Fabian Coulthard says Jamie Whincup’s ‘two-car team’ comment after today’s Townsville race is a case of “mind games” amid an increasingly tense battle for the 2020 Supercars title.
Whincup pulled a handful of points back on McLaughlin in today’s third and final heat in Townsville, thanks to a controversial move for the lead by teammate Shane van Gisbergen, which eased McLaughlin wide enough for Whincup to move into second.
McLaughlin was unimpressed with move, calling the Triple Eight drivers out for “silly games”.
Whincup, however, had a stinging verbal attack of his own right after the race, calling T8 a “two-car” team and DJR Team Penske a “one-plus-one”.
That followed McLaughlin’s teammate Coulthard finishing a tough weekend with a best of seventh and a worst of 20th from the three races.
“We saw Scotty pit early and we went 10 laps longer so we knew we were going to be strong at the end there, but SVG went longer again,” Whincup told Fox Sports after the race.
“I guess it just comes down to we run a two-car team, and there’s the same equipment for both cars and we’ve both got the same opportunity.
“It’s generally sometimes a negative because you’ve got to pit behind the second car or he takes points away from you, but today, if anything, it was a help and that’s the advantage of running a two-car team instead of a one-plus-one.”
When asked to respond in the DJRTP post-race media conference, Coulthard brushed it off as “mind games”.
“That’s his view. If that’s what he thinks, that’s what he thinks,” said Coulthard.
“No matter what we say here, it’s not going to change his view.
“I think it’s mind games.
“If they’re commenting, they’re worried about it.”
McLaughlin, who had some choice words of his own for van Gisbergen post-race, was harder in his criticism of Whincup’s comments.
“You probably expect more from a guy like him, but that’s what his view is,” he said.
“Whether we believe that or not is another thing. If you go through peaks and troughs like he had the last few years, with Shane battling for championships and he wasn’t…
“I think we work as well as a team as anyone in pitlane. That’s my view and I’m sure Fabs is the same.
“It’s disappointing when you hear comments like that. The whole reason I was disappointed or upset was because I didn’t get the chance to go one-on-one with Jamie. I didn’t expect a comment like that, but that’s how it is.
“I’ve had three years of [the mind games], so I’m pretty used to it now. And they all say the same stuff, so they probably need to use new content.”
Whincup was unapologetic in the offical post-race media conference, but declined to comment further.
“I won’t elaborate on that,” he said. “That’s pretty straightforward.”
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