The 140 series from Mercedes-Benz is one of the few, select models in the lineup and history of the German constructor which heralds the key, true values of the premium brand:built-in quality, ultra luxury, solidity, and, nonetheless, reliability. The car was described in 1991 as being "the world's finest car" by the famous 'Auto Motor und Sport' German auto publication.
To read more about this topic, follow through the next links:
1. Modern classics: the S-Class Saloons of the Mercedes-Benz 140 series - PART I
2. Modern classics: the S-Class Saloons of the Mercedes-Benz 140 series - PART II
3. Modern classics: the S-Class Saloons of the Mercedes-Benz 140 series - PART IIICopyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2010
P2 for Lewis; P4 for Jenson in IstanbulLEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-25A-01
- P3 programme: 3rd, 1m27.396s (+0.310s), 16 laps ___________
Qualifying:
- Q1: 6th, 1m27.667s (on Primes)
- Q2: 3rd, 1m27.013s (on Primes)
- Q3: 2nd, 1m26.443s (on Options)“In terms of finding a good balance and getting a clear lap, today was one of the best qualifying sessions I’ve had all year. My lap was as close to perfect as I could possibly get it.
“But we’re still nearly four tenths down in the middle sector. Compared with Barcelona, I don’t think we’ve made a huge step, but we’re making small steps forward to close the gap to the front.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to do everything I can to get a sensible start, get round the first corner and then challenge Mark [Webber], if I can. But I’m on the dirtier side of the track, so that may make it a bit harder for me. And the Red Bulls still have a performance advantage over us, even if it doesn’t show from today’s times. But we’re going to catch them – and then, hopefully, you’ll see Jenson and me up there, with the Red Bulls trying to split us.
“We’ve got to keep pushing; the guys back at the factory are doing an incredible job, even though they’re under immense pressure. We all want to win, we’re taking nothing for granted, and we’re edging closer all the time. I really do believe we’re the best team out there, and, once we make that next step, I’m sure we can move ahead of everyone. But until then all we can do is be as close as we can and apply maximum pressure. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing tomorrow.”
JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-25A-03
- P3 programme: 8th, 1m27.963s (+0.877s), 17 laps
___________
Qualifying:
- Q1: 3rd, 1m27.555s (on Primes)
- Q2: 6th, 1m27.277s (on Options)
- Q3: 4th, 1m26.781s (on Options)
“Fourth is not too bad, but the final run was a bit frustrating: being the last car on the circuit can be a good thing, because it means you have the cleanest track, but there’s obviously more chance of somebody going off, and that’s what happened with Michael [Schumacher], who was ahead of me on my final lap. And when there’s a yellow flag, you’ve obviously got to back out of it.
“So I just came straight back to the pits, because my final run clearly wasn’t going to be any quicker because of that. The lap wasn’t perfect, but it’s still pretty good to be fourth. We’re on the dirty side of the track, but we’ll see what we can do from there.
“The only performance issue I’ve really had all weekend is through Turn Eight – I was losing three tenths to Lewis there because we were running the car too low. That was my fault – I wanted to run the car low for the rest of the circuit – but it’s just a little bit too low through Turn Eight. Obviously, the car will be heavier at the start of the race tomorrow, but we’ll be going slower, so it won’t be pushed onto the track as much. We’ve got to hope that will help.
“Nevertheless, we seem to be closer to the Red Bulls than I expected this weekend, so that’s a positive, and I reckon we can challenge them in the race.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Both our drivers have performed really well so far this weekend, yesterday as well as today. They’ve quietly got on with the job in hand, and today they both drove excellent qualifying laps despite the fact that our cars lacked a little bit of pace in the all-important Turn Eight compared with the Red Bulls.
“Lewis’s lap, which split the Red Bulls to land him a front-row grid slot for tomorrow’s race, was particularly satisfying. But Jenson, too, whose final qualifying run was compromised by the deployment of yellow flags, is also in a very strong position. Both he and Lewis are very combative racers who know how to make up positions, and we think our car will have good race pace tomorrow. As a result, I think the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix could present a very exciting spectacle for the fans.”
* Official photos courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *
Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2010
Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will share the third row of the grid for the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park on Sunday after qualifying their MGP W01 cars in fifth and sixth places respectively today.
With temperatures slightly cooler than for the practice sessions on Friday, the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS pair progressed easily through Q1 with just one run each on the harder prime tyres. An initial run on the prime and a second run on the option tyres saw Nico and Michael through Q2 in fourth and tenth positions.
Both drivers had two sets of new option tyres saved for Q3 and set their fastest times on the first of their two three-lap runs. Michael ran wide on the exit of turn eight on his second run and ended the session in the gravel.
Drivers - Car No. - Chassis No. - Practice 3 - Q1 - Q2 - Q3
Michael Schumacher - 3 - MGP W01 / 01 - P7 - P7, 1:27.756 - P10, 1:27.438 - P5, 1:26.857
Nico Rosberg - 4 - MGP W01 / 02 - P2 - P5, 1:27.649 - P4, 1:27.141 - P6, 1:26.952
Weather - Warm
Temperatures - Air: 26-27°C / Track: 37-43°C
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
“I am quite happy with my qualifying today and I really think that we have made a step forward. If you consider that this is a track which is aerodynamically demanding, you can clearly say the hard work of our guys paid off and I would really say thank you to them. What happened in turn eight was that it was my last go, the fast lap before was a good one, so obviously you try to push even more, especially as on this lap you can win time. I went out a bit wide and off it went. In my view, the side I am starting from tomorrow is an advantage as it is much cleaner. I have tried practice starts from both sides and felt my side was the better one. As for tomorrow’s race, I will certainly try to have a good start and try to achieve the best result possible.”
NICO ROSBERG
“It was a decent performance today and sixth place gives us a good opportunity for the race and we will aim to move up the field from there. I would have liked to have been a little further ahead of course. The car is feeling reasonable this weekend and although there is a very narrow set-up window, we have pretty much got there. It’s clear that we have made some progress with our aero upgrades and everyone at the factory has done a good job, so thanks for all their hard work. I am on the dirty side of the grid for the race tomorrow but it should have cleaned up now and it’s only a short run to the first corner. If I can have a good start and first lap, then we have the potential for a strong race.”
ROSS BRAWN
“A good qualifying performance from the team today after a lot of hard work here at the track and back at the factory on the latest developments for our car. Michael and Nico have been very evenly matched throughout the weekend and have worked well together to ensure that we have been able to get the new parts functioning and extract the maximum performance. Fifth and sixth positions on the grid gives us the potential to have a strong race tomorrow and we look forward to seeing what Nico and Michael can achieve. We’ve seen just how challenging the Istanbul Park track can be with turn eight catching out many drivers over the course of the day and Michael was no exception but thankfully there is no damage done.”
NORBERT HAUG
"That was a step in the right direction with Michael achieving P5, less than a tenth of a second behind P3, and Nico posting the sixth fastest time, less than two-tenths behind P3. Having said that, we are very aware that we are still almost six-tenths behind the superb pole time of Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing. However our speed compared to the front looks better than at the last ‘normal’ race track that we competed on in Barcelona. The step forward since then has only been possible through hard work, dedication and our aggressive development process. Thank you and well done to everybody in our team. We are not yet where we want to be but we are heading in the right direction.”
* Official photos courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *
Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
