Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Yeongam, Republic of Korea, Oct 23, 2010

Expecting more - but looking positive for tomorrow

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-25A-02
- P3 programme: 2nd, 1m37.402s (+0.048s), 16 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 1st, 1m37.113s (on Primes)
- Q2: 4th, 1m36.197s (on Options)
- Q3: 4th, 1m36.062s (on Options)

“The team made a phenomenal effort to get all the new parts to the track for this race, and everybody has done a fantastic job at the track all weekend. We were very quick in practice, so I don’t know where the Red Bulls found an extra half a second in Q3.


“Still, it’s important to remember that we’re still in the fight: we make good starts, and there are some long straights here, which should suit us. I feel that we’re competitive - the car is the best it’s ever been and our long runs are strong.

“We just need to do the best we can with what we have - we can’t ask any more of the guys back at the factory, or the guys here, and I don’t think I could have asked for any more from me. So, yes, we can still have a very good race tomorrow.”

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-25A-01
- P3 programme: 7th, 1m38.419s (+1.065s), 15 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 10th, 1m38.123s (on Primes)
- Q2: 7th, 1m37.064s (on Options)
- Q3: 7th, 1m36.731s (on Options)

“Yesterday and this morning I was very happy with the car; the balance was extremely good and we were looking strong. This afternoon I couldn’t get the tyres up to temperature and struggled a bit with locking fronts and rears.

“I didn’t have enough grip and couldn’t find enough pace. It’s going to be a bit tough tomorrow, whatever the weather does.

“But the good news is that I’ll be starting from the clean side of the grid, and there are a couple of long straights after the first corner, so it’ll be a fun first lap!”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“The conditions in qualifying today were pretty challenging - low-grip Tarmac combined with low-ish track temperatures - and as a result it was difficult to get the tyres up to optimal operating temperature fast enough. Both our drivers drove sensibly and well to get safely through to Q3 – and, once there, we elected to give them each two single-lap runs.

“They both drove very good laps – but as things turned out it wasn’t easy to nail a time on a single lap. However, we’re very positive about tomorrow’s race. We’ve got a very good race car, with strong straight-line speed, and as a result both Jenson and Lewis will be able to drive attacking races.”