Formula 1 News

McLaren: 2009 European Grand Prix preview 

Norbert Haug: “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.”

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.”

Martin Whitmarsh: “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 doubt 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.”

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.”

source: Mclaren-Mercedes