Whitmarsh: We have the best driver line-up
Martin Whitmarsh believes Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are the best partnership on the grid, saying "they're the envy of every team".
The McLaren team boss was responding to reports that just about every team wants to lure World Champion Sebastian Vettel away from Red Bull.
"We're delighted with Jenson and Lewis," Whitmarsh said when asked by the official Formula One website if they are interested in Vettel. "Without a shadow of a doubt, in my opinion, they're the best driver line-up in the sport today. In fact I suspect they're the envy of every team - including Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz."
The FIA's decision to lift the ban on team orders has left many wondering whether teams will be backing only one driver this year.
Whitmarsh, though, says they will continue with their "equal-treatment philosophy".
"We certainly have two top drivers today - two World Champions who between them have won 23 Grands Prix, started from pole position 25 times and taken 67 podium finishes," he said.
"Not only that, they're genuinely friendly and co-operative with each other, and that represents a genuine performance dividend for us. We certainly couldn't have hired the two of them unless they could be utterly confident of receiving equal treatment. So the answer to your question is 'no': we won't marshal all our resources behind just one of our drivers, to quote your phrase. On the contrary, our equal-treatment philosophy has worked for us in the past, it works for us now and it will work for us in the future."
Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari were the three teams challenging for honours in 2010, but Whitmarsh believes Mercedes could make it a four-horse race this season.
"The 2010 season could be said to have been a three-team race (Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari) and undoubtedly it was a very exciting one. I wouldn't be at all surprised if 2011 were to involve those three teams - and others besides," he said.
"You've mentioned Mercedes-Benz - and we at McLaren know all too well, having worked closely with them since 1995, what a powerful and effective racing force they are. Equally, Ross Brawn and his team, plus Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, are very impressive too. So it would be no surprise to see them mounting a more significant challenge in 2011 than they did in 2010. As ever, it's impossible to make firm predictions, but we think we're on course to be competitive. Having said that, we never underestimate our opposition and we're sure they're working every bit as hard as we are."
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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