McLaren – 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying

LEWIS HAMILTON, MP4-25A-02, P3 programme, 1m55.860s (+1.761s) 8 laps (12^th)

Qualifying: Q1 1m55.341s (on Primes, 6^th), Q2 1m54.707s (on Options, 6^th), Q3 1m55.217s (on Options, 4^th 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 (7^th)

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

McLaren – 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice

LEWIS HAMILTON

MP4-25-02

P1 programme

19 laps

1m57.163s (+.580s) 6^th

P2 programme

22 laps

1m55.854s (+.445s) 2^nd

“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) 5^th

P2 programme

28 laps

1m56.076s (+.667s) 4^th

“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.”

McLaren – Historic partnership with X-Trade Brokers

X-Trade Brokers, a Warsaw-based brokerage house specialising in foreign exchange (FOREX), commodity and stock market investments, has today announced an historic partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team.

X-Trade Brokers becomes the first Polish company to sign a partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and its logo (‘XTB’) will appear on the overalls of reigning World Champion Jenson Button and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, as well as on the upper engine cover of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Formula 1 car.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is one of the most successful teams competing in Formula 1, having won 20 World Championships since it entered Formula 1 in 1966, and in 2010 it will become the first Formula 1 team ever to field a driver line-up consisting of the two most recent World Champions:  Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

“X-Trade Brokers stands for success, prestige and being the best. Therefore, it’s only right that we’ve chosen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to showcase our company to the world: success is the foundation of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the two companies therefore make a very natural fit,” said Jakub Zablocki, Chief Executive Officer of X-Trade Brokers.

“When looking for a sponsorship property, we pondered at length which sport and which team would best reflect our own benchmarks of professionalism, high technology and need for speed. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes meets all those criteria as well as bringing with it attractive opportunities for X-Trade Brokers to increase its global brand footprint and awareness. Our partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes marks a new stage of dynamic development and expansion for X-Trade Brokers. It’s also a great day for Poland.” Zablocki continued.

“Adding X-Trade Brokers to our already world-class group of partners is a testament to the unique and enduring appeal of Formula 1 and of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of McLaren Racing, who attended today’s announcement in Warsaw.

“As a truly international Formula 1 team, we’re proud that that we’re in partnership with companies from a wide variety of nations across a diverse spread of industry sectors; now, we’re delighted to be able to add Poland to that roster. Not only is the arrival of X-Trade Brokers excellent news for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – it’s also a very exciting development  for Poland and Polish business generally, as Poland further extends its footprint into Formula 1.

“We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes always make great efforts to ensure that our partners gain unbeatable returns on their investments, and that our partnership is just that: a mutually beneficial meeting of minds and aims, the result of which is an exciting blend of sporting triumph and commercial success,” Neale concluded.

This year X-Trade Brokers plans further development and international expansion as throughout 2010 operations will open in four new European countries:  France, Italy, Portugal and Hungary.  At the same time, XTB is concentrating on the acquisition of brokerage houses in Asia and South America which will see the beginnings of developing distribution networks beyond the EU.

McLaren – Gary steps up for Bahrain

Gary Paffett was busy in the simulator at the McLaren Technology Centre yesterday, preparing for his new role with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. After working hard behind the scenes over the winter to finesse the performance of the new MP4-25, Gary will attend the first four ‘flyaway’ grands prix of 2010 as our reserve driver.

“Gary has been on the team since 2006 and we value his dedication and technical feedback,” says Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh. “We need someone who’s ready to step in if anything should happen to prevent Jenson or Lewis from taking part in a grand prix weekend. We know from working with Gary, and from watching his performances in other racing categories, that he’s ready and able to take on this responsibility.”

McLaren – 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.”

Slot Car Racing

Jenson Button peers into Lewis Hamilton’s MP4-25 cockpit. The McLaren team are coming under close scrutiny at the moment from rivals who are questioning the functionality of the car’s airbox and rear wing.

Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner said today that his team have asked the FIA for clarification on the matter, and suggested that a slot in the wing might be an attempt to stall the wing to pick up straight line speed.

Credit: McLaren.com

28-Feb-10: Hamilton Leads Final Day of Testing

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 28th February 2010 – a special edition to cover the fourth and final day of pre-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton was fastest on the last day in Barcelona, and he completed the most number of laps with 134. He was only a couple of hundredths faster than Webber in second though, and Massa and Sutil weren’t that far behind either. Further down the order, Kubica finished up tenth for Renault, whilst Kovalainen pipped di Grassi to finish Lotus ahead of Virgin by just under a second. Lotus had a good morning but had gearbox troubles in the afternoon, whilst Virgin were still struggling with hydraulic problems – but as mentioned previously, they’re hoping their pre-Bahrain upgrade will sort that out.

Massa has been talking about Ferrari’s progress so far and said: “I’m satisfied with the whole of testing, not just Barcelona. We did what we wanted to do, but it looks like it will be a very tough and competitive championship.” He also added: “I’m 100% sure that I will never have a problem with Fernando.” Just wanted to highlight that, in case it comes back to haunt him.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with your regular F1 Minute.

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 14th February

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Three Launches

Force India, Red Bull and Lotus all reveal their new cars…

• “There is a compromise now: either make the car much longer or wider, or, as we have done, a combination of both. This of course has influenced the mechanical design solutions and also the aerodynamics, specifically with respects to the diffuser and bodywork.” Mark Smith
  
• “I think you are going to have four teams that are race-winning contenders this season. McLaren and Ferrari look like they have come up with good cars, and for sure the Mercedes GP team is going to be competitive with its driver line-up. But we are quietly confident we’ve made good progress during the winter.” Christian Horner
  
• “What this is about for me, and it is the first launch I have been to where the whole team is here, there is a fantastic buzz about this place, the whole team has given their heart and soul to this project. I want to thank Tony on behalf of the whole team to have the courage to back us and trust us.” Mike Gascoyne
  

Moving on to Jerez

Testing switches from Valencia to Jerez…

• “We are still in the first week here, and a bit low on parts, so that means if we have a crash we are more in trouble for the next test. So we decided to not do much running today and unfortunately parts didn’t arrive until quite late yesterday – 11 or 12 o’clock – and the mechanics had to work 24 hours a day to get the car ready for this morning.” Timo Glock
  
• “On a normal wet, slippery day at Jerez it felt fine. There were no real vices in the car. We still have to understand a few things with it but now it is shaken down we can start to do a bit of work tomorrow and in the back part of the month we can start to look at lap times.” Mark Webber
  
• “We went deeper into set-up work and understanding the car after what we did in Valencia. We were lucky with the weather because yesterday it was quite bad and the next two days don’t look very good. It was important to get a lot of things done.” Robert Kubica
  

Former Champs Talk

Three champions talk testing…

• “It’s very tough for all of us to understand what is the order of teams. We have four that I think are the major teams, and others that look very interesting such as Sauber, the car is quite quick, and the Renault – there is a question mark how quick it is.” Michael Schumacher
  
• “The team spirit is very good, very special. You feel part of a big team, part of a legendary team, and it’s a nice feeling. I keep enjoying life. The team is very, very friendly with me and I felt at home straightaway.” Fernando Alonso
  
• “We’ve only done one test and there’s such a huge variation with fuel loads so we have absolutely no idea – less of an idea than we had in the past. Some people could be driving with 30 kilos or 10 kilos, others could have 150. So it’s impossible to say.” Lewis Hamilton
  

13-Feb-10: Hamilton Finishes Jerez Test on Top

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Welcome to an extra F1 Minute for the 13th February 2010, all about testing.

The final day concluded an hour or so ago, with the teams ready to wave goodbye to Jerez until next week. Hamilton topped the timesheets with a 1:19.5, which occured after the morning rain had cleared up. Sutil was second for Force India, and Barrichello was third for Williams. Virgin Racing had a much better day than they have all week, with di Grassi completing 63 laps and finishing about three seconds off the pace, rather than the ten seconds they were yesterday. More importantly, they weren’t last, as Alguersuari was tenth for Toro Rosso.

Schumacher caused a red flag after running out of fuel – on purpose – and Massa did something similar, also managing to complete two full race distances. Massa ended up seventh, Schumacher fifth, with Vettel between them. Following a successful test, Sutil said: “It’s early days, but I’ve never had such a good feeling before the season. That’s why I’m looking forward to the race.”

That’s all for now, I will be back on Monday for another F1 Minute.

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 7th February

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Testing in Valencia

The first pre-season test got underway…

• “With such narrow front tyres, and the shape of them as well – they’re a lot more curved – you do lose a lot of front grip. That’s what we’ve got to try and get back. That’s the biggest difference out of all the changes we’ve had this year.” Gary Paffett
• “I have a positive feeling. I’ve obviously kept a close eye on the development of the car and the results we got at the end of 2009 – so seeing this car evolve and having the input into it, I was very excited to get in the car today to see what parts we have improved.” Lewis Hamilton
• “It’s difficult to say where we are, the result was a quite good lap time, but with new rules and another team like Red Bull still to come it’s difficult to say where we are. But it was a really good start.” Kamui Kobayashi

More testing thoughts

Who was fast and who was slow…

• “There are no miracles in Formula 1: if you want to be fast you have to work hard for months and months and then you’ll meet your competitors, who have as much capacities and are as motivated as you” Stefano Domenicali
• “I think at the next test we might have more of an understanding when people are running very different fuel loads, and you can get an understanding of the difference of those loads and how much time per 10 kilos it is. Then you can work out who is quick and who isn’t.” Jenson Button
• “We all know how quickly Michael used to do it. We are all optimistic, as I am sure that he is, that there is a lot more to come. He has had one or two sessions but he hasn’t driven a Formula 1 car seriously for three years so it is pretty encouraging.” Ross Brawn on Schumacher

Potential F1 Newcomers

The grid could expand even more…

• “Stefan Grand Prix becomes the first team in F1 history who did send a 40 foot container full of equipment to the race in Bahrain without having entry for 2010 season.” Statement from Stefan GP
• “I had the chance to drive the Ferrari F1 car in Barcelona. It was great, I had fun and it was a very good test, with good lap times, but I think that it will be very difficult to see me driving in Formula 1.” Valentino Rossi… again
• “We’re going to be doing the majority of the Fridays, and being at all the grands prix, sitting in on the briefings, listening over the radio, and just making myself best prepared to hopefully become a race driver.” Paul di Resta, Force India

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