Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Monza, Italy, Sep 12, 2008

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finished Friday’s Free Practice for the Santander Italian Grand Prix at Monza in fourth and seventh positions respectively. Lewis completed 25 laps and set a best time of 1m23.983. Heikki did 29 laps with a fastest lap of 1m24.365.


Due to torrential rain, Lewis and Heikki completed only one installation lap each in the morning session.

Comments

Lewis Hamilton
“Obviously, it was very wet this morning so we only did the bare minimum of running – namely one installation lap. The afternoon’s session started in slightly mixed conditions, the circuit was drying, but with damp patches, so there was little to gain from going out early. However, by the end of the session we got some useful mileage under our belts, and I’m happy with our progress.”

Heikki Kovalainen
“I’m happy that we managed to get some dry running in before the end of the session. The weather this morning was unbelievable – it’s usually so bright and sunny at Monza. The rain meant that, like everyone, we didn’t get to finish our run programme so we have a little bit more work to do tomorrow morning. Nonetheless, I’m happy with the progress we’ve made.”

Ron Dennis
“The heavy rains effectively reduced us to effectively zero running in the opening practice session. This afternoon, we concentrated on running on heavy fuel-loads in order to refine our race set-up and tyre choice for Sunday’s grand prix. We’ve made good progress in both areas and are looking competitive for the rest of the weekend.”

Norbert Haug
“After the flooding here this morning and a water attack to the pits, our afternoon was so much better. We chose a conservative approach and focused on our preparations for the race. If you looked at the long runs, I could see nobody being more consistent than Lewis. Heikki improved throughout the session and we look to be in good shape.”







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