Formula One - Mclaren reluctant to accept defeat
Twelve races of the season are already gone and still it is too hard to predict any winner of the championship. Rarely a season comes up when the tug of title stays well-balanced in the contenders’ hands till the end, as seen this year. The race-lovers and followers of the sport can’t help but keep their fingers crossed and their jaws dropped as they watch the top five racers indulged in a tough battle with only a difference of twenty points from each other. Currently the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari firmly hold the first three positions respectively ready to turn the tables any moment.
One could not think of a tighter contention for the Constructors’ Title then what this season has brought forward. With only seven races of the season left, the team which would be able to keep the best pace and keep developing with a faster rate ahead of others would be able to survive till the end.
McLaren that had been leading the charts till the Hungarian Grand Prix now stands eight-points behind the chart leaders, Red Bull. The team, reluctant to give up any moment, has decided to keep improving their MP4-25 till the final race of the season that is to be held this November. Their managing director, Jonathan Neale talked to the press in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 'Phone-In' that the team might consider up-gradations until the last race of Abu Dhabi.
“It’s a very close championship at this stage,” Neale admitted. He was very clear as he stated that the latter rounds of the season are just development races, as it was clear right from the start of the season. He further added that the season had witnessed a number of drivers, being very close to each other, assuring that from now onwards the inventions that are to take place till the end of the season would determine the winner. While unfolding the team plans for the forth coming races, he said that the next upgrade packages would be introduced in Singapore and then the process would keep going on as per the state of the championship tally.
Other Formula One teams have already shifted all their attentions from further development of this season’s car towards designing their car for the next year. However, Neale declared that they would keep considering working on their current car until the points tally stays the same tight as it currently is.
“I suspect it will be one of those long development races and we will, if we are as close as we are at this stage, be expecting to take an upgrade package to the last race,” he affirmed.
The Hungarian Grand Prix, which was staged right before the summer break was a tough one for McLaren, as it was unable to chase the Red Bull that secured the pole position and the Ferrari that ended the race day on podium.
However, the team still believes that sheer hard work from every member of the team would be able to catch both the Red Bull and Ferrari in the upcoming races.
The McLaren driver, Lewis Hamilton who is also the title winner of 2008 has accepted this time and again that his team is driving the third- fastest car of the season. Therefore, at some of the tracks they are unable to catch up with the faster cars. However, a plus point for the team is that many of the race analysts and pundits are of the view that the upcoming tracks are not to suit the RB6 as brilliantly as the previous ones did.
Nonetheless, it is just a matter of few more days and the fans will get to see how well McLaren would be able to do to stay right there in the title battle of the 2010 season.
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