F1Break

In a recent interview, Heikki Kovalainen has claimed that it was McLaren strategy which lead to a number of dismal showings during the 2009 season. The Finn has stated that his qualifying fuel loads did not enable him to compete effectively during races.

"Only once was I lighter than Lewis and that was at Silverstone, where I was on the pole," he said. "In all the other qualifyings [sic] I was fuelled more heavily. I was often the heaviest guy in the top six or seven. Obviously this has an effect also in the race."

It's important to note that Kovalainen doesn't appear to be suggesting that his team deliberately sabotaged his races, in order to benefit Lewis Hamilton. Instead he seems to be making the point that Hamilton was allowed to run aggressively and chase wins, whilst McLaren took a more conservative approach with their other car.

Kovalainen could well be correct, as running a heavy car will have compromised both his tyre wear and track position during races. At times, he may well have been left nursing worn tyres whilst trying to make his may through traffic. But as the season wore on Kovalainen looked like a fish out of water, and question marks still remain as to whether suboptimal race strategy can totally account for his lack of pace.

From my own perspective, exactly how much Kovalainen was disadvantaged by isn't the most interesting aspect of this story. More intriguing is that the Finn's comments point towards McLaren running a clear number one driver policy, last season. It'll be interesting to see how the Woking PR machine reacts, given that Ron Dennis went to great lengths to deny this was the case throughout the course of the year.

Dennis has always taken a huge degree of pride in declaring that both of his drivers have an equal chance of winning. We even saw ITV's Steve Rider being interrupted by the McLaren boss live on TV, so keen was he to emphasise this point and leave no scope for misunderstanding.

As someone who's shown a willingness to place sporting purity above success, Ron Dennis has earnt a great deal of respect from many Formula One fans. But the comments made by Kovalainen have the potential to prove damaging to a man who must surely be thinking about the legacy he'll leave, after finally handing over the reigns at McLaren.

Image courtesy of Mark McLaughlin

It has been over two years since Ron Dennis suggested introducing water pistols into the sport of Formula One. Whilst his comments were made with tongue firmly planted in cheek, it has to be said that McLaren have a reputation for being one of the duller teams in the paddock.

So, it was a nice surprise to discover that not only has the team updated the video section of their website, but Martin Whitmarsh has gone to a great deal of effort to explain an innovation the Woking-based squad plan to introduce ready for the Singapore Grand Prix.

I have to give full marks to Whitmarsh and McLaren on this one. Let us hope it's the start of the team sheddingtheir somewhat conservative image.

An article has appeared over at f1complete.com suggesting that the McLaren four-paddle steering wheel may not be as significant as first thought.

Mark Hughes, writing in the Telegraph, had previously hypothesised that the system may be a driver-controlled featured to limit wheelspin. Subsequent speculation has linked it with McLaren's recent improvement in form.

The photo on f1complete.com shows that the four-paddle system was in use as far back as Australia. The website goes on to report that Renault is thought to have had a similar set up on their cars since Silverstone.