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Hamilton Welcomes Button at McLaren

Lewis Hamilton today commented on McLaren Mercedes' decision to employ reigning F1 champion Jenson Button for the upcoming few seasons of Formula One, insisting that joining with his fellow countryman will only make his team even more successful for the future.

This will be the first time since 1968 that two British world champions will team up for a British team in the Formula One Championship – it happened more than 4 decades ago with Graham Hill and Jim Clark, at Lotus – but that doesn't worry Ham at all. On the contrary, he feels that he and his new teammate can only push each other to the limit to achieve the best possible result in a title-winning car, such as the one designed by the Woking technicians for the 2010 season.

It’s fantastic news that Jenson has decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and I’m looking forward to working with him and our engineers to make sure we kick off the 2010 season with a car that’s competitive enough to win the World Championship,” said Hamilton.

(...) I’m sure Jenson has already started to appreciate our team’s unique culture and the special family atmosphere that makes it such an incredible place to live and work. We really are like one big family – and I’m sure Jenson will feel the warmth of that welcome from day one,” added the 2008 world champion, while also thanking former teammate Heikki Kovalainen for his “wonderful way of being”.

I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend Heikki Kovalainen, who is one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met,” said Lewis.

Switching back to his plans for 2010, Hamilton made it very clear that the next year's machinery will be as good as McLaren ever got in the last few winning years and will provide both him and Button with the best chances of taking several victories next year. In addition, Hamilton expressed his enthusiasm over tackling the upcoming British Grand Prix.

Looking ahead, I think the results from the second half of 2009 speak for themselves, and I’m convinced we can carry that momentum through the winter and into the new season. I’ve been closely following the development of our 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, and I think it’s going to be a state-of-the-art car that will enable both of us to consistently fight for victories.

Obviously, as a British driver, I’m also thrilled that we’ll be flying the flag for the United Kingdom, and I think today’s announcement is fantastic news for all British sports fans. I hope they’ll be giving us their full support when the season kicks off next March. I’m already looking forward to Silverstone – it’ll be massive!” added the McLaren driver, who'll be entering his 4th year of contract with the British outfit in 2010.
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