[drugimpotence]

The whole team is under the microscope with everyone and their dog writing an opinion in the press.

McLaren are in trouble and rather than pick the bones, I think it's time for them to put up the shutters, get sorted within themselves and put this all behind them.

There are obviously some that relish this situation but I wouldn't want to see any team go through this because of the mistakes of a few people.

No team or driver is "evil" or deserving of hate so lets get this in perspective. They have done a couple of things that are wrong and are suffering for them big time. The Daily mail love this sort of divicive situation.

Very sad situation.

[evarekataVame]

And speaking of Shakespeare and fallen heroes......

Ron at the hearing:
"et tu, Lewis..."

[bpejjssoe]

Knock-on - Is it a sad situation for Lewis and Mclaren? Yes it is. Did they bring it on themselfs? Absolutely!

Fact is Mclaren are the team who keep having these problems, First it was the Hamilton V Alonso thing which caused Mclaren to loose the driver many feel to be the best F1 currently has (myself included). Then they get caught and convicted of blatent cheating in stealing information from Ferrari. Now they blatently and intentionally lie in a stewards hearing in order to have another driver penalised.

Doesn't matter which way you paint the fence, whether you think the FIA is harsh on them or not, fact is these things don't happen to Williams, don't happen to Red Bull, don't happen to most other teams in F1, but it keeps happening to Mclaren, WHY? I refuse to accept its all just an FIA vandeta against Ron Dennis

[Lhtfajba]

paint the fence

Show me 'sand the floor'

[AlexBrith]

When Alonso was at the team, for sure Fernando made things hard on himself from time to time, but there is no doubt whatsoever that Lewis and his father played the team and the media expertly to make Lewis look like the poor rookie being picked on and Fernando look like an arrogant asshole.

And two years on lets see that state of play, Fernando is loved by his Renault team, he is now recongnised in the paddock as one of the nice guys in F1, and Hamilton is shown to be a lier and even his own team has turned on him. Sorry but Lewis is far from innocent and i'm sure there is one Fernando Alonso who would be sitting in his motorhome with a big smile on his face saying "karma Mr. Hamilton... karma"

This is modern F1. It's called the Piranha Club for no reason.

Alonso was hardly a saint at McLaren, was he? Blackmailling your employers and throwing your toys out the pram isn't exactly actions of model citizen, is it?

Time has allowed some redemption for Alonso and Schumi by letting their driving do talking. Same will happen with Hamilton - have you noticed yet he's dragged a crappy McLaren into the points from nowhere, just as Schumi did the same in Monaco 2006 after his shenanigans in qualy.

[ahagotyou]

This is sorry state of affairs at Mclaren at the moment but this happens in F1, obviously not often but it does happen from time to time. Drivers criticize their teams and the press make a big deal out of it. Massa has openly had a dig at Ferrari about his car after a poor performance in the past, much like Kubica with BMW but there relationships have recovered and they have got on with the job. People mention that Alonso is loved by his team etc etc, but it wasn't long ago he was complaining that his team at the time (Renault) were not giving him up to date parts and strategies because he was moving to a rival team (Mclaren). Then the Mclaren fallout came and he is back with them and everything is fluffy again.

It just goes to prove that drivers can get that bond back and do a great job much like Fernando is doing now

[bpejjssoe]

Alonso was hardly a saint at McLaren, was he? Blackmailling your employers and throwing your toys out the pram isn't exactly actions of model citizen, is it?

I never said he was a saint, I did say that he brought a lot of things on himself, but never foget that most of what Alonso had allegedly done was never actually proven, it was all just media reports from the BRITTISH media who at the time where in love with their new sporting darling... Hamilton knew this, played up to this, and created an environment which was impossible for Alonso to participate in.

Alonso was hired as the double world champion, Hamilton was a rookie, now regardless of who has more talent then who, fact is Alonso had a huge amount of experience to Hamilton's zero experience, so which driver do you think was doing the majority, if not all of the development work on the car? Bearing in mind of course that Mclaren where initially very slow in winter testing that year and Ron Dennis was on record as saying that Alonso's input moved the car forward considerably.

So based on that, was it really that unreasonable for Fernando to want to have the team support him?

Hamilton played the media, he played the team, he made a decision to lie in a stewards hearing, doesn't matter who told him to do it, at the end of the day he has to take responsibility that HE CHOSE to do it at the end of the day. Now that Mclaren are no longer any good to him, are no longer giving him a competitive car, well stuff them time to cut ties....poor attitude.

[zCLadw3R]

...it was all just media reports...

It still is. The media vultures need a story - any story - and they need to get it first. If they can't get cast iron facts they go with what scraps they can find, from where ever they can find them, or they mix 'n' match fact and fiction to make a headline. The headline creates its own story which then takes on a life of its own. By that time the 'facts' don't really matter much.

[Fruriourl]

I cheered Lewis along all last season and the season before, and I have to admit he has disappointed me greatly after the latest scandal.
If he had been man enough to admit to his mistake rather than push all the blame elsewhere, and backed the team that has spent so much time, money, and energy backing him throughout his career, then I would have more respect for him.

I feel let down as an F1 fan.

He did man up, he held a PC against the recommendation of McLaren, and made a full public apology and explanation of what happened.

[TEFSADDERFISA]

I never said he was a saint, I did say that he brought a lot of things on himself, but never foget that most of what Alonso had allegedly done was never actually proven, it was all just media reports from the BRITTISH media who at the time where in love with their new sporting darling... Hamilton knew this, played up to this, and created an environment which was impossible for Alonso to participate in.

Alonso himself ruined the environmen when he tried to blackmail Ron.


Bearing in mind of course that Mclaren where initially very slow in winter testing that year and Ron Dennis was on record as saying that Alonso's input moved the car forward considerably.
Bull Bull Bull, typical alonso fanboy bull.
Mclaren was really fast that year in winter testing even before Alonso had done even one lap in the car.

[TEFSADDERFISA]

He did man up, he held a PC against the recommendation of McLaren, and made a full public apology and explanation of what happened.

No. He behaved like a weasel and used Ryan as a scapegoat, instead of admitting that he just lied. He said he was mislead, when in reality he is a lying piece of crap.

[AlexBrith]

So based on that, was it really that unreasonable for Fernando to want to have the team support him?

Alonso wasn't exactly destroying Hamilton, was he? Hamilton was consistantly on the podium and therefore a genuine WDC candidate.

No. He behaved like a weasel and used Ryan as a scapegoat, instead of admitting that he just lied. He said he was mislead, when in reality he is a lying piece of crap.

Evidence?

[TEFSADDERFISA]

Evidence?

Did you read what Hamilton said in his oh so honest PC? He said he was mislead, instead of admitting he tried to lie and get away with it.

[bpejjssoe]

Bull Bull Bull, typical alonso fanboy bull.
Mclaren was really fast that year in winter testing even before Alonso had done even one lap in the car.

Firstly i'm not spannish, i'm australian, i'm a webber fan, not an alonso fan. But brutal statistics say Alonso is the best driver in F1 at the moment, fact.

And no, Mclaren where not fast initially in winter testing, they where not backmarker material, but they wheren't super fast by any stretch, Ferrari and BMW both appeared to have their measure untill Melbourne came along when both Alonso and Hamilton surprised everyone with their pace.

Perhaps your the fanboy here???

[TEFSADDERFISA]

Firstly i'm not spannish, i'm australian, i'm a webber fan, not an alonso fan.

I didnt say you were spanish, I said you were a typical Alonso fan and I stand by it.


But brutal statistics say Alonso is the best driver in F1 at the moment, fact. You mean like his rookie teammate beating him over a season?
Or Trulli beating him over a season? Yep, greatest ever.


And no, Mclaren where not fast initially in winter testing, they where not backmarker material, but they wheren't super fast by any stretch, Ferrari and BMW both appeared to have their measure untill Melbourne came along when both Alonso and Hamilton surprised everyone with their pace. Take a look at the wintertesting stats from 2006 december to 2007 march, then get on your knees and come back to me and apologize.

For your info, a quick check on that years winter testing reveals that out of all the testing sessions where more than 1 team was present, Ferrari topped 10 days and McLaren only...10 days. No other team came close.

Perhaps your the fanboy here??? Probably, but at least I am the not the one who was caught making up bull with my pants down.

[evarekataVame]

Evidence?

Read the various quotes by him. No where does Hamilton take any individual responsibility. Instead, it is blame the team, I was mislead and I am now so upset by the team misleading me, I am thinking of quiting. He even had his pop call Max.

And just how can he be "mislead" by the team, when he jumps out of his car and when the first mike is shoved under his nose, he tells the story about letting Trulli by without any quibling.

Only later when he is obviously told of the chance to gain a point by saying otherwise, does he suddenly have a different story to tell, a story that he told not only once but twice to the FIA, right from his own mouth.

What is interesting, is that it really comes down to his subjective intent. You might look at the objective evidence and conclude his subjective intent to be different from what he claims, but the person who knows most clearly is Hamilton----just as the case with Schumacher at Monaco.

But in this particular case, he had clearly already told a different story, an interview that Ryan had probably not heard, (because if anyone with common sense was planning a "lie", he woud be an idiot to go forward while being fully aware that one of the participants had already clearly told a completely different story on tape where it was recorded).

And the reports are that when at the second meeting, Hamilton was confronted with the radio interview quotes, he started becoming very "uncomfortable" and a short time later, we have pop calling max and so forth.

So he recants and rats out his own team. He is not turning over emails that he was ordered to turn over after Max threatens with a ban, and he can not point to anyone except himself as to the words that came out of his own mouth, but try he does, and apparently succeeds with Ryan's dismissal.

Finally, just when did Senna or Schumacher blame the team as being responsible for Monaco or the other incidents they were involved with.

Senna would never have said, well i did not really want to, but Ron told me to run Prost off.....or Schumacher said, I did not want to bump Hill, but the team mislead me......

[Malinguenem]

Finally, just when did Senna or Schumacher blame the team as being responsible for Monaco or the other incidents they were involved with.

Senna would never have said, well i did not really want to, but Ron told me to run Prost off.....or Schumacher said, I did not want to bump Hill, but the team mislead me......

Lewis lied yes....we still have to read that here like daily *sigh*...But thank god he so far not donne any of the actions you mentioned..actions that are to me far worse !

[evarekataVame]

Lewis lied yes....we still have to read that here like daily *sigh*...But thank god he so far not donne any of the actions you mentioned..actions that are to me far worse !

It is not that he told the initial lie that I find so offensive, and those other actoins may well be far worse, it is his cowardly way of dealing with it, when things come apart.

Tossing Ryan and team under the bus while refusing to step to the plate.
Demonstrates a lack of character that one can not say about Senna or Schumacher (and Schumacher took it on the chin for a couple of those transgressions)

[opelonafqe]

It's hardly suprising Lewis and Mclaren want to lie low for a while and avoid any further embarrassment or attention. I hope they can move past this in time... but as a fan of theirs I can't help but feel a bit let down by their conduct. I'm dissapointed for Lewis too but it's not at all suprising to see him feeling the way he appears to. I'd be advising him to steer clear of the limelight for a while too I think.

[Malinguenem]

It is not that he told the initial lie that I find so offensive, and those other actoins may well be far worse, it is his cowardly way of dealing with it, when things come apart.

Tossing Ryan and team under the bus while refusing to step to the plate.
Demonstrates a lack of character that one can not say about Senna or Schumacher (and Schumacher took it on the chin for a couple of those transgressions)

well ya...I also admit he let us Hamilton fans down there..and could have dealed with things in a better way..But I am not goin to blame everything on him either as I don't know what happened inbetween te interview he gave to the journalists right after the race and the stewards meeting...