Gary's view – German Grand Prix
Former Jordan race engineer Gary Anderson watched in disbelief as McLaren made a potentially fatal error in strategy at Hockenheim - then marvelled as a fantastic drive by Lewis Hamilton spared their blushes.
Former Jordan race engineer Gary Anderson watched in disbelief as McLaren made a potentially fatal error in strategy at Hockenheim - then marvelled as a fantastic drive by Lewis Hamilton spared their blushes.
"The turning point of the German Grand Prix was when the safety car came out on lap 36. When I saw that McLaren had decided not to pit Lewis Hamilton's car, I thought that they had thrown the race away. He made his second stop quite soon afterwards and rejoined the race in fifth; I never thought he'd be able to come back through the field like he did.
Afterwards, we heard Ron Dennis apologise to Hamilton over the radio, although surely Lewis must have been involved in the decision at the time. Luckily for them, Felipe Massa was in trouble, and Nelson Piquet Jr wasn't quick enough either, so everything fell into place. Really, no one was in Hamilton's class.
I have no idea what made them keep Hamilton out during the safety car. Admittedly, the race leader always has the biggest decision to make, whereas Massa had the luxury of waiting and watching to see what McLaren did before making his move. But in circumstances like that, when Hamilton was only about seven laps away from his scheduled stop, you should always come into the pits. You may get held up by pit-lane traffic, and come out into slower cars, but unfortunately you just have to do it.
Of course, they got away with it in the end. Hamilton's fantastic drive after his second stop was one, very long Make it happen moment, culminating in his pass on Piquet for the lead. Piquet knew that it was a matter of time before he got overtaken – and for Renault right now, second place is virtually a race win.
McLaren have produced good, logical developments since Silverstone, whereas for a few races now Ferrari haven't had it all connected up. At the next race in Hungary, McLaren will be aiming to break Ferrari's confidence, and give them plenty to worry about during the three-week break that follows.
For Williams, it's drifting away, and Renault have now taken sixth place in the Constructors' Championship from them. Sure, Renault were lucky: the safety car came out at exactly the right time for Piquet's one-stop strategy. But Nico Rosberg was ahead of Piquet on the grid. If Rosberg had been on a one-stop strategy, who knows what might have happened? Williams should think about taking some more risks on strategy. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."
