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TEAM REPRESENTATIVES –
Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari), Robert FERNLEY (Force India), Franz TOST
(Toro Rosso)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Franz, can we start by looking
back at the Bahrain Grand Prix. How satisfying was Pierre’s fourth place and
can you give us some idea of the emotion within the team and at Honda after
the race?
Franz TOST: Well, it was a very emotional race result of course, because the
fourth place we didn’t expect. We expected to show quite a good performance
and realistically I expected a place between eight and ten. At the end it
was the fourth place. It was a big positive surprise and I’m very happy,
especially for Honda after the difficulties they had in the past, and also
for Toro Rosso of course, and for Pierre. Pierre drove a fantastic race,
without any mistakes. He deserved this fourth position and I hope that we
can continue in a similar way. Not always in the fourth position of course,
because we must not forget that three cars in front of us did not finish.
They were faster, like Kimi Räikkönen, then Verstappen and also Ricciardo.
But nevertheless, it was a good performance.
One of your most satisfying results in Formula 1? You, personally?
FT: Of course one of the most satisfying results, especially thinking about
Honda, because we last year, in December, we had many meetings in Tokyo and
I promised the president that we would have a successful season and a
successful future, and this was the first step. Therefore, I was quite
satisfied to have this good result.
You’ve already said that Pierre drove a fantastic race, but Brendon had a
more difficult weekend. What can we expect from him this weekend and going
forward as well?
FT: Brendon was also quite good in the qualifying. He missed Q3 just by one
tenth. The race went a little bit in another direction because he had a
collision with Pérez and he got the 10-second penalty and after this penalty
he was not anymore in a position to score points, although I think if the
race had gone for another three to five laps maybe he could have finished in
10th position. He drove a good race. Brendon is doing a good job, because
you must not forget that most of the tracks, he doesn’t know. Also here, he
is the first time with a Formula 1 car, he was here in LMP1. It’s not so
easy to get everything together with these real strong midfield competitors
and I am quite convinced that Brendon is on a good way and he will quite
soon be close to Gasly.
Thank you. Bob, turning to you, a point for Esteban in Bahrain demonstrated
progress for Force India, but it hasn’t been the easiest of starts. How do
you assess the opening couple of races, and the winter as well?
Robert FERNLEY: Well, I think actually it’s probably misleading. As a team,
we have actually improved race-on-race, both for Australia and for Bahrain,
by quite a significant amount. In terms of the opposition, they have
improved even more, and the reliability is there. Last year we probably
flattered a little bit to deceive getting the points early in the season,
while we were very strong towards the end of the season. And I think it’s
probably the same now. We had a good baseline programme for Bahrain in FP1
and FP2, which paid off, and you could see the difference in qualifying. We
didn’t have a particularly good race: Checo had his incident on lap one,
which basically took him out, and Esteban had a bad re-start, and we got
betwixt and between a strategy that really didn’t pay off for us. I think
hopefully we’re getting back on track again and the team under Andrew Green
will do a great job of bringing the car forward.
You made a reference there to the midfield closing up. Can you give some
feeling of how difficult the task ahead is? Not only for Force India but for
everyone in that midfield? What’s the secret for your guys to finish fourth
this year?
RF: I think it’s, well, like all times it’s down to reliability and being
able to maintain the pace all the time. If you look at Bahrain, and looking
at two or three teams, if you look at the Haas programme, one was in Q3, one
dropped out in Q1. If you look at the McLarens, they just got the set-up
slightly wrong and didn’t have the pace to get to Q3. It’s literally a tenth
or two and that’s the difference in making Q3 and not.
Can you remember a time when the midfield was as tight as this?
RF: Not in recent years, no. I think it’s tremendous. The battle for that
fourth place in the championship is going to be extremely interesting
through the year.
Thank you. Maurizio, two races, two victories for the team, it’s been a
tremendous start. But first, and most importantly, how is Francesco Cigarini,
the mechanic who was injured in Bahrain last weekend?
Maurizio ARRIVABENE: Francesco is fine. He went back to Italy yesterday, so
it’s all under control.
And how is he? Is he in good spirits? Have you had the chance to catch up
with him?
MA: Of course, as team principal I was talking with him every day. He’s at
home, it’s all OK.
Fantastic news. As I say, two victories so far and Sebastian is sitting
pretty at the top of the championship. He seemed happier with his car in
Bahrain last weekend than he was in Melbourne. Can we expect further
progress on that front here in China as well.
MA: We are at the early stage of the season. The performance of the car is
changing and it is really related to the track. So track versus other track,
they are changing the performance. They have different characteristics. So I
think at this early stage we are happy for the results that we have. But in
the meantime we know that the season will be long. Here, for example, in
China we will see Mercedes and Red Bull quite strong, but we are not here to
surrender.
Maurizio, can we have a quick word from you about the performance of Kimi
Räikkönen this year? He seems to have hit the ground running, he’s
performing well.
MA: Yeah, I’m quite happy about the performance of Kimi. He is in good
physical form, which for him is very, very important, because, if you
remember, a couple of years ago he has a problem with his back but now he is
recovering well, he’s really fit, and focused on his job.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Maurizio, can you explain why Kimi was given
the green light to leave in the pit stop in Bahrain and what has changed in
the procedure for this weekend?
MA: Just to make it clear, once, forever. First of all, the team was hurt.
We have a person who was injured, so it was in our interest to review the
overall procedure. We done our review, together with the FIA have to say, as
they are caring about safety, as we are caring about safety. We went through
all the procedure. We have a procedure to ensure that the pit stops during
the race are done in the most safe mode. In this case we have three factor –
one involves human control, the other involves mechanical, the other
involves electronic device. What’s happening there is we have a mishandling
of the rear left. It was not perfectly read by the electronic device that
gives the green light. We went through all the procedure together with the
FIA, making sure that this thing doesn't happen again, and it’s in our
interest, because we care about our people, before anything else.
Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhua News Agency) This is to Franz. We talked
just now about your fourth place last time out in Bahrain and we know that
the McLaren-Honda partnership wasn’t that successful over the last three
years or so. Do you think it’s a case that Honda is a better fit for a team
like Toro Rosso than it was with a team like McLaren, for example?
FT: I don’t know the circumstances which happened at McLaren and I do not
want to comment on this because this is past tense and I was not involved –
therefore I cannot come up with any conclusions. The fact is Toro Rosso has
a fantastic relationship with Honda. We work very closely together, we
worked quite hard during the winter months to sort out all the problems
which maybe occurred in the past and Honda worked very hard to come up with
a reliable and competitive engine. The last two races they proved that this
is the case and I am really optimistic for the future.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) To all three of you but
particularly to Maurizio. Your comments please about the Liberty
presentation last Friday and whether Maurizio, Ferrari is satisfied with
what was proposed in terms of either bonus structure, financial structure
etcetera. And the impact on your team of the necessary reduction in
headcount.
MA: First of all Dieter, I was not commenting on the meeting that we have.
We were listening to the presentation and any kind of decision related to
our further strategy or decision, they are related to our CEO. That is the
one that has the responsibility to take this kind of decision.
Bob, anything further to add?
RF: Not really. I think we have to remember this is work in progress. It’s
not something that really is for discussion at this point. It’s something
that’s presented to us. It will go another few rounds yet before something
becomes more concrete. I think it’s too presumptuous to start thinking that
we’ve got the process in place yet. I think it’s too early.
Franz, anything from you on that?
FT: I support all the points which Liberty Media presented and I hope that
they will realise it.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Maurizio
about the matter of the meeting. It’s difficult to comment but I would just
like to know if Ferrari refuse totally the budget cap or if there is a door
open to discuss something like this – maybe with different figures. And,
about the new distribution of money, if it’s something that you don’t want
to discuss at all with Liberty or there is some chance to speak about it.
MA: I have to point out that it’s not difficult to make a comment. It’s
simply not my job. It's the responsibility of my chairman.
Q: (Steve Wade – AP) Forgive me, I came in late. Can you explain again the
condition of your mechanic and if you’ve been to see him, been in contact
with him.
MA: The first comment is that he’s back in Italy, he’s at home and he’s OK.
Are you in contact with him?
MA: Of course. As the team principal I’m in contact with him. His name is
Francesco but he’s not St Francesco. Blessing the hurt who doesn’t need
hero. This is Bertolt Brecht, it’s not Maurizio.
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Question for Maurizio. Although it’s not your job
to discuss the proposals, it would be your role to implement any changes to
Ferrari as a result of the proposals. Toto Wolff has said a budget cap of
$150million is not achievable. Could such a thing be achievable for Ferrari?
MA: I mean we are reading the overall document. We are discussing and, I
mean, we will see in the future if it’s achievable or not.
Q: (Gaëtan Vigneron – RTBF) Question for Franz. There is always a technical
aspect in a relationship but there is a also a human one. What did you try
to do to build a respectful relationship with Honda with the kind of harmony
that was maybe a little bit missing in the past years with another team?
FT: The Toro Rosso team from its nature is a very friendly team with Italian
mentality. I must say that we never had any frictions from the very
beginning onwards we had a good cooperation. In addition to this, we
organised some workshops for our engineers and employees who are working
together with the Honda people, to understand the culture, to understand the
way of thinking, because the cultures between Europe and Japan are
different. I must say that they found a really good way of working together
without any problems and I am also convinced that this will continue in this
way. From the technical side, as I mentioned before, we had a couple of
technical meetings in December where we discussed different topics and where
both sides started immediately to work on this and we are still quite close,
cooperating together because we want to develop the car as well as the power
unit also during the season. From this point of view I must say Toro Rosso
is in the best situation we have ever been – because we are now much more
involved in the complete design process, regarding the car and how to fit in
the power unit, how to design the cooling system, the exhaust system, where
to put the electric boxes and so on. I think, especially for next year, this
will be a big advantage from the complete car design point of view.
Franz, are there Honda engineers based in Faenza?
FT: No, the Honda engineers are based… some of them are based in Milton
Keynes, because Honda has there as well an R&D department, but most of them
are in Sakura and our engineers are flying to Sakura, to Japan when there is
a special programme on the dyno or wherever because we are now much more
involved also in the dyno runnings. We started already in November/December
with the gearbox, and engine and gearbox tests and gearshifts and all this
kind of stuff and we also are currently running a programme in Sakura.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Bob, you said earlier on
that this is a work in progress, this Liberty presentation. To all three of
you, what is the deadline needed before it’s really firmed up and proposals
are made and accepted and regulations, because we only have two and a half
years left before the current agreements expire?
BF: I am hoping that most of it will be done this year, perhaps the
financials will take a bit longer but I would have thought that the engine
regulations would have to be out reasonably quickly. It’s more to do with
the engine manufacturers than it is us. We’re a customer team so we’re not
really involved in that, Dieter, but I’m sure those would have to be done
this year to give everybody the right opportunity and I would have thought
that early next year – this time – we should be looking at chassis regs and
anything else that’s surrounding that; cost controls or whatever, should be
in place as well.
MA: They give us a deadline for the end of May, I think. I hope that this
deadline is going to be respected. It’s a bit early somehow but it’s far if
you’re looking at the situation from another point of view, a technical
point of view. Concerning the engine, we, Mercedes, Renault and Honda sent a
letter a month ago explaining in detail our position. Now, it’s quite clear.
FT: I think the power unit regulation has to be finalised soon, May, June,
otherwise I don’t think it’s possible for new manufacturers to come into
Formula One because time is running away, ’21 is tomorrow and I think that
Liberty Media is aware of this and the rest we will see.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) I’ll try my luck with a question to
Maurizio: Maurizio how would Ferrari react if you were to lose your historic
right to veto any regulation change under Liberty Media’s new governance
plans?
MA: We’ll let you know as soon as we go deeper into the conversations. You
can see a smile on our face or not.
BF: Veto the question.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Maurizio, Bob has said that
he would like to see the engine regulations firmed up this year then the
chassis in a year’s time and the money thereafter. From a Ferrari
perspective, can one actually split it, given that to Ferrari all three are
very very important elements which would be basically decide your way
forward?
MA: All the elements are important because they are somehow linked together
so soon we will find an agreement if any, related to the various topics that
are into the proposals and then we can go.
BF: Just to clarify Dieter, it would be nice to have everything done in one
go but I’m giving you the timelines that might be realistic rather than
(those that) are absolutely necessary.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Maurizio, about the sporting
situation now, I would like to ask you what makes you more proud about this
season?
MA: As I said at the beginning, we have only had two races now. The season
is very very long so as I said before, the car behaviour changes from one
track to another. I can see here, for example, Mercedes and Red Bull are
quite strong but we are not here, as I said before, to surrender. You came
later, I suppose. You were not here.
Q: (Yang Guang – China Radio International) My question is about the
circuit; there were a few slides in the morning practice, so how would you
assess the condition of the Shanghai Circuit and what are your strategies
for the following sessions in terms of the weather conditions?
MA: Talking about the strategy, can you ask this question to Horner and Toto
and then you let me know? Talking about the track, yeah, it’s a fantastic
track, it’s very different versus Australia and Bahrain where we competed. I
think it’s great to be here because we feel that Chinese people really
support Formula One and I think that in the future and I hope that in the
near future they are supporting further because the infrastructure here is
great.
Q: And Bob, your strategy going forward for the rest of the sessions?
BF: If you could control the wind, that would be the strategy! I think that
it’s a wind related issue today, it’s very strong and gusting so it’s
causing a few issues for the drivers but the track is fantastic and it’s a
great facility. We just look forward to being able to optimise the set-ups.
FT: There’s not much to add. Yeah, it’s a fantastic infrastructure here,
it’s a really nice racetrack, we always like to come here. Unfortunately the
weather is not as beautiful as it could be because it’s a little bit cold
and the wind is blowing a lot which has a big impact on the behaviour and
the balance of the car and the strategy is to do as many laps as possible
because our drivers need to learn the track and they will do some long runs
today in the afternoon and then we will see.
MA: I would like to say something concerning Bahrain. I would like to thank
our doctor, our team doctor, the medical staff of the FIA and also the
authorities in Bahrain, they immediately granted to us the best doctors in
Bahrain to do the surgery and they were assisting us 24 hours (a day)
literally, so thanks to all of them. |
