SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS // "Managing the championship situation from here on?" Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal seemed amused by the notion. "I've just been chatting to Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton," he said, "and Jenson has told Lewis that he might be 35 points ahead, but he plans to nail him in the nicest possible way. That's how Formula One should be."
The result of yesterday's Belgian Grand Prix has created a clear divide in the world championship race. For the first time in this unpredictable campaign, two of the five-strong leading pack have broken away from the rest. Lewis Hamilton leads Mark Webber by 182 points to 179, while Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button are both more than a race victory behind their respective team-mates after both failed to score in yesterday's grand prix.
Whitmarsh insists the focus will not switch towards one driver, but McLaren face less of a political balancing act. Hamilton has been consistently quicker than Button for the past few races. Hamilton, though, is not expecting any favours from his compatriot. "I think Jenson was very unfortunate today," he said, "but we get the same treatment and that's how it should be." The situation is less clear-cut at Red Bull, where Vettel and Webber are rarely separated by more than fractions.
Webber's race in Belgium was compromised by a poor start as he dropped from first to sixth within a matter of a few yards, negating his fine pole position lap on Saturday. But thereafter he drove flawlessly while Vettel committed a litany of errors. The German could have beaten his teammate by a couple of positions, but eventually trailed home 15th after a race that involved five pit stops - including one as a penalty for knocking Button off the track on lap 16.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team director insists, however, that the team will maintain a two-pronged title attack in the short term. "There are six races to go and 150 points to play for," he said. "With the current scoring system, it wouldn't take much for Sebastian to get back on level terms, so it's far too early to contemplate any kind of team strategy. Seb is a very talented driver and it would be foolish to rule him out."
Webber had a slightly alternative take on what he thinks should happen. He trails Hamilton by three points, with his teammate a further 28 points back and hinted it may be better for the team to put all their eggs in one basket. "McLaren has won many championships," the Australian said, "so they have a pretty good trophy cabinet. Red Bull has a good trophy cabinet too, but it's not like McLaren's.
"It depends how hungry we are to emulate what they have. It is too early to think about these things at the moment, but a decision might not be too far away. Our strategy might differ from theirs." Horner believes that the next race, at Monza, might be McLaren territory. The Italian Grand Prix's home venue features long straights and, predominantly, slow corners - factors that do not play to Red Bull's strengths.
"Of all the circuits on the calendar," Horner said, "it's probably the one that suits us least. That said, we didn't expect to do very well in Valencia [in Spain], either, and we won there..." sports@thenational.ae
