McLaren aims to continue on points-scoring road
The European leg of the 2009 Formula One season is over and the teams are now travelling to Asia for the second night race in the history of the sport in Singapore. The McLaren Mercedes F1 Team is very excited about the upcoming race as they have been able to score points in every race since Nürburgring.
Lewis Hamilton: “Last year’s inaugural Singapore Grand Prix was a real example of how to host a new Formula 1 race – fantastic facilities, slick organisation and a unique and interesting track that was not only fun and demanding but also really forced you to push to the limit and take a few risks to get the best from the car. I remember my race in Singapore last year was all about damage limitation – I was driving with one eye on the world championship and wasn’t going to take too many risks. I was happy to finish on the podium. This year, it’s very different – I know I’m out of the title hunt and I want to attack these last four races, pushing for as many victories as I can.”
Heikki Kovalainen: “We really seem to have discovered the sweet-spot of this year’s car. I’ve had points finished in every race since the Nurburgring, and we’ve got some interesting new upgrades in the system that are planned for the Singapore race. Of course, racing at night is what really makes this event unique, but the lighting system is so fantastic that you tend to forget that you are even racing in the dark! Singapore is the sort of circuit that should suit our package – there are lots of slower corners and we’ll be able to use KERS to our advantage. Overall, the city is also a fantastic backdrop to what has already become one of the best circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.”
Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: “Our pace in recent grands prix increasingly shows that we have developed MP4-24 into a pretty decent all-round competitor and we remain confident for the Singapore Grand Prix. For this race, we are introducing our last major upgrade package of the season before fully devoting our efforts and resources towards next year’s car. Last year’s event was a fantastic success and a testimony to what can be achieved in Formula 1 when you have vision, dedication and foresight. Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is looking forward to these final four flyaway races, the climax to a thrilling, eventful and unexpected title battle and our own steadily improving fortunes. Singapore is a fantastic advertisement for Formula 1 – one that vividly reminds you what a fantastic sport we operate in. Let’s hope for some good, close racing.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Formula 1 will present some challenging weeks. After the end of the European season, four grands prix within six weeks will take place in Singapore, Suzuka, Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi. As with last year’s inaugural race, Singapore will again be held at night. This street circuit has a total of 23 corners and six of them are slower than 100km/h. Our target is to continue our trend shown over the last five races.”
