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Mark Hughes: F1's Inside Line

"If Montoya had stayed put, what might have happened?"

Autosport Magazine Jul 11, 2007, 2:49 PM

It is now 12 months since Juan Pablo Montoya walked out on F1 and thereby triggered a series of events that resulted in Lewis Hamilton's graduation to the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team this year.

You won't need to be told that Hamilton has since performed sensationally well. In particular he has adapted better than many to the handling of an F1 car on the Bridgestone control tyres. Many drivers - particularly those used to Michelins, like Fernando Alonso - have found that these tyres do not allow them to really lean on the front of the car. They feel they are having to ease into the corner rather than attack it. They feel like they could go much quicker into the turn than the car is allowing them.