How the 2011 Formula 1 season has transpired for McLaren-Mercedes so far?
Five of the 19 scheduled races of the 2011 Formula 1 season are over and so far, the McLaren-Mercedes team has fought hard against defending champions Red Bull Racing.
McLaren played a wait and see game in the pre-season testing session where their car was as slow as a snail. However, as soon as they stepped into the season opener in Australia, they were the team to watch out for, especially for the Red Bull team.
The McLaren team, consisting of two former world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, has worked hard enough to challenge Red Bull. However, it seems that the Red Bull team has way better luck than the UK-based team.
Red Bull were the fastest car of the grid in the pre-season testing. On the other hand, McLaren used all of their brilliant minds to develop a car that gives them the same amount of downforce and speed as Red Bull was getting. However, it seemed that Red
Bull’s legendary engineer Adrian Newey had developed something special.
Nevertheless, the McLaren team stepped into the 2011 Formula 1 season with their heads high and a slight cushion from other teams because Ferrari and Mercedes were not a threat then.
McLaren also took some advantage from the Red Bull technology throughout the first five races of the season but still the Bulls were quicker and smarter.
Apart from the Spanish Grand Prix where Hamilton almost sniffed victory from Vettel, Red Bull were lucky enough that both McLaren drivers were caught up either in traffic or trouble.
In the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton was on the tail of Vettel for the last part of the race. The Brit was able to push Vettel to the limit even when the two drivers were caught up in traffic. Vettel won the race eventually but with only a fraction of a second
advantage and stated that he could feel his tyres going out because he was pushing wildly to retain his position.
As far as the other four races of the 2011 season are concerned, only the Chinese Grand Prix is the one that McLaren can take some pleasure from. In Shanghai, Hamilton was able to clinch a victory from Vettel, which the German might say was a bad strategic
call but still the Brit was able to outperform the RB7 of Vettel.
Apart from the Chinese Grand Prix, McLaren have been the second best team behind the defending champions.
In the season opener in Australia, Hamilton damaged the floor of his car after which he gave up the chase to Vettel and finished the race in second place.
In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Button stepped up for the chase as Hamilton was caught up in the midfield before being penalised for an incident with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Button was only three seconds slower than Vettel but the German took the victory
quite easily.
In the Turkish Grand Prix, both McLarens were out of the picture when a surprise attack from Alonso saw the Spaniard taking his first podium of the 2011 season.
The season continues in Monaco and despite Ferrari’s claims of some developments in their car, the McLarens will be the biggest nightmare for the Red Bull team.
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