Nick Heidfeld (left), Nico Rosberg (centre) and Michael Schumacher (right) signing autographs before the demo

PETRONAS Motorsports
2010 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix
News, 31 March 2010

Schumacher and Rosberg brings the F1 Fever to the Streets
MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team take part in PETRONAS F1™ DEMO

Fresh off their strong start at the first two rounds of the season in Bahrain and Australia, the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to participate in the PETRONAS Formula One street demo, for the very first time.

The demo that took place at the PETRONAS Pit Pulse and along Jalan Binjai in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre was the main highlight of PETRONAS’ 8-day promotional campaign for the upcoming PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.


Michael Schumacher at the PETRONAS F1 Demo

With the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS MGP W01 taking centre stage at the demo, both Schumacher and Rosberg were also joined by other teams in the PETRONAS Motorsports family.  Also taking part in the demo were the graduates from PETRONAS’ racing school programme – PETRONAS Formula Xperience; and the riders from the PETRONAS YAMAHA teams aboard the SuperSports 600cc YAMAHA R6; Underbone and Supercross motorcycles.


Azlan Shah Kamarulzaman and Titiphong from the PETRONAS Yamaha team

The crowd were also entertained by a special appearance of the original silver arrows Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula One car. The car was the original silver arrows that was entered by Mercedes during the 1954-1955 season then driven by Argentinean multi-world champion, Juan Manuel Fangio.


Nick Heidfeld drives the Mercedes-Benz W196R heritage Formula One car

The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One team’s participation in the programme was part of activities with the team’s title partners, PETRONAS. Prior to the event, Schumacher and Rosberg together with Nick Heidfeld, team principal Ross Brawn and Vice President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport met with their Malaysian fans during an open-stage special appearance at the PETRONAS Pit Pulse on Tuesday.

STATS & FACTS
THE MOTORSPORTS EXPERIENCE & PETRONAS F1™ DEMO

Since the inaugural race in 1999, every year PETRONAS conducts programmes and activities in the run up to the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, designed to bring the fast-paced world of motorsports and Formula One to the ground. This includes the PETRONAS F1™ Street Demo; through which PETRONAS brings the Formula One experience right down to the streets, giving as many the chance to experience the world of Formula One and Motorsports.

• Counting the 2010 PETRONAS F1™ Demo, the national capital Kuala Lumpur has been the host of the demo three (3) times. The other two times were in 1999 and 2005.

• The very first PETRONAS F1™ Street Demo in 1999 was held along Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Perak and up to the intersection of Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur

• The 2005 Demo was held in conjunction with PETRONAS’ 10th year in Formula One.

• Since 1999, the PETRONAS Motorsports Experience and demo has already travelled to seven (7) other locations around Malaysia;

• The PETRONAS F1™ Demo at Padang Merdeka, Kuching is to date the largest demo ever held with more than 100,000 spectators

• Though there was no Formula One demo in 2006, PETRONAS and BMW organised the Heritage demo along the same F1™ demo route of 1999

• The 2009 demo at the UTP was the only time a Formula One car was not used. Formula One drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica instead used the PETRONAS Formula Xperience FB02 Formula BMW school cars.

• Since the demo of 2001, the Formula One drivers have been joined by other teams in the PETRONAS Motorsports family

• MERCEDES GP PETRONAS test & reserve driver Nick Heidfeld has been involved in the PETRONAS F1™ Demo the most times with five (5) appearances (2001, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009).

• 2010 will see the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg participate in the PETRONAS F1™ Demo for the very first time