Nick Heidfeld Signs for Mercedes GP Petronas

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is pleased to confirm that Nick Heidfeld will join the team as Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for the 2010 Formula One season. Nick will therefore complete the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up with race drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Like Michael Schumacher before him, Nick is another former Mercedes Junior who returns to his motorsport roots. After winning the 1997 German Formula 3 Championship, as a junior driver supported by Mercedes, Nick tested a McLaren Mercedes Formula One car for the first time.

Nick was the McLaren Mercedes test driver for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, during which time he had two successful years in Formula 3000, as runner-up in 1998 and winning the Formula 3000 Championship, held alongside the Formula One races, in 1999.

Nick began his Formula One career with the Prost team in 2000 and since then has participated in 167 Grands Prix driving for Sauber (2001-2003), Jordan (2004), Williams (2005) and BMW Sauber (2006-2009). He had his best Formula One season in 2007 when he finished in fifth position in the World Championship. To date in his Formula One career, Nick has achieved 12 podium finishes.

Nick Heidfeld: “I am very pleased to be joining the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team. It’s the team which has attracted the most interest in the close season, not only because of the comeback of Michael Schumacher, but also because this season sees the return of the Silver Arrows cars as a Mercedes-Benz works team for the first time in over fifty years. Whilst I would of course have preferred a seat as an active driver, I am really proud to be part of the new Silver Arrows team. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same. I will be doing my very best to support Michael and Nico this year.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: “It’s a great pleasure for us to have signed a driver of the calibre and experience of Nick Heidfeld as our Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for the 2010 season. Nick has over ten years of experience in Formula One working with established teams and he will be a great asset to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. I am confident that his input into the development of our MGP W01 car will be invaluable. We look forward to welcoming Nick to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS and working closely with him.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “To sign Nick Heidfeld as Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team means another re-enforcement for our team. We have known each other for many years and Nick was supported by our junior drivers programme from 1997. During his 10 years in Formula One, circumstances often made it difficult for him to achieve his breakthrough. However Nick is extremely capable, he will be an asset to our team and he will show this.”

New Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team Presented at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart

Today, the new Silver Arrows Formula One works team MERCEDES GP PETRONAS was presented at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Nico Rosberg and seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher along with team management Ross Brawn, Nick Fry and Norbert Haug were introduced to guests with a presentation and press conference.

Over 600 guests, including 200 media representatives and 200 Mercedes-Benz employees, visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum, one of the biggest and most famous car museums in the world, to see the launch of the team and the unveiling of the new Silver Arrows livery. Mercedes-Benz employees from the company’s manufacturing plants in Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen, 100 of whom were invited for their outstanding performances and 100 selected through a popular internal draw, also had the opportunity to take their first look at the new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team.

The event opened with a welcome speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars before Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg unveiled the new Silver Arrows livery for the 2010 season on last year’s car. The team’s 2010 car, the MGP W01, will make its track debut at the first Formula One test in Valencia on Monday 1 February, with the 2010 Formula One season starting in Bahrain on 14 March.

The new silver and green livery creates a true marriage between the heritage of the Silver Arrows and the team’s title partner PETRONAS. The legacy of the Silver Arrows goes back to the 1934 Eifel Race when, on the evening before the event, the white paint was sanded off the Mercedes W25 race car to fulfil weight regulations (750kg formula) and the silver colour of the aluminium surface of the car appeared. This season, with the return of the Silver Arrows, the MGP W01 will shine in silver combined with a flow of iridescent silver and green shading. On the nose and other parts of the car, traces of black carbon fibre visible are visible – a reminder of the first Silver Arrow of 1934.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER:
“Finally the 2010 Formula One season is firing up! I have to say that I am totally committed to this new challenge. This season feels like a re-start for me and I am so motivated. We have a very exciting combination at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. We have a World Champion team in every sense of the word and I cannot wait to get into the car for the first time in Valencia. I am convinced that MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will be in a very good position to fight for the championships this season and I will definitely give it a go. Driving for Mercedes-Benz again is like the closing of a circle for me as I started my racing driver career with the three-pointed star on my helmet. This is another reason why I cannot wait for the competition to get underway.”

NICO ROSBERG:
“You can really feel the successful motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz here at the Museum in Stuttgart and to be part of the new Silver Arrows team and that racing heritage makes me feel extremely proud and motivated. Since joining the team in November, I have spent a lot of time at the factory in Brackley, at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth and here in Stuttgart, which has given me the opportunity to settle in and get to know everyone. I have seen how hard the team is working on the new car and I really can’t wait for the opportunity to drive it for the first time in Valencia next week. I am looking forward to working with everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS and will give it my all to reward their fantastic efforts with good on-track results this season.”

ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS:
“It is a privilege to be here at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart today for the official presentation of the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team. With your first look around the Museum, you realise the fantastic racing heritage of Mercedes-Benz and we hope to be able to contribute to those successes going forward. Our team have been working extremely hard throughout last year and over the winter on the development of the MGP W01 and everyone at the team is looking forward to the start of testing in Valencia next week. We have two excellent drivers in Nico and Michael, who will form one of the most exciting and one of the best partnerships on the grid, and with the support of Mercedes-Benz, Aabar, our new title partner PETRONAS and all of our team partners, everyone is looking forward to the 2010 Formula One season with anticipation.”

NORBERT HAUG, VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT:
“With today’s presentation of our new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team, a new and certainly the most important chapter of over 100 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsport history begins. The new Formula One season will offer challenges which will be bigger than ever before in over sixty years of the sport’s history. We look forward to the cooperation with our drivers Nico Rosberg who has enormous capabilities and perspectives, and with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher who is no less motivated than at the time when he began his professional motor racing career with Mercedes-Benz and then made his first step into such a successful Formula One career with our support. Today I also cordially welcome our new title partner PETRONAS as well as our co-investor Aabar/IPIC together with all of our team partners. I warmly welcome all our colleagues from last year’s World Championship team Brawn GP headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry to the Mercedes family. There are challenging tasks ahead of us and we will tackle them with power, consistency and full motivation.”

Michael Schumacher Joins Mercedes GP Petronas

The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm today that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team.

With seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams.

Michael’s return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships.

Today’s announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got into Formula 1”. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’ World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn’t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

Mercedes GP Signs Long-Term Agreement with Petronas

Mercedes GP is delighted to announce the signing of a long-term agreement with PETRONAS which will see the Malaysian national oil and gas company become the title partner to the new Silver Arrows works team.

From 2010, the new team will compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship as the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team and will carry the distinctive PETRONAS branding across the car and team liveries.

Leveraging Mercedes-Benz’s rich motorsport heritage and the long-standing involvement of PETRONAS in Formula One, the new title partnership also paves the way for future collaborations between the two companies. For PETRONAS, the partnership will enable the oil and gas giant to generate sustainable business growth, particularly in their downstream lubricants market, through the strategic partnership and business alliance with Mercedes-Benz, one of the most prestigious global automotive brands.

The Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team’s challenger for 2010 will make its track debut in its new livery at Valencia on 1 February 2010 for the first of the pre-season tests ahead of the 2010 Formula One season.

PETRONAS will continue to be the title sponsor of the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix, scheduled to be the third race of the new season, which will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 4 April 2010.

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, said: “We are very pleased to begin our long-term partnership with our new title partner PETRONAS. Daimler, our premium brand Mercedes-Benz and PETRONAS will work together both on and off the track and I am sure that everybody involved will guarantee their absolute dedication to success. PETRONAS’ home base in Kuala Lumpur is located in the middle of a fast-growing region for the automotive industry which makes this new partnership even more valuable. Within the limits of the new Formula One resource restrictions, the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team will be well positioned to achieve our goals. We will all strive to present efficient success in the future knowing at the same time that the new Formula One season with some fundamental rule changes will be a particularly challenging one.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team commented: “Everyone at Mercedes GP is delighted to confirm our long-term agreement with PETRONAS and we look forward to working closely with our new partner in the future. The collaboration of the premium automotive brand Mercedes-Benz and a company as prestigious as PETRONAS gives our team a fantastic base from which to achieve our ambitions of competing at the top level of Formula One and building on the success of 2009 which saw the team achieve the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. Our plans for the new season are progressing well, as is the development of our 2010 challenger, and we look forward to seeing the car run in the new Silver Arrows and PETRONAS livery at the Valencia test in February.”

Nico Rosberg to Drive for Mercedes in Formula One

From the 2010 season, German driver Nico Rosberg will drive for the new Mercedes team in the Formula 1 World Championship, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced today.

Three years after his father Keke had won the Formula 1 World Championship, Nico Rosberg, 24, was born in Wiesbaden, Germany on 27 June 1985, inheriting his racing DNA from his father.

At the age of eight, Nico Rosberg began racing karts. From 1997 until 2000, he raced for the MBM team (the talent support programme of Mercedes-Benz McLaren); with this team, the two Formula 1 partners encouraged young talents. Nico’s team-mate at that time was Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes driver since 2007 and 2008 Formula 1 World Champion. In 2000, Nico was runner-up in the Formula A European Championship. Two years later, he entered his first car races in Formula BMW ADAC and clinched the title in his debut year with nine victories out of 18 races. A Williams Formula 1 test drive was the reward for the championship win – at the age of 17, Nico was the youngest driver ever to get such an opportunity.

In 2003 and 2004, Nico Rosberg participated in the then new Formula 3 Euro Series; in his first year he came home second in the rookie rankings and in 2004 he finished fourth overall. One year later in 2005, he moved up to the GP2 series which is staged alongside Formula 1 events and won the title.

The 2006 season opener at Bahrain on 12 March was Nico’s first Formula 1 race; he finished seventh and posted the fastest lap. To date, he has taken part in 70 Grands Prix, all for the Williams team; scoring a total of 75.5 points and achieving second place at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix as his best Formula 1 result. The 2009 season was Nico’s best in Formula 1 so far; finishing seventh overall with 34.5 points.

Nico Rosberg grew up in Germany, Monaco and at Ibiza; in addition to his mother tongue he is fluent in English, Italian and French.

Nico Rosberg: “I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows re-launch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes. No other brand in Formula 1 can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing. I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn. I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain on 14 March 2010.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: “We are delighted to welcome Nico Rosberg to our Mercedes team and are very much looking forward to working with him. Nico is a great talent, and with four years of experience in Formula 1, is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset. I had the pleasure of working with his father Keke during his Formula One career and it is great to see Nico following in his footsteps. 2009 was Nico’s best season in Formula 1 to date and we look forward to seeing his development continue with us at Mercedes next year.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “I saw Nico racing karts alongside Lewis Hamilton and later in the support programme of the DTM events – I have known him since he was a young boy. Early on it was obvious that he would make his way as a race driver and we are glad that after four years with Williams he will now be one of our drivers at Mercedes. It makes our re-start even nicer, that we have as talented and sympathetic a driver as Nico in our line-up. Nico has positive ambitions, we have positive ambitions and together we want to achieve a great deal. I am really looking forward to working with him.”

FIA – Singapore GP Press Conference – Friday

FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE – September 25, 2009

TEAM PRINCIPALS:
Stefano DOMENICALI (Ferrari),
Norbert HAUG (Mercedes),
Sam MICHAEL (Williams),
Mario THEISSEN (BMW Sauber)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: A question to you all. Can you tell us how the engine situation is in your team? It is getting to that critical time of the year, just four races to go, and everybody is wondering how many engines everybody has got.
Sam MICHAEL: From our point of view it is quite okay. We have not had any failures so far this year, so we are managing our pool of eight between each driver and so far we are on schedule not to use any new engines. That can always change in the next few practice or race sessions, but at this stage it has worked out well. It is a manageable thing. You can handle probably one failure but once you get more than one, it becomes very tricky. You either have to reduce practice mileage or fit a new engine, but we are fine.
Mario THEISSEN: We are borderline after the two unexpected engine failures – fresh engine failures – we had recently. We have one fresh engine for each car for the final four races and apparently we have never done four races with one engine on the track. On the dyno it would work, but we have to see now where we are. Apparently we have some mileage left on used engines to cover the Fridays.
Q: So it is a little bit of management?
MT: Yes, but it will be tight. We are not sure if we get to Abu Dhabi with this engine, so we will see. Maybe we will have to pull a ninth engine.
Q: Norbert, you have got about six cars to deal with.
Norbert HAUG: We are fine so far. I hope it stays like that but as my colleagues already pointed out this can happen very quickly and if you have one small problem it will happen. I think it is absolutely important not to get complacent and have respect in front of the work you have to do. So far so good and I would say thank you to the guys in Brixsworth and Stuttgart. They did a fantastic job so far but again it is still quite a way to go and I hope we can continue this trend.
Stefano DOMENICALI: We have two engines for the next four races for each driver but I can really cut and paste what Norbert and Sam said. You cannot be complacent but this is the situation now and we need to see how the situation will evolve, but two for each driver.

Q: Another question to all of you. Can you give us a little feedback on how the session went and how the drivers have reacted to the changes to the circuit?
SM: It was quite okay. It was very dusty to start with. They spent a lot of time cleaning the track last year and they didn’t do that this year. That first session was ramping up quite a bit. I think in terms of lap time there have been three corners that have changed on the track. Out of those three corners we think it is possibly going to slow the lap time down by about two seconds. P1 last year we were in mid 46’s straight away and qualifying was 44.0, so this year it is about four seconds slower in the first session and maybe two-and-a-half seconds slower in P2 now, so it is definitely a slower track because of the lay-out changes. In terms of our programme everything went okay. We had some new aero parts on the car. A new front wing and rear wing and some diffuser modifications. All that checked out okay and we just did our homework for the race.
MT: Well, we have a big aero upgrade here and in order to bring that to the track we also had to do a new gearbox, a lower gearbox, which helps us to lower the engine cover at the rear end of the car. We had some problems today, both gearbox related. Both new parts but apparently with the new arrangement – and it can even happen with known parts – so Nick (Heidfeld) didn’t lose too much time in the morning. Robert (Kubica) lost 25 minutes in the afternoon. Apart from that it was okay. Performance, not happy yet, but it looks like the car is certainly better than before and I hope we can improve tomorrow.
NH: I would say it looked reasonable. We went through the planned programme. I think it is difficult to judge on the first day here like it was explained before with the dusty track the track really changes and it depends on the fuel load you are carrying, the tyres you are using and at which stage of the session. But all in all I think it looked quite okay. You can probably get an impression from the long runs and then kind of guess what people are doing normally during Fridays and then see where you are and I think that was not too bad. But having said that it will be incredibly tight again. From (Jenson) Button in fifth to Lewis (Hamilton) in ninth position, it is less than half-a-tenth and I think that says it all. I think if you have a situation like that in qualifying, if you lose less than half-a-tenth and this can happen at every corner or every kerb, then that costs you probably five places even if you have the same fuel load. I think it is very important. It is a driver’s track at the end of the day. It is probably not the most interesting in the calendar but during qualifying it will be all about commitment and to get the last half-tenth out of the car. I expect it to be incredibly tight and as Sam has pointed out, the track has changed quite a lot. I think in turn 10 the chicane is quite a tricky one. If you really misjudge it and get it wrong you definitely can ruin the chassis there. I think that is different to last year but all in all it is slower but not less challenging. I think the atmosphere is great and I think everybody will agree that it is probably the best pictures you can produce over a Formula One season.
SD: For us as you already know the situation is that we do not have any more upgrades by choice. We have to manage what we have. This is the situation that we have to face. Today for sure I cannot really add anything to the fact that in terms of the situation of the tyre degradation tomorrow the situation may be different as I think the track will be much better, no doubt. We had a couple of problems today, so we did not run as smoothly as we wanted but this is part of the game and let’s hope that we can fix everything for tomorrow.

Q: Sam, obviously engine plans are still up in the air. How close are you? When do you need to know which engine you are going to be running?
SM: From a technical point of view it is always best to know a long time in front. But we are still in the middle of that decision. That is all I can say as I don’t have any more information on that. As soon as I know, then I will start designing next year’s car around it.

Q: You would like to start already presumably?
SM: As I said with an engine decision you want to know as early as possible. I guess you could say that Brawn proved this year how late you can go, but I am sure they don’t want to plan to do that. It just shows what is possible if you have to.
SD: It is a decision that has to be taken very carefully, so just wait.

Q: Mario, you seem to have an engine but not necessarily an entry. What is the timescale? What has to happen for the Sauber team now?
MT: Well, apparently it is important now to get a solid entry, either number 13 or number 14. We are in the hands of the FIA more or less and we are working on that behind the scenes, but I do not have any confirmation today.

Q: When do you need to know by?
MT: The earlier the better, but for the time being we work towards next season in the same way as if the entry was there already.

Q: Norbert, a lot of people have been talking about your engines. They all seem to want them. What exactly is the capacity? How many teams can you handle?
NH: I think it depends on the final FIA decision to start with. It is still in the rules, it still says one customer team, but there is an exception already made. I think the final decision will be made sooner rather than later. Capacity-wise, due to the new regulations, due to the freeze, we are doing – including core builds, rebuilds – half of the number of engines we did for our own team two years ago. That is certainly going in the right direction. Capacity-wise it would be possible to supply three customer teams. But it is not certain that we are in a position to so, but capacity would not be a problem.

Q: Stefano, it has already been mentioned that one of your drivers, shall we say, is between a Spaniard and a Finn. What is the situation within the team?
SD: I think what I can say is repeat what our president said. In the last couple of days the situation has changed, so we will keep you updated as soon as we can say something. At the moment nothing to add on that.

Q: The Spaniard element of it seems to be the key to everybody else’s drivers.
SD: I have to focus on our problems to be honest. I do not know what the others will do when we have taken the decision.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Mario, can you confirm right now that Ferrari will be the engine supplier next year?
MT: We have been talking to Ferrari and we have got a very positive response from Ferrari but apparently the first thing that we need is a place on the grid.

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) If you have a place then you will have a Ferrari engine?
MT: That would be our favourite option.

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Question to all: Brawn GP were the fastest in the first session and then Red Bull were fastest in the second. Does it mean that it is going to be a Red Bull-Brawn GP fight like at the beginning of the season?
MT: No idea, let’s see tomorrow.
SD: We will see on Sunday. In my view we need to be pragmatic. I think that not only Red Bull and Brawn have done a step. I think McLaren have done a step. We must not forget that Force India did a big step in the last races. Williams has done a step. As Mario said everyone has done a step, so I think this race we need to be very careful but for sure it will be a tough race between the first teams.
NH: Well, we are certainly working on it that it is not a Brawn and Red Bull race here. We try to interfere but I am not sure if we can do it. I am quite convinced that not everybody in the top five was using the same amount of fuel, so things may change tomorrow. But of course they are strong and as Stefano pointed out other people have made steps as well and if you get your act together there may even be some surprises. I think there are probably five teams in a position, depending on the strategy, to fight for pole position which is very possible for Formula One.

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Which are the five teams?
NH: I think it needs to be kept open until tomorrow but I think your opinion is not much different to mine. Whether it is four or six I don’t know, but it is a handful at least.

Q: (Peter Haab – Motorsport Aktuell) Can you give us some information on Felipe Massa’s progress?
SD: With pleasure. Felipe is recovering quite well. He has started a training programme in terms of fitness and again starting his preparation. The next step will be to start a programme on the simulator and then the programme will be to do some kart running. And as soon as these things are fine, then we will decide when to put him back in a proper racing car.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) A question to all four of you: given that FOTA is all about unity and co-operation, given that some elements in this paddock would like nothing better than to divide and conquer, what do you guys think about Williams going against the grain and running KERS next year?
SM: One thing to be clear on: Williams have always said that we supported KERS, the concept of it, the ability to help Formula One with sustainability and the environment. We haven’t stopped the development of KERS and we never did do that, just like the other teams didn’t. I think at the moment we are discussing with FOTA the potential for an agreement not to run KERS next year. We are in the middle of that, in terms of days, so it would be wrong for us to come out and say that we are going to race KERS next year. In fact we never said that. In any statements, if you read carefully what we said was… at no point did we say we were going to race KERS, we just said we would continue developing it. I think if you ask most of the people who have KERS, they’re doing the same thing. So it’s quite different to say that we’re going against the grain of FOTA. We are in FOTA, we’ve only had one meeting in FOTA since we rejoined, so that is in the middle of process at the moment. I think it’s wrong to say that Williams are going against the grain of FOTA, especially at this time when we are talking to FOTA about exactly this point.

Q: (Tetsuo Tsugawa – Tetsu Enterprise) How much difference do you think there is between the Cosworth engine and the homologation engine? I believe they have still homologated their engine each year, but do you think they have some advantage?
NH: It’s difficult to say. Mario is the specialist.
MT: I have to say that I don’t know and probably none of us knows what they are doing with their original engine. Apparently, the engine was originally designed to (rev to) 20,000rpm plus. Now it’s 18,000. Apparently they have to retune the engine. I have no information where they are performance-wise and reliability-wise or durability-wise. So I just can’t answer the question now. We just have to see what happens when they are on the grid next year.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Mario, will you remain with Sauber next year or do you stay with BMW Motorsport?
MT: That is completely open and I will not deal with this question before the end of the season. We have put in a lot of effort to secure the future of the team and it would have been counter-productive if I had mixed it up with my own future. I’m not concerned about that and I can decide on that later on.

Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) To all of you: as we saw at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the automotive industry is diving headlong into new and different forms of technology for power plants for cars and it seems inevitable that the direction we’re going is away from supplementing the internal combustion engine. Why shouldn’t Formula One in fact be a proving ground for this new engine technology? Wouldn’t it be a place to develop things very quickly?
SD: I think we shouldn’t forget that Formula One should be the pinnacle of motor sport, but in the actual context of the situation that we are facing, we need to make sure that the rules that are decided are well balanced, otherwise we run the risk of having expensive technology, not applicable for all the teams that want to run in Formula One. So for sure the future of the powertrain in 2013 has to be considered very carefully, because for sure, one important element to keep the constructors interested in the Formula One business is to make sure that what we are doing here has a relevance in the automotive industry. But once again, it’s a matter of compromise, it’s a matter of balance: the cost of bringing new technology within the framework of the regulations in Formula One versus the reality that we have to have a lot of teams on the grid and they have to be able to spend money on that.
NH: I think there are really very good plans for the new engine formula, but it takes time, obviously, and that’s why we currently have this engine freeze. But the next engine generation will certainly be very different. Having said that, we’ve got some experience with KERS and I think we are all very much pro-KERS but if you have a competition race and the KERS technique then that just costs a lot of money. The technical guys behind me, especially, would love to have that and I don’t know one technical guy who would not love to go in that direction, but the question is what can you afford and where do you put your money? I think we have to accept that the next engine generation will be something absolutely new and special, but having said that, the specific consumption of the current engine is an absolute world record. I just think sometimes we need to accept that if you need to feed seven hundred and fifty horses you need to give them more than if you need to feed 75 horses and that’s very simple but it’s reality. And I think if we have a total look at Formula One, what’s happening in terms of the environment, it’s still a very positive issue, all in all, but it’s a conflict: what money you can spend, and street cars sometimes require different technical developments to racing cars. KERS hybrid was probably an example but you cannot put it in the same way you are building it for Formula One into a street car. The principle is comparable and you certainly learn, you do learn and we learned and we couldn’t have made it without our people from production development, so all in all, it was a very good example indeed, but an expensive one as well.
MT: Yeah, I think I was one of the strongest campaigners for KERS and I still think it’s been a fantastic opportunity for Formula One and it might well be one in the future, to take the technological lead and to do something to spend our excellent resources on, something that makes sense, that is sensible for the future. On the other hand, we have had a lot of discussions on the effort that you have to put behind it and I’m now in the very different situation of a team that has to survive without a manufacturer next year and you certainly then see the other side. I think we should put in as much innovation as possible, as affordable. We should go for what is possible in Formula One but without losing any competitors. That’s the trade-off we have to make, so this is also why BMW has supported the FOTA decision not to run KERS next year.
SM: Pretty similar to the other guys, in terms of the trade-off of F1 development. Obviously we’re not an engine manufacturer but we do silly things with the engine manufacturers that we work with that trade off to road cars, but as Norbert said, there are very different objectives for road car development as opposed to Formula One. One example is to look at diesel technology, and that was all the rage five or six years ago and that swamped road cars but it’s not necessarily the right thing for Formula One. There are lots of examples like that.

Q: (Ralf Bach – R & B) When the engines were frozen two years ago, everybody thought it was maybe the right thing to do. When Renault was allowed last year to maybe make the engine a little bit better, I thought OK, maybe they were so far away from the competition that they should be allowed to do it. But now I don’t understand anything anymore. Do you think it’s Formula One when Mercedes is forced to reduce the power of the engine, because they maybe have the best engine? Is this Formula One for people and spectators anymore?
SD: First of all, no one has said that the Mercedes engine has to be re-tuned.
NH: If you read the (FIA) press release this is not the case. I think maybe you should go through it once more. It is written very conditionally but it doesn’t speak about Mercedes at all. It’s not a Mercedes issue. It is just a general issue.
SD: We can discuss if freezing everything in Formula One is correct or not but this is a decision that once again went in the direction of trying to reduce the cost of Formula One. I think that, as an engine manufacturer, we have done a lot in order to reduce the cost for customers, in order to make sure that we were able to come and be on the grid in Formula One and I think this is due to FOTA and to the effort that the manufacturers made altogether. Then, if this is correct or not, I would say that’s a question that is difficult to answer. The opposite answer can be that if that was not the case, if we were here with the things that we have on the grid, question mark; we don’t know. But on the other subject, I cannot really answer because it’s not the specific issue that was discussed in the FIA. There is an engine working group that will deal with the engine situation, that will be discussed and we will discuss it within the group as always and see what the situation is but nothing more than that.
MT: Even as an engine guy I have supported the homologation because almost everything that we have achieved in the past two or three years in terms of cost reduction came from the engine side, through homologation and the extension of engine life, so that was certainly a very important and positive step. As you said before, we had the discussion a year ago about the Renault engine. It was dealt with within the engine working group and we came to a conclusion between the engine manufacturers that if there was a situation like this again, it should be dealt with in the same away again, and we would see what the outcome was.

28-Jul-09: Haug Believes KERS Could Get a Reprieve

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 28th July 2009.

Norbert Haug of Mercedes believes that teams could start to rethink their negative opinion on KERS now that Hamilton scored the first victory for a car with the device in. He said now that the system has helped a car to win, it will be mentioned more, and FOTA might take notice. The teams have already agreed not to run it from next year as part of the cost-cutting measures, but Haug says a standard device could help that problem.

Meanwhile, doctors treating Massa have said that his recovery is going very well, and if he continues at this pace, then he may be able to leave hospital within the next 10 days. However, he is quick to point out that it is still very serious, but “the danger is decreasing by the day.”

It seems very likely Ferrari will have a spare seat at Valencia and there is wild speculation that Michael Schumacher could fill it. Within an hour, two stories emerged with his spokesperson saying he’d consider it, and his manager saying he was 200% sure it wouldn’t happen.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

FIA – Hungary GP Press Conference – Friday

FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE – July 24, 2009

TEAM PRINCIPALS:
Stefano DOMENICALI (Ferrari),
Norbert HAUG (Mercedes),
Christian HORNER (Red Bull),
Franz TOST (Toro Rosso)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Christian, winner of the last two races. How has it affected the team and how has it affected Mark Webber? Do you feel a load is off his shoulders?
Christian HORNER: Yeah, I mean Germany was a fantastic weekend for Mark Webber. It was his first pole position and his first race win after 130 attempts. It was a big milestone in his career and he was very, very quick throughout the weekend. It was thoroughly deserved the result that he achieved. I think hopefully it will be a weight off his shoulders now. There is a big difference between thinking you can win and knowing you can win and he has crossed that line now, so I am sure we will see hopefully more victories for Mark in the near future.

Q: Is there a different atmosphere in the factory now?
CH: Everybody in the factory was extremely motivated coming into this season. We knew we had a good car. The effort that has gone into the development of this car is nothing short of astounding. The commitment that has been shown by so many unsung heroes back in the factory, in the garage here and at every grand prix so far this year has been quite staggering. I think the challenge we have had this year, combined with new regulations, has also been the lack of testing, so I am sure we, like other teams, are rushing though components at breakneck speed to get them to the car. Even components that were on the drawing board 10 days ago are finding themselves getting onto a car at a grand prix weekend which is unprecedented. The whole development pace is fanatical at the moment but the guys at Milton Keynes have risen to the challenge. The design team led by Adrian (Newey) and his guys have responded brilliantly well and that’s resulted in the kind of performances that we have seen in the last couple of races.

Q: You talk about the design team and the pace of development. I am a little surprised that perhaps you haven’t got a little update here. I know you had one a couple of races ago but with the beak coming up and then a double header surely it was important to have an update here?
CH: We have got a few little bits here. We are targeting to get something onto the car every single weekend. It is a challenge and the next challenge is obviously the summer break when we are not allowed to do anything, so we have got a week to produce whatever we are going to do for the next race in Valencia. But we have a few bits and pieces here. This weekend is obviously a big weekend. Theoretically this is Brawn territory and we are going to do our best to take the fight to them but there are a few other cars that also will go pretty quick this weekend.

Q: How do you feel about the balance between Brawn and yourselves over the last couple of races? Is it because they weren’t suited to the conditions but you had made a step forward?
CH: I was very happy with the balance at the last two races. I think that yes, for sure, we have made a step. I think they have a great car and they started the year and came out of the blocks very quickly. I think over the last few races we have made steps. We have understood the double diffuser more and more and I think more than anything that has added performance to the car. We saw the first iteration of that in Monte Carlo, the second in Silverstone, so as we understand more of that philosophy it is just opening up more and more development avenues. I think that will continue throughout the rest of the season.

Q: Franz, first of all I think one of the things you have got to do is building up your own technical department. How is that coming along?
Franz TOST: It is coming along very well I must say. We have currently around 220 employees. We have started to run the wind tunnel in Bicester and in about two or three weeks we will have the CFD installed in Faenza and so far everything is to the time scale.

Q: The modifications here. Did they come from that group of people?
FT: No, the modifications here are coming from Milton Keynes, from Red Bull Technology. We are still getting the drawings from them because this is for this year’s car. Regarding the designer group which is working in Faenza they are doing the job for next year’s car.

Q: And how have those modifications worked out today?
FT: They worked out well and I think we made a step forward. We were out with some fuel in the car today and I expect that tomorrow at least we will be in the second qualifying.

Q: You have a new driver here with Jaime Alguersuari. He is the youngest driver ever to be in Formula One and he has not had a lot of experience in a Formula One seat. What was the thinking behind hiring him and also starting his season at this stage?
FT: The thinking behind is that first we were not happy with another driver which we exchanged. Then, as you know, Red Bull, respectively Dietrich Mateschitz, bought the second team to give young drivers a chance to come into Formula One. As you know Red Bull is running a very successful young driver programme and from these drivers Jaime is currently the most experienced, the fastest and the most mature driver. He is currently the youngest driver in a Formula One field but it does not mean he is inexperienced. He has so far done 118 races, he won 17 races. He had 36 finishes on the podium and he won last year the English Formula Three Championship and also this year in the World Series he has so far done a good job. In Le Mans last Sunday he finished in third position and therefore I don’t think he is as inexperienced as other drivers think he is. Today he did 82 laps without any mistake and I think the times he did were quite impressive and I am quite convinced that Red Bull has chosen the correct driver and I am convinced that we will have a good future with him. The reason why he started here in Hungary is that five weeks ago he drove a race here for the Renault World Series and he finished in sixth position if I remember right. That means he was familiar with the track and it would have been a much greater risk to start with him in Valencia or even later than in Spa. Therefore he should enjoy being here in Hungary. He should enjoy sitting in the car and I am convinced he will do a good race.

Q: Norbert, you have KERS here. The difference in speed was very interesting at the last race, particularly of Lewis (Hamilton) across the start-finish line in comparison to everybody else which I guess was KERS assisted. Would you expect the same sort of thing here?
Norbert HAUG: Yes, so far I am not quite sure whether the timing is right but I hope it is. Then we have a big advantage in the first sector. The times were a little bit all over the place and I am not quite sure if the split times are the correct ones. But it is quite obvious that we have very good top speed at the start-finish line. Looking back at the Nürburgring I think Lewis really would have made it. Mark, certainly not by purpose, hit him and Lewis got a deflated tyre. He definitely would have made it around the corner and I am sure as Heikki (Kovalainen) showed that at least for the first 15 laps or whatever he could have been in the lead and then it would have been a different story, so that was bad luck, it was not on purpose. It could have been the other way around. You can lose or damage your front wing or whatever. It was very tight, Lewis coming from fifth but to overtake four guys ahead of him and such guys in the cars. That means quite something. It is not the longest straight at the Nürburgring, so I think that was a great achievement. And of course I hope for very much the same here. It would be better to be further up the grid but I doubt it. But maybe we can catch some guys in front of us at the start and then we will see how the race develops. I think we need reasonable lap times but definitely we are not in a position to go for race wins but I think since Silverstone, where we have been nowhere basically, we have improved a lot. You could see that at the Nürburgring where hopefully we were going in the right direction. Coming back to the basis of your question, our KERS is a big, big help, not only here but on various race tracks. Even in Monaco that was the case, I think we did competitive lap times. For obvious reasons we could not get the result there but we have been competitive there. We have been absolutely not competitive at the quick ones like Turkey and Silverstone. The Nürburgring is not the quickest either but we did a reasonable job there and hopefully we can continue that direction here.

Q: You stated that it would be nice to have a German driver in the team. What is the situation with the current two?
NH: Well, I am stating that for 15 years to be honest and it is still the truth. Just to put it very clear. There is a lot of speculation going around and the newest one is that Lewis is afraid of a German driver in the team but I can honestly tell you that if you have had Fernando Alonso in your first year in the team and you were evenly matched with Fernando Alonso, then I don’t think you should be afraid of any team-mate. We need to see how things are developing. I think Heikki did a great job. If you look at qualifying times and qualifying positions this is quite evenly matched between both of them and I think Lewis is a match for basically everybody. I think if you are not 9-0 after nine races, then this is positive and I think in Heikki’s case it is quite balanced between both of them. I think we should keep that in mind, so there are no decisions taken. But, of course, I think all of us are looking at the market. This is our job and we are looking to develop opportunities. We helped young drivers a lot. I have to say I am absolutely pleased with the successes of Sebastian Vettel and also the other German guys. They are great guys, good friends. If they are better and quicker than us, then they beat us and that is fine. We just need to do a better job and I think that is the right atmosphere, when you appreciate that somebody else is doing a good job as well. But don’t worry we are going to come back and we will be strong again sooner rather than later.

Q: Since the German Grand Prix there have been doubts about German Grand Prix next year. We haven’t got a French Grand Prix this year. The British Grand Prix has some doubts around it. There is no American Grand Prix. It has been stated that some of the teams are worried about the grands prix in the future in their major markets, the ones that I have just mentioned. What can you do about reinstating those grands prix? What are the hopes of Constructors’ such as yourselves?
NH: First of all I think the British Grand Prix in my view, as being an observer, as being a racer, gave the perfect answer on race day. I was surprised to hear lots of noise and lots of hoorays when I saw on television that Lewis was fighting with Fernando for whatever, 17th position. I think everybody stood up and clapped. These are the real enthusiasts and if Silverstone was not a fantastic race, it was not the most interesting one, we should have done a better job and we should have had more fights. But the people genuinely enjoyed it and not having a race there is, I think, not the right thing to do. Well, they can swap with Donington, it is not my business, but Silverstone proved they are absolutely capable of having a sensational grand prix. It is an historic race track. I like the race track very much. Even if we could not perform there we have won a couple of races there already. But I think races like these should be on the calendar and if they swap one year to the other with Donington, that is fine with me. The same applies to Germany. I think there is still a very good chance for Hockenheim. The Nürburgring was a good race as well, so I think the prospects are not bad to keep these traditional race tracks on the calendar. We, certainly in FOTA, whatever influence we will have, I think, it is our thinking that we would like to have races like these on the calendar.

Q: Stefano, how have this weekend’s modifications worked out today?
Stefano DOMENICALI: Well, of course today we have done quite a different job on the cars. First of all we also started some work in relation to the new year, 2010, because we need to anticipate some development there because we know that from now to the end of the season we can have a lot of running. Secondly, we had some issues relating mainly to the usage of the tyres today. I don’t think Felipe was really happy about the balance of the car in both conditions, even if I have to say that at the end of the day, when he was trying to do a good time on the supersofts, there were always yellow flags at the wrong moment, but that’s part of the game. Kimi (Räikkönen) was not too bad, he felt that the car was reasonably good. I think that the modifications that we brought today gave what we expected, so it’s really a matter of understanding how the situation is within the real framework. We know that in Hungary the situation on the first day is really very difficult to analyse as always in the past on a track that is not really perfect. We saw a lot of drivers having some difficulties, going wide or not being really clean on the track, and of course we need to understand the lap time exactly because the fuel effect is quite high. So we need to be very careful. And above all, this year, with such a different performance situation, day by day, run by run, we need to not draw any conclusions before the chequered flag, I would say. But for sure, we know that… I think Norbert made a good point: I don’t think we are in a position to be ready to win a race from a performance point of view but we need to be ready, just in case something happens. I know that all the competitors are pushing very, very hard to improve their performance and we know that because the gaps are so small, a little step can make the difference. It’s a challenging season. In this condition we need to take that now with a positive approach, when you are performing not at the standard that you wanted to react, so I think that’s the situation today. Let’s see tomorrow.

Q: How much are you working towards next year and how much are you still concentrating on this year?
SD: We are totally concentrating on this year at the track. I think that now, after the August break, we will be fully concentrated on next year’s car.

Q: A lot of people have been talking about Kimi’s performances this year and about his future; what is his future?
SD: I know there is a lot of speculation going around. As we always say, the question is that we don’t ever say something about any driver, if he’s performing well, if he’s performing badly. We are always speaking about the team and that’s our line. You know what the situation is with our two drivers and there’s no change on that. Nothing to add on top of it. Up until 2010 we have an agreement with Kimi and Felipe, and that’s the situation. No more than that.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Stefano, it was suggested in Germany that by now the Concorde Agreement would have been signed. Could you explain what the latest situation is, how close are all three parties now?
SD: I think that we are progressing. I think that we are very, very close to reaching a solution. As always with such a complexity, the closer you get to the goal, the more everyone is trying to squeeze or to find different things around it but I am optimistic that before the August break everything will be sorted out.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Question to Stefano and Norbert: it is being said that we will be down to five engines per driver for next year. How sure are you that it will happen because Cosworth has obviously voiced some concerns about being able to retune their engines and if it will stay at eight engines, will you still be able to offer your engines for five million euros for the independent teams?
SD: What I can say about that is, as I said, that the closer that you get to signatures on a document that also has to incorporate sporting and technical regulations from the baseline, for sure this is not a point that is 100 percent clear. This is the current situation. I think this is one of the most important points that we need to clear up.

Q: (Michael Trawniczek – Rallye and More) Mr Haug, is it true that you said that a crash similar to that of Henry Surtees is not possible in Formula One and if true, why are you so sure?
NH: I never said that.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Stefano, could you explain to us what will happen during the summer break because it’s something new, where you have to close the door?
SD: We are looking forward to it; at least, for us, with one week to go and then, at least in my professional career, I’ve never had two weeks holiday in August, so I’m really looking forward to it. But basically we had to sign an agreement where all the teams would not go ahead with any kind of activity apart from maintenance, things that we need to do in that period to refresh or looking after the maintenance and structure of our buildings, but that there’s no production, no design, no activity. This is something that we decided together in order to follow the rules of saving money for all the teams involved.
CH: As an Italian you should know that the whole of Italy closes for a month anyway and we thought that it was only fair that the rest of the racing community does the same, at least for two weeks. So it’s a very strange thing to have an enforced holiday, telling people that they can’t work, they can’t come into the factory. It’s a compulsory, it’s been agreed by FOTA, it’s documented what we can and can’t do. Yes, it’s a lot of people who are forced to take a break for two weeks.

Q: (MC) Norbert, does that apply to the racing engine departments at Brixworth and Stuttgart as well?
NH: Absolutely.

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Your objective is to save money and reduce the costs of Formula One but the teams bring new updates and new steps forward at every single race. So to what level can we say that you are saving money because it seems that development has never been so fast?
FT: OK, but within the new regulations development will be restricted. For example, with homologations next year: front wings, rear wings. They are homologated. You can bring out three new modifications, the floor as well, the monocoque, also only one crash structure. That means that FOTA has worked out quite a good programme where we are convinced that we can reduce costs.
CH: I think that we’ve already seen significant savings this year. I think that the testing ban has saved significant money. I think that the work that was done on the engines and if you look at the decrease in price in engines over the last three years, predominantly through the work of FOTA – the FIA has obviously signed it off – is significant. So I think teams have already reduced budgets this year by between fifteen and thirty percent and I think that there will be further significant savings through the resource restrictions that are planned to be implemented. We’ll even be restricted on the number of people that we potentially plan to take to a race circuit next year. I think Formula One has reacted responsibly. It has moved to get its costs under control. It’s positive to see three new teams entered for next year which would have been impossible, I think, without the resource restrictions that will be introduced.
NH: I think the engine is a very special issue. If you look back two years, an engine lease was four times as much money as it will be next year, and I think that’s quite remarkable. FOTA worked on that. I stress, this is a FOTA idea and of course you need to be in a position to produce these engines, so I think that’s a really perfect fix and something that is a very special price. I don’t think that three years ago anybody could have imagined that this would have happened. In our case, we will spend thirty percent less money as Mercedes Benz than we did last year and this is just the beginning. I’m sure we can improve much more and these resource restrictions are really the way to go and we are very restrictive. These guys put a lot of work into that, much, much more than I did. Martin Whitmarsh, for example, worked flat out and there was a great atmosphere and I think this is the new style of Formula One. You are competitors on the race track but you work together next to the race track and this is really happening, and I think this is a very, very positive development. I think FOTA will improve further and be open, help the media to get the job done and so on and so on and this is not singing a song, this is what we want to do, step by step, what we want to develop, because some things can just be improved and we need to make sure that the spectators like our sport even more, so more interesting races, and so on and so on and there are quite a few ideas and a very constructive co-operation between the teams.
SD: I think that Norbert is totally correct. We don’t have to underestimate that this year it is due to FOTA that we are able to save money, above all in the area of the engine. Now, hopefully we will get all the Concorde (Agreement), all the other things done and now FOTA should concentrate on the main things that we have outlined at the beginning, to try to put ahead ideas on improving the show, put ahead ideas on keeping the restrictions that we have discussed. Now is the time to revert to the main objectives of FOTA, as we said, working together with the FIA in proposing something new and giving back the positiveness of Formula One because otherwise we will loop around something that is not beneficial to anyone. We need to make sure that people or sponsors that were on hold now, because of the situation, once again will give the green light, they will find that Formula One is attractive. This is the job that we have to do because otherwise we will miss our objective and this is what we want to start on. Unfortunately we have delayed with our previous planning but now we have to focus on this.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Christian has just mentioned the testing ban, so what is the future of the in-season testing ban because I’ve heard some drivers and even team bosses saying that it’s just too much not to have any kind of testing, just some straight-line testing during the season? Is there an intention to change that next year maybe?
CH: I think that the testing for next year is being worked on at the moment within the sporting working group and it will be 15 days of common testing between the teams prior to the season and obviously we then have the three young driver days. I guess this is something that will be debated, as to when you run your young driver days, in order to not prevent youngsters coming in to Formula One. I think it’s finding that balance (that is difficult) but I think that can be done quite easily.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Cutting costs also means cutting jobs; could you give us some figures about teams next season, how many less people in the aerodynamic department, engine department, chassis department, etc?
SD: All that I can say is that we are working on a situation in order to reduce the number of people at races. All the other things are related to something that we will exploit internally because everyone has their own organisation, so we cannot say that everyone is doing the same thing as the others. But for sure what we are aiming at now is to look at the number of people that attend races.

FIA – Monaco Press Conference – Thursday

THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE – May 21, 2009

TEAM PRINCIPALS:
Norbert HAUG (Mercedes),
Vijay MALLYA (Force India),
Mario THEISSEN (BMW Sauber),
Frank WILLIAMS (Williams)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: A question to you all. What are your feelings about the new regulations for this year? How they’ve worked, whether they’ve worked. Are they good or bad? Have they done what they were supposed to do?
Mario THEISSEN: My personal feeling is that they have not done what they ought to do. From the fans perspective it is certainly an exciting championship. We have a fresh pecking order, unexpectedly. But even more important the field has come very close together, just the opposite of what most people expected with the new regulations. If you look back in Bahrain, (Jarno) Trulli dominated qualifying, in Barcelona he just slipped in as P15 into Q2 with a gap of only 0.7 of a second behind the first, so that means nobody is safe. It is very exciting for the spectator and for us, sometimes too exciting. You see that almost every team goes out on two sets of fresh options even in first qualifying in order to make it into the second run. That is a scenario which no-one expected and which we haven’t seen in the past 10 years, so I think that is the upside. On overtaking maybe we had expected a bit more from the new regulations and on cost saving I think it has met about the expectations. The aero restrictions we currently have are not as tight as we thought they would be, so I think we could do more at this end.
Vijay MALLYA: I agree with what Mario said in terms of the racing being a lot more competitive, far more spectator-friendly from that point of view. For the smaller teams we have had a chance to close the gap quite significantly compared to previous years. I saw a couple of drivers who were actually quicker this year than last year which perhaps was not quite the intention. But having said that I think the 2009 regulations provided a good platform and base. As you well know there are further discussions continuing on how to deal with 2010 and beyond.
Norbert HAUG: I think it was fine so far. I think the chances and circumstances have been the same for everybody. Obviously some teams have been more busy towards the end of the year than during the season but this is not an excuse, it just explains a little bit that some cars on the track right now put more effort in but that is fair enough, that is how it is. We all need to play a little bit catch-up and I think lots of people have been surprised by the high level of the competitiveness of the new cars as Mario pointed out already and Vijay as well. The order is mixed. I think there were no presents made. Of course there were a lot of discussions about the diffuser but at the end of the day this is behind us. I think we saw some exciting races. The last one, Barcelona, was never a very interesting race in history. This is how things are. It is a challenging track and very demanding for the cars, especially for the aerodynamic of the cars and a mixture of everything. But it tends to be very boring around there and the last race was very similar, let’s say. But generally speaking I think we have seen more overtaking manoeuvres. I saw a statistic, so it is heading in the right direction. In fairness we have to admit that none of the KERS cars is currently in a position to win races and I think if that would be the case, or if you would think about a combination of very good car with very good KERS then that would probably be a different story. I hope obviously that we will be the ones that can move quickly in that direction, but catching up is a difficult process and certainly not achievable in a couple of weeks. It is rather months than weeks, so we need to be patient. Looking now at the results I think this is not a typical race track. We have always been quite good and quite strong around here, won quite a few races in the last years. But this is not a typical race track, so I think the order will be very much the same in the next couple of races. But I would say I like it and I hope that with the political front we can come to a conclusion and then we will go back to the sport and concentrate on the sport and I think we have a great Formula basically.
Frank WILLIAMS: I share the same view as everyone else on this rostrum. The regulations have changed some of the order and KERS has made it easy for some and more difficult for others, nothing wrong with that. I think the two wet races also made a good contribution to the excitement that the television viewers have seen and more of the same please.

Q: A question to you all again. Your feelings about the cost cap that has been imposed? Should it be more, should it be less?
MT: For us it is not so much a question of one figure to be put on the table. We think the issue is much more complex and needs good thought. It needs to be thought through well. It is about getting teams who come from very different angles and very different starting positions and getting them together on one cost down slope, give them enough time to arrive finally at the same position without losing either the smallest or the biggest team, so it is quite challenging and what we currently have is a budget cap being linked to a certain set of regulations which makes it even more difficult. I think this has to be sorted out. We are working on that and I hope we can come to a conclusion which satisfies all the stakeholders in Formula One.
VM: Every single business perhaps in the world under the current economic circumstances is being re-engineered and restructured and the focus is to reduce costs. Why should Formula One be an exception, so Force India is certainly well in favour in reducing the costs to levels that are affordable and whether it is in the form of a cap, what that cap should be or whether there are progressive initiatives as Mario just mentioned to arrive at an acceptable figure for all teams and the FIA is something we are currently working on. But clearly as far as Force India is concerned, whether you call it a budget cap or call it a targeted amount to be spent, that is very, very essential or else the small independent teams will never be able to compete with those who have, in comparison, extraordinary budgets.
NH: I don’t want to repeat all of that. It was discussed a long time before and I think hopefully there is some time over the weekend. There is a Friday off, tomorrow at least no racing, no testing. Some meetings are on the schedule and I just hope that we can together make a step forward and then discuss it afterwards. There are possibilities but I think it needs to be a well thought through compromise and we are open for it.

Q: Frank, it does sound as if you are coming from a long way back and there is still a long way to go.
FW: Well, we are clearly wholly in support of it. It suits us. I would qualify what I said that we support it. It was a remark that to expect a major manufacturer to slash its spending by 300 per cent in four months is a very tall fiscal order and they may need some sort of glide path once the rule is finally agreed. But I repeat we need it.

Q: Mario, I don’t know if other people have gone forward or you have gone backwards but you seem to have started off the season better than you did in the last two or three races.
MT: Well, it has been different pictures in the past three races. Certainly in Bahrain that was clearly not the performance we can show and we have to show. Barcelona was quite okay given the short time we had to adapt to the new package and today I was not satisfied. Obviously we lost a lot of track time but then the performance of the car was not as it should be, so we have some work to do for Saturday. As Norbert said before this is not a typical track, the characteristics are quite different and you never know what to expect when you come here based on the previous races, so it is a special situation and I hope we can cope with it for the weekend.

Q: Vijay, this year you have taken on the role of Team Principal. How has that changed for you in comparison to your previous role as team owner?
VM: I don’t think anything has changed. I was equally involved last year as I am this year, so the title change hasn’t meant any definitive change in role or responsibility. Having said that we have reorganised the team significantly and made some top management changes. We have developed a car in a record period of just 120 days because we signed up with McLaren Mercedes in early November and produced the car that is reliable and has a good mechanical platform. In all we need to develop more on the aero front. We have not really had too much time to do either the development or of course testing following the in-season ban on testing. But we are certainly a lot more competitive than we have ever been in the last couple of years. We showed it in Shanghai, we showed it in Australia and I am optimistic that we are gradually getting there.

Q: Norbert, you are supplying three teams which in fact are across the board. How much of an advantage is that for Mercedes to be supplying three different teams?
NH: Well, it helps us to recover some costs. I think first of all you need to be in a position and obviously as Vijay pointed out we have a partnership with Force India on both chassis and engine and it was not the basic plan to supply another team. We only learned on the 5th of December that Brawn were looking for engines and as we all know we were not quite sure whether they would make it until the end of March. But I think the guys together form High Performance Engines and Brawn did a remarkable job in building and putting this engine in a car and the specialists here know what that means. It is not just like putting an engine in the car and pushing the starter and there you go. It’s a big achievement in a three month period. It is not easy but I think there was a lot of confidence involved. But still there is still some compromise, it is not the ideal fit yet but the car immediately was impressive and winning races. Of course this is very positive for the guys who are building the engines. Of course it is positive that we have won the world championship with the engine last year, so on that side it is very positive and we are very happy that we, so far, could deliver a good job to our customers and this is very important to us. But, knock on wood, there is always something that can happen, you never know. But we have lots of engines now and we have the experience but I think the logistics are in place and it is not too long a time ago when we were not on that level. If you remember 2004 in Bahrain for example, five years ago, in 2005 we probably lost the world championship because we needed to change the engine frequently then and as a result were put back 10 places on the grid. That has improved and I think that is very pleasing. I can just say thank you to the guys who worked very hard, so this is a positive side of the story. But of course we are very much focussed on getting the job done with McLaren. We are a 40 per cent shareholder, the biggest shareholder in the group. Lots of people are still thinking it is only a partnership but we are in the middle of it, so it is important for us to come back to where we used to be in the last couple of years. We are working very hard but as I said before it is a question of time. But so far on the engine side and KERS side we could be pleased I would say, very pleased.

Q: Frank, we have seen the two drivers being very competitive on Friday and Saturday mornings. Is there a certain frustration that those performances are not being translated into results on Sunday?
FW: Yeah, the word is showboating perhaps.

Q: I didn’t say that.
FW: Bit too much of that probably. Formula One always finds out the truth pretty quickly. If you are quick the race will tell you that you are quick or the public. In practice, you can fool people including yourself.

Q: Would you say your position is seventh and eighth places in the race on Sunday?
FW: That’s just unpredictable. The best was to review anything like that is to look at the results after each and every race, that’s why we are here.

Q: But there is a satisfaction. You are quite happy with it?
FW: I think I have just said I am not in those words.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Norbert, you said earlier that none of the cars with KERS were in a position to win races yet but looking at the times in practice, you would think that Lewis might have quite a good chance on Sunday. Do you think Lewis does have a chance?
NH: I hope so but I would not see us as the favourites currently. I’ve been to Monaco quite a few times and I think it’s always a good sign if a car goes out and it’s immediately amongst the fastest. This is basically the same on every race track, if you can achieve that that’s good but it’s even more important here because that shows that you have the right confidence and Lewis is not completely happy with the car and nor is Heikki but it was quite a good start. I think the team has a lot of competence in terms of the Monaco-type of race track but I wouldn’t make a prediction now. It’s so tight, 12 cars have been in one second, some used the option, some used two sets of option, some had higher fuel loads, some lower fuel loads. I think we will see a different order. Ferrari will be strong, that’s for sure. Brawn will be strong, Red Bull will be stronger than they have been and I think Renault, probably Toyota… it’s a handful and I think Williams will be seriously strong here. Not showboating but seriously strong!

Q: (Richard Williams – The Guardian) Question to Frank and Mario: in the recent days it’s emerged that Ferrari have appeared to have a right of unilateral veto over changes to the technical regulations in Formula One. Was this a surprise to either of you, had you known about it all along, do you think it’s the right thing to happen, that a team should be granted such rights?
FW: I’ll listen to Mario’s answer first.
MT: When FOTA was founded, we very quickly touched on the issue of the different positions of the individual teams. It was clear that the individual teams have different contracts with the FOA and we all accepted that. We knew about it and we said that everything that is in place is as it is and we deal with it and accept it as it is. In my view what Ferrari does now is in the interest of FOTA because they use the possibility to make the position of FOTA clear.
FW: Well, it’s a difficult subject to answer because a lawyer might say that this is a question that goes above the FIA to another international body but keeping it within the sport is probably not the best of the events. I think many of us thought it mainly made a commercial advantage and that would be what they deserve but given Ferrari’s longevity in the sport and being its backbone, it hasn’t caused any ruffled feathers or waves until now.

Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) Question for Frank: to what extent is the current dispute in Formula One with the FIA actually about the rules for next season and the budget cap or to what extent is it really about the way in which Max Mosley has been handling his duties as president of the FIA and the style with which he’s discharged those duties? Because it seems that his personality and the way he’s operating is becoming more of a problem than the actual rules themselves.
FW: I think the biggest single issue that has caused the whole recent events to take place has been the imposition or wish to impose the budget cap. It’s to do with money.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Norbert, Mercedes Benz has been winning a lot of Grands Prix the last few months. How much promotion and advertising are you doing about that?
NH: We are doing no advertising currently. In some countries it is mentioned but we do not have a special campaign for that. That’s the reality. We invest in the product, it’s not an easy time for the whole industry at the moment and I think it is well known amongst the people who are interested in motor sport that we are an engine partner that helps to win races but I think it is just a part of it. You need to be realistic. It’s a part of it, of course, the engine is important but I think that the people who are interested in who has won a race know exactly who it is.

Q: (Andrew Frankl – Forza) Vijay, you’ve mentioned world recession and problems and so on and so forth. How are things coming along with the Indian track?
VM: Fortunately India has not been hit as hard as other countries in this global meltdown. Surprisingly, India is still achieving a GDP growth of more than five and a half percent. After our recent elections, that concluded last week, our stock market appreciated by 17 percent. So things in India are a little bit different and not as bad as you see in several other parts of the world. The promoters of the Formula One track and associated commercial complex have actually acquired the land and have announced that post the elections we’ve just got over, they are actually going to lay the foundation stone and build that track, so I am very optimistic that it will be built on time and that we will have our first Formula One Grand Prix in India in 2011.

Q: (Richard Williams – The Guardian) Question for Norbert and Mario: back to the budget cap for a minute, given the nature of your organisations, do you think that any amount of forensic accountancy, however big the teams that were sent in, could make a realistic and accurate assessment of the amount that you spend on Formula One, or do you think perhaps it would be an opportunity to introduce further abuses of the system? Do you think it would be an easy system to abuse?
NH: It’s difficult. You have to start, Mario.
MT: I think whatever we do, if it’s a monetary figure or if it’s another form to cut resources, we have to police it and I think it can be policed. If we were not convinced it can be policed we wouldn’t expend any effort on it because then it wouldn’t make sense but I think it can be done with a bit of goodwill on all sides and the right spirit. It can be done.
NH: I agree, absolutely. We are used to having limited budgets, believe it or not and in our case, I can speak for all the industry, it’s very clear what money goes where and it’s absolutely documented properly and I think we need to sit together and find a solution and this is achievable. The trend is the right one. I think that’s the positive, the positive is that we have a good sport, that we have a good surprise at the race track after a great final last year, and I think we should never forget to speak about the sport. We had a championship decision in the last corner of the last lap. This is something that not only Bernie (Ecclestone) but all of us were dreaming of. I could have lived with the decision a race earlier, I have to say, but it was excellent for the sport and I think all of us, if you would have said in Brazil there will be a white car called Brawn with a Mercedes engine winning races, we would have said ‘how will that happen?’ And other things that have happened: Red Bull… whatever, or the classic teams – the Ferraris, McLaren Mercedes, BMWs – being challenged and not being that good at the beginning of the season, I think that’s great and that’s good for the sport. And the trend is to spend less money. Five years ago, here, we started this process in May 2004, I think it was the 24th of May or so, a special meeting at the Automobile Club de Monaco. There will be another meeting tomorrow, five years later, and since then, a lot of money has already been saved. In our case, definitely. I know the figures, I am responsible for all the finance and so this is the right direction and we will make another good step and then I think there is a good chance for a good future of Formula One. That’s what we need to concentrate on.

Q: (Oleg Karpov – Klaxon) Norbert, Felipe said at the Spanish Grand Prix that it will be impossible for him to fight for the championship. Do you think it’s still possible for Lewis to defend his title?
NH: Well, I think you have to believe that all the time but it makes no sense to make predictions. You are always working in the same direction to improve the car, to improve the whole package and a lot of surprises have happened in the past in Formula One. This is a very special formula, and as Mario pointed out, if you have 15 cars within seven tenths of a second, lots of things can happen. You look quite silly being 15th or 16th but gaining three, four, five tenths is difficult enough, but easier – believe me – than gaining 1.5s. So if you gain three, four, five tenths you are probably sixth or seventh and then if you have an aggressive strategy all of a sudden it plays into your hands. If you are not convinced and sometimes you probably need to have positive dreams and believe in it, I think it just makes no sense to sit down and say ‘well, I have no chances anymore.’ If somebody likes to do that, OK, but I am not sitting here and saying we are going to win the World Championship. It does not give me a tenth of a second and I think that is important but it gives us a tenth of a second if you are working hard, if we are believing in ourselves, if we support the people. There is obviously criticism within the team but it is very, very important that it is positive criticism and that you are steering things in the right direction. We didn’t win one race in 2006, for example. In 2007, we missed the championship by one point and in 2008 we won the championship. So things can turn around quickly. You need to have the substance, you need to believe in yourself and you need not to be arrogant, that does not help. You need to work very, very hard and this is what we are doing.

Q: (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) A question for all you, ahead of this meeting tomorrow. How real is Ferrari’s threat to leave Formula One, and how damaged would the sport be should they carry out that threat?
VM: I think that all teams want to make sure that everybody remains in Formula One. I don’t think anybody wants to see a team depart from Formula One, Ferrari included. And I’m sure it will work out a satisfactory solution going forward amongst FOTA members, with the FIA, with FOM. I think everybody recognises the value of the sport, the importance of the sport, everybody’s participation in the sport and certainly nobody wants to see any team leave, so I’m hoping that we will find a via media that keeps Ferrari in.
MT: Short answer: I think it is serious and there would be a big loss if Ferrari stepped out. Like Vijay, I think we need to work out a solution. Formula One is a very strong brand, a very strong platform. The stakeholders are benefitting from it, so there is really no point in destroying that platform.
FW: Well, Ferrari now don’t really need this help. They’re a very, very strong and wealthy team. It will be a great shame if they do go but if they go, I hope that it won’t be in a fit of pique. They’ve had many years under this Concorde Agreement and the previous one in a very privileged position, which if it had been known previously would not have gone down very well, I think, with the competition authorities in Brussels, so it would be better for them to put their cap on and come back inside.
NH: Well, obviously I think none of us can speak for Ferrari but one thing is for sure: I think I can express the same view. I think everybody wants Ferrari to stay in Formula One, the fans out in the world wish that and the teams wish it as well. I think what Mario said is right; Ferrari would not say things like that if they hadn’t carefully considered where they are. This is the message I get and this is what I know from the discussions we’ve obviously had within the teams, within FOTA. But still, I think everybody should work very hard to find solutions that this group of teams stays together. And as for new teams, I would very, very much support the idea of having new teams but you have to have a certain level – Frank is much more qualified than I am to describe, for example, what it takes to come into Formula One, and I think we should not underestimate that Formula One needs to have one set of rules because people want to see the best drivers in the best cars and I just cannot believe that people want to see an overtaking manoeuvre that is steered by the fact that you have a flatter rear wing than your competitor and things like that. I can see the background of that idea and I think there are some formulae like that. Sometimes in touring car racing or production car racing or whatever, there is no other way, no other chance than to go down that path but after a while you need to regroup, even in these formulae. I know that for example from DTM and then there must be one of set of rules for everybody because that is what is interesting. Is the car good enough, is the driver quicker than the other one? Even between team-mates, this is what makes Formula One and what has made Formula One great in the past. That is my feeling and I think my colleagues will see it the same and we should not underestimate that fact.

FIA – China GP Press Conference

TEAM PRINCIPALS:
Norbert HAUG (Mercedes),
Christian HORNER (Red Bull),
Mario THEISSEN (BMW Sauber)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: A question to you all. The diffuser saga has come to an end in many ways and a decision has been made. How does it affect you now that the decision has been made? How long will it take you to catch up? What sort of effort is required and when do you feel you will be on a par with everybody else on the same technology? Christian, perhaps you would like to start.
Christian HORNER: I think obviously after the appeal hearing the situation is now closed in that the diffuser is obviously allowed. For us it has a significant impact because obviously we designed the car around the regulations how we believed should be interpreted and obviously came up with a very good car. The benefit that diffuser offers is significant and obviously if you haven’t incorporated it into the car design from inception it is something that is difficult just to bolt on, particularly in our case, and as an independent team for us it almost represents a B-spec car, so it is a significant change to the rear end of the chassis in order to try and optimise it and integrate it into our design solutions. The guys, led by Adrian (Newey), have done a fantastic job this winter and the decision to release the car late was the right thing to optimise the time in the wind tunnel but now to be faced with an upgrade with the quantum of this one is going to be a significant challenge and difficult to put an exact date on when we will be able to introduce our own solution but it will be one of the early European races.

Q: Does it include a gearbox redesign?
CH: It impacts on the whole rear end of the car in our solutions. It is significant and obviously the only hole it has left us is in our budget. It is a significant amount of cost in not a great climate but the performance you can see today, six of the cars in the top eight are running that solution, so we have to do it in order to maintain our competitiveness. On the positive side is looking at the performance of our car so far this year. Without it we have been pretty competitive. The only car in the top eight today with if you like a standard solution, so hopefully what we can look forward to is a further step in competitiveness when we do introduce it.

Q: Mario, how does it affect BMW Sauber?
Mario THEISSEN: Well, apparently in a similar way. It is definitely not sufficient and not possible to just exchange the diffuser and come with a new solution at the rear underbody. We have to redesign the aero package, at least the aero package. I wouldn’t go as far as Christian and to say that it is a completely new rear end with our car but the aero package will be totally different. Apparently we have started to work on it and we will have an aero update for Barcelona. But I cannot tell you today if the diffuser will be included or not. It is part of a lot of ideas and a lot of developments we are following and the final package is not decided on yet and if there is such a two stage diffuser included it will definitely not be the full exploitation of the potential.

Q: Would you expect that to come later?
MT: Apparently we have to push towards this direction and find more and more in the course of the season, so we will definitely not be finished with the Barcelona aero package.

Q: Norbert?
Norbert HAUG: Very much the same. We have to realise that everybody will improve significantly in Barcelona, so the guys that are upfront, like a second quicker, they will improve and they are in a better position to do so. But it is what it is, that is the decision, and we need to develop quicker than the guys in front which is not easy. I know it from the past that it was the other way around and to catch up in the course of the season is always a significant challenge, no doubt. But lots of people say it is good for the sport, not so good for us these days. But of course there are different colours in front of the field and I am at least pleased that the Brawn guys are using our engines. That helps a little bit. Or helps very much. I have to say they do a good job. To comment on it, would it have been necessary this interpretation, A or B, is history right now. We need to catch up. And of course what Mario and Christian said, it is a cost issue as well but we need to put our heads down, work hard and come up with a better solution than we currently have.

Q: Does it involve a gearbox redesign?
NH: It depends. As Mario pointed out on which car you have and which design you have but let’s say that the worst case scenario is a complete redesign including suspension, gearbox housing, whatever. But it depends. It may be on the one car like that and on the other car a little bit different. It is not like you develop a double diffuser in your wind tunnel, put in on your car and here we go. It takes time. The best ones of them have invested months and months, more than half a year, three quarters of the year, and as stated before what other people who are intelligent and good people achieve in nine months is difficult to achieve in nine weeks. We are in that process but we just need to push and need to work harder.

Q: Another subject, KERS. Christian you are not using it yet at Red Bull Racing. Do you hope to and do you see the value of it?
CH: KERS we obviously haven’t run so far this year. Our evaluation prior to the start of the year was that it was more of a strategic tool than a performance tool, so we can see that there is performance off the start line and certainly if you are defending a position a KERS car, a KERS quick car, is very difficult to overtake as we saw with Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso at the last race in Malaysia. For us it hasn’t earned its place on our car yet. We are using an identical system to Renault. We have tested it extensively during the winter and we have come up with a very good solution that has run reliably. But in terms of ultimate performance we don’t feel it has earned its place on our car yet but that’s not to say it will not do in the future. We retain a very open mind about KERS but at the moment there is no fixed date at which to introduce it.

Q: But you see the value of it when you have come up against it?
CH: Yeah, I think it is about 10 metres off an average start to the first corner which is about one row, so you look at some of the KERS starts from the first couple of races and you can see the cars that are equipped with them. Thankfully there are less of them here, so obviously other teams are coming to a similar conclusion to that of our own. From a strategic point of view, from a racing point of view, Fernando (Alonso) in Malaysia did an excellent job in keeping a trail of cars behind him for a lengthy period of time and I think the fact he had a KERS system to use obviously helped him to achieve that.

Q: Mario, you have run it with one car and then with two here?
MT: Yes, Robert has been using KERS today for the first time. For him it is right on the edge. With Nick and Nick’s weight it is an advantage with our car. With Robert it is about plus minus zero, so the strategic advantage remains. So far in the first two races we were not convinced it would help him but now we have a full day with KERS to review and then we will take a decision. We are able to put it in or out within a few hours and we have both options. We will see what we do now.

Q: Norbert, it is interesting that the McLarens use it but the others don’t?
NH: With the others you mean the customer teams? Yeah, this maybe is an option during the course of the season but it is not finally decided and as my colleagues pointed out it is still a decision. Coming to the positives we saw some very entertaining racing.  It was probably a little bit coloured with other issues but the race track showed great manoeuvres. As a race fan if you look at it you just have to say it was fantastic and it could have been a longer race obviously in Malaysia. But also the race in Australia was very good and, of course, like Christian pointed out, KERS played some role in overtaking and we saw some manoeuvres, overtaking, re-overtaking, and some of you guys in the press room jumped up during the course of the race which is positive. We have to mention these positive things as well. On the other side the quick cars do not have KERS at the moment but they have other advantages. I have to say I think for us it is more of a help. We have a very compact light system. I think our guys did a good job in that respect, so we can use it and if you look at the sector times in Malaysia, for example the first sector very clearly illustrates who can use KERS in a straight line. It is very similar to here. In the race it is a different story as well if you can use it at the right time. Of course you have to come out quick enough from the corner to be in a position to overtake. But it hopefully helps, like it did in the first two races to overtake, and this should be a track where KERS helps more and I assume this is why Mario convinced Robert to use it here as strategically it can be an absolute plus.

Q: And you can see one or two circuits where you won’t have it?
NH: Not necessarily. It can be a discussion obviously with Monaco and so on. But still there if your balance is right and if you can afford it weight-wise it should be okay.

Q: What is the commitment from Mercedes to supply three teams? Is it a huge effort or just taking up the capacity that is there?
NH: We are not running. The interesting thing is we really are earning money from it. We have leasing contracts with both Force India and Brawn GP and this is working very well. I have to say a big thanks to Mercedes Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth and the guys in Stuttgart. They did a good job over the course of the winter. Capacity-wise we are building as many engines as we did two years ago for example and the difference is we are leasing them and we are earning money with the two customer teams. This is quite remarkable. Capacity-wise we can afford it and we seem to have quite a good standard but, knock on wood, you never know. If you are fabricating all these engines something can happen. What happened last time to BMW can happen to us, can happen to anybody. Everybody who is serious will admit that and the more engines you produce the more mistakes you can make. But on the other hand you get a lot of testing before the season. You have a lot of dyno runs. You learn a lot, which we did. I think we have quite a good standard now and it is a positive for us and I hope it is a positive for Formula One. As long as Brawn wins and it is powered by Mercedes Benz, I mean more and more people are realising that. Would they win with a different engine, probably they would win as well. But I think they are happy and if the customer is happy that is always good for a car manufacturer.

Q: Mario, what are your feelings about the new tyre regulations we have had so far and the tyres here for example?
MT: Generally speaking we found out that with the new set of aero regulations and the new tyres you need a very much forward weight distribution, even more than expected. We have a very strong front end with a powerful front wing and relatively wide front tyres and a weak rear end with a small rear wing and not big enough tyres, so you need to put weight on the front axle. This is exactly the reason why we are discussing the use of KERS with Robert’s car. The target is to achieve the desired weight distribution, the desired front weight and this is the limiting factor right now. I know there are discussions ongoing for next season to cure that problem which is good because now a big driver is penalised and that should not be the case. This weekend we don’t have a clear picture yet. It looks like the soft tyre is really soft, similar to Melbourne, but we will need a bit more running tomorrow to have the full picture.

Q: Christian, you obviously have a new driver in Sebastian Vettel; he outqualified Mark (Webber) in the first two races, although Mark had the better results. What are your feelings about your two drivers at this early stage?
CH: He’s obviously been part of the Red Bull family for some time now but he’s been very, very impressive for somebody of such a young age. He’s got a very mature head on his shoulders, obviously very quick. He was desperately unlucky in Melbourne; three laps…
MT: He decided to be unlucky!
CH: … but thankfully he told the truth…
NH: I think it was OK.
CH: …he told the truth in front of the stewards and got a ten place penalty. He was unlucky in Melbourne, a racing accident. When he started with a penalty in Malaysia it was always going to be a difficult weekend for him but he raced well, the conditions were obviously desperately bad and he was unlucky to go off just before the race was stopped. He’s only going to get better, he’s still very young. He’s pushing the team very hard and he’s also getting the best out of Mark as well, who has come back after a hideous accident over the winter. Obviously in November he was wondering if he still had a Grand Prix future with a metal rod in his leg. He then got back to the UK in early January and forgot to mention that he’d also broken his shoulder. The recovery that he’s made is testament to his determination and commitment and the fact that he’s back in the car so quickly and competitively is great from a team point of view. The guys get on very well and I think they will push each other all season long and from a team perspective that’s great because we’ve got two guys that are really driving the wheels off the car. I think it’s a really positive aspect for Red Bull.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Chinese media) Mr Haug, using the same engine, Brawn GP is much faster than McLaren. Do you think that is totally due to the new diffuser or how much has the diffuser played its role in such a situation?
NH: It is the whole package. It would be too easy to say ‘put a perfect diffuser on a car and then you are there.’ It’s not that easy, it’s the whole package, but I think we all have to realise is that this car was built over a very long period of time. Other people were still fighting for the current World Championship. This is not an excuse but it should be an explanation and the sooner you could concentrate on this year’s car, the more you could invest in it aerodynamically and so on. These guys did a good job. I think they had really good equipment, good people and it’s the whole package at the end of the day.

Q: (Chinese media) To all of you, still on the issue of the diffuser, the situation could be different at Barcelona or other races in Europe. However, there is no in-season testing this year, so do you think there will still be dramatic differences?
MT: Well, my view is that there will still be an advantage. As you mentioned, there is no in-season testing. You can do something on the computer, you can do something in the wind tunnel but your aero package especially should be tested on the track before you race it. So this is definitely a handicap. On the other hand, the teams who have the two stage diffuser are not sitting there leaning back, they are developing like us, so I don’t expect us to be up to the mark at one stroke in Barcelona.
CH: I agree with Mario. It’s a big challenge to develop a car without any testing, so it really stretches the team and obviously if you take a component to the track, you’ve got to take four of them because you’ve got to supply both cars and also have spares as well. I’ve never seen as much hand luggage as I did when I came through the airport into Shanghai yesterday. I think McLaren had about 18 boxes; we weren’t far behind and I think that will be a trend for the rest…
NH: Red Bull 19.
CH: …I think that will be a trend for the rest of the year. We’ve got components arriving today to run tomorrow and it’s going to be a real challenge to develop the cars through the season without testing but simulation tools, whether they be wind tunnels or cfd seem to be getting closer and closer in correlation to the track which means that you can hit the circuit with a large percentage of items that you can bolt on and know that you are going to get some performance out of.
NH: It’s right that Fridays are even more important, this is the only way you can run. OK, you can do some straightline testing but this is just a basic back-to-back test, how your aerodynamic work is correlating, but the reality is that Fridays are getting more important and you will see more and more running on Fridays, I would say, because as Christian pointed out, you will bring your new parts to the race track and then test them or do a back-to-back.
CH: Did you get your cases?
NH: Well, I count yours and you count ours and then we see.

Q: (Jerrome Bourret – L’Equipe guy) Mr Haug, may we have your opinion on what happened to your team over the last few weeks? From Dave Ryan’s and Ron Dennis’s departures to the invitation to the World Council?
NH: Well, I ask for your understanding: this is an open issue. We will have the World Motor Sport Council on April 29 and I will not comment before then. I think lots of things have been said, have been written. I think Lewis and the team have been very open to admit that something was not correct and now we will see what the outcome will be.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Christian, obviously Adrian Newey and his design team looked at the double diffuser; did they consider it so illegal that they didn’t even bother to talk to the FIA? Did they talk to the FIA and ask ‘is this a loophole we can exploit?’
CH: It’s no coincidence that seven teams didn’t go down the double diffuser route. Obviously a lot of work was done in the Overtaking Working Group and within the regulations there is obviously a spirit or essence of what the regulations are set to achieve. Certainly the precedent of holes in the floor, from our perspective, was deemed to be illegal, so that’s why we chose the route that we did to protest the cars together with our colleagues at the first opportunity which wasn’t after the cars had run, it was before they had run in Australia, to really get clarity. Obviously the stewards and the FIA made their position known there and then the option to us was obviously to appeal that. We feel that we had a fair appeal hearing, where the facts were presented from either side and I think the bottom line is that there was a lot of ambiguity within the regulations and you can call it a clever interpretation, if you like, that the three teams have taken. I think it was certainly against the spirit of what was set out within the Overtaking Working Group. However, the court found that these diffusers are permitted. As I say, we felt we had a fair hearing, we presented our case which was listened to carefully but now we’re in a situation where, as they are permitted, we had no choice but to develop our own solution which is obviously time and money and a big development channel that becomes open, because the underbody of the car is obviously the most powerful aerodynamic device on the car and so lap times will continue to tumble significantly as the solutions are developed.

Q: (Mike Doodson) My question is about evening races. The drivers were not happy about racing and the difficult lighting conditions in Australia -  I think I heard the word dangerous used -  and then in Malaysia where the rain stopped the race early and deprived spectators around the world of an hour’s racing. It’s known that rain tends to fall at that time of day in Malaysia, so I wonder if you gentlemen are as enthusiastic about twilight races as Bernie appears to be?
MT: We are not excited about twilight races. I think this issue has been more or less overlooked when we came to Melbourne and the drivers pointed out that this could be dangerous, so it’s something which has to be respected and to be looked into when race times are decided in the future. Malaysia; it’s true, the later you race the higher the risk not just of rain but any delay would mean it gets dark and then there is no chance of continuing the race, as we have seen two weeks ago. So it would be wise to pull it (the start time) forward again.
CH: I think it’s a shame in one respect, certainly from Australia’s point of view, because the viewing figures were up massively, certainly across Europe because of the time of day that the race was held at. But I think you have to listen to the drivers when they’re saying it’s very difficult with the sun through the trees in their eyes at certain points on the circuit. So I think it’s something that needs to be looked into, whether there’s lighting needed or screens or whatever, but I think it needs to be carefully considered. I think Malaysia was difficult, again. If we had run the race at two o’clock, it was raining then. But the only option available to you at that point is that you’re not controlled by daylight hours whereas I think we effectively just ran out of daylight in Malaysia. I think probably the time of year that we were in Malaysia – being that little bit later – probably more into their rainy season as well, was a contributing factor.
NH: Well, I think it was a general issue, basically. As Christian said, if we had started at two o’clock – I think the GP2 race was at two o’clock and it didn’t start for an hour or whatever but the chances that you would have hit rain earlier in the day, that still was very, very high. Not to start a race and delay it – the only positive is that you get more daylight for the remainder. But it’s a difficult one really. We have had races which were not affected by rain, we have had races – the very first or second one was a great monsoon as well, this very often happens there. On the positive side, I know from England that the BBC and RTL in Germany had fifty percent more viewers, certainly due to the fact that it was started at 11 a.m., partly due to the fact, but there were more spectators and of course it would have been nice if the race could have been restarted. But I think it’s important to know that if we had started earlier, as usual, we would have had troubles as well, a little bit the other way round, probably delayed at the beginning but I think that it was the case either way.

Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) BMW was claiming at the beginning of the year that it was going to compete for the title. It’s only the third race now but you seem to be pretty far from it. What are your comments?
MT: Yeah, you’re right, it’s becoming extremely difficult now with the situation we have but we are pushing hard, we will see what we can do now, but indeed the current situation, with the diffuser cars, makes it much more difficult than expected.

Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) To Mr Horner and Mr Haug: yesterday Mr Theissen said that the diffuser controversy is a big test for FOTA; do you agree with him?
CH: Yes, in summary it is. Obviously we’ve got a situation where lots has gone on over the last couple of weeks. The teams obviously were in dispute with each other but I think it’s important that FOTA sits down in the near future and discusses the issues but for sure it’s our biggest test in its infancy. But I think it’s important that these issues are discussed behind closed doors and solutions are found.
NH: Yeah, very much the same. I would probably not say test but for sure during the course of the season you will have controversial issues and I think we need to be careful to differentiate and to see what the positives are to be united and what the negatives are in such a discussion and find good solutions. I think there is only one solution at the end of the day.

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