Heikki Kovalainen

Reemz27

This is related to the Road car McLaren Mercedes SLR

Quote:

High-speed thrills for the filthy rich
Not just any sports car, the Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss is inspired by the Mercedes 300 SLRs driven by racing legend Sterling Moss in the 1950s.

It's a ridiculously expensive limited edition that laughs in the face of the credit crunch, created to mark the end of the McLaren/Mercedes partnership and the end of the SLR range. Indeed, this is only available to previous purchasers of SLRs, limiting the potential market still further.

For a substantial cash outlay, the Sterling Moss offers a V8 engine capable of 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 217mph, a lightweight carbon fibre frame, two air scoops for stability, enhanced aerodynamics, carbon-ceramic disc brakes and an interior that 's likely to put most of our living rooms to shame.

It's apparently designed for the road rather than the track, but will probably be wasted on the school run and the weekly supermarket shop. And if you're paying £672,000 for a high-end sports car, we're sure you can stretch to a few track days too. In fact, you're probably the kind of person who can by a racing track.

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http://www.t3.com/news/mercedes-slr-stirling-moss-speedster-launches?=37597

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Reemz27 · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:27 am Post subject: 2008 McLaren Season Review

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Remarkably, when Lewis Hamilton emerged from those spellbinding final laps in Brazil as the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, he also delivered McLaren’s first drivers’ title since Mika Hakkinen’s back-to-back triumphs in 1998-99.

For a team as proud and as conscious of its place in the sport’s pantheon as this one, the relief at getting that tenacious monkey off its back was palpable.

The Woking squad began 2008 still reeling from the very public humiliation it had suffered over the spying affair.

Indeed, over the winter there was much speculation that the scandal would prompt team founder Ron Dennis to bring forward plans to retire and hand over the running of the outfit to his successor-in-waiting Martin Whitmarsh.

But it is not Dennis’s style to quit while he is on the back foot, least of all when there was no evidence of any personal wrongdoing on his part – and it would have been an inglorious note on which to step aside.

Instead he turned up as usual at the Melbourne season-opener, and any feelings of exasperation or fatigue with F1 were swept away by the most potent possible antidote: a dominant win from pole position for Hamilton.

That established the 23-year-old Briton, who had come within a single point of winning the championship in his sensational debut season, as the firm title favourite from the off.

He duly delivered – but, boy, did he make hard work of it.

Indeed, he made more mistakes than any world champion in recent memory and very nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for a second straight year.

Yet he also scaled higher peaks than any other driver and was capable of a level of skill, bordering on genius, that is the province of the truly great.

He doesn't yet merit inclusion in that category – but 2008 confirmed the impression that, among the current crop of drivers (whose average talent level is probably as high as any in history), he is the most likely eventually to be ranked alongside the likes of Fangio, Clark, Stewart, his boyhood hero Senna and Schumacher.

His tour de force at a flooded Silverstone, where he won by more than a minute and made the rest of the field look flat-footed, was reminiscent of the legendary drives by Senna in Portugal 1985 and Schumacher in Spain 1996.

Another wet-weather masterclass, in Monaco, was a race that showcased his full repertoire of talents, but also his habit of flirting with disaster.

From third on the grid, he blasted straight past Kimi Raikkonen to take second into Ste Devote, then almost finished his afternoon in the Tabac barrier while striving to keep up with the flying Felipe Massa.

As luck would have it, he not only escaped from that skirmish with no more than a puncture, but the unscheduled pit stop and resultant strategy switch meant he was ideally placed to profit from a change in the weather later in the race.

Sensing this opportunity, he responded with a stupendous middle stint, building a huge lead that paved the way for his first victory in the Principality.

Less spectacular, but just as impressive, was the manner in which he rebounded from a monumental own goal at Fuji – and the renewed questions about his judgement that it prompted at a critical juncture in the title race – with a flawless win from the front in China.

There were also seven pole positions, including majestic laps in Montreal, where he was fastest on the crumbling surface by an epic 0.6s margin, and at Spa, where he overcame Ferrari’s superior fast corner speed.

Set against these towering performances, however, there was a surprising litany of errors – any one of which, given the knife-edge title battle, could have cost him dear.

Of course, his main rival Massa was far from inch-perfect, but an objective assessment suggests it was Hamilton who squandered more points.

In Malaysia he and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were docked five grid places each for dawdling on the racing line at the end of qualifying – the first of a series of brushes with officialdom for Hamilton.

Two weeks later in Bahrain Lewis selected the wrong launch map for his car at the start and then crashed into his nemesis Fernando Alonso – twice – before trundling home a lapped 13th and skipping the team’s post-race debrief in frustration.

The most embarrassing faux pas came in Montreal, when he missed the red light at the pit lane exit and piled into the back of an unsuspecting Raikkonen.

Up to that point he had looked a good bet for victory, which following his Monaco triumph would have given him serious momentum going into the summer.

Instead he lost the championship lead and carried a 10-place grid penalty into the next race in France into the bargain.

That meant he started the Magny-Cours event from an inauspicious 13th, and in his anxiety to make headway on the opening lap short-cut a chicane and incurred a further penalty – condemning him to another zero points score.

At Spa he was stripped of a brilliant last-gasp win for gaining an advantage by cutting the Bus Stop chicane during his titanic duel with Raikkonen – a highly contentious judgement which many observers regarded as overzealous and disproportionate.

But whatever the rights and wrongs of that incident, Lewis might well have been ahead of Kimi anyway had he not spun away the lead at La Source on lap two.

Next came an unfathomable decision (perhaps born of over-confidence) to switch from wet to intermediate tyres while the rain was still falling during Q2 at Monza – consigning him to 15th on the grid.

It was a gamble that simply didn’t need taking and which, unusually, the team was quick to distance itself from, pointing out that Lewis and his engineer had jointly made the call.

Finally there was that impetuous start at Fuji, which unleashed so much hostile media comment.

In reality it was simply a heat-of-the-moment misjudgement, a failure to temper his natural aggression, rather than proof of mental frailty.

But it was the fact that he had allowed himself to be lured into racing Raikkonen – who was out of the championship reckoning – that was the main cause for concern.

His emphatic victory a week later in China went some way to answering those who said who couldn’t handle pressure, as did his restraint during the Interlagos title decider, when he suppressed his racing instincts (almost too much as it turned out!) to secure the fifth place he needed.

Kovalainen spent his first year at McLaren very much in the shadow of his precocious team-mate, who Dennis, Whitmarsh and Co. had groomed for years and who was now a global superstar far beyond the F1 world.

An amiable, grounded character, Kovalainen was immediately popular with everyone at Woking, and his equable nature – in contrast to the feisty Alonso, who had partnered Hamilton in ’07 – led to a much more harmonious atmosphere within the team.

By the same token, perhaps it also removed an obstacle to the team’s energies gravitating towards Hamilton; in any event this is what happened as the season went on.

It wasn’t a case of the team giving preferential treatment to Lewis, but of the development path it took with the car tending to suit him much better than Heikki.

Initially Hamilton didn’t like the feel of the MP4-23 as much as its predecessor but, as the season progressed and upgrades were introduced, he and the car gelled more and more.

The Briton’s instinctive preference for oversteer calls for a car with a strong front end – enabling him to load up the front tyres on the entry to a corner while his preternatural car control sorts out the resultant slide.

The evolution of the MP4-23 into a car with a stiff, responsive front end and a soft rear perfectly matched Hamilton’s demands, whereas Kovalainen found it exacerbated his tendency to overwork the tyres.

In the first half of the season the Finn was usually a match for Hamilton in qualifying, but would often fade in the races after taking too much out of his rear Bridgestones.

Modifications to his driving style and set-up alleviated this problem, but also sapped the sparkle and much of the pace that he had shown previously.

The highlight of his season was his maiden win in the Hungarian GP, although in truth this required a large slice of good fortune.

In Turkey he was little short of heroic, bouncing back from his huge Barcelona crash to qualify on the front row for the first time despite carrying a heavy fuel load.

Sadly a first-lap tap from his compatriot Raikkonen meant we never saw what he could have done in the race – but Whitmarsh was convinced he would have contended for victory, adding that “I’ve never seen Heikki this disappointed” at the lost opportunity.

A low-key second at Monza, where he was outclassed by Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel when the win should have been there for the taking, and several disappointing qualifying showings towards the end of the season left ‘Kovy’ uncharacteristically downbeat and forlorn.

It is a measure of his popularity in the paddock that just about everyone hopes he can fulfil his true potential next year.

Alex Sabine
View McLaren's year in photos here:

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Reemz27

Quote:

''It is important to me to remain hopeful''
Under the auspices of Force India's new technical collaboration with McLaren-Mercedes, the McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa recently tested with the Silverstone-based team.

But with Force India settling on an unchanged race line-up, the veteran Spaniard said he accepts that his role this year will remain on the sidelines.

Asked by the Spanish radio sports programme El Larguero if he expected better treatment for his loyalty, the 37-year-old said: "Good or bad, it is not up to me."

"I do deserve a seat, my quality of driving is better than it has ever been, especially since the removal of the electronic aids," he said at the Autosport International show in Birmingham.

"It's really difficult not being able to prove it. I have tried my hardest.
It is important to me to remain hopeful of returning to race at least until the end of the year."

"I have been close (to returning) a couple of times, hopefully I will not lose hope," the Spaniard said, "but at the moment I have hope and that is why I am staying with the best team and saying no to other categories."

De la Rosa said he is currently under contract to McLaren, which he joined in 2003, for one more season.

E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International

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LogicPro · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:55 am Post subject:

Pedro deserves one more chance, before retiring from f1 (even if he's 37). Maybe next year with Force India...

in Bahrain 2005 he drove brilliantly, standing in for Montoya
and in the last part of 2006 when he replaced again JPM he was able to get more or less the same points... and he scored his first podium in Hungary.

He's the best test driver togethere with Wurz...McLaren's success is also due to his testing ability. Hopefully 7 years after his last full f1 season he'll be able to race again.

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"Ayrton Senna was an extraordinary racing driver. His skills, craft, subtlety and courage were of such magnitude that he dwarfed his generation of drivers."
Ron Dennis

Spaniard · Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:28 pm Post subject:

New year, new season, new car, new expectations:

More to come.

MiniMarshmallow · Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:42 am Post subject:

I'm not sure I like the new cars Confused

Hopefully they'll crash just as well though.
And fingers crossed the McLaren will be fast too.

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Mini: 'How dare you go out when Monaco is on?!'
Ash: 'I need a car...'
Mini: 'Yeah, well, so does Hamilton Smile

'

Reemz27

Quote:

Speaking at the launch of McLaren’s new challenger, the MP4-24, at the team's Woking factory on Friday, drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were in high spirits ahead of the 2009 season. While Kovalainen gleaned a debut victory from 2008, Hamilton celebrated world championship-winning success, and it's clear both are hoping to emulate their ’08 achievements this year…

Q: Lewis, has winning the world championship changed you?
Lewis Hamilton: The whole experience has definitely made me feel more rounded. The whole experience of 2008 has helped me to grow as an individual - and not just at the races; how I've dealt with my surroundings, my family and my life. I know I have a huge responsibility and I have to set a good example - and it takes maturity to manage those things and so I'm still learning and doing the best I can.

Q: How have you spent the winter?
LH: The winter months have been all about recharging my batteries. Last season was very tough both mentally and physically and the test and race schedule never gives you enough time to get back to peak fitness. Over the winter, I've taken a break from the car and really focused on my preparations for 2009 and getting myself back to the peak of physical fitness. In both respects, I feel really well prepared ahead of the winter test programme and the year ahead.

Q: What do you think of the new car?
LH: Well, obviously, I haven't driven it yet. But there's an old saying in motor racing that says a beautiful car often turns out to be a quick car. And all I can say is that I hope that's right, because I reckon the MP4-24 looks simply sensational. Really beautiful, in fact.

Q: What aspects of the 2009 season are you particularly looking forward to?
LH: The huge rule changes are really exciting for a driver. The winter months are already quite busy because you're very heavily involved in developing the new car, but this year it will be even more intense.And the whole experience will also feel quite fresh because so much is new. I hope the racing is as close and as exciting as has been predicted because that's always more fun for a driver and fantastic for Formula One's fans.

Q: Heikki, with a season at McLaren already under your belt, do you feel better prepared than you did a year ago?
Heikki Kovalainen: For sure. It's easy to forget, but I only joined Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in December 2007 so my preparations for the '08 season happened very quickly. Of course, I felt comfortable straight away but it still takes time to understand exactly how each member of the team is able to help you. For this year, I feel much more integrated into the whole operation and know we can really hit the ground running when we start testing next week.

Q: When did you start your preparations for 2009?
HK: After Brazil, I took a short break but was soon back at the McLaren Technology Centre preparing with my engineers for the new season. I tested a hybrid car in Jerez before Christmas and that was very helpful actually - although it wasn't a precise replica of the MP4-24, it gave you a good idea of what to expect with the new aero levels, KERS device and slick tyres. I think the new breed of cars will suit me very well. I've also been training in the snow of northern Finland - it's the best place in the world for me to relax and prepare for the year ahead.

Q: What are your targets for the season ahead?
HK: I feel much better prepared ahead of the new season. I think you can extract a lot of performance simply from good mental preparation, and I really want to look at the positives ahead of me this year rather than becoming too focused on any difficulties. Racing alongside Lewis is the ultimate benchmark and I'd like to think we'll both be challenging for the drivers' championship and helping the team to win the constructors' championship.
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/1/8848.html

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Reemz27

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Following the launch of McLaren’s new car on Friday, Ron Dennis has announced he is to step down from his role as team principal and hand over to McLaren’s Formula One CEO, Martin Whitmarsh. Dennis will, however, stay on as chief executive of the McLaren Group and will still attend some races.

"Let me make one thing clear: this is very definitely not retirement," said Dennis. "In fact, I intend to work even harder from now on. And it's because I intend to work even harder - on growing the McLaren Group - that I've decided to pass the role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to Martin.

"In any case, this announcement won’t change a great deal because, in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer of McLaren Group, Martin and I already jointly take all the major decisions that affect this company. What today’s decision means is that Martin will now become solely responsible for the performance of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and will be entrusted to ensure the team remains a competitive force in Formula One motor racing.

"As for myself, I will continue to expand and develop my role as McLaren Group Chairman and still intend to go to some, but not all, Grands Prix because I remain a diehard enthusiast. Motor racing is in my blood - and nothing will dilute my passion for either the sport or the success of this company."

Whitmarsh, who joined McLaren in 1989, will take over from Dennis from March 1, ahead of the season-opening Australian race in Melbourne on March 29.

"Ron and I have had many discussions about this over the past few weeks and months, but eventually it became clear that Ron’s decision was final," commented Whitmarsh. "Everyone knows what an incredible career Ron has had to date; his legacy is huge. As such, I remain hugely mindful of the responsibilities I assume as team principal - it’s a daunting yet exciting prospect. Despite today’s announcement, I hope we will still continue to work as closely together as before."

Dennis kick-started his motorsport career in 1966, joining the Cooper Racing Car Company, after a spell as an apprentice mechanic. Within two years he moved to Brabham where he became the chief mechanic to Jack Brabham. By 1971, however, an ambitious Dennis had left to set up his own Formula Two team, Rondel Racing.

Rondel would be the first of several successful F2 and Procar outfits Dennis was involved with over the next decade. His big break, however, came in 1980 when his team Project Four merged with McLaren to form McLaren Racing. Within two years he’d assumed control of the team.

McLaren have since won 162 races, eight constructors’ championships and 12 driver titles. Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna are just some of the famous names to have won championships whilst driving for McLaren, while the team’s most recent champion, Lewis Hamilton, was hand-picked by Dennis when he was just 13 years-old as a future talent.

Dennis’s entrepreneurial skills have also led McLaren to diversify into several other areas including the design and manufacture of revolutionary road cars. In 2000, he was honoured with a CBE for services to motorsport and he retains a stake in McLaren, alongside fellow shareholders DaimlerChrysler and the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company.
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/1/8849.html

Oh well, Let's Hope Martin Whitmarsh can do as good job! Cool

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LogicPro · Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:55 pm Post subject:

I hope Ron will still attend many Grand Prix, because he's important for the team. And anyway he will concentrate more on factory's work...so let's hope the guys at Woking will do a good job Smile

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"Ayrton Senna was an extraordinary racing driver. His skills, craft, subtlety and courage were of such magnitude that he dwarfed his generation of drivers."
Ron Dennis

Reemz27

Quote:

''Ron Dennis will always be a great person''
Ron Dennis announced at the launch of the new McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 on Friday that he is stepping down from the role of team Principal to focus his attention on other aspects of the McLaren Group.

McLaren and Ferrari have had a traditionally frosty relationship over the years, but Luca di Montezemolo was keen to pay tribute to Dennis at the annual Ferrari PR event at Madonna di Campiglio.

"Despite all the polemics and the many clashed we had, Ron Dennis will always be a great person," the Ferrari President stated. "He and his team have done some extraordinary work over the last decades.
"

"I don't think that he'll completely leave Formula One. I appreciated the support he and all the others are giving to FOTA," he added.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

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ellen777 · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:38 pm Post subject:

the new cars look really weird i reckon
and they probably won't have many parts flying everywhere when they crash Sad

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YAY FOR FORMULA 1!!!

Reemz27 · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:09 pm Post subject:

I bet that's one of the bits you like from previous F1 car's.

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ellen777 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:40 pm Post subject:

Reemz27 wrote:

I bet that's one of the bits you like from previous F1 car's.

yep...correct Laughing

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YAY FOR FORMULA 1!!!

Reemz27 · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:54 pm Post subject:

I'm just sad about the Refueling Ban - We won't see anymore of those *dragging-along-the-hose* moments! Sad

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ellen777 · Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:39 pm Post subject:

oh yes, we all remember that from a certain ferrari driver...

have they banned refuelling ALREADY???? or is it still going ahead this year?

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YAY FOR FORMULA 1!!!