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Well guys as we have just seen, Its not even a week since Spyker has been bought by an Indian, we and the owner himself is expecting an Indian to drive it. Similar is the situation in the Mclaren camp. So I reckon now you'll understand the advantage Lewis has. Agreed even he has work hard to reach here but the bigest advantage he has over Fernando is the home team advantage. This is what I was trying to explain but now we have our own live example
The flaw in your theory is that Mclaren is actually a New Zealandish team based in Britain. In fact almost every race team is based in Britain but that hasn't helped Button, Davidson or DC get great results. Look back on F1s history and see how many drivers drove for their 'national team' and you'll quickly see that home team advantage can only ever be an excuse for the other guy beating you. If Prost couldn't get the Renault to the championship then home team advantage won't help anyone else.
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
I would say it is more of a sentimental factor than anything else, we all saw what Michael Schumacher and Ferrari did in ten years, and they were of very different nationalities. Maybe when a driver and a team of the same nationality come together and accomplish great things will you say that they "work" together because of the "home advantage", but even then it will just be a "theory".
More in depth about the sentimental factor, when the members of team feel a real connection with their driver, their nationality will be moved aside. If Hamilton has known the McLaren mechanics and crew for many many years, and Alonso has not, Hamilton simply has a "sentimental advantage" over the Spaniard. Being a nice, honorable, social person will most likely help you get ahead, and Hamilton is great at projecting just that.
Examples like Ide with SA, Albers with Sypker are sad cases. Because now, more than ever, money makes the world go 'round. If you are a "good" driver but are unable to bring in the suffienct sponsor money to pay your team, your abilities will not be enough. Even if you are of the same nationality.
I'm not disqualifying your "theory", but simply adding a more realistic approach I have considered. Either may or may not be true, it all depends.
The "Home Team Advantage" theory is flawed because a nationality can't help you if your not a nice guy. Look at say Fernando now, the biggest problem he has is he's letting his temperment get the better of himself, he is further alienating himself from his team because he isn't comming across as a nice bloke at Mclaren atm. (Comments like "I brought 6-tenths to the team and I'm getting nothing back" aren't helping seeing as I wager there are a fair few designers, engineers & mechanics @ woking who'll like to take a little credit too!)
Look at Schumi also, Schumi never came across on TV as a nice guy, he claimed that you cannot afford to let the media into your personal life too much (granted as the papparazzi can be a nightmare), but look how his team adored him...he really struck a bond up with them.
The only way you can make a team your "Home Team" is by becomeing "One of the guys" not just by being of the same nationality as the team. Look at Fernando @ Renault, it's an Anglo-French team, yet he was so intergral to them we were all stunned when he signed for Mclaren.
Imagine Kimi signing for Ferrari to race allongside Michael...THAT is home team advantage.
Granted Lewis may well now have this so-called advantage, but it wasn't there from the beginning. It has been made for him by Fernando failing to help himself.
1. Not wearing the special Mclaren Press Confrence race suit
2. Growing facial hair, and messy long hair again
3. Claiming to have brought 6-tenths to them team as if the rest of the team had nothing to do with it.
4. Publicly (as opposed to a quiet formal word with Ron Dennis in the office) critising the team to the media about "Preferable Treatment"
These acts have only helped Fernando hinder himself and distance himself from the guys who he needs, the mechanics, his engineers, and - most importantly in the Mclaren machine - Ron Dennis. The first two points are very small sacrifices to make, and if you don't wanna make them, don't join Mclaren.
Furthermore the Blocking incident @ Hungary. Okay, Lewis did wrong, its 1-0 to Fernando in the popularity ranks that weekend, so Fernando tries to take justice into his own hands and scores an own-goal. He'd have done himself many more favours by taking the moral high ground, and (frankly) being a bit more mature.
At the end of the day I'm a big fan of both Fernando & Lewis, but it has to be said that if Lewis is now getting prefferable treatment:
1. It hasn't always been that way
2. Lewis must be doing something right (something that Fernando Isn't?) in order to get this better treatment
3. Fernando has only himself to blame that he's lost support from the team.
i.e It's nobody else's fault but his own.
Silence is golden when you don't know a good answer.
