Although the McLaren squad is having a dream season so far, Alain Prost suggests that the team is facing more risk than meets the eye.
For the third consecutive race, McLaren came out on top well ahead of the nearest competition. In addition to their blitzing pace is their stunning reliability that has allowed both of their cars to finish in every race so far. Now after seven rounds, they lead the Constructor’s championship by 35 points. Judging the progression of the season, it looks more probable that Mclaren will extend their lead further.
Their nearest rival Scuderia Ferrari seems to be falling behind rapidly. The early season reliability woes hurt them despite winning three out of the first four rounds since only one car was scoring points compared to McLaren’s two. In addition, with retirement of the highly accomplished technical director Ross Brawn as well as the absence of the meticulous Michael Schumacher in the cockpit of a Formula 1 car, the rate of improvement of the F2007 seemed to have stalled. They were neck and neck with McLaren at the beginning of the season, now they finish races almost a minute behind the silver arrows. And it’s not just the technical and mechanical problems that Ferrari had to deal with this year. Critical errors from their drivers like Massa ignoring the red light upon exiting the pits in Canada or the poor starts of Raikkonen have indeed inhibited them from even getting the most of their situation.
With the closest rival inhaling the fumes spewed by the MP4-22, Mclaren seems to have this championship in the bag with relative ease. Or do they? Recent reports have stated a caveat by former Mclaren driver and four times world champion Alain Prost. He said that McLaren’s equal status between drivers will eventually backfire. Prost only needs to reflect on his own experience with former teammate Ayrton Senna to come up with such a conclusion. Despite an all-conquering car, internal conflicts and bitter feuds erupted back then. Internal conflicts may just be enough to put useless pressure on the currently unreachable squad.
At the moment, there is internal bickering brewing within the McLaren team. Issues like accusations of favoritism have surfaced. For now, these issues are subdued. Only time will tell if such issues explode in dramatic proportions.
But assuming that the worst happens, will such conflicts be enough to cost them the title? The ’88 and ’89 season saw McLaren dominate the season with Senna and Prost taking the driver’s crown respectively. The bottom-line will still be the reliability of the cars and the way the team’s drivers maximize the performance of the car. For as long as it is a McLaren that is crossing the line first more often than not, a championship will surely be on the way regardless if there is in-fighting.
In any case, an emergence of a threatening rival, be it Ferrari or promising teams like BMW Sauber or the recuperating Renault, is vital to keep the proper interest this season. Because at the moment, the lack of challenge coming from the competition is causing the attention of viewers to shift from the racing into the internal rumors surrounding McLaren as though Formula 1 was a soap opera. Such is hardly appropriate for the pinnacle of motor racing.
