Smedley-Massa radio message much ado about nothing

I have to say I was not much bothered by the radio message from Felipe Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley in Singapore, which was released in the official race edit on www.formula1.com over the weekend and has been doing the rounds since.

In the clip, which takes place at some indeterminate point during the race, Smedley is heard to say to Massa: "Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on, boy…"

As we all know, the pair collided on lap 12 when Hamilton appeared to misjudge his turn-in, clipping the back of Massa and damaging his front wing as well as giving the Ferrari a puncture. Hamilton received a drive-through penalty for his trouble and finished fifth, while Massa finished ninth before clashing with the Briton in the interview pen afterwards.

Although this 'revelation' is bound to stoke up the bad feeling that currently exists between them, I'd like to believe that Smedley was only trying to encourage his driver, quite naturally, to stay in front of what was patently a faster car for as long as possible rather than anything more sinister. He said it on an open radio channel after all.

The use of the word 'destroy' was probably ill-advised though. In the wake of 'Crashgate' in 2008, when it failed to ban Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds as it wanted to, the FIA brought in a 'staff licence' which commits six key members of the team – "including the Team Principal, Sporting Director, Team Manager, Technical Director and two race engineers" - to a new FIA Code of Good Standing.

Ferrari may be concerned that some will accuse them of unsportsmanlike conduct. I don't see that.

Hamilton: "Button has done a better job all season"

An estimated 40,000 turned up to watch Lewis Hamilton drive the MP4-23 in Bangalore

Lewis Hamilton believes that Jenson Button has outperformed him this year, adding that even an improvement to his form over the final five races would "not mean a lot" to him.

After driving his MP4-23 – the car with which he won the 2008 drivers’ championship – on a demonstration run through the streets of Bangalore on Tuesday, Hamilton was asked how he felt to be 17 points behind his team mate.

"Jenson's done an incredible job. I feel he's done a better job all season, really,' Hamilton said. "So even if I did a better job in the next five races it doesn't mean a lot to me. I mean, it's through a whole year.

“I think for me now it's just to find my ground and improve on the results that we've had in the last four races.”

Hamilton was also asked about his collision with Felipe Massa in Singapore and their ensuing clash in the interview pen, which caused the 26 year-old to leave the circuit without giving any interviews. “I was able to just ignore it and move on,” he said.

An estimated 40,000 turned up to watch Hamilton in Bangalore and the McLaren driver said he was looking forward to returning for next month’s inaugural Indian GP on Oct 30.

Lewis Hamilton in Bangalore

“It's incredible,” said Hamilton. “I've visited India many times over the last couple of years and it's never been more exciting to be here than now.

“The race is only weeks away and you can really feel the growing passion of the people, and the excitement levels continuing to build.”

Jenson: "McLaren are listening to me more, which is nice."

The body language on display from Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button following Sunday's race could hardly have been more different. Lewis, trying to say nothing, could not conceal his frustration with how things are panning out for him at present.

There was a strange moment (strange in terms of its timing, in front of a handful of journalists) when Ron Dennis walked over to where we were sitting and put a consoling arm around him, saying "you know you can call me whenever you like". It was both touching and revealing.

Jenson, by contrast, looks and sounds like a man who is at peace with himself. His driving since Hungary has been sublime even if his qualifying/starts remain a source of frustration. What struck me most was his appraisal of why he feels he is driving better now than he did when he won the world title in 2009.

"It is to do with confidence after winning the world championship," he said, "feeling the team around me and being in a good place off the circuit. I am really working well with the people within the team; the engineers and the mechanics.

"I took my engineers and mechanics out for dinner on Saturday night in Italy. It is not for a competitive edge over Lewis’s side of the garage, it was to pay them back for all the hard work they have done. These guys work long hours and having a bond with your team is important. You might not think it is going to gain you anything, but it definitely does.

"I am very confident in my engineer [Dave Robson] and he understands the way that I work. We have a good rapport and that makes a big difference.  At the moment we are working on developing the car for next year and they are really listening to what I have to say – the things I don’t like and the things I want to improve.

"Every time I drive the simulator we test something that I specifically want. I am really enjoying that and we are making really good progress for next year."

Asked whether his feedback was improving with age, and whether he is having a bigger say in how the car develops, Jenson said something interesting. "I don’t think I am having more of a say but I think they are listening more which is nice," he said. "Maybe that comes with winning the world championship, having the confidence within you. Some teams listen more than others.

"When I arrived here there were so many amazing things that I was gobsmacked with but there were one or two areas where I thought, “Why are they doing that? Why aren’t they doing this?” You give them your input and you try new things; it helps Lewis and it helps me.  We do have really good input, Lewis and me. The team really listen and it moves the car forward."

Was Jenson hinting that he is now the driving force in terms of the car's development rather than Lewis? Possibly, although I don't think that was his intention. I don't think he was necessarily trying to turn up the heat on Lewis. He just wanted to show how confident, how comfortable, he is feeling at McLaren right now. Which possibly amounts to the same thing.

Nine points ahead of his team mate with six races to go. Can he keep it going?