McLaren - The Team Order Controversy
May 29, 2007
Even before Fernando Alonso could take the cork off from his champaign bottle for winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton vented out his anger & frustration regarding the team order to “take it easy” in the last few laps of the Grand Prix. And this started a possible controversy that is being investigated by FIA regarding team orders, not to forget the flank McLaren and Ron Dennis received from British Media.
I don’t need to remind how the whole ‘Team Order’ saga started with Reubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher in 2002 and the strict rules that FIA came out with. Instead what I am going to write about is the current row that follows Ron Dennis & McLaren.
A little background about the whole controversy. In one of the post race interview, Lewis Hamilton angrily commented that he was asked by his race engineer to slow down and take it easy after his second pit stop. Lewis still continued to lap faster and continued to close the gap between him and Alonso. At that point, Ron Dennis interfered and asked Hamilton to take it easy since their first and second position were for sure since Massa was trailing by more than 50 seconds in third place. This is what infuriated Hamilton, since he thought he was very well capable of registering his first Grand Prix victory there.
Now when I sit down and think about the whole issue, it just comes out to be the rookie’sh behavior of Hamilton. Everyone knows that it is very hard to overtake in Monte Carlo. So given the fact that Alonso and Hamilton were comfortably leading the GP and were definitely going to take first and second podium finishes. It only make sense for McLaren to ask both of them to take it easy since it would have hurt McLaren more if any one [or both] of them would have ended in the barriers specially trying to overtake themselves. Also we have to keep in mind the way Hamilton was driving the car, the number of times the back end of his car stepped out and narrowly missed hitting the barrier.
As for FIA investigation, the whole “Team Order” ruling is really a very vague one. As per FIA ruling, team orders are only prohibited if they “interfere with a race result”. What does they mean by “Race Result” ?? If we take in account the finishing positions of the drivers, then McLaren did nothing wrong, they didn’t asked Alonso to slow down and let Hamilton pass through.
As per me this whole issue is blown out-of-proportions just due to extra media attention Hamilton is getting. Nothing else.
May 30th, 2007 at 12:27 am
McLaren - The Team Order Controversy…
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May 30th, 2007 at 3:50 am
It was fixed, a sham, a disgrace and an insult to F1 fans, “estilo” Schumacher’s gift to Reubens at Indy.
You suggested that Lewis is at fault for the FIA investigation of McLaren, and that he should not have been disgruntled, and should have kept his mouth shut and accept the backstabbing Ron the hypocrite gave him. All too often when certain people are wronged and then complain about it, the spin masters attack the victim for complaining, and try and shift the attacker’s guilt to the victim. Even with the knife still lodged in his back, Lewis never screamed that McLaren had decided Alonso would be the winner even before the race actually started…Ron did. Lewis never said he wasn’t allowed to race at Monaco…Ron did.
Lewis began the race “heavy” with 5 laps more fuel than Alonzo, and so far as he was concerned, he was supposed to race 5 more laps before pitting, giving himself a chance to build a lead and possibly pull ahead of Alonzo. He truly expected to make up time while Alonzo was pitting; this was his only chance to win the race. That is why he tried so hard to make a parade look like a race, and why he brushed the barriers so often…nearly breaking his neck for what? So you can say that he is a bad driver in order to strengthen your anti-Lewis sentiment and whitewash McLaren’s guilt. There is more integrity in “Professional” wrestling than in F1, and in McLaren in particular.
Lewis, the reigning GP2 champion and rising F1 star, was well aware that overtaking is nearly impossible at Monaco. He never believed he would actually overtake Alonzo, nor would he risk crashing trying to do so. If he wanted to risk it, he could have done so at the start of the race where his teammate had a poor start. Instead, he demonstrated team loyalty, used good judgement, and did not risk crashing or running off-track like his teammate did in Spain. Notice how Lewis blocked any possible chance Felipe may have had to overtake Alonso by slotting himself directly behind Alonso as the race started. Instead, he waited for his opportunity to win the race according to the number 2 car’s one-stop strategy. By the way, the “pace/emergency car” rubbish was a Ron Dennis smoke screen. Last I heard, the F1 circus went to Monaco to race, not blow smoke!
Please note that Lewis did not engaged Alonzo heads-up after being told to disengae or slow the pace. My take is that, yes, he continued to push hard, and actually made it appear like a real race, thank God… but his push was against time and part of the one-stop strategy, and not directly against Alonso.
Instead of allowing Lewis to continue racing the 5 or 6 laps according to the one-stop strategy, he was pulled into the pits after only 3 of the 5 laps he was slated to run, and that was why he needed to check with his engineer to determine why, and what happened to the strategy before answering a particular question. This is what set off the public outcry, and what made Lewis, the racer, a bit disgruntled. Ron’s actions from Q3 were designed for Alonso to win pole while Lewis ran “heavy” and his short circuiting of Lewis’ strategy was designed to give Alonzo the race win. Seems that Ron pulled a coup and got away with it as he made Lewis the “whipping boy”. But the public is wise, and some in the press, and now they are demanding to know why Ron didn’t give Lewis a fighting British chance to win the race.
Ron brought both cars home safely (1 and 2) for the win…great! If it didn’t matter to McLaren who won, Lewis or Alonso, as long as the team won, why would Ron short circuit Lewis’ big change to smoke Alonzo (through strategy) and win Monaco; his big dream. I submit there is money involved somewhere, and Ron gave the race to the poster boy instead of creating a level playing field for the best man to win. What do I mean about “Poster Boy”? Look at all the ads that include Alonso; i.e. Mercedes, Mobile 1, Santander, McLaren, and others.
I believe Lewis’ F1 success thus far has rejuvenated interest in F1, and rejuvenated other young drivers as well. Surely, he has made a significant contribution to team McLaren in terms of points and prestige when the WDC couldn’t do it. Lewis’ record deserves to be hyped, so what’s the big deal about “hype”. Does anti hype equate to anti-Lewis or jealously, or prejudice. Naturally, Lewis has managed to peak the interest of some Brits who actually want to see him win, though not many. If you were a “professional” writer, wouldn’t you run after breaking news like all reporters? Well Lewis is breaking news, and everyone wants to see the climax of the story. A Monaco win was the best chance for a climax, not Canada, not the US GP, and certainly not the British GP where many Brits will be cheering on their favorite foreigner.
One of Ron’s motive for “throwing” the race was to keep Alonso happy and stop his whinning since he has been upstaged by the new kid. He was grinning uncharacteristically from ear to ear after his “easy” Monaco victory-gift. Have you ever seen that before? No you haven’t, because he’s been gloomy and mopey and worried at being upstaged by his rookie teammate. Before rigging any further races for Alonso, Ron should be upfront with Lewis, and ask him properly to his face to “take-a-dive”, and not stab him again in the back. Lewis is not a fool, he won’t go for it…he’s a real racer!
As per me, your posting is blown out of proportion …you are no spin master either…you can’t change the facts by attacking Hamilton. If you are on staff at McLaren as I suspect, judging by your tone, you are a disgrace to decency for what you are attempting to do. When is the crap going to stop?
May 30th, 2007 at 4:31 am
John, thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately I’m not a “professional” writer and I never try to be one, neither am I on the staff of McLaren not I have any dreams of joining them [not that they are banging my door to join them].
All I have written is what I feel about the whole controversy and I still stand behind that. Though I don’t understand where I gave hint that Hamilton is bad driver or attacked him or for that matter supported Alonso. I totally agree with you regarding Alonso and his whining, he’s a master at that.
Who said that Hamilton had fuel for 5 more laps compared to Alonso ? Even if I do take that in account, everyone knows that in Formula 1, if the car has fuel for 5 extra laps, it does not necessarily mean that the car will run 5 extra laps before being called to pits. Unless you have some insider information on McLaren’s pit strategies, I don’t see how anyone can put that as a controversial call only in this context ?
I also agree with Hamilton giving the much needed “push” to the Formula 1 and that the records he is creating in his rookie year are phenomenal.
As for where the crap is going to end ? Well, at least for you, not until Hamilton will win his first GP, which I also sure he will win rather soon than later.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
[...] I say more about the whole so-called controversy ? As I wrote yesterday there really was no need for any FIA investigation in the whole matter, but the matter was anyway [...]
June 10th, 2007 at 3:13 am
I can’t help but wonder what will happen today if the situation at Monaco is reversed. This time it was Alonso not Hamilton that made the mistake and gave pole position to their team-mate. After the race will we have people screaming about race orders and favouritism if Alonso is told to hold off after the final pit stop? I highly doubt it.
Hamilton is a great driver and a huge prospect for the future, he doesn’t need the media’s uninformed and biased ’support’. If anything it’s the arguments that some of the hype and blind praising of him that will do more harm than good.