McLaren back Alonso's first corner move

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By Jonathan Noble Sunday, May 13th 2007, 17:06 GMT


McLaren are adamant that Fernando Alonso did the right thing in going wheel-to-wheel with Felipe Massa at the first corner of the Spanish Grand Prix - even though a subsequent minor collision pitched him off the track.

Alonso tried to dive around the outside of his Ferrari rival at Turn One but, despite getting alongside the Brazilian, the pair touched wheels and Alonso was forced wide across the gravel.

That dropped the world champion down to fourth and caused minor damage to the aerodynamics of his car. That left him unable to mount a serious challenge on eventual winner Massa and new world championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

Despite that misfortune, McLaren's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said that Alonso was correct in trying to wrest the lead from Massa in such style.

"With hindsight it would have been better not to have put himself in that position, but I think it was absolutely the right thing to do," said Whitmarsh. "You have to attack and you have to make sure you get track position and win.

"He really got into a good position there. I think Massa was robust, but that is what people want to come and see. If he hadn't have attacked the first corner then we would have thought he wasn't trying hard enough.

"I think every overtaking move entails a degree of risk, but I think he did absolutely the right thing ? although it didn't quite come off that time. On another occasion he would have bumped himself forward and it would have been the fantastic start that we would all have been talking about now."

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Hamilton gunning for victory in Monaco

By Alan Baldwin Sunday, May 13th 2007, 16:32 GMT


Lewis Hamilton set his sights on a first Formula One victory after becoming the youngest driver to lead the championship on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Briton, just four races into a career that has already produced a record run of podium finishes for a rookie, finished second in Spain behind Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa.

The eight points lifted the McLaren driver clear at the top of the standings with 30 points, two ahead of Spanish teammate and double world champion Fernando Alonso and three clear of Massa.

At 22 years, four months and six days old, Hamilton replaced late team founder Bruce McLaren as the sport's youngest championship leader by a month and two days.

The New Zealander led in 1960 at the wheel of a Cooper Climax after winning the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires.

"We didn't particularly have the pace of Felipe but I think we came another step closer and, as I said to him just now, we'll get him soon," Hamilton told a post-race news conference.

The Briton has led all four of his races.

Hamilton has finished second to Massa in the last two races but the next up is Monaco, the glamour highlight of the calendar and a circuit where the Briton has won before in junior categories.

"I've been working so many years for this, me and my family, and to be finally in this position is a dream and it really is now just getting bigger," he said.

"It is quite amazing to be leading after only my fourth Grand Prix, but it's good and I'm enjoying it and I need to keep on enjoying it and really just building on the points that I have.

"Monaco has always been a very strong race for me and I was saying to Felipe, one day we'll get him and you never know if it's that one or not," added Hamilton.

"I think we'll be very strong in Monaco so I'm looking forward to it...sure, I'm going to be gunning for a win."

The youngster has made a big impression with his poise and self-assurance since his debut in Australia in March and he showed again that he feels completely at home in the limelight.

Asked whether his taking the lead reaffirmed his belief that he could win the title, Hamilton replied: "For sure it's positive, but even from the last race we knew that there was a possibility of winning the championship.

"But again, we have to be realistic. It is only my first season so it's going to be ups and downs," he added.

"I've done a good job I think until now and the team have done a fantastic job and as long as we keep the reliability good on the car and I don't make any mistakes, then I'm sure we can continue with the performance we have."

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McLaren: Alonso handling Hamilton pressure

By Jonathan Noble Monday, May 14th 2007, 08:26 GMT


World champion Fernando Alonso is not buckling under the pressure put on him by teammate Lewis Hamilton, despite being beaten by the rookie again at the Spanish Grand Prix.

That is the view of Alonso's McLaren team, who believe that the Spaniard is more than capable of bouncing back from another disappointing outing that has helped hand the world championship lead to Hamilton.

Alonso finished third at Barcelona after being forced wide at the first corner by Felipe Massa, while Hamilton was able to cruise to second place.

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "I think Fernando is doing a great job in the team. In measuring the influence he has on the team, you have to understand how he motivates and contributes to the team. And he is doing a really great job there.

"He is second in the world championship, so he is not doing a shabby job. By his own high standards he would like to be out in front at the moment, but I think he is doing a great job.

"He is an absolute competitor. He believes he can win the world championship and he will be out to beat Lewis and everyone else. That is what we would want and expect from him."

Despite taking a dominant victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix, Alonso has been beaten by Hamilton in the last two races. Those results have helped the young Briton emerge as the youngest ever world championship leader.

But Whitmarsh thinks it is far too early to believe that Hamilton is seizing the initiative in the title chase from his teammate.

"It is a fantastic championship with a lot of pressure on a lot of the front runners. There are four drivers going into each event with the expectation of trying to win, and I think that is a great thing for motor racing.

"That is pressure, but Fernando has demonstrated with two great world championship campaigns, once against us and once against Ferrari, that he can deal with pressure. So I don't detect any problem. He made a great start, he went for it but it didn't quite come off."

And Whitmarsh insists there will be no problem in keeping motivational levels high for both drivers.

"I don't think we have any difficulty to keep the motivation in this team," he explained. "Both of our drivers are extremely motivated. The team are massively motivated.

"We are leading both championships and I think there are a lot of other teams down here who need motivational programmes to a greater extent than us.

"We are here to win races. After this race we have to be pleased where we stand in the championship, with our drivers first and second and us leading the constructors'. But inevitably we are McLaren, so we are disappointed we didn't win the race."