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McLaren praise Hamilton and Button

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have been praised by their McLaren team for the way in which they handled themselves while racing wheel-to-wheel for victory in the Turkish Grand Prix.

Whereas title rivals Red Bull saw both of its drivers collide while leading the pack, Hamilton and Button engaged in a firm but fair duel in the closing laps of the Grand Prix – with the former eventually coming out on top.

With this McLaren’s chief engineer Tim Goss believes that the team is in a strong position, with both drivers capable of racing for the championship.

“Both our drivers are very, very sensible,” he is quoted by Autosport as saying. “They both handled themselves particularly well on the circuit and with the media.

“We employ them to be aggressive racing drivers. They like to fight; they are both world champions and out to prove they’re the best. But the way they have handled themselves on the circuit has been absolutely exceptional so far this year.

“There has been more than one occasion when they have been close to one another like that, and the two of them can race and avoid each other – unlike our next-door neighbours [Red Bull Racing] who clearly threw an easy one-two away.”

Although the RB6 is arguably the fastest car in the field, Red Bull has so far failed to maximise its position, having made a number of mistakes on and off the track. As a result Goss believes the workings of the team itself is just as important to achieve success.

“You’ve got to have a quick car and you have to get it to the finish,” he said. “In this race Red Bull Racing did not deliver, and they’ve not delivered because their two drivers are racing. Our two drivers were racing, but I think that just shows how well our two drivers can manage themselves on the circuit.”

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