An in-depth look at McLaren’s performance at the 2011 British Grand Prix – Formula 1
McLaren have been the only team that has constantly challenged Red Bull Racing throughout the 2011 Formula 1 season so far but their performance during the British Grand Prix was just average.
The team had a disastrous qualifying session while the race was a little better in terms of pace.
The team started off with the two practice sessions which were quite pointless as the track was showered with heavy rain. Therefore, the results during these sessions did not matter and even the final practice session was not as efficient as expected for
the teams.
The teams however tried to make the best of them and come up with the best possible sessions for the weekend. McLaren on the other hand struggled to evaluate most of their data as Jenson Button stated that he was not happy with the balance of the car while
Lewis Hamilton was neutral regarding this matter.
The qualifying session started in wet conditions but since there was no rain during that, the track started to dry out and the drivers started scoring faster times during the Q3.
However, both of the McLaren drivers were quite unlucky during the Q3 as they did not get a chance to make their final runs due to rain in the very last minute of the session.
Red Bull Racing drivers on the other hand managed their final run just seconds before the rain started as a result of which, Mark Webber scored the pole position while Sebastian Vettel started from 2nd place on the grid ahead of Fernando Alonso
who started from third.
Since the off-throttle Blown Diffusers were banned for the British Grand Prix, it seemed that the team that had been affected the most by this ban was McLaren as their pace dropped quite noticeably.
However, the race was a completely different story for the team and their pace really started to improve as Lewis Hamilton started from 10th place on the grid and gained five positions in the first lap of the race. His teammate Jenson Button started
from 5th place on the grid and was going pretty decent as well.
Hamilton really started to improve his pace with each lap and until Button’s final pit stop, everything was going perfectly for the team.
The 2009 Formula 1 world champion had to retire out of the race as one of his tyres was not bolted properly to his car during the pit stop.
Nevertheless, the 2008 Formula 1 world champion Hamilton finished in 4th place for the team and at least helped the team secure some good points from his side despite the decrease in his MP4-26’s pace.
The ban regarding the Blown Diffusers is still being discussed and it seems that the teams are taking their time to announce their respective decisions as well.
Since most of the British Grand Prix weekend was conducted under wet conditions, it seems that the effect on each team’s respective pace during dry conditions is yet to be evaluated.
McLaren are hoping that they benefit from the decision the officials make as they are still struggling to cope up with Red Bull Racing’s pace while Ferrari are now pretty much on equal terms with them even during the qualifying sessions.
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