237 replies to this topic

[LeD]

I hope people will remember that in my previous posts, I have always tried to be fair about Alonso, when others were tearing him limb from figurative limb, and despite the fact that on balance I always wanted Hamilton's dream to come true.

But now I read that Alonso is (or was until the team put a stop to it) paying his mechanics €1,000 per race to beat his own team mate. Telegraph

If this report is true, and the Telegraph is hardly a sensationalist newspaper where sport is concerned, then I have to come down off the fence and say that Alonso has a serious problem of character and integrity. This kind of action inside a team is seditious and disruptive, and is seriously out of order.

I think Alonso is leading a charmed life right now. If he were not a double world champion with a better than fair chance of becoming a triple world champion, and in any other walk of life, one would expect him to get his marching orders PDQ.

The same article refers to his driving at the start and into the first corner of the Spa race. Unusually for me I recorded that race, and having re-run that part of the race endlessly, I have to come down off the fence on that one too. I have no problem with the initial chop, like it or not everyone (Hamilton included) does it. The difference here though is that Alonso does it once, then does it again, then twitches as if to do it a third time. Coming out of turn one and forcing Hamilton off the track, and I have replayed this so many times, is to my mind the worse of the offenses. When Alonso himself goes half off the track when both cars are absolutely side by side, there can be no justification for it. None. I know that the likes of RTX (some call him Arrow, I don't know why) will respond to this by telling me to get a life, motor racing is a hard sport, and anyone that thinks otherwise is a pansy. So be it.

But I believe that both manoeuvres by Alonso were reckless and unjustified, and I have every sympathy for Hamilton's anger. The way this is going, any taint to an Alonso WDC will have come from the man himself. I am sorry, I always liked him, I thought he was courteous and sympatico as a champion - I have changed my mind. Big disappointment.

[RTX]

Whats wrong with giving his mechanics a pay bonus? If Hamilton has been doing it we would have been hearing what a kind generous team player he is , helping out his mechanics, and how selfish Alonso was, but when Alonso does, its apparently bad?

Its so funny how you guys find anything to bash Alonso with. His dirty overalls, his beard, his celebrations, his comments, his driving, leaving Renault, giving his mechanics pay bonus. Whats next?

[LeD]

Good morning, RTX - I hope you had a good night's sleep

[AndreasF1]

RTX writes

Its so funny how you guys find anything to bash Alonso with. His dirty overalls, his beard, his celebrations, his comments, his driving, leaving Renault, giving his mechanics pay bonus. Whats next?

________________________________________________________________________

His few fans that he has left

[LeD]

I really didn't want to start another Alonso-bashing thread. I suppose that this was naive on my part.

Do people think that an employee of a company should supplement other employees' salaries, simply in order to help him perform better than his corporate rival in the same company? How would you react if you were the owner of the company?

I have stated my view, I think it is seriously out of order, and shows bad character.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

Who did he intend to pay? If it's just the crew assigned to his car, then it's inappropriate, but not very shocking. If it's a shared crew, like the pit guys, then it is an outrageous attempt at bribery.

I'm with you when it comes to becoming disenchanted with Alonso. There was a time when I used to think that he was a breath of fresh air, racing people relatively clean like all other young guns that came into the sport at the same time, and making a break with Senna/Schumacher era of thuggish driving. I guess the difference was that he wasn't pressured back then, and he is now.

[AndreasF1]

No I dont think that a driver has the right to nor should he. He is beeing paid to drive a car and win championships. Salary and bonus programs for employees are the concerns of McLaren's HR department and not that of Mr. Alonso.

[LeD]

Dmitriy_Guller -

I don't really see the distinction you are making. In either case it is an attempt to subvert an employee's loyalty to the entreprise as a whole, and convert it to loyalty to an individual who is only a part of the whole. It is a precedent that threatens the stability of any organisation.

As it happens I have learned this lesson the hard way. I do own a company, employing around 50 people. I discovered this year by accident that my production manager had been buying other employees' loyalty with gifts of cash and goods. I assure you this was not done for a noble cause, and the ensuing damage almost crippled my business.

Team mechanics should not need a driver's cash gifts to motivate them. I am totally certain that McLaren lads are completely devoted to the job they do, and frankly I think it demeans them for Alonso to think they need €1,000 a pop to do more than their utter best, which I am certain they do anyway. RTX may wish to cast this as a fine gesture on Alonso's part, done for humanitarian reasons. I see it as corruption.

[Ricardo F1]

Originally posted by RTX
Whats wrong with giving his mechanics a pay bonus? If Hamilton has been doing it we would have been hearing what a kind generous team player he is

Hamilton couldn't afford to.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

Originally posted by LeD
Dmitriy_Guller -

I don't really see the distinction you are making. In either case it is an attempt to subvert an employee's loyalty to the entreprise as a whole, and convert it to loyalty to an individual who is only a part of the whole. It is a precedent that threatens the stability of any organisation.

As it happens I have learned this lesson the hard way. I do own a company, employing around 50 people. I discovered this year by accident that my production manager had been buying other employees' loyalty with gifts of cash and goods. I assure you this was not done for a noble cause, and the ensuing damage almost crippled my business.

Team mechanics should not need a driver's cash gifts to motivate them. I am totally certain that McLaren lads are completely devoted to the job they do, and frankly I think it demeans them for Alonso to think they need €1,000 a pop to do more than their utter best, which I am certain they do anyway. RTX may wish to cast this as a fine gesture on Alonso's part, done for humanitarian reasons. I see it as corruption.

The difference is in how the incentives are aligned.

In the first case, mechanics can only work better, and give Fred a better result at no cost to the team. McLaren are not hurt by that. The incentives are still aligned with the team's goals. In the second case, the mechanics would have an incentive to sabotage Hamilton, and that's definitely not an incentive that's aligned with the team's goals.

I do agree that in general it is very poor form to "tip" your co-workers, and it should be stamped out just on principle.

[LeD]

It is not 'tip'. It is a corrupt practise.

[LeD]

....and I kind of doubt that professional racing mechanics appreciate being treated like waiters.

[Dolph]

It seams to me that Alonso wants to win bad... And he is doing everything he can. I can't blame him. In a way I actually admire it.

[RTX]

Originally posted by Dmitriy_Guller

In the second case, the mechanics would have an incentive to sabotage Hamilton, and that's definitely not an incentive that's aligned with the team's goals.

The article is just typical spin. What does it even mean to be paying his mechanics to 'help beat Hamilton' as the article suggests? Hes paying them sabotage Hamilton? Thats clearly just made up rubbish and plain stupid. What we have here is Alonso simply giving his Mechanics a pay bonus and a fithly british journo spinning it into bribing mechanics, which doesnt even make sense. Schumacher is well known for helping out his mechanics in the past, paying off mortages and things like that. Was that a bribe as well?

[Raelene]

can't see anything wrong with rewarding his side of the garage. MS used to give his mechanics and end of year bonus.

[RTX]

From another forum sums it up well.

"Performance bonus is now a bribe? A bribe is paying someone off to either make him do something that he was otherwise not obligated to do, or to make him refrain from doing what he otherwise was going to do. I suppose if Alonso knew that the McLaren crew was going to screw him for being a weasel, then paying them not to screw him would be a bribe. But if Alonso is promising them a reward for doing a good job (which they are obligated to do anyway), then it's a bonus. Employers give bonus to employees all the time. Well ... maybe not all the time. There are some crappy employers out there."

The pathetic desperation of people around here and pathetic rags like the dailymail to bash Alonso for simply breathing is reaching epic proportions.

[alesifan46]

Heck in the NFL it isn't out of the ordinary for running backs to "treat" the O-LINE guys!! whats the difference...gotta keep the guys that HELP you out appreciated...SHOW ME THE $$$

[beanoid]

News flash: this happens in motorcycle racing all the time. ALL the time. It's not bribery. It's a bonus. The rider/driver makes a shitload more money than his mechanics, and so he shares the wealth with the people that help to get him across the finish line in one piece. In fact, this story rather flies in the face of the "anti-team" picture of FA that many would like to believe.

Move along. Nothing to see here.

[mjsv]

Originally posted by LeD
Do people think that an employee of a company should supplement other employees' salaries, simply in order to help him perform better than his corporate rival in the same company? How would you react if you were the owner of the company?

Well, this kind of group bonuses and such are a standard procedure in most of the companies that I've ever heard of. This is a fact of life because the logical metric for the performance of a department in a mid-size to large company is the performance of other departments. Companies have these bonus money included in their budgets!

About the owner issue, where do you think the mid-level management who actually allocate the bonus money get it? Obviously not the owners directly but you get the idea...

There really is nothing to see here.

Cheers,

[WHITE]

Originally posted by Beanoid:
News flash: this happens in motorcycle racing all the time. ALL the time. It's not bribery. It's a bonus. The rider/driver makes a shitload more money than his mechanics, and so he shares the wealth with the people that help to get him across the finish line in one piece. In fact, this story rather flies in the face of the "anti-team" picture of FA that many would like to believe.

Move along. Nothing to see here.
---------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by mjsv:
Well, this kind of group bonuses and such are a standard procedure in most of the companies that I've ever heard of. This is a fact of life because the logical metric for the performance of a department in a mid-size to large company is the performance of other departments. Companies have these bonus money included in their budgets!

About the owner issue, where do you think the mid-level management who actually allocate the bonus money get it? Obviously not the owners directly but you get the idea...

There really is nothing to see here.

Cheers,

[CatharticF1]

Originally posted by LeD
But now I read that Alonso is (or was until the team put a stop to it) paying his mechanics €1,000 per race to beat his own team mate. Telegraph

:

It's amazing how some people can use any stick they find to beat someone they don't like. If I were in Fernando's side of the pit, I'd be damned pleased to get a reward for contributing to a 'win'.

You need to elaborate on why you believe it's bad.

[lukywill]

what really happened was that alonso read this bb and take careful the good advise advise from Melbourne Park suggestion: 'alonso, being richer than hamilton, should reward his mechanics as fangio did in the good old fashion days'. good for him.

[ViMaMo]

Not paying them to steal or cheat but paying them to work harder ! As long its not dirty, its fine.

[Battousai]

If (and it's a big if) this is true, then I think it all depends on how it was presented by Alonso.

If it's done a la Michael as a thank you gift for their hard work regardless of whatever result they achieve, then it's a great thing.

If it's done as an incentive based upon every time they win, then ok - it's straight result based and if he wants to, so be it.

If he worded it specifically that it's only whenever they beat Hamilton and doesn't matter if they actually win the race, then it's mostly shady and divisive. Why intentionally try to separate the team more than it is for his personal gain and not necessarily the teams.

[LeD]

CatharticF1 -

You have NO RIGHT to label me as someone who will wield any stick to beat Alonso with. Read all my posts, I have always stood up for him, when others have not. And as for elaborating my argument, I thought that I had, but let me try again.

Firstly, if the Telegraph article is debunked, I will eat my words and happily so.

Coming on top of everything else that has been said and written about Alonso's behaviour recently, and you will find that I have been very slow to criticise him, I still hold that the practise as described in the article is unacceptable. And clearly the team also found it unacceptable, since it put a stop to it. If a driver and champion such as Schumacher were to share some of the spoils at the end of a successful year, and IF he sought management approval prior to doing so, I would be the first to applaud him for his generosity. No question about it.

But I still hold that for one employee to offer other employees financial incentives, not just to do well IN GENERAL, but payable ONLY when he beats his corporate rival and team mate (if indeed that is the truth of the matter, and I actually do hope that the Telegraph is wrong in implying this), and to do this not at the end of a championship, but on a race-by-race basis, is unacceptable.

For those who say that incentive bonuses are a desirable part of business - bravo, I agree. I am an employer and I do give incentive bonuses. You might call them loyalty bonuses. Loyalty to what and to whom, you may ask? It's obvious, loyalty to the entreprise that employs them. NOT loyalty to a single other employee whose only incentive or loyalty is to himself rather than to the entreprise. An employee like that, I would - and recently I have - fired his ass. Alonso has no right to take upon himself, to usurp the corporate rights to determine and implement salary and incentive policy. It is out of order, and his motives for doing it are highly suspect.

If Alonso were to go to Dennis at the end of the season and say, I have had a fantastic year and I would like to show my appreciation to the lads - fine, no problem, bravo. And I am sure that the example someone mentioned from MotoGP works exactly in the same way.

[RedFury]

Originally posted by AndreasF1
RTX writes

Its so funny how you guys find anything to bash Alonso with. His dirty overalls, his beard, his celebrations, his comments, his driving, leaving Renault, giving his mechanics pay bonus. Whats next?

________________________________________________________________________

His few fans that he has left

You must mean outside most (not ALL as he indeed has quite a following in english-speaking countries as well) of the English speaking press and the great majority of their denizens and/or mass media manipulators, right? Because if not, he has not only has the majority of Spaniards on his side but quite a few fans outside the Anglo community. As for the rest of of the non-English speaking world, I can assure you he has quite a following within that population as well.

Better get used to it...took Nano a while to get up to speed (great cliché while on topic if I may say so myself) but now that he 'wears' the car as he did at Renault, Craneboy is going to have a heck of a time holding on to his "lead." And I wrote 'lead' in quotes because of the BS that Craneboy and Dad did in Hungary. Lacking said cheating bullcrap, the last three races would all come down to his (Fernando's) car breaking down...because only Hammie-addicts can't see whose the faster/better driver of the two at present time.

Speaking of top and F1 drivers, you have, Nando* and Kimi...and then you have the rest.

*Kimi likely the fastest at his best, Alonso the steadier and more reliable of the two week in, week out, thus the best F1 driver overall.

Keep on hating. Bytes on a screen won't affect what Fernando -- or Craneboy for that matter -- will do on the tarmac.

Vamos Nando!

[faasfans]

Originally posted by LeD
I hope people will remember that in my previous posts, I have always tried to be fair about Alonso, when others were tearing him limb from figurative limb, and despite the fact that on balance I always wanted Hamilton's dream to come true.

But now I read that Alonso is (or was until the team put a stop to it) paying his mechanics €1,000 per race to beat his own team mate. Telegraph

If I were RD I wouldn't allow Alonso to do it.

Originally posted by LeD
If this report is true, and the Telegraph is hardly a sensationalist newspaper where sport is concerned, then I have to come down off the fence and say that Alonso has a serious problem of character and integrity. This kind of action inside a team is seditious and disruptive, and is seriously out of order.
[/B]

If I were FA I would have done the same.

Serious problem of character and integrity explains it but it is not the only one thing that explains it, a team ****ing you explains it too.

[bl-f1]

Originally posted by LeD
I really didn't want to start another Alonso-bashing thread. I suppose that this was naive on my part.

Do people think that an employee of a company should supplement other employees' salaries, simply in order to help him perform better than his corporate rival in the same company? How would you react if you were the owner of the company?

I have stated my view, I think it is seriously out of order, and shows bad character.

It is absolutely fine to supplement your team. Michael Schumacher did it for ages. The problem is THE SPIN, that he is doing it to beat his team mate. He does it to motivate them. Of course, to win. If it was someone else other than Hamilton who is in the battle perhaps we would see a very different reaction... perhaps not.

[Man of the race]

Originally posted by AndreasF1
RTX writes
Its so funny how you guys find anything to bash Alonso with. His dirty overalls, his beard, his celebrations, his comments, his driving, leaving Renault, giving his mechanics pay bonus. Whats next?
________________________________________________________________________
His few fans that he has left

If Fernando is going to pay his fans 1000 credits per race for writing to the forums, I would consider to become a Fernando fan. I can live with that. Besides, I have over 90 pages of serious Ferrari related information (tactics, driver psychology analysis etc.) in my possession from Kimi/Felipe -topic.

[Frenando]

Originally posted by LeD
I hope people will remember that in my previous posts, I have always tried to be fair about Alonso, when others were tearing him limb from figurative limb, and despite the fact that on balance I always wanted Hamilton's dream to come true.

But now I read that Alonso is (or was until the team put a stop to it) paying his mechanics €1,000 per race to beat his own team mate. Telegraph

If this report is true, and the Telegraph is hardly a sensationalist newspaper where sport is concerned, then I have to come down off the fence and say that Alonso has a serious problem of character and integrity. This kind of action inside a team is seditious and disruptive, and is seriously out of order.

I think Alonso is leading a charmed life right now. If he were not a double world champion with a better than fair chance of becoming a triple world champion, and in any other walk of life, one would expect him to get his marching orders PDQ.

The same article refers to his driving at the start and into the first corner of the Spa race. Unusually for me I recorded that race, and having re-run that part of the race endlessly, I have to come down off the fence on that one too. I have no problem with the initial chop, like it or not everyone (Hamilton included) does it. The difference here though is that Alonso does it once, then does it again, then twitches as if to do it a third time. Coming out of turn one and forcing Hamilton off the track, and I have replayed this so many times, is to my mind the worse of the offenses. When Alonso himself goes half off the track when both cars are absolutely side by side, there can be no justification for it. None. I know that the likes of RTX (some call him Arrow, I don't know why) will respond to this by telling me to get a life, motor racing is a hard sport, and anyone that thinks otherwise is a pansy. So be it.

But I believe that both manoeuvres by Alonso were reckless and unjustified, and I have every sympathy for Hamilton's anger. The way this is going, any taint to an Alonso WDC will have come from the man himself. I am sorry, I always liked him, I thought he was courteous and sympatico as a champion - I have changed my mind. Big disappointment.

Sure you dont consider yourself biased, but the fact is that you are. So now tiping is only done by evil people. Thanks we have the British press to show us integrity. This is too much!!
Theres nothing in the exit but an agressive manouvre by Alonso and then Hamilton trying to distract the herd for the fact that Alonso was more skilled and braver. Excuses, crying and Monaco II. End of story. Keep buying every story the Brittish press sell.

[F1Fanatic.co.uk]

I honestly can't imagine that no other driver - certainly no other world champion - has ever given his mechanics some extra cash.

Nor do I imagine that his mechanics work twice as hard or anything like that because of the promise of such a bonus - those guys work like crazy to begin with anyway.

Alonso's no saint, but there's a line to be drawn between what he's done that's wrong, and bashing him with any stick that comes to hand. This is firmly in the latter bracket.

[jcbc3]

I would look at it from another angle.

The mechanics at McLaren know the huge discrepancy in salary between FA and LH. If I was assigned, by the Team, to LH's car rather than FA's I would be a bit miffed that the driver of 'the other car' paid bonus's that 'my' driver couldn't. After the first annoyance had subsided, I would get mad and then say: "I'll show those bastards".

So, if FA thought he could gain an advantage vis-a-vis LH, by doing this I think it will backfire.

[djellison]

Originally posted by Frenando

Sure you dont consider yourself biased, but the fact is that you are.

Look at the orig posters username. Now look at what he said. Anyone spot a problem?

Doug

[Frenando]

Brittish press and honest Ron wont stop trying to bother Alonso until Hami becomes WDC!
They seem not to realise that Alonso drives better the more outer pressure he gets.

[Henrik B]

Originally posted by Frenando
Brittish press and honest Ron wont stop trying to bother Alonso until Hami becomes WDC!
They seem not to realise that Alonso drives better the more outer pressure he gets.

I rarely comment the more paranoid suggestions, but: isn't the fact that Alonso still have a big chance to win the WDC proof that Alonso is getting exactly the same treatment as Hamilton, given how easy it would be to REALLY sabotage Alonsos chances?

[Henrik B]

And, more on topic: Bonuses to mechanics are absolutely fine by me. It's not uncommon and while I see many flaws in Alonso, this isn't one of them.

[BunnyK]

At least it wasn't a "Fernando Alonso pays his mechanics to sabotage Hamiltons car" ...

[sensible]

Originally posted by Ricardo F1
Hamilton couldn't afford to.

DOesnt he get £100K per point or something like that - that would give him close to 10 mil this season. Not bad.

[sensible]

There are many thing you can bash alonso for this year but I dont think this is one of them. If he thinks that will work in getting him a better car, go for it. It showsd commitment and it recognises that the mechanics are people.

[J]

Led,

Courageous attempt (as Sir Humprey would say) to start a discussion about this matter from a point of view of a person who actually has real life mangerial experince. Unfortunately 90% of the posters have managerial experience only from the point of view of an armchair general, so I think your chances for a rational discussion are slim to none.

Bonus schemes are wonderful things, IF managed properly. If they aren´t, you can do a lot of damage to your business, despite good intentions.

-J

[as65p]

Originally posted by Henrik Brodin


I rarely comment the more paranoid suggestions, but: isn't the fact that Alonso still have a big chance to win the WDC proof that Alonso is getting exactly the same treatment as Hamilton, given how easy it would be to REALLY sabotage Alonsos chances?

I wouldn't say it's proof. Theoretically, if you constantly apply hinderances to the better driver, you may arrive at the same situation we're now with LH/FA. I'm defenitely NOT saying that's what happened, just that a nearly equal point count proves nothing.

I really wonder how easy (or diffcult) it would be to screw one driver. The problem, as with most (criminal) activity, is not to commit it, but to leave absolutely no traces of it. And that, I imagine, may not be easy. At least one, likely more people have to do it and would always know about it. Technically it's the easiest thing in the world, a myriad of things can go wrong over a race weekend. Given how closely they are matched, a bit more or less tyre pressure is all it takes to swing the pendulum in any given race.

The cleanest solution would certainly be for Kimi to become WDC, but that would take a small miracle.

[Frenando]

Originally posted by Henrik Brodin


I rarely comment the more paranoid suggestions, but: isn't the fact that Alonso still have a big chance to win the WDC proof that Alonso is getting exactly the same treatment as Hamilton, given how easy it would be to REALLY sabotage Alonsos chances?

Whats enough proof for preferential treatment is how Ron "helps" his driver by saying he blackmailed him just before a qualifying. So far, I do admit same car and chances have been given. We have 3 races left...we´ll see. Ron has also been warned by MM, dont forget. Also, there might be some contractual clause for Alonso about having a single car disadvantage.

[A Wheel Nut]

Originally posted by BunnyK
At least it wasn't a "Fernando Alonso pays his mechanics to sabotage Hamiltons car" ...

Great, with the reputation of some "news" sites, this will turn up in tomorrows headlines as

Alonso pays mechanics to sabotage Hamiliton's car!
It just hasn't broken down yet. But just you wait.

[airwise]

Am I right in thinking that a large part of a mechanic's salary is the bonus awarded for WCC points?

What's happening there with Mclaren now that Fred has made sure they lost those? Are they still getting the money or is Fred trying desperately to stem the tide of hate?

Fred will win the WDC. Max has decreed it as reward for being a snitch.

[A Wheel Nut]

Originally posted by airwise
Am I right in thinking that a large part of a mechanic's salary is the bonus awarded for WCC points?

What's happening there with Mclaren now that Fred has made sure they lost those? Are they still getting the money or is Fred trying desperately to stem the tide of hate?

Yeah, because Alonso was solely responsible for the penalty!

Regardless, no employer would be able to pay staff solely on a performance based salary. If the WCC money were to be distributed to the mechanics, it would come from the team, which I imagine would still pass on a bonus to their staff due to the achievements for the year. Ie; McLaren will still hand out bonuses, regardless of the fine/loss of TV money.

[LeD]

Thank you, J

Those with agendas will choose to ignore significant portions of what I have posted: most notably perhaps that I am certain that other examples of rich and famous sportsmen sharing their winnings were based upon the team's prior agreement so to do. As an employer, I would only encourage such generosity on the part of a particularly successful and well-paid colleague. If for example I owned a money-market operation and my top dealer wanted to put some of his mega-million year-end bonus back into the pool for the back-office staff - bravo and go for it I say. But if he did it systematically during the year behind my back, and if I suspected for a moment that his motive for doing it was to gain advantage over his fellow dealers - I would fire his sorry ass, however successful he was.

And that would be applied whether his name were Fernando, Michael, Mikka, Tom, Cobbley, or All.

[Buttoneer]

Originally posted by airwise
A
What's happening there with Mclaren now that Fred has made sure they lost those? Are they still getting the money or is Fred trying desperately to stem the tide of hate?

This is an interesting point, and you could be right.

Personally (and I hate to say this) but I agree with RTX et al that there is ultimately no problem doing this. The mechanics are not being paid to do anything other than their jobs with a strong focus on being the better of the two teams in the McLaren garage. The rivalry already exists in the garage and this just pushes it.

If I were Alonso, and if half of the rumours about his recent behaviour are true, this could just be his attempt to keep the team focussed and prevent a three-second tyre blanket penalty in a vital pitstop.

I assume that the mechanics all declare tax and national insurance on the extra earnings....

[Bloggsworth]

If I believed he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, I would say "Not a good idea Fernando, it might be seen as divisive"

[airwise]

Interesting that Lewis's mechanics will do their utmost for their charge - simply because they like him. Even if he had the money I doubt there's one of them that would take it off a mate. That's what team building is all about. Fred has no idea.

[as65p]

Originally posted by airwise
Interesting that Lewis's mechanics will do their utmost for their charge - simply because they like him. Even if he had the money I doubt there's one of them that would take it off a mate. That's what team building is all about. Fred has no idea.

Did you just admit that in your opinion the team members ARE actually favouring their "mate" Hamilton?

Isn't it great then that Alonso is still in the hunt, despite having to pay for his car to get serviced?