Germany preview quotes: McLaren

"As a result, it is really important to have good traction on the exits of corners to make sure you find the speed you need on the short straights in between. Also, this cornering means the brakes are put under quite a bit of pressure so we will run with bigger brake ducts than normal and for sure braking stability is key.

"I hope that following a result that was not what we were looking for in France, we are able to go to Germany and put on a great race for all the Mercedes-Benz employees and fans that will be at the track for the weekend, they are always very supportive so I hope they will get to see a good result for the team."

Pedro de la Rosa: "It was great to be back racing in France, and I am really looking forward to getting back out there again in Germany this weekend. The car felt quick, and hopefully we will demonstrate that a bit better at Mercedes-Benz's home race.

"I last drove at Hockenheim in 2002, so I have been on the revised layout. It is now more of a high downforce track, but you do need a compromise on the set-up to ensure you can challenge for position on the track by being quick on the straights. For overtaking, one of the best places would be between corners two and three, so the exit speed of turn two is very important.

"There always seem to be exciting races here in Germany, and I am really looking forward to racing for the first time in front of the home crowd for Mercedes-Benz as a Team McLaren Mercedes driver. The noise that comes from the Mercedes-Benz Grandstand is fantastic and I hope we can give them something to cheer about this weekend!

"We had a productive test last week at Jerez, with the test break we did a lot of work on tyres for the next three races with Michelin and also continued the development programme of the MP4-21, and I am interested to see how the car will now perform at Hockenheim."

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One: "France demonstrated that the MP4-21 has moved forward with regards pace, with Team McLaren Mercedes posting the fastest two times of the Michelin runners. We have completed the final test before the August break, with the next session scheduled to take place from Tuesday 29th August.

"There was a big focus at the test on work with Michelin to ensure we go to Germany with a more competitive range of tyre choices. The track demands a high downforce configuration, and the MP4-21 ran well in this environment at Monaco and hopefully that will be a good indication of performance in Germany this weekend."

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Hockenheim is a very special Grand Prix for our Team and certainly the busiest one. We expect 6500 spectators on the Mercedes grandstand. We will offer them a particularly entertaining programme with maximum benefit at no extra cost.

"Of course our focus is on what happens on the track and we aim for a good result in our home race. We made more progress during intensive tests at Jerez last week; at Magny-Cours, we posted the fastest lap of the Michelin teams and our race speed was amongst the best of the Michelin runners. However, we have to manage to start from the first two rows on the grid, this is the only way to turn this pace into the positions we expect."