Bahrain GP: McLaren motivated to continue its return to the top

Only a few days after the Chinese Grand Prix, Martin Whitmarsh’s men arrive in the Bahrain desert full of optimism following the recent progress of the MP4/24.

The silver arrows drivers indeed finished the race in 5th and 6th positions, scoring valuable points that place the team 4th in the championship.

They now hope for a race in normal conditions and intend to optimize every opportunity to score points while waiting for the car to regain all its glory.

Lewis Hamilton – Racing Driver

« I am looking forward to being in Bahrain. It is a circuit that I enjoy and I think it should suit us well: the nature of the circuit, the long straights, and the heavy braking zones theoretically give an advantage to cars equipped with KERS. In fact, it is the most demanding circuit for the brakes, and it will be interesting to see how KERS can be used in a lap. »

« More importantly, we seem to be heading in a good direction with the team. All the improvements to the car have brought us more speed, and the way we prepare the set-up and strategy shows how solid we are. I think we still have to wait a few races before being truly competitive, but a race in normal conditions in Bahrain would give us a good opportunity to see where we stand in the hierarchy. »

Heikki Kovalainen – Racing Driver

« There is a real mix of corners on the Bahrain circuit, and the long straight followed by slow corners provides overtaking opportunities. It’s quite tricky to find the right set-up; it’s a circuit that requires medium downforce, so compromises always have to be made. »

The wind here can be very strong and makes it difficult to make the car work well all weekend. It’s a track where you have to push to make a good time, I really like the fast esses and the elevation changes behind the pit straight. I hope to have a good weekend there and have the opportunity to score more points.

Martin Whitmarsh – Director of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes:

The points we scored in China are encouraging because they show that, even though we do not yet have a fully competitive car, we have not lost our ability to attack throughout an entire weekend and maximize every opportunity that presents itself to us. While we wait for our package to regain its full form, this remains our goal for Bahrain.

« Once again, we are going to bring some updates to the MP4/24 and we are optimistic about their ability to further increase the car’s potential. Moreover, since Bahrain is the nation of one of our main shareholders, it is a special race for every team member, and we will welcome our Bahraini guests as best as we can. »