Formula One: McLarens luck better than Red Bulls, Ferrari suffers
After a lot of speculation about the upgrades, teammate rivalries, championship battles, and controversial decisions, the Great Britain Grand Prix promised a mouth watering contest. The contest started from the first lap of the first practice session on Friday as the race lived up to all its expectations.
The two Red Bull drivers made a clear statement about their strengths as Vettel and Webber topped the sessions alternatively. It was established there and then that it was Red Bull’s race to lose. Qualifying was a battle in itself where Vettel managed to outshine Webber for pole position and Ferrari lurked dangerously behind them. McLaren, who did not look too strong this weekend, had Lewis Hamilton in the 4th place making sure that whoever won the race duly earned it.
If qualifying was an appetizer, the race was a feast. Among rumours that McLaren drivers were finding it difficult to get along, it was the Red Bull drivers that made no effort to conceal their animosity towards each other. Webber was extremely disappointed on being treated as the number two by his team and was planning vindication. At the start he went all guns blazing at Vettel who ran wide and picked up a puncture. Vettel after resolving all his problems found himself 54-seconds behind Felipe Massa - a lifetime by Formula One standards.
The fury that was lacking at the start of the race, was unleashed by Vettel later and he earned a well deserved 7th place, overtaking Massa and Schumacher in the process. Webber made no mistake and claimed the glory.
After Vettel broke his front wing in qualifying, the team handed the German the new wing from Webber’s car and the latter had to contend with an older version. Webber wasn’t happy with the incident and as soon as he won the race he said, ‘not too bad for a number two driver’ – a comment that summarized relationships within Red Bull. Webber intends to take up this ‘favouritism issue’ with the team and has even gone on to say publicly that extending his contract with Red Bull was a mistake. Vettel has however refused to comment on the situation.
A few days ago, Red Bull Team owner mentioned that with the potential the team has, he would settle for nothing less than the Championship. The drivers have however let him down once again by missing out on 12 additional points and a great chance to take the championship lead.
Ferrari started 3rd and 7th on the grid and had all possibility to finish behind the Red Bulls collecting 27 valuable points and closing the gap on McLarens. However, aided by a host of mistakes, a penalty and a safety car incident, Ferrari returned empty handed, better only than the new comers.
Massa’s run of hard luck continued. He didn’t do much wrong at the start but his teammate Alonso fell behind only to clip his front wing against Massa’s right rear tyre. The puncture left him fighting the back markers yet again and from there the road was only uphill. Alonso picked up the pace and challenged the drivers ahead. After an illegal move to overtake Kubica that involved cutting corners, Alonso’s race went to shatters too. By the time he was told to give back the position, he had already overtaken another car and Kubica had blown his engine and was slowing down. Giving the place back to Kubica would mean falling behind another lot of cars as well. Alonso decided against it and settled instead for the drive through penalty. But bad luck came in big chunks and a drive through penalty right after the safety car meant Alonso was the last man on track. Whoever said lightening doesn’t strike twice?
Ferrari finished 14th and 15th and the only good memory they take back from Silverstone is Alonso’s fastest lap of the race at the end.
Alonso still has hopes for the Championship, since, only half the season is over and Ferrari has what it takes to challenge their opponents. Stefano Domenicali believes that the team is cursed and anything that can go wrong does. He has also mentioned that the decision to penalize Alonso was harsh.
While the suffering of Ferrari and Red Bull continues, McLarens keep piling up performance after performance. Considering where the team started after qualifying, the final result is no less than a victory. After a phenomenal performance by both Hamilton and Button, despite their stiff cars literally bouncing off the track, McLaren have kept their lead intact. In the last four races the McLaren duo has scored 149 points out of the maximum possible 172 - no reason for them not to be at the top of the leader board.
Race after race after race, Red Bull try but fall short, Ferrari make claims but fail, McLaren struggle but outperform their rivals. Is it a matter of performance, or, fortunes, or, team chemistry? A little bit of all we think.
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