The McLaren Formula One team finished the previous grand prix at the Nürburgring in 2007 as winners when Fernando Alonso crossed the line ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and red Bull racing’s Mark Webber. Then, last season at Hockenheim, they were also in the winner’s circle, however for 2009, they will start the sixty lap event without any chance of winning, because their work of improving the car has not delivered the desired success.

While Alonso raced to victory for the team in 07, Lewis Hamilton struggled and he has resigned himself to being ain a similar position here this weekend....

“The last time we raced at the Nürburgring was in 2007, and I remember I had a tough afternoon battling through from the back of the field to finish just outside the points. It’s a fantastic circuit, a little older than a lot of the current tracks we currently visit and with quite a different feel to what we’re used to: it’s fast and flowing with some good spots for overtaking.”

“And it’s in a fantastic part of the world too; deep in the forests of western Germany, where the fans seem to live and breathe Formula 1. It’s always an amazing party atmosphere whenever we race in Germany. While we aren’t expecting any major upgrades for this weekend, I’m still looking forward to the race.”

The Woking based squad will continue to work extremely hard but for this weekend, they will be celebrating something entirely different as it was here at the Nürburgring that the Silver Arrows were born. Therefore, the team will commemorate their 75th anniversary with a parade on the racetrack and an exhibition at the paddock entrance to present their unique history to every Nürburgring visitor as well as to the world’s TV viewers.

“It’s an honour to be part of the Silver Arrows and, while our results haven’t recently shown it, we’re still pushing incredibly hard and are all hopeful of moving closer to the front before the end of this difficult season,” Lewis added.