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TEAM PRINCIPALS: John BOOTH
(Virgin), Tony FERNANDES (Lotus), Christian HORNER (Red Bull), Martin
WHITMARSH (McLaren)
Q: A question to all. Basically looking back at last weekend and looking
forward to this weekend. Tony, if I can start with you.
Tony FERNANDES: Well, for us it was a good step forward. I am very, very
happy with the upgrade package. Unfortunately a slight mistake with Heikki’s
(Kovalainen) car. Continuing with Monaco today it has been two good practice
sessions and looking forward to the race.
Q: What is the big task this weekend?
TF: Well, as we have consistently said every race to be ahead of Virgin and
be best of the new teams and try and finish both cars.
Q: Jarno (Trulli) seemed to have a problem this afternoon?
TF: No, the engine had come to the end of its life and we were running it
out to the end but unfortunately it ran out slightly earlier than we
anticipated.
Q: You are getting closer to those ahead of you. How is that working out?
How much are you putting performance on the car? Have you solved
reliability?
TF: Well, at the moment it appears reliability is quite good but we are
hoping to add more upgrades between now and Turkey. A little bit more at
Silverstone and I think we will close shop for the year. But it was good
today. We didn’t seem to be that far away from the back end of the
established teams and the drivers enjoyed it tremendously today. Heikki
especially put in a lot of good lap times and good mileage.
Q: John, looking back last weekend and looking forward to this weekend?
John BOOTH: Barcelona was massive for us. The first time we got two cars to
the finish in the fifth race. Not good enough and disappointing the previous
four but a big relief for Barcelona. Continue the reliability here and then
look for Turkey to start improving performance.
Q: How much of this is a steep learning curve here? Is it a steeper learning
curve here than elsewhere?
JB: I don’t think so. For me it is not really a street circuit. It is a road
course with lots of buildings around it. The atmosphere is fantastic but the
challenges are just the same.
Q: The two car finished in Spain. Was that massively important?
JB: Massively important but we should have had those from race one. It took
us five races to get there, far too long, but very happy we have achieved
it.
Q: And again the balance of reliability and performance. How much
performance are you putting on or are you still working on reliability?
JB: Ninety-nine per cent of our effort is on reliability but hopefully from
this race forward we can start adding performance to it.
Q: Christian, last weekend you looked very good. And looking forward to this
weekend?
Christian HORNER: Yes, Barcelona was a fantastic result for the team,
particularly Mark Webber, who was in excellent form throughout the weekend.
Barcelona being the start of the European season tends to be where the
bigger teams bring reasonable size upgrades and we were no different to
that. Everything we have added to the car this year had added performance.
That was no different in Barcelona. To dominate the qualifying as we did was
very satisfying and then Mark had a trouble free race. Sebastian,
unfortunately, had a few more issues to deal with which he managed
remarkably well. I think considering he had three brakes for the last 10
laps or so, to be doing the pace he was as we were just trying to slow him
down enough with the big margin over Michael (Schumacher) behind him and
then for once he was a little bit lucky with Lewis’s unfortunate incident
which put him onto the podium. So despite a busy afternoon for him a first
and third place, three points off the maximum score, was a great team result
and testimony to the hard work that is going in at the factory at the
moment. From a team point of view we don’t quite have the resource of the
more established teams but the guys are working intelligently and
tremendously hard in getting updates to the car in a timely fashion and
that’s paying dividends.
Q: The car seems to be so good in qualifying but not always as good in the
race. Is that something that is a concern?
CH: I think the races you are not pushing flat out every lap, so you have
got an element of tyre management. With Mark we did a pit stop and then he
had got 50 laps to go, the best part of an hour, on that set of tyres, so he
was looking to manage the tyre situation. Sebastian unfortunately had an
issue at his stop which allowed Lewis to jump past him and thereafter
overtaking unfortunately as we all know, particularly at Barcelona of all
places, is very, very difficult. The races tend to be more about tyre
management especially with the current tyre compounds that we have as
opposed to a sprint whereas qualifying is all about one lap ultimate
performance.
Q: Was Sebastian’s problem something you hope was a one off? Have you
managed to find out what the problem was?
CH: The problem was quite bizarre as basically the brake on the left hand
side stopped working completely and the disc effectively split in half,
straight down the middle of the spline, so effectively you have just got a
spacer in there and so he had only got three brakes, so all the bias was
towards the rear and he was using mainly the aerodynamics to stop the car
and built some huge margin into his braking zones. With having fitted the
option tyre at the end of the race on relatively light fuel load he actually
did a purple sector in the middle sector with three brakes. It was ironic as
I was joking with Adrian (Newey) the night before about his first car being
an Austin Allegro which only had three brake discs and unfortunately in the
race Sebastian’s car turned out to be similar to that. But he managed it
incredibly well and to get the car home in third place was a valuable and
brave performance by him.
Q: Martin, looking back at last weekend and looking forward to this weekend?
Martin WHITMARSH: Last weekend was disappointing in some ways. I think Lewis
drove a great race and really deserved a second place. To lose that with a
couple of laps to go is always disappointing. He had a wheel failure. The
wheel failure was the consequence of backing off of the clamping load with
the wheel nit. You try and investigate and it is always difficult to know
exactly why that is. I think it is a range of things. Being on bottom end of
tolerance. I think the air regulator that drives the air wrenches was
perhaps erratic. The gun was within tolerance but at the lower end and maybe
the gun stayed on a little shorter than it could have done, so all those
things meant that the wheel was able to flex. When it does that it rubs on
the brake drum, gets hot, leaves the properties of the magnesium and leads
to a failure. Very disappointing as it was a strong race for him. He has not
had the luckiest or more fortunate starts to the season but I am sure he
will come back very strongly. With Jenson again another solid race to come
through the race. He had a dash failure fairly early on. The dash as you
would imagine has a number of different uses for the drive, including
telling them when to shift. Although they learn that for a proportion of
that race he was close behind another driver and if you are in a tow your
shift points change, so he is having to adapt. It also meant that when you
are changing switches on the steering wheel you don’t get the feedback to
know they are in the right position and it also resulted in the pit stop
where he didn’t have the normal launch procedure. He was unable to see the
rpm. The rpm was a little high, so there was dragging of the clutch and
rotating of the wheel, so the guys on the rear had to contend with that
while trying to take the rear wheels off and on very quickly. So no fault of
the driver or the crew but it was a slow stop which obviously put him behind
Michael and it is difficult to pass Michael at the best of times. So
disappointing. He was capable of going quite a lot quicker than Michael was
driving but as Christian said it is very difficult to overtake on a circuit
like Barcelona.
Q: Looking forward to this race?´
MW: We always look forward to it. I have been here with Lewis in Formula
Three, GP2 and Formula One for wins. It is a circuit he has shown his mettle
on. Jenson also, and it is also a circuit we have won 15 times, so it is a
great circuit for McLaren and we would like to do it again. It looks very,
very tight. No doubt Red Bull will be strong here but I think this afternoon
showed it is quite close. The track is evolving very quickly. I don’t think
we are getting the best out of the first lap with the tyres but we’ll see
what happens. Qualifying is going to be a challenge here. We are going to
make sure we get through Q1 and it is difficult for everyone. Not just for
the quick drivers it is difficult for the slower cars and they presumably
are going to spend all their time looking in their mirrors and that is not
easy to avoid penalty. If you are a quick car you come across them fairly
quickly. They have every right to be there but it will be a challenge. The
drivers will have to try and show better respect for one another and it is
going to be quite difficult. I am sure because of that challenge lots of
cars will be out for a long period of the 20 minutes of Q1 trying to find a
gap. But it is very difficult trying to reverse back and gap the car in
front when you have got cars coming down behind you, so if you get yourself
trapped amongst cars that are of a different pace even if you are a faster
one or a slower one it is quite difficult to correct.
Q: One question about F-ducts. Some people are running it, some people
aren’t. I think your team seem to be running it. Is it easy to run it here
and is there a benefit?
MW: It is less of a benefit obviously. F-duct is something which will work
better on the long straight than a circuit like this. It is a standard part
of our car. We don’t have a non F-duct variety to fit in any case. Its
deployment is less significant than it was, for instance, in Barcelona.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) You had a meeting about tyres in Spain.
Can you name some names and tell us who is offering what and why it’s taking
so long to get a decision?
MW: I think, if you go back a few weeks, Joe, it looked like there wasn’t
really anyone who wanted to provide tyres, so the good news is that there
appears to be several companies that are interested in supplying tyres to
Formula One. I think those names have been widely speculated, I don’t think
you need me to confirm them, and out of respect to those suppliers, we
should wait until we’ve got a decision. A decision is necessary for
everyone; it’s necessary for the teams because clearly we are designing our
cars. We need technical information and the information – or the selection –
is necessary for the tyre company because we need to make sure that they can
get ready, particularly if they are new to the game.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Without naming names, can you say what
the benefits and the options are? One is expensive, one is cheap?
MW: Yeah, I think as you would imagine, established players with more
technical capability cost more than the newcomers. So there’s a balance here
and I think the teams will approach it in a responsible manner. Inevitably,
in this climate, for all of the teams, having the lowest cost tyres is
important. But at the same time, we mustn’t compromise on the technical
information and the integrity of those tyres, so there’s a balance. I think
the teams together have got to assess all of the new offerings and they’re
changing on a daily basis. Once we’ve got the best offers then the teams
need to come together, we need to make sure that the FIA is also happy with
the route that we go forward with.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Tony, from your point of view, what
usually happens when you have big tyre manufacturers coming in is that you
have the teams up the front not paying and the teams down the back paying.
How would you feel about that?
TF: I think in my short period at FOTA, there is a pretty strong
togetherness there to be honest. I think the will is that everyone will have
a fair and equal deal. Certainly I’ve seen a lot of transparency under
Martin, and I think it will be a pretty fair deal throughout for all teams.
Q: (Andrew Frankl – Forza) As far as the weather this weekend is concerned,
it seems a bit iffy. How long does it take to alter suspensions and moving
from a wet race to a dry race? It looks as though it could be playing havoc
and I’m wondering how you all feel about it.
CH: I think the problem is that you have got to have a bit of a crystal ball
because your set-up on Saturday dictates… with parc ferme regulations, the
only variable you’ve got for the race is your front wing. Putting on wet
tyres, obviously you have a deeper gauge, it raises the ride height, so
basically I’m sure that the weather conditions tomorrow (Saturday) will
principally dictate what set-ups people are going to end up on Sunday with.
Grid position is extremely important here, but to be honest, these days the
difference between a wet set-up and a dry set-up isn’t that great and
especially with the driver controls that are available to the drivers, such
as the moveable front wing, they are able to have a degree of tuning within
the cockpit.
JB: As Christian said, you have to be very brave to work towards a wet
set-up 24 hours before the race, so unless it’s raining during qualifying,
I’m sure everyone will have dry set-ups for the race.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) John, for a man from very humble
beginnings, are you still pinching yourself that you’re in Formula One,
particularly when you come to a venue like this?
JB: I suppose when I stop working so hard I will just take a breath and have
a look around. At the moment it’s just the challenge we’re facing and I have
to work very hard to overcome it. But it’s so great to be here.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Christian, on the grid at every race
Red Bull Racing has five guys who stand at the back of the car, on each of
the cars, hiding something, or not, as the case may be. Are you hiding
something, or are you just pretending?
CH: Obviously that’s to cover our variable ride-height system, Joe, you
should know that! Obviously the cars on the grid is the closest that the
various technical directors get to view the competition, and the fact that
our guys chose to queue up and happen to be standing at the back of their
car might merely be coincidence, but obviously the back of the cars are so
sensitive now we try and make it as difficult for others to see as possible.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Martin…
MW: I’m not interested in his backside, no!
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Martin, you have a chief engineer who
has departed McLaren for places unknown. What are you going to do about that
and will it affect your design process for next year?
MW: We’re talking about Pat Fry and Pat’s been with the company for about 18
years, so he’s made a great contribution to the team over a number of years.
I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a
bit of a break, take a breather. I think he’s worked very hard for the team
for a number of years. Within our team, then, I think we’ve got quite a bit
of a talent and depth, so in these situations it’s a great opportunity for
someone younger, maybe hungrier, to come along and replace all of us. We’re
all replaceable. I think the process will be the same but we’ve manned with
fresh new engineers.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Martin, when Christian said his team
was not as well funded as the more established ones you raised your eyebrows
as if to suggest that maybe they are. Would you tend to disagree with him
that they are just as well-funded these days as McLaren or Ferrari?
MW: I think that whatever the level of funding, and I don’t know the
funding, in terms of resources, the larger teams are pretty similar. The RRA
(resource restriction agreement) is already having some impact on that and
those teams will all become of fairly universal size and scope, I imagine.
Red Bull is a well-funded, well-structured, well-led organisation. Winning
in Formula One has never been more difficult, certainly in the 20-odd years
that I’ve been involved in Formula One. There are some good teams and Red
Bull is obviously one of those, Ferrari is another. We’ve obviously got
Mercedes who have clear hunger to win as well. I think it’s going to remain
very, very competitive in Formula One for a good many years to come, which
is great for the sport.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Teams have started looking now at their
2011 cars; I understand that some of the engineers have been quite shocked
by the difference in terms of downforce that you’re getting without the
double diffusers. Do you think that’s going to add a lot to the costs in the
next few months, as you go through the research and try to get that back, or
is that going to be less of a shocking change than they appear to say at the
moment?
MW: I think that regardless of the opportunity to improve we’re all going to
try as hard as we can. Not many Formula One teams save resources available,
they spend it or use it, so I don’t think it will add to the cost but
clearly moving away from double diffusers means that the rear end of the car
will be very different and one would imagine that there’s quite a lot of
work to be done in that area. I think that it’s a positive thing. I think
that one of the challenges that Formula One has always is to control
performance but also to enhance the opportunity to overtake. I don’t think
any of us can, hand on heart, say we have the magic formula for that,
because if you’ve got good drivers in good cars on the type of circuits
we’re at, then it’s always going to be difficult but tendentially, if you
can reduce the wake of the car, if you can reduce the effect that the wake
has on you and you can reduce the aerodynamic downforce then one can imagine
that’s going to allow the cars to be closer in the first place and hopefully
facilitate more overtaking. I think it’s a good thing. I think Formula One
was a little bit slow, frankly, in prohibiting double diffusers. Obviously
this time last year there was a fair amount of controversy that caused teams
to be dug in and not flexibly minded. We have now taken them out of the
sport for next year. I personally think that’s a good thing, but it does
mean that we’ve all got a relatively fresh start designing diffusers and the
rear ends of our car.
CH: If you compare… this race last year was the first race that we
introduced the double diffuser to our car and you compare where it’s evolved
to today and it’s just monumental. Basic simulation suggests in the region
of two seconds, maybe more. So it’s an enormous contributor to performance.
Of course it’s had an enormous effect on the work of the overtaking working
group because what they set out to achieve was significantly aimed around
the wake of the car that Martin’s just referred to and obviously the double
diffuser has had an enormous impact on that. It will be a big change and
it’s going to be an interesting challenge. Engineers tend to be creative
people and I’m sure they’ll claw back some of that, but it’s certainly a
significant reduction in downforce for next year.
JB: If there are new regulations when they become clear it will create a lot
of work, a lot of expense but if it meets the target of ending up making
racing more entertaining, then it will be worth it.
TF: Well, for us, we’re not that heavily developed anyway, so it’s probably
an advantage with the new regulations coming in and the quicker they come in
then we will start developing the new car. |
