Q and A's

SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX DEBRIEF

MARTIN WHITMARSH

That was an exciting race and Lewis's calmness under pressure was particularly impressive?

"I can't emphasise enough just how cool and collected Lewis stayed during the race. He was under immense pressure not only to get a result but also not to make a mistake - in some of the trickiest conditions he has ever driven in. That he managed to do so with such calmness and presence of mind is astounding - over the radio, it sounded as if Lewis was on a quiet Sunday drive - he was relaxed and calm; nothing seemed too difficult for him. After the first stop, we were aware of the situation with Kimi's tyres and duly informed Lewis. and even before his second stop we urged him to look after the car and measure his pace as a precaution in the weather conditions. We even recommended he ease his pace into the closing laps and he came back on the radio and told us he was already driving as slowly as he could!"

The weather kept changing throughout the race, what was the value of weather forecasting?

"Obviously, in situations like these we keep an extremely close eye on the weather forecast. We use a number of different sources to give us the clearest indication of any approaching weather fronts. At the beginning of the race, we knew it was going to stop raining shortly before the start but that there would be a light shower at 1.00pm which had a 50:50 chance of hitting the circuit. We also knew there was heavier rain forecast for the middle sector of the race, and it was fortunate that the heaviest rain showers were only brief. That coincided with one of the busiest and most chaotic sectors of the race as many drivers struggled to cope with the standing water. Just before Lewis's second stop, he actually questioned over the radio whether it was worth switching to extremes and we reassured him that our weather forecast was predicting the rain would clear up. Happily that proved to be right and kept the wet weather tyres on for the final stint."

What was the problem with Lewis's visor?

"Midway through the middle stint, Lewis came on the radio and told us he was having significant visibility problems. We weren't sure of the extent of the problem but later found out that he was having a fogging problem on the right-hand-side of the visor - and opening the visor just a little was causing the rain to flood into his helmet. We radioed him to ask if he wanted to pit early but he told us he could cope with the problem - that's a testament to just how cool and calm he remained during the race. You actually saw him wiping his visor down the Hangar Straight at one point. We took the decision on the pitwall to clean his visor on the inside and outside and positioned one of the mechanics to do so during his second stop. It's actually a very rare occurrence and this sort of fogging problem has not occurred before."

Heikki achieved his first ever Formula 1 pole position - what happened to him during the race?

"Heikki's race was made difficult by problems with graining on his rear tyres, which affected him in all three stints and made his car increasingly difficult to drive. In the closing laps, he was left vulnerable to the cars behind him but made a superb effort to push past Fernando in a car that was badly compromised on grip and traction. From the start of the race, he started complaining about a lack of grip at the rear-end and the car became increasingly snappy in both the high and low-speed corners - obviously that trait made the car increasingly hard to control. But his speed across the whole weekend was incontestable: the changes we've recently made to the car seemed to particularly suit Heikki and both his confidence and driving hit a new peak at Silverstone this weekend. He should be massively encouraged by the speed and consistency that he showed in qualifying. I think Heikki can take a lot away from this weekend and feel very encouraged by his performance."

Did the aerodynamic and mechanical improvements you made for the test reap their rewards during the race?

"The car certainly felt a great deal more balanced. Of course, we've been making systematic changes all season but we made a good step for Magny-Cours and followed it up with some further changes in last week's Silverstone test. Both Lewis and Heikki revelled in the revised balance and it showed clearly on Friday and Saturday at Silverstone. Both aerodynamic and mechanical changes have brought good dividends, but are only a small part of our seasonal upgrade programme."

I believe you were also using a new oil from the team’s technology partner ExxonMobil this weekend?

“During the past six months McLaren Racing and Mercedes-Benz technical team have been working with the engineers and chemists at ExxonMobil carrying out a detailed re-examination of the friction response characteristics of the V8 engine. The engine design freeze regulation challenged us to re-examine some of our conventional understanding on how the oil can make a difference to the engine performance and there is no doubt that Mobil 1 has helped to achieve a performance gain by carefully matching a variety of oil properties to the current V8 engine design – as stipulated by the regulations."

LEWIS HAMILTON

Lewis, it seems that you have taken a very different route into your F1 career. Your first season was in champion style, what makes this year so different to last year?

"2007 was a fantastic year for me, and an amazing experience. This year, I am only into my second season of Formula 1 but I am now the longest serving race driver at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, with a year's more experience here than Heikki. With this comes the additional pressure from within myself to do my best for the team, even though I am still on a huge learning curve. In many ways, it is like having a rookie season all over again!"

David Coulthard has put it this way: in your first year it's easy to be cool because you don't think - you just drive. When the thinking sets in the easiness gets lost. Do you experience something in this kind?

"For me, the easiest place to be during a grand prix weekend is in the car: nothing else matters when you're out on the track. But it's not easy to separate the job into just thinking and driving: to win in Formula 1 requires a whole range of skills and abilities - and you're always thinking about how to maximise everything, even when you're away from the racetrack. But I should perhaps emphasise that driving is the greatest part of my job - it's the reason we all become grand prix drivers and I'm sure it's the one element that keeps us all coming back for more."

Heading to your home Grand Prix, how do your emotions this year differ from those 12 months ago?

"To be honest, I don't feel any different. I love racing at Silverstone and look forward to the Santander British Grand Prix for two reasons: firstly, it's my home race and it has a special place in my heart - it's awesome to get so much support from the fans and to see the flags and banners in the grandstands. Secondly, it's just an amazing track - some of the corners are incredibly fast, it's the kind of place where you really should go and watch a Formula 1 car at the limit. I tested at Silverstone on Thursday and it brought it all back - the fans, the support and the track itself. The Santander British Grand Prix will be one of the highlights of my year and I hope I can make it special. Having said that, our competitors will be trying every bit as hard as we will, and I have great respect for them. So all I can say is that we'll give it our very best shot."

What developments are you testing this week and what changes can we expect to see on the car for the Silverstone race? Will they be enough to catch Ferrari?

"We're always bringing new parts to the test and Silverstone was no different. Heikki was in the car for two days and I only jumped in for the final day, but I got to try out some promising new aero upgrades and some improvements to the fuel and lubricants. They're only little things, but that's where you can make a difference. Ferrari will be strong, but not unbeatable - we've got a great package, we've worked hard on performance in high-speed corners and I'm confident ahead of the race."

It has been said that in winning a world championship you can make one mistake, maybe two at most. Does that mean your hopes are over for 2008?

"No, I think that this year's title race is really close - probably even closer than last year's. And there's no sign that it's getting any easier. There isn't one driver who's comfortably ahead; I've had a few no-scores but so also have the two Ferrari drivers. I think consistency is going to be important as we head into the second half of the season, but I'm only 10 points behind Massa and the maths is clear: you can make that up in a single race if all the cards fall in the right way."

Kimi Raikkonen made up a bigger points deficit to win last year's title. Do you take heart from that and do you think you can do the same?

"Kimi was 17 points behind with two races to go last year. The fact that he not only came back but also won the title tells you a lot about how unpredictable this sport can be. You can never take anything for granted. And that's why I'm still confident and focused. We've got 10 races remaining, 100 points - it's all to play for; and I'm ready for it."