'McLaren ran 2013 research parts in India without telling an oblivious Lewis Hamilton'

Sky Sports F1 has learnt that McLaren ran development parts for 2013 during Friday practice at India without telling an oblivious Lewis Hamilton.

It is understood that Hamilton's MP4-27 carried experimental components throughout both sessions but the driver was deliberately kept unaware by the McLaren team on account of his upcoming transfer to rivals Mercedes.
"Sam Michael told us at lunchtime that Lewis Hamilton was running parts for next year but McLaren didn't tell Hamilton because they didn't want him to know what they were," revealed Ted Kravitz during The F1 Show.
The remarkable - if understandable - deception proved so successful that even when he was asked about "the experimental parts on your car" by Sky Sports News' Craig Slater at the end of Friday's running, a bewildered Hamilton denied all knowledge of their existence.
 
"No, we don't," Lewis replied. "We don't have anything new this weekend. We just have some modifications of things we already had. There's no point bringing some extra bits if you don't understand what some of the components do."
Ironically, Hamilton's interest in the upgrades that McLaren's rivals had brought to the Buddh Circuit this weekend was such that, even before he had completed his first timed lap of the day, the 2008 World Champion had appeared as an interested bystander outside the Red Bull garage to take a close look at the upgraded RB8.


The ploy - once Hamilton learns of it - is bound to cause additional tension within a McLaren camp that is still coming to terms with their former protégé's decision to leave at the end of the season. However, in the dog-eat-dog competitive world of F1, it's a deception which Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson believes is justified given that Hamilton will become a Mercedes employee in less than two months.
"He's effectively on gardening leave but he still has to do the job," remarked the former Super Aguri driver. "It's a bit of a weird situation, but as a driver you don't need to know exactly what a new part is doing so long as you have a rough idea of its balance and the implications it might have."
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12479/8196431/-McLaren-ran-2013-research-parts-in-India-without-telling-an-oblivious-Lewis-Hamilton-