Formula 1 BLOG

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has insisted that Lewis Hamilton will not leave the team when his current deal expires at the end of next season, but revealed that they were in no rush to extend his contract.

Speculation regarding Hamilton’s future has been rife of late, with the 26-year-old linked repeatedly with rival team Red Bull. He added fuel to the fire after suggesting that “loyalty had its limits” a perceived acknowledgment that he would leave the team if McLaren could not deliver him a championship winning car.

Hamilton will remain focused on reeling in Sebastian Vettel after his victory at the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago, and will now look for back to back wins when the Turkish Grand Prix gets under way in just over a weeks time.

Those who watch formula 1 live will hope for a contest to match the race in Shanghai, which is being billed as one of the greatest races of modern times ah Hamilton searches to reduce Vettel’s championship lead even further.

Whitmarsh has now moved to quash the rumours that Hamilton could switch to the team he is enjoying a battle with this season, and insisted that Hamilton’s future was with the Woking-based outfit.

“Lewis has a long career ahead of him and I think he’s intelligent enough to realise that the environment he has here is good for him and plays to his strengths,” said the McLaren team boss told the Daily Mail.

“Lewis has made it clear to me he wants to stay in the team and I’ve made it clear to him I want him to stay.” He added.

Whitmarsh also went on to say that there was no rush to sign a new deal, stating that the trust felt between the two parties meant they could take their time.

“At some point, we need to get a contractual agreement that reflects that, of course.”

“But I don’t think – despite the media interest – that either of us thinks we have to get to a contract in three months or six months. I trust him and I think he trusts me.” He commented.

Torro Rosso have been handed a €10000 fine for failing to secure Jamie Alguersuari’s wheel properly after the Frenchman’s right-rear tyre came loose in the early stages of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Live f1 fans became aware of the problem after BBC commentator Martin Brundle pointed out the loose fitting tyre as Alguersuari exited the pit lane, and his wheel came off later in his outlap, leaving the 21-year-old to nurse the car back to the pit-lane on three wheels.

Starting early on the grid, Alguersuari was bought in early in an attempt to feed him back out into clean air on a three stop strategy, but that was scuppered as his tyre bounced dangerously into the barriers.

“From quite early on I was struggling with grip from the rear tyres, so we decided to come in earlier than planned for the first stop to try and fight back for the ground lost at the start,” Alguersuari said of the incident.

“Then, immediately after leaving the pits, I felt the car was very unstable and then I lost a wheel nut and the wheel came off, so there was nothing I could do.”

“After my best qualifying position I was hoping for better even if we knew we would be using quite worn tyres after qualifying, so we had started on my worst set of tyres to try and have an edge later in the race, but it was not to be.” He added.

After being charged by the Chinese GP stewards for breaching sporting regulations by releasing an unsafe car, chief engineer Laurent Mekies admitted the team had yet to get to the bottom of the incident.

“We brought Jaime in fairly early to have him running a three stop strategy,” he said.

“But we had to retire the car soon after the pit stop as we lost a wheel. At the moment, we are examining the exact cause of this incident.”

Team-mate Sebastian Buemi enjoyed a more successful race, although the Swiss driver will not have been pleased to finish 14th having started the race in 9^th.

I so wish that F1 was like this today. I challenge anyone to come up with a better example of what F1 racing was and may never be again…

Enjoy the best F1 battle ever.

Well, With the Monaco GrandPrix done it is starting to look like no one is going to be able to stop the Brawn juggernaut.  With two excellent drivers in Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and an F1 car that no one seems to be able to catch it is looking doubtful that any of the other teams are going to be able to close the gap.

I guess the question now is can teams like Ferrari and McLaren close the gap in time for next season?