FORUMula1.com

[darwin dali]

Why not?

[texasmr2]

Hey nobody loved or supported Senna more than I did but he has not been a factor in almost 15yr's, god rest his soul, so bringing Senna into the equation is a moot point.

[McLaren Fan]

Hey nobody loved or supported Senna more than I did but he has not been a factor in almost 15yr's, god rest his soul, so bringing Senna into the equation is a moot point.

How? You said you said 'The only thing I care about is the result's and what the record book's show'. That doesn't just apply to Senna, Hakkinen, but every driver and team.

[Tero]

fact is, Heikki doesn`t have any good opportunies in this case
if he goes to Mclaren there is number 1 driver already, if alonso comes to renault then renault already has number 1 driver.

[racechick]

McLaren do not give number1 status. Whoever races alongside Lewis will have equal equipment and equal strategies, that has always been their policy. Some people argue against that policy saying it is what lost them the championship, that may be so but the fact remains that McLaren are committed to equality.
Where Lewis will gain ovwer his team mate is the fact that he has been with McLaren for a decade, he is loved and respected and he knows the lay of the land. He is also psychologically very strond despite the schoolboy charm. A psychologically fragile team mate(like Alonso) will struggle against this. If Heiki can take that on then he will be given an equal shot until he cannot mathematically win the championship. I think Heiki will be good but Lewis better.

[deMuRe]

McLaren do not give number1 status. Whoever races alongside Lewis will have equal equipment and equal strategies, that has always been their policy. Some people argue against that policy saying it is what lost them the championship, that may be so but the fact remains that McLaren are committed to equality.
Where Lewis will gain ovwer his team mate is the fact that he has been with McLaren for a decade, he is loved and respected and he knows the lay of the land. He is also psychologically very strond despite the schoolboy charm. A psychologically fragile team mate(like Alonso) will struggle against this. If Heiki can take that on then he will be given an equal shot until he cannot mathematically win the championship. I think Heiki will be good but Lewis better.

Come on Racechick, McLaren have had favourite drivers in the past. Mika and DC for instance. Adrian Newey was told to design the cars for Mika's driving style, then DC would goto Autosport and complain about it...

[racechick]

DC complains about everything because he doesnt drive fast enough and his style is so sensitive that the car is rarely to his liking. McLaren may have favourites I dont deny that but the equipment is equal. No number1 thats a fundamental policy of McLarens.

[bud]

Water carriers have their important roles (see, e.g., bicycling). It also doesn't mean you can't progress to number one status if you're really good.

you love the bike reference to F1 its like a bloody servent to the king or queen whats the point of even being that person! wheres the motivation? f*** that

[Tero]

DC was a number 2 driver as was JB and Delarosa, That is mclaren policy, that they`ll allways have No:1 driver

[bud]

DC was a number 2 driver as was JB and Delarosa, That is mclaren policy, that they`ll allways have No:1 driver

who was their number 1 driver this year then? both ended up on 109 points both with 4 wins, seems if they were favouring one they did a bad job!

[Tero]

they did a bad job, that`s not a secret to anyone.
All those years they`ve been at the side of williams for example, this season Mclaren rose up. Really seems weird to me

[bud]

you didnt answer my question who do you think was their number 1 driver

[McLaren Fan]

Come on Racechick, McLaren have had favourite drivers in the past. Mika and DC for instance. Adrian Newey was told to design the cars for Mika's driving style, then DC would goto Autosport and complain about it...

Drivers have to change their driving style. Coulthard wasn't good enough a driver to adapt. Furthermore, as Hakkinen was twice the driver Coulthard was and, therefore, more likely to win they had to give him the nod. Was Coulthard prevented from competing on equal terms with Hakkinen? No. Coulthard is only complaining to disguise his own shortcomings as a driver.

[deMuRe]

Come on Racechick, McLaren have had favourite drivers in the past. Mika and DC for instance. Adrian Newey was told to design the cars for Mika's driving style, then DC would goto Autosport and complain about it...

Drivers have to change their driving style. Coulthard wasn't good enough a driver to adapt. Furthermore, as Hakkinen was twice the driver Coulthard was and, therefore, more likely to win they had to give him the nod. Was Coulthard prevented from competing on equal terms with Hakkinen? No. Coulthard is only complaining to disguise his own shortcomings as a driver.

DC moving over to give Mika his first win?

That story of the Gentlemen's agreement about the first corner when DC moved over for Mika?

DC likes push, Mika likes pull, (that sounds rude), your chief designer doesn't design a neutral car, he designs a car with pull, (overstear, the way fins like to drive).

If that's not an equipment advantage I don't know what is?

DC, maybe he was lying to the press, I didn't trust him after we all found out years later that he really did brake-test Schumi in the wet even though he denied it for years. Spa '98 I think it was.

[McLaren Fan]

DC moving over to give Mika his first win?

Hakkinen was close to winning one race in 1996 and several in 1997. To recognise this and his contribution to the team, Coulthard was asked to pull over. The extra points would not have affected his championship position and Coulthard could hardly claim to be the deserved winner either as Villeneuve let both McLarens past as part of their pre-race agreement. Senna was asked to do the same for Berger in 1990, as it would have changed very little, to thank him for his efforts that season.

DC likes push, Mika likes pull, (that sounds rude), your chief designer doesn't design a neutral car, he designs a car with pull, (overstear, the way fins like to drive).

If that's not an equipment advantage I don't know what is?

It is impossible for a team to design two cars so the team have to choose one design or the other. They felt Hakkinen was faster and the all round better driver so choose to design a car with oversteer. As I've said, any good driver can adapt their style and, in fact, they usually have to. Hakkinen had to change his driving style for DTM, Alonso and Raikkonen had to adjust their driving styles for this season. The fact Coulthard couldn't do that shows he's only an average driver.

Also, McLaren are human. It is impossible to get perfect equality in a team. Somebody will have to come into the pits first and occasionally teammates made need to lend a hand to one another, just as Massa did for Raikkonen last season. Them not doing that would have been foolish. Therefore, so far as you can equality McLaren will do so for both its drivers. Both are given the same time and equipment to compete for victories and championships and pit stop strategies are worked out fair as well.

To finish off, this issue again exposes what hypocrites there are around. People say McLaren lost the championship because of their policy of driver equality and they should change it and, on the other hand, they say McLaren are not equal enough! Make your minds up!