Australia: David Richards faces the press

DR in Melbourne
By Phil Huff (05/03/2004)
March 5 2004

It was David Richards' turn to face the press today, and the Lucky Strike BAR Honda team boss had plenty to say. Read it all here...

Q: David, Jenson’s performance was obviously encouraging and then perhaps there was disappointment. I don’t know what happened…

David Richards: No, nor do I. No. I’ve been in meetings since then so I’m just texting someone to try to find out. No, reasonably encouraged by that so far.

Q: What about Ferrari’s performance at the front there, the general structure of today, how did it go do you feel?

DR: Well, clearly Ferrari’s performance was very, very impressive, but let’s wait and see where everyone is when we’re actually running for the grid tomorrow afternoon.

Q: So are we being a bit premature if we…

DR: No, no, I don’t want to undermine… it’s obviously a very quick car and obviously they’ve obviously done a very impressive performance and probably even if we drained all the fuel out I suspect we might not be able to get those times but nonetheless, let’s wait and see what happens tomorrow. I think today is rather a strange day. You’re never sure what anyone’s running and what strategies people are working to and even tomorrow afternoon people I guess will still be speculating, what laps everyone is going to stop on, so in many ways, it’s not the clean way it used to be with qualifying with low fuel etc. It is quite confusing. If it’s confusing for us, it must be very confusing for the spectators out there.

Q: Perhaps the next question is should it be confusing for the spectators out there?

DR: Well that’s the bigger debate, that’s the bigger debate. Have we overcomplicated the sport or do people like this slight mystique about it. What is going to unfold on Sunday, because that does create that question and maybe that is a valid way of looking at it.

Q: David, how good was your third driver, Anthony Davidson for you today?

DR: Anthony is an integral part of the team. He’s been a part of the team for some time now, he’s tested all last year with us, and all through the winter, and provides great feedback and we have a very good relationship with Jenson and Taku, so it’s very helpful.

Q: You had benefit from him today?

DR: Oh, I’m quite certain of that.

Q: David, different subject. You've spoken about the tobacco legislation and I don't know if you have had a word on the European arrest warrant as well, but those are two things that I think concern you at the moment. Perhaps you can tell us your concerns and what is happening there?

DR: The direction that concerns us at BAR is the situation to do with - it's specifically the UK legislation in respect of tobacco. Just to clarify the point, we are not complaining because the fact of the matter is that the BAT had already voluntarily agreed, as had all the other tobacco companies, to withdraw sponsorship until the end of 2006. But the way the legislation has been drafted in the UK will effectively mean that we couldn't carry any advertising in places like China, Bahrain, Malaysia, where it is legitimately allowed after July 2005. Now, that puts enormous pressures on our team in terms of the financial structure of the team, the business, and the income sponsorship. That's what we are trying to get clarified and I firmly believe it's just an administrative issue inside the way that the drafting has been done, I think there is almost an admission of that by members of the government in the UK. And we are hopeful we will get this clarified in the coming months. We will then run to the end of 2006, as was planned, it gives us plenty of time then to have alternative streams of income in place and resolve matters.

Q: With the one-engine rule this year, it should be a lot of savings for the motor manufacturers. Is that saving been passed on at all?

DR: Clearly we are in a slightly different position but I think one of the things that comes out of all this discussion is there are a whole raft of issues out there that could easily be addressed, whether it's the engine supply to the private teams, whether it's testing, many other aspects of Formula One need looking at. Whilst we talk about these individually it's far more important we resolve a new Concorde Agreement, we get the GPWC thing sorted out, we move this whole sport forward and move forward in a positive way and that's what our focus should be, not on these individual elements for just getting that next big jump forward and taking it into the future.

Q: That is happening now?

DR: I hope. There have been lots of promises made by the manufacturers, GPWC group, various things, but I just sincerely hope that is actually happening but certainly on the face of it it's moving very, very slowly. Not fast enough for me.

Q: Just going back to where we started this afternoon about the times that were being set this afternoon and how representative or not they are. I'm a bit confused by what I see and I was just a bit surprised that some of you guys expressed confusion. Can't you give us some insight into what is going? David and Flavio, what were you guys basically doing, were you using today largely to prepare for your configuration tomorrow and then for the race, or were you going for lap times?

DR: We were preparing for the race, it's part of a race weekend and it's part of our whole testing strategy working towards qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday.

Q: What benefit would it be for them to go for a lap time?

DR: You have to ask Ferrari that.

Q: Just talking about fun and the sport and the showing sports. Do you guys think that today's show was worth the price of the ticket for the public grandstand?

DR: I think that's a valid point. This event puts on more for the people out there than any other event in the championship, I would say. It does beg the question when you turn up at the certain Grand Prix whether it's just a Formula One race on the day, whether that represents value. I don't have the ticket price, unfortunately I have not had to buy one recently. I think all the promoters are aware of this and I think it's beholden on the teams as well to support them and I think this weekend we are supplying our drivers for autograph sessions and trying to work with the promoters more and more.