- 05 Apr 08, 14:03#38561
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
From autosport.com
By Simon Strang Saturday, April 5th 2008, 12:50 GMT
Lewis Hamilton in BahrainLewis Hamilton reckons his McLaren was capable of pole position in Bahrain, after the world championship leader was outqualified to the top spot by BMW's Robert Kubica and Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Saturday.
Hamilton, who showed no ill-effects from his practice shunt that required McLaren to rebuild his car around the team's spare tub, said that while his lap was good enough for the inside of the second row, it could have been better.
"For sure it was a decent lap but I am sure as always there is time to gain," he said.
"Inevitably if it was a perfect lap I think we could have had pole but we will go back and study it and look forward to the race, I think we have a good strategy for the race and tomorrow will be quite interesting."
Hamilton added that while he had noted the pace of the Ferraris, he was always confident McLaren could compete with them.
"They seem to have outstanding pace at the moment, but in qualifying I was happy with the balance we had and knew we would be able to challenge at least for the front row," he said.
The Briton also brushed off any suggestion of lingering thoughts from his free practice shunt.
"For me, it was easy to get back in car and go faster," he said. "Today I went quicker through that corner on the first lap than yesterday, it was important to really knock down that barrier and bounce back.
"I never have a problem with that, I have had plenty of experiences like that in my career."
Hmm. I'm not sure I follow Hamilton's logic. Surely other drivers didn't get the perfect lap together as well and could have gone faster, i.e. Kubica and Massa both. I do think McLaren are running heavier than Massa and Kubica, so, whilst a win will be tough, I feel McLaren can get a 2-3 finish.
By Simon Strang Saturday, April 5th 2008, 12:50 GMT
Lewis Hamilton in BahrainLewis Hamilton reckons his McLaren was capable of pole position in Bahrain, after the world championship leader was outqualified to the top spot by BMW's Robert Kubica and Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Saturday.
Hamilton, who showed no ill-effects from his practice shunt that required McLaren to rebuild his car around the team's spare tub, said that while his lap was good enough for the inside of the second row, it could have been better.
"For sure it was a decent lap but I am sure as always there is time to gain," he said.
"Inevitably if it was a perfect lap I think we could have had pole but we will go back and study it and look forward to the race, I think we have a good strategy for the race and tomorrow will be quite interesting."
Hamilton added that while he had noted the pace of the Ferraris, he was always confident McLaren could compete with them.
"They seem to have outstanding pace at the moment, but in qualifying I was happy with the balance we had and knew we would be able to challenge at least for the front row," he said.
The Briton also brushed off any suggestion of lingering thoughts from his free practice shunt.
"For me, it was easy to get back in car and go faster," he said. "Today I went quicker through that corner on the first lap than yesterday, it was important to really knock down that barrier and bounce back.
"I never have a problem with that, I have had plenty of experiences like that in my career."
Hmm. I'm not sure I follow Hamilton's logic. Surely other drivers didn't get the perfect lap together as well and could have gone faster, i.e. Kubica and Massa both. I do think McLaren are running heavier than Massa and Kubica, so, whilst a win will be tough, I feel McLaren can get a 2-3 finish.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
), now BMW Sauber is competing for podium points, taking them away from him when he has a less than stellar performance on certain race tracks. And of course, Ferrari still being the team to beat with in theory a substantial advantage over their competition in race trim and once their reliability issues are resolved. LH will have to learn to eat crow this year...
!
even on the F1 website they have it listed on the constructor table as BMW