F1 2007: McLaren at Mid-Season
Pros and Cons for Team Leading F1 Driver and Constructor Standings
McLaren's drivers are 1-2 in the F1 World Championship. As a result, the team leads in the constructor standings. Are things rosy for McLaren? Maybe. Maybe not.
With nine of the 17 races completed in the 2007 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, McLaren Mercedes has the top two positions in the driver standings and, as a result, the top spot in the constructor (team) standings. (The FIA -- Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – is the worldwide governing body of motorsport.)
Heading into the 10th race, the European Grand Prix at Germany's Nurburgring, Lewis Hamilton leads the driver standings with 70 points. McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso is in second place with 58. The Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are in third and fourth, with 52 and 51, respectively.
The constructor championship is a two-team race in which McLaren leads Ferrari, 128-103.
Based on the current driver and constructor standings, all is well at McLaren, right? Maybe. Maybe not. The answer depends on whether one is looking at the glass half-full or half-empty.
First, the glass-half-fuel view.
- The team has two strong drivers. Hamilton, just a rookie, has put in an eyebrow-raising performance so far. He has two wins in his active record streak of a podium finish (first-, second- or third-place) in each of his first nine races. Meanwhile, Alonso is the two-time defending driver champion.
- The car has been fast and reliable. McLaren is the only team that has not suffered a retirement or disqualification. Both cars have finished each race and, more importantly, scored points (awarded for finishing first through eighth) in each race. In the nine races, McLaren has four wins among its 15 podium finishes (nine for Hamilton and six for Alonso).
- The team has a strong technical staff and the finances needed to continue to develop the car through the end of the season.
- McLaren is no stranger to success and, therefore, knows what to do to try to stay at the top of the standings. McLaren is the second most successful team in F1 history, having won 19 championships – 11 driver and eight constructor.
The Glass Half-Empty
Now, the glass-half-empty view.
- McLaren has a history of employing two strong drivers only to have animosity result. McLaren had what was arguably the most famous teammate battle in F1 history – Alain Prost versus Ayrton Senna in 1988 and 1989.
It seems some friction exists between Hamilton and Alonso. But that’s only natural in F1. Teammates usually aren’t friends. One example is Hamilton complaining about not being allowed by the team to race Alonso for the win in the Monaco Grand Prix. The McLarens held station late in the race, with Alonso winning and Hamilton finishing second.
Conversely, Alonso said Hamilton’s first win – the Canadian Grand Prix – was lucky. Also, Alonso publicly contradicted Hamilton and team principal Ron Dennis, denying that he and Hamilton had made a pact to not talk about each other with the media unless both were present.
Winning has a way of smoothing over friction. Also, there has not been a significant on-track incident so far involving Hamilton and Alonso. (An incident during the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix brought the Prost-Senna rivalry to a boil.)
But Hamilton and Alonso may grow hotter under the collar about each other if Ferrari provides increased pressure in the driver and/or constructor championships or if the McLaren drivers clash on the track.
Although he finished third in the last race, the British Grand Prix, Hamilton made his first mistake during a race. It occurred during a pit stop. Could more mistakes be coming from Hamilton?
Alonso has made a number of mistakes in races this season, evidently feeling the pressure of competing against Hamilton. Alonso rarely made mistakes in winning the last two driver championships for Renault.
- McLaren's reliability has been bulletproof. But can it continue? There’s only one way a 100-percent reliability record can go – down. In championships where four drivers and two teams are competing, a retirement, a disqualification or a non-points finish in the final eight races may hurt a lot.
What Will Result from "Stepneygate"?
Lastly, there is a recent development that cannot now be factored into either the half-full or half-empty view. That is "Stepneygate," which broke in June.
Police in Italy and England as well as the FIA are investigating a case of industrial espionage in which Nigel Stepney is accused of providing classified Ferrari information to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.
Stepney, who had been with Ferrari for 14 years and was most recently head of performance development, maintains his innocence. He has been fired by Ferrari, while McLaren has suspended Coughlan. Stepney and Coughlan worked together at Benetton earlier in their F1 careers.
What will be the outcome of Stepneygate? The FIA has promised prompt resolution -- within weeks. Will McLaren be distracted while the investigation takes place? If McLaren is found guilty, what will be the FIA’s penalty? Exclusion from the F1 World Championship? Loss of driver and/or constructor points?
The second half of the F1 season may prove to be highly interesting both on and off the race track.
# # #
