Summary – McLaren is closing in on Ferrari and that’s what matters!
Even if McLaren does not win the race during this European event, it retains the psychological advantage over Ferrari. Three weeks ago in Hungary, Massa’s engine broke, leaving Räikkönen to score points alone. In Valencia, the Finnish driver retires due to an engine failure, leaving Massa alone to climb onto the podium… Meanwhile, McLaren positions […]
Even if McLaren does not win the race during this European event, it retains the psychological advantage over Ferrari. Three weeks ago in Hungary, Massa’s engine broke, leaving Räikkönen to score points alone. In Valencia, the Finnish driver retires due to an engine failure, leaving Massa alone to climb onto the podium…
Meanwhile, McLaren positions its two drivers at the top of the standings each time. What should be deduced from this? Hamilton is still the leader in the driver’s standings while McLaren is inexorably closing in on Ferrari in the constructors’ standings…
Lewis Hamilton – 2nd:
« I can’t complain about my second place today. It was a good weekend for us. The track made overtaking difficult but I maintained the gap with my pursuers, which shows that our pace is quite good, which is encouraging. Between the two of us, we score 13 points, which is very positive for the team. I describe this weekend as satisfying.
Heikki Kovalainen – 4th:
« My start was good, and I was able to overtake Kimi Räikkönen before the first corner. However, I’m not really happy with how the race went for me. I had problems with my first set of tires in the first and second stints. In comparison, I had much more grip and traction in the 3rd stint with other compounds. As a result, I was able to close the gap a bit with Robert Kubica. »
« I still scored five points, but a podium would have been a better reward. That said, the team earned a lot of points with Hamilton’s second place and my fourth place. »
Ron Dennis – McLaren F1 Director:
« Today, we saw another solid performance from the team, the result of which proves to be very useful for the championship, but in truth, we lost the chance for a victory yesterday. In my opinion, if Lewis Hamilton had qualified with the same fuel level as Felipe Massa, he would likely have been able to control the race. »
« Following his victory in Hungary, Heikki Kovalainen also scored big points to move closer to the lead position in the constructors’ championship. He responded well to the pressure from Kimi Räikkönen and fully deserves his fourth place. »
