After Sunday's Ferrari scandal, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are now the only serious contenders who have yet to experience a major bust-up within their own team.
But while Hamilton and Button continue to give every impression that they are the best of mates, it may not be long before they turn on their engineers and mechanics.
The pace of the McLaren is lagging a long way behind that of Red Bull and Ferrari, and Hamilton knows that his position at the top of the drivers' championship, which he leads by 14 points, is becoming more vulnerable with every race.
"I've been saying since Valencia that we are the third-fastest team," Hamilton pointed out on Sunday. "Everybody's been asking, 'Really? Why do you say that?' And I say,
Because I drive the car and I know what they've got and what we don't have.
This situation would be less concerning if McLaren still had any tricks up their exhaust pipes. But after the introduction of a Red Bull-style rear diffuser – which is clearly not yet providing the sort of pace that Martin Whitmarsh's team had hoped for – the garage in Woking could soon be working overtime.
Hamilton said he would be asking the technicians on Monday whether they might be able to find a few fractions of a second in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend. The short turnaround between Hockenheim and Budapest is not ideal for a team with engineering issues.
"You have to be constructive," Hamilton said, "you can't be all down. The fact that we're not quick enough means that we have to do a better job."
"It's not about pointing the blame, it's about pulling together, which we've been doing for a while now. It's just that the other teams are a little bit ahead."
Hamilton did not improve McLaren's chances in Germany by crashing his car during practice on Friday morning, which left little time for the team to experiment with tyres and set-up before Saturday's qualifying.
Hamilton started yesterday's race sixth on the grid, but managed to zip past Button – who was fifth – with a belter of a start. The two men then remained in formation for the rest of the race.
"We were both racing each other, right until the end," said Hamilton with a grin.
"And that was good to see."
