Did Mclaren mess up Lewis's pit stop just to make it interesting?

Question

I think they must have done. I think Ron said ''this is just too easy, let's mess it up and put Lewis down the field and then get him to overtake Massa just for fun!''

Man, Lewis is in a class of his own, leaving trailling in his wake the rest of the ''also-rans'' - Raikkonen, Massa, Kubica etc. It was almost embarrassingly easy at Hockenheim today until the safety car. Mclaren always seem to get the critical judgment calls wrong when it comes to crucial pit stops. Good thing they have Lewis at the wheel who just relishes that sort of challenge.

Has Kimi passed the finish line yet or is he still chugging around the track on on that supermarket trolley? :)

Answer 1

Mclaren were clever on one hand, and a bit naive on the other.

They couldnt let lewis drive 30 laps on soft tyres. They would have shredded by the end and he would have had the same problem as he had in China with the possibility of a tyre delamination. So that was sensible.

But they were caught out by how long the safety car was out. It was out FAR too long. The track was clear by lap 2 so why leave everyone out for 5 laps.

Overall they may have been right though, as Hamilton was fast all day, and they could probably work out that he could make up enough time by the end.

Answer 2

McLaren were caught between a rock and a hard place, Lewis and the McLaren are tough on tyres so putting onto the softs for the last 28 laps or so would have risked a puncture and a DNF.

The decision they made in the end worked out, but I would have been tempted to pit him for new HARD tyres, with just 5 seconds worth of fuel to ensure he was out ahead of Massa and then let him pull out enough of a lead in the remaining laps for a splash and dash with say 5 laps to go when he could go onto the soft tyres.

He'd need to pull around 1 second a lap over Massa to make it work and based on his pace earlier in the race should do it fairly easily, he'd have been on a lighter fuel load for that stint anyway.

The risk with this strategy was traffic might have slowed him down too much.

I was screaming at the TV for them to pit him, the same as I was screaming at the TV during the Chinese GP last season, happily the outcome was different this time!

Answer 3

There appeared to be a valid reason for the decision and it seems that it was based upon projected tyre wear. Whatever the reason it certainly worked out well for McLaren and Hamilton but I suspect his " do or die" attitude might prove to be Hamilton's downfall on another occasion.

Answer 4

McLaren were nervous about letting Hammy stay out on the soft tyres for 28 laps, as his sliding driving style tends to wear them out much faster than say on a Ferrari. It nearly back fired but it sure made the last 15 or so laps more exciting.

Massa should of been far nearer, if not won. Piquet Jr is a star as I have said from day 1, just a slow burner.

Raikkonen is not giving it his all at the moment, he will be back....I hope!

Answer 5

Seems like it! It made the race, frankly!  Maybe they wanted to emulate Ferrari's faux-pas from Silverstone but be successful . . .

(sorry Tifosi!)

Answer 6

well, if they did sure worked :)

Answer 7

When they called him in for his last pit stop I was very confused. I swear he was fuelled to the end and all he would have to do was rush in a change his tyres for a few laps. I though 'Oh well, that's that then', but boy was I wrong. He took every opportunity he could yesterday and got a well earned win.

Answer 8

You've got to admit it certainly made the race interesting.  The German race tends to be a bit boring, no matter who is in the lead but it certainly brightened up yesterday.  You've got to admit, Kimi was predictable in as much he didn't try at all and then about 15 laps from the end, he starts to wake up and smell the coffee and puts in some fast laps.  He's always been the same, even when he was with McLaren.  Why has he got to try when he's earning an absolute fortune?

So Ferrari have won one more race than McLaren - but Lewis is at the top, so who cares?

Answer 9

Ron the puppet master. I like your thinking.

Answer 10

Very strange decision - I wonder if they were just worried about a repeat performance after the panic and the crash in the pit lane in Canada.

They nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory :-)

Answer 11

Ahhh its you again.

My god you really are stupid, if the F2008 is a shopping trolley, the McLaren must be childs pedal car.

Why has the Ferrari won 5 races whereas the McLaren has won   4?

Answer 12

Maybe to rub it in ferrari's faces ?

Answer 13

Definitely a strange decision, but a great race.