Picking up where they left off
If the first half of McLaren's 2009 Formula 1 campaign could be described as a disaster, then its performances during the business end of the season represented a triumph of epic proportions.
After failing to make it out of Q1 at the opening grand prix of the year, and then becoming involved in the now infamous safety car lying scandal, Lewis Hamilton could have been forgiven for simply throwing in the towel and walking away.
That he didn't speaks volumes about the 2008 World Champion. That the team's technical department came up with a solution to the MP4-24's cataclysmic aerodynamic problems, and that Hamilton managed to take it to wins in Hungary and Singapore proves the old saying: "never underestimate McLaren."
The good news for the British team is that it seems to have picked up with the new MP4-25 where the MP4-24 - one of the quickest cars in F1 by the end of last year - left off. That will be music to the ears of World Champion Jenson Button, who left the relative security of Brawn (now Mercedes) to take on incumbent Hamilton.
The bad news is that Mercedes' return to F1 as a full constructor has robbed McLaren of its status as the German manufacturer's works team. Being a Mercedes customer did not seem to hurt either Brawn or Force India last year though.
F1's testing rules, which limit teams from running more than one driver each per day, have failed to provide conclusive proof as to which has the upper hand. If this closeness of competition continues and a power struggle ensues, then strong management will be required from team principal Martin Whitmarsh to make sure the combination does not become Prost v Senna Mk2.
Button will have a hard job on his hands to protect his number one position in the Castrol Rankings, especially during the first half of the season. Such has been the closeness between McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes during testing, that it seems impossible that a single team - let alone a single driver - will score six wins from the opening seven races as Button did in 2009.
Indeed, if he fails to finish in Bahrain and Sebastian Vettel wins, he could find himself dethroned as early as this weekend.
In contrast to Button, Hamilton will only need to avoid a repeat of his poor (by his standards) 2009 season in order to move up from his current 12th position in the Castrol Rankings.
Podium finishes in the first two races would more or less guarantee his elevation to the top-10, while he certainly has more to gain now than at the business end of the season, given that the performance of the McLaren was severely hampered before its miracle front-wing was introduced at mid-season. The number one spot is certainly attainable.
