The MP4/23 unveiled… under high surveillance!
The McLaren team unveiled, as planned, its new car for the 2008 season in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier this afternoon. The Woking team, at the center of the 2007 controversies, presented the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 with much less fanfare than last year when the show in Valencia, Spain delighted thousands of fans. The car was officially announced […]
The McLaren team unveiled, as planned, its new car for the 2008 season in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier this afternoon.
The Woking team, at the center of the 2007 controversies, presented the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 with much less fanfare than last year when the show in Valencia, Spain delighted thousands of fans.
The car was officially announced at the same time as its drivers, for the first time fully since 2008. Hamilton and Kovalainen as main drivers, surrounded by Gary Paffett and Pedro de La Rosa, test drivers for the British team.
Presented in second position, after the Ferrari F2008 yesterday, the McLaren MP4-23 is no more revolutionary than its predecessor and displays shapes and colors very similar to the MP4-22.
The single-seater is intended to be wider (with a longer wheelbase), and the main evolution remains the nose and front wing, which feature a more raised and finer nose than before.
Other developments are appearing, such as a new wing under the rear wing, more imposing sidepods, and most notably, from the inside, a new gearbox entirely made of carbon…
Ron Dennis, who unveiled the MP4/23 on the same day as Lewis Hamilton’s 23rd birthday, commented: “It’s Lewis [Hamilton]’s birthday today. It’s a celebration in many ways with the number 23. It’s his 23rd birthday and he will drive the MP4, 23rd of the name, while he carries the number 23 this season… admittedly more by accident than by design, I must confess.”
Dennis, whose team lost all their constructors’ points in a controversy that overshadowed the season’s spying, said McLaren were ready to move forward.
« This season will be one of renewal. It is a season entirely focused on the future that we eagerly await. » Continues the team director.
« We do not want to dwell on the past. Our car is new but not yet finished. There will still be a lot of changes before the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia. We are all still hard at work, and the car is and will be even more competitive than the MP4/22. »
