McLaren

McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa has played down suggestions that the absence of Fernando Alonso has hurt the team in 2008.Following the departure of the former champion at the end of last year, Ron Dennis` team selected Heikki Kovalainen to race alongside fellow second-season racer Lewis Hamilton this year.The new driver pairing has […]

Formula 1 racing arrives in Europe for the first time in 2008 as the 11 teams arrive at Barcelona`s Circuit de Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The 2008 race is the 40th Formula 1 event to be staged in Spain, with 37 Spanish Grands Prix and two European events taking place to date. McLaren […]

McLaren are confident they have taken a step forward in performance ahead of next weekend`s Spanish Grand Prix, which will mark the start of the European season.
The British team won the season-opening race in Australia but were unable to stop rivals Ferrari from taking commanding victories in the next two races in Malaysia and Bahrain.
McLaren […]

Lewis Hamilton
Q. You have been testing at the Circuit de Catalunya earlier this week, do its characteristics suit the MP4-23 and do you expect to be competitive there?
LH: “It`s always difficult to predict these things as all the teams are continuously progressing. Winter testing there was positive and this week we have covered a good […]

Kimi Raikkonen isn`t ready to rule out McLaren as Ferrari`s main rival this season, despite BMW being his closest challenger in the last two races.
BMW have finished on the podium at every race this season and had both cars ahead of the two McLarens at Bahrain two weeks ago.
But the reigning champion thinks their positions […]

Today

Fernando Alonso says he chose to leave McLaren at the end of last year because the Anglo-German outfit is “not a winning team”.The former double world champion is quoted by the Dutch website f1today.nl as justifying his return to Renault this year, following his spectacular falling out with British McLaren duo Ron Dennis and Lewis […]

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Martin Whitmarsh discusses the race and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes plans for the three week gap before the next race in Spain
Lewis usually makes excellent race starts, but that wasn`t the case in Bahrain. What happened?"It was a procedural error - his engine was on the incorrect setting and that led […]

The Bahrain Grand Prix brought disappointment for McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen’s fifth place their only reward after Lewis Hamilton’s poor start and his tangle with Fernando Alonso’s Renault. Martin Whitmarsh, the team’s Formula One CEO, discusses the race and McLaren’s plans for the three-week gap before Spain…
Q: Lewis usually makes excellent race starts, but that wasn’t […]

Lewis Hamilton will come back stronger at the Spanish Grand Prix following his disappointing performance in Bahrain last weekend.
That is the view of McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, who reckons Hamilton will quickly put the dismal race behind him.
The Briton had a weekend to forget in Sakhir, first crashing heavily in practice and then losing […]

Bahrain staged a changing of the guard near the very top of the formula one pecking order, according to experts.“For McLaren is was a pretty brutal failure,” 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg told the German broadcaster Premiere, referring to the Mercedes-powered team.Heikki Kovalainen finished clearly behind both Ferraris and BMWs at Sakhir, while Lewis Hamilton […]

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen finished the Bahrain Grand Prix in fifth position. After 57 laps (308.238 kms), Heikki came home 26.7 seconds behind winner Felipe Massa and set the fastest lap of the race with 1m33.193. Lewis had to make an early and unscheduled pit stop (11.5 seconds) after an incident on lap […]

Ron Dennis on Sunday sounded confident that McLaren will be able to bring its huge paddock `motor home` - the semi-permanent three storey building officially called Brand Centre - to all European races this year.Following a recent letter from FIA President Max Mosley to Bernie Ecclestone, a special dispensation for the Anglo-German to slot into […]

Lewis Hamilton apologised to his McLaren team for letting them down after what the Briton said it was a disastrous Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton, starting from fourth place, went on to finish in 13th position after a dismal opening lap.
The McLaren driver lost several places at the start after his anti-stall system kicked in following a […]

Heikki Kovalainen - 5th: “Quite a tough race today. I made a great start and overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then outbraked myself in Turn Four and he regained his position. I then went in too deep at Turn Eight and flatspotted my front right tyre which caused a lot of vibration.
“It […]

After their dominant start to the season, it was widely expected that McLaren would excel in Bahrain on Sunday. But the British squad will leave with heavy hearts after being soundly beaten by rivals Ferrari and BMW Sauber at the Sakhir circuit.
The team’s performance raised eyebrows early on in the weekend, with Lewis Hamilton’s crash […]

McLaren have said they will not waste any time worrying about their relegation to the bottom of the pit lane - especially because they think it is an advantage for them.
The Woking-based team were informed prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix that they would be moved from the fifth slot they had at the first […]

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will start Sunday`s Bahrain Grand Prix from third and fifth positions respectively. In Saturday`s qualifying, Lewis set a time of 1m33.292, less than two tenths of a second behind pole position. Heikki`s time was 1m33.488.
Lewis Hamilton: My fastest lap in qualifying was OK, but not perfect. […]

Lewis Hamilton - 3rd: “My fastest lap in qualifying was OK, but not perfect. The balance of the car was good, and I think a better time and a position on the front row would have been possible, but the times were very close. Yesterday`s accident was no problem for me, at Turn Five where […]

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team finished today`s second practice session in 3rd and 4th places. Heikki set a time of 1:32.752 whilst Lewis did 1:32.847. There was a bit of drama towards the end of second practice when Lewis touched a kerb and lost control of the car and went into the barrier. Lewis was […]

Lewis Hamilton - 4th: “It was a shame that I ended what had been a productive day going off the circuit and hitting the barriers at Turn Seven. I was just pushing and sometimes these things happen. I am absolutely fine, and hopefully the damage to the car is not too bad.
“We would have […]

Fernando Alonso in Bahrain said he does not expect Lewis Hamilton to face a title challenge from his new McLaren team-mate in 2008.Alonso left the Anglo-German team at the end of last year after complaining of inadequate treatment in comparison with Hamilton. The Spaniard has been replaced for 2008 by Heikki Kovalainen.Alonso said he believes […]

Fernando Alonso says he left McLaren at the end of 2007 because he knew his winning days for the team were over.The former champion has returned to Renault this season, where due to the R28`s lack of performance he has already ruled out making a tilt for the title.But after the tumultuous 2007 season, where […]

Sebastian Vettel on Thursday confirmed that Red Bull blocked his chance to switch to Formula One title challenger McLaren in 2008.The 20-year-old German looks set to become a hot commodity on the driver market, following his impressive early career as a BMW Sauber test driver and Toro Rosso racer.His contract, however, is strictly controlled by […]

Ralf Schumacher believes BMW can challenge Ferrari and McLaren in this year`s world championship after their strong start to 2008.
The former Formula One driver, who is about to embark on his first season in the DTM with Mercedes-Benz, disagrees with his brother Michael`s assessment that BMW will fade from the front during the season, and […]