McLaren praise British drivers for high morale

McLAREN team principal Martin Whitmarsh has praised Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button for keeping morale high and hiding their fears of a potentially “tortuous season”.

Although both drivers voiced their concerns at times regarding the new car’s lack of pace and reliability, neither stuck the knife in or let the situation drag them down.

McLaren responded like they have arguably never done before by turning around a situation in the space of just two weeks that at one stage appeared desperate.

“If my engineers had told me they’d be able to do that I’d have said, ‘you’re nuts!’,” said Whitmarsh.

But McLaren’s engineers proved themselves to be just that as they burned the midnight oil over those two long weeks, taking a risk by ditching their radical exhaust concept.

In its place was a more simplified system that propelled Hamilton to second in Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with Button sixth after incurring a drive-through penalty.

From fearing they would be running around in midfield, the duo are now firmly back in title contention, even if Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull again appear to be the class act following their dominant weekend in Melbourne.

“Jenson and Lewis had a very tough winter of testing,” added Whitmarsh.

“They are both winners, and when you find yourself in a new car with unacceptable reliability, you can’t get the miles in, can’t learn about the car, can’t prepare yourself, then mentally you have to be very tough to survive that.

“I’m sure they were having thoughts of a tortuous racing season because none of us in this team, and certainly neither of our two drivers, like participating in races you don’t think you can win.

“But they were terrific for maintaining their morale and focus.”

The crew behind the British duo naturally played their par, albeit by gambling heavily.

“At times when it gets tough, we’re a team, and we’re used to fighting in adverse situations,” added Whitmarsh.