FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Jabberwocky]

I think captain subtext is saying "Other team bosses, I am not as poo as Mclaren has made me look!"

To be fair to Kovy he has only ever been team mates with 2 of the 3 fastest guys on the grid.

[Gaz]

You only have to look at Monza to rubbish what he has said here.

Hekki is a nice guy but even when he was given the best fuel stratigy he went backwards.

He might be faster than Lewis over a single lap be he's got no real race pace.

[texasmr2]

I was expecting or hoping for more from Kovi than what he has delivered regardless of his chosen race strategy's. I think it just comes down to this cold hard fact: Lewis is just a better overall driver than Kovi. As Gaz said Kovi has no real "race pace" atleast in comparison to Lewis.

[bud]

Yeah i agree with Tex and Gaz, I love Kovi he is probably the nicest bloke on the grid, i tried to stick up for him while at McLaren but while he is quick he seems to lack race pace. apart of me wants him to stay on and work on this but another part thinks its time to give another guy a go, just for the sake of constructor points.

Hey i had a thought I rekn Pedro will be going to Campos for sure! so Will Heikki stay on as reserve driver possibly?

[scotty]

I think captain subtext is saying "Other team bosses, I am not as poo as Mclaren has made me look!"

Anyone with any sense would do the same thing in their team with their best driver, however if you do that and then say you treat the drivers equally in your team, you are just lying.

[Gaz]

think its a case of treating Hekki as equally as possible.

He did run the new parts in practice and he didn't like them and he said that himself.

Lewis made them work so he got the new parts.

[7UpJordan]

It's obvious, McLaren's equal driver policy is like Iraq's WMD's.

[EwanM]

No surprises there then from Heikki's comments. Pretty much everything i'd say has been summed up already by the board members.

Personally Renault and co never hid the fact that they favoured one driver over the other. Unfortunately McLaren still did, even when it was obvious that it could not be possible for 2009. When you have only one new part you have to go with the best option and that was Lewis.

[Hexagram]

I just can't understand Heikki's race pace. Kinda like Jarno, with great one lap pace but poor race day pace.

[Denthúl]

I just can't understand Heikki's race pace. Kinda like Jarno, with great one lap pace but poor race day pace.

That never seemed to be much of an issue at Renault, though, which is all the more puzzling. >.<

Can pressure to perform do that to you?

[Frosty]

I just can't understand Heikki's race pace. Kinda like Jarno, with great one lap pace but poor race day pace.

That never seemed to be much of an issue at Renault, though, which is all the more puzzling. >.<

Can pressure to perform do that to you?

The thing is you would expect the pressure to be their in quali as well that's what I really don't get about him!

[McLaren Fan]

I completely agree with everything Kovalainen is saying. It is absolutely true that, for the most part, on the few occasions on which upgrades were rushed out for Grands Prix, that Kovalainen has not been given first refusal, and that Kovalainen has often had to carry more fuel than Hamilton in qualifying.

However, Kovalainen is only telling part of the story, and he knows this full well. Kovalainen's performances in the races themselves has been so lamentable that he is not deserving of getting the first call on new parts and fuel levels. I would be disgusted to see Kovalainen given those privileges, as he has been a total liability for McLaren. This season is more telling than last about Kovalainen's performances. Overall, Kovalainen has had just as many chances, if not more, to win races than Hamilton, but he has taken none of them. In these instances, he can blame nobody but himself.

I desperately hope McLaren have the guts to tell Hamilton and his father to get lost. That Kovalainen will not be allowed to linger at McLaren, which, whilst ensuring Hamilton has the best possible chance of success, will handicap the team as a whole. If Hamilton does not like this, fearing a talented teammate, he is very welcome and entitled to buy his way of his contract. McLaren was around long before Hamilton came about and will be around long after he is gone.

[EwanM]

But ... the McHamiltons think they own McLaren!!?

[Jabberwocky]

think its a case of treating Hekki as equally as possible.

I am sure Ferrari would say that about the Schumacher era.

I want to see what Kovy is like against an average driver on the grid.

[myownalias]

McLaren Fan, I think you are being overly harsh on Lewis Hamilton, he took on and beat a double world champion in 2007 in his rookie season. In 2008 Heikki Kovalainen was hardly a challenge for Hamilton, whoever goes to McLaren, be it Raikkonen, Heidfeld or Button I'm sure that Lewis will be able to compete with them. I'm not particularly a fan of Lewis Hamilton, I prefer Button to Hamilton personally. I believe that Hamilton doesn't give a rats bottom about who his team mate is; he just wants to beat him!