Analysis: McLaren continues to gain points on Ferrari

McLaren-Mercedes had been delivering strong performances in the recent Grand Prix events, proof that McLaren’s comeback is anything but a coincidence. After a strong qualifying session that placed Lewis Hamilton in 3rd place, he managed to finish the Grand Prix in the same position. Another podium for McLaren and for Lewis Hamilton, which narrows the gap in the standings between Hamilton and Räikkönen, and between McLaren and Ferrari.

The Finnish Kovalainen, who struggled during practice with his off-track excursion, was penalized 5 grid places for a gearbox change. Heikki Kovalainen, despite some great duels with Sutil and Fisichella, couldn’t climb back up in the standings and finished his first Suzuka Grand Prix in 11th place.

Lewis Hamilton – 3rd:

I tried to pass Jarno [Trulli] and Sebastian [Vettel] at the start. But I couldn’t turn in first. It was a great battle with Jarno – we were really fighting, doing qualifying laps to grab every tenth – but as the laps went by, my car seemed unable to beat his. Coming out of the pits after my second stop, I lost time with a gearbox problem, and it cost me about a second. To be honest, it’s no surprise to be overtaken by Jarno at the last stop. When we were behind the safety car, I asked the team if they could adjust the KERS again so I could overtake Jarno, but the team told me they couldn’t do anything, and I wasn’t close enough at the restart to pass him.

Heikki Kovalainen – 11th:

I’m a bit disappointed with my result. I was really on the edge with my car, and we still always have grip issues in the fast corners, so it was impossible to attack. I pushed the car from start to finish – Adrian [Sutil] tried to make a move but only when he was alongside me. When he tried to turn, I was already on the curb, and I couldn’t avoid it. My second pit stop wasn’t fantastic because we had a problem with the front right wheel. Giancarlo [Fisichella] came out of the pits right in front of me, and I was able to use the KERS to overtake him.

Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal:

Suzuka is an incredibly exciting and challenging circuit for drivers and engineers. So we are not too disappointed to have taken 3rd place in the Grand Prix. Lewis had a problem with his KERS, and we were unable to fix it. He did a fantastic job holding onto third place ahead of Kimi [Räikkönen]. Heikki received a 5-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox, and he is disappointed with his performance, which indicates that his competitive spirit is still intact. We will approach Interlagos with an aggressive mentality and score as many points as possible to secure 3rd place in the Constructors’ Championship.