”So we have to work hard to make sure he has a good car, that we don’t make
any mistakes and he is in a position to fulfil his potential at a circuit
where he would like to win again.
”We go into Monaco, somewhere where we’ve been very strong, we’ve won more
grands prix there than anyone else, and we go there with the belief we can
win.
”But anyone who makes predictions at the moment in this sport would be nuts.
It is virtually impossible.
”Five races in we’ve had five different winners, five different constructors.
”After Monaco it could be six races, six different winners, but I hope not
six different constructors. I hope we can take that one, but we will see.”
McLaren is most successful team in Monaco history, taking the chequered flag
on 15 occasions, albeit with their last in 2008 courtesy of Hamilton in a
thriller in the wet.
To triumph again on Sunday depends primarily on understanding the Pirelli
tyres that are contributing to a rollercoaster campaign for all concerned.
The supersoft tyres – the fastest, but quickest degrading – are due to be
introduced for the first time this season over the weekend, and that will
result in more questions than answers.
”We’re eight points off the lead in the drivers’ championship, 11 points off
in the constructors’, yet we could come away from Monaco leading both. It’s
that sort of championship,” added Whitmarsh.
”With these tyres people get frustrated with them, they’re difficult,
challenging, as we’ve suffered and been frustrated with them, but they are
contributing to an extraordinary season.
”In trying to understand them there’s no magic. You have to work hard, look
at the data, study it, try to effect and control, and deliver what you want
to make sure you get the best out of them.
”We’ve some views and ideas, but as every race goes by perhaps we are left
with a few more questions than we had at the beginning of the weekend.
”We’re learning something, but I don’t think there is anyone here who
convinces me they understand these tyres, and knows how to confidently and
comfortably exploit them on a regular basis.
”It’s become an incredible feature of this championship, and inadvertently or
otherwise, is creating the extraordinary season we are seeing.”