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McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button look at their scraps during the Turkish Grand Prix
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• MP4-27 will be driven by Button for the first time next Tuesday
• Hamilton: ‘It’s the most refined car we’ve had for some time’

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have unveiled McLaren’s latest challenger which they hope will power them to Formula One success this season.

After finishing second and fifth respectively in last year’s title race, as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel dominated in clinching back-to-back world titles, the Woking-based marque are determined that this will be their year.

The MP4-27, which bears a typical silver livery that has been the case for a few years now, will hit the track for the first time in Jerez next Tuesday, with Button at the wheel.

Button said: “It’s a very exciting day for us all. It’s the moment when we see how hard we’ve all been working. I want to say thanks to the guys who have been working flat out throughout the winter to develop this car.

“Testing is now very important. We’ve got to come out of the box and be strong. Testing is what it says on the tin, it’s about finding your feet, about gaining in confidence in the team you’re working with and the car you’re driving.”

After admiring the car for the first time, Hamilton said: “I think it looks fantastic. It’s great to be here after a great winter. The car is the most refined looking we’ve had for some time, so I’m excited to get back into it.”

Ahead of his sixth season with the team, Hamilton said: “It feels very much like only yesterday when I went up to Ron [Dennis] and said I wanted to race for his team. But we’ve been competing at the front all those years. We’ve strength in depth, a great foundation from which we work. This is a team that never gives up.”

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

• Didier Coton appointed to McLaren driver’s management team
• ‘I’m positive about the season ahead,’ says optimistic Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton arrived here smiling along with the news that he had moved a step closer to the “happy bubble” he craved for last season, his worst in Formula One. Hamilton is to work with Didier Coton as he attempts to recapture the form that won him the world title in 2008. Coton is experienced in F1, most notably managing the career of the double world champion Mika Hakkinen. Hamilton and Hakkinen are good friends.

Hamilton was managed by his father, Anthony until the pair became professionally estranged in 2010. Last March Hamilton signed with Simon Fuller’s show business management company, XIX Entertainment, whose clients include David and Victoria Beckham, Andy Murray, Jennifer Lopez and Will Young.

But Hamilton’s choice was questioned by some and even described as “a disaster” by the sport’s supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, who added: “He gets to meet people that probably he wouldn’t have met and [who] have probably the wrong sort of influence on him. I think he had some personal problems during the year which affected him quite a lot. I think he didn’t appreciate how much help his dad was.”

Fuller decided that the team around Hamilton needed to be reinforced and that the driver required someone with more F1 experience.

Hamilton said: “Simon is committed to creating a team that will help me achieve my ambitions for 2012 and beyond. Didier’s appointment builds on the existing strengths of XIX and I am delighted to have him as part of the team. I’m positive about the season ahead and can’t wait to start.”

Last season a distracted Hamilton often looked a distraught figure. There were problems with other drivers on the track and rows with stewards off it. There was also a harrowing break-up with his pop star girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger; the two have since been reunited.

Meanwhile, in the same McLaren motor home, his team-mate Jenson Button was making serene progress and produced the drive of his career to win the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

For the first time in his long career at McLaren Hamilton was beaten over the season by his team-mate. Hamilton saw that Button was always accompanied by his father and old mentor, John, as well as the trainer Mikey Collier, his girlfriend, Jessica Michibata, and his manager, Richard Goddard.

Towards the end of the season, in Abu Dhabi, a philosophical-sounding Hamilton spoke of the need for “a happy bubble” around him. on Wednesday that bubble started to form.

Coton, who runs his own Aces Management company, said: “Being appointed by Simon to join the team is a great honour. I am excited to work alongside two such prestigious personalities and talents.

“XIX’s visionary approach is unique and one I believe in. I look forward to helping Lewis achieve success and developing long-term projects with Simon and his team.”

For Fuller, Coton represents the right person for him to work with following a lengthy search. He is confident Coton will help not only Hamilton but also XIX Entertainment. Fuller said: “We have ambitious plans and this shows our commitment to remain in the sport for the long term. Didier will bring knowledge and expertise to our team and I look forward to working with him.”

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

• Nico Rosberg’s 2011 Mercedes fastest in Jerez testing
• Romain Grosjean’s Lotus best of teams’ 2012 models

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel produced almost identical times on the third day of testing in Jerez on Thursday but they were trumped by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, even though he was driving last year’s car.

Romain Grosjean’s Lotus was the fastest of the 2012-spec cars, just ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren and Vettel’s Red Bull. But it was a disappointing day for Fernando Alonso, whose Ferrari looked off the pace, and the team’s technical director, Pat Fry, said: “I am not happy with where we are at the moment.”

Hamilton, though, looked just as cheerful as Button had been the day before as McLaren continued to transform their miserable testing performances of a year ago.

The 2008 champion said: “I’m happy to be back and thankful to have a day without any troubles. We did quite a laps compared to last year, so it is all positive so far.

“We have not yet figured out the right setup of the car. There are still lots of test items that we have to go through. I would not say the car is more predictable than last year but I would generally say that it feels like an evolution of last year’s car, although we have lost the downforce through the corners, but I am sure we will get that back.”

At the end of last year McLaren were almost as quick as the Red Bulls of Vettel and Mark Webber but they had been playing catch-up all season and it was a particularly disappointing year for Hamilton, who finished fifth in the championship.

On Thursday he explained why he had decided to add Didier Coton, the double world champion Mika Hakkinen’s manager, to his own management team.

“I thought it was a good idea to have,” he said. “Me and Simon [Fuller, Hamilton's manager] were looking at ways to strengthen the team a little bit and we wanted to find someone who has more racing experience.

“Didier has been a good friend of mine for many years. He has great experience, not just with my team but also in the F1 paddock. It will be strong to have him at the grand prix when I need him. That’s what he is there for.”

But Hamilton did not make any comment about Adrian Sutil, even though he may be forced to go to court as a witness following the German driver’s decision to appeal against a conviction following a fight in a Shanghai nightclub last year.

Vettel was his usual methodical self, speaking for more than 11 minutes after his run. The double world champion said: “The target is to improve so you have to be open to learn. The idea is to get away in the winter time, take time to reflect and hopefully come back stronger, more prepared and more organised.

“We have sat down together and talked through last year and all the things we can improve. Looking from outside it looked almost perfect but there were quite a lot of things on the list, so we will see how we get on. It’s quite special this year, with six world champions.”

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

Speaking at the launch of McLaren’s new car for 2012 , Lewis Hamilton tells BBC Sport’s Jake Humphrey he has “matured” following a difficult 2011 season and “nothing else matters” apart from winning his second world championship. Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, believes the new MP4-27 looks “beautiful”, while team-mate Jenson Button speaks of his excitement and apprehension ahead of driving the new car for the first time.
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• Sutil angered by Hamilton’s failure to testify at his trial
• German found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm

McLaren have gagged Lewis Hamilton after Adrian Sutil described his former close friend as “a coward”.

Sutil was outraged after Hamilton did not testify at the 29-year-old German’s trial this week, with Hamilton’s lawyer informing the court his client was unavailable due to a prior engagement with McLaren.

That prompted Sutil to speak out after being given an 18-month suspended sentence and fined €200,000 by the Munich district court judge Christiane Thiemann.

Sutil was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Eric Lux, the chief executive of Lotus team owners Genii Capital. The former Force India driver was accused of striking Lux with a champagne glass at a Shanghai nightclub after last April’s Chinese Grand Prix, causing a neck wound which required 24 stitches.

Speaking to the German newspaper Bild, Sutil said: “Lewis is a coward. I do not want to be friends with someone like that. He is for me no man. Even his father sent me a text message and wished me luck for the process. Lewis came with nothing. He has changed his phone number. I could not reach him any more.”

Asked about Sutil’s remarks following today’s launch of the new McLaren ahead of the new season, Hamilton was not given an opportunity to reply.

A McLaren spokesman intervened and said: “We’ve been told Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it might go under appeal, so can we move on to the next question”, to which the 27-year-old Hamilton added: “I’ll listen to him.”

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

• Ex-champion admits he was trying to juggle too many issues
• Jenson Button has private dinner with McLaren team-mate

Lewis Hamilton, who admits he was “battling everybody” last season, and Jenson Button have had a private dinner for only the second time since their intense rivalry at McLaren started two years ago.

A relaxed-looking Hamilton has come to terms with the fact that he had too much on his plate on some occasions last year.

“I wasn’t operating on all cylinders,” he said. “There were times when – such as Abu Dhabi – I was on good form, but still not 100%. And that’s where I want to be this season.

“There were times last year when I was juggling too many things. There were too many things hanging over me, too many things which were unfinished, questions in my mind, whether it was purchases, investments, management, lawyers or family.

“There were lots of things and I didn’t have the pieces of the puzzle in the right place. I was all over the place last season. I didn’t think anything was a positive. But I’ve corrected things and now I’ve got a clean slate. I’ve got nothing worrying me.

“Last year I was battling everybody. I was having trouble with stewards, I was having trouble with many different people. I want to fix that. I’m looking forward to having a good relationship with Felipe [Massa] and from the end of last year I’ve been working on my relationship with the stewards. I’ve got to stay out of trouble so I don’t have to visit them so much.”

The two former world champions have always enjoyed a good, though very competitive, professional relationship at the Woking-based factory. But last season was Hamilton’s most difficult in Formula One and he finished second to his team-mate.

As the two men prepared for the first testing session of the season in Jerez this week, Button said: “We went out for dinner after the Brazilian Grand Prix at the end of last season.

“We had some steak and it was fun. The only other time we have dined together was when I signed the contract. It was good. We have spent two long years together and most of the time it has been behind the wheel or in the engineer’s office and we’re always in uniform or answering questions about each other.

“So it felt good to have dinner together and look at the past couple of years and have a laugh about it.” Speaking about his relationship with other drivers, Button added: ” I’m all right with other drivers. I don’t hold a grudge with drivers. If I do something wrong I go and get it out with them immediately.”

The new Formula One season gets under way in Melbourne in six weeks.

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

McLaren have worked hard to avoid last year’s ‘abysmal start’ and it’s looking good so far – but the real test is yet to come

Any chance to visit McLaren’s Technology Centre, Sir Norman Foster’s swooningly beautiful kidney-shaped low-rise building, with its mirror-like lake and elegant landscaping, offers a treat to the eyes, particularly on a glittering winter morning. On Wednesday there was another beauty on hand in the shape of a new Formula One car, the MP4-27, with which the Woking-based team intend to recapture their pre-eminence.

Unveiled by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in a ceremony streamed to sponsors and fans around the world, the new McLaren-Mercedes conforms to regulation changes which ban last year’s exhaust-blown diffusers and impose restrictions on the height of the nose section. It is said by the team’s technical director, Jonathan Neal, to be an evolution of last year’s car, which started the season badly but had more or less caught up with its chief rival by the end of the year, winning six of the series’ 19 races. Button finished second to Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship, while the team were runners-up to Vettel’s near-invincible Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.

“Our biggest problem last year,” Button said after pulling the dust sheet off the new car, “was that we couldn’t get in the laps in the test sessions because of reliability problems, so we couldn’t work on fine-tuning and getting the balance right.”

Martin Whitmarsh, the team’s principal, agreed. “It was an abysmal start,” he said. “We didn’t have reliability or pace. But we’ve put a lot of work into this car and we don’t think we’re going to see a repeat of that.”

The ambition for the coming campaign is to start on the front foot, confirming that the design decisions taken during the 12-month gestation period of the MP4-27 were the right ones. Last year’s U-shaped sidepods have gone, replaced by a more shapely design around the car’s hind quarters. The nose is more shapely than had been expected, given the stipulations of the new rules.

“It going to make a big difference, and it’s given the aerodynamicists a lot to think about,” Button said. “The new regulations take away rear downforce, but I’ve driven cars without it before, and basically you just rebalance. When I first drove it in the simulator it needed quite a bit of work, but I’m happy with the direction we’ve taken.”

In theory, a car with less grip at the rear should suit Hamilton better than his team-mate, who is said to prefer a car with even downforce front and rear. “Our styles of driving are a little bit different,” Button said, “but the way we set up a car is pretty similar.”

Hamilton emphasised the team’s ability to catch up with their rivals’ technical breakthroughs, as they had to do last year when they found themselves lagging behind Red Bull’s use of exhaust gases to increase grip. “We’re the strongest team in terms of development,” he said.

This year they will be hoping that it is others who need to do the catching up, but they are sharply aware that Red Bull’s standards are unlikely to drop. “They’re not suddenly going to build a bad car,” Button said.

The new McLaren will undergo its straight-line aerodynamic test in the next few days in the hands of Oliver Turvey, one of the team’s test drivers, before being taken to Jerez for the first test sessions of the season, from 7-11 February, at which point the world champions of 2008 and 2009 will get their hands on it.

“As you can see, it’s a beautiful car,” Button concluded. “Some of those you’ll see will not be. To me, that’s important.”

Whitmarsh had a quick retort to that. Formula One cars become beautiful, he said, when they start winning races.

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk

F1 compilation incidenti lewis hamilton
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• McLaren launch new car at Woking base
• Sutil’s comments are given the brush-off

McLaren launched their new Formula One car before a global audience on Wednesday. And the global audience dutifully gawped in wonder, even though the new creation, the MP4-27, motionless and driverless and tilting sharply to the right, looked as if it had just come off the track at Suzuka’s notorious 130R turn.

McLaren’s more significant relaunch at their glitzy Technology Centre in Woking came in the shape of the sport’s most vivid driver, Lewis Hamilton, who looked a revitalised figure after the most difficult season of his career last year, when he was beset by problems on and off the track.

Hamilton, who was beaten by his team-mate, Jenson Button, for the first time in his McLaren career in a season marked by clashes with stewards and other drivers, has spent much of the winter among the mountains of Colorado.

“I feel fresh,” he said. “I had a really good winter. The team gave me a good bit of time off after such a long season, and obviously we went through a lot. I had friends and family there and was able to find out what they thought and how I could improve. I knew where things were wrong and it’s not easy to clarify them in the mind but I was able to do that. There are still things I’m working on.”

Hamilton, 27 last month, added: “There have been lots of highs and lows but last year was definitely one of he toughest years, personally. And also with the racing. I had a low moment when I lost the championship in 2007 but that was just one moment.

“A lot of it is in the mind. And if you’re clogged up with a lot of things and operating at only 60% there’s a loss of time. But I feel as though I’m back to 100% right now. Last year was one of those years where I had a lot of less energy and less focus where it needed to be. But now the focus is where it needs to be.”

Meanwhile, the 2008 champion has put as much clean air as possible between himself and his former close friend Adrian Sutil after the German driver described him as “a coward”. Sutil was upset by Hamilton’s decision not to testify at the former Force India driver’s two-day trial in Munich this week and hit out after being convicted for causing grievous bodily harm to Eric Lux, chief executive of the Lotus team owners, Genii Capital. After being given an 18-month suspended sentence and fined €200,000 (£167,000) Sutil said: “Lewis is a coward. I do not want to be friends with someone like that. He is for me no man. Even his father sent me a text message and wished me luck for the process. Lewis came with nothing. He has changed his phone number. I could not reach him any more.”

But Hamilton, who did offer a statement for use at the trial, refused to get involved when the issue was raised at Woking on Wednesday. Before Hamilton could answer a question relating to Sutil’s remarks a McLaren spokesman said: “We’ve been told Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it might go under appeal, so can we move on to the next question?”

Hamilton nodded in the direction of the spokesman and said: “I’ll listen to him.”

Sport: Lewis Hamilton | guardian.co.uk