The teams currently using a similar engine cover design are Red Bull, Renault, Force India and Toro Rosso. If the outcome of the test is positive the Woking based team will most likely use the new engine cover next week already at the German Grand Prix.

Stuttgart, Germany / Woking, UK, Monday 7th January 2008: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes today presented the MP4-23, the team’s 2008 Formula 1 car, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board, and Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group, welcomed all the guests to the official presentation, with Lewis Hamilton, who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, and Heikki Kovalainen joined on stage by Pedro de la Rosa and fellow test driver Gary Paffett to unveil the MP4-23. The car was completed yesterday and left the McLaren Technology Centre in the UK at around 18:00 GMT on Sunday and was driven in a Mercedes-Benz Actros to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, having covered approximately 1000kms, arriving around 10:00 this morning.

Upon arrival in Stuttgart, the car was transported to the 53,000 sqm Mercedes-Benz Museum, one of the world’s largest and most renowned car museums. About 700 Mercedes-Benz employees from the nearby manufacturing plant Stuttgart-Untertürkheim had the opportunity to attend today’s event at the end of their early shift alongside the more than 400 media and other guests. The Mercedes-Benz employees had the opportunity to enter a draw of which the lucky winners were able to meet and spend some time with Lewis and Heikki.

Following today’s event the car will be transported to the Circuito de Jerez in Southern Spain, where on Wednesday 9th January Heikki and Pedro will start the test programme with two MP4-23 chassis at a private test. The team will remain at the circuit for five track days, excluding the weekend. Lewis will drive the 2008 car for the first time on Thursday 10th January alongside Heikki.

LEWIS HAMILTON "The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 is the coolest birthday present you can get, well it is for me anyway! To see the car for the first time at such a great place as the Mercedes-Benz museum makes it an even more memorable day. I have had the past three weeks off and spent the time training and relaxing with family and friends. I know how much work has been going on in Woking, Brixworth and here in Stuttgart and it is a great looking car. My engineer has told me that approximately 14,000 manufacturing man hours have been involved to produce the car in time for today. I will be testing it for the first time on Thursday. It is going to be a busy time but myself, Heikki, who I welcome as my new teammate, and everyone within the team is looking forward to it as we push forward together."

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN "Today is my first official event as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver and it hasn’t come soon enough. After joining the team on the 14th December, I have already spent some time at the McLaren Technology Centre getting to know everybody and working with my engineers. It is also great to be here at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart today to meet the Mercedes-Benz employees, media and VIP guests for the first time as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. I was able to learn a lot last year, and hope to take that knowledge into the 2008 season. I am looking forward to contributing to the development of the car during the six main tests in the build-up to Melbourne. It is a really exciting time for me to be joining Vodafone McLaren Mercedes."

Dr DIETER ZETSCHE, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE MANAGEMENT OF DAIMLER AG AND HEAD OF MERCEDES-BENZ CARS "I am confident that, with Heikki and Lewis, we’ll have a very strong driver team on the track. All of us at Daimler are extremely proud of the tremendous track record of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. They prove once again: You can’t be with Daimler or Mercedes-Benz without wanting to belong to the best - that’s in the DNA of our company in a way. And that applies also for the motorsport."

RON DENNIS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, McLAREN GROUP "The ultimate goal of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is to fight for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships. We are looking forward to another competitive season as we look to build on the momentum of last year. Every single member of the team has worked extremely hard since the end of the 2007 season to get the MP4-23 on track as soon as possible, to ensure we have the maximum amount of testing time available before the cars leave for Australia. We are all extremely pleased to have the opportunity to launch our new car at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart underlining the strength of our partnership."

MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO FORMULA 1, VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES "Development of the MP4-23 began in earnest 10 months ago and everyone in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart have worked very hard during the last few weeks, and particularly over the Christmas period, to make today’s presentation here in Stuttgart happen. In addition we have continued to benefit from tremendous support from all of our Technology Partners. We are confident, based upon the simulation and analysis which has been an integral part of the development process, that the MP4-23 represents a step forward. Of course we will continue to develop the car from now until the first race in Australia and see whether we have done enough to be at the level where we want to compete this coming season. From today we have 68 working days until the Australian Grand Prix, and everybody within the team is highly motivated to travel to Melbourne with the most competitive package possible."

NORBERT HAUG, VICE PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT "Our Museum is a unique place for this event. More than 160 Mercedes-Benz cars, amongst them 30 historic racing cars representing more than 100 years of Mercedes-Benz motor sport heritage create a most remarkable environment for the presentation of the new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23. I am really pleased that we are able to present with this car launch many of our colleagues from the nearby Untertürkheim manufacturing plant a New Years surprise today. The media presence at our compact presentation today was massive, which is an additional motivation for everybody in the team to start the 2008 season with the target to finish one point ahead instead of one point behind the opposition."

DAVID WHELDON, GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER AND BRAND EXPERIENCE, VODAFONE "Vodafone is delighted to be entering this second season as Title Sponsor and Official Mobile Partner of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. Formula 1 is all about 'Making the most of Now' and similarly, we want all our customers to get the most out of their time. We look forward to building on our successful partnership and wish the team all the best for the 2008 season." 

MP4-23 FACTFILE

The first design meeting for the MP4-23 took place back in November 2006 with early layout work starting in March 2007.

Wind tunnel work commenced in late May 2007.

Since then the MP4-23 has spent over 3000 hours being developed in the wind tunnel.

The first MP4-23 chassis was ready for bonding in mid November 2007.

Lewis Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett had their provisional seat fittings for the MP4-23 back in September 2007. Heikki Kovalainen was fitted for his seat shortly after being announced as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.

The car build process for chassis 1 began in early December 2007 and was finished in early January 2008.

Throughout the development process 150 different engineers have been involved in the whole project in all disciplines.

14000 engineering man hours have so far been put into the MP4-23 development project.

A similar number applies to the manufacturing man hours involved to produce the MP4-23 in time for its track debut on the 9th January 2008.

The MP4-23 is an evolution of the MP4-22 and as such there is no significant visual difference currently, however between now and the first race in Australia there are planned upgrades on most of the aerodynamic surfaces, wings, bodywork, bargeboards and additional bodywork components.

Alongside the development of the 2008 challenger, concept work has been started for the 2009 car since November 2007, with the KERS project (energy storage) beginning a year ago.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 is scheduled to commence its on-track testing programme at an exclusive test at the Jerez circuit in Spain during the second week of January 2008. There are currently no plans for a launch presentation but the team will provide the media with photographs and further details about the car when it runs.

** No McLaren representative will be allowed on the podium should a McLaren driver win in any of the remaining races of the 2007 season.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes race drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will drive through the streets of Valencia in their Formula 1 cars later today to mark the start of an exciting new era for the team. The event heralds the launch of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, which Vodafone is joining as Title Sponsor and Official Mobile Partner.

Fernando and Lewis, who form one of the youngest driver line-ups in the history of the sport, will unveil the new livery to an expected crowd of more than 150,000 on a bespoke circuit around the Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias in two MP4-21 race cars. This will be followed by the unveiling of the 2007 car, the MP4-22, which Fernando and Lewis will use to contest this year's Formula 1 World Championship.

The 2007 challengers will conduct a shakedown test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, on Wednesday 17th January. The intensive pre-season testing programme will then commence on Wednesday 24th January at the same track.

Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett join Fernando and Lewis to complete the driver line-up. Pedro and Gary, who are starting their fifth and second years with the team respectively, will continue to support the ongoing technical development of the MP4-22 package during the course of the year alongside Fernando and Lewis.

“This is a fantastic day for me - I am really proud to be introducing myself as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver in my home country, and of course to help present my new team to the Spanish fans,” said double World Champion Fernando. “Although this is my first public event with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, I have already spent a lot of time with the team and my fellow drivers Lewis, Pedro and Gary, at the McLaren Technology Centre. It is a great team and I am excited about this new beginning. My fans are such an inspiration and it is great to bring the team so close to them. I hope they enjoy watching Lewis and myself drive the cars in their new livery around the streets of Valencia.”

For Lewis, today sees the realisation of a childhood ambition, “Growing up, I saw so many Formula 1 launches in the media, and to be here in Valencia to unveil the new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team really brings home to me the distance I have travelled to achieve my dream of becoming a grand prix driver,” said Lewis. “There is still a long way for me to go, as I am at the early stages of my career and have a lot to learn, but the passion I have for the sport and this team is immense, I cannot wait to take to the grid in Australia in March. This year will be about firsts for me, starting with today and my first Formula 1 presentation and my first demonstration run. It will be great to take the cars onto the streets and I hope the fans like the new livery as much as I do!”

Ron Dennis, Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group added: “This is a very special moment as we officially unveil the team in Valencia today. Vodafone represents only the second title sponsor change in 30 years for the team – something which we as an organization are very proud of."

"McLaren and Mercedes-Benz have enjoyed a very strong relationship for the past 12 years and we are now looking forward to a successful future as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," continued Ron. "We all want to win but how we win has always been very important to us and this value will remain the driving force behind our new partnership. In parallel we have developed a brand strategy which we hope will capture and project the youthful and dynamic spirit of the new team. In Fernando and Lewis we have two of the most exciting and talented drivers in Formula 1. They both have great potential to inspire others to push hard to achieve their dreams."

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Generalitat Valenciana and in particular the President Mr. Francisco Camps Ortiz and the Conseller Mr. Gerrado Camps Devesa for their support in making today’s event happen. For people to be motivated by something they have to really experience it, and this is what we aim to generate today in Valencia," said Ron.

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Like DaimlerChrysler, our new partner Vodafone is a global company with more than 190 million customers worldwide. This clearly opens up new opportunities and perspectives in the area of communications for the team. With the 2007 line-up of double world champion Fernando Alonso and F1 newcomer Lewis Hamilton, we have both the youngest driver pairing on the starting grid and in the history of the team. Furthermore, when Fernando and Lewis make their debut for the team in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne, it will mark the tenth anniversary of the first McLaren-Mercedes F1 victory at the same circuit."

“Vodafone is delighted to be deepening our involvement in motor racing by becoming Title Sponsor and Official Mobile Partner of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team," said Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone. "We are very excited about the opportunities the team will offer us to continue to build our brand. Motor racing is all about 'Making the most of Now' and similarly, we want all our customers both business and consumer to get the most out of their time. We wish the team all the best for the 2007 season,”

The event will also see the announcement of three new exclusive special edition consumer handsets from Samsung and Sharp to support the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

As Vodafone McLaren Mercedes moves into 2007, the team has welcomed new companies to its prestigious group of Corporate and Technology Partners, including aigo, Mutua Madrileña and Santander. “As we start the 2007 season, the team is benefiting from the valuable support of our world class Partner group and today extend our thanks to our existing sponsors,” said Ron Dennis. “With the likes of Santander, aigo and Mutua Madrileña joining us from this season, we have a Partnership portfolio that is unmatched in Formula 1 or indeed in the field of sports sponsorship.”