Martin Whitmarsh Eager To Return To Winning Ways

Martin Whitmarsh is hopeful that McLaren can return to their winning ways this year, after a disastrous start to the new season for the Woking-based outfit. Since Lewis Hamilton’s departure during the winter period to Mercedes, McLaren has entered an uncompetitive streak that has left them without a single podium finish so far this season.

This time last season, McLaren had already secured one race victory and four further podium finishes. This amounted to 92 points, only nine behind Red Bull. This season has so far been a completely different story for the Woking-based outfit, who have so far scored a meager 23 points. Both Jenson Button and Sergio Perez have contributed to that tally, however the team’s overall lack of pace has been largely down to their MP4-28, which has been a frustrating and stark step back from their 2012 machine.

However, team principal Martin Whitmarsh is confident the team can return to their former glory. Admittedly a Championship challenge is now highly unlikely, especially with Red Bull, Lotus and Ferrari’s competitive starts to the season. Despite McLaren’s disappointing start to the season, Whitmarsh is eager to see his team at least return to the podium in future races.

“The truth is I just want to see us getting back on the podium and getting on the top step.” Explained Martin Whitmarsh, in an interview with Sky Sports F1 after the Bahrain Grand Prix. “I am thinking more about that and it is one step at a time. I didn’t enjoy all of the race today, but I enjoyed quite a lot of it which is nice, but going racing when you don’t think you can win is not something that I enjoy particularly. I want to get back to the point where we are arriving on a Thursday with the anticipation that ‘we can win this weekend’. That is where we have to get to.”

During the Bahrain Grand Prix, the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez fought extremely hard between each other. The Mexican ace, who has replaced Lewis Hamilton at the team, almost collided with his team-mate on numerous occasions, however Martin Whitmarsh firmly believes it was the right thing to do to let the two race against each other, despite Jenson Button’s comments over the radio.

“I have told him [Perez] that one of the maneuvers 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.” Continued Martin Whitmarsh, “I had a lot of people telling me to ‘stop this, stop this it is hurting us,’ but I didn’t and I think we have already seen a few times this season that if you don’t then the guy behind is always going to think he was faster. It can go horribly wrong, but I think in the long-term it was the best thing to do and let both of the guys know they are racing each other. Some of the driving was marginal between the two of them but that is what happens when you let your drivers race.”

McLaren will be hoping that their upgrade package scheduled for the Spanish Grand Prix next time out will enable the team to continue progressing, after a mediocre start to the new season. McLaren are unaccustomed to such uncompetitiveness in the sport, and will unquestionably return to their renowned strength as the season progresses. However, Championship glory is as good as over for both Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, however the duo will continue striving for victories at every available opportunity.

Picture Copyright © McLaren F1 Team