McLaren-Mercedes will not nominate a ‘number one’ driver in 2007 or in the near future, according to Mercedes’ Norbert Haug.
Amid the confusion and hype surrounding rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton alongside world champion Fernando Alonso this year, the competition boss of McLaren’s engine partner said the pair will “remain equal” throughout the season.
“We have never had a number one and a number two,” Haug told the Spanish publication ‘As’, “and this is not going to change.”
According to ‘As’, McLaren has ruled out theories that a fallen garage gantry slowed Alonso’s car in Bahrain; Haug suggests that the Spaniard simply “did not feel comfortable” with his brakes.
The German – a former journalist – also played down reports of a growing rift between Alonso and Hamilton, explaining: “There is no indication that finishing fifth in Bahrain affected Fernando. Not at all.
“In fact, Fernando congratulated Lewis himself after the race. We are a team, and – after all – there was no disaster; he was only five seconds away from third place.
“Even with his brake problems, he could have finished in front of Kimi in the second Ferrari. It was very close and only decided by a few metres in the pit stops.
“Fernando knows that racing goes like this sometimes — you could even see that in television interviews afterwards he smiled and looked perfectly happy.
“He has our total support and confidence,” Haug concluded.
