Hamilton: McLaren have “more pace up our sleeves”

52 comments on “Hamilton: McLaren have “more pace up our sleeves””

1. 

   geo132 (@geo132)
   24th June 2011, 17:48

   Pirelli’s expectations from the tires have not been that accurate “lately”. I got a feeling someone will do the race with only 1 pit stop..
   1. 

      The Last Pope
      24th June 2011, 18:05

      They may try. But I could see them being defenseless to overtakes by the end of the race.
   2. 

      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      24th June 2011, 18:25

      Going the opposite way, because it’s a street circuit I could see some drivers gambling on and thus forcing others into a three-stop race, a bit like how Turkey went from three to four stops. The two DRS zones may make that a viable option.

      But I would love to see a front-runner try 1 stop! What I find strange is that Pirelli think the soft will go 20 laps and the medium 30, that’s 50 of the 57 laps gone. So I wouldn’t bet against it.
      1. 

         mateuss (@mateuss)
         24th June 2011, 18:55

         I would describe Valencia as “street circuit” rather than street circuit.
         1. 

            King Six
            24th June 2011, 20:05

            There’s only two real street circuits on the calendar. Monaco and Singapore. The other circuits are more temporary than street. Not necessarily the same thing. Valencia doesn’t even have any road markings and was designed by Tilke, it’s not a street circuit.
            1. 

               mateuss (@mateuss)
               24th June 2011, 21:13

               My thoughts exactly.
         2. 

            Theoddkiwi
            25th June 2011, 3:20

            Melbourne is a street circuit or rather its a Race track that half of it is used as a main road for the rest of the year and the another quarter is used a minor road. There is only a small section of Melbourne that you can’t drive on outside of race week.

            Believe me plenty of traffic use the track as a normal road, which is why some people get upset during the race weekend as they don’t have their nice little shortcut anymore.
         3. 

            Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
            25th June 2011, 7:36

            I would describe Valencia as “street circuit” rather than street circuit.
            The phrase “urban circuit” might be better.
      2. 

         geo132 (@geo132)
         24th June 2011, 19:20

         that’s 50 of the 57 laps gone.

         That’s why I said this!
         Tires have lasted more than Pirelli’s expectations, and those 7 laps can be achieved quite easily..
         1. 

            The Last Pope
            24th June 2011, 20:22

            Yes, although its whether the old tyres are still fast enough to compete with cars that are on much newer rubber.
            1. 

               BasCB (@bascb)
               24th June 2011, 21:03

               I’d expect at least one Sauber to try the one stopper, and HRT very probably, maybe Virgin as well.
   3. 

      Fixy (@)
      25th June 2011, 9:39

      If someone will try, it will be the Saubers.
2. 

   ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
   24th June 2011, 18:01

   With the Ferraris 2kph different in the speed trap, it will be interesting to see which direction they go in downforce wise.
3. 

   joac21 (@joac21)
   24th June 2011, 18:54

   Mclaren its getting anoying they always are overhyping themselves
   1. 

      Polishboy808 (@polishboy808)
      24th June 2011, 19:06

      Thank you, finally some one else sees this!
      1. 

         King Six
         24th June 2011, 20:06

         I’ve been saying it for awhile too, I keep pointing out to people that according to McLaren they’ve been faster than Red Bull for two years now. Maybe more. It’s bordering on delusion.
   2. 

      Patrickl
      24th June 2011, 21:09

      Which team hasn’t beaten their own drum?

      The fact that you hate McLaren means that it annoys you when they say it, but they don’t say it more than the others.
      1. 

         Polishboy808 (@polishboy808)
         24th June 2011, 21:34

         NO other team (except maybe Red Bull) over advertise and over hype themselves. NO team.
         1. 

            Mike
            24th June 2011, 23:22

            Except for Mercedes, Renault and well… Everyone down to HRT.

            Remember Kolles saying “HRT aims to beat Lotus”?
            1. 

               Fixy (@)
               25th June 2011, 9:42

               Remember Kolles saying “HRT aims to beat Lotus”?

               They aim at beating Lotus because they admit they are behind and they want to progress. But McLaren is saying that as they are now they’re faster than Red Bull.
         2. 

            Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
            25th June 2011, 7:11

            I think RedBull are quite recluse in self promotion…. Their cars do the talking!
            1. 

               Todfod (@todfod)
               25th June 2011, 8:42

               RB actually give the other teams some hope by not constantly talking up their advantage… and suddenly come quali and race they destroy them with ease.
4. 

   Dill
   24th June 2011, 18:56

   yeeeaaaahhhh ok lewis…..

   you talk but dont walk.
   1. 

      Polishboy808 (@polishboy808)
      24th June 2011, 19:07

      Haha, was about to say the same!
   2. 

      rfs (@rfs)
      24th June 2011, 19:35

      Walk? He isn’t in a walkathon. He’s supposed to drive.
5. 

   Oliver
   24th June 2011, 19:06

   Mclaren can go quicker. Everyone can go quicker.
   1. 

      OldIron
      24th June 2011, 20:30

      What Ham actually said (from hte rent-a-quote session) was basically the usual “its slippery, need to improve setup, we can go faster” stuff.

      That is, more or less what everyone was saying. It just looks a lot more dramatic quoted in isolation.
6. 

   ScottishNotBritish
   24th June 2011, 19:22

   This really calls in to question Force India’s (and others) wisdom of running their third driver in P1.

   Because of Hulk’s crash Di Resta has only managed 3 fast laps all day. This is a bit ridiculous for a rookie who has never before raced at this circuit.

   I must say, though, that Di Resta has been coping with these pressures remarkably well.
   1. 

      timi
      24th June 2011, 19:28

      to be fair he still has an hour in FP3, then q1, q2, and possibly q3.
      there’s at least an hour and a half for him to drive on before the race.
      and we’ve seen he’s very very quick at adapting to circuits and going fast in no time.
      Complain if he crashes on the first lap of the race.
      I hate it when people complain before there’s anything to complain about
   2. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      24th June 2011, 19:29

      He has. I can’t imagine he’s under any pressure to really challenge for the podium, just to beat his team mate. He’s doing a great job of that. I’m sure he will be frustrated at not being at the wheel long enough today though.
   3. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      24th June 2011, 19:32

      It’s a double-edged sword: had they not given di Resta track time on Fridays last year, would he be doing as well as he is now he’s a full-time racer?
   4. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      24th June 2011, 19:37

      I would add, the world championship’s stuck it in the barriers in practice twice already this year, so let’s not be too hard on Hülkenberg.
      1. 

         Oliver
         24th June 2011, 19:45

         Champion Keith, champion.
         1. 

            Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
            24th June 2011, 19:47

            Indeed.
         2. 

            Mike
            24th June 2011, 23:24

            Although the way it’s run sometimes, I’d agree with Keith on both points. :/
         3. 

            Oliver
            24th June 2011, 23:45

            That’s a familiar name.
7. 

   AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
   24th June 2011, 19:31

   What a difference a couple of hours makes. Alonso was around .5s behind Webber on the FP1 ultimate lap timings (including 2 session best sectors) and he’s not .2s AHEAD of Webber? That’s a lot of downforce to find.
8. 

   mateuss (@mateuss)
   24th June 2011, 19:38

   Damn, I only know noticed the “Select all | Select none” buttons after clicking 20 boxes! How long have they been there? :D
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      24th June 2011, 19:45

      Ever since these charts were introduced in December!
      1. 

         mateuss (@mateuss)
         24th June 2011, 20:04

         Seriously? I must get my eyes checked!
   2. 

      José Baudaier
      25th June 2011, 8:29

      WoW, I had never noticed them there neither. Thank you for that info.
9. 

   mattr
   24th June 2011, 20:00

   ive just watched hamiltons post p2 interview,and he thinks the expected hotter temps tomorrow will help them get the performance they need out of the hard tyre.we’ll have to wait and see tho.
10. 

    Tiomkin
    24th June 2011, 21:12

    Keith, you are showing the Canadian flag in the main page header. Shouldn’t it be the Spanish flag or the European one?
    1. 

       Boomerang
       24th June 2011, 21:20

       Who cares what flag is it, this is racing mate not WW1 or WW2!
    2. 

       Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
       24th June 2011, 21:30

       The cache must be showing you the wrong image for some reason. Refresh the page and you should see the correct image.
11. 

    Icthyes (@icthyes)
    24th June 2011, 23:09

    Today looked like a development day so you’d think so.

    Apparently they were testing this wing in Canada too. At the moment they’re looking to develop a wing that has a greater effect when the DRS is open but apparently this can lead to less efficiency in the closed position, so they’re trying to work out how to get the best of both worlds.

    If they’ve succeeded – and perhaps Hamilton is alluding to this – then it should give them an extra boost in qualifying.
12. 

    Frank
    24th June 2011, 23:27

    Everyone can go quicker so it’s no news what Lewis is saying. Don’t understand why people argue about it either? I think it’s only because he is the one saying it..

    I think Vettel will be beaten for pole tommorrow by Alonso. I definetly hope so. The new rule for the engine mapping must hurt Red Bull’s pace in qualifying. I can’t imagine it doesn’t. I do hope Newey isn’t coming with another hole in the regulations on this.
    1. 

       Sally
       25th June 2011, 0:09

       F1 is all about holes in the regulations. Seems like a lot of people need a reality check.
13. 

    INS (@ins)
    25th June 2011, 2:00

    Don’t forget Webber. Remember he’s also in a Red Bull.
14. 

    Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
    25th June 2011, 7:15

    Rumour has it Webber will be “flipping” quick come race time.
15. 

    SPIDERmaN (@spiderman)
    25th June 2011, 8:01

    i can see a major DNF today from one or two redbulls…and the seven time world champion will be on pondium at number two.
    I pray..so help us me god…
    1. 

       SPIDERmaN (@spiderman)
       25th June 2011, 8:02

       oops! so help us god !

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