F1 » McLaren: We've improved the car but...

The problem with Lewis is psychological. He goes on the track to win win win at all costs. Some of you might say, is'nt this what he is supposed to do? Yes, within reason that is what he is supposed to do. But Lewis has to remember that he has only been one season in F1 and last year he lost out due to lack of experience. The learning curve has to be gradual and last year he had the greatest opportunity of his carreer to learn the tricks from his teammate, who he derided at every opportunity. During testing the McLaren was considered to be the perfect car by the drivers, and Australia went along to further this false premise. The car has vices and other defects according to Whitemarsh....

F1 » Lewis: This is when it starts.

Chris B, Fernando's results for the last nine races last year were:2nd,1st,4th,3rd,1st,3rd,Ret,2nd and 3rd which speak for themselves. The engine had a lot to do with his result in Brazil. He could not push the Ferraris as much as he wanted because the engine would not allow it. So he had to nurse it along when he was in third place otherwise he would have handed another point to Lewis on a plate if he blew it. This would have placed LH at 110 points on par with KIMI. KIMI would still have won the WDC because he had more 1sts than LH, but would have place Fernando a distant 3rd with 103 points. As it worked out the final result was more acceptable to Fernando.

F1 » Lewis: This is when it starts.

.......the WDC this season. He said that he intends to win it, and now again that he aims to win it. Nothing wrong wth a little self assurance, but so do various other drivers, KR, FM, Kovy, and even Nick and Kubica all of whom are not doing badly. Lewis goes to Barcellona with a used engine which already took some abuse in Bahrain against the Ferraris with new engines. If he's not careful to nurse his engine he might end with no points in Barcellona. In Brazil, Alonso raced with a used engine and could not cope with the Ferraris, but he nursed it to finish in 3rd place and ahead of Lewis who lost the WDC to Kimi as a result. Drivers do not decide outcomes in F1. Only fools do.

F1 » Lewis: This is when it starts.

What happened at McLaren last year took everyone by surprise. McLaren had a new driver lineup with the then current 2xWDC and a rookie as the second driver. Lewis came out very strong and starting taking podium after podium for nine consecutive races which was a record. Initially, Fernando was supposed to be the one to restore Mclaren's fortunes, but under Ron Dennis's policy the drivers were racing each other, taking points from one another, until it came to the point were Lewis became Ron's preferred driver. Both drivers ended with 109 points each but no WDC and Mclaren ended with no CC due to spygate. If these policies were the right ones are very debatable. Lewis wants to win.....

F1 » Lewis: This is when it starts.

2008 has up to now yielded two wins for Ferrari, one each for its two drivers and a win for McLaren. BMW-Sauber are leading the CC with consistent results in the three races, and Kimi is leading in the drivers points. All other teams are neither here nor there due to the fact that only one driver in the next four teams in the points is performing and then again not consistently. Nakajima, Glock and Piquet have not found their feet yet, and the experienced Coulthard has caused more track problems than anyone else. Europe, starting from Barcellona, as Lewis said, shall be the tell all of what we shall expect for the rest of the season. Sit back and enjoy it, the best will win in the end.

F1 » Alonso: We will not go forwards much.

Fernando's contract with Renault runs up to 2010, but it does have an exit clause. It is an open secret that Ferrari, BMW-Sauber and Toyota were very interested to come to an agreement with him as from the end of the 2007 season. Moving from Renault next year will depend on many factors. Fernando will not move to any team unless their car's challenge for the championships is a reality, and of course if the Regie' will not be offering this reality themselves. Any move might be tied in with a release fee, F1 is business after all, and the only teams that might interest FA next year might be Ferrari, BMW-Sauber or Toyota. 2009's new rules mean new cars and 100% experience in development.

F1 » Alonso: We will not go forwards much.

Last year we had the Ferrari/McLaren/Renault spying allegations saga, and the circle goes on and on, everyone alleging that technical info has been leaked, copied, and what have you. Renault were to introduce a new suspension system and a revamped chassis in Barcallona, but the complete package had to be postponed as they want the FIA to approve the design to avoid controversies. In 2006, Ferrari and McLaren had a hand in instigating the FIA to remove the tuned mass damper system from the Renault cars, and any design feature on the Regie' is now being eyed carefully by both teams. There will be changes to the cars but the whole package has to wait to the detriment of the team. Pity

F1 » Alonso: We will not go forwards much.

Ah well, no one ever said that Fernando is not a realist. The Regie'' is a dog from a misconcepted design and development program from last year and will not improve. It''s got to be scrapped and redesigned. If any points are gained, then they would be due to Fernando''s ability to push the car to breaking point and to nothing else. No problem. Since the start of the millenium, the only successful teams have been Ferrari six times and Renault twice. All others have been straining for so long to get somewhere, so as we said before, what''s a couple of years?

F1 » Ferrari 'horrified' by nose leak story.

Alan, it is still not sure to this day who really complained to the FIA about the Reanult's TMD's. The FIA has never revealed what led to the ban on the mass dampers and Flavio Briatore initially accused both Ferrari and McLaren. Ron Dennis at the time denied that it was his team that protested. FB still beleives that it was Ferrari that did it because although they were running their oew version of the TMD's, they did not work efficiently with the Bridgestone tyres, so as usual they protested. McLaren had used a system called the KONI FSD (frequency selective damping) in F3, which works similar to the TMD's, and some believe that they have been using them on their F1 cars for some time.

F1 » Ferrari 'keeping feet on the ground'.

Last year McLaren had a dream team but they did not play the game right. This year''s team is good but nothing to go overboard with. Ferrari on the other hand, have two solid drivers both of whom have proved themselves as race winners, and are at the moment having a ball with their package and drivers'' relationship. When the season gets in full swing from the Barcellona GP onwards, the men will certainly be separated from the boys, and with the BMW duo now tasting the sweet taste of success things will hot up more. So it''s advisable for both Ferrari and McLaren to keep their feet on the ground, ''cause they do not hold all the aces this year.