This is naturally a worry for McLaren and you could tell from the drivers’
body language afterwards that they are concerned. They do not appear to know
why they are going backwards.
Naturally, given the fickle nature of modern sport and the calibre of the
drivers at their disposal, people want to what has gone wrong and who is to
blame.
It’s very easy to point fingers but I don’t feel that McLaren team principal
Martin Whitmarsh should necessarily become a target for the brickbats. In
broad terms, yes, he hires and fires and McLaren are going through a lean
spell in terms of championships. But they are always there or thereabouts.
Martin doesn’t design the car and he doesn’t drive it. It is up to the
technical team and the drivers to figure out how to make the car faster.
The trouble for them, and for the rest of Formula One, is a man called Adrian
Newey. His record speaks for itself. His cars have won well over 100 grands
prix now.
Just as Andy Murray didn’t necessarily do anything wrong in his match against
Roger Federer, it may be that McLaren are not doing anything wrong. It may
just be that Adrian is a one-off.
McLaren fans should not be too discouraged. They have the capability to win
this championship.
Let’s not forget that it was only three races ago that Lewis Hamilton caught
and passed both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to win a fabulous race
in Canada.
The rate of development in Formula One is astonishing. The introduction of a
new package, small changes to set-up, can make a big difference and it would
not surprise me in the least if a McLaren won in Germany next week.
That is what is so great about this year. It may look as if we are starting to
establish a pattern, with McLaren falling away a bit, and Ferrari and Red
Bull pushing on, but this season has made a habit of defying expectations
and I expect it will continue to do just that.
A word, briefly about Mark Webber, whose love affair with Silverstone
continues. A lot of people wrote him off as a force after last year but his
win on Sunday proved once again they were wrong to do so.
Seb found great momentum in 2011 and was unstoppable but it’s easy to forget
that Mark was never that far behind. He was never being lapped.
Either way, he is in great form and right in the championship hunt.