Formula One news
McLaren lament 'racing incident' with Alonso
06 April 2008 / Results / PhotosMcLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen finished the Bahrain Grand Prix in fifth position. Lewis Hamilton had to make an early and unscheduled pit stop after an incident on lap two with Fernando Alonso and finished 13th.
 |
|
"Quite a tough race today," said Kovalainen. "I made a great start and overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then outbraked myself in Turn Four and he regained his position. I then went in too deep at Turn Eight and flatspotted my front right tyre which caused a lot of vibration. It vibrated so much that I was worried something would fall off the car. Things improved in the second stint and the car worked really well towards the end when we changed to the prime tyre. Fifth was the maximum I could do today. However we still scored points on a difficult day, and that is the main thing. I have total commitment to the team and a good car, and I know we will keep working hard to improve for the start of the European races."
Hamilton commented, "I am really disappointed and feel like I let the team down today as I always am the first to blame myself. The whole weekend has not been ideal starting with the accident on Friday, but I will keep my chin up and bounce back at the next race. I messed up at the start as I didn't hit the switch early enough and therefore had not engaged the correct engine setting, and the anti stall kicked in. I lost a lot of places but things were still salvageable at that point. Then I had the incident with Fernando. I was behind him, and I moved to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it - a racing incident I guess. I am confident that we have the pace to be fighting at the front so the confidence is still there. I have had such a good run in Formula 1 until now, and it was almost inevitable that at some point things would go wrong. However there is a long way to go in the Championship and I intend to win it."
Team boss Ron Dennis added "Most of the teams used the same tyre strategy with the exception of those who went for a one-stop-strategy which we switched Lewis to following his incident with Fernando. Heikki's race was hampered by understeer which we systematically dialled out to a level which allowed him to set the fastest lap during the closing stages of the race. Lewis's bad start and the incident with Fernando, which extensively damaged his car, seriously hampered his pace, and we then took the early decision to save the engine for the next race in Barcelona. We will continue to work hard in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart to make sure we are well prepared for the start of the European races."
more news
- 24 Jul.
- 23 Jul.
- 22 Jul.
- 21 Jul.
- 20 Jul.
Homepage
Jerez
