"The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 is the coolest birthday present you can get, well it is for me anyway!" said Lewis Hamilton, who celebrates his twenty-third birthday today. "To see the car for the first time at such a great place as the Mercedes-Benz museum makes it an even more memorable day.

"I have had the past three weeks off," he continued, "and spent the time training and relaxing with family and friends. I know how much work has been going on in Woking, Brixworth and here in Stuttgart and it is a great looking car. My engineer has told me that approximately 14,000 manufacturing man hours have been involved to produce the car in time for today.

"I will be testing it for the first time on Thursday. It is going to be a busy time but myself, Heikki, who I welcome as my new teammate, and everyone within the team is looking forward to it as we push forward together."

"Today is my first official event as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver," added Heikki Kovalainen, "and it hasn’t come soon enough. After joining the team on the 14th December, I have already spent some time at the McLaren Technology Centre getting to know everybody and working with my engineers.

"It is also great to be here at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart today," he added, "meeting the Mercedes-Benz employees, media and VIP guests for the first time as a McLaren driver.

"I was able to learn a lot last year, and hope to take that knowledge into the 2008 season. I am looking forward to contributing to the development of the car during the six main tests in the build-up to Melbourne. It is a really exciting time for me to be joining Vodafone McLaren Mercedes."

To check out our McLaren launch gallery, click here

Note: More pictures to follow.