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DRIVERS: Fernando ALONSO
(MCLAREN MERCEDES), Robert KUBICA (BMW SAUBER), Felipe MASSA (FERRARI), Nico
ROSBERG (WILLIAMS), Adrian SUTIL (SPYKER)
Q: Adrian, how did you feel about the performance of the B-spec Spyker at
last weekend’s Grand Prix, the first time you’d run it?
Adrian SUTIL: Well, the last race was not our best race, to be honest. I was
expecting more but we had to take all the downforce off and the car was not
easy to drive, for sure. I think it will be better here, when we have our
normal set-up and we have our proper downforce. I think it should be a
little bit better than Monza but we can’t expect too much, because all the
teams are developing and trying to improve their cars, so it’s hard to catch
up with them. If we find half a second, it will be very good but even then,
if we can pass some cars it will be difficult, because the gap to Toro Rosso
was one second in Monza. But I’m always positive, so I give my best and hope
for the best. We will, for sure, be a little bit more competitive.
Q: Did you test here?
AS: Yes, I tested here. One day. I really liked the circuit and the car
seemed to be alright but it was the A-spec car, so it will again be a new
experience here.
Q: What are your feelings about your first year in Formula One?
AS: Oh yes, very nice. It’s the best job I can have. I really enjoy every
race, it’s very nice to be in Formula One. It’s hard work, different to all
the other categories, but it’s perfect, I really feel well.
Q: But do you feel you’ve accomplished what you wanted to?
AS: Yeah. I knew it would be a difficult year with Spyker, with a new team.
It’s always difficult and I knew the performance of the car already, so I
couldn’t expect that much but I think I can be quite happy. I’m still
learning and I’m feeling good, I’m feeling well-prepared every race now.
Q: Robert, I believe you’ve been here before in Formula Three and Formula
Renault. What are your feelings about the changes to the circuit?
Robert KUBICA: Yeah, I have been racing here a few times, in Formula Three
last time in 2003. I prefer the last version, so the old version of the
chicane but of course, this is how it is and still I enjoy Spa very much,
especially driving a Formula One car here in July when we were testing here.
The three days of testing went pretty good.
Q: It’s quite interesting that of all the tests so far this year, this is
the only one where there’s a big gap between the test and the race itself,
so the car could be quite substantially different.
RK: Yeah. I think more or less it’s the same for everybody. We have improved
the car a bit since last time we were here, but of course this is a
different aerodynamic configuration track compared to Hungary, for example,
and Monza. We will see on Friday. We still have a bit of time to set up the
car and tune it and we hope we will be at the same competitive level as in
Monza.
Q: I read some quotes from you about traction control and it was almost as
though you were in favour of keeping it rather than having it banned. Is
that the case?
RK: Someone asked me how I would like Formula One. I said I would like slick
tyres back, V10 engines and everything that would make the car quicker. I
don’t care whether traction control is on the cars or off. We have already
done some testing with this year’s car with these systems and in the end,
after one day, I think everybody will adapt themselves and the set-up work
and in the end, everything will stay the same.
Q: Nico, some good performances race-wise. Do you think you’re getting
closer to BMW?
Nico ROSBERG: I’m not sure. I think more than getting closer to BMW, we have
really established ourselves as top of the mid-pack in the last few races,
which really is fantastic because everybody was saying that Williams was
probably going to drop off in performance towards the end, as the others
pick up their development pace and everything, and in fact we’ve been the
ones developing quickest of all, pace-wise, so it’s been very reassuring and
very nice to see and it’s been great to have some good results lately.
Q: And is that going to continue in the last four races?
NR: I hope so. I’m not sure. We’re going to have to see. We didn’t have a
particularly great test here, but then again, we’ve surprised ourselves
lately, also in Istanbul, so I can probably come here looking at it quite
positively.
Q: How do you feel about the future, which presumably you are going to be
part of? Where can they be next year?
NR: Well, I think it’s very important for the team to do a good step forward
and I’m very confident from that point of view because they’ve been working
very well in the factory, they’ve achieved some very good initial results
with the new car and everything, so I’m quite confident that we can really
make a good step forward next year.
Q: And you’re still with them next year?
NR: Yes, definitely.
Q: Fernando, any comment to make on what’s happening in Paris today?
Fernando ALONSO: No.
Q: What about this circuit? You were second here in 2005; what are your
feelings about the track as a whole?
FA: Well, like every driver, when we are here in Spa we enjoy driving here
and we have fun driving Formula One here on this circuit because it’s a very
technical and very difficult circuit. We all love Spa, so in a way it’s very
good to come back here. I raced only once in Formula One here in 2005. It
was a wet race and at the end it was dry, so it was a very difficult race. I
came second, so it was not bad but for sure this year will be different. I
will maybe have a chance to win the race and I will go for it.
Q: What do you feel about the changes that have been made to the circuit?
FA: For me it’s very similar. Before the last corner was left-right, now
it’s right-left, so in a way it’s very very similar. I think it’s better
from the safety point of view, so I’m happy with the changes.
Q: I’m told they’ve put some astro-turf over some of the run-offs that were
being used by drivers.
FA: Yes. There are a couple of small changes in those corners as well and I
think all of them are to improve safety, so I think we all agree with all
the changes.
Q: And what about the team preparations for here? The test was quite some
while ago. Have you got many changes?
FA: Yes. I think that for us, that test is just about tyres and about not
much more than that. I think the chassis will be completely different, the
aero package we are running now is completely different, the engine as well,
so the car will be much much quicker this time.
Q: Felipe, what happened last weekend? Have they worked out what it was?
Felipe MASSA: Well, I had a problem with the rear damper. The damper just
locked, so the car was bottoming quite heavily. First of all I thought it
was a puncture and then I called the team straight away saying that I had a
big problem with the rear of the car and it was not possible to even do one
corner, because when I went into a corner, the car was jumping on the ground
and you couldn’t drive, so I asked straight away if I could pit and they
changed the tyres but the problem was not with the tyres. It was a big
shame.
Q: Do you feel the championship is no longer attainable now?
FM: Well, I’m still fighting, I’m still keeping my head up and trying to win
as many races as possible, trying to fight every weekend, very very
important weekends, and what’s going to happen in the end? I don’t know. For
sure I will not give up, so every race will be very important for me and I
hope I can fight for a victory at every race so I will just give up when I
see that it is not really possible any more. At the moment it’s still
possible, very difficult, but we will keep fighting.
Q: We keep asking if Ferrari is suited to certain circuits and it is to some
of them and not to others. Which is this one?
FM: Well, you keep saying that, not me. We try to fight on every circuit, so
it depends whatever layout we have. For sure, on some kind of layouts this
year our car was less competitive than on other tracks, so hopefully we can
be very competitive on this track.
Q: How did you feel about the test then?
FM: It was very good. The car was pretty quick, pretty consistent so
hopefully we can be very quick here.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (James Allen – ITV) Fernando, you always said at the start of the year
that the second half of the season is when you would start to come good with
this package. How much of the performance that you have at the moment is
down to that and how much is down to the experience you have got in
comparison with Lewis for example?
FA: I don’t know. It is very difficult to say. What is true is that I am
more comfortable now with the car, with the team, with everything, and I
approach the races a little more comfortable than the first part of the
season. Between the new car, the new team, the new approach, the tyres etc…
I was always with some doubts at the start of each weekend. Now I have
everything under control before starting tomorrow’s practice. I know what I
am doing, I know what are the changes in the set-up, how it will react to
the car. At the beginning of the championship if we have understeer on the
car and you try to change the front-spring I didn’t know how the car will
react to that change. Now I know the car really well and everything, so I
can react a little bit more precise.
Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) I’m going to change subject,
guys, and ask each of you personally what you think of the war in Iraq. Is
the situation being made worse by the British and Americans being there?
Should they pull out immediately or stay for the long haul?
(None of the drivers are forthcoming)
Q: Let’s start with Robert.
RK: I think we are in a Formula One conference, so I will not answer this
question.
Q: Anybody else?
(silence)
Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) For Felipe, about the problems you had in
Monza. You told us some interesting details but was there anything new on
the car in Monza? Or do you think that the damage may have been caused
because you were trying to match the McLarens over the kerbs?
FM: No, no, it had nothing to do with the kerbs. It was something... we had
a big problem on the damper. I don’t really need to say what caused the
problem but it is a problem with the damper, nothing to do with the kerbs.
Just something happened, but it is nothing to do with the kerbs, nothing to
do with the start, nothing to do with the way we were driving, it is
something that happens.
Q: Is it a new part?
FM: No, we used already this damper before.
Q: (Nikki Takeda – Formula PA) Last time we were here for the test and lots
of drivers were not so happy about the pit entrance. Has any work been done
to that and has anyone been to see it?
FM: I was one of them who was not happy with the pit entrance. It is very
narrow, we have a lot of space there to do a nice job and for me the job was
not very well done. I didn’t check if they changed the pit lane entrance but
I think it was mentioned in the briefing with Charlie (Whiting) and he is
going to work on that but I don’t know…
Q: Has anybody else seen it?
AS: I was walking around there and I had a look. It is very narrow around
there. They said two cars could come through there but I think the
measurement is exactly two cars and not more, so we have to go by rim-on-rim
then we can go through there. So if there is something wrong, if some car is
stopping there, you can’t pass him. So I think it is just a really bad pit
entry. I don’t like it, it is too narrow.
Q: Is there anything that can be done now? Will you ask for something to be
done?
FM: Well it depends, I think if you call all the people in Belgium to do the
job, maybe they can do it in one day but I don’t think it will be possible.
Q: (James Allen – ITV) Felipe, in the first lap at Monza obviously Lewis
lost some momentum, you were trying to get past him through the Lesmos. Were
you happy with where he put his car through that phase? Did you have a
conversation with him after?
FM: No, I didn’t have a conversation. He tried and we touched…
Q: No, in the Lesmos, later in the lap.
FM: The Lesmos? No, normal.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) The question is to Alonso. You
say you have a car to fight for the victory here. What do you feel, knowing
that depending what happens today in Paris, tomorrow you cannot get in your
car and participate in the grand prix?
FA: I’m not thinking about anything outside here in the paddock. I have a
meeting with my engineers now, preparing the strategy for tomorrow, which
tyres we are using in P1 and which in P2. I was checking the forecast for
all weekend, the set-up, comparing the test we did in July, the updates that
are on the car... So any more than this I am not ready to think. My 100%
concentration will be in this paddock, in this track and on winning this
race. Other than that I will not have even two seconds of thinking.
Q: (Peter Windsor - F1 Racing) Felipe, who makes the dampers for Ferrari?
(Laughter)
Q: Sorry, I should know this.
FM: It is not up to you, it is up to us to know that. I will not comment
exactly what caused the problem, I said that.
Q: I was just asking who makes the dampers? What manufacturer?
FM: No, I will not mention that.
Q: And the second part of my question. Is there any chance that a similar
problem could have happened to Kimi’s car on Saturday and caused that
accident?
FM: I think so. Maybe, yeah.
Q: Why then at the time were Ferrari so convinced that it was a driver error
and he just hit a bump? How did they know that? How did Kimi know that at
300kph within seconds of the accident?
FM: Because when he had an accident he didn’t have any problem with the
damper like I had, so we didn’t find any problem in the car, the engineer
explained. It was a different problem, so it was not related to the car.
Q: But it could have been the damper that caused it?
FM: I don’t think so. Because the damper, when we had the problem, was
completely blocked. So it was broken. But it was nothing that it caused,
just a feeling, so it was a different problem.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Fernando, if the title is
decided today in the courtroom what kind of title will it have been for the
driver?
FA: Again I have no answer to this question. I will not comment anything on
what is happening today. The answer will be the same as I said before. I am
concentrating on the race. I don’t think what can happen and what cannot
happen in Paris. I am not in that matter today.
Q: (Panos Diamantis – Car and Driver) Of the four championship contenders
you are the only one who had to change from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres.
How much of a handicap do you think this was and can you please tell me did
you have to change some things in your driving style to adapt to
Bridgestone?
FA: First of all I think Kimi also switched from Michelin to Bridgestone
this year. I think it was more in the winter. I think all the Michelin
drivers from last year had to adapt a little bit to the new tyres. In terms
of braking, which is probably the main difference, we all felt with the
Bridgestone tyre more movement with the car under braking. So you need a
little bit of control with that and maybe setup changes also with this
braking issue. And also maybe the traction. With Michelin it seems always to
be a benefit to put the car straight and go on power with the straight line
traction and with Bridgestone it is not a big advantage to do that, so you
need to carry your speed into the corners, in the middle of the corners. So
after one week testing you are a little bit ready to use the Bridgestone but
the more laps you do the better you understand them.
Q: (Carlos Miquel – Diario AS) Fernando, why did you decide not to go to
Paris? Lewis [Hamilton] is in Paris and Pedro [De La Rosa] is in Paris. Some
reason?
FA: No comment. |
