Lewis Hamilton Saving Face For McLaren
Jul 20, 2007
McLaren
Kevin Garside, TelegraphIt takes more than flu and Ferrarigate to bring down Lewis Hamilton. Reinforced by Beechams Powder and an unwavering belief in the probity of his team, Hamilton gave McLaren, and in particular team principal Ron Dennis, a touching endorsement as he approaches the critical moments that might yet define his season.
Although round 10 of the Formula One world championship is about to unfold around the Nurburgring this weekend, events in Paris four days later are casting a pernicious shadow. There, in the same Place de la Concorde where Madame Guillotine went to work so brutally during the French Revolution, Formula One’s ruling body, the FIA, will dispense justice in the Ferrarigate affair.
Will heads roll? The plot thickened yesterday with allegations that e-mails sent by sacked Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney, who denies any wrongdoing, to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan alerted McLaren to the questionable floor design of the Ferrari, a design subsequently challenged by McLaren after the opening race in Australia. As a result, the FIA forced a redesign on Ferrari, which may have accounted for a downturn in performance.
Alan Henry - Guardian Unlimited: Lewis Hamilton demonstrated a style reminiscent of Michael Schumacher by calmly coming to terms with his disappointment at failing to win Sunday’s British grand prix at Silverstone, shrugging aside the fact that he could manage no better than third place at the chequered flag. There was no rancour or obvious frustration about his post-race reaction.
Instead, displaying his instinctive feel for the situation and considerable common sense, he blamed himself for any shortfall in his performance, taking a leaf out of the seven-times world champion’s book by making it clear that little or no responsibility could be attached to his team. On the other hand the Silverstone race reminded the formula one community of how relatively inexperienced Hamilton is. It was only his ninth grand prix and it was understandable if he were to make the wrong choice when it came to detailed car set-up.
4, July 2007
Salvatore Zanca - The Associated Press: Lewis Hamilton is concerned as he heads back to England. But he isn’t worried about this weekend’s British Grand Prix. On the track he is confident, with his perfect eight-for-eight in top-three finishes this season. He leads the Formula One standings by 14 points over McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, the two-time defending world champion.
“I keep saying that I didn’t even expect to finish on the podium in my first race, let alone eight races in the season, so I am very happy with the job that I have done and the job that the team have done,” Hamilton said. “I think that going into my first Silverstone Grand Prix in the team that I have always wanted to drive for and leading the world championship is one of the greatest feelings that a driver can have.”
30, June 2007
Foxsports.com: Hamilton eyes Grand Prix hat-trick
McLaren have totally dominated the last three races, with Hamilton and team-mate Fernando Alonso claiming successive one-two finishes to open up a 35-point gap in the constructors’ championship.
Following Alonso’s victory in Monaco, Hamilton has since held sway by winning back-to-back in Canada and the United States.
In contrast, Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa have been left trailing in the wake of their rivals waiting for the team to give them a car to again compete.
If Friday’s practice sessions ahead of the French Grand Prix are anything to go by, the ‘Prancing Horse’ is again ready to rear up and come out kicking.
28, June 2007
Formula1.com: Can McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton keep his world championship aspirations rolling with a third consecutive victory, in what may be the last French Grand Prix for at least a couple of years?
Or will his team mate Fernando Alonso make good on his promise to start winning as the title campaign moves to the first of four tracks he claims as his favourite hunting grounds? Or will Ferrari get back on a par with McLaren as the series moves back to Europe?
Testing at Silverstone last week indicated that Ferrari and Toyota were fully on song, while McLaren described the test as ‘the most intensive’ of their season. Testing results are not always reflected at races, however, and it is likely that the fight in France will be between McLaren and Ferrari as usual, with BMW Sauber close at hand and Renault desperate to do well on their home turf.
