Friday: It’s aquaplaning for McLaren
On its own turf, and in the presence of many fans supporting them despite the rain, the McLaren team secured their Friday, avoiding making an easy mistake due to aquaplaning. Streams of water could be a problem in the pack during the race.
Lewis Hamilton – 3rd and 1st:
« I had a lot of fun today! I was also able to do a few good laps, which was a good thing because I was worried that the fans wouldn’t have enough action to watch. There were so many. I don’t remember seeing so many people on a Friday before: it was incredible. British F1 fans are the best in the world!
I would have liked to do even more laps, but we simply didn’t have enough tires to do so. Perhaps it’s something to reconsider for the future.
There was a lot of standing water on the track, and a tremendous amount of aquaplaning. It’s to be expected when there’s such heavy rain, of course, but I must say there doesn’t seem to be much drainage around the circuit. You’re almost always aquaplaning, to be honest, so you need to be perfectly in tune with your senses, or you risk losing control.
I think that drivers can probably make more of a difference in the rain than on dry conditions, so I look forward to the rest of the weekend, which seems likely to remain chilly and wet, with anticipation.
Jenson Button – 17th and 6th:
« We learned a few things today, but mainly that Silverstone is often wet and that the fans always show up in large numbers even when it’s pouring rain! Seriously, I’m glad we were able to drive because it wasn’t the nicest of days for them.
It was very treacherous on the track, there was a lot of standing water. You wouldn’t want to race wheel to wheel in these conditions, as you wouldn’t see the puddles until it was too late.
I think we learned throughout the day where the biggest rivers were located on the circuit: one of the largest is along Hangar Straight just before Stowe. You drive at 290 km/h and you hit a river that makes you skid – at that speed – and when that happens, your car can very easily go out of control.
When you’re driving alone, it’s not so bad because you can choose your trajectory and lift off when necessary, but in a race, you can’t do that. So, obviously, I hope there won’t be as much standing water on Sunday.
