Prost, the professor gives McLaren a lesson

Interviewed, the former four-time French champion and team leader Alain Prost provides his critical perspective on McLaren’s F1 season that has just concluded. Report of the discussion:

Clear sky at the beginning of the season.

Everything started well. The drivers are exceptional, the cars too. The championship is monopolized by the two McLarens who are battling it out between themselves, Alonso brings his expertise to the whole team, Hamilton shows he has nothing to learn from his teammate, and the Ferraris are encountering reliability problems.

Until the day when a cloud named “FIA” came to darken the atmosphere of the English team.

Gloomy weather starting from mid-season:

The verdict is in: McLaren accused of espionage. Beyond the sanction, it is the brand’s image and morale that are taking a hit.

During this affair, tensions arose among certain people who allegedly betrayed the entire team, while Scuderia Ferrari was completely revitalized for the championship. Alain Prost emphasizes that it is from this moment that the championship takes a turn.

End of the season under the storm:

While the media and fans are all after McLaren, the drivers, still in contention for the championship, are completely divided within the team, each with their own engineers. At Ferrari, on the other hand, everyone is united, reliability is better, and everyone supports Kimi, even his teammate Massa, who doesn’t even hide it.

Alain Prost, having experienced a similar situation in the past, cannot help but notice the huge strategic error by McLaren.

« Alonso should have been Number one from the start of the season, McLaren had the title in the bag! » he wonders.

While the Ferrari drivers are clearly organized, the McLaren drivers compete against each other and end up tied with 109 points each.

The professor explains his theory on Hamilton’s troubles at the end of the season and his team’s questionable strategies. McLaren was against Alonso, they focused on his race and he was the man to beat, they forgot all the other competitors! The McLaren team, completely overwhelmed by mid-season events, lost all logic in the last Grand Prix races. They made impulsive decisions, and it cost them the championship.

Alain pushes the reasoning even further by addressing the psychological aspect:

« In F1, the most important thing is morale. The mental condition must be top-notch, the slightest weakness can be very costly, and McLaren’s 2007 season is the perfect illustration of that. Conversely, Ferrari was in exactly the same position as I was in 1986, they had no moral pressure. »

« Kimi was smiling and relaxed just before the start of the Grand Prix. Maximum concentration is the key to success. When drivers put on their helmets and get into their cars, they must manage to clear their minds. It’s all these small problems stored in a corner of his memory that put pressure on young Lewis and his team, costing him essential points to win the drivers’ championship. »

For the viewers, the mistakes made by the young Briton seem unforgivable, and McLaren was so confident in this driver that they forgot he was just a beginner in Formula 1! This team should not have assigned him such aggressive strategies in the last two Grand Prix, according to Alain’s analysis.