Europe preview quotes: McLaren

"Although the nature of the track means you can build up a good rhythm, there are some odd cambers and bumps that you have to watch out for. Also, as with San Marino, Nurburgring is another track where you really use the kerbs pretty aggressively, to make sure you get a fast lap time. Following my exit on the final lap at the Nurburgring last year as a result of a flat spotted tyre, I am hoping to have a less dramatic race this year; however this track seems to always see exciting and close racing."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "It was good to get on the podium at Imola and get some points. The strategy worked well and hopefully we can build on that and continue to move forward in Europe.The Nurburgring is a fairly mixed track, with some straights, hairpins, different types of corners, however I would say it is dominated by slow corners.

"As a result, we will run with a medium-high downforce here and traction and grip are more important than at a super fast track such as Canada. It does tend to be quite grippy here as it is pretty smooth, but there is a lot of understeer and this is always a focus of the free practice sessions to minimise this.

"We have been testing at Silverstone for three days following San Marino, it was an interesting test and we had some good running with new components for this race. As this is a home race for Mercedes-Benz, I hope we can put on a good show for the home fans."

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One: "We had a positive week at the Silverstone test, completing the proving process on developments to the chassis and engine, and it will be interesting to see how they translate to the race track. The character of the Nurburgring lends itself to closely fought racing, with the opportunities to overtake, and with the competitiveness we have seen so far this season across a number of teams, it should be another hard fought race.

"As always, our primary target at Team McLaren Mercedes is to take the victory, and we are pushing forward with our development programme strongly as we need to make a performance step to arrive at the European Grand Prix with the pace to challenge for the win.

"The track does not see an over-dependence on a particular element of the car, be it the chassis, engine or tyres, and as a result will provide an opportunity to maximise performance of the package as a whole. The weather at the Nurburgring is notoriously unpredictable and could be a factor for the outcome of the race."

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "The Nurburgring is the birth place of the Silver Arrow, which will celebrate its 72nd anniversary during this year's Grand Prix. In our first home race in 2006 the strain on all team members who work outside of the pits will be bigger than previously at Imola for example, however we all look forward to these efforts.

"After Imola we tested intensively at Silverstone and covered a total of 1,689 kilometres. The Nurburgring's layout is a good mixture of very fast, medium fast and slow corners. Right in front of the Mercedes grandstand the lap starts with a dramatic hairpin leading into the Mercedes Arena, which is particularly interesting because this twisty part of the track allows different racing lines.

"We have always been fast at the 'Ring and last year we held the lead until the last lap, when Kimi's suspension broke due to vibrations he encountered since the halfway point of the race because of a flat-spotted tyre. To hold the same position through to the finish line would be the greatest reward for everybody in the team who had continuously worked hard since we began testing on 23rd January."