McLaren Mess Up Again!

[Kevin VRs]

I have lost count of the number of times McLaren messed up by not getting a driver out on track at the beginning of a qualifying session. This time it has effectively lost Lewis Hamilton any chance of winning tomorrow.

I am only a layman regarding F1 but it seems so obvious to me that you must have a 'banker' in your pocket rather than relying solely on a last minute lap, particularly at Monace with its high accident rate. Jensen has a much better position because he went out early.

What do other people think?

[Badgerboy]

Hamilton was out of the car at the beginning of Q3 by all accounts as they were working on it. They wouldn't have been able to put it out on track earlier if they had wanted to.

[John D.]

I think you should pay more attention to the commentary.

[Jasandjules]

Anyone know what was wrong with Lewis' car?

[Badgerboy]

They didn't mention anything specific, but DC was concerned that he could see Hamilton out of the cockpit.

[Dr G]

I believe he required new wheels as Lewis had driven the old ones off in Q2.

[Kevin VRs]

I heard the comments about him being out of the car, also about the fact there was no real activity on the car, that, to me sounds like a deliberate attempt to save a set of tyres. If so, it failed spectacularly in its effect.

[elster]

Kevin VRs said:

I heard the comments about him being out of the car, also about the fact there was no real activity on the car, that, to me sounds like a deliberate attempt to save a set of tyres. If so, it failed spectacularly in its effect.

Are you saying you think they weren't going to run in Q3 purely to save tyres?

I doubt that very much. Lewis was out of the car due to a problem, not due to an evil plan for him not to run in Q3, as would have happened if Perez hadn't crashed.

If they were saving a set of tyres they were aiming for 10th on the grid.

Then why would they then send him out to do a lap in the remaining 2 minutes?

[AlpineWhite]

Maybe, maybe not. Saving the extra set of tyres in quali helped Hamilton on his way to his first win this season, didn't it?

Risk / reward.

[Kevin VRs]

Elster, no, I was saying they were planning only one run late in the session. This is not the first time this has happened either.

[John D.]

Saving a set of tyres by only doing one run in Q3 is plausible. It gains a nice tactical and performance edge for the race.

Waiting until late in the session makes less sense. Only thing I can think of is that waiting means the track may have rubbered in a bit more. A technical problem delaying his lap makes most sense.

[elster]

Kevin VRs said:

Elster, no, I was saying they were planning only one run late in the session. This is not the first time this has happened either.

They wouldn't have do a single run in Q3 without the Perez crash.

[Badgerboy]

Kevin VRs said:

I heard the comments about him being out of the car, also about the fact there was no real activity on the car, that, to me sounds like a deliberate attempt to save a set of tyres. If so, it failed spectacularly in its effect.

The driver doesn't just hop in and out of the car for the fun of it, especially in a time limited session. Lewis would have been out of the car for either work in the cockpit, or a KERS issue. Regardless there was work being undertaken on the car, making the driver stand in the garage for half the session to 'fool' the others teams make absolutely no sense.

[zac510]

Maybe he needed to do a st.

[Big Al.]

Sorry but can we keep all Fi threads in the latest thread running please

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...