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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:33 am
by Ed
TEST REPORT – BARCELONA – DAY THREE

Date Saturday February 27 2010
Driver Jenson Button
Location Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
Track length 4.655km
Weather Cold with patches of intermittent drizzle throughout the morning. Maximum ambient temperature 14.1°C, maximum track temperature 21.1°C

Laps completed 105
Kilometres covered 489km

Best laptime 1m21.450s at 16:56

Programme Final day’s running for Jenson before the season kicks off in Bahrain in two weeks’ time.

The morning’s session was affected by rain showers, which compromised running and limited the team’s learning of a number of new components. As a result, the morning was spent conducting a number of shorter installation runs to establish set-up.

As the track dried over the lunch hour, Jenson was able to complete a race simulation in the afternoon – a run that was only mildly disrupted by late red flags.

This also provided the opportunity for the race team to undertake a series of live pitstops, all of which went without problem.

Today’s long-run times have established a benchmark for the final day of pre-season running tomorrow, which will be carried out by Lewis.

Driver for day four Lewis Hamilton
Duration of test Four days (February 25-28)

Testing times

Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1m20.686 128
2 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m21.413 106
3 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m21.450 105
4 Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m21.975 101
5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.344 115
6 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m22.523 68
7 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 1m22.606 61
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m23.123 51
9 Jarno Trulli Lotus 1m25.059 102
10 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber 1m26.216 105
11 Timo Glock Virgin Racing 1m26.305 31

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:57 am
by Ed
TEST REPORT – BARCELONA – DAY FOUR

Date Sunday February 28 2010
Driver Lewis Hamilton
Location Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
Track length 4.655km
Weather Dry and windy – but not sufficient to disrupt proceedings

Laps completed 134
Kilometres covered 624km

Best laptime 1m20.472

Programme Final day of pre-season testing. Lewis was back in the car today, continuing the understanding, evaluation and development of new components that Jenson had started yesterday.

With a more innate understanding of the new package, Lewis’s engineers were able to spend the morning fine-tuning MP4-25’s set-up while also carrying out a number of pitstop practices.

At the end of the morning, the team undertook several simulated qualifying runs, thrilling the crowds by going head to head with Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher, who were also carrying out similar work.

For the final afternoon, the team ran another race simulation, carrying out three 22-lap stints. At the end of the day, Lewis declared himself happy and comfortable with the new car and told his engineers that he’s now looking forward to Bahrain.

The whole team keenly shares his sentiments…

Duration of test Four days (February 25-28)

Testing times Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m20.472 134
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m20.496 59
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.539 113
4 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 1m20.611 99
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m20.667 76
6 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1m20.745 122
7 Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m20.870 83
8 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber 1m20.911 67
9 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m22.135 87
10 Robert Kubica Renault 1m23.175 106
11 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1m25.251 65
12 Lucas di Grassi Virgin Racing 1m26.160 47

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:54 am
by Ed
2010 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

It’s been a busy winter… but at last the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship is almost under way.

Testing has been busy but, as ever, a little inconclusive – simply because although all the teams have been working as hard as possible to get their cars to go as fast as is humanly possible in the time available, none of us really knows exactly how successful our rivals have been in that same endeavour.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is no different. We’re reasonably satisfied with what we’ve achieved so far, but we know better than to be complacent and we never under-estimate our rivals.

Bahrain will be hot, as ever. But it’s a fantastic facility and a great circuit, and there’s every reason to expect it to host a great season-opening grand prix.

As ever, we’ll be doing our very best to put on a decent show in front of our Bahraini partners and friends.

Jenson Button

“I’m really looking forward to getting into my car on Friday morning in Bahrain and knowing that I’m the world champion. It’s a responsibility and an honour – but it’s something I’m going to enjoy for as long as I can. I don’t want to lose that number from my car! My winter has been an incredible learning experience – joining Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has provided me with exactly the sort of challenge I needed. I have put every effort into working with the team, my engineers and learning about my car to ensure that we start the season in Bahrain in the best possible shape.

“Even after four weeks of testing, it’s incredibly difficult to predict the order ahead of the new season. There are a number of teams and drivers who appear to be in the hunt, and, as with the start of every new season, it will be fascinating to see who emerges as the team to beat. I’ve never known a team work as hard as we have done over the winter – I’ve spent more time with my engineers this winter than I have before any other season, and I feel very comfortable about my preparations.”

Lewis Hamilton

“I can’t believe the winter’s over already – it seems like only yesterday when I was racing in Abu Dhabi. It’s been a winter of two halves for me: before Christmas, I really focused on my fitness and training, working away to be as ready as possible for the new season. Since January, I’ve been fully focused on working with the team, testing the car and improving our package ahead of the opening race of the year.

“There’s been a huge workload, but it’s been fantastic to work with Jenson and the engineers to improve MP4-25, and we’re all extremely pleased with the progress we’ve made and the direction we’ve taken. I think we have a very promising car beneath us: it’s a real change of direction for us, and I think the possibilities with this car are very exciting. Now, though, it’s all about the racing – once I put my crash helmet on and pull the visor down, I know more than anything that I’m ready to go racing.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“I can’t remember the start of a Formula 1 season where there’s been so much interest, excitement and anticipation. The closeness of the winter tests, our double-champion line-up, the return of a Formula 1 legend and the presence of four world champions on the grid mean that 2010 is already shaping up to be a classic season. From our side, we’ve been engaged in one of the most painstakingly diligent pre-season programmes that we’ve ever undertaken. We’ve amassed an enormous amount of data and we’ve learnt a considerable amount about MP4-25 in just four brief tests. We’ve been encouraged by our progress, we’ve been delighted with the input of both Jenson and Lewis and, finally, we feel ready.

“Make no mistake: we’re a team of racers. We’ve been waiting impatiently for the first race to arrive for many months. We feel we’ve risen to the challenge and we can’t wait to get started – Bahrain is a demanding track for both the team and the drivers and we’re looking forward enormously to racing in the home of one of our primary shareholders. It promises to be a fantastic grand prix.”

Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:10 am
by Ed
2010 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE
Bahrain International Circuit, Friday March 12



LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25-02

P1 programme 19 laps 1m57.163s (+.580s) 6th
P2 programme 22 laps 1m55.854s (+.445s) 2nd

“Out on track, it’s been very hot so tyre degradation of both compounds has been pretty high. But I think the degradation is something we can handle; you build it into your driving style and moderate the approach to each lap. Still, it’s difficult to know what laptime to target when you’re on a long run. The less you push at the beginning of a stint, the more there is left to push at the end. But it’s difficult to know exactly, and we’re still trying to understand that.

“The new section of track seems to be very bumpy and tricky – but everyone’s in the same boat. Equally, our car feels very heavy with a high fuel-load – it doesn’t want to stop under braking – but through the high-speed corners it feels quite well balanced. It’s just getting the car stopped that’s tricky: it doesn’t stop as well as when it’s on low tanks.

“Overall, today didn’t feel too bad. We still don’t really have a full understanding of where all the teams are because everyone was running different fuel-loads. As a result, the positions on today’s timesheets don’t really reflect overall pace too much yet.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25-03

P1 programme 19 laps 1m57.068s (+.485s) 5th
P2 programme 28 laps 1m56.076s (+.667s) 4th

“Today’s shown us that looking after the rear tyres is very difficult here, especially on the softer compound. So you find yourself driving with a lot of oversteer through most of the stint.

“The new section of track is very bumpy. Turns Six and Seven are particularly tough because you’re trying to brake as late as you can, and, if you do that, the car hits the ground, you bounce all over the place and it’s very difficult to see where you’re going. So you have to brake earlier, and more gently, so the front doesn’t dip through that part of the corner – and that positions you better for the next turn.

“We’re still working on our set-up – and that’s not something you can really do in the second session because you’re working on a tyre back-to-back programme and the track’s so busy. We know where the car is now and we know where we want it to be, so there’s work to be done this evening to improve things overnight.

“I think we did an okay job today. We can be reasonably happy with the performance of the car, although we know there are areas we still need to work on. The basic car is working well, but we’re not quite there with the balance yet.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“After a long and incredibly busy winter, it’s fantastic to be back competing at a racetrack with all our competitors – particularly here in Bahrain, where our hosts always do so much to make every team feel so welcome. It’s a fantastic venue and the perfect place to kick off the world championship.

“Of course, today was very much about establishing a benchmark for the rest of the weekend. With the track still very green and dusty and, in some places, quite bumpy, we concentrated on establishing a solid base set-up for both drivers before moving on to evaluate the two tyre compounds over the course of several longer stints.

“As you’d expect, the larger fuel-loads still make accurate comparison of the teams difficult, but we’re optimistic that our pace relative to our closest rivals appears to be competitive.

“This afternoon, Lewis had a small issue when the nosebox camera detached itself during a run – but it caused no damage and he was able to continue.

“Our focus now turns towards understanding each tyre’s behaviour and finessing the car’s balance for tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying session. We feel we’ve made a solid start to our weekend.”

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:05 am
by Ed
2010 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

Bahrain International Circuit, Saturday March 13

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-02

P3 programme
1m55.860s (+1.761s) 8 laps (12th)

Qualifying
Q1 1m55.341s (on Primes, 6th)
Q2 1m54.707s (on Options, 6th)
Q3 1m55.217s (on Options, 4th overall)

“I’m surprised by this afternoon’s result: while we didn’t have the pace of the faster cars, I definitely wasn’t expecting to be fourth quickest.”

“But it’s a good starting point and tomorrow I hope to keep the position or gain at least one more. I don’t think a win is going to be on the cards – but we’ll be giving it the best we can.

We’ve struggled in the middle sector – we’re lacking a bit of downforce – but I know the guys back in the factory will be pushing as hard as they can. And this is a much, much better position to start the season in than the one we found ourselves in last year.

“Managing the tyres tomorrow is going to be very tricky. I don’t think people perhaps understand how tough it is to look after them in these conditions – it’s unbelievable how quickly they drop off. We’ll take the race one step at a time.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-03

P3 programme
1m55.000s (+0.901s) 14 laps (7th)

Qualifying
Q1 1m55.715s (on Primes, 11th)
Q2 1m55.168s (on Options, 10th)
Q3 1m55.672s (on Options, 8th overall)

“I really struggled with front locking this afternoon – but we cured that problem throughout the sessions. I was getting happier with the car throughout each stint, but in Q3 something didn’t feel quite right. The engineers are looking at the data to see what it was.

It’s been a surprise to us to see the pace of the quickest cars. Today, we saw which cars are fast over one lap; tomorrow maybe we’ll see a slightly different picture because these cars work very differently on higher fuel-loads. Besides, your strategy isn’t decided on the Saturday any more – we’ll need to see what the others are doing in the race.

“There’ll be a lot of heavy cars going into Turn One tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll pick a nice line and get through cleanly. I’m looking forward to the challenge and it’s going to be a very different one to what everybody has been used to. It’ll be a long race tomorrow.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

"We had a few issues with grip and ride in qualifying today – especially in the middle sector of the lap over the bumps. That being the case, both our drivers did a fantastic job – and as a result Lewis will start tomorrow’s race from the second row and Jenson from the fourth row. It’ll be a hot and tiring Sunday afternoon for all 24 drivers, but Jenson’s and Lewis’s fitness and determination will benefit them throughout the 49 laps.”

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:47 pm
by Ed
2010 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

Bahrain International Circuit, Sunday March 14

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-02

Started: 4th
Finished: 3rd
Fastest lap: 1m59.560s (4th)
Pitstops: one, lap 15, 4.9s (Op-Pr)
2010 points: 15 (3rd)

“Third place was a very strong result for us today. I feel that we did a good job: our reliability was great and the pace today was pretty good, but we still need to push very hard to close the gap to the cars in front.

“My race was decided on the first lap when I locked up at Turn Four, ran a bit wide, got in a bad position and Nico [Rosberg] got past me. After that, I spent the whole first stint close behind him, but just couldn’t get close enough to pass him.

“After the pitstop, the guys were able to get me out ahead of Nico – which was a fantastic job, thanks guys – and I had some clear air and was able to make up quite a bit of ground to Felipe [Massa]. If I hadn’t been sitting behind Nico, I think I might have been able to challenge Felipe for second place.

“I had a slight vibration towards the end of the race, but I think it was just the result of a locked front wheel. When you’re pushing to close the gap, you lock the tyres just once and it takes several laps to get over the flat-spot. But it wasn’t a big problem.

“It’s going to be difficult for us to close the performance gap immediately, but I think I’ll go back to the factory and give them the biggest push. I know they’re all pushing flat-out as it is, but we need to get some upgrades, and we need to bring as many of them forward as we possibly can.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-03

Started: 8th
Finished: 7th
Fastest lap: 1m59.970s (9th)
Pitstops: one: lap 16, 4.9s (Op-Pr)
2010 points: 6 (7th)

“At the start of the race, I didn’t know what was going to happen to my tyres so I took it a little easy. I was a bit disappointed that we pitted when we did, because I’d probably looked after the tyres a little too much – because, in the last five laps of the stint, I was able to push to catch Mark [Webber] and Michael [Schumacher].

At the stop, I jumped Mark, which was great. It was a really good pitstop from the guys – both for Lewis and myself actually, because we each jumped the car in front.

“I then paced myself on the tyres until there were about 20 laps to go. I caught up with Michael, but didn’t have enough pace through the middle sector to stay with him and have a go at him in the last sector, which was disappointing. But it was fun all the same.

“Overall, I think our car is pretty good at looking after its tyres, but there’s always room for improvement and I think everybody in the team wants more speed and more downforce.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Both Lewis and Jenson raced very well here in Bahrain this afternoon. After the disappointment of our qualifying performance yesterday, the fact that our race pace was strong today was extremely encouraging. In fact, in the last part of the race, Lewis’s was the fastest car on the track.

“However, like Jenson, who got stuck in a queue of traffic early on, Lewis was a little delayed by Nico in the first few laps. As a result, neither of our drivers was able to show their true race pace until after their pitstops.

“Happily, both our drivers benefited from excellent pit stops – Lewis got ahead of Nico and Jenson got ahead of Mark – so I want to take this opportunity to say ‘Well played’ to the team for calling both pitstops at the right time and executing them so efficiently.

“Overall, then, we’re pretty happy with our haul of 21 world championship points today, and will now continue to develop our car on the back of this very promising first outing. Our aim is to be fully competitive in Australia.

“Last but not least, the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix was, as expected, an impressively organised event. This year is the second time it has been the first grand prix of the year, and I’m sure that all who either took part in it or watched it will agree that it was a very worthy season-opener.”

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:27 am
by Ed
2010 Australian Grand Prix preview

Jenson Button

“I have some extremely pleasant memories of racing in Australia. As with most drivers on the grid, Albert Park was my first introduction to Formula 1, and I really enjoyed my debut, running as high as fourth before retiring. I was on pole in 2006, although I had another non-finish. Of course, last year was a fairytale race for me – I took pole and victory, which was one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of my career.

“Looking ahead to this year, I think we head to the Albert Park circuit feeling more confident of our overall pace. It’s quite a contrast to Bahrain: no tight, low-speed sections and plenty of faster corners. We think the track configuration should suit our package.

“We learnt some very useful lessons about MP4-25 in the opening race, and the whole team is keen to put them into practice this weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton

“I’ve always enjoyed Albert Park. I had a great race here on my Formula 1 debut in 2007, won the race a year later and made full use of KERS to drive through the field there last year. But, for me, the best things about the Australian Grand Prix are the people and the atmosphere. The fans in the grandstands, the people in the city and the organisation at the track are all fantastic, and it is one of the most welcoming and relaxing events of the year. I really love it.

“I had a great race in Bahrain: despite losing time in the opening stint, I pushed like crazy for the whole race and I’m pleased that we’ve got some decent points on the board.

“I’m looking forward to Melbourne. I like the circuit, I think we’ll go well there and I don’t think we’ll have the same problems that slowed our progress in Bahrain.”


Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Coming just a fortnight after the opening race in Bahrain, there’s been only minimal time to add developments to the MP4-25. But we’ve got a number of smaller components that we expect to add to the car ahead of the race.

“We’ve had the chance to reflect upon it, and I believe that our start to the season has been mostly encouraging. Our race pace in Bahrain looked respectable – we had the fastest car for much of the second half of the race – and I think we now have a clearer idea of how to set the car up over a grand prix weekend.

“Of course, we’re under no illusions that the opposition will be tough – and we expect a fantastic battle in Melbourne this weekend.

“The Australian Grand Prix organisers put on a fantastic event and it’s an event I always look forward to with huge enthusiasm. I hope that we can put on a great show for everyone.”

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:08 am
by Ed
2010 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE

Albert Park, Friday March 26

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25-02

P1 programme 22 laps 1m27.793s (+.866s) 7th

P2 programme 13 laps 1m25.801s 1st

“It’s great to be back in Melbourne – I love this place. The track was very dirty this morning – everybody usually waits for some of the cars to clean the line, but I just wanted to get out there and have some fun!

“I definitely think we’ve made some improvements to our pace compared with Bahrain. And the feeling over one lap is better for us. That’s what we’ve been trying to work on since the first race, and I feel more confident that, going into qualifying, we’ll be able to attack the guys who were at the front two weeks ago.

“Despite this afternoon’s wet weather, we went out early in the second session when it was still dry and got some good running under our belts in order to see how some of the changes we’d made between the sessions felt.

“We’re feeling positive. We’d hoped to evaluate some further changes at the end of P2, but the track still wasn’t up to full speed. Nevertheless, we feel quite comfortable with the balance of the car. I actually feel very relaxed: I’ve got a car that probably feels better than I’ve ever had at this track, so that’s a major positive.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25-03

P1 programme 22 laps 1m27.482s +.555s) 3rd

P2 programme 16 laps 1m26.076s (+.275s) 2nd

“I’m reasonably pleased with the balance, and it’s just got better throughout the day. I’ve been happy since lap one this morning.

“It’s only Friday, and we may be lighter than some of the quick cars out there, but tomorrow we’ll see where we actually stand. Nevertheless, it’s important for us to find a good balance and get a good feeling with the car.

“We’ve just been trying to continually tweak the balance of the car, but it’s been tough because of the conditions and the traffic out on the circuit. Every time I’ve tried to put a good lap in on a new set of tyres, I’ve hit traffic. But we’ll make the best of it for tomorrow.

“For qualifying, the car should feel better than it did in Bahrain: it feels like we have the correct downforce level for this circuit. Both tyre compounds are working well too, so it’s all positive.

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“All the teams would probably have had an easier time of it if today’s sessions had been completely dry, because the rain made things rather challenging in terms of optimising learning potential. That being the case, we chose not to go out in the rain, to conserve tyres. Instead, we did heavy fuel runs to gauge tyre wear, plus a little light running too.

“We’re not about to get carried away by Jenson’s and Lewis’s positions on today’s time sheet, although of course it’s always gratifying to see your two drivers finish first and second on any day in any conditions.

“Having said that, we’re pretty confident that we’ll be more competitive here in Australia than we were in Bahrain.”

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 pm
by Ed
2010 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-03
P3 programme

6th 1m25.399s (+0.680s) 20 laps

Qualifying

Q1 3rd 1m24.897s (on Primes)
Q2 4th 1m24.531s (on Options)
Q3 4th overall 1m24.675s (on Options)

“After our strong performance yesterday, this morning the car didn’t work as well as we’d expected. We lacked grip, and it looks as though the cars ahead of us here have more downforce.

“Nevertheless, qualifying this afternoon was good. I felt pleased with the car on every lap except the final one in Q3. I don’t know whether it was the wind picking up, but I didn’t feel the car was working quite as well as it had in the first two sessions. I didn’t have the balance I’d had previously – there was a lot more understeer in the car – but it only cost me a tenth or two.

“So, the best lap we probably could have done was a 1m24.4s – which is still half a second off the pacesetters. We’re not there yet, but this is an improvement because we’re a lot closer to the front than we were in Bahrain.

“I’m happy with the performance of the team this weekend. We pretty much got the best out of the package we have at the moment.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-02
P3 programme

7th 1m25.505s (+0.786s) 14 laps

Qualifying

Q1 4th 1m25.046s (on Primes)
Q2 11th overall 1m25.184s (on Options)
Q3 -

“Today was a surprise – I wasn’t expecting to be out in Q2. I felt I got as much as I could out of the car, but I just couldn’t get the grip from the tyres.

“On my first run in Q2, I was held up by traffic, so I wasn’t able to do a quick lap. I pitted early, got a clear lap, but still struggled to find time in the final sector – even with new tyres. I don’t know what the reason for that was.

“So I didn’t have a great day, but it’s encouraging to see Jenson doing such a good job. Hopefully, we’ll both have a good race tomorrow.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Jenson performed strongly in qualifying this afternoon, and a second-row grid position is the result. With good race pace, he ought to be able to score reasonably heavily tomorrow.

“Lewis put in a decent lap in Q1, but never felt comfortable with his car in Q2 and consequently failed narrowly to squeeze into Q3. That was a bit of a surprise to all of us, Lewis included, but we know what a competitive individual he is and there’s therefore no reason why he, too, shouldn’t have a good race tomorrow.”

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:24 pm
by Ed
2010 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-03

Started: 4th
Finished: 1st

Fastest lap: 1m29.291s (6th)

Pitstops: one: lap 6 (Int-Op)

2010 points: 31 (3rd)

“What a fantastic weekend! From the first lap here, I felt comfortable in the car. Qualifying was good – we weren’t on the pace of the front guys, we were five or six tenths off – but our race pace was better. And in these tricky conditions, I think we made some very good calls and we came away with a victory. You might say we were lucky in some ways, but I think we just made the right calls – and that’s so important nowadays. It’s not just about speed, it’s about making the right calls, being consistent and conserving the car.

“It was a necessary move to pit for slicks. I was struggling for grip on the Inters, and the rears were destroying themselves very quickly, so we figured it must be time for dries. As I drove down the pitlane, I could see it was soaking wet and I feared it was a massive mistake on my part. When I left the pits, I went off the circuit and just thought, ‘Oh no!’

“But I got to grips with it pretty quickly, and soon started to feel really good in the car. I caught up behind Sebastian [Vettel], I conserved the tyres, I built a useful gap and I want to say a massive thank-you to the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team: they’ve done a brilliant job.

“To not only be on the podium, but to be on the top step, after just two races, is amazing. It’s crucial to get the big points when perhaps we don’t have the out-and-out pace: these are really important points to us. Now we’ve really got to get our heads down and hopefully turn up in Malaysia next week with an even better car.

“This victory means so much to me. A Grand Prix win in a McLaren. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Right now, I just want to run around and scream. It’s just the most amazing experience.”

LEWIS HAMILTON

MP4-25A-02

Started: 11th

Finished: 6th

Fastest lap: 1m28.506s (3rd)

Pitstops: two, laps 7 and 34, (Int-Op-Op)

2010 points: 23 (4th)

“This was probably one of the drives of my life. Okay, it’s possible that the decision to make a second tyre stop wasn’t the right one, but my team are a brilliant bunch of guys and they usually get it spot-on. I guess things can’t always pan out right every time, but that’s motor racing.

“It was disappointing to taken out by Mark Webber, but I hear he apologised for it after the race so I appreciate that. I’m happy with the job I did – I drove my heart out today and the car felt good.

“Could Jenson and I have had a one-two today? Maybe, yes, but you can’t say for sure. One thing I can say for sure, though, is that he drove a great race. Congratulations to him for an excellent first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – it’s a good feeling!

“As for me, I’ll just keep fighting. It’s the only way I know.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“This afternoon’s race was an absolutely perfect showcase for Formula 1, and amply demonstrates that this sport will always surprise, thrill and enthral us in many, many ways.

“For the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, it was an afternoon of two fantastic, albeit contrasting, performances. Jenson’s was a drive truly worthy of a world champion. First, he showed extreme tactical acuity and supreme strategic responsibility by personally electing to make the early call from intermediate to dry tyres, a move that moved him ahead of the pack and laid the foundation for this victory.

“Second, he drove with incredible intelligence and impressive maturity to maintain a consistent gap at the front, altering his car’s settings in order to best look after the tyres during the extremely long second stint. It was, in all ways, a faultless victory.

“Lewis’s race was in real contrast to Jenson’s, but no less brilliant for it. After starting 11th, he once again showed the grit, determination, passion and bravery that has made him one of the most exciting racing drivers in the world.

“In less than an hour this afternoon, I think it’s fair to say that he almost single-handedly debunked the much-touted recent theory that Formula 1 has become boring. On the contrary, he entertained millions of people around the world with a series of audacious and thrilling overtaking manoeuvres.

“While we concede that, with hindsight, it’s possible that we may have been better served by calling Lewis’s tyre strategy differently, we’re enormously encouraged by his never-give-up attitude and his ever-exciting talent.

“So we leave Albert Park hugely encouraged by the pace we were able to demonstrate, and we head to Malaysia keen to maintain that momentum.

“Finally, I also think it’s worth praising the extremely valuable contribution of ExxonMobil in this race: their engineers and chemists have done a fantastic job over the winter to provide us with a set of fuel and lubricants that really set the standard in Formula 1; their performance, efficiency and reliability played a crucial role in our victory today.”

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:27 pm
by Ed
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix preview

Jenson Button

“It was a tremendous achievement to score our first win of the season in Melbourne last week, and it’s given every single member of the team even greater enthusiasm for this weekend. Even so, I think we travel to Sepang mindful that the characteristics of the circuit probably won’t suit our car as well as it will suit some of the others – but I’m confident that, once again, we’ll be fighting at or near the front.

“We’re only two races in, but I think the development race will already be starting to have an influence on performance. It’s the rate of improvement that will most influence the battle at the front. And I’m confident we can deliver in this area: it was something I watched the team doing throughout 2009, and it was one of the key reasons for deciding to hold talks with the team. I’m convinced we have the firepower to develop faster than our key rivals.

“Sepang is an awesome circuit, one that I love driving, and I think that I’ll be able to further develop and improve my relationship with the car here. It’s a circuit that not only requires smooth and precise input, but it also needs real commitment through some of the high-speed stuff. I think it’s a circuit that every driver loves.”

Lewis Hamilton

“Sepang has some of the best high-speed corners on the entire calendar. And, this year, I think we’ve got a car that will be far better suited to the circuit than we did last year, so I’m heading to Malaysia optimistic of a good result.

“It’s a fast circuit, that requires a well-balanced car with a good level of downforce. In some ways, it’s quite similar to Barcelona, where we tested well before the start of the season, so I’m optimistic that we’ll be competitive this weekend. However, I still think it might be difficult to make up the difference that’s needed in qualifying. Hopefully, that’s something that we’ll be able to solve as soon as possible.

“Last year we saw what could happen here once the weather took over. While I’m hopeful that this year’s race will be run in the dry, you can never discount the threat of rain. Either way, I think we’ll be competitive.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Every single member of this team worked tirelessly to put us in a position to win the Australian Grand Prix – and we were tremendously buoyed by both Jenson and Lewis’s incredible performances. As a result, we travel to Malaysia keen to maintain the level of competitiveness we demonstrated in Melbourne.

“We’re under no illusions that the regular pacesetters will once again be up at the front, but I think we’ve now shown that we’re a match for the competition – particularly with our race pace, which is up there with the very best.

“On a broader note, it was very satisfying to see Formula 1 deliver such an invigorating and exciting race in Melbourne, and I hope that this weekend’s race can continue that trend. It’s a circuit that delivers natural spectacle and is one of the best places in the world for watching grand prix cars at high-speed. It looks like we have all the ingredients for a classic season.”

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:10 am
by Ed
2010 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE
Sepang, Friday April 2

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-03
P1 programme 19 laps 1m34.921s 1st
P2 programme 27 laps 1m34.175s 1st

“Sepang is a very special place – it’s not a stop-start circuit; it’s a flowing, high-speed track which is all about getting the car to flow from one corner to the next. You need lots of rear-end grip, a strong balance and a car that can ride the kerbs well while also conserving the tyres. And that’s never an easy combination to achieve.

“I think we had a good first day today. I’ve got a good feeling in the car – it’s probably the best feeling I’ve had in the car around this circuit. Every time I get to a track this year, it always feels light years better than the last time, which is very positive. We’re still trying to get a better feeling for the tyres, but we’ve made some positive first steps.

“This evening, I want to sit down with my engineers and make a couple of changes. We don’t yet know where the others are, so we need to keep focusing on our performance, but we’re optimistic that we’ve made a small step forward.

“Hopefully the weather will be okay for qualifying tomorrow.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-01
P1 programme 25 laps 1m35.207s (+.286s) 3rd
P2 programme 24 laps 1m34.538s (+.363s) 5th

“It took me quite a while to get to grips with the car’s set-up today. I wasn’t satisfied with it at first – I didn’t really get a balance that I was happy with – but, towards the end of the session, it started getting better. And that was encouraging: it was nice to see that we made some improvements right at the end because it was quite a way from what I wanted.

“We’re steadily getting there, and it’s starting to take shape, which is encouraging. We don’t know what the weather’s supposed to do tomorrow, but we’ll deal with it whatever it is!”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“The timesheets in both sessions suggest that we are headed in the right direction, but our focus this evening is to maximise the car’s performance, particularly over a long run, where we know tyre performance will be crucial.

“Lewis made excellent progress throughout both sessions, and we’ve all been encouraged by his view that the MP4-25 is the best McLaren he’s ever driven around this circuit. Jenson struggled to find a satisfactory balance, particularly at the start of this afternoon’s session, but he and his engineers worked well together to improve this deficit by the end of the afternoon. I’m positive that he’ll make further progress overnight ahead of tomorrow’s practice session.

“While we’re mindful that the unpredictable Malaysian weather may play a role in determining the outcome of tomorrow’s grid, we’re nonetheless pleased with the foundations we’ve laid today.”

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:12 am
by Ed
2010 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
Sepang, Saturday April 3

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-01
P3 programme 7th 1m34.113s (+0.571s) 16 laps

Qualifying
Q1 13th 1m52.211s (on Inters)
Q2 17th No time
Q3 -

“We thought the first rainstorm was it, and there was nothing else coming, so we waited. I guess events proved it was the wrong thing to do.

“My first lap on Inters felt okay. The thing is, you get no real warning; the first sector of the lap was quite dry, then you get to the fast left-right and it’s really wet. I just aquaplaned off and got stuck in the gravel. I couldn’t do anything about it. I just hope I haven’t damaged anything on the car because I was sat in the gravel with the engine running for some time, hoping to get pulled out.

“It was a strange, disappointing session – both Lewis and I went out early. But, even so, I’m in front of three of my world championship rivals on tomorrow’s grid, and I suppose that’s the best way of looking at it.

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-03
P3 programme 2nd 1m33.559s (+0.017s) 14 laps

Qualifying
Q1 20th 1m53.050s (on Wets)
Q2 -
Q3 -

“This was just one of those days. It had been a very good weekend for us up until qualifying started, and the simple fact is that we didn’t expect it to rain any more. We went out at a similar time to the other top teams, and as a result quite a lot of us were all out of luck.

“By the time I got out there, there were lots of yellow flags about, so you just couldn’t nail it – and then it started to rain more heavily. You couldn’t feel a thing –, it was so, so slippery. It was easy to come off – I had a spin on my first lap, in fact – but I did the best job I could in the circumstances.

“I’d been fastest all weekend, but what can we do? We’ve just got to shrug it off. And, as I always, say, I’ll never give up. That’s why I’m not only focusing on the fast cars around me, I’m focusing on everyone – including those who are quite a few rows in front of me.

“So I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and I’m going to race my heart out.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“To qualify only 17th and 20th with what today’s final practice session had clearly demonstrated was a highly competitive car was of course very disappointing for all concerned.

“So why did it happen? It happened because several teams, having consulted the weather radar, believed that the rain that was falling just prior to the start of Q1 would pass through and that the end of Q1 would be therefore by much drier. As we now know, it didn’t turn out like that. With hindsight it would therefore have been better if we’d sent our cars out at the beginning of Q1, instead of waiting for what the weather radar had told us would be drier and faster conditions.

“Having said all that, we’re now looking forward to a very exciting and hopefully very eventful race in which Jenson and Lewis, who are two of the most determined racers in the sport today, can produce a result for us that’s significantly better than our qualifying performance this afternoon.”

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:13 am
by Ed
2010 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
Sepang, Sunday April 4

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-03
Started: 20th
Finished: 6th
Fastest lap: 1m37.745s (4th)
Pitstops: one, lap 30, (Pr-Op)
2010 points: 31 (6th)

“I had a great start, went down the inside and got past a lot of cars on the first lap. I was able to keep going for much of the race on my first set of tyres, and even nearly got past Sebastian [Vettel] after his pitstop.

“After my pitstop, I tried my best to get past Adrian [Sutil], but he was very smart at getting clean exits and was simply too fast down the straights. He drove a fantastic race, actually; faultless, in fact.

“From 20th on the grid, I think sixth was a brilliant result. I reckon we showed today that we were fast enough to compete with the guys at the very front – and, that being the case, if we’d started farther up we could’ve had an even better result this afternoon.

“Overall, then, I’m well happy with my race – I couldn’t ask for any more to be honest. The team really deserved this, and we’re now closer to the top in the constructors’ championship than we were before the race. So we’ll take forward a lot of positives with us into the next race.”

JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-01
Started: 17th
Finished: 8th
Fastest lap: 1m38.501s (10th)
Pitstops: one: lap 9 (Op-Pr)
2010 points: 35 (4th)

“My first stint was very tough. I went for the outside at the first corner – and as things turned out it wasn’t the right place to be. So I fell back, and was then stuck behind Fernando, who I just couldn’t overtake.

“I found the Option tyres quite difficult in the early laps – I had no rear grip in the high-speed stuff. I couldn’t overtake, and lost lots of time, so I took the gamble to pit early and drop back into a clear track.

“I made up a lot of ground, but I was on the Primes for so long that it became difficult to hold back cars that were two seconds a lap quicker than me.

“Felipe [Massa] eventually got past. Fernando [Alonso] tried a couple of times – the last time he went really deep into Turn One, but I managed to repass him on the exit – and then suddenly his engine was gone. I don’t know what happened to him, but we had a good fight.

“I didn’t realise that fighting for eighth was going to be so difficult! However, it’s good to get some points again.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Given their grid positions, this afternoon we saw two markedly different yet equally impressive drives from Lewis and Jenson.

“Lewis ran long, starting on Prime tyres, and made prodigious progress in the first phase of the race thanks to a series of stunning overtaking manoeuvres. Jenson ran a contrasting strategy, starting on Options and making his pitstop early [lap nine]. Thereafter he preserved his Primes in masterly fashion, defending his position against cars whose tyres were far newer than his yet still maintaining strong lap times throughout the race.

“From our perspective, a bit of rain would have been welcome; but, given the dry weather all afternoon, the fact that we’ll leave Malaysia with 12 more constructors’ championship points than we had when we arrived here is a powerful testament to the professionalism and determination that both Lewis and Jenson showed today.

“The team, too, did a fantastic job. Lewis’s pitstop was the fastest we’ve achieved all year, at a lightning-quick 3.4 seconds, so I’d like to take this opportunity to say ‘well done’ to Pete Vale [chief mechanic], Paul James [number-one mechanic, Lewis Hamilton] and all the lads for their excellent work under significant pressure.

“Looking forward to China, there are many positives to reflect on. We now lie a close second in the constructors’ world championship table, our pace was highly competitive all weekend here in Malaysia, and, with a better qualifying performance than we achieved here in Sepang, we hope to perform strongly in Shanghai.”