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A Monaco Story: Mika and Nico Chats in Monte Carlo

by (RSS feed) May 23rd, 2012 at 12:08 am

Surely you have already seen two or more people bumping at each other in a random place, maybe in a coffee shop or an elevator, and it is not unusual anymore.

In this video, it shows how Mika Hakkinen and Nico Rosberg sort of bumped into each other in Monte Carlo. You shouldn’t be surprised, as they live just a few floors apart.

Mika Hakkinen has long history with Mercedes-Benz. In 1998 and 1999, he won the world title riding the McLaren Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is driving for the third season since Silver Arrows returned.

In the video, you will see how long they’ve been ‘together’, it was long before Rosberg started in motorsports. He was just 11 years old when he met Mika, because Keke Rosberg, was the leader of his management team.

Watch the video and hear how these two motorsports champion got in the game and stayed in it, and how they also got in their friendship. For the full story and the gallery, you can see it after the jump.

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Mercedes Drivers Excited for Monaco GP

by (RSS feed) May 22nd, 2012 at 2:09 am

monaco GP 2011 597x397 Mercedes Drivers Excited for Monaco GP

The Monaco Grand Prix is fast approaching, and F1 fans can’t help but anticipate all the action that can be watched by the time this weekend hits. One can only imagine how excited the drivers themselves are, and some of them recently chimed in on the upcoming F1 race. Let’s see what the Mercedes drivers have to say.

“Monaco is just a circuit of its own very unique character,” says 7-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher. “In a way, you could look at it with a big portion of irony with regards to the contradiction that, for so many years we have successfully campaigned for more track safety, and then we deliberately race in Monaco.

“But in my view this is justifiable once a year, especially as the circuit is really so much fun to drive.” Schumi added that he expects a good result at Monte Carlo given the hard work the whole Mercedes AMG Petronas team has been putting in.

Fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg spent a good portion of his youth in Monaco (because his dad’s a former F1 champion, after all) and lives there still. “It’s a great feeling to be driving at home, knowing that all my friends and family are watching. I have always been quick around the streets here, and I believe a good result is possible for us next weekend.”

We’ll keep you updated on all the Formula One action this weekend, so stay tuned!

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Rosberg Says Title Still Possible

by (RSS feed) May 16th, 2012 at 3:25 am

2012 SpanishGP race 597x296 Rosberg Says Title Still Possible

The Spanish Grand Prix was a difficult one for Mercedes AMG Petronas; Michael Schumacher retired after a lap 12 collision with Bruno Senna (and subsequently penalized for Monaco), and Nico Rosberg lost fifth place near the end after some tire problems. Still, Rosberg says the championship is right there within his grasp.

The thing is, with Pastor Maldonado claiming his maiden F1 victory last weekend, many of the other title contenders did not gain much headway in the standings. Fernando Alonso’s second-place finish allowed him to tie Sebastian Vettel at the top. Both have 61 points, and while Rosberg is at seventh right now, it is a mere 20 points behind the leaders.

Here’s what Rosberg said: “I only lost two points on the championship lead, which is good, and I’m still only 20 points away, so it’s still open as long as we can really now push on and improve.”

Five winners in five races—it’s something not seen in Formula One since 1983, and the standings are close. Consistency is the key to winning this season, and Mercedes AMG Petronas simply has to continue to push and keep the car in line, waiting for one or two more race wins that can put Rosberg over the top. It’s not a farfetched idea, as seen in Rosberg’s pole-to-pole win in Beijing earlier this season.

“It’s just very difficult at the moment to understand how the next race is going to be,” said Rosberg. “We’ll have to wait and see.” Hopefully, he and Schumi can improve on what appears to be a terrible Spanish Grand Prix for the team. Everything’s up in the air for Rosberg and Mercedes, which is currently fifth in the constructors’ championship race.

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Schumacher Gets 5-Place Penalty for Barcelona Crash

by (RSS feed) May 15th, 2012 at 8:30 am

schumi crash 2012 Schumacher Gets 5 Place Penalty for Barcelona Crash

If you watched the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix last weekend, chances are you saw a disappointing end to Michael Schumacher’s race when his MGP W03 collided with the back of Bruno Senna’s Williams. Now, the verdict is out, and the race stewards have given Schumi the unpleasant reward of a 5-place grid penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks.

This penalty was given once the stewards reviewed the footage of the collision on lap 12 of the race and deemed it was caused by the German seven-time F1 champion for Mercedes AMG Petronas. Schumacher had claimed that it was Senna’s fault, but Senna countered and obviously the stewards felt the same about the incident.

After the collision, Schumacher could no longer continue. Senna was able to get a bit more distance on his crippled FW34, but the damage had been done and he retired as well.

A five-grid penalty doesn’t seem too much for a former champion—Lewis Hamilton blitzed from the back of the grid to eighth place in Barcelona—but it’s definitely going to put some more pressure on Schumacher and on the team. Mercedes will have to kick it up a notch and Schumacher will have to have a great qualifying so he won’t have to start too far back on the grid.

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The New DTM Car to be Driven by Button at the Brands Hatch

by (RSS feed) May 15th, 2012 at 7:23 am

The New DTM Car to be Driven by Button at the Brands Hatch The New DTM Car to be Driven by Button at the Brands Hatch

Jenson Button of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 driver will be at the Brands Hatch at the DTM this weekend. He will drive the Mercedes-Benz DTM race taxi with Gary Paffett as his passenger. But before he do that, he will take some time to practice with the new car, because he still need to familiarize himself with controlling and maneuvering the new race car.

“Brands Hatch is one of the circuits where I cut my teeth in junior single-seaters and I have many fond memories of the place – in Formula Ford, the Formula Ford Festival, and in British Formula 3. It’s one of the greatest tracks in the world, and a place with an awful lot of motorsport history, ” Jenson Button said. He added his excitement saying, “It’s going to be a fantastic experience to head back to Brands Hatch to watch the DTM race there on May 20. I think the new DTM rules are going to provide the British fans with some really close, tense and exciting racing – and I’ll be hoping that Gary Paffett, my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team-mate and our test and development driver, will be able to hold onto his lead in the championship with another win. “Gary’s also given me the chance to drive the DTM ‘race taxi’ with him – it’ll be the first time I’ve driven Brands since doing F3 there back in 1999. It’s going to be very cool. I think the DTM weekend will be a great event – it’s a fantastic series with some excellent, close racing and some of the best drivers in the world. For me, it’s going to be a great personal experience and a fantastic opportunity to get up-close and personal with all the British fans who have been supporting me over the years.”

On the other hand, Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsportchef expressed his gladness that Button will be there at the British race track when he said, “Like most of the current crop of Formula 1 drivers, Jenson takes an interest in the DTM, so he was pleased to accept our invitation to the Brands Hatch weekend. I am sure he will have a lot of fun driving one of our DTM ‘race taxis’ and watching the race itself.”

Source:
Daimler

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