McLaren-Mercedes chose Lewis Hamilton's 23rd birthday to unveil their new car on Monday.
"The MP4-23 [car] is the coolest birthday present you can get -- well it is for me anyway," said Hamilton, winner of four races in his rookie season. "I feel stronger than in 2007. We will do everything possible to reach our goals."
The car was rolled onto the stage at the Mercedes-Benz Museum with the presentation taking place for the first time in the home town of the German carmaker, which supplies the engine.
McLaren's turbulent last season was marked by near misses, infighting and controversy.
Hamilton and former driver Fernando Alonso lost their bid for the driver's title to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the Brazil Grand Prix, the season's final race. A spying scandal also led to a record US$100 million fine and being stripped of the constructor's title.
Alonso left McLaren and signed with Renault after rocky relations all season with McLaren team boss Ron Dennis who refused to give the Spanish two-time world champion No. 1 status.
"We aren't wasting any more time on the past," Dennis said. "We want to build on last year's good results and fight for the driver and constructor's titles again."
Test driver Pedro de la Rosa will give the MP4-23 its first road test today in Jerez, Spain.
"We already know that the car is faster than the one driven in the final at Brazil," McLaren business manager Martin Whitmarsh said.
Hamilton expects the stiffest opposition to come from Ferrari drivers Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, Alonso and his new McLaren teammate, Heikki Kovalainen.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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