Martin Whitmarsh: Hamilton’s drive should be praised for discipline and control – Formula 1 news
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has stated that Lewis Hamilton’s great run in the Silverstone Grand Prix of the 2011 Formula 1 season should be praised by the critics.
Whitmarsh added that the Brit drove excellently in front of his home crowd in a car that was not super fast. Whitmarsh also stated that Brit had to pull off from some battles to save fuel and then had to re-attack to finish as high as fourth.
He said, “He has to be congratulated for discipline and control to race a car in which he had to back off, to save fuel, to coast. It sounds easy, but your tyres and brakes cool off, the balance changes and it is much more difficult to drive a car when it's
not on the sweet spot, but he did a great job.”
Halfway through the race, Hamilton was told that his fuel level is critical and he might not complete the race if he keeps on pushing against Red Bull’s Mark Webber.
Whitmarsh added that after enduring all the criticism from the former world champions after some accidents in Monaco and Montreal, Hamilton did his best at the Silverstone Grand Prix.
He stated that although the Brit gave away a podium fight in the latter part of the race, still he managed to give the home crowd a good show with his neck-to-neck battle with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.
Whitmarsh added, “I think it was a drive in response to the critics, just avoiding the podium in a car that wasn't the quickest. It would have been very easy, under the conditions, to have become frustrated, to have not saved the required fuel.”
Although Hamilton did some wheel banging with Massa in the final lap of the race, still the Brazilian and the Formula 1 critics stated it was pure racing rather than reckless driving.
McLaren are still second on the constructors’ championship table with a 110-point deficit to Red Bull.
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