F1: Sympathy as Lewis forced to settle for second

May 28 2007 By The Evening Chronicle

McLaren team principal Ron Dennis sympathised with Lewis Hamilton after the young Briton showed his disappointment at second place in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished second for the fourth successive time as he followed home team-mate Fernando Alonso, and the duo are now level on 38 points.

But it was a contrived one-two in many respects as McLaren organised a race strategy that effectively handed the win on a plate to Alonso.

Dennis conceded as much when he said: "We had to cope with the potential deployment of the safety car.

"So consequently you virtually have to decide in advance which one of the team's drivers will claim the victory."

Alonso - who tops the standings by virtue of his two race wins - started on a lighter fuel load and a two-stop plan, while Hamilton was initially fuelled for a one-stopper.

That catered for a possible safety car incident, as had happened in four of the previous five races.

If the safety car had been deployed then 22-year-old Hamilton would have celebrated his maiden win.

As it was, he was left bemoaning playing second fiddle to Alonso, although he did just about appreciate the reasons why.

Hamilton said: "The goal of the team is to score as many points as we can to pull away from the Ferraris, and the way to do that is to finish first and second, or ahead of them. It would have been easy for me to push a little harder, but then maybe touch the barrier, crash, or push Fernando into a mistake.

"That would have been a negative for the team, so it was best to finish one-two.

"At the end of the day I'm a rookie, and finishing second in what is my first Monaco Grand Prix, I really can't complain.

"It is something I have to live with. I've No 2 on my car and I am the No 2 driver. Coming into the season I expected to be No 2 driver. I'm just pleased to be here. I'm still living the dream. I've been on the podium in my first five grands prix, and I hope to continue with that."

That was said with a forced smile and Hamilton was clearly not entirely happy, a situation Dennis fully appreciates.

"He is disappointed and frustrated, and I can understand that," he said.

"To be honest, I'm not happy not letting our drivers race, but the simple fact is it's my job, which is a difficult one at times, and this was one of them."