Spain preview quotes: McLaren

"The race in Bahrain was not great for me, but I have arrived in Spain leading the World Championship and that is a good position to be in going into the European season. We had a strong test at this track earlier this week and we got to understand more about how the car performs at the Circuit de Catalunya and the changes to the layout.

"Although I have always really enjoyed the final two corners and their speed, the new chicane at the end of the track will hopefully lead to more overtaking during the race, which is great for the spectators."

Lewis Hamilton: "It seems to have been a very long time since we last raced, and I cannot wait to get back in my car and back to the action. There has not been any relaxing on our part though, when I returned to the UK I had a couple of days before returning to the McLaren Technology Centre to work with the team on the development programme.

"This break has also given us the opportunity to get some serious physical training in. During the races, it is more about maintaining fitness levels, when we have a couple of weeks we can really focus on improvements in performance. The Barcelona track is great to race on, it will be interesting to see how the new chicane affects this.

"I enjoyed the GP2 weekend last year, where I achieved a second and fourth place, and am looking forward to fighting for more points for myself and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team."

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO F1: "Our target going into every race is to win, and we have been working at a feverish pace across the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team since the Bahrain race to develop the MP4-22 to enable us to meet this target. It has been a busy period on and off track and we do feel that we have taken a step forward.

"We have to wait until we get to race day to fully understand the size of the step, as we are by no means alone in pushing performance. The Circuit de Catalunya is very demanding on race cars and is a good indicator of genuine performance. It is therefore an interesting race from a development perspective and a good track to be competing on following this four week break, which by its nature will see the greatest step forward.

"Whilst the results at each race are equally important, the Spanish Grand Prix as an event has extra significance for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. As Fernando's home race it will be a busy weekend for us all and we hope that as a team we can put on a performance befitting the support we will receive."

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "For all Formula One teams, the Circuit de Catalunya is the best test track, pure and simple. It's a rule that those who can win here are capable to do so at all the other Grand Prix circuits. This rule of thumb came true for the team most recently in 2005, when we won 10 out of the remaining 14 Grands Prix of the season, having taken our first victory of the year at Barcelona.

"Since then the competition in Formula One has become even more challenging and the teams make even bigger development steps during the course of the season. Nevertheless, the preparation of all teams for the circuit near Barcelona is more extensive than anywhere else, none of the teams have more understanding of any other circuit on the current Grand Prix calendar.

"Since February, we have covered more than 3700 test kilometres with the MP4-22 at the Circuit de Catalunya. The track is not only demanding on the aerodynamic efficiency of a Formula One car, but also the stress on the engines is high. About 70 percent of a lap will be run under full throttle. Once the cars have gone through the new chicane and onto the start and finish straight, about 13 seconds will be run under full throttle.

"We had a comprehensive test the week before the Spanish Grand Prix with good results and are fully focused to continue our trend from the flyaway races in Fernando's home race. Fernando and Lewis will naturally be under a special focus at this Grand Prix and with everything that is expected from them outside the car, we will help them to find the focus to do the job that counts in the best possible way."