Whitmarsh Removes Threat of Potential Driver Conflict

Martin Whitmarsh has spoken about the possibility of an inter-team feud between Jenson Button and Sergio Perez after Sunday’s dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix.

 

(c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

The two drivers went into combat during a race that could have ended in tears for both parties. Button radioed his displeasure to the team but they decided to let the two world class drivers (rightfully) race. Whitmarsh said he was not worried about any potential arguments or conflicts within the team.

Button and Perez came to blows numerous times and it all started with the start. Going into turn one the field bunched up and Perez was left crowded out on the inside. He made minor contact with Button and lost part of his front wing, making his run to sixth place even more impressive.

Leading McLaren driver Button eventually finished 10^th but it could have been even worse had the contact had consequences. The two team-mates first rubbed wheels on the run to turn four before clashing at that very corner a few laps later.

Whilst it was a fantastic spectacle on TV, the McLaren pit wall was obviously a tense place to be. Perez took the outside line on the run to turn four and attempted the tricky undercut. Button blocked the inside line and Perez tapped his more experienced team-mates right rear wheel, losing yet more of his front wing.

Button was lucky not to collect a puncture and gave him a similarly aggressive shove when the Mexican returned for another bite of the cherry to show him who was boss. As it happens, the youngster eventually made his way through on route to his best finish with the Woking bases squad. Button used up too much of his tyres battling with Rosberg and had to pit for a fourth time, like the German, late in the race.

Discussing what he told Perez post-race, Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh told Sky Sports F1 “I have told him that one of the manoeuvres was beyond what is acceptable, but he is a young guy and I want him to enjoy the moment and enjoy what he did on Sunday with some really spirited driving.”

He added “I had a lot of people telling me to ‘stop this, stop this it is hurting us,’ but I didn’t” and what a decision that was, the right one of course, because it provided us with some fantastic, close and edge-of-your-seat action out on track.

(c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“It can go horribly wrong,” he admitted “but I think in the long-term it was the best thing to do and let both the guys know they are racing each other.” However what was unacceptable was the fact that it could have been a lot worse, Button was lucky to get away unscathed from the second piece of contact.

“I said to him that the side-by-side is a positive, but what you don’t do is hit your team-mate and potentially give him a puncture and potentially rip your front wing off.” Whitmarsh confessed. “That was a bit too far and if he had come back to the garage at that stage he would have been for it.”

However even Whitmarsh himself admitted that before the race in Bahrain, Perez had lacked that spark that has usually been there with previous McLaren drivers. However the Brit said “he certainly showed the spark today with a fantastic fighting result” and cited his passion and determination to prove the critics wrong as the reason why he raced so well on route to an eight point haul.

“It was tough” Whitmarsh said when commenting on the situation for Jenson, describing it as “uncomfortable” before adding “but they are both good guys and they will be fine and work it out. If I was Jenson I would have been annoyed about it as well.”

Whitmarsh also revealed that he told Perez’s race engineer Andy Latham to “calm” the racing down. He praised the Mexican and Button for how they handled the incident, despite Button being initially angry. “Jenson would be (angry) as you have adrenaline, but the thing about Jenson is he is really mature in his attitude and his balanced approach.”

He added “He can stand back and be reflective, not what you are hot and sticky and step out of the cockpit, but he very quickly gets to that point as he is an intelligent guy” before admitting that both drivers are “easy guys to manage” and are “really good people.”

There is very little chance of a rift within the team but that is down to quite a few things. Firstly is the fact that Perez has inexperience and unlike previous situations (I tried not to mention Malaysia…) he knows his place in the team and that is as the effective second driver. However that does not say there is an imbalance where Perez is not treated equally, he is. It’s Button’s experience that gives him the edge and as Martin said, Sergio is still learning.

Secondly both drivers are easy to get along with and are both very mature and sensible outside the cockpit. They are both calm and relaxed individuals who can both look at the situation from different angles, and thirdly because the stakes were not too high.

However Perez will certainly be more cautious when racing with his team-mate in the future, that is for sure.