In 2009 McLaren were in a position they did not expect to be in – at the back of the grid. The MP4-24 was branded by Eddie Jordan as “possibly the worst car McLaren have ever designed.” Team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted the team “had not done a good enough job”.
However the team made great strides throughout the season and towards the end of the year they were back where they should be and were in contention for wins.
However, surely in 2010 McLaren won’t make the same mistakes, and they are certainly looking to hit the ground running this season with their radical MP4-25, which features a longer wheelbase, a revised nose and front wing, tighter sidepods and a striking engine cover/shark fin connected to the rear wing.
The early signs are good, as according to Lewis Hamilton, the car is a ‘huge improvement’ from the beginning of 2009:
“I got out smiling. The problems I had (in 2009)…I don’t have them in this car. This was everything I could have asked for from a first day - it’s gone well; we felt quite comfortable with what we did but, obviously, there’s a bit of time we need to find and there’s lots of areas in which we can improve.
“I do feel it’s a huge improvement from the beginning of 2009. The encouraging thing is reliability; we’ve had two days and not really had any problems – that’s a huge plus for us.”
Lewis Hamilton
Moving on from the car, what about the drivers?
Two Brits, two world champions with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – it seems like the dream lineup!
Undoubtedly in my mind it is Lewis Hamilton who has the better driving talent and raw pace of the two drivers. However there are factors where Jenson Button is equally as good. Button’s smooth style means that he is better at preserving his tyres, rather than Lewis Hamilton’s aggressive style, throwing the chrome car into the corners sideways.
Jenson Button has often been criticised as needing a good car to put in good performances, whereas Lewis Hamilton managed to get some incredible results in the dreadful MP4-24.
Jenson Button has the cooler head of the two drivers, and manages to stay calm under pressure. Lewis Hamilton doesn’t seem to manage this quite as well, occasionally making crucial errors at the worst moments.
I don’t envisage an Alonso-style bust-up at McLaren with Jenson Button and Hamilton, given that Jenson won’t expect number 1 status like the Spaniard. I imagine that combining his raw pace with the fact McLaren have more or less built the team around him mean that it is likely that it will be Lewis Hamilton who lead the Woking-based team’s title charge in 2010.
I totally agree with everything you said about there not being a Hamilton-Alonso showdown with Button…
And It's definitely a dream line-up =D
You're quite right Jack that it seems like a dream line up…whether it will be is another question.
Button deserved the title in 09 above any of his opposition but prior to that everyone thought he was just going to drop off the F1 scene and he hasn't changed at all as a driver. He didn't have the best of luck granted but I'm still not sure he's in the league of Alonso and Hamilton to really be at Mclaren (I won't lie, I think Kimi should have signed the contract with the Woking-based team).
That said, Button will be a much better driver for the team than Heikki and I sincerely doubt that Lewis will just blow him away. Button should cope with the rules better but there is a downfall; he's a bit of a fussy driver and the car will be changing a lot so it may not be as simple a task for him as it seems but his car should be in a fairly good condition compared to the rest of the grid, at the end of the race.
It'll be interesting to see just how Mclaren develops the car too as the drivers appear to have conflicting styles. I don't envy their position.
Will they fall out? Probably not, just like Ferrari won't nor will Red Bull. Tensions may flair occassionally and this will be the first time Hamilton's really had to share a team since 07 and it wasn't just Alonso's fault that the relationship imploded either so hopefully Hamilton has also learned from that year.
Excellent piece Jack with some very thought provoking questions. You handled it very well.
I doubt that putting Hamilton & Button together is a good recipe ( unlike many other top teams this season).But as a team man I prefer Hamilton to be the winner & as you said with Button's soft & gentle style we may see a different ball game at the start of the race.
Looking forward for your post on other teams