If you’re an ardent F1 fan, then you’ll already have pored over all the details on autosport.com, FormulaOne.com or the main UK broadcast rivals BBC and Sky F1 Digital. For a dose of intelligent reflection from the most popular experts, pay a visit to James Allen on F1, Joe Saward and F1 Pit Reporter for SPEED channel, Will Buxton.

If not, then it’s worth setting aside a few minutes and reading what they have to say.

The MP4-27 is the car that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes hope will deliver them back to the top of the rostrum in both the Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships, after a drubbing by Red Bull Racing in 2011 (and previously in 2010). The combination of Adrian Newey, the hottest engineer in F1 and Sebastian Vettel, the hottest driver in F1, has made a formidable opponent and McLaren are determined to fight back from the first race of the season in Melbourne.

In the following video, former World Champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton share their thoughts on the upcoming 2012 season, together with what drives them and their team in their pursuit for success. In addition. McLaren MD Jonathan Neale also provides his insight into the development of the MP4-27 and how it differs from last season’s car.

Given how early we are in the season, with only 2 cars (from Caterham F1 and McLaren) currently revealed, I was surprised to see the comment from Sky Sports’ Technical Analyst Mark Hughes that the MP4-27 represented “..nothing new” and the more asinine remark that “..McLaren are still yet to uncover the secret of Adrian Newey’s ongoing success at Red Bull.”

Hopefully such speculation is not indicative of Sky’s F1 coverage for the season ahead. As McLaren’s Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh said yesterday, even they don’t know how good a car they’ve built and won’t really know until qualifying at Melbourne. To conclude anything at this stage, especially given how much the cars will change between now and mid-March, smacks of naivety or downright link-baiting to grab prominence in the search listings.

I guess all we can say just now is the drivers looked calm and refreshed from the winter break, the engineers looked satisfied with their endeavours and the team as a whole were realistic in their aspirations for the season ahead and the amount of work they need to invest in order to beat Red Bull.

Roll on Melbourne.

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Created in 1988 by former rally driver Michèle Mouton, the only female WRC event winner, and Fredrik Johnsson, the Race of Champions has become the most eagerly-anticipated after party of the motorsport season. This year’s event, run on the 3rd and 4th December, returned to Dusseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena, the venue where relative newcomer Felipe Albuquerque took the overall ‘Champion of Champions’ cup in 2010.

Taking part this year were seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, the reigning 2011 F1 title-holder Sebastian Vettel and a selection of the biggest names on two and four wheels including, Moto-X rider and rallycross driver Travis Pastrana, 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk, Britain’s Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx, F1 drivers Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock and Romain Grosjean and of course last year’s RoC Champion of Champions, the Portugese DTM driver Felipe Albuquerque.

Neil Cole interviews the irrepressible Travis Pastrana.

For the first time in ages, multiple WRC champion Sebastien Loeb was absent from the field, but in his place were three rising stars of rallying; Sébastien Ogier (Loeb’s Citroen WRC team mate in 2011), Jan Kopecký (2011 IRC runner-up for Skoda) and Juho Hänninen (Super 2000 WRC champion in 2011).

Naturally, the bookies’ favourite was Sebastian Vettel, the man who could do no wrong in F1 during 2011, clinching his second successive drivers title, but the field was more than adequately blessed with champions, including three F1 world champions, together with champions of DTM, X-Games, WTCC and Le Mans.

If you haven’t already seen the highlights, then I’ll not spoil the surprise by telling you who wins, but you can get up to speed by watching the official review video fronted by well-known TV presenter, Neil Cole.

In fact, that’s the real reason for this post, to draw your attention to Neil’s first column in ROAD magazine, appropriately named “Cole Position”.

Neil has been a familiar face on our TV screens during recent years, presenting the official WRC coverage on DAVE and live interviews at Race of Champion events. This time he provides an exclusive insight for ROAD readers into what it really feels like to muck around off-camera with the finest drivers in the world.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

Neil has an on-camera chat with Michael Schumacher.

Race Of Champions 2011

I am standing in an underground car-park, shoulder to shoulder with Jenson Button, Andy Priaulx and Travis Pastrana – three men at the very top of their individual trees.

We are watching the live TV output of a race… a race taking place about 40 feet and several thousand tonnes of concrete, grass, metal and tarmac above our heads.

The camera cuts to an onboard shot of Tom Kristensen’s face – clearly visible in HD & an open-face helmet – wide-eyed, gurning and snarling as he fights a KTM X-Bow around a tight 1.2km parallel circuit. All four of us burst out laughing at the Le Mans’ legend’s extreme facial expressions.

“TK – you’re an ANIMAL!” says JB. (Initials are the usual abbreviation, just ask DC) and everybody laughs again.

This is the spirit of Race Of Champions. It has the feel of a millionaire’s stag weekend: yes, all the drivers are there to WIN, and to represent their sponsors and charities, but ultimately it is the closest we get to the Good Old Days of Motorsport where gentlemen drivers would walk out of the pub, stub out a cigarette, jump in the cockpit, spit on their hands and RACE.

Read the remainder of Neil’s article in ROAD 22: “Motorsport Monsters”.

Keep up to speed with Neil on Twitter – @neilcole and Facebook.

The reason for my request was to provide some background to the BBC’s coverage of McLaren’s new £50m Production Centre (MPC), which is being opened by British Prime Minister, David Cameron, this afternoon.

Journalism student, Beth Andrews, was one of the first to respond and selected to appear on BBC Surrey alongside Professor John Watts, from the University of Surrey. Here’s what they both had to say..

The MPC is the new production facility for McLaren’s MP4-12C supercar and will also house the bulk of McLaren’s race car collection, which up until recently was housed at the secretive Unit 2 Access Point in Portsmouth.

The Prime Minister met with the team’s F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and was escorted around the MTC and MPC by McLaren’s Executive Chairman, Ron Dennis.

When speaking to a small gathering of media and invited guests, the Prime Minister said, “Thank you for inviting me. It is incredibly inspiring to be here. I’ve been to a few car factories in my time but I have never been to anything like this. Formula 1 is an incredible British success story. It is not just McLaren. When Michael Schumacher races it is in a car built in Britain. Perhaps that is a point I will make to Chancellor Merkel tomorrow to break the ice!”

Ron Dennis was keen to point out that McLaren Automotive had already sold 2,000 MP4-12C road cars in 2011, and was well on target to achieving 5,000 cars in 2012.

“Just like our racing cars, the McLaren Group never stands still – and you may like some of the pioneering new directions we’re taking.”, said Dennis.

“McLaren is more than just a builder of beautiful and successful Formula 1 cars: we’re a relentlessly competitive entity, bred on high-performance and determined to bring to market ground-breaking products and solutions that are set apart by their top quality and dependence on totally unique and highly innovative steps in performance.”

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]]> http://skiddmark.com/2011/11/prime-minister-david-cameron-opens-the-new-mclaren-production-centre-mpc/feed/ 0 http://skiddmark.com/2011/09/mclaren-automotive-sets-its-sights-on-becoming-a-multi-billion-dollar-business-wvideo/ http://skiddmark.com/2011/09/mclaren-automotive-sets-its-sights-on-becoming-a-multi-billion-dollar-business-wvideo/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:31:38 +0000 Steve Davies http://www.skiddmark.com/?p=25155 This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix was a fitting occasion for McLaren Automotive to announce that its Asia Pacific network will be managed from a wholly-owned McLaren subsidiary, McLaren Automotive Asia Pte Ltd, based in Singapore.

McLaren Automotive Asia Pte Ltd will be responsible for all of McLaren Automotive’s regional operations throughout its Asia Pacific network including importation, distribution, logistics, sales, marketing, technical support and financial services for McLaren’s range of high-performance sports cars.

The wholly-owned McLaren subsidiary will be based in Singapore with an initial team of around 10 McLaren Automotive employees managing retailers in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Plans are under consideration for expansion into mainland China.

McLaren already have a strong reputation in the region from its Formula One success, having won races in the Asia Pacific region every season since 2007.

One fascinating statistic revealed last night is that around a quarter of all existing McLaren F1 road cars have their homes in the Asia Pacific region, so McLaren Automotive naturally assume existing owners will be keen to add an MP4-12C to their collection and indeed this is borne out by news that the 5 McLaren Automotive retailers in the region already hold an 18 months order book on average.

Ron Dennis, the company’s Chairman, also made his ambitions clear at a press conference last night – to grow into a multi-billion dollar business within the next 10 years.

Dennis confirmed that McLaren’s future was still very much in F1, but that racing would only account for around 10 per cent of the group’s income as other divisions expand.

They aim to sell around 4,000 cars each year (around 1,000 cars have been sold in the MP4-12C’s first trading year), with 43 per cent of sales in North America, 35 per cent in Europe and the rest in the Middle-East and Asia Pac. This compares with around 7,000 cars sold by Ferrari today, although their President Luca di Montezemolo has previously stated their ambition to reach 10,000 cars within the decade.

Dennis is determined to “..reach a turnover in the billions” and he said “we will achieve it.” Watch out Ferrari..

What better excuse to wheel out McLaren’s new supercar, the MP4-12C and cruise around the town pursued by Milan’s indigenous paparazzi.

If you’ve ever been to Monza circuit then you’ll probably have visited the remains of the heavily banked section of the old track, as it gently decays in the surrounding woodland. I’m fortunate to have visited a great many tracks around the world, but Monza is the only one that sends chills down my spine whenever I visit, especially on a non-race day.

To describe the sensation as haunting would be an understatement, there’s something so steeped in history about the place that you can almost still hear Fangio and Moss dicing just inches apart as they fight for the win. Little remains of the 4.25 km high-speed banked ‘speed circuit’, but you get the feeling that what does, retains the very essence of motor racing – all the reasons why young men risk their lives in pursuit of the chequered flag. Distilled into one stretch of track.

So, it’s fitting that we look upon a photo of McLaren’s MP4-12C, a car which in McLaren’s own words, “..captures everything McLaren has learned in Formula 1 – distilled into a road car”.

I like to imagine Fangio looking on at this image, knowing that it was men like him who contributed to making modern supercars, like the MP4-12C, the great machines that they are.

Feel free to download a copy of the image for your own personal use, and then immerse yourself in the full gallery of McLaren’s MP4-12C in Milan.

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This has been Lewis’ most dissapointing season in F1 to date, admidst criticism that his celebrity lifestyle may be hindering his Formula One career.

To set the record straight, Lewis wanted to speak about the race and the preparations he makes as he approaches the unique challenge of Monza.

Questions and Answers

Lewis, can you describe the challenge of racing at Monza?
Monza’s unique. It’s a real challenge for the drivers because you go there with a special lowdownforce aero package that makes the car feel completely different. It accelerates faster, but it also feels quite unstable compared to normal and you have much less grip through the corners. You have to drive the car a bit like a go kart.

Do you expect the MP4-26 to be competitive?
Last year I won at Spa and failed to finish at Monza, so I’m looking to reverse that sequence this year! I think we’ll be massively competitive at Monza because we’re on full-throttle for 83 percent of the lap and we have a very powerful and driveable engine in the Mercedes V8. The balance of our car is also good and I’m expecting it to ride the kerbs well. You have to hammer the chicanes if you want to be quick and not all the drivers feel comfortable doing that, but I have an aggressive driving style and don’t mind!

What would it mean to win at Monza?
It’s one of the classic races on the calendar and I’d love to win it. I haven’t had much luck at the track for the last two years, but it’s a place that I associate with good memories. I won the GP2 Series at the track in 2006 and it was that same weekend that Ron [Dennis, Chairman of the McLaren Group] told me he was going to give me a chance. I finished second here in 2007 and I’d love to go one better this year.

Do you get used to driving at speeds in excess of 220mph?
You do and, as a result, you have to be very careful not to exceed the pit lane speed limit when you come into the pits. Monza is a track that you have to respect because of the high speeds involved. In 2009 I was pushing hard at the end of the race and I lost it between the two Lesmos. I hit the barrier on the inside and it was quite an impact. I definitely don’t want to be doing that again!

What’s it like performing in front of Ferrari’s home crowd?
It doesn’t worry me. If anything, the support for Ferrari spurs everyone at McLaren on! We get a fantastic reception as well: there’s some light-hearted banter from the grandstands, and there are some in the crowd that support us!

Does the history of Monza mean anything to you?
It’s pretty spectacular to see the old banking right next to the pits. I tried walking up it once, but it wasn’t possible. I had to get down on all fours and actually climb up it! You have to wonder how many cars disappeared over the top of the banking because there was only one layer of Armco holding them in if they had failures.

Would you have been happy to race on Monza’s banking 50 years ago?
It was dangerous, but I would have raced on it back then. It must have been thrilling to drive around a really high speed corner. You probably think I’m nuts, but I’ve always been like that. When I was a kid, if someone told me not to do something because it was dangerous, I’d go and do it!

Following his podium finish at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Jenson flew back to the UK on Sunday evening, ready for his demonstration run through the streets of Manchester the following day. Button also treated one lucky Vodafone customer to a thrilling drive through Manchester city centre in a McLaren MP4-12C, and ended the day with an on-stage, public Q&A appearance.

From Friday to Monday, Vodafone customers and up to 3 of their friends were give the chance to access the Vodafone VIP Fan Zone in Albert Square, which hosted a bespoke Go Kart track and a number of interactive F1 experiences, including a pit stop challenge, the opportunity to sit in the McLaren Mercedes car, an F1 simulator and an exhibition of race suits and helmets. Throughout the weekend there was also a pit garage in the forecourt of the Hilton Deansgate hotel in which customers were given tours.

This three-day celebration was part of Vodafone’s initiative to give more people the chance to experience F1 first-hand. Previous Vodafone events have taken place in central London and at the McLaren Technology Centre in Surrey, so this was the first (of hopefully many) regional tours for the team.

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If you were in the crowd, then perhaps you can find yourself in the pictures below. If you’d like a high-res version for personal use, then send us an email using the ‘Feedback’ form on this page or via a mention on Twitter at @DriversRepublic letting us know which picture you are in.

Hi-Res Image Downloads (just click on a link to automatically open a download panel)

The number on the link refers to the position of the image in the gallery below. If you’d like to request an image that is not currently listed, then please contact us with details of the image you’d like and we’ll add a link below.

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I am particularly keen to showcase mini-series formats, which provide an ongoing insight into a topic or brand that we’d all like to know more about. This week we’re featuring Formula 1 and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, both of whom are sponsored by Johnnie Walker.

Without sponsors we wouldn’t have Formula 1, but you might be surprised to learn that it’s a relatively small group of sponsors who contribute the majority of this support. One of those is Johnnie Walker, purveyors of the finest Scotch whisky and sponsors of McLaren since 2005, using its partnership with the team and drivers to promote its responsible drinking campaigns.

So what’s this got to do with you?

Well rather than using Formula 1 as a marketing vehicle, Johnnie Walker have invested their efforts in ways that we as enthusiasts can appreciate, by providing unprecedented access to what goes on behind the scenes at some of the most iconic grand prix events in the calendar. The series is called ‘Step Inside The Circuit’ and has so far visited Monaco and Silverstone, producing 14 black-and-white videos, all lavishly shot where Lewis and Jenson take us on a unique journey into the world’s most glamorous sport.

The latest episode in the series is embedded below capturing the driver’s thoughts and emotions before the British GP earlier this month, there’s also a series of exclusive wallpaper pictures available on the JWStepInside Facebook page which you can download and use to brighten up your computer or smart-phone.

It’s a neat way of immersing yourself in the sport, adding to the broadcast TV coverage on the Beeb and showing some support for brands such as Johnnie Walker who keep F1 alive. Thus far the videos have received 160,000 views on YouTube but we believe they deserve more, which is why we’ve agreed to bring them to your attention.

If you’d like to watch the other videos in the series then you’ll find them on the McLaren channel on SkiddPlayer, the Johnnie Walker Step Inside channel on YouTube or you’ll find a small selection on the JWStepInside Facebook page.

What’s Next?

Next stop is Nürburgring in Germany this coming weekend – McLaren say they are confident that the adoption of pre-Silverstone diffuser regulations will allow it to once again fight the mighty Red Bull duo and move back ahead of Ferrari.

The impromptu change of regulations at Silverstone hit the Woking team hard, with MD Jonathan Neale claiming they lost around 0.7 seconds relative to their main rivals, and whilst the gap to Red Bull was even greater the team still believe it’s possible to fight for the championship in 2011.

According to Neale, “This organisation exists to win races, and while it is mathematically possible to win the championship, it’s possible.”

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Johnnie Walker, however all views expressed within are entirely our own. We only accept sponsorship of articles in which a more in-depth focus will benefit the reader. Get in touch with us directly if you’d like to discuss.

The opening, hosted by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, and McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive Executive Chairman, Ron Dennis, celebrated ‘Defining Moments in Time’. Recognising the launch of the global network of McLaren car retailers, and the arrival of the first ‘pure’ McLaren sports car, the event also presented past McLaren track successes with iconic trophies and two of Lewis Hamilton’s race-winning Formula 1 cars.

Ron Dennis said: “We are fiercely proud of the McLaren brand and I am personally proud that we are welcoming into the McLaren family some of the world’s best car retailers, many of whom are with us tonight. I look forward to delivering great cars to them, as I know we share a common objective: we are driven to succeed and we try to be the best at everything that we do.

“Jenson, Lewis, our hosts, and many of our guests represent tonight a group of people who share a particular value: that is that somewhere along our careers and lives we have experienced an iconic, or defining moment. Tonight is that moment for McLaren Automotive,” Dennis concluded.

McLaren has invested nearly £800m since 2005 to establish itself as the world’s newest sports car company. That investment has focused on the development of a range of innovative, technologically ground-breaking, and bespoke high-performance sports cars, as well as the construction of a brand new manufacturing facility (the McLaren Production Centre – MPC) at the company’s headquarters.

The initial 35 strong retail network was recently completed with the confirmation of McLaren retailers in Frankfurt, Munich, Osaka, Singapore and Tokyo whilst attention now moves on to securing up to six more retailers in 2012. Markets that McLaren is considering include China, Russia and Scandinavia. The company’s first ‘pure’ McLaren sports car is experiencing high demand with over 18 months of production currently accounted for.

McLaren anticipates expanding its global retail network to around 70 locations by the middle of the decade when the full range of cars is under production at the MPC in Woking, England: as the MP4-12C goes on sale, three further models or derivatives are currently already under development.

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All the teams have been busily developing their new cars ready for the 2011 season, and it was Rubens Barrichello who drew first blood in February practice with the fastest lap, which he completed during his first 100 lap trial stint in the new AT&T Williams FW33.

Now that we are into the final practice session in Barcelona before the start of the season and the Edge Global Team are in place again to report on their findings. Can Barrichello and Williams maintain their competitive edge, or have the other teams closed the gap since the last test?

With new rules for the 2011 Season, it will be the teams performing the most testing and putting the most miles under their new chassis that are likely to start the season strongest. Ferrari are in pole position in this respect, having already covered over 5,200 km, with Red Bull Racing following with a still impressive 4,400 km of testing. Both teams have so far experienced excellent reliability, with very few technical problems for either team impeding their progress.

McLaren however are believed to be falling slightly behind, with less than 3,000km under the wheels of the MP4-26 and a series of early technical issues keeping the car away from the track. To add insult to injury, both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are unhappy with the new Pirelli tyres – although Jenson is notorious for being sensitive to a car’s balance in testing.

If they can get through this difficult period, their car should be well equipped to compete at the top. Meanwhile McLaren has confirmed that it has re-signed Pedro de la Rosa as its test and reserve driver for the 2011 F1 season, which will be a bonus given the development role he’s performed in recent months for Pirelli.

So far in the final testing session in Barcelona, it appears once again that Sebastian Vettel is the man to beat. Not all the teams managed to get their cars out on track, with HRT still to launch their 2011 car, but early indications are promising for Red Bull fans. Both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Torro Rosso had successful tests yesterday, with Torro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi finishing only half a second slower than Vettel after having completed an impressive 120 laps:

“We can be pleased with what we achieved today, because with 120 laps, it meant we completed all the program we had planned,” Said Buemi.

Vitaly Petrov did well in the Lotus Renault, setting the third fastest time of the day in a confidence-inspiring run. He went on to say “It’s the first time I’ve been able to do consistent long runs and really start understanding the tires.”

It appears understanding the new tyres is a main focus of this test, and could shape the start of the championship when it starts in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren only managed to complete 57 laps after various technical issues, although still set the fourth fastest time.

As we near the end of the final testing session, expect Ferrari and Red Bull, together with Williams, Sauber and Mercedes to all show strong performances by the end of the week.

As ever, we’ve taken some time to enjoy the fantastic hospitality offered to us as guests of the F1 teams.

For more information on how you can get involved in the Paddock Club with EDGE, visit www.edgeglobalevents.com.

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