Well, I hope they're my last thoughts on it, anyway. It just goes to show that sometimes it's better to wait until all the facts are known before rushing into print.
Maybe Heidfeld could win this one...
The stewards' decision on the botched McLaren pit stop is very detailed and makes it pretty clear that, just as Ron Dennis said, the fault was not all Alonso's. The trouble is that it seems just about everyone in the team was to blame for an incident that looked terrible on television and did the sport no good at all. And the whole thing began to unravel when Hamilton was able to be first in line for the start of Q3. According to the team's tactics for the session, Alonso should have been first but Lewis decided not to let him through when asked to do so.
Let's hold it right there for a moment. Why should it make any difference in which position you emerge for Q3? The reason is buried in McLaren's complex strategy for this stage of the proceedings, a strategy that has enabled them to provide one of their drivers with an extra fuel-burning lap and so have a slight advantage in the race. Apparently, it was Alonso's turn for this but Hamilton grabbed it rather than risk letting Raikkonen through at the same time.
It becomes ridiculous, doesn't it? Although one has to admire a team so efficient that it can calculate everything down to such fine details, does this really have anything to do with motor racing? If the rules have become so intricate and complex that such devious scheming is necessary to get ahead, surely there is something wrong. The sooner F1 gets back to a simple, straighforward system for qualifying, the better.
But the teams have to deal with things as they are for the moment and I am forced to reconsider my earlier assessment of Hamilton. Now his comments after the race seem irresponsible at best and it is clear that he knew a lot more about what was going on than he admitted to. In his defense, it can only be said that he had no idea of the damage to the team his action was about to cause.
Alonso was told before his final pit stop that he would be held for twenty seconds, even though it took only six to change the tires. Although there were complex excuses made referring to gaps in traffic, this was really to adjust the timing of the drivers' runs so that Lewis gained no advantage from his disobedience. But then Alonso made everything far too obvious by not moving for ten seconds after he was apparently allowed to go.
Big mistake. Without that, it is probable that nothing unusual would have been noticed and the team would still have two cars on the front of the grid. Both team and drivers have no-one to blame but themselves and the lesson becomes: flexibility is the key.
In being ultra-efficient, McLaren have reached a point where it becomes difficult to adjust strategy when circumstances change. Had Ross Brawn been in charge, you can bet that he would have accepted the status quo (with a mental note to have a word with Hamilton afterwards) and changed the strategy to suit the new situation. In attempting to get back to what was planned, McLaren managed to shoot themselves in the foot instead.
The damage to the team's hopes could have been worse; Ferrari blundered in Massa's pit stop and so took one of their cars out of contention. But it seems ironic that the man who set the whole fiasco rolling escaped without penalty and will probably win the race tomorrow. You see it's true - to win races and become champion, you have to be lucky as well as talented...
Maybe Heidfeld could win this one...
The stewards' decision on the botched McLaren pit stop is very detailed and makes it pretty clear that, just as Ron Dennis said, the fault was not all Alonso's. The trouble is that it seems just about everyone in the team was to blame for an incident that looked terrible on television and did the sport no good at all. And the whole thing began to unravel when Hamilton was able to be first in line for the start of Q3. According to the team's tactics for the session, Alonso should have been first but Lewis decided not to let him through when asked to do so.
Let's hold it right there for a moment. Why should it make any difference in which position you emerge for Q3? The reason is buried in McLaren's complex strategy for this stage of the proceedings, a strategy that has enabled them to provide one of their drivers with an extra fuel-burning lap and so have a slight advantage in the race. Apparently, it was Alonso's turn for this but Hamilton grabbed it rather than risk letting Raikkonen through at the same time.
It becomes ridiculous, doesn't it? Although one has to admire a team so efficient that it can calculate everything down to such fine details, does this really have anything to do with motor racing? If the rules have become so intricate and complex that such devious scheming is necessary to get ahead, surely there is something wrong. The sooner F1 gets back to a simple, straighforward system for qualifying, the better.
But the teams have to deal with things as they are for the moment and I am forced to reconsider my earlier assessment of Hamilton. Now his comments after the race seem irresponsible at best and it is clear that he knew a lot more about what was going on than he admitted to. In his defense, it can only be said that he had no idea of the damage to the team his action was about to cause.
Alonso was told before his final pit stop that he would be held for twenty seconds, even though it took only six to change the tires. Although there were complex excuses made referring to gaps in traffic, this was really to adjust the timing of the drivers' runs so that Lewis gained no advantage from his disobedience. But then Alonso made everything far too obvious by not moving for ten seconds after he was apparently allowed to go.
Big mistake. Without that, it is probable that nothing unusual would have been noticed and the team would still have two cars on the front of the grid. Both team and drivers have no-one to blame but themselves and the lesson becomes: flexibility is the key.
In being ultra-efficient, McLaren have reached a point where it becomes difficult to adjust strategy when circumstances change. Had Ross Brawn been in charge, you can bet that he would have accepted the status quo (with a mental note to have a word with Hamilton afterwards) and changed the strategy to suit the new situation. In attempting to get back to what was planned, McLaren managed to shoot themselves in the foot instead.
The damage to the team's hopes could have been worse; Ferrari blundered in Massa's pit stop and so took one of their cars out of contention. But it seems ironic that the man who set the whole fiasco rolling escaped without penalty and will probably win the race tomorrow. You see it's true - to win races and become champion, you have to be lucky as well as talented...