GP France – The McLaren team is not the favorite…

With a 10-place penalty for Lewis Hamilton and a lack of performance for Heikki Kovalainen, the McLaren-Mercedes team will not hold the status of leader for this French Grand Prix.

However, the team is working tirelessly on the strategy to be employed to optimize its chances of success. Furthermore, they claim that progress has been made with the single-seater, particularly thanks to the tests in Barcelona where Pedro de la Rosa was ensuring the development of his team.

Lewis Hamilton – Racing Driver

« Mentally, you just have to learn to overcome this 10-place grid penalty. There will certainly be consequences on my preparations for this French Grand Prix. We have already looked at the best ways to optimize the strategy to help us move forward. »

Magny-Cours is not the easiest circuit for overtaking, but it is always possible. You can dive inside at the Adelaide hairpin. Although the result in Canada was disappointing, our pace is still very good. Last year, we lacked a bit of speed in high-speed corners, but this year, the car seems to have definitely overcome these problems. We are in good shape.

Heikki Kovalainen – Racing Driver:

« I have always loved racing on this circuit. For drivers, it’s a bit of a challenge because there are high-speed corners and chicanes where the speed will be high. This will require a lot of precision. »

« As I have said all season, I have complete control of this car, even if the results don’t necessarily show it. I am happy to participate in the Grand Prix of Magny-Cours. I can’t wait to make progress throughout the practice sessions and to be in a good position for the race itself. »

Martin Whitmarsh – Managing Director McLaren Mercedes:

« We are encouraged by our performances. We believe that the improvements made to the MP4-23 can help us maintain a positive mindset for this Grand Prix. One of the objectives of our winter development program was to improve the car at high speed, and we believe we have been able to do so. The races at Magny-Cours and Silverstone will give us the opportunity to demonstrate this. »

« Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen are very confident about their chances. We will work tirelessly with the strategists and engineers to provide an optimal strategy for the race. »

Norbert Haug – Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

« First of all, we were all extremely disappointed with the result of the Canadian race. Lewis had secured pole position with a remarkable lead of 0.612 seconds. It was his eighth pole position in 24 Grand Prix and he led the race until the safety car came on track. Throughout the weekend, he was ahead of his rivals. We put this race behind us. »

« As the results show, the French Grand Prix has never been an easy race for us. This time, Lewis will start the race further down the grid. So we are counting on Heikki. Maybe we will find an adequate strategy for Lewis that will allow him to progress. His task will be frankly difficult. »