McLaren Mercedes

Formula 1 Team reports for the 2009 F1 season includes race previews, reports and reviews
Ed
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Post by Ed » Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:52 am

2009 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX – QUALIFYING ANALYSIS

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-02

P3 programme
18 laps/1m20.638s (17th)

Two runs in the morning on a circuit that was slightly damp at the beginning of the session but which dried quickly. Choosing to run without KERS in order to better balance the car for this high-speed circuit, Heikki completed an installation lap before conducting an eight-lap run on Prime tyres (1m21.915s). He finished the morning session by making a comparison run on the Option (five laps/1m20.638s).

Qualifying
Q1 1m19.732s (15th)
Q2 1m19.353s (13th overall)
Q3 -

Starting on the Prime, Heikki set a fastest time of 1m20.756s on his first run. Switching to Options for the second, he recorded a 1m19.732s – a time which graduated him to Q2. In the second session, Heikki pulled together a strong, clean lap, but his best time of 1m19.353s was only enough for 13th position on tomorrow’s grid.

Heikki said: “Today’s result is obviously disappointing for the team but, given the circumstances, I’m satisfied with my performance: I gave it my all and couldn’t have gone any quicker. I didn’t make any mistakes and was on the limit all the time. It’s a pity that Lewis couldn’t improve on his time due to the red flag in the first session as I’m sure he would have joined me in Q2 as well.

“We knew this circuit wouldn’t suit our car and that it would be difficult to get into Q3, but the balance was quite okay this afternoon. We’re all working extremely hard to address the car’s lack of downforce. The guys worked hard overnight to make a lot of changes to the car and we worked really well together to get the most from the car during the morning session. The work doesn’t stop here, however, and our immediate aim is to maximise our strategy and finish the race.”


LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

P3 programme
16 laps/1m20.048s (11th)

Lewis ran an identical programme to Heikki, completing runs on both tyre compounds. Starting the session on the Prime, he completed seven laps (1m20.628s) before switching to the Option (four laps/1m20.048s). “The improvements we’ve made overnight made the car feel better in the high-speed corners,” Lewis said. “But we’re still lacking the downforce to really get the best laptimes. But I felt I was able to attack the fast stuff with a bit more commitment than yesterday.”


Qualifying
Q1 1m19.917s (19th overall)
Q2 -
Q3 -

Completing two runs on Options in the truncated session, Lewis pushed hard to set a 1m20.502s and a 1m19.917s. The first lap of his second run was a slower one, a 1m21.372s, and he failed to improve for his final effort when the session was red-flagged following Adrian Sutil’s accident. He starts his home race from 19th.

“I did the best I could today,” said Lewis. “I was pushing as hard as I could but our car is too slow. I gave it my all and there wasn’t really much more I could have got from the car.”

He also played down his chances of being able to improve before the stoppage, admitting: “I was pushing on that final lap – but it was nothing special. However, we live to fight another day and anything can happen in the race tomorrow. We’ll keep pushing on and hopefully put on a good show for all the fans. The great thing is that I’ve had incredible support these past few days from the fans – they’re the ones who are really helping me to get through it, so a big thank-you to all of them.”


MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“While a starting position of 13th for tomorrow’s race might not sound like a spectacular result, I think Heikki can be pleased with his efforts given the circumstances. Lewis was a little unlucky to have his final quick-lap cut short by Sutil’s accident. Today’s result is not a surprise, but it demonstrates that we still have work to do to address MP4-24’s weaknesses in high-speed corners. Nonetheless, we’re already fully focused on the race tomorrow and mindful that we could still produce a strong result in front of the many thousands of passionate fans who will be cheering us on.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Quite painful for Lewis and everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to start from the last row after dominating this race last year. He just drove into his last qualifying lap in Q1 when the track was red-flagged. Otherwise a start from as high as the sixth row could have been possible, albeit unlikely. Heikki and his guys did a competent job in extracting what was possible from the car with its deficits in high-speed corners – plenty of which you’ll find at Silverstone. We’ll all stick together through these tough times and everybody will work very hard to come back to where we used to be in the last two years, when Lewis started 21 of his 42 grands prix from the front row. It’s time to get back to that place!”

Ed
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Post by Ed » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:59 am

2009 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
Silverstone, Sunday June 21



LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

Started: 18th
Finished: 16th
Fastest lap: 1m22.576s (18th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 9 (11th)

A forceful opening lap saw Lewis vault from 18th on the grid to 15th by the end of lap one. There then followed a determined tussle with Robert Kubica; Lewis briefly overtaking the Pole before being re-passed after he was forced wide onto the grass at the exit of Chapel Curve. Reporting a lack of grip, Lewis pitted from 15th position on lap 20, switched to Options and rejoined in 20th.

A couple of brave passes – holding out against Nick Heidfeld into Maggotts and powering past Fernando Alonso on the inside at Copse – nonetheless failed to keep him in the hunt with the midfield pack. After his second and final stop, on lap 43, the team turned down Lewis’s engine and he finished 16th.

“I gave it my all today,” Lewis said. “Despite fighting for the lower positions, I was absolutely on the limit for the whole race. We knew it would be difficult, and I enjoyed my battle with Fernando, but we didn’t have the pace today to get into the points.

“The best thing about this weekend has been the fans: they really gave me some consolation by cheering me on throughout the race. I would love to have given them a result to make them happy and my country proud, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us before that will be realistic.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-02

Started: 13th
Finished: ret
Fastest lap: 1m22.418s (15th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Pr)
2009 points: 4 (13th)

Boxed out on the run through Copse, Heikki dropped from 13th to 19th by the end of the first lap and spent the majority of his race pushing to make up places. Running 19th in the opening stint behind Buemi, Heikki was fuelled until half-distance, pitting on lap 35 and switching from Option to Prime. A lap later, he was hit from behind by Sebastien Bourdais under braking for Vale corner. The rear impact punctured Heikki’s left-rear tyre, and, while he pitted for a fresh set of rubber, he immediately reported that the rear-corner felt strange. The team chose to pull him into the pits and retire him for safety reasons.

“Of course, it’s disappointing not to finish the team’s home race,” Heikki said afterwards. “Until my retirement, the car had been working fine and the strategy was working for me too: we were on target. Then Bourdais just ran into the back of me and damaged the left-rear corner. I had to stop because the damage had made the car undriveable: we decided to retire for safety reasons.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“This weekend has been a very difficult one for everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. No-one in our team likes not winning, and it goes without saying that we all remain utterly determined to return to our winning ways. That may not be a realistic prospect for this season – although significant improvements are in the pipeline – but the team is doing a huge amount of work in an effort to gain a full understanding of the performance issues our car is currently facing, with a view to developing next year’s car as well as improving this year’s car. Sometimes you have to go backwards before you can begin going forwards – and, painful as it was for all of us, this weekend was an example of that.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“A race to forget. Our performance was by far not where it has to be and where it was when we won five of the last 10 races here on this classic racetrack. We should not talk a lot now but rather work a lot. Congratulations to our German friend Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing and Mark Webber for a very impressive performance and a clearly very dominant one-two today. This was the most impressive performance of the season so far.”

Ed
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Post by Ed » Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:23 pm

2009 SANTANDER GERMAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Lewis Hamilton

“The last time we raced at the Nürburgring was in 2007, and I remember I had a tough afternoon battling through from the back of the field to finish just outside the points. It’s a fantastic circuit, a little older than a lot of the current tracks we currently visit and with quite a different feel to what we’re used to: it’s fast and flowing with some good spots for overtaking. And it’s in a fantastic part of the world too; deep in the forests of western Germany, where the fans seem to live and breathe Formula 1. It’s always an amazing party atmosphere whenever we race in Germany.

“While we aren’t expecting any major upgrades for this weekend, I’m still looking forward to the race. It’s an honour to be part of the Silver Arrows and, while our results haven’t recently shown it, we’re still pushing incredibly hard and are all hopeful of moving closer to the front before the end of this difficult season.”

Heikki Kovalainen

“The Nürburgring is a great circuit. It’s got a variety of different corners – some quite tricky, technical sections that need a good flowing rhythm and some faster bends, where the car needs to be well set up. Cresting the rise through the uphill esses after the hairpin just feels fantastic in a Formula 1 car. Coming to Germany is the perfect time to pay tribute to the efforts of everyone at Mercedes-Benz. Their engines are probably the most powerful and most reliable in the sport and their KERS is also fantastic. Mercedes-Benz has played such a big role in the success of our team, so I’m really hoping to have a strong race in front of all our supportive fans at our second home race of the season. Myself, Lewis and the rest of the team are working hard to develop this car – it’s a long process, but we are all pulling together and we’re hopeful of making some further steps soon.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“The Santander German Grand Prix is our team’s second home race of the year. Having had such a fantastic and close relationship with Mercedes-Benz for 15 years means we meet many old friends in Germany and we really enjoy the fantastic support we receive – not only from the many thousands of Mercedes-Benz employees who attend the race, but also from the hugely vocal crowd that always plays such a large part in making the atmosphere at a German racetrack so unique.

“While we can’t expect to match our previous record in Germany, where we’ve won the race for the past two seasons, we’re still pushing hard to develop MP4-24 into a more competitive proposition. Make no mistake, we’re hugely proud of having the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star on the front of our cars – and nothing would make us prouder than getting back to the front again as soon as we possibly can.”

Norbert Haug
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“We finished the previous grand prix at the Nürburgring in 2007 as winners, as well as last year’s Santander German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. This year, we will start without a chance of winning, because our work of improving the car did not bring the desired success. Therefore, we have to continue working extremely hard.

“At the Nürburgring, the Silver Arrows were born and we will commemorate their 75th anniversary with a parade on the racetrack and an exhibition at the paddock entrance to present their unique history to every Nürburgring visitor as well as to the world’s TV viewers.”

McLaren at the German Grand Prix…
10 years ago (August 1 1999)

Mika Hakkinen took pole position and looked set for victory at Hockenheim before a dramatic puncture pitched him into the barriers at 190mph. David Coulthard finished fifth in a race that was also notable for Ferrari debutant Mika Salo’s impressive pace – the Finn looked set for victory until ceding the lead to team-mate Eddie Irvine.

20 years ago (July 30 1989)

Pole position, fastest lap and victory for the almost indomitable Ayrton Senna in the McLaren Honda MP4/5. Team-mate Alain Prost locked out the front row for McLaren and went on to finish runner-up. Nigel Mansell finished third for Ferrari – over a minute adrift.

30 years ago (July 29 1979)

Another disappointing race during a season of low fortune for McLaren’s ground-effect M29 car. John Watson brought some cheer to the team by finishing fifth after qualifying 12th. Team-mate Patrick Tambay started 15th but retired on lap 30 with suspension problems.

40 years ago (August 3 1969)

Denny Hulme (M7A) and Bruce McLaren (M7C) headed up the two-car works entry while Vic Elford ran a privately entered M7B. Despite qualifying the slowest of the three in eighth, Bruce came home third at the flag. Neither Denny nor Vic made the finish.

Ed
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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:42 am

2009 SANTANDER GERMAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE ANALYSIS

Nurburgring, Friday July 10

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

P1 programme 14 laps 1m34.483s (13th)

Lewis’s first session was devoted to understanding and evaluating new aerodynamic components for MP4-24 – principally a substantially revised floor section and matching top body. With modifications to the car carrying on into the first session, and with the morning’s running briefly interrupted by a rain shower, Lewis completed just two runs (five laps/1m34.483s and four laps/1m35.945s) and ended P1 in 13th position.

“The car still lacks downforce,” said Lewis afterwards, “but there’s definitely been an improvement from the new parts we tried today.”

P2 programme 23 laps 1m32.149s (1st)

More spots of rain delayed the start of Lewis’s afternoon programme, but he still completed three runs, this time with the added benefit of the new FW5 front wing, recording runs of eight laps/1m33.059s (Primes), four laps/1m32.413s (Options) and three laps/1m32.149s (Options).

The engineers used this session to back-to-back the new front wing against the older iteration while also refining the balance of the new package over long runs.

Lewis said: “We’ve still got a long way to go but, most importantly, these new upgrades are pushing us in the right direction. It’s a work in progress, but the guys back at the factory have done an incredible job to get these parts to the circuit – I’ve even heard of one guy working a 36-hour non-stop shift to build these parts, which is incredible. Hopefully we’ll now do our job at the track and try to keep everything moving forward. It’s still early days, and we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, but I’m hopeful of being able to get into Q3 tomorrow and look at scoring a couple of points on Sunday afternoon.”


HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P1 programme 26 laps 1m34.893s (18th)

With Lewis using the team’s single new bodywork kit, Heikki spent the morning performing back-to-back tests with the sole new FW5 front wing and the older iteration FW3C. A chilly start to the day and some patchy showers made the circuit particularly gripless and, without the benefit of the higher-downforce of the new aero kit, Heikki once again encountered the grip problems that have affected MP4-24 since the start of the year.

He completed three runs this morning: five laps/1m36.596s, six laps/1m34.893s and seven laps/1m35.070s to finish 18th overall.

P2 programme 27 laps 1m33.724s (17th)

A light shower at the start of the afternoon session delayed Heikki’s opening run and prompted a typically British discussion between his engineers about the wet conditions (conclusion: “fine rain – worst kind of rain”). Due to a scarcity of parts, Heikki’s car was no longer equipped with the Nurburgring-spec front wing, meaning that he was unable to take full advantage of the performance benefits available on Lewis’s car.

Heikki conducted four runs, largely evaluating both tyre compounds and refining the balance of MP4-24. His run programme consisted of two laps/1m33.724s (Options), seven laps/1m34.774s (Primes), eight laps/1m34.233s (Options) and, finally, two laps/1m36.584s (Options).

“Clearly, there were differences between the two cars today as we pushed hard to bring the new parts to the track as quickly as possible,” Heikki said. “Without the upgrades, we didn’t have a good basic package and had some trouble getting heat into the tyres. But the lack of parts is simply an indication on how hard we are working – and, of course, I understand that. There have been people working night and day to get these new parts out to the track and it’s just unfortunate that we don’t yet have two complete sets for both cars. Still, it’s really encouraging for the whole team that the upgrades appear to be working on the car. For my engineers and myself, the most important thing we can do is to keep our heads down, focus on the rest of the weekend and keep on pushing because any improvements we find will still benefit the whole team.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“An encouraging afternoon for Lewis, who used the full new aerodynamic package for P2. Although it is still early days, and I’m sure we’ve yet to see the strongest efforts from Red Bull Racing and Brawn GP, I think there are good signs of an improvement. It was a more difficult day for Heikki, who regrettably didn’t have the new aerodynamic package upgrade, encountered traffic on his laps and generally had a much tougher afternoon. But he is a fighter, and I’m sure he’ll have a strong weekend nonetheless.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“This looked quite encouraging, I have to say, and definitely better than I’d anticipated before the sessions today. We certainly did not post ‘show times’ for our home race; our speed was genuine and quite a bit better than in the last races. I certainly don’t expect us to be fastest tomorrow, but if everything comes together we probably will be in a position to deliver a solid job on race day. Heikki’s car today was not on the same technical level as Lewis’s, which had new pieces that only arrived last night and which are not yet available in sufficient numbers. Our KERS hybrid is a good help around this circuit and gives us more than three tenths of a second per lap.”

Ed
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Post by Ed » Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:48 am

2009 SANTANDER GERMAN GRAND PRIX – QUALIFYING
Nurburgring, Saturday July 11

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

P3 programme
1m31.121s (16 laps, 1st)

Lewis ran the morning session e quipped with a full upgrade package of new floor, top-body and FW5 front wing. He completed three runs, refining the overall balance of the car and assessing the two tyre compounds. After setting the fastest time of the morning, Lewis declared himself thrilled with the potential of the new package: “The car behaves really well,” he said. “It feels great to have a car that you can really push into the corners.

Qualifying

Q1 1m31.473s (4th)
Q2 1m39.149s (6th)
Q3 1m32.616s (5th overall)

An early Option-tyre run by Lewis in Q1 – before the shower affected track grip – secured his graduation to the second session with a 1m31.686s. Into Q2, he ran two slower laps on Intermediates before making a quick change to Options and recorded a 1m39.149s in the hectic dying seconds of the session. That placed him sixth. With the track steadily drying ahead of Q3, Lewis completed an early recce before bolting on another set of Options to set a 1m32.616s – finishing his run before the track reached its optimum. Nevertheless, he lines up fifth fastest for tomorrow’s race.

“I’m really happy to be in Q3,” said Lewis. “It’s a big difference for us this year, and the team has done a fantastic job. The conditions were up and down and they did brilliantly to make sure we were on the track with the right tyres at the right time. Also, the guys back at the factory have all worked extremely hard to get the parts to the track and they have made a big difference. Unfortunately, the track got a bit better after I set my fastest lap, when it was a bit greasy, but for Heikki and me to line up sixth and fifth tomorrow is a great result for us. We’re definitely in a position to fight for a podium, but trying to beat the Brawns and the Red Bulls will be difficult. The car is still a work-in-progress and there’s a way to go – but this is really encouraging. I don’t mind if it rains tomorrow but I’d just like a nice, smooth race!”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P3 programme
1m32.742s (18 laps, 18th)

Two runs for Heikki in P3 – an eight-lap run on Primes and a five-lap stint on the Option. Equipped with a second FW5 front wing, but without the top-body and diffuser upgrades for Lewis, Heikki still found it difficult to find a comfortable balance in MP4-24 but pushed throughout the morning to refine the car to his liking.

Qualifying

Q1 1m31.881s (12th)
Q2 1m40.826s (8th)
Q3 1m33.859s (6th overall)

Heikki completed three early laps in Q1 before making a tyre-stop in the pits and completing another three laps, recording a 12th-fastest 1m31.881s. On a damp track in Q2, he spun on Inters at the exit of Turn Four but the car emerged unscathed and he was able to pit for Options, keep his head during a longer-than-anticipated stop and set a 1m40.826s – seeing him move into Q3 after a nail-biting session. For Q3, he completed two laps on the Option, finally setting a 1m33.859s to line up sixth – a fantastic effort and Heikki’s best qualifying position of the season.

Heikki said: “Today worked out better for me than expected: we can be very pleased with that. My tyre strategy worked really well this afternoon and I had the right tyres in Q2 when the conditions were at their trickiest. Thanks to the team for a superb job in a very tight situation. This result is very promising for everyone in the team and my car worked much better here than at previous races. The team has been working incredibly hard to make improvements to our car and, although I didn’t have the same upgrades as Lewis today, it’s really encouraging to see the step forward we’ve taken – we’re making excellent progress. Finally, it’s great to be able to produce our strongest qualifying result of the year at the home race of Mercedes-Benz – I think they’ve produced the best engine in Formula 1, and I hope they’re proud of their results today."

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“First of all, congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for having five of their engines in the top seven – what a magnificent result. Obviously, we’ve made a step forward and having both cars on the third row is a fine achievement. Everybody in this team has worked incredibly hard to bring these performance upgrades to the car and it’s hugely gratifying for everyone that we can begin to see the results of all their efforts. Lewis and Heikki did a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances and Heikki’s pace, in particular, was outstanding. While a position on the front row was certainly possible, our cars were not running when the track was at its fastest. Nevertheless, we must be very pleased with today’s result and we look forward to tomorrow, when we feel we have the strategy to achieve another good result.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“We had known since yesterday that a good result would be possible at our home race. Lewis and Heikki managed to put their cars on the third row – and even more could have been possible. The team and the drivers, including Pedro, have worked extremely hard since our disappointing performance at the last race at Silverstone and we have definitely made a step in the right direction. We should be in good shape for tomorrow’s race and hopefully our KERS hybrid will help us to overtake a couple of cars at the start.”

Ed
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Post by Ed » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:11 am

2009 SANTANDER GERMAN GRAND PRIX
Nurburgring, Sunday July 12

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

Started: 6th
Finished: 8th
Fastest lap: 1m35.524s (17th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Pr)
2009 points: 5 (13th)

From sixth on the grid, Heikki made a great start, out-accelerating Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and then leapfrogging the delayed Lewis to hold third position for the opening stint. Some great defensive driving kept him ahead of Button, Felipe Massa and Vettel and he kept himself in the fight for the whole race, pitting on laps 15 and 40 to emerge eighth for his final stint. For the last 10 laps, he again drove with one eye on his rear-view mirrors to keep a busy train of cars at bay. Eighth position was a well-deserved result for a race driven on the car’s limit for the entire duration – particularly as he was not armed with the same aero upgrade package raced by Lewis this afternoon.

“If you’d told me on Friday that I would score points today, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Heikki said afterwards. “This weekend has been difficult – it’s been hard to get the tyres working and to find grip, but we kept pushing throughout every session and things started to turn around. Qualifying went well and our KERS hybrid helped me to move from sixth to third at the start.

“From that point on, it was all about defending: I pushed the whole time and it was a hard way to earn points but we can be satisfied about it. KERS made my race today, no doubt about it, and I’m now really looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix, when I’ll get my hands on the full aero upgrade package for the first time. It’s good for the whole team that we now seem to be moving forwards again.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

Started: 5th
Finished: 18h
Fastest lap: 1m35.367s (15th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Op)
2009 points: 9 (11th)

Lewis made a good KERS-assisted start from fifth on the grid, quickly vaulted Sebastian Vettel and ran around the outside of duelling leaders, Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber. Turning into the first corner, he was snagged by Webber’s front wing, the contact puncturing his right-rear tyre and necessitating a first-lap pitstop.

Heavily fuelled and switched to a two-stint strategy, he was relegated to the back and drove a lonely race to 18th, unable to perform competitively owing to suspected damage to the rear – likely caused by the flailing rubber – which negatively affected handling and tyre-wear.

“My race was effectively over at Turn One,” Lewis said. “I had quite a good launch down to Turn One, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on. I think the flat tyre had damaged the rear floor and it felt like I was out there driving on ice. I suggested to the team that we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there’s a lot more potential ahead of us than we’d anticipated before this weekend.

“But that’s racing and we’ll move on. The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful. The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I’m already looking forward to the next race.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Lewis and Heikki both made great starts, assisted by KERS hybrid. In fact, Lewis could have taken the lead at the first corner if he hadn’t been hit by Mark, which collision resulted in a puncture. That was a great shame, because his car was competitive here and I’m therefore sure he would have been able to score well with it. More frustratingly still, after having to make an unscheduled pit stop as a result of that puncture, he emerged in the worst possible track position: at the front of the field. He therefore had to observe the blue flags and allow all the front-runners past, causing him to lose further time.

“Heikki showed great spirit throughout the weekend, performing consistently well despite not having access to all the aero upgrades enjoyed by Lewis, and ending up with a solid eighth-place finish and a useful world championship point. Now, though, we’re already looking forward to going to Budapest, where both our drivers will have the aero upgrades and we ought therefore to be able to put in a competitive showing with both cars.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“The first few hundred metres looked promising when Lewis put his nose in front for the fraction of a second after starting from fifth place. He ran wide after being hit before the corner and got a puncture. Heikki showed a solid performance with the old-spec underfloor and brought home a point at least. We have to further improve – but this was a good first step.”

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 18, 2009 1:44 am

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Lewis Hamilton

“The Hungaroring is one of the most demanding circuits for drivers because you’re busy throughout the entire lap. It’s a bit like a kart circuit – there are lots of twists and turns and the only place to relax is along the start/finish straight, which is quite short. It’s also quite low-grip which makes overtaking particularly tricky. But I really enjoy the place – I won here in 2007 and was on pole last year. It’s a circuit that really rewards consistent, precise driving - push too hard and you tend to lose rather than gain time. Given the potential we showed in Germany last weekend, I’m hopeful of getting a result that demonstrates the improvement we’ve made over the past few weeks.”

Heikki Kovalainen

“Obviously, I won in Hungary in 2008 so it will be nice to come back to Budapest again. This race is likely to be won or lost in qualifying: you’ve got to be at the front and run an aggressive first stint if you are to succeed in the race. The track is also quite hard on tyres so you need to find a balance that will allow you to look after your rubber until the finish – the softer rubber, in particular, tends to suffer at the end of the race so you have to be careful. I’m really looking to running the team’s new upgrade package this weekend. I had a strong weekend at the Nurburgring and I didn’t let a single car past me in the race – with the improved car I’m really hopeful of getting another strong result at the Hungaroring.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“While Lewis demonstrated during practice and qualifying at the Nurburgring that our upgrade package appears to provide us with a sizeable step forward in performance, it was frustrating that damage to the rear bodywork left us unable to fully ascertain that benefit in the race itself. For Budapest, both Lewis and Heikki will be equipped with the new package and we are hopeful that it will enable us to mount a more sustained attack towards the front of the field. The Hungaroring is a circuit where we as a team have enjoyed many successes in the past and we travel there this weekend hoping to provide concrete evidence that we’re decisively turning our fortunes around for the remainder of the season.”

Norbert Haug
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“The Grand Prix circuit just outside Budapest is, after Monaco, the one with the lowest average speed. The layout, consisting of more slower corners, where mechanical grip is especially important, should suit us quite well – as demonstrated already in Monaco. However, I currently would consider our technical performance still not good enough to repeat last year’s victory with Heikki – but in any case we at least have been in the lead for a few metres at the Nürburgring - until Lewis’s right-rear tyre was hit which caused a deflated tyre, damaging the underfloor – which prevented Lewis later from achieving good lap times. Everybody in the team is giving it their all to continue the upward trend with both cars.”

McLaren at the Hungarian Grand Prix…
10 years ago (August 15 1999)

Starting from pole position, Mika Hakkinen led from start to finish to notch up his fourth victory of the season. Team-mate David Coulthard drove a tenacious race, setting fastest lap and grabbing second position after the final stops, usurping Ferrari’s Eddie Irvine, who finished third.

20 years ago (August 13 1989)

Nigel Mansell out-foxed Ayrton Senna, boxing the Brazilian in behind Stefan Johansson’s Onyx, to sensationally win in Budapest. Alain Prost finished fourth. The race had initially been dominated by Williams driver Riccardo Patrese, who was enjoying the first fruit of the team’s Renault-powered renaissance before retiring from the lead with a holed radiator.

Ed
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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:30 am

2009 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX

FREE PRACTICE ANALYSIS

Hungaroring, Friday July 24


LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

P1 programme 20 laps 1m22.554s (3rd)
P2 programme 36 laps 1m22.079s (1st)

How was today?

“Firstly, I love driving here: it’s quite a complex circuit, very technical, lots of bumps and you need a good rhythm. It’s definitely in my top five tracks on the calendar. We’ve refined the improvements we had at the Nurburgring and they seem to be working, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do to beat the Red Bulls particularly. Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to be able to push the car – I’m happier with it than I’ve been all season.”

Where is MP4-24 lacking pace?

“Over the bumps and at the exits of corners: unlike the Red Bulls and the Brawns, we’re just not able to get the power down as early as them. It’s the speed out of the corners onto the straights where we lose out. Still, the guys at the factory have done an incredible job; I’m looking forward to seeing them next week, just to express how thankful I am for all the hard work they’ve been doing.”

What do you expect for qualifying?

“The front row would be beautiful but, to be honest, I’m just aiming to get into Q3. The car is much more competitive – we’ve come from 2.5s off but we’re still about four to five tenths off the leaders, so we’ve got to keep working to make that up before we can start thinking about winning.”


HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P1 programme 21 laps 1m22.278s (1st)
P2 programme 36 laps 1m22.126s (2nd)

A great result in both sessions – what’s made the difference for you?

“I’ve got the full upgrade package that Lewis raced at the Nurburgring and the car now feels much better to drive. We’ve got a new floor, new front wing, updated bodywork and some small changes to the suspension. It’s a big package – and I know how hard the team has worked to get everything here. There are still components arriving at the circuit today!”

How different does the car feel with the upgrade package?

“The grip level is so much higher now. Stability under braking is much better, and the guys have done a fantastic job to improve the balance at the rear. We still have to keep working hard to make further improvements – but this is a great starting point.”

How positive do you now feel ahead of qualifying?

“I still think we need to look at the data and analyse the strength of the opposition. Of course, it would be fantastic to carry this over into qualifying and the race, but we need to be realistic: I’m sure tomorrow morning will give us a much clearer idea of the position of the Brawns and the Red Bulls. But after today’s performance, I’ll definitely be going for it.”


MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

How have you managed to achieve such impressive improvements recently?

“The new aero package that Lewis’s car was fitted with in Germany was originally intended for Hungary, but as things turned out we were able to introduce it one race early on one car only. Here, in Budapest, we’ve been able to use it on both cars. It’s a pretty major change, which has taken us down a different aerodynamic route from the one we initially followed with MP4-24’s design, and I think it’s fair to say that that new direction appears to be a fruitful one. In addition, we’ve also made a few extra aero mods over and above the original Hungary aero package, and both drivers have clearly benefited from those mods today. As a result, MP4-24 is now generating a significant amount more downforce than it was at the beginning of the year – and, combined with what was always a pretty sound mechanical package, the result is the performance step we’ve seen today.”

What are Lewis and Heikki saying about the car today?

“A racing driver will always drive up to and including his car’s limits. So, whenever you extend those limits by improving his car’s performance, his initial reaction on his first outing will always be a very positive one, simply because he’s been enjoying exploring new, higher, limits. On his second outing, by which time he’ll have encountered those new, higher, limits, he’ll be making fresh observations. As a result, his feedback will be less positive than it was after his first outing. But that’s exactly as it should be: you want your drivers to be insatiably ambitious, and ours are.”

What can we expect for the rest of the weekend?

“This morning was basically a test session in which we did some disciplined development work and gathered some useful data. This afternoon we turned our attention to trialling race fuel loads and doing tyre comparisons. There were no big issues, and our drivers both performed well. We learned quite a lot today, in fact. For tomorrow, we hope to be able to improve our car’s ride a little, and to continue to optimise its set-up and thereby find a little more speed. We know what programme we were on today in terms of tyres and fuel loads, but we don’t have the same information about our competitors, so it would be foolish to make predictions about the rest of the weekend. Suffice it to say that we hope to qualify well with both cars, from which platform there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to race competitively on Sunday.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Quite a constructive first day on this demanding track. Clearly, our KERS Hybrid is a big help around this circuit – particularly in the first sector. But, in addition, it’s obvious that our car in total has improved a lot since Silverstone two races ago. Now we need to continue in the same direction tomorrow and on Sunday in order to finally bring home a creditable and respectable result.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:09 am

2009 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX

QUALIFYING ANALYSIS

Hungaroring, Saturday July 25

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

P3 programme
1m21.009s (19 laps, 1st)

Lewis completed three runs this morning. Starting on Prime tyres, he ran a four-lap stint (1m22.280s fastest time) to measure the changes made to the car overnight. He declared himself more satisfied with the car’s rear-end and completed two further runs – a single lap of 1m22.074s (the run was cut short following Adrian Sutil’s crash into the tyre barrier) and a five-lap run on the Option (1m21.009s). He finished the session fastest overall.

Qualifying
Q1 1m20.842s (2nd)
Q2 1m20.465s (2nd)
Q3 1m21.839s (4th overall)

With a change in weather conditions making the circuit trickier to drive, both drivers struggled for pace this afternoon. Lewis ran three laps on the Prime before switching to Options and setting a 1m20.842s, second fastest. He completed two single-lap runs on Options (1m21.064s and 1m20.465s) in Q2 to again finish second. Into Q2, despite some confusion over the overall positions following a brief failure of the timing system, he set a 1m21.839s to line up fourth, on the dirty side of the track, for tomorrow’s race.

“It was so hard out there this afternoon,” said Lewis. “Maybe we could have been closer to the front because my final lap wasn’t a great one, but fourth is a good position from which to start tomorrow’s race. We’re still not quick enough and need to keep pushing but, nonetheless, it feels great to be back up there competing for the first few rows on the grid.

“I have a few cars to try and boost past so I hope there’s some good grip on my side of the grid – it would be fantastic to get the lead into the first corner.

“Finally, I want to send my best wishes to Felipe. It looked quite a big crash so I just hope he’s okay.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P3 programme
1m21.655s (20 laps, 4th)

Three runs for Heikki too this morning. Two four-lappers on Primes (1m22.833s and 1m22.414s bests) and a final run on Options (four laps, 1m21.655s. Like Lewis, Heikki declared himself satisfied with the changes made to MP4-24 overnight. He ended the session fourth overall.

Qualifying
Q1 1m21.750s (15th)
Q2 1m20.807s (7th)
Q3 1m22.095s (6th overall)

Again struggling with grip in Q1, Heikki ran first on Primes (1m22.340s) and then Options (1m21.750s) to finish 15th. He completed two runs on Options (1m21.428s and 1m20.807s) in Q2 to comfortably graduate into Q3. For the final session, Heikki’s best lap placed him sixth overall, on Options, with a 1m22.533s.

Heikki said: “It was harder to find grip on the track this afternoon, and the car was sliding around quite a bit. It was better on heavier tanks, but it was still difficult to get enough heat into the tyres. At one point, I overcooked them – it was tricky to get the right balance, so sixth was the best I could do today.

“The most encouraging thing about today is that we’re much closer to the front. With the same upgrades as Lewis, we’ve made great progress, and it shows the incredible efforts of everybody in the team. I don’t know if any other team in the paddock could have made such a big step. We should all be encouraged by that – but the work starts again to get us back to the very front.

“I really hope that Felipe is okay. I really hope he isn’t injured as it reminds me of my accident in Barcelona last year.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Both Lewis and Heikki drove solid laps in Q3, and the result was our best overall qualifying performance of the year so far. We believe we have a good race strategy, and we should therefore be competitive tomorrow. Our goal is to have a car, or ideally cars plural, in podium positions by flag-fall – and that looks possible.

“Felipe’s accident was very unpleasant to watch on the TV monitors, and we all very much hope that he’s sustained only minor injuries from which he’ll make a full and fast recovery.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with Felipe Massa who suffered a terrible accident in Q2, which was beyond his control. Hopefully he will recover soon.

“After such a shocking accident, it is difficult to go back to evaluating the performance immediately after qualifying, which turned out to be due to a malfunctioning timing system – more of a guessing session.

“But Lewis and Heikki did great laps and the team has made big steps forward during the last month. Starting from the second and third rows – even if both our drivers will be positioned on the less grippy side – is a good basis for tomorrow’s race. I obviously hope that Lewis and Heikki will be able to ‘do a Nurburgring’ on their colleagues ahead of them by making up, in the best case, respectively three or five places to the first corner.”

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Post by Ed » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:12 am

2009 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Hungaroring, Sunday July 25

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04

Started: 4th
Finished: 1st
Fastest lap: 1m22.479s (4th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 19 (8th)

After qualifying fourth, Lewis made a good start but was able to benefit from KERS to charge down to the first turn alongside Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. He out-braked Mark Webber to briefly hold second before losing traction at the exit and ceding the place back into Turn Two. Nonetheless, he kept up the pressure to pass the Australian around the outside of Turn Two five laps later.

He immediately started to close the gap to leader Fernando Alonso, and took the lead on lap 12 when the Spaniard was the first to pit.

Lewis changed tyres on lap 20 and spent the majority of the second stint establishing a cushion over Raikkonen. With a comfortable margin, he switched to Primes on lap 46 and finished 11 seconds ahead of the Finn. It was Lewis’s first win of 2009 and his 10th career victory in Formula 1.

“It’s an incredible feeling to be back on the top spot after what feels like such a long time and such a struggle,” he said afterwards. “This was one of my best races – I never gave up and, more importantly, neither did anyone in this team. I’m so proud of all the guys. We didn’t expect to win today – we didn’t think we quite had the overall pace – but the car was just perfect to drive, it felt fantastic for the entire race.

“We need to take as much as we can from this weekend. We’ll continue to push because that’s the only way this team knows. Now we want to be winners on a regular basis.

“Finally, my thoughts are with Felipe today. Despite our celebrations, it’s important to remember that there’s a guy lying in a hospital bed tonight, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we all had Felipe in our hearts and minds today and we wish him a speedy recovery.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

Started: 6th
Finished: 5th
Fastest lap: 1m22.958s (8th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 9 (12th)

Starting from sixth on the grid, Heikki maintained that position off the grid and steadily progressed upwards, picking up places to briefly run first due to the virtue of his lengthy first stint. Stopping on lap 21, switching to a shorter middle strategy and fitting to his second set of Options, he rejoined behind Mark Webber and spent the entire stint chasing the Australian. Switching to Primes on lap 44, he was unable to vault Webber and also let through Nico Rosberg, who had been closely following the duo. He finished fifth – his third points finish of the season.

“This was a great race for the whole team and particularly for Lewis,” said Heikki. “Hopefully next time it will be me! This victory proves just how much the team has improved the performance of our car during the past few months: this is the result of the hard work of every single man and woman in our team – and this victory must be especially sweet for all of them. Our thoughts are also with Felipe – I want to wish him all the best and hope he’ll be back in Formula 1 soon.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Even as recently as four weeks ago, I don’t think many people would have believed you if you’d told them that we’d win the Hungarian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, but that’s exactly what we did today. And the fact that we did just that is a fantastic testimony to what can only be described as a superhuman team effort. Yes, 2009 has been a very hard year for us, but no-one at Woking, Brixworth or Stuttgart ever gave up; we all kept pulling together, we all kept our spirits up, and above all we all kept working. I’m immensely proud of every single one of them.

“And, today, Lewis, who has also never stopped pushing all year, was simply magnificent: there’s no other word. He was in the groove all afternoon, he delivered breathtaking speed where it mattered, and he controlled the race like the winner he is.

“So, going forward, what can I say? We had the strongest car at the Hungaroring this afternoon – and, although it’s an idiosyncratic circuit, we’re confident that we’ll have a reasonable package for Valencia, too. But motor racing is an unpredictable business and the only thing you can bet your house on is that we’ll never stop working. And, more than that, we’ll grow stronger as a result of the difficulties we’ve faced: we’ve learned lessons this year, and for next season we’re aiming to build a car that’s capable of challenging for the world championship from the start of the season, not halfway through it!”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“A sensation! Lewis was a class of his own – a historic win, the first with the KERS Hybrid in Formula 1 – the Silver Arrows are flying again! Unfortunately, Heikki got stuck in traffic, but he was fast and with his fifth place we scored as many points today as in the previous nine races together. We think of Felipe – he would have been capable of being among the best or even to fight for a victory today, as Kimi showed. We wish him a good recovery. Thank you to all our team members who worked so incredibly hard for this success. Now is the summer break and you deserve it.”

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Post by Ed » Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:47 pm

2009 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Lewis Hamilton

“It’s great to be getting back to business after the four-week break. I’m still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I’m hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend – particularly with our new upgrades to the car. It’s a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It’s quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It’s also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year – but, with our KERS, Mercedes-Benz has proved that anything can happen and I’m once again hoping that it will provide the difference in the race.”

Heikki Kovalainen

“Having driven the fully updated car for the first time in Hungary last month, it was very encouraging to be able to feel just how much progress the team has made developing MP4-24. We’ve now got a car that’s much easier to drive on the limit, and which really rewards your input. So I’m really looking forward to the European Grand Prix, which, while it won’t suit us as strongly as the Hungaroring, should be another strong opportunity for us to score some more points.

“After the summer break, I think the whole team is really looking forward to the second half of the season. We’re all refreshed and united. I think there’s a lot of potential for the remaining races.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“While the summer break has meant we’ve had four weeks to enjoy Lewis’s victory in Budapest, it’s very important that we are able to maintain that winning momentum into this weekend’s race. Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain and the whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend. I’ve no doubts that we’ll certainly hit the ground running on Friday.

“The grand prix also marks the 250th race of our team Partnership with Mercedes-Benz, it is pleasing to have reached this important milestone off the back of a win and we are all focused on continuing this form here in Valencia.”

Norbert Haug
Vice president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Last year, the race in Valencia had been held for the first time and it is a welcome addition of the Formula 1 venues worldwide. The European Grand Prix is already the 250th one for McLaren and Mercedes since the beginning of the co-operation in 1995.

“The street circuit in Valencia is not considered to be the most challenging one for the drivers; however, just this kind of track can turn out to be even trickier. We finished last year’s premiere with Lewis Hamilton’s second place and will try this year to adhere to our form of Hungary. Despite Lewis’s victory there we don’t regard ourselves as favourites yet.”


McLaren at the European Grand Prix…
10 years ago (September 26 1999)

Chaos at the Nürburgring. Johnny Herbert took a sensational first (and only) Formula 1 victory for Stewart Grand Prix on a wet and slippery day that saw only 10 cars scramble to the finish line. The race had been led by Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan until the German’s car mysteriously expired after a pitstop. David Coulthard led the race for McLaren-Mercedes before spinning off. World champion Mika Hakkinen survived the deluge to take fifth.

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Post by Ed » Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:03 am

2009 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE
Valencia, Friday August 21

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P1 programme 16 laps 1m42.636s (2nd)
P2 programme 31 laps 1m40.738s (10th)

Heikki completed three installation laps this morning as the team began evaluating new components for the Valencia weekend. With the track feeling quite green and slippery, Heikki played himself in during the first session (five laps/1m42.762s best; four laps/1m42.636s), but quickly found a good rhythm and a positive set-up for the car.

Into the afternoon, Heikki continued his earlier momentum, running through his full programme: four laps/1m42.768s; five laps/1m42.857s; seven laps/1m41.354s (Options) and seven laps/1m40.738s(Options). He ended the day 10th fastest overall.

“I am quite satisfied with my day’s running,” Heikki said. “We ran exactly the programme that we’d planned and the car feels pretty good. For me, this has been a much better start to my weekend than in Hungary and I feel like we’re in good shape. The pace at the front is very close, but I think we’re in the hunt. We now go into tomorrow fully focused on getting a good result.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-05

P1 programme 18 laps 1m42.654s (3rd)
P2 programme 3 laps 1m43.214s (20th)

Lewis spent most of the morning session tweaking the set-up to his satisfaction. He completed two installation laps before conducting a three-run programme – all on Prime tyres (four laps/1m43.645s; four laps/1m42.654s and two laps/1m44.102s). Despite struggling with the rear-end, he concluded the morning by finding a comfortable set-up.

In the afternoon, Lewis was even more pleased with the changes made between the break, but, on only his second flying lap, the rear-end snapped into oversteer and he hit the wall with the front wing.

Although the contact was only slight – breaking one of the front-wing hangers – the team’s lack of spares meant that he was forced to sit out the remainder of the afternoon session.

“I touched the wall, but didn’t even really feel the impact,” Lewis later admitted. “I only grazed the front wing – but, unfortunately, it couldn’t be repaired as we didn’t have a spare one. Hopefully, we can get a new one for tomorrow, or else we’ll have to make some changes – we don’t have lots of these wings available.

“I didn’t feel too happy with the car this morning, but the changes we made between the sessions were very positive. On my last lap, I was six tenths up and it was already looking quite good, so I feel positive for Saturday. It’s a shame we missed out on so much track-time, but I still think we’ll be okay tomorrow – that time can always be regained.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH

Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“As a team, we enjoy this circuit – it’s a unique, demanding challenge for the drivers, engineers and mechanics. Unfortunately, Lewis witnessed the unforgiving nature of this place when he grazed the wall at the start of P2 – it was only a light touch but it was enough to break part of the nosecone we’d brought for this race.

“For the team, that breakage also tells another story: as with all the teams, the factory shutdown presented us with a number of challenges – one of which was preparing sufficient spares for this weekend. Sadly, we didn’t have enough parts to enable Lewis to complete this afternoon’s session – but that’s also a legacy of our intense and aggressive development strategy, which has seen us relentlessly bring new parts to the track as soon as they are manufactured. In this instance, more spares will arrive tonight and will be fitted ready for tomorrow.

“Despite this incident, we’re still encouraged by the pace demonstrated by both drivers today – and once again go into tomorrow’s sessions gearing up for another battle at the front.”

NORBERT HAUG

Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Not an ideal start to the weekend with Lewis unfortunately damaging his car on his second timed lap in P2. The spin slightly damaged his front wing, and, since there are no spares yet for this brand new part, it meant the end of his session. Heikki had to run without his KERS hybrid working due to a technical problem which cost him both track time and lap time. We’ll be in much better shape tomorrow and on Sunday.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:31 am

2009 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX – QUALIFYING ANALYSIS

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-05

P3 programme
1m39.950s (12 laps, 8th)

Using the shorter-wheelbase car, and having lost track-time during yesterday afternoon’s practice session, Lewis used his first run (on Primes, five laps, 1m39.950s best) to evaluate set-up changes. He declared himself very pleased with the results: “I’m really happy with the balance – the car feels great, particularly in the slower corners.”

Having failed to get a run on Options yesterday, he only had a brief opportunity to try the softer tyres after the session was red-flagged. He completed two laps (1m41.426s) to finish the morning eighth overall.

Qualifying
Q1 1m38.649s (2nd)
Q2 1m38.182s (2nd)
Q3 1m39.498s (1st overall)

The performance of the MP4-24 this afternoon meant that Lewis only needed to complete a single run in each session. In Q1, he did a 1m38.649s best on Primes. In Q2, he ran two laps on Options, setting a fastest time of 1m38.182s. In the final stint, he attempted two runs on Options but his first lap of 1m39.498s was sufficient for the pole and enabled him to abort his final run.

This is Lewis’s 14th career pole position in Formula 1.

“After winning in Hungary, we came here not knowing if the others would have closed the gap: clearly, we’re still competitive. We haven’t seen this level of performance for a long time: last year, I was able to do only one run in easy qualifying session but, this year, we’ve had to use every second of the sessions to get through.

“I managed a couple of very good laps today, so we’ll start the race from a very competitive position – but a lot will depend on strategy and how the start goes.

“Congratulations to Heikki, he did a fantastic job – it’s been very close between us all weekend, so this is great to see. We’ve got the front row to ourselves – and that’s something we’ve all wanted for a very long time.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03

P3 programme
1m39.553s (8 laps, 4th)

A very limited programme for Heikki this morning as Sebastian Vettel’s stoppage cost track-time. Nonetheless, Heikki managed a single flying lap (1m42.249s) before the red flag (setting fastest time in the first sector on his next lap before being forced to abandon the run).

At the end of the morning, he ran two laps on Options (1m39.553s) and declared himself very comfortable with his car, which is running in longer-wheelbase configuration.


Qualifying
Q1 1m38.816s (4th)
Q2 1m38.230s (3rd)
Q3 1m39.532s (2nd overall)

In Q1, Heikki did two runs, first on Primes, setting a 1m39.107s best, before switching to Options and recording a 1m38.816s best. Into the second session, he again completed two runs (on Options, 1m38.400s and 1m38.230s). For Q3, he did a slower single lap before winding up for two very fast laps – a 1m39.532s and a 1m39.586s. The latter looked set to put him on pole position until he pushed a little too hard in the final sector. Nonetheless, his second spot on the grid is his best qualifying position since Monza last year. It is the team’s first one-two of the year and also its first since Hungary 2008.

Heikki said: “Obviously, I’m pleased that I’ll be starting from the front row tomorrow, but I made a mistake at the end of my quickest lap and could have gone a little faster still.

“I knew qualifying would be very close, and I was sure our car would be competitive, so I decided to really go for it today. As a result, I pushed just a little too hard – but it was a calculated risk and I lost only one place – and, even better, I lost it to Lewis. So we nailed the front row anyway.

“The guys back in Woking have done a lot of great work this week, since the end of the summer shutdown, and I want to say thank you to all of them.”


MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“A truly brilliant result for the entire team – well done, everyone! As for Lewis and Heikki, well, they were both brilliant, too. They made things look relatively easy, but in fact the conditions out there today were very difficult for all the drivers: it was hot and humid, and the circuit is an extremely demanding one. Heikki was totally on it today – he really went for it and very nearly pinched pole position at the very end. Lewis did a fantastic job, too, and I’m sure both our drivers will perform very well in tomorrow’s race.”


NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“A great result – nobody had fewer laps over the weekend so far, and nobody was faster than Lewis today. The lap time from his first outing in Q3 was strong enough that he could afford to abort his second attempt after two quicker sector times in order to save fuel for the race – a truly great job from Lewis.

“Heikki was only a friction – 0.034 seconds – slower and could have made the top spot as well: he was really strong from lap one on this track. Thanks to everybody in the team who worked so hard after the FOTA summer break. I have the feeling that in the week since even more work was done in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart than in three weeks of flat-out business before the summer break.

“Every one of us got the best reward today with this ‘double pole’ and only tomorrow the reward could be even better.”

Ed
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Post by Ed » Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:34 am

2009 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-05

Started: 1st
Finished: 2nd
Fastest lap: 1m39.056s (4th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 27 (6th)

Lewis made a good start from pole position, and drove a strong first stint to lead the opening laps, stretching his advantage over Heikki and Rubens Barrichello in so doing. Pitting for the first time on lap 16, Lewis resumed in fourth position but was able to retake the lead once the order had shaken itself out after the first series of pitstops.

He struggled a little with his car’s balance in the middle stint, and was therefore unable to pull out a sufficient gap on second-placed Rubens – he needed to have established a lead of at least six or seven seconds before the final pitstop in order to give himself a fighting chance of retaining his lead, but was able to manage only around four seconds.

The team’s strategy for him was twofold: to push hard to extend his gap over Rubens, and to take great care to conserve enough fuel for an additional lap before the second pitstop. It was marginal, though, and it was only at the last second that a decision was made to keep Lewis out for that extra lap, but by that time he was heading for the pit entry so it was too late.

As a result, the pit crew hadn’t fully readied his final set of tyres, and he was delayed slightly in the pits while they were being unwrapped.

It was a calculated risk to push for that extra lap – but, given the race pace of Rubens’s car, it almost certainly wouldn’t have paid off even if Lewis’s tyres had been ready for him. Second place was anyway safe, though, and Lewis scored a second successive podium finish – a result that moved him up to sixth in the Drivers’ World Championship.

“This is my second podium in a row, and I’m very happy to be here,” Lewis said. “We did the best job we could today. Am I disappointed? Yes, I think we all are – but that’s simply an indication of just how hard everyone in this team is pushing to win. We’re never satisfied unless we’re winning, in fact.

“But, ultimately, we didn’t really lose anything today – it was always going to be tough to beat Rubens and what we tried wasn’t quite enough.

“Before my second pitstop, I’d been saving fuel and was a bit unsure if I had enough for that extra lap or not. The pitwall had initially asked me to pit – but, just when I was coming in, they told me to stay out and do an extra lap – however, I was already inside the white line [entry to the pits] and committed, so it was too late.

“In those circumstances, it’s always better to be safe and to pit, because the last thing you want to do is run dry out on the circuit. But the call was a marginal one – the team was pushing the envelope, as I say – and it came just a little too late for me and the mechanics, who weren’t perfectly prepared. Make no mistake, I think those guys are the best in the business; what happened was simply a result of the team trying everything in their power to turn a safe second place into a possible win.

“In any case, our overall performance this weekend confirmed the huge improvement we’ve made recently, but we still lack a bit of race pace compared with the very fastest cars. You can be well sure we’re working on fixing that, though.

“Congratulations to Rubens – he drove a fantastic race today and really deserved this victory.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03
Started: 2nd
Finished: 4th
Fastest lap: 1m39.341 (7th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 14 (12th)

Heikki started from the front row, slotted in behind Lewis into the first corner and maintained second position until the first stops, when he was jumped by Rubens. Despite pushing hard to create a sufficient advantage over fourth-placed Kimi Raikkonen, the Ferrari driver was fuelled longer in the middle stint and jumped Heikki at the second pitstops.

Nonetheless, Heikki drove a solid race to finish fourth – his best result of the season and his third successive points finish.

“To start second and finish fourth isn’t ideal,” he said. “But I’m more pleased with my overall performance in this race than in Hungary. We showed good performance throughout the whole weekend, and I really want to thank the whole team for helping us to achieve that – it’s good to see things improving like this.

“We don’t yet have the pace of the frontrunners, but everyone has done an incredible job to get us to where we are. We’ve scored more points in the last three races than any other team – but I still want to score more. I’m already focusing on Spa; it’s a circuit I love and I really want to be on the podium there.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Following our all-front-row qualifying result, naturally enough we had very high expectations for today’s race. In the event, though, our race pace wasn’t good enough to beat Rubens’s car. We’d adopted a different tyre strategy from many of the front-runners – maybe that was right, maybe that was wrong – but the reality is that we weren’t quick enough to win today.

“So, coming in to the final pitstops, in our efforts to convert a safe second for Lewis into a possible first for him, we took a calculated risk in attempting to reverse the sequence of Lewis’s and Heikki’s pit stops at the last second. That last-second decision caused a bit of pitlane confusion, which probably cost Lewis a couple of seconds overall – but Rubens’s race pace was such that that couple of seconds didn’t make a difference to the outcome of the race.

“In a nutshell, we decided to take the risk because we knew Rubens had the strategy to win and it was our only chance of attempting to prevent that. We don’t like not winning, but second and fourth isn’t such a terrible result. Now, though, we’ll focus on the challenge of Spa – a very different type of racetrack from Valencia.”

NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“A shame for Lewis who drove a faultless race, but it would have been very tight with a perfect pitstop against Rubens anyway and he certainly deserves this victory.

“Our team scored more points than any other today, the same it did before the summer break in Hungary. This makes a total of 27 out of 36 possible points and Lewis scored 18 out of possible 20. That of course is very positive and will certainly please all our team members in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart who have worked so hard to recover from our not quite typical Vodafone McLaren Mercedes form in the first half of the season.

“Heikki drove a solid race today and brought home his best result so far this season. So, all in all, quite a lot of positives and we all will push hard in order to build on these results.

“Spa will not be a circuit exactly tailormade for our car and I do not expect us to be quite as competitive as we were in Hungary and here where we have been the class of the field or on a level with the best.

“Congratulations to Rubens – he deserves this victory after four tough years since his last one and my feeling is the whole paddock thinks like that.”

Ed
NewsOnF1 Editor
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Posts: 22255
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:24 pm

Post by Ed » Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:00 pm

BELGIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Lewis Hamilton

“Like Monaco, Silverstone and Monza, it’s one of the historic circuits that I grew up watching on television when I was younger – which makes it just that bit more special for me, because it’s so easy to imagine the heroes of the past racing here. It’s also a magnificent circuit, a place where you can really push the limits of a Formula 1 car: driving through Eau Rouge, Pouhon or Blanchimont is an incredible sensation – your whole body is on the limit and you are still pushing to go faster still. I love Spa – I don’t think it should ever leave the Formula 1 calendar.”

Heikki Kovalainen

“I think everyone in Formula 1 looks forward to Spa. For the drivers, the circuit is a fantastic challenge: unlike some of the places we visit, Spa has real character, and it’s a place where the confidence and commitment of the driver can make a difference. The big corners mean you need to be brave and take risks – and also mean you’ll have a big accident if you get it wrong. I love this place, I think it’s the best circuit on the calendar.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Despite making some major improvements to MP4-24, we go to Spa knowing that the circuit’s high-speed configuration is unlikely to play to our strengths of our car. Having said that, our new technical package makes us confident that we’ll be a strong contender for points as we look to improve on our fourth position in the constructors’ championship. We’ve enjoyed a tremendous record here, winning 10 times, and both Lewis and Heikki love this place so I’m looking forward to another exciting race.”

Norbert Haug,
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Spa has every element to make a circuit interesting, from long and demanding corners like Pouhon and Stavelot to the tight hairpin La Source which can be taken at a speed of only 70km/h. We have won four of the previous eight grands prix at this demanding circuit, the one with the second highest average speed after Monza of all grand prix circuits. The last two grands prix at Budapest and Valencia have completely different characteristics and according to experience at Spa there will hardly be tropical temperatures like at the previous two races. In these two races, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes scored 27 of 36 possible points - no other team was more successful. After 46 races, Lewis continues to be the driver in the field who during this period, since the beginning of the 2007 season, scored the most points and wins and he started almost half of his Formula 1 races from the front row. Only twice he did not finish. Heikki showed a good upward trend with second on the grid and fourth in the race lately. Spa will be a big challenge for everybody in the team and I don’t see us in a position to perform there as well as in the previous two races. Nevertheless, we approach the second grand prix which will be held within eight days after the summer break with great impetus and very positively - at least, our hit rate there was not so bad in the previous eight grands prix.”

McLaren at the Belgian Grand Prix…

10 years ago (August 29 1999)
Victory went to David Coulthard, pole and fastest lap to Mika Hakkinen. The pair touched at the first corner, enabling the Scot to establish a decisive lead over the Finn that he maintained to the end. Mika finished second – 10 seconds behind.

20 years ago (August 27 1989)
McLaren dominates the race – Ayrton Senna dominates the race driving an MP4/5, leading every lap from pole position. Team-mate Alain Prost ably backs him up, setting fastest lap on his way to runner-up spot.


30 years ago (May 13 1979)
John Watson salvages a point for the team, starting 19th but climbing to a points finish in sixth at the wheel of an M28B at Zolder. Watson’s team-mate Patrick Tambay underlines the team’s poor form by failing to qualify his M26.

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