Presentation of the New MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team
MULGRAVE, AUSTRALIA – January 27, 2010: Today, the new Silver Arrows Formula One works team MERCEDES GP PETRONAS was presented at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
Nico Rosberg and seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher along with team management Ross Brawn, Nick Fry and Norbert Haug were introduced to guests with a presentation and press conference.
Over 600 guests, including 200 media representatives and 200 Mercedes-Benz employees, visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum, one of the biggest and most famous car museums in the world, to see the launch of the team and the unveiling of the new Silver Arrows livery.
Mercedes-Benz employees from the company’s manufacturing plants in Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen, 100 of whom were invited for their outstanding performances and 100 selected through a popular internal draw, also had the opportunity to take their first look at the new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team.
The event opened with a welcome speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars before Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg presented the new Silver Arrows livery for the 2010 season on last year’s car.
The team’s 2010 car, the MGP W01, will make its track debut at the first Formula One test in Valencia on Monday 1 February, with the 2010 Formula One season starting in Bahrain on 14 March.
The new silver and green livery creates a true marriage between the heritage of the Silver Arrows and the team’s title partner PETRONAS.
The legacy of the Silver Arrows goes back to the 1934 Eifel Race when, on the evening before the event, the white paint was sanded off the Mercedes W25 race car to fulfil weight regulations (750kg formula) and the silver colour of the aluminium surface of the car appeared.
This season, with the return of the Silver Arrows, the MGP W01 will shine in silver combined with a flow of iridescent silver shading. On the nose and on other parts of the car traces of black carbon fibre visible are visible – a reminder of the first Silver Arrow of 1934.
Michael Schumacher
“Finally the 2010 Formula One season
is firing up! I have to say that I am totally committed to this new
challenge. This season feels like a re-start for me and I am so motivated.
We have a very exciting combination at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. We have a
World Champion team in every sense of the word and I cannot wait to get
into the car for the first time in Valencia.
I am convinced that MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will be in a very good position to fight for the championships this season and I will definitely give it a go. Driving for Mercedes-Benz again is like the closing of a circle for me as I started my racing driver career with the three-pointed star on my helmet. This is another reason why I cannot wait for the competition to get underway.”
Nico Rosberg
“You can really feel the successful
motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz here at the Museum in Stuttgart and to
be part of the new Silver Arrows team and that racing heritage makes me
feel extremely proud and motivated.
Since joining the team in November, I have spent a lot of time at the factory in Brackley, at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth and here in Stuttgart, which has given me the opportunity to settle in and get to know everyone.
I have seen how hard the team is working on the new car and I really can’t wait for the opportunity to drive it for the first time in Valencia next week. I am looking forward to working with everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS and will give it my all to reward their fantastic efforts with good on-track results this season.”