Ferrari happiest with exhaust clampdown – Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton agrees with Red Bull’s Helmut Marko that Ferrari are happiest with the blown exhaust clampdown.

The full effect of the FIA move takes effect this weekend at Silverstone, and Marko said last month that it “definitely favours Ferrari” because the Italian team’s solution has not been as effective as Red Bull’s and McLaren’s.

Ahead of Silverstone, McLaren’s Hamilton told the Daily Star: “Ferrari are on the right road and I heard that, with the regulation changes and teams complaining, Ferrari have not complained once.

“That gives me a feeling they are quite comfortable.”

Ultimately, however, the experts do not expect the clampdown to radically transform the current pecking-order, with Red Bull out front and Sebastian Vettel dominating.

“I think I’m the only guy out there trying to beat him at the moment,” said Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber.

“For someone to outscore him by 80 points is going to take some doing.”

So clear is Red Bull’s dominance that rumours insist Hamilton is still considering moving to the energy drink-owned team, where Webber is yet to be re-signed for 2012.

But the Australian insists whether or not he stays is up to him, revealing that Red Bull is “very keen” to offer him a new deal.

And as for Briton Hamilton’s famous visit to the Red Bull motor home in Canada, the Guardian quotes Webber as jeering: “I could give you a cracking one-liner to that mate, but I won’t.”

© RIF | GMM