McLaren determined to Fight Back

As reported on Sporting Life

McLaren-Mercedes have vowed to improve in 2007, with both Norbert Haug and Ron Dennis promising there are better things to come.

“This year we had five or six chances to win a race but didn’t make it,” said Haug, Mercedes’ motorsport boss. “We were not good enough to drive for the title. However, he insists that next season McLaren will target the world title, saying: “We plan to come first (in 2007).”

Well, they better, since the eyes of all the Spain will be on them next year. And they will be getting the services of a World Champion next year to drive them to possible championship if they have a reliable & complete package.

TAGS: Formula 1 . F1 . McLaren-Mercedes . Ron Dennis . Robert Haug

Landmark 200th event for McLaren-Mercedes

As reported on crash.net

Team McLaren-Mercedes will celebrate a milestone at the Turkish Grand Prix this coming weekend, as the event marks the 200th grand prix for the McLaren and the Mercedes-Benz partnership.

“This is already the 200th grand prix together with our partner McLaren since 1995 – a period which has truly passed at racing speed,” said Mercedes boss, Norbert Haug. “An anniversary like this is also an occasion to look back, although in all sporting competitions, the present and the future are obviously more important than the past.

McLaren CEO, Martin Whitmarsh meanwhile is also hopeful and reckons their form in Hungary is another good sign: “It was an excellent result for Pedro in Hungary at the last race [to finish second]. Both he and Kimi, with their respective strategies, were strong throughout the weekend and we hope that we can continue this pace into Turkey,” he added.

TAGS: Formula 1 . F1 . McLaren . Mercedes-Benz . Norbert Haug . Martin Whitmarsh . Perdo De LaRosa . Kimi Raikkonen . Hungary . Turkey

McLaren: We are not up with Renault yet

As reported on crash.net

“We completed a productive three day test at Paul Ricard last week with Kimi [Raikkonen], Pedro [de la Rosa] and Gary [Paffett] completing over 2,600km between them,” McLaren-Mercedes CEO, Martin Whitmarsh noted. “The test has been a focus of our intensive programme of testing and development, as we still need to find performance in the MP4-21, and there is a lot of determination within the team to bring this to the track.

“With the front row grid slot and podium at Silverstone, we are moving in the right direction but there is more work that needs to be done to catch up with our prime competitors.”

“We all have to work hard to become as competitive as we have been last year; five podium finishes in eight races do not reflect what this team is capable of and what we had planned. These improvements cannot be achieved overnight; however we will achieve them within a manageable period,” Mercedes boss, Norbert Haug pledged.

Even the snails move in right direction [albeit slow], therefore just moving in right direction is not enough, they have to move pretty fast. And with nearly half races in the season completed, I don’t know what’s the definition of “manageable period” as for them.

TAGS: Formula 1 . F1 . McLaren . Mercedes . MP-421 . Renault . Kimi Raikkonen . Pedro de la Rosa . Gary Paffett . Martin Whitmarsh . Norbert Haug . Silverstone