Our champs will not be chumps

By CHRIS HOCKLEY Published: Today McLAREN boss Martin Whitmarsh says he is “relatively confident” Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will not destroy the team as they fight for supremacy within it. Whitmarsh disagrees with many Formula One fans who are convinced that having the last two world champions in one team can only end in tears. But he hedged his bets ever-so-slightly as he discussed the combination. Whitmarsh said: “I’m relatively relaxed about the driver partnership. “Knowing Lewis as I do, and having got to know more of Jenson during the limited time I’ve spent with him during his busy visits to the McLaren Technology Centre, I feel relatively confident our driver line-up this year will be a very stable and mutually productive one. “Neither became world champion simply by driving at the limit on the racetrack. They’ve each been responsible for moulding and developing an organisation around them and exploiting the skills of their respective engineers. “And it’s that sort of approach we’ll be looking to encourage from both drivers in order to give us a performance advantage. “We’ve also got an extremely experienced and capable race team and we feel that will play absolutely to our drivers’ strengths. “Equally, they know Formula 1 in 2010 will be more competitive than ever before. Collaboration, understanding and the shared development of the car will be at the forefront of everybody’s mind. “Given the testing limitations and the minimal track time over a race weekend, it’s the only way to get ahead. Both Jenson and Lewis fully understand that. “That’s why I’m so thrilled with our driver partnership. I really think it will play to the strengths of modern Formula 1. “Of course, we wouldn’t be going racing if we couldn’t let our drivers ‘off the leash’. But our absolute priority is to develop a front-running car.” The new McLaren MP4-25 will be unveiled on Friday at the Newbury HQ of title sponsors Vodafone. Whitmarsh is confident it will be quicker off the mark than last year’s car. He said: “Is it a championship contender? It’s still far too early to say. Will it win races? We certainly hope so. Am I proud of the effort we’ve currently invested in the car? Most definitely.” The new car will be tested for the first time at Valencia next Monday by one of McLaren’s unsung heroes, test driver Gary Paffett. Hamilton will…

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Posted by admin 25 January 2010

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