Belgian F1 Grand Prix 2012: Qualifying Report - First pole position of the season for Jenson Button

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• 151st pole for McLaren
• 72nd pole for McLaren, Mercedes & Mobil 1
• 26th pole for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
• 8th pole for Jenson
• 2nd successive pole for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
• 1st pole for Jenson in a McLaren

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-27A-02
- FP3: 5th, 1m49.091s (+0.549s), 18 laps
- Qualifying
- Q1: 2nd, 1m49.250s (on Primes)
- Q2: 1st, 1m47.654s (on Options)
- Q3: 1st overall, 1m47.573s (on Options)

"It’s been so long since my last pole position that it almost feels like a win for me!

"In fact, it’s my first pole since Monaco 2009 – which was a race that I won – and it demonstrates that I can qualify really well.

"So I want to offer my congratulations to the whole team: it’s my 50th grand prix for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes this weekend, so it’s a great time to get a pole position for everyone at Woking [home of McLaren], at Brixworth [home of MercedesAMGHighPerformancePowertrains] and of course here at Spa.

"I’m surprised that the new rear wing is working so well, but the engineers also did a great job with the balance. And it’s even more encouraging that we had good consistency through all three qualifying sessions. Nonetheless, nobody has done any long runs yet, so we still need to wait and see how tomorrow pans out.

"Can I still win the drivers’ championship? Yes. We’ll take it one day at a time, but hopefully we can get some good points tomorrow."

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-27A-04
- FP3: 12th, 1m49.615s (+1.073s), 19 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 8th, 1m49.605s (on Primes)
- Q2: 5th, 1m48.563s (on Options)
- Q3: 8th overall*, 1m48.394s (on Options)

* will start 7th due to Mark Webber’s five-place grid penalty

"Congratulations to Jenson! He did an excellent job and I hope he gets maximum points tomorrow.

"For me, today was a bit of a disappointment; but, since I’m still in the top 10, tomorrow will be about trying to make the most of things.

"The set-up wasn’t perfect, but that was simply because we chose the wrong rear wing, preferring to stay with the version we used in Hungary. The wing we’d been using in FP3 this morning hadn’t been working very well, so we opted to go back to the older wing which we thought would be the safer option. It was a collective choice: we thought the older wing would be quicker in qualifying, but in fact Jenson has shown the new wing to be very good indeed.

"Our side of the garage was a bit unlucky, but we’ll do what we can with what we have tomorrow."

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

"That was a truly brilliant pole lap by Jenson – his first for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and he’s now in extremely good shape for tomorrow’s race.

"This morning, though, in FP3, neither Jenson nor Lewis was entirely comfortable with the balance or feel of their cars, a situation that was perhaps compounded by a complete lack of dry running all day yesterday. For this afternoon, then, on a bone-dry track, following the issues we’d encountered in FP3 this morning, clearly we had to make some changes. We duly did so, in consultation with our drivers, and, as things panned out, the changes we made to Jenson’s car paid off the better of the two.

"So, as I say, having bagged pole position, he’ll be gunning for victory tomorrow – but Lewis, too, despite starting from P7, will be equally hungry to score a hatful of points. As I’ve said before, and as I’ll doubtless say again, in Jenson and Lewis we have the best driver line-up in Formula 1, and tomorrow both of them will be aiming to demonstrate that yet again."

~ Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Belgian F1 Grand Prix 2012: Qualifying Report - Dissapointing round for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS drivers

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Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg qualified in 13th and 18th positions respectively today after a disappointing qualifying hour for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

• Nico did not progress from Q1 having missed much of the final practice session this morning
• Michael got the most out of the car in Q2 but was not able to achieve higher than 13th place
• Nico will incur a five-place penalty as his gearbox was changed prior to qualifying

Michael Schumacher
“Well, what a pity today. I am really sorry for my fans but I am afraid I have to say that I got pretty much everything that we could from today. The car was not quick enough, and especially in the mid-sector we were too slow. We now have to take it as it is and try to do the best we can in the race tomorrow. We will have further steps coming soon, so we will go on fighting.”

Nico Rosberg
“This weekend isn’t really running to plan so far. Starting from the back of the grid tomorrow is really disappointing, although I had no chance to prepare my car due to the gearbox problem this morning. So it took a bit of a time to find the right set-up in qualifying and it didn’t work out well at the end. I hope I can gain some positions in the race but I’m not overly optimistic as our car is not one of the quickest on this track. I will definitely push hard.”

Ross Brawn
“It’s been a disappointing day all round for us. Qualifying was tough, and it proved pretty tricky to get the tyres in the right operating window. In fairness to Nico, he didn’t have much of a chance as he missed most of P3 this morning, the only opportunity to have had some time on a dry track. Michael had a reasonable run and that was about the best we could have achieved with the car that we have at the moment. Clearly it’s not good enough and we will continue working very hard to make improvements.”

Norbert Haug
“Michael got everything out of the car that was possible today. It did not help us that the rain yesterday meant that no preparation for today was possible but of course that applies to everybody. On top of that, Nico did not get any running in this morning´s only dry session due to a gearbox problem which will give him with a five place grid penalty. This is of course not the start that we have wished for after the summer break. Our target is to do a better job tomorrow.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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SPY: Early test mules for the 2015 smart fortwo and forfour spotted in Germany

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You would be tempted to say this is a Renault Twingo mule for a testing a future model of the constructor, but you couldn't be wronger than that. In fact, these are the very first spy shots that depict the next generation of the smart fortwo and forfour, both planned to be released during the course of 2014. The 4-seater has more potential nowadays and thus returns in the portfolio of the company, as CEO Dr. Annette Winkler confirmed recently. The development of the vehicles is still in a very early phase, so the final design is yet to be approved and this is the main argument of Daimler engineers for using an lightly camouflaged "outer shell" from its French partner to protect the new underpinnings.

The strategic partnership the two carmakers agreed upon and officially signed in April 2012 aims to reduce overall production costs through co-developing of new engines, new technologies, new cars and sharing of hidden components. Both the future fortwo and the forfour models will use a brand new chassis with real-wheel-drive traction (to also underpin the third generation Twingo, due in 2014, and a new mini-sized Nissan as well) to free the front axle of additional weight and improve agility. By principle, the newly developed engines, running on diesel or gasoline, will have a 3-cylinder architecture, a total displacement of 1.0 litre and below and be programmed to offer a comfortable and efficient ride, with very low CO2 emissions and unbeatable fuel economy numbers. More sophisticated assistance systems, a lighter construction and an unprecedented array of safety measures are also slated to debut in the forthcoming generations of the smart fortwo and forfour. Electric drive shall also be available right after the models arrive on the market.

The design will be inspired by the latest concepts smart has brought in the last years. Most probably, the fortwo coupe version will resemble the styling of the forvision concept, while the fortwo cabrio variant will follow the trail of the forspeED prototype. The forfour will too feature smart's new styling philosophy and combine several elements from the for-us showcar as well, besides the ones indicated previously. Thanks a longer wheelbase for the fortwo, there will be plenty of room inside 2-seater, more than in the current model. Apart from that, the interiors will have a premium touch thanks to the upscale materials that will be used and the general assembly quality well-known from Mercedes-Benz.

The new smart forfour will be revealed during summer 2014, while its smaller brother will arrive some months later, towards the end of the year. New additions to the lineup are also possible in 2015 and 2016, including a door-less Crossblade model and a leisure crossover. The entry price tag for the two new smart cars will gravitate around the 15,000 euros value, with extra optionals raising the challenge.

Note: The standard Renault Twingo mule is used to test the smart forfour, while the short wheelbase mule is used to disguise the smart fortwo.

Image Credits: Motor Authority

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Illustration: Autobild's Larson renders the 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Facelift (W 212)

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The forthcoming E-Class Facelift generation under the W/S 212 model series will say goodbye to the four-eyed fascia and welcome the brand new dynamic face, in term with Merc's latest design language. Using hints from inside the company and the bunch of spy shots that have appeared so far, the renowned car artist Larson sketched what seems to be a very close-to-reality 2013 E-Class.

The main motif of the front end is the new chromed radiator grille, now displaying a more sophisticated design and bordered by the striking single-piece headlights which will be optionally available with full LED Intelligent Light System. The apron you see in the image is rendered in AMG Style, but the standard model will certainly be less aggressive and more refined, with revised styling as well and new air intakes. The LED strips will dissapear from here and be integrated in the headlamps as well, with thin chrome bars replacing them in their original location.

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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