Formula One news

Whitmarsh plays down Spa chances

Martin Whitmarsh has followed in the footsteps of World Champion Lewis Hamilton by doubting McLaren's chances of victory in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, claiming that the MP4-24's lower amount of downforce is the major downfall against rival machinery.

With Hamilton having won the Hungarian Grand Prix before locking out the Valencian front row with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen four days ago, the Champion registered a second consecutive finish in Sunday's European Grand Prix to prove that the McLaren-Mercedes car, written off by many earlier in the year, is now a fully competitive package.

2008: Hamilton wins in Belgium…before being penalised

With the 7-kilometre Spa a literally bigger challenge than the streets of the Spanish city, however, Whitmarsh is remaining cautious. "Despite making some major improvements to the MP4-24, we go to Spa knowing that the circuit's high-speed configuration is unlikely to play to the strengths of our car," admitted the team principal, who took the reigns from Ron Dennis at the beginning of the season.

"Having said that, our new technical package makes us confident that we'll be a strong contender for points as we look to improve on our fourth position in the Constructors' Championship. We've enjoyed a tremendous record here, winning ten times, and both Lewis and Heikki love this place so I'm looking forward to another exciting race."

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