Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Woking, United Kingdom, Jun 12, 2009

LEWIS HAMILTON
“The two greatest things about racing at Silverstone are the fans and the track itself. It’s great to see and meet people from all across the country and the world who have made the journey to Silverstone for the Santander British Grand Prix. When I’m in the car, I can actually see the fans around the circuit waving banners and cheering. It’s as if they were racing every lap with me – incredible!”

“Driving the track is incredible too. I love Silverstone – it’s an amazing place to drive. Copse, Becketts and Bridge are all absolutely fantastic, flat-out corners that really show you the power and grip of a Formula 1 car. It’s a perfect place for the race, so let’s hope it’s not the last time we race at this track.”


HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
“Silverstone: what a fantastic circuit! I got my first Formula 1 pole position here last year and I remember how great the car was to drive on the limit. I love fast corners – it’s when a Formula 1 car really feels at its best and your whole body is just on the limit. While we know our car won’t be at its best through the fast corners, the challenge as a racing driver is to push to the limit so I’m just going to try my hardest. After a couple of disappointing races, it would be fantastic to get back into the points in one of the team’s home races.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH - Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Our home race has been highly successful for us in the past. We’ve won the British Grand Prix on 14 occasions – 12 of those wins coming at Silverstone. The most recent, of course, was Lewis’s fantastic victory in the rain last year – which stands as one of Formula 1’s greatest-ever wet weather drives. For this year, we come off a difficult race in Turkey, determined to do better in front of our home crowd.”

NORBERT HAUG - Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“Silverstone is a great track with a unique layout. We have fond memories of this traditional circuit with Lewis’s superb victory in the rain, more than a minute ahead of the second finisher last year, certainly being the most memorable moment. One year later, however, we will not be in a position to win. Since the beginning of this season we are in a catching up process. This is because we have not yet managed to get the best technical package out of the new rules in contrast to what we achieved with the old regulations in previous years when we built a winning car which we fought for the world championship with and won it.”

“Nevertheless, everybody in the team is highly motivated to further reduce our gap to the top – particularly on fast circuits. We are currently experiencing tough times, but this is not new for us: after a year without victories in 2006 we missed our target to win the title by one point in 2007 and then, a year after, we clinched the world championship with Lewis in 2008. We all work in a calm, focused and concentrated way to get our job done. And we will manage to do so – but certainly not overnight.”

McLaren at the British Grand Prix…

10 years ago (July 11, 1999)

David Coulthard won the first of two British Grands Prix for McLaren-Mercedes after pole-sitter and early leader Mika Hakkinen was forced to retire with a loose rear wheel. Notable also for Michael Schumacher’s leg-breaking first-lap shunt at Stowe, it was McLaren’s 120th grand prix victory and the 16th of the McLaren-Mercedes partnership.

20 years ago (July 16, 1989)

Locking out the front row for the seventh successive race, Alain Prost took his third win at Silverstone, assuming the lead after team-mate Ayrton Senna spun into the Becketts gravel with a gearbox problem. It was Alain’s 29th victory for McLaren and the team’s 76th.

30 years ago (July 14 1979)

While neither M28C nor M29 – the ground effect machines that were driven by John Watson and Patrick Tambay respectively – were the team’s most competitive cars of the 1970s, they enjoyed a strong showing at Silverstone. Watson qualified seventh and finished fourth while Tambay started 18th and raced to seventh. Clay Regazzoni won for Williams – the first of the marque’s 113 grand prix victories.

40 years ago (July 19 1969)

Team founder Bruce McLaren celebrated his 25th career podium after taking M7C from seventh on the grid to third at the flag. Team-mate Denny Hulme, driving an M7A, started from the front row in third but retired on lap 27 with ignition problems. The race was won by Jackie Stewart, driving a Matra MS80.

Copyright © 2009, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.