A perfect start for McLaren
It was a successful day for both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team drivers. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton felt both very pleased with the balance and performance of their cars and the team was on top of the time sheets at both sessions.
Lewis Hamilton:
MP4-25A-01
P1 programme 19 laps 1m36.775s (+.098s) 3rd
P2 programme 26 laps 1m35.217s 1st
“We may have topped the timesheets in each session, but I don’t necessarily think today’s times make us the favourites for this race. The car does feel good, but our pace looks pretty similar to some of the other cars on long runs.
“Everyone talks about us having a straight-line advantage, but that’s not true – other cars have the same speed as us at the end of the straight. We’re a little bit quicker than some teams, but, equally, they’re able to run more downforce. It’s about getting a good balance – and we feel we’ve got that.
“We’re continuing with the good feeling we felt in Malaysia, but we’ve made some further subtle changes and they were encouraging. I come out of today with a positive feeling – we’ll now keep our heads down and concentrate on gaining a strong qualifying position tomorrow.”
Jenson Button:
MP4-25A-03
P1 programme 15 laps 1m36.677s 1st
P2 programme 26 laps 1m35.593s (+.376s) 3rd
“Today’s been good. This afternoon was a little frustrating: on my new-tyre run I ran into traffic – which you seem to get in every session – but the actual work we’ve done, and the direction we’ve taken, has been positive. There are a few more things we need to do, but we’re almost getting the maximum out of the car – especially on the long runs.
“We’re moving in the right direction. There are a few things we can still tweak over the course of this evening, but I think we’ve come here with a pretty good car from lap one.
“Of course, some of the teams haven’t shown their hand yet, but you can tell from the long-run times that they’re competitive. Maybe we’re not on their pace yet, but we’ve got tonight to make further improvements to the car.”
Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: “A successful day for Jenson and Lewis – they were both happy with the balance and performance of their cars. We’re aware that some of the other teams have yet to show their true pace, but we’re confident that we’ll be able to maintain the positive progress we’ve been making over the past few races.
“Our aim for this weekend is further to improve our performance in qualifying and also to enjoy a trouble-free race in order to pick up the maximum possible points – in that respect, we feel we’ve got off to a perfect start.”
