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Posts Tagged McLaren-Mercedes

McLaren to Scrap F-duct?

Aug 25

Posted by Insider in F1, Mclaren

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McLaren Mercedes have announced quite a bold move for the Italian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place on the high-speed circuit of Monza on September 10. According to some reports, the Woking based team will not run their innovative F-duct system in Italy, despite the fact that this particular device was actually designed for long straights, such as the one at Monza.

The F-duct was initially developed only by McLaren, after which the concept was copied and implemented by other teams as well. The aerodynamic solution is believed to add some 6 to 10 mph to the car in straight line, where airflow around the car and through to the rear wing is improved via a hand- or knee-activated device.

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McLaren Altered Diffuser

Mar 26

Posted by Insider in F1, Mclaren

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There have been plenty of reports suggesting that no less than 4 teams were told by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to alter their rear diffusers after the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Although given as certain measures taken by the FIA, the news was never confirmed by the ruling body via a press release or statement.

Well now, only a few hours before the official start of the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, at least we know that one of those teams is definitely McLaren Mercedes. And that’s because both the team’s driver Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button revealed to the media that the Woking mechanics have changed the aforementioned part for the race Down Under.

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Alonso always Improving

Feb 25

Posted by Insider in F1, Ferrari

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Fernando Alonso insisted that he is now a better driver as compared to his first stint at Renault. Back during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he won consecutive titles in the series, after which he moved to McLaren Mercedes. Although he hasn’t managed to add a 3rd world title in his CV, he reckoned that the one year he spent at Woking, as well as the struggling years he experienced at Renault have made him a more complete racer.

As we have already covered the McLaren story, we’ll focus on Alonso’s comments over his second stint at Renault, when he struggled in the mid-to-rear pack through the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

“I knew I was only fighting for seventh or eighth but it was important to learn from that. I have no doubt I am a better driver now,” said Alonso in his interview with The Guardian, hinting that he preferred to leave a team in which he could have battled for the world title (at least theoretically) rather than play second fiddle to newcomer Lewis Hamilton.

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McLaren Get Ferrari Aerodynamicist

Jan 21

Posted by Insider in F1, News

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John Iley might have failed in securing Ferrari a race-winning machine back in 2009, but he seems good enough for McLaren Mercedes for the upcoming campaign of Formula One. According to a McLaren spokesman confirming to the Reuters news agency, Iley has already started work at the Woking factory earlier this month.

Iley was ousted by Ferrari midway through last season, when the Scuderia officials figured out that the F60 was a complete failure from an aerodynamic standpoint. Iley was then head of aerodynamics and wind tunnel for the Maranello based team and was held responsible for the poor results recorded by the car until that point.

The firing was made without any further explanations from the Ferrari organization.

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Button: I Tell You Why

Nov 20

Posted by Insider in F1, News

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Following immense criticism from most of the F1 pundits and former employers back at Brawn for his sudden switch to McLaren Mercedes, Jenson Button finally broke the silence and told the world why he chose to pack his bags and head to Woking.

The reigning world champion actually confirmed the latest reports that he would have earned more money back at Brackley than what he has signed for with McLaren, but decided to leave Ross Brawn & Co anyway because he was looking for new challenges in the sport. So it was the toughness of the challenge that drove him to seal a deal with McLaren, rather than continue with his comforting life at Brawn.

“I am actually earning less than I would have been at Brawn so it’s not about the money. It’s because it’s something new,” said Brawn in a short interview with BBC Radio Five Live.

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Stewart prefer Button stays with Brawn

Nov 20

Posted by Insider in F1

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First he warned Jenson Button not to leave his position within the Brawn GP organization - soon to become Silver Arrows F1 - for a place at Woking, now he sticks by his argument and publicly tells the reigning F1 champion that he did a mistake when going for the McLaren Mercedes money.Yes, we are talking about triple-crowned F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

Even if they do prepare him a title-winning car next year, McLaren will most certainly make it more difficult for Button to outscore fellow countryman Lewis Hamilton. Two British champions driving for a British team is surely a dream come true for most of the UK racing fans, but it won’t keep sparks from igniting during Button’s stay at McLaren - as we believe Hamilton will be there for life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Button UP !!

Nov 19

Posted by Insider in F1

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Ross Brawn could hardly believe the news that his protege and favorite driver of the 2009 season Jenson Button left the team and joined rivals McLaren Mercedes for the 2010 Formula One Championship. The 29-year old Brit committed to a multi-year deal with the Woking based team, leaving his former outfit looking for a new driver to take them on top of the standings.

“I was very disappointed at the way things finished up with Jenson,” was the simple and short statement of Brawn when talking to the reporters from UK newspaper Daily Express.

While that statement alone shows how much Brawn wanted to continue his collaboration with Button, the team’s Chief Executive Officer Nick Fry was far more critic of his former employee. Fry insisted once again that he made Button a better offer than what McLaren had promised the Brit and hinted that this may just be the most stupid decision Button ever made in F1.

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Button Deal with McLaren for 3 years

Nov 17

Posted by Insider in F1, Mclaren, Mercedes-Benz

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Of course this is not official, but it seems that Jenson Button has already agreed to a 18 million pounds sterling deal with McLaren Mercedes, for the upcoming 3 seasons of Formula One. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the defending Formula One champion will sign the papers in the upcoming few days, as he has already said “yes” to McLaren’s offer.

The 29-year old driver was seen joining his manager Richard Goodard in a tour of the Woking factory over the last weekend, and the aforementioned publication cites sources close to Button who confirm the Brit was quite impressed with what he saw.

In addition, the fact that Ross Brawn is unlikely to update his offer for a contract extension even after his team was purchased by Daimler AG seems to have made all the difference in the world for Jenson. According to Nick Fry, Mercedes’ buyout will not lead to a better offer to Button, which drove the British driver away to Woking.

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Jenson Button Visit McLaren at Woking

Nov 16

Posted by Insider in F1

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Not only Kimi Raikkonen’s managers traveled to Woking earlier this week to discuss the possibility of the Finn inking a deal with team McLaren Mercedes, but it has not been confirmed that Jenson Button and his own agents have met the McLaren officials on Friday.

After several reports in the British media - started by The Guardian - disclosed that the aforementioned meeting happened a couple of days ago, the McLaren outfit confirmed that the F1 champion and manager Richard Goddard were shown “a small detour to Woking to say hello“, a McLaren spokesman said.

That means that Heikki Kovalainen will most likely leave the team at the end of the year, McLaren’s only unknown part of the equation being who’s going to become Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate in the second silver-arrowed car.

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Kimi back to McLaren again next year?

Sep 22

Posted by Insider in F1

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According to British newspaper the Mirror, Kimi Raikkonen could be driving for McLaren next year. The Iceman drove for Ron Dennis’ outfit from 2002 to 2006 and scored plenty of victories but couldn’t get the World Championship. Then he left for Ferrari in 2007 where he promptly won the World Championship the first year.

This season rumors have persisted that Fernando Alonso is moving to Ferrari next year. Seemingly in support of that, the only thing Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari team head Stefano Domenicali would say about next year is that Raikkonen has contracted for next year — neither would say that the driver would actually be there.

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