Trouble at home for McLaren

McLaren slip to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship after a lackluster performance at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton finished where he started, in eighth place, while Jenson Button recovered from Saturday’s Q1 elimination to finish tenth, grabbing the final point on offer. With Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus all scoring heavily, McLaren, having started the day second in the Constructors’ Championship, finished it in fourth.

Neither driver had many positive things to say afterwards. “It wasn’t a special race, to be honest,” said Hamilton. “We tried as hard as we could – we just didn’t have the pace today. I pushed all the way, I did everything I could and the team also did a great job.”

Button’s race was compromised on Saturday when he could do no better than qualify 18th but he had an effective, if unspectacular afternoon, rising to tenth by the chequered flag, within sight of his team-mate. “To actually see Lewis at the end was a surprise, considering how far back we started. I don’t think we did anything wrong with strategy, I think it all worked out pretty well: we just weren’t quick enough today.”

Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh suggested after the race that McLaren had been wrong-footed by the unexpectedly rain-free conditions. “A dry race wasn’t what we were expecting – and, undoubtedly, had it been a wet race, as was predicted, our competitiveness relative to that of our opposition would have been significantly enhanced,” he said.