“The
two greatest things about racing at Silverstone are the fans and the track
itself. It’s great to see and meet people from all across the country
and the world who have made the journey to Silverstone for the Santander
British Grand Prix. When I’m in the car, I can actually see the fans
around the circuit waving banners and cheering. It’s as if they were
racing every lap with me – incredible!
“Driving
the track is incredible too. I love Silverstone – it’s an amazing
place to drive. Copse, Becketts and Bridge are all absolutely fantastic,
flat-out corners that really show you the power and grip of a Formula 1
car. It’s a perfect place for the race, so let’s hope it’s not the
last time we race at this track.”
Heikki
Kovalainen
“Silverstone:
what a fantastic circuit! I got my first Formula 1 pole position here last
year and I remember how great the car was to drive on the limit. I love
fast corners – it’s when a Formula 1 car really feels at its best and
your whole body is just on the limit. While we know our car won’t be at
its best through the fast corners, the challenge as a racing driver is to
push to the limit so I’m just going to try my hardest. After a couple of
disappointing races, it would be fantastic to get back into the points in
one of the team’s home races.”
Martin
Whitmarsh
Team
principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Our
home race has been highly successful for us in the past. We’ve won the
British Grand Prix on 14 occasions – 12 of those wins coming at
Silverstone. The most recent, of course, was Lewis’s fantastic victory
in the rain last year – which stands as one of Formula 1’s
greatest-ever wet weather drives. For this year, we come off a difficult
race in
Turkey
, determined to do better in front of our home crowd.”
Norbert
Haug
Vice-president,
Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“Silverstone
is a great track with a unique layout. We have fond memories of this
traditional circuit with Lewis’s superb victory in the rain, more than a
minute ahead of the second finisher last year, certainly being the most
memorable moment. One year later, however, we will not be in a position to
win. Since the beginning of this season we are in a catching up process.
This is because we have not yet managed to get the best technical package
out of the new rules in contrast to what we achieved with the old
regulations in previous years when we built a winning car which we fought
for the world championship with and won it.
“Nevertheless,
everybody in the team is highly motivated to further reduce our gap to the
top – particularly on fast circuits. We are currently experiencing tough
times, but this is not new for us: after a year without victories in 2006
we missed our target to win the title by one point in 2007 and then, a
year after, we clinched the world championship with Lewis in 2008. We all
work in a calm, focused and concentrated way to get our job done. And we
will manage to do so – but certainly not overnight.”
To
celebrate his home race at the
Santander
British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton talks in detail through a lap of the
Silverstone circuit.
McLaren
at the British Grand Prix…
10
years ago (July 11, 1999)
David
Coulthard
won the first of two British Grands Prix for McLaren-Mercedes after
pole-sitter and early leader Mika
Hakkinen was forced to retire with a loose rear wheel. Notable
also for Michael Schumacher’s leg-breaking first-lap shunt at Stowe, it
was McLaren’s 120th
grand prix victory and the
16th
of the McLaren-Mercedes partnership.
20
years ago (July 16, 1989)
Locking
out the front row for the seventh successive race, Alain
Prost took his third win at Silverstone, assuming the lead
after team-mate Ayrton Senna
spun into the Becketts gravel with a gearbox problem. It was Alain’s 29th
victory for McLaren and the team’s 76th.
30
years ago (July 14 1979)
While
neither M28C nor M29 – the ground effect machines that were driven by John
Watson and Patrick Tambay
respectively – were the team’s most competitive cars of the 1970s,
they enjoyed a strong showing at Silverstone. Watson qualified seventh and
finished fourth while Tambay started 18th and raced to seventh.
Clay Regazzoni won for Williams – the first of the marque’s 113 grand
prix victories.
40
years ago (July 19 1969)
Team
founder Bruce McLaren
celebrated his 25th career podium after taking M7C from seventh
on the grid to third at the flag. Team-mate Denny
Hulme, driving an M7A, started from the front row in third but
retired on lap 27 with ignition problems. The race was won by Jackie
Stewart, driving a Matra MS80.
