Nobody said so, but Lewis Hamilton won a clear technical victory Sunday in the first round of his 'Battle of Britain' with McLaren team-mate and defending world champion Jenson Button at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
At least, nobody said so officially.
Hamilton, the 2008 champion, followed up dispensing with his father Anthony's services as his manager by demonstrating through an intense weekend of Formula One that he not only has the measure of his own business, but his latest McLaren driving partner.
By finishing on the podium in third place at the end of a race of attrition and tyre wear, while Button came home seventh on his debut with the team, he proved his point.
In the team where once Frenchman Alain Prost and Brazilian Ayrton Senna duelled like warring members of a family filled with hatred, it is now politically correct only to talk of harmony and team-work.
And Hamilton, now 24, showed he understood the rules by sticking with the polite party line throughout the season-opening contest.
"I had quite a good race," he explained. "But unfortunately I lost a bit of ground at the start, locked up into turn four and went wide, got in a bad position and (Nico) Rosberg got past me.
"I was then much faster, but it's difficult to follow here and look after the tyres. If I was ahead of him maybe I would have been able to follow the train these guys [the Ferraris] were creating.
"It is a strong result for me and the team. It was more than we expected. We need to continue to push to keep up with these guys."
He said the first race of the no-refuelling era had been slightly frustrating for him, but wanted to reserve judgement until later in the season.
"It is a different challenge. It definitely didn't make the racing more exciting in terms of overtaking. I wasn't able to follow in the first third of the circuit. There wasn't enough grip from the tyres to hold with him.
"But it is an interesting season ahead of us. Everyone is learning how to use tyres more - try to understand the tyres, conserve the fuel load, when to attack and not to attack.
"I hope we can do a good job in showing the fans what we are doing."
His reference to former karting team-mate and one-time best friend as Rosberg, not Nico, was another demonstration of his newly-established bullish independence. So also was his call for as many upgrades for the car as the team can possible create.
By contrast, Button, still in his 'honeymoon' stage with the team after joining them as world champion, was far more low-key.
"Overall, I think our car is pretty good at looking after its tyres," he said. "But there's always room for improvement and I think everybody in the team wants more speed and more down-force."
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
