3700 x 2453 px | 31,3 x 20,8 cm | 12,3 x 8,2 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
27 giugno 2014
Ubicazione:
Goodwood, West Sussex, UK
Altre informazioni:
The McLaren MP4-26 was a Formula One racing car designed by McLaren for the 2011 Formula One season. It was driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the 2008 and 2009 World Drivers' Champions, respectively. The car was launched on 4 February at Potsdamer Platz located in Berlin, Germany, shortly after the first test session of the season in Valencia. McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button drove an interim version of the car's predecessor, the MP4-25 at the first tests to get experience with the final tyre compounds provided by new tyre supplier Pirelli. Right before the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren signed a new sponsor: Lucozade and the logo replaced the Johnnie Walker logo on the sides of the rear wing, thus shifting the Johnnie Walker logo to the back of the rear wing, which changed from red to silver in colour. After not seeming that quick in pre-season testing, the MP4-26 arrived in Melbourne with some significant changes. It was instantly quicker than the Ferrari and quickest of all in Friday practice. Despite this, the Red Bull RB7 was evidently the quickest car, and Lewis Hamilton did well to qualify in second, albeit 0.766 seconds behind Vettel's Red Bull. It was a similar story in the race, Vettel charged off into the distance with Hamilton eventually finishing 22 seconds behind, leaving the car with a broken undertray. A drive through penalty meant that Jenson Button slipped from fourth to sixth. It was evident, even at this early stage, the MP4-26 needed some rapid improvements to challenge Red Bull in the Championship. At the season finale, in Brazil, Red Bull occupied the front row whilst both the MP4-26s were on the second row again, with Button out-qualifying Hamilton. Button finished the race in third, behind the two Red Bull drivers, after being overtaken by Alonso at the start, yet repassing him near the end of the race. Hamilton ran in fifth for the majority of the race, before retiring with a gearbox issue
