McLaren drivers urge team to do more ahead of Silverstone
Lewis Hamilton left Valencia disappointed that McLaren did not take more risks in developing the 2011 car. The MP4-26, recently Red Bull's closest opponent, struggled on the streets of Valencia, with Jenson Button who finds himself urging the team for some good updates in view of Silverstone and beyond.
“We have to take some risks,” said the 2009 world champion. “I know there are new components coming, but we need more.”
The gap between Hamilton and the championship leader Sebastian Vettel approaches 100 points, and Hamilton removes himself from the fight for the world championship, together with the Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton seemed very critical of McLaren bosses.
“They didn't want to take any risks,” the 26-year-old told the Telegraph, “For safety reasons.”
“The question is: would we have been able to finish the race if we had taken the risk? Risk is everything."
“We had another couple of tenths available, it would have helped us preserve the tyres” added Hamilton.
The Englishman admitted that the problems involved blown exhaust and exhaust gases. “I pushed as hard as I could to get them.”
Martin Whitmarsh, however, said that the cause of the result was to be found elsewhere: “It was a tough afternoon for the boys, due to some less than optimal starts. Then we had the tires overheating."
Alessandra Leoni
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