Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes launched the title defence of Lewis Hamilton’s world championship by revealing their 2009 car, the MP4-24. This is the first McLaren to wear the number 1 since Mika Hakkinen in 2000, following his 1999 championship.
With limits on in-season development during the 2009 season, Ron Dennis explains some of the challenges in building the car, “The biggest problem is the concept of the car because if you have the wrong concept you are locked into an uncompetitive car.”
Lewis Hamilton is refreshed heading into the new season, “I feel more relaxed going into the season simply because I’m come off a great season. I feel I have reset my goals, and reset my targets back to when I started in Formula One. I want to be world champion. I don’t sit here saying I am world champion; I sit here saying I want to be world champion.”
Heikki Kovalainen, too, is ready for the challenges ahead, “Well obviously there are many big changes coming to the season and there are still a few unknown things like the qualifying format that could spice up the things. But I think it is a big challenge for everybody. The cars will feel a little bit different and we need to adjust and adapt the driving style a little bit. Maybe the set-up will be a little bit different, and there are a lot of questions we need to answer before Melbourne.”
More images below and full media access on the launch of the MP4-24 is available at the McLaren website.