- 16 Feb 12, 13:01#290841
These clowns don't even know which year Hamilton won the Championship.
Is this article some well crafted McLaren sandbagging? IMO the last person you'd tell that to would be another driver.
Off the record Hamilton is disappointed with the McLaren MP4-27
Feb.16 (GMM) Behind the scenes, 2007 world champion Lewis Hamilton is quietly concerned about McLaren’s early performance with their 2012 Formula car, according to media reports.
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) McLaren MP4/27 in the pits. Formula One Testing, Day 3, Jerez, Spain, Thursday 9 February 2012.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that the first whiff of the Briton’s worry emerged last week, when the MP4-27 was tested over four days at Jerez.
Marca sports daily claims Hamilton confided to his former McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen at Jerez that he is “disappointed” with his new car.
“When I saw that all the other cars are high at the front, it did make me wonder if we had done the right thing,” the 2008 world champion, referring to the ‘step’ nose trend that McLaren has sidestepped, is quoted as saying.
Hamilton was quicker than his teammate Jenson Button at Jerez, with his 1.19 laptime set on Thursday close to Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull pace on the same day.
The previous day, however, Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber had been the quickest of the 2012 car runners in the RB8.
10.02.2012 Jerez, Spain - Lewis Hamilton - Formula1 World Championship Pre-Season Testing - Jerez de la Frontera +++ © Copyright: Stange / RACE-PRESS.com
And when referring to his 1.19, Hamilton admitted that the lap was set while McLaren was being “aggressive”, implying that he was light on fuel.
If so, the MP4-27 is at least a full second off Lotus’ Jerez pace.
There are more clues: asked about the change in blown diffuser rules, Briton Hamilton said the MP4-27 is “difficult to control in the fast corners”.
That contrasts with Vettel’s comment that, “In the fast corners I don’t feel very much difference to before (in 2011)”.
On the record, he said: “I feel quite positive about where the car is at the moment and I’m confident that the guys can push it forward.
“You’ve got to remember that everyone is just focusing on their own programmes. It’s not a contest for who’s the fastest at the moment,” Hamilton insisted.
“Over the coming weeks we’ll get a better indication of where everyone is.”
So their sources are - a German Newspaper (they have no reason to put Hamilton down) and a spanish sports news outlet (the Spanish have always been un-biased when it comes to Hamilton).
These clowns don't even know which year Hamilton won the Championship.
Breaking News:Lewis Hamilton has officially overtaken The Fonz in race wins. With 88 races less. Lol(Without a specially built blown diffuser, illegal front wing, preferential treatment)
Credible sources shouldn't have typo issues!
