McLaren drivers and team principal confident about Monza
The defending world champion Jenson Button is obviously not happy about his finish at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps as it has affected his title chase dearly. The British is determined about this weekend’s race and hopes to put him back in the run for the title. Jenson seemed quite optimistic as the team had a very good pace for the whole weekend at Spa that was extremely encouraging and the team is developing the car at a very rapid rate. McLaren is learning more from this and expect to maintain the momentum at Monza. Button said that the team still has some work to do in order to make sure the team brings the perfect package for the track. The world champion seems to be quite confident that his engineers have some good ideas and they understand the car very well, so the team will be in great shape. Because there are five people chasing the title, this is going to be a very intense and exciting Grand Prix. “I love racing at Monza - it’s a totally unique experience; running minimal downforce at incredible speeds along the straights, and then coping with the lack of grip, and an extremely skittish car, through the low-speed stuff”, he said. Jenson Button was able to qualify in 6th place last year before finishing in 2nd place on the podium with Brawn GP. Therefore, he has a mental advantage over rest of the drivers on the grid.
His teammate Lewis Hamilton on the other hand, was quite happy with his result at the Belgian Grand Prix. He believes that McLaren’s performance showed that as a team, McLaren never gives up and they can always recover from difficulties feeling stronger and more determined than ever before. Lewis praised the teams fighting spirit and said that he is impressed with how the team strives to win. The former world champion hopes that Spa was just the beginning of a momentum that will hopefully head into the final races of the championship. Hamilton wishes to win this race and increase the lead in order to secure the drivers’ title. “I’ve made no secret of my wish to win this race. Monza is an incredible circuit - full of history and stories from the past. It has a special feeling in the air that you don’t find anywhere else in the world”, he said. Monza inspires the drivers to race to their limits and Lewis will be pushing harder than ever this weekend. The British driver is looking forward to meet his Italian fans this weekend as he grew up racing in karts in Italy. Lewis always appreciates the passion and support of the Italian fans for Formula 1, and Motorsports in general. McLaren has a large fan following in Italy and Hamilton hopes that his team will have a great race at this historic track. Lewis was able to take the pole position at Monza last year but finished in a disappointing 12th place after the race.
McLaren’s team Principal Martin Whitmarsh said that keeping in mind Monza’s characteristics appear to suit their package, it is still not easy for them to develop their car in its best form for this unique track. The extreme high-speed nature of the track requires a low-downforce demanding its own specially made aero package and it makes it difficult to find the correct level of downforce. It requires a complex number of aerodynamic and mechanic variables to work melodiously in order to provide both of the drivers with the best machinery out on track. He said that Lewis’s victory at Spa was perfectly timed and motivated the entire team substantially for the races to come. The team is now more determined to reignite Jenson’s championship hopes this weekend after his unfortunate finish at Spa. “I’m proud of every single person’s efforts to provide us with a winning edge. We know how to win races and world championships, and, clearly, we will once again be pushing for victory this weekend”.
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