McLaren assembles the MP4-26 live in Berlin

McLaren Mercedes has granted the hundreds of fans that gathered in Berlin at the Potsdamer Platz with a unique presentation of its challenger for the 2011 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the MP4-26.

In the famous public space that sits on the fringe of the old Berlin Wall the MP4-26 was assembled by dozens of Vodafone competition-winners, fans and customers which kept bringing the components into the arena. The revealing was made as the MP4-26 was being gradually pieced together in front of the crowd.

The final pieces were assembled by the 2008 and 2009 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button that in 2011 will once again be the drivers for McLaren. Both drivers will be willing to improve on their 2010 season results that brought the team to a second overall in the constructors’ championship.

A range of new aerodynamic have been designed for the MP4-26 to take advantage of new rules. This gave the new McLaren Mercedes single-seater a radically different look compared to last season’s.

The U-shaped sidepods are one of the most distinctive changes spotted on the new McLaren Mercedes. An electronically adjustable rear-wing system has been introduced for 2011 to increase the potential for overtaking.

The new Mp4-26 has also been equipped with an all-new electric hybrid system which is expected to further refine the original system that made McLaren Mercedes the first-ever Formula 1 team to win a grand prix using a hybrid device in 2009.