Although their 2010 car is still firmly under wraps, Mercedes GP have
unveiled the new silver and green colour scheme with which they will
contest the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. The team’s
management and drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg all attended
the event, which was held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in the German
city of Stuttgart on Monday.
The new livery blends the German
carmaker’s legendary ‘Silver Arrows’ heritage with the colours of the
team's title partner Petronas. As an additional reference to the
Mercedes W25 of 1934, when the car’s white paint was scraped off to
expose the shining alloy underneath, traces of black carbon fibre will
be visible on the nose of the MGP W01.
"Finally the 2010 Formula
One season is firing up!” said Schumacher, who returns to Formula One
racing for the first time since 2006 with the former Brawn team. “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."
Schumacher’s team mate for 2010, Nico Rosberg,
was equally enthusiastic, saying: "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 am looking forward to working with everyone and will
give it my all to reward their fantastic efforts with good on-track
results this season."
Over 600 guests, including 200
Mercedes-Benz employees, were present at the launch, which was opened
with a welcome speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and head
of Mercedes-Benz Cars. The newly-rebadged Mercedes GP team, however,
will continue to be led by Ross Brawn, who took Brawn GP to victory in
both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships last season.
"It
is a privilege to be here at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart
today for the official presentation of the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula
One team,” said Brawn. “With your first look around the Museum, you
realise the fantastic racing heritage of Mercedes-Benz and we hope to
be able to contribute to those successes going forward.
“Our
team have been working extremely hard throughout last year and over the
winter on the development of the MGP W01 and everyone at the team is
looking forward to the start of testing in Valencia next week. We have
two excellent drivers in Nico and Michael, who will form one of the
most exciting and one of the best partnerships on the grid, and with
the support of Mercedes-Benz, Aabar, our new title partner Petronas and
all of our team partners, everyone is looking forward to the 2010
Formula One season with anticipation."
Norbert Haug,
Mercedes-Benz Motorsport’s vice president, added: "With today's
presentation of our new team, a new and certainly the most important
chapter of over 100 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsport history begins.
The new Formula One season will offer challenges which will be bigger
than ever before in over sixty years of the sport's history.
“We
look forward to the cooperation with our drivers Nico Rosberg who has
enormous capabilities and perspectives, and with seven-time world
champion Michael Schumacher. I warmly welcome all our colleagues from
last year's world championship team Brawn GP headed by Ross Brawn and
Nick Fry to the Mercedes family. There are challenging tasks ahead of
us and we will tackle them with power, consistency and full motivation."
The
team's 2010 car will make its track debut next week when the first
official Formula One test of the season gets underway in Valencia,
Spain on February 1.
