Who is going to be Mclaren's No.1?

[f1manoz]

Four races in. Don't get ahead of yourselves.

[Greenback]

I suppose that if the there are no rules or protocols within the teams on how they treat each of their 2 drivers, i am sure a natural no.1 will prevail. And everything seems to be pointing towards LH right now, unless FA takes the lead in the WDC in the coming races.

[BootsOntheSide]

Things aren't as one-sided as people are making out. They've each beaten each over twice, Fernando is 3-1 ahead on qualifying, and 1-0 ahead on wins. Other than the points system which doesn't reward victory enough, the only thing in Lewis' favour is that he hasn't been beaten by a non-Ferrari yet.

As for Massa leading Raikkonen, they've both had one mechanical failure (Massa's in qualifying in Oz), and those pretty much cancel out in terms of points. With Massa effectively 3-0 up in qualifying because of Oz, that one is going Massa's way quite clearly.

[Glen]

Good feet on the ground assessment Boots (stop being so sensible - against 10/10ths rules surely?).

I think LH is about to find that he is afforded quite a bit less respect on track than he has enjoyed to date - and that switch of focus might just make life a wee bit easier for Alonso. As for the equivalent Ferrari battle, KR isn't doing all that much to earn respect at the moment - I think Massa will continue to prevail.

[climb]

My opinion is that LH, albeit doing an excellent job for a newcomer, has been favourished by the points system, like boots rightly pointed out, as well as by Macs reliability, and he's never seemed really able to win a race.
Alonso has had problems in the last two races, but when he had a chance he got it.

The Massa/Kimi situation has become now what was expected to be at the beginning: the brazilian more comfortable with a car/team he is way more accustomed with.
The first race result ended up giving a misguided idea, cos Kimi should start catching up with Massa since the 2nd part of the season.

[phoenix]

I think it is clear that to date LH gets second choice when it comes to fuel load/stop strategy. To me that is enough to make me think that he is number 2 in the team.

Whether that will change or not remains to be seen. If it does, then I expect we will see a very upset FA in Monaco, as qualifying on the front row is so vital there and the lightest fuel load in qualifying and the race will be so important. I think Ron knows his drivers well enough to not deliberately upset Alonso at this early stage of the championship, so I expect to see Alonso stop first in Monaco.

At the begining of this thread there were suggestions that LH would make more driving mistakes that FA. On my score card I have FA ahead on mistakes at this stage - what do the rest of you think? When will LH start to make errors?

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by phoenix

I think it is clear that to date LH gets second choice when it comes to fuel load/stop strategy. To me that is enough to make me think that he is number 2 in the team.

I believe McLaren still uses thier old tactics in this, i. e. the one who's quicker in qualifying gets to choose his pit stops first and the slower driver isn't allowed to cover them.

[Greenback]

Looking at LH track record at Monaco with junior formula, I think there is a good chance that he will qualify well next week.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

I believe McLaren still uses thier old tactics in this, i. e. the one who's quicker in qualifying gets to choose his pit stops first and the slower driver isn't allowed to cover them.

That doesn't really work - because you qualify with rrace fuel levels your choice of strategy comes before, and to a degree dictates, your qualifying position. Unless you mean thhat decide after Q2 and before Q3.

[Kirk]

LH does seem quite unflappable at this stage but it is too early to call him #1. FA is the WDC and should prevail over his young teammate, at least for this year. As I recall Nico was getting similar hype at this point in his F1 rookie season but settled in to be good but it became appparent that he needed experience. Only time will tell if the same will be true for LH. LH could be different however. Not since JV have we seen an F1 rookie with such poise, so soon.

[Greenback]

Can we call LH as Mclaren no.1 now?

[Racer 35]

Originally Posted by Greenback

Can we call LH as Mclaren no.1 now?

Errrr, no. Hamilton may have taken his maiden win, but the rest of the thread still applies.

[JeremySmith]

Fernando Alonso is the #1 driver at McLaren, for good reason he has won two WDC..

[Dutton]

I have seen references to how the new points system has favoured Lewis?

It is arguable it does not reward winning enough relative to other positions (in particular second place). I would agree with that.

However, that is a totally different thing to it favouring Lewis.

Given the same points are awarded to all the drivers for the same positions, there is no favouring involved at all.

[Armco Bender]

Not only is Fernando Alonso the No1 driver,he's also probably a very grumpy No1 driver.

[Alan Raine]

Yes Alonso is No1. It even says so on his car

[Greenback]

I think it is quite obvious that there is no team order at Mclaren right now. Suppose FA is the "no.1" I am sure he will be allow to pass LH before the first pit stop because he was on a low fuel load strategy

If you look at the Mclaren's pit lane, it is pretty obvious that Mclaren favourite child right now is LH and the podium celebration at Indy is really hilarious. a rookie giving word of encouragement to the 2WDC..

[Greenback]

Do you guys still think that FA is still Mclaren no.1 because he is a WDC?

[JeremySmith]

I do yes..Fernando has earned that right, and out of respect to his accomplishments, it is the correct thing to do.

[Gt_R]

I think that while at the start of the season, the WDC tag may warrant a "no.1" status.. i think a team, in the event that it has to choose a no.1, have to base any decision on more objective and fairer grounds. For example, how a driver has contributed to the team (net contribution), and how a driver has performed on track relative to his teammate, and 3rd, if fighting for WDC honours, who has a higher chance.

Applying this on Mclaren's case, I think Lewis has shown that he is close to wrestling it from Alonso, even if not exactly yet. That Lewis has been matching Alonso's performance says much about both drivers' quality, but i think Lewis needs a little bit more experience and maturity before he can command the same level of respect as a No.1 should have.

But Alonso, well, perhaps he should realise that No.1 status is one that should be earned, not demanded. And even if demanding for it does get it for you initially, you have to perform at a level that justifies keeping it.

[phoenix]

Originally Posted by Glen

Anyone that thinks it even vaguely conceivable that Hamilton will beat Alonso this year should come back to Planet Earth as a matter of urgency. One of the most outstanding and talented rookies of all time, who burst on to the scene and started making other drivers look ordinary, was Alonso - and he's had loads of experience, wins and Championships since then and, is still young and ready for more!

McLaren need not concern themselves with that question, because it will never be in question.

Glen, are you eating your words yet?

[BootsOntheSide]

Interestingly, if you apply the old 10-6-4-3-2-1 system to this year's results, Lewis has 68 points, Alonso 61 (so he'd need a win to overhaul Lewis - on the current points he'd be level with a 4th and ahead on countback with a 3rd), Massa 53 (a win and a second needed, compared to a win and a 4th in reality), and Raikkonen 55 (a win and a 3rd place, compared to two wins in reality). Therefore the old system would benefit Kimi and penalise Alonso (who came 7th twice). In fact Lewis would slightly benefit from the old system, because his closest rival would suffer for it

[Born Racer]

Alonso obviously thought it should have been him having a de facto number 1 status this year.

How deluded he must have been to think that.