Belgium Preview Quotes: McLaren

Juan Pablo Montoya: "It was great for the Constructors' battle to get a strong points total at Monza. The gap to Renault is very close, there are a lot of points still to be won and the car feels fast, so we shall see. I love Spa, it is one of my favourite tracks and we always have classic racing, although hopefully my race this year will be less eventful than last year! Set-up at Spa is all about compromise, but in a more specific way than at some of the tracks. We need aero and mechanical set-up that makes sure we are quick on the straights and through the fast corners and also to have good mechanical traction through turns such as La Source and the Bus Stop chicane. In addition to being the most exciting and famous corner we race through, maintaining speed in Eau Rouge is also key to have the pace along Les Combes on the run down to the main overtaking opportunity."

Alex Wurz: "Set-up at Spa has to be very precise, as the circuit is extreme and needs total commitment from the drivers. One area is the elevation changes, these are quite dramatic in places and we have to run with quite high ride heights to avoid bottoming out. My programme for Friday will also include completing the tyre selection process with Michelin that began at the pre-Italy test in Monza."

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One: "Mathematically Team McLaren Mercedes is still a force in the battle for both the Constructors' title and the Drivers' crown with Kimi. We are all aware the latter in particular has become more difficult following Kimi's misfortune in Monza, but the opportunity for both is very much still there and that is what we are fully focused on. The Belgian Grand Prix is a highlight of the Formula One season. Spa Francorchamps is a circuit that continuously challenges the drivers and engineers alike, and we will need to perform to our maximum all weekend. Spa is similar to the new Turkish venue and the MP4-20s performed well there and we are looking forward to an incident free weekend that allows Kimi and Juan Pablo to maximise the pace that is clearly there."

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Spa has everything for an interesting and challenging race track from long and fast straights like Kemmel to long and sweeping corners like Pouhon and tight hairpins like La Source. The weather often is like crazy here at Spa, and when it rains, the long track isn't necessarily wet everywhere. Only two out of the last ten Grand Prix weekends at Spa have not been affected by the changeable weather, the last one was six years ago. It was very unpleasant what happened to Kimi last weekend at Monza and without doubt we have to further improve our reliability quickly to become absolutely efficient. Our balance out of the last ten races shows that we're developing in the right direction although stagnations occurred during this process."