FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Fact Man]

I was watching the Speed report on Speed TV the other night and they had Bob Varsha on the show. He was asked about whether or not Heiki will have equal treatment at McLaren. His answer was that Heiki will be kidding himself if he really believes that he'll get equal status at McLaren. Then, he went on to say that Lewis is the #1 driver in there.

So what's the deal? What's Ron Dennis opinion on this matter? What's your reaction to his comments?

[nikon133]

I was watching the Speed report on Speed TV the other night and they had Bob Varsha on the show. He was asked about whether or not Heiki will have equal treatment at McLaren. His answer was that Heiki will be kidding himself if he really believes that he'll get equal status at McLaren. Then, he went on to say that Lewis is the #1 driver in there.

So what's the deal? What's Ron Dennis opinion on this matter? What's your reaction to his comments?

Well, I don't think there will be team orders (from the start) forcing HK to let LH overtake him (if such situation happens)... so technically he will be equal as in let to win his races if he can. And his car will be same as LH car... and MAYBE two of them will share setups.

But LH will have more attention from the team/management and I think HK will notice that easily - he will be let know who the star is! I also think it will not affect him as it affected FA - if he is even a bit like Kimi or Mika, that is. I think he might end up happy having same car and official treatment, and completely ignore all the primadona stuff swirling around LH - somethink FA failed to handle miserably.

[racechick]

Id sort of agree with that. The chance to race and to win will be there. Who's Bob Varsa?

[juggles]

i think the team dynamic will change as the season goes on. they'll both be able to do what they want for a while but as it nears the end of the season it'll start to become more tactical and coordinated to give the front runner the best chance of some silverware

[deMuRe]

I agree that the drivers will have equal equipment however Hamilton will have political advantages as well being on the better strategies.

I remember they always used to put DC on a 1 stopper whilst Mika got the aggresive strategy.

[darwin dali]

Id sort of agree with that. The chance to race and to win will be there. Who's Bob Varsa?

Bob Varsha is one of the three SPEED TV commentators who provide us with great insights into all aspects of F1 during race weekends. The other two are Steve Matchett of Benetton mechanics fame and David Hobbs, some retired English third-rate F1 driver.

[racechick]

Ok thanks. I dont get SPEED, Im between houses at the moment and only get the terrestrial. I'll bear it in mind for the future

[texasmr2]

Mr. Varsha has covered F1 since 1986 and has seen it all, I trust his opinion.

[McLaren Fan]

Kovalainen will be treated equally at McLaren. He will receive equal equipment and support and be allowed to compete against Hamilton, who has himself come out and said he wants somebody to keep him on his toes. To remain at your best that's one of the things you need. In my view, the media focus will mainly be on Hamilton, which may not be a bad thing for Kovalainen, allowing him to keep his head down and focus solely on competing.

[texasmr2]

In my view, the media focus will mainly be on Hamilton, which may not be a bad thing for Kovalainen, allowing him to keep his head down and focus solely on competing.

I agree with you on this.

[EwanM]

Kovalainen will be treated equally at McLaren. He will receive equal equipment and support and be allowed to compete against Hamilton, who has himself come out and said he wants somebody to keep him on his toes. To remain at your best that's one of the things you need. In my view, the media focus will mainly be on Hamilton, which may not be a bad thing for Kovalainen, allowing him to keep his head down and focus solely on competing.

Ok, I really hope Kovalainen gets equal treatment.

What I want to know is, do you think that Kovy can beat Lewis?

[texasmr2]

What I want to know is, do you think that Kovy can beat Lewis?

I think he can.

[racechick]

No, I doubt it very much. The odd win .

[deMuRe]

What I want to know is, do you think that Kovy can beat Lewis?

I think he can.

On Paper Kovi should do very well against Hamilton.

Hamilton has never driven a bad car so we don't really know how good he is. One could argue he beat a 2 time world champion, then again it wasn't exactly normal circumstances.

Will be interesting to say the least.

[racechick]

It will be interesting indeed. Hamilton has not driven a bad car in F1, Hes driven same make cars tho. He's also done much better in the second year in all his categories.....and he didnt do too bad in his first year in F1. I think Heikki has loads of potential anf have liked him since he beat schumi in ROC, but he takes longer to get up to speed and I think the top limit will belong to Lewis,But yes it will be interesting and I hope its close.