Italian GP: McLaren envisions a victory with its KERS
McLaren should experience another successful weekend as the Italian Grand Prix approaches, traditionally held at the temple of speed in Monza. The team has a major advantage: its KERS. This will be of invaluable help on this extraordinary track. The extra 80 horsepower for a little over six seconds will make a difference on the […]
McLaren should experience another successful weekend as the Italian Grand Prix approaches, traditionally held at the temple of speed in Monza. The team has a major advantage: its KERS. This will be of invaluable help on this extraordinary track. The extra 80 horsepower for a little over six seconds will make a difference on the long straights of the circuit.
Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen are more than confident about the race as in recent weeks, they have been accumulating victories and points, putting the Woking team in a strong position behind the two main championship leaders (Brawn GP and Red Bull).
Lewis Hamilton – Racing Driver
Since we no longer do testing at Monza before the Italian Grand Prix, it will take a bit of acclimatization to get used to driving with low downforce on a high-speed track. It’s a real challenge to get a good setup because we need to find the ideal compromise between the speed of the long straights and the lower speeds in the corners. It’s never easy to keep the car on the track, as it slides all the time. On most circuits, you have aerodynamic downforce that sticks you to the track, but not at Monza. But it’s a fantastic circuit, our car has always performed well here, and I’m looking forward to another competitive weekend.
Heikki Kovalainen – Racing Driver:
« I have scored points in the last four races and I see no reason not to score again at Monza this weekend. I love this track. I won here in GP2 and then finished in the points the following two years in F1. I think our car will be well-suited to the circuit. Like all teams, we will be running with a special low downforce aerodynamic package, but we will also have the advantage of using KERS on the straights. This should give us a greater advantage over a lap, especially during the qualifying which will be very important. »
Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal:
Monza is a circuit that smiles on the team and we love racing on this track; it is so ingrained in the history of Formula 1. The unique character of the track places demands on the cars, and like all teams, we will arrive at this circuit with a high level from an aerodynamic point of view. It will be another interesting test for the MP4-24s that we continue to develop. It will be useful to understand how they work with a low level of downforce. Of course, Monza is the temple of speed and with KERS, we should see incredible speeds, especially during qualifying.
