled driver.
They should battle each other into the last stop, not at the beginning of the race.
There is the WCC to consider as well.
I think McLaren - after the Alonso fiasco last yr - has a lot of proving to do regarding their statements that both drivers get not only equal equipment but also equal strategic preference.
DC said that they didn't have it in his day with Mika and common sense suggests that preference was leaning towards Lewis' way last yr.
Heikki so far has gotten the short end of some "bad luck" with his tyre failure (Enkei's fault not McLaren's) and the rear tyre puncture from Kimi today but those in no way suggest that he's the supporting driver yet.
good move by kovi pulling over to let lewis pass at the start and then getting in the way of raikkonen.seems like mclaren have finally learned this is the best way to fight for a wdc.
The problem with your argument is , Heikki didn't pull over . He held his line and Lewis got a good start , which I would expect him to do if he was lighter on fuel .
In every race start made this weekend at the track, the one on the 2nd spot didn't get a good start. The grip just wasn't there. The ones on the proper driving line had better grip and got a better start. Heikki on the dirty side, Hamilton on the clean side. Also consider that Heikki had quite a lot more fuel than Hamilton. It was worth of ten laps. Heikki refueled the first time on lap 26, Hamilton on lap 16. That's a lot isn't it.
Kimi got a bad start too, from the same side of the track as Heikki.
I think you are reading more from it than there actually is.
Also consider that Heikki had quite a lot more fuel than Hamilton. It was worth of ten laps. Heikki refueled the first time on lap 26, Hamilton on lap 16. That's a lot isn't it.
Heikki came in on lap 2 after the Kimi-induced rear puncture and they added a splash of fuel in that first stop. So we really don't know what his true Q3 fuel load was based on when he came in during the race. But I suspect that he was , as you speculate, heavier than Lewis on a conventional 2 stopper since he doesn't delaminate the Bridgestones as well as Lewis , according to Bridgestone.
What I don't get was his 3rd stop for a splash and dash after he had just passed Nico supremely well in a nice multi-corner back & forth that would make Rennie Arnoux proud. Even Baldiserri on the Ferrari pit wall was shaking his head when he saw Heikki come in ....what was that ? That was a strategic blunder. Heikki should have walked away with 1 point at least.
its always baffled me. when drivers are out there on friday and saturday why not swing over down the straight to help clean up the dirty side JUST IN CASE you wind up qualifying on the dirty side? i mean sure if you get pole it hurts you because the other driver can possibly get a better start but man o man right now getting dirty side is like am immediate starting line pass into corner 1.
good move by kovi pulling over to let lewis pass at the start and then getting in the way of raikkonen.seems like mclaren have finally learned this is the best way to fight for a wdc.
The problem with your argument is , Heikki didn't pull over . He held his line and Lewis got a good start , which I would expect him to do if he was lighter on fuel .
Agreed. Passing at the start happens all the time. Why is this any different?
Also consider that Heikki had quite a lot more fuel than Hamilton. It was worth of ten laps. Heikki refueled the first time on lap 26, Hamilton on lap 16. That's a lot isn't it.
Heikki came in on lap 2 after the Kimi-induced rear puncture and they added a splash of fuel in that first stop. So we really don't know what his true Q3 fuel load was based on when he came in during the race. But I suspect that he was , as you speculate, heavier than Lewis on a conventional 2 stopper since he doesn't delaminate the Bridgestones as well as Lewis , according to Bridgestone.
What I don't get was his 3rd stop for a splash and dash after he had just passed Nico supremely well in a nice multi-corner back & forth that would make Rennie Arnoux proud. Even Baldiserri on the Ferrari pit wall was shaking his head when he saw Heikki come in ....what was that ? That was a strategic blunder. Heikki should have walked away with 1 point at least.
McLaren have stated that Heikki would have, had he not got in trouble, stopped a couple of laps after Massa.
As for a blunder, why? He had to use a set of softs and it seems the McLaren wasn't too good on the softs at this circuit for a long period so they really had no other choice.
Heikki's luck is horrible, he couldnt pick a winner in a one horse race. He outqualified Lewis with more fuel onboard than gets caught up in a racing incident, typical for him this year. Australia a SC ended his chance at winning and in Spain some Lacquer almost kills him. He's been every bit as fast as Lewis his luck must change soon, hopefully for him.
According to Bridgestone, Hamilton was the only driver on the grid having problems with the durability of the tires. For him the 3rd pit stop was justified, but not for Heikki in my opinion. The Finnish F1 TV crew did not understand it either. And during the race they interviewed Heikki's manager when they were trying to get an explanation for the weird strategy, and he said that he did not understand it either...
Also, it has been acknowledged by Hamilton that Heikki had more fuel in Q3. Also McLaren bosses stated that Heikki had more fuel. How much more proof do we need? He had a heavier car, out-qualified Hamilton, got a bad start from the dirty side of the track, then got a puncture, partly his own fault though, then the strategy was not in my opinion good as he would not have needed the 3rd pit stop. It's Hamilton who is destroying his tires and not Heikki.
good move by kovi pulling over to let lewis pass at the start and then getting in the way of raikkonen.seems like mclaren have finally learned this is the best way to fight for a wdc.
The problem with your argument is , Heikki didn't pull over . He held his line and Lewis got a good start , which I would expect him to do if he was lighter on fuel .
Agreed. Passing at the start happens all the time. Why is this any different?
well if he is on the dirty side and knows the guys on the clean side are going to get a better start than him
it would seem to me that unless you move over to the clean side you are going to get passed, of course i am just a fan what do i know about racing.
