McLaren hiding even more pace…

It transpires that both McLaren’s were forced to save fuel from as early as Lap 8 during today’s Australian Grand Prix.  This would explain a message from Jenson Button’s engineer where the Frome-born driver was reassured that their engine was not turned up to its highest level, and he would therefore be in a strong position to defend from Sebastian Vettel.

This admission from Martin Whitmarsh will send groans throughout all at Milton Keynes, in the Red Bull factory, as despite this ‘slower’ pace set by the Silver Arrows, the fastest lap was set by Jenson Button towards the end of the race when fuel levels would have been critical. Lewis Hamilton was also comfortable in racing the Red Bulls.

As we head to Malaysia for next weekend’s Grand Prix, this nugget of information may well have just given us a good indicator of the result, weather and reliability withstanding. Bluffing or even more competitive than we thought?