F1: Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button talk about the 2010 grand prix season

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton

WITH the 2010 Formula 1 campaign fast approaching, Lewis Hamilton and new McLaren Mercedes team-mate, world champion Jenson Button, talk about their thoughts for the forthcoming grand prix season.

Lewis Hamilton racing at Bahrain last year [Pictures courtesy of www.mclaren.com]

LEWIS Hamilton is all revved up for the new Formula 1 season.

With preparations for 2010 already well underway at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Hamilton spoke of his hopes for the campaign ahead.

After a rollercoaster ride in 2009 as reigning world champion, the Herts-born racer is looking to hit the ground running when the season kicks off with the opening Grand Prix of Bahrain in just 62 days’ time.

Spurred on by the legendary Michael Schumacher returning to the sport and the arrival of new F1 champion Jenson Button at McLaren, Hamilton is keen to be in tip-top physical condition.

He said: “At the end of the 2009 season, I promised myself that I would aim to be 100 per cent fit and focused on the new year, so I’ve been working hard.”

Hamilton, who turned 25 last week, is looking forward to trying the new McLaren car for the first time.

“I’m excited and can’t wait to see it and test it,” he said.

“I’ll be working closely with my engineers and the team to make sure we all hit the ground running with the new car.

Lewis Hamilton

“You can never take competitiveness for granted in Formula 1 – we saw that last year – so our common goal has to be to make MP4-25 a winning proposition as quickly as possible.

“Only once we’ve achieved that can we start looking at winning races and then, eventually, the world championship.”

Hamilton hasn’t met Jenson at McLaren’s hi-tech Woking headquarters yet, but hopes they form a successful partnership when their paths do cross.

“We’ve both been to MTC for our seat fittings – but they were on different days,” said Lewis, whose family live in Tewin, Hertfordshire.

"You can never take competitiveness for granted in Formula 1 – we saw that last year – so our common goal has to be to make MP4-25 a winning proposition as quickly as possible.
Only once we’ve achieved that can we start looking at winning races and then, eventually, the world championship."

Lewis Hamilton on McLaren’s new car

“The first time we’ll start working together is later this month, when we’ll both be at Woking together, then we’ll have the launch and the first test.

“We’ll be sharing the pre-season testing equally, and it will be important to keep a crossover of information between us to make sure we are both pulling in the right direction.”

Despite having only officially joined the team on New Year’s Day, Button already feels part of the McLaren family.

“I’m loving every minute of it,” said the former Brawn GP driver from Frome in Somerset.

“The atmosphere within the team feels fantastic, and I’ve already started to feel at home here.”

Like Lewis, Jenson is itching to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2010 challenger.

“I can’t wait to get out in the fantastic new car the team has built for me,” said last year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year runner-up.

“Honestly, I really cannot wait to get out to Valencia and get my first run in the MP4-25.

“I think that’s when it will finally sink in that I’m a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.”

On his thoughts for the season ahead, Hamilton’s new team-mate added: “Obviously, my aim is to keep the number one on my car for as long as possible!

“But, at the moment, it’s a little bit too early to start talking about the world championship.

“The backbone of any title challenge is built on good preparation, hard word, focus and dedication.

“And the hard work starts here – the next 10 weeks could well largely dictate the destiny of the 2010 world championship, so it’s crucial that we start testing very strongly and that we never let up.

“I’m more motivated than ever to work with the team and my engineers, and I’ve extremely positive for the year ahead.”

F1: Rosberg Giving Nothing Up For Schumacher At Mercedes GP

MERCEDES GP DRIVER NICO Rosberg wants the German team’s number one seat, telling press this week that new teammate and racing legend Michael Schumacher will have to fight him for it.

Rosberg, who signed with Mercedes GP before the former Brawn outfit announced Schumacher’s return to Formula 1, said he plans to be the team’s best driver in 2010.

Speaking with Germany’s Auto Bild, the 24 year-old former Williams driver said that he and Schumacher consider themselves equals at the new team, but competition between the two drivers will be strong.

"We are on an equal footing in the team, it’s always been like that at Mercedes, that’s their philosophy," Rosberg said.

"Your own teammate is the driver you always compare yourself to because he has the same car. My aim is to be in front of him as much as possible."

Rosberg delivered a sting to his famous teammate, saying he’d always been a bigger fan of Mika Hakkinen -  a friend of the Rosberg family - happiest whenever the Finn beat Schumacher.

Despite his eagerness to beat the former Ferrari hero, Rosberg said Schumacher’s return after a three year ‘retirement’ is a good thing.

"He’s stayed active and enthusiastic, and he wants to race again. He’s happy and that’s what matters."

Mercedes drivers to share winter test days

By Motorsport.com/GMM

The pre-season test days scheduled by Mercedes GP will be split evenly between the team's race drivers, Norbert Haug has confirmed.

Germany's Bild newspaper revealed that Michael Schumacher, who turned 41 on Sunday, will drive at four separate winter tests prior to his Grand Prix return in mid March.

They will take place at Valencia, Jerez, Jerez (again) and Barcelona, and Mercedes' competition director Haug denied that seven time world champion Schumacher will enjoy the bulk of the 15 test days.

"No. I think it (the testing) will be divided fairly between both the drivers," he said, also referring to the German's 2010 teammate Nico Rosberg.

Fry tips Mercedes for F1 impact

Mercedes GP chief executive Nick Fry is confident that drivers Michael Shumacher (5/1 F1 Drivers Championship Outright) and Nico Rosberg(12/1) can bring success to their team in the 2010 Formula One season.

Mercedes recently confirmed that Schumacher was coming out of retirement to drive for the team this year and Fry feels the seven-times world champion and Rosberg can both have a big say in the destination of the drivers' title.

He told GP Update: "I think for 2010 we have to aim for a top three place in the Constructors' Championship and of course we need to win races.

"It's very difficult to go beyond that because we don't know at this stage what our competition will do."

Fry identified Ferrari and McLaren, who have the British dream team of 2008 winner Lewis Hamilton (11/4 F1 Drivers Outright) and reigning champion Jenson Button (15/2) driving for them in 2010, as two teams who should be strong during the season.

Red Bull have also been tipped by Fry to have an impact with Sebastian Vettel (13/2) on board if they have sufficiently developed their car for the new season.

Mercedes targeting top three spot

Newly-owned Mercedes GP will be aiming for a top three championship position as it heads into its season of title defence in 2010. Having completed a magical season to win both titles after narrowly surviving the pull-out of Honda a year ago, Sporting Director Nick Fry remains realistic as the new decade approaches.

With Brawn's 2009 season having consisted of an ultra-strong start followed by a desperate struggle to retain its lead as competitors' cars improved, Fry is refraining from over-optimistic targets.

"I think for 2010 we have to aim for a top three place in the Constructors' Championship and of course we need to win races," the Englishman explained. "It's very difficult to go beyond that because we don't know at this stage what our competition will do.

"I think Ferrari will be very strong, I think McLaren-Mercedes will also be very strong, maybe Red Bull with Sebastian (Vettel) again, so until we can see where they have developed their cars we won't know exactly where we are but if we're not in the top three I think we're all going to be extremely disappointed."

Schumacher F1 signing slammed by Mercedes board

The works council of Mercedes' parent company Daimler has openly criticised the signing of multiple world champion Michael Schumacher for F1 2010 - suggesting the money would have been better spent elsewhere

It seems that the signing of record-breaking multiple world champion Michael Schumacher by Mercedes Grand Prix for F1 2010 has not gone down quite as well in some quarters as in others, despite the general euphoria that the sport is to welcome back its most successful and crowned driver of all time.

The Daimler Works Council has already been critical of Mercedes' F1 decisions in the past, publicly questioning the Stuttgart manufacturer's increased involvement in the top flight at a time when employees are being laid off on the automotive side and cost-cutting is in full force in response to the ongoing global credit crunch.

When Mercedes purchased a majority stake in double 2009 world championsBrawn GP last month, council member Erich Klemm opined that 'in these economically difficult times, the company should invest in better marketing of its real cars' – and it would appear that the recruitment of Schumacher has elicited a similarly unimpressed reaction.

“For many colleagues, it is unimaginable,” works council leader Uwe Werner told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, adding that the seven-time F1 World Champion's reputed £7 million annual salary is 'hard to justify to our people' when some of Mercedes' manufacturing plants and therefore jobs are being transferred overseas, prompting protests in Germany. “The staff would have understood better if Mercedes had withdrawn from the expensive F1 business altogether.”

Indeed, the board's contention is that Mercedes should have followed the example of fellow car makers Honda, BMW and Toyota in departing the fray to focus on more environmentally-friendly and road car-relevant initiatives rather than continuing to throw millions at F1.

“Mercedes in particular is a company for which sportiness is not a selling-point but rather security and quality,” automobile industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the University of Duisburg-Essen in western Germany told the Bayerische Rundfunk radio station. “Why should a driver decide to buy a Mercedes because ofFormula 1? Every car will have to be sold for €200 to €300 more for Mercedes to finance Formula 1.”

However, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche insists that 'it would be a missed opportunity' not to take advantage of the increased global possibilities in F1 now that there are only three manufacturers left – Mercedes, Ferrari and to a lesser degree Renault – with Asian and Middle Eastern markets in particular ripe to be tapped into. Moreover, Mercedes Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug is convinced the partnership with Schumacher will be an investment for the future, and will do wonders for the company's worldwide image and consequently sales.

“The whole engagement will sell a lot of cars and make a lot of people aware of the quality of the [three-pointed] star,” the 57-year-old told ZDF public television. “We believe we know how to invest our money.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Schumacher has been forced to write an open letter of explanation to the millions of tifosi who are angry at his departure fromFerrari after 14 years together, with some going so far as to brand the 41-year-old a 'traitor'.

“I say [about Schumacher] the same as president [Luca di] Montezemolo – all the best,” the Scuderia's spokesman Luca Colajanni told news agency ANSA. “From now on he is an opponent, and we try to beat our opponents.”

Factbox: Michael Schumacher

Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to race for Mercedes next season.

* Born January 3, 1969 in Huerth-Hermuelheim, Germany

First grand prix

* Schumacher's first grand prix was with Jordan in Belgium in 1991, as a stand-in for jailed Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot. Despite completing only 500 meters in the race, he made an immediate impression.

* He was snapped up by Benetton after that debut, a move that provoked a bitter legal tussle, and scored points in only his second appearance with fifth place in Italy.

* Mexico provided the first podium of Schumacher's career in 1992, and his first win followed later that year in Belgium. Yet he had to wait until Monaco in 1994 for his first pole position.

* Won his first of seven titles later that year, going on to triumph in 1995 (also with Benetton), and 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (with Ferrari).

* He retired at the end of the 2006 season.

Controversy

* His career was dogged by controversy as well as highlighted by brilliance, the German colliding with Briton Damon Hill to win the 1994 title and trying to ram Canadian Jacques Villeneuve off the track in the 1997 decider.

* During the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session the German stopped his car toward the end of the circuit, partially blocking title rival Fernando Alonso, who was on a quick lap at the time. Schumacher was later demoted to the back of the grid for the race.

Records galore

* Schumacher is the only driver to win seven championships in Formula One and he owns many of the sport's records.

* In 2002 he finished every race on the podium, winning the title with six races to spare -- the fastest championship in Formula One.

* In 2004, when Ferrari were dominant, he won a record 13 races in a single season and finished first in seven successive races, also a record for a single season.

* Schumacher won an unprecedented 91 times, one fewer than the combined tally of the next two most successful drivers Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (41).

Return to Formula One

* Schumacher agreed to come out of retirement in July as a replacement for Ferrari's injured Brazilian Felipe Massa. The German was then forced to cancel due to a neck injury caused by a motorcycle accident in February.

* Schumacher agreed on December 2009 to join Mercedes GP for 3 years deal.