Jonathan Neale praises team and car
Formula One is not only about good drivers or fast cars rather it is a team sport where every single person in the team is equally important. Whether it is the team drivers, the engineers, the directors or the managers, if each and every person does not put in his best they might not be able to get the desired results.
Just as much as a good driver is needed to keep the team at the top of the tally, similarly a good managing director plays a very important role in elevating a team to the horizon.
As the Formula One cars now move towards their next rendezvous, the managing director of McLaren, Jonathan Neale talked to the media about the next four races. Also, he expressed great confidence and faith for the British driver, Lewis Hamilton.
Starting off with the interview he said, that the team is fully prepared to enter the battle of the cars at Suzuka this weekend. He said that the team is fully prepared to backlash anyone who will come in their way for the title.
He further denied all the accusations that have risen in the past few weeks as Hamilton retired in three of the last four races while the other team driver, Jenson Button failed to finish one. Owing to these mishaps it was believed by many that the McLaren car is too ‘fragile’ and cannot even stand the slightest collision.
However, Neale affirmed that the car is pretty solid and all such accusations hold no ground. Previously at the Belgian grand Prix, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel made a poor racing move which resulted in Vettel’s pack up from the track. While at the last race in Singapore, Hamilton collided with Red Bull’s other driver, Mark Webber and again Webber kept moving, ending at third place on the podium while the McLaren driver had to return to the paddock.
However, the team completely nullified any reliability issues with the car, convincing that it was only a purple patch they have been hit hard with and soon things will be much better.
Further talking about the car he was asked if he agrees to the fact that the McLaren car did not seem fast enough to chase the fast moving Red Bull or Ferrari, for which he commented, “Had Lewis been able to get his way round Mark and make it stick, I think we’d be sitting round talking about a very different race.” He admitted that they were slower than their competitors in Hungary but the recent updates in their package have made the team equally competitive.
The team has also upgraded their MP4-25, for the upcoming round in Japan. Moreover, the rest of the tracks are expected to suit the team far better than the last one in Singapore.
As the team is still carrying modifications on 2010’s package there are concerns that it might cost them their 2011’s car. However, Neale mentioned that they have well planned all their moves and are well aware of the demands of the time. He concluded saying, “We are pushing very hard, but we have also put resource on to next year’s car. It’s a delicate balance. Formula One is never limited by ideas, there’s only the number of daylight hours and the number of people that you’ve got. So at this stage I’m not concerned about this year having a detrimental impact on next year. It does mean we have a very busy winter ahead of us.”
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