Korean Grand Prix in the eyes of Martin Whitmarsh
The team principal of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh sees the Korean Grand Prix of last Sunday to be another nerve-tickling round of a very exciting season that is far from over for his team.
The last weekend in Korea unwounded in a very unexpected and strange manner just as the entire season had been. The current Constructors’ Championship leader, Red Bull which had been able to conquer both the Drivers' as well Constructors' titles almost all
through the season saw their hopes getting washed away with the heavy rainfall on the track. It was no doubt a horrifying day for the team as well as for their fans to see the team losing grip on both the championships. Initially the team’s driver Mark Webber,
who has stood at the top of the tally for most of the time all through the season, ended his race after slipping off the track. Later, as the race reached its last and final laps the other team driver Sebastian Vettel, who was heading for a certain victory,
had his engine blown up. This ended the hunt of points for the Australian team after having started the race from the first two places on the grid.
Moreover, it also served the victory of the day to their worst rival Fernando Alonso in a bright silver platter, thus taking him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship. This race also marked the fifth race win of the season for the Spanish driver, being
the only driver this season to have won this number of races.
However, besides all these odds of the day for the Red Bull team, yet the day proved to be worst for Jensen Button of McLaren. With his two race wins, the title defender was at fifth place before heading for this round, and was considered to be a key player
in the tug for the title. However, after his pointless finish in the last race, the driver has now moved 42 points adrift the charts topper, with only 50 more points to play for. With these stats the chances of the driver are next to none, but still, Button
himself as well as his team principal still believes to see miracle on the track.
While talking to the media Whitmarsh proclaimed, "We've two really interesting races ahead, in particular Brazil, with Interlagos a great circuit which always produces a great race. But there is little doubt now the championship decider is going to be in
Abu Dhabi, which is great for Formula One. But there has never been a better race than the one in Korea to demonstrate anything can happen in this championship. It really is still wide open."
He further continued telling that the battle would be won by the driver who would make the least mistakes on the track in the next two races. Owing to the pressure and stress of this season almost all the drivers have been committing blunders every now and
then. The only driver that has had the most flawless racing so far is Alonso, which is why he stands at the top of the charts having won four out of the last seven races.
Finally, the team principal concluded saying, "Errors were costly for Red Bull, and they will feel they are under pressure. Of course Lewis will be disappointed he fell off and let Fernando through, and, OK, it didn't quite work out for him. But he is definitely
up for racing. He still has self confidence and self belief…If we do good then there is no reason why we can't win this world championship."
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