After 4 World titles, 38 GP wins we can look back with pride in the way we have grown together: Horner on Vettel
Abu Dhabi, 21 Nov 2014: Following team personnel attended the FIA Friday Press Conference ahead of the last and 19th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday:
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES ā Federico GASTALDI (Lotus), Finbarr OāCONNELL (Caterham), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Otmar SZAFNAUER (Force India), Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Claire WILLIAMS (Williams), Marco MATTIACCI (Ferrari)
PRESSĀ CONFERENCE
Toto, we have to start with you. Obviously the showdown this weekend between your two drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg; how tense is the atmosphere in the garage this weekend and how do you feel about todayās performance?
Toto WOLFF:Ā Hi everybody. The tension is on I would say, and it is pretty normal. It has come to the last race now, itās between the two of them, itās the all-defining, decision-making race and itās pretty normal. I wouldnāt say that there is more tension than expected in the garage. There is a good spirit. Today was a good day. It might sound a bit boring but we did our programme, lots of running. We did the long runs we expe3cted so all OK for Friday.
Now I donāt know if you know this but the last time that one engine maker managed to take every pole position during a season was back in 1969. How does it feel to be on the verge of that particular record?
TW:Ā I wasnāt so much into statistics before this season but breaking these kind of records is a great achievement for the team and makes me really proud. I remember when I was a child the McLaren records, these orange and white cars would dominate everything and now us being in such a position and having equalled those records and beaten some of the records is very satisfying indeed.
Thank you for that, Finbarr, coming to you. At the other end of the grid, obviously your team is also in the spotlight this weekend. Can you give us an idea of the logistics of getting the team here this weekend?
Finbarr OāCONNELL:Ā Yes, itās been absolutely crazy. I think about two-and-a-half weeks ago I met all the employees of the Caterham company. They werenāt my employees at the time, I wasnāt even appointed to 1MRT at that stage. And we just spoke about the position they were in and how they hadnāt heard anything from 1MRT. We moved from that to a couple of days later thinking if we could get here and actually showcase the team, show the world it was still there and needed new ownership that I would have a much better chance of getting someone in to buy it, to thinking up the idea of going for the crowd funding ā we got 6,500 fans and supporters who have put money in there and huge support from the all of the people we work with, and thatās basically Red Bull and Renault, Pirelli, Dell and Total as well. With their support weāve raised the money, raised the support, amazing. Weāve signed a new English driver, which is extremely exciting as well. Weāre there today. Our purpose here to show people we are here. Weāre not a blank canvas, but we are an operational team that somebody can effectively buy an F1 team off the shelf and become part of the most amazing club in the world I would say.
The other half of that question is, how optimistic are you that you will find a buyer? Have you got any interested buyers that you think might come through?
FOāC:Ā Yeah, Iāve got a number of people who could acquire. Itās just persuading people to make that decision. Itās a huge acquisition decision because of everythingā¦ everybody knows what you have to do, those budgets you have to meet etc etc. But we have people who could do it and with the achievements weāve had up until now I really hope and believe weāre going to get there.
Thank you very much. Claire, coming to you. A slightly tricky start to free practice one for the Williams team. Do you think you have the pace though to get involved at the front?
Claire WILLIAMS:Ā We have to; we donāt have a choice. Weāre here to secure P3 in the championship and with the double points thatās going to be even harder for us. We do always tend to have, not a difficult Friday, certainly not as strange as the one we had today but weāve resolved the problem. So weāre looking forward to going into qualifying tomorrow. Weāve just got to do the job on Sunday and thatās all that weāre focused on.
Youāve had the second-fastest car very often this season. Do you think it should have been quick enough to have finished second in the championship rather than third and what have you got in the pipeline to try to move things forward for next year?
CW:Ā I think Red Bull have done a great job, as you would expect them to do. We didnāt start really scoring the points or the podiums that we needed to in order to take that challenge to them until much later on in the season. To make that transition, to make that jump that weāve done this year, from where we were last year in P9 and then to take that up to P3, I think the team can be really proud of the job weāve done. And, you know, moving forward itās just about making sure that we can sustain that position and to be closing the gap to Mercedes next year and to Red Bull and to hopefully taking the challenge to them.
OK, thank you. Marco, obviously this weekend you have announced the departure of Fernando Alonso and the arrival of Sebastian Vettel. Can you say a few words about both situations and why you feel that Vettel is the right man for you going forward?
Marco MATTIACCI:Ā First, we need to thank Fernando for all he has done for us, what we have done together over the last five years. But at the same time it is clear to everybody that we want both to open new cycles but it was important to do it with the utmost motivation and commitment. With Sebastian we get one of the youngest world champions ever, four championships. I met him personally in the last few months. He is an extremely hard-working guy, humble, disciplined. Iām sure he will bring the phenomenal experience that he went through Red Bull and the enthusiasm needed to go through certain difficult moments that are waiting for us, but again sharing the overall project that I think is to go back to the top.
Itās been quite a year for you. Twelve months ago you were in America thinking a 2014ā¦
MM:Ā Seven months ago I was in America!
Exactly! You were then thinking about selling road cars and now you find yourself here at the end of your first part season as a team principal. What have you learned from this whirlwind year?
TW:Ā He hopes to wake up from this nightmare!
MM:Ā (Laughs) No, the intensity, the complexity but also the incredible amount of talented people that are in Formula One. How amazing is this sport, that is a global platform, the visibility that specifically in my case I donāt like for myself, but which is a consequence of the job. But itās definitely the pinnacle of motor sport. The level of competition, aggression is really high, so a lot to learn, but at the same time I think I brought understanding of people, choosing the right people and from here how to create an organisation for the future.
Thank you very much. Christian, I guess the other half of the question I just put to Marco a moment ago. Obviously this is Sebastianās final race for Red Bull Racing. Your feelings on losing him to Ferrari and what youāve achjeved together and any lingering sadness or regret about this?
Christian HORNER:Ā Obviously weāve had a wonderful relationship with Sebastian. Heās been with the Red Bull family since he was 12 years of age. Heās grown through the junior programme, through the junior categories, into his opportunity in Formula One with Toro Rosso, winning a grand prix in Toro Rosso and then coming to Red Bull Racing. Four world championships and 38 grand prix victories later I think we can look back with a huge amount of pride. Weāve grown together. He came to the team, which was still a young team at the time, and together weāve grown into a race-winning and championship-winning combination. But as in life all things move on and evolve. Obviously this opportunity has come up for Seb, heās felt itās the right time for him and I think probably in reality itās the right time for the team too. Whilst weāll be very sorry to him go and close his career with Red Bull on Sunday evening, weāll wish him the very best of luck and heāll be a good friend of the team for life and as of the first of January heās a competitor. Obviously more than that, I think itās not just the experiences you share on track, weāve got some wonderful memories from this circuit, itās outside the cockpit and as not much more than a boy when he arrived, he now leaves us a young man, as a father and he can be incredibly proud of what heās achieved and I think heās been a tremendous ambassador for the sport and weāll certainly miss him.
Well Daniel Ricciardo is going to be third in the championship, with three wins this season. He now becomes the team leader, how do you feel about that: him as your man going forward?
CH:Ā I think Daniel has had the most amazing year this season. I think that anybody that could have predicted the performance from Danielā¦ we couldnāt have predicted it, I donāt think even he could. The way he has raced, the way he has driven this year has been outstanding. I think that what he has done on track, he deserves that third place. Heās the only driver to have beaten a Mercedes driver this year and heās done it three times so far. So obviously weāre hoping for some kind of misdemeanor between the two Mercedes drivers and a huge points deduction and Daniel to be crowned world champion but obviously thatās rather unlikely in the circumstances weāve got.
Thank you. Otmar coming to you. Youāre running Jolyon Palmer next week, the GP2 champion, in the test here at Abu Dhabi. Is he under consideration for something in 2015?
Otmar SZAFNAUER:Ā Thatās not the purpose for running him. Shortly, maybe even later on this weekend, weāll announce our full driver line-up. Itās for the future. As you know weāve run young drivers in the past. Weāve often run them in FP1 even during the season to help out. Jolyon having won the GP2 championship, we thought heād be a good driver for us to run in the test post this weekend. Heās driven our simulator and has performed very well. We also want to see how that correlates to track performance but we anticipate he will do a good job for us. Itās also a test for us, so we need good feedback from him as well.
Going into this weekend, yourselves, Lotus and Sauber called for a meeting on revenue sharing. Where are you at with those discussions?
OS:Ā Fortunately I havenāt been in any of those meetings, so itās hard for me to answer that question. I focus on other things at the team ā mainly performance and seeing how we can compete with some of these people behind me and thatās what Iāll be doing this weekend.
Thank you. Federico, same question to you really. What are your feelings on the financial discussions going on at the moment?
Federico GASTALDI:Ā Well, to be honest, Gerard [Lopez] has been involved in dealing and wheeling and leading with the rest of the guys all the conversations, all the meetings with Mr Ecclestone. So itās up to them, they are putting together a programme that they are working with, so not much to say, obviously.
On the young driver front, Esteban Ocon ran for you this morning in FP1. How did he do and what plans do you have for him?
FG:Ā Well, weāre very happy because he comes from Gravityās young driver programme and he won the FIA F3 championship and we are now looking to put him on the next step, so we are trying to work out on the GP2 team programme for next year, we are talking to different teams at the moment. So very pleased with the experience this morning so we will see how it goes next week in the test.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Joe Saward ā Grand Prix Special) Iād like to know from all of you what you consider the demographic of your target audience in Formula One, both in terms of sex and age, and geographic location? Marco?
MM:Ā I know where you are going but to be honest, you know, as Toto was saying my previous background is on the car side, selling cars, and I met a lot of customers that told me they decided to dream of Ferrari when they were between eight or 10 years old, when they had the first poster hanging in their room or watching Gilles Villeneuve racing. I think it depends on the purpose, it depends on the objective. But for an aspirational brand like Ferrari definitely our demographic is from the moment they can switch on TV or they can enter in a Ferrari store until when they can afford a car. Our brand is more a culture, a passion, so we really donāt have that kind of segmentation less than we discuss about when we sell cars, but Formula One is a great platform to attract, to engage with a wide range of audience. The sooner we start that engagement, the sooner we start that connection, because you can foster and nurture that kid to become someone in the Ferrari family. Geographically, today, as Ferrari we are in almost 65 countries, so we target the world, thatās why I think Formula One is a great platform. Female, male, I donāt think itās a debate for us, we sell cars to everybody, thatās not under discussion.
Toto?
TW:Ā Thereās not a lot to add actually to what Marco said. I think it needs early education that this is the highest form or competition with cars and obviously for Mercedes this is important as well. Educate the children and you grow them into being customers and understanding that Mercedes is successful on the racing track in Formula One and, yeah, what Marco said.
Christian, obviously Red Bull is a fairly youth-oriented brand?
CH:Ā Yeah, Red Bull is very much about youth and absolutely the team has a huge following from the youth segment, thatās male or female itās irrelevant of sex, or age or race, itās a sport as well that is accessible to everybody. I know where Joeās question is getting at and the comments itās referring to but what you have to remember is that when youāre 84, a 70-year-old is still pretty young.
Otmar?
OS:Ā Well, our brands on the car are varied and, like Christian says, Red Bull focuses on the young and ours might be a little bit older than that. We have Smirnoff and Kingfisher so thereās some age restrictions on drinking some of those products, so weāre focussed on a bit older ā but maybe not 70. We also have Claro and Telcel and teenagers these days are on the phone all the time so, weāve got a varied audience that follows the team.
Finbarr, anything to add?
FOāC:Ā I think all I would say is that weāve got the Renault engine and the Red Bull gears and thatās what people associate with our car and the name, a number of people Iām talking to have said that they would probably change the name if they acquired the team, so I think it is just at the moment the Renault engine and the Red Bull.
Federico?
FG:Ā Well, weāre not a car manufacturer as everyone knows but we are linked to very big sponsors that actually are linked with the youth market so yes, we need to try to educate as soon as possible the next generations in order to make sure that we are all in the same boat.
And final word on this subject from Claire.
CW:Ā Not a lot āĀ except that weāre not discriminatory. We want everyone to love Williams and we want everyone to love Formula One.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Toto. Yesterday there appeared to be some tension here between Lewis and Nico āĀ is there any message that youāre going to give to them before the race tomorrow? What will you say to them?
TW:Ā No. I think at that stage the team doesnāt need to interfere anymore in the relationship between the two. Itās down to them, we need to give them the best car so that they can fight it out on track. It makes no sense to try to pretend aā¦ schmoosing ā it that how you say it? ā environment. They are out there to win the World Championship. Itās man against man and the tension is there, all in a respectful manner.
Q: (Dan Knutson āĀ Auto Action / National Speedsport News) Finbarr, what will a buyer get besides the entry? Will they get the factory, equipment? And will they have to assume some or all of the debt outstanding?
FOāC:Ā They will get the factory, equipment, the entry. Any purchaser will then have to enter into negotiations with all the race partners. This car, as I said earlier, is linked into Renault and to Red Bull. Pirelli is clearly an important race partner for us, and also Dell, so it will have to enter into discussions with all those people.
And the debt?
FOāC:Ā Well, that will be a matter of discussion with all of those as regards, this will be a new relationship and how do both parties see that relationship going. And I think depending on the answer to that question will be the answer to the first question.
Q: (Kate Walker ā crash.net) I have a question for the members of the strategy group. Weāre now coming to the end of the first season where youāve had significant input and we had a number of misses in terms of things of overthrowing cost control, the radio communications flip-flop. I was wondering first what the long-term strategy you guys had for the sport: what it was, how you see it, and secondly, what role the strategy group has a regulatory body?
CH:Ā Lovely to get all the easy questions. I think that, look the strategy group is a forum to sit down and discuss the bigger issues. Yāknow, weāve done that, we havenāt always agreed āĀ obviously ā this year and of course we have another meeting coming up next week followed by a Formula One Commission meeting. As far as the regulatory value of the strategy group, anything that the strategy group discusses has to still go through the Formula One Commission that every team is represented on, as are the promoters and the FIA, before itās passed into being a regulation. So itās very much a discussion forum. Of course there are some big issues at the moment and yāknow, a team like Caterham is in this situation because of the costs. The costs are too high and I think one of the crucial aspects in those costs is the power unit and thatās something the strategy group, as well as the other players within Formula One have a duty of care to look at very carefully and I think, whilst probably not a lot can be done for 2015, I think an awful lot can be done for 2016 and maybe we need to even go as far as looking at a different engine, yāknow, a new engine. Maybe still a V6 but maybe a more simplified V6 that controls the cost. Cost of development, cost of supply to a team and to the privateer teams. I think thatās something we need to have a serious discussion about during the next strategy group.
Toto, what do you think about that?
TW:Ā On governance, everything has been said. I think that the big teams have a responsibility towards Formula One. We need to be open-minded, we need to discuss, we need to keep the small teams alive, keep the grid together and all that is being addressed. As Mercedes we take that responsibility pretty seriously. We have addressed the issues and will continue to address the issues.
Marco, do you agree with Christian about maybe looking at a different kind of power unit for 2016?
MM:Ā Definitely we need to look at something different 2016. In terms of power unit and in terms of regulation. 2015 is clear we will have to ā at the moment ā accept the status quo but definitely we are not going to accept the status quo for 2016. The cost of the power unit is a problem. The fact that we cannot enhance our power unit during the season is a cost for us, for not performing. So, the difficulties that that the small teams are facing is an issue on the table ā so I think all these problems are very well connected. I think that the strategy group and the F1 Commission are the proper arena where to touch these points trying to find a common direction but, indeed, 2016 is sort-of different.
Claire, whatās your perspective on that?
CW:Ā The strategy group, I think it provides a forum for debate which I think is always sensible in a sport when we havenāt had that necessarily before. This year itās obviously been exploratory. Itās been itās first year and everybodyās got their agendas and their own issues that they want to talk about. For Williams, that group, the purpose of it, has always been to ensure the sustainability of our sport. I think weād like to see more conversations around that. I think with the kind of comments around engines and looking at potentially changing the engines, I think potentially itās too soon but Williams has always been very vocal about our position around cost control. I think thatās one of the disappointments for us this year ā that the strategy group wasnāt able to come to achieve any cost control within Formula One. I think we have to consider very carefully any changes around the power units. Weāve already ploughed a huge amount of money into them, into developing them. The manufacturers have done that, all the teams have had aā¦Ā a fifth of our budget is spent on our engine. There are important messages around those engines as well, with their hybrid technologies which are relevant to us and relevant to the sponsors that weāre trying to pitch to at the moment. I think making a U-Turn so quickly, Iām not sure is a way we want to go. Iām not sure it puts us in a very credible position. But again, the strategy group is a forum for that debate and one that weāll probably end up having.
And finally a word from Federico.
FG:Ā All has been said. I think, again, cost control, a cost cap has been a major failure this year. I mean, after all the meetings we have had. On the other hand, I think that we pretty much should, all the teams here, on each of their capacities to put the best possibleā¦Ā to push for a better situation for all of us and be more secure and more stable in the future.
Q: (Dieter Rencken āĀ Racing Lines) Based on whatās just been said about the strategy group. Claire, you used the word āforumā, Christian, you used the word āforumā. You also said that everything thatās been discussed needs to go to the Formula One Commission. Claire, you said that consensus wasnāt reached on cost controls. If we take these two statements, does this not imply that the strategy group is, in fact, not a forum? Because if it needs to reach consensus, thatās not a forum for discussion. But apart from that, looking at it from a legality perspective, if everything needs to go to the Formula One Commission, why did cost control not go to the Formula One Commission if it was, in fact, blocked by the strategy group in the first place.
CW:Ā Itās a forum for debate, thatās exactly what it is ā but thereās a process around voting within that group in order to send proposals up to the Commission. FOM have a number of votes, FIA do and the teams as a collective do as well. So if that doesnāt reach majority in there, it doesnāt go up to the Commission.
Christian?
CH:Ā I think what you have to remember about the stragegy group is that the members of that group are the teams that have given a guarantee that they will be in the sport until 2020 āĀ and so theyāve got a vested interest and long term interest in the sport being attractive, sustainable and addressing all of those issues. Now, of course, there has to be a process that things are agreed on or disagreed on, otherwise whatās the point of that group at all? We have a simple majority basis of it being moved on to the Commission or not. Therefore should a team ā even Finbarr will be able to sit on the Commission next week and, if thereās something he doesnāt like he has the opportunity, certainly for 2015, to either block it or voice his position for 2016.
Toto?
TW:Ā Nothing to add.
Q: (Luigi Perna ā La Gazetta dello Sport) A question for Mattiacci. What kind of arguments did you use during your meetings with Sebastian Vettel to let him join this new challenge with Ferrari. And what kind of guy is he, in your opinion?
MM:Ā [no sound] ā¦very straightforward. I think I was really impressed with how clever he is, and being an extremely clever person and with great passion for Ferrari. I think the arguments have to be solid arguments. That was a discussion about the project, the investment, typical when you want to bring in a four time world champion, you donāt just over-sell, you talk about a few things.
Q: (Dieter Rencken āĀ Racing Lines) Christian, sorry to belabor the point but you said that Finbarr can actually vote for/against something at the Formula One Commission next week. It if doesnāt reach it because itās been blocked by the strategy group, how could he for example, vote for or against cost control because it didnāt reach the Formula One Commission, having been blocked before then?
CH:Ā Well, each team obviously participates in different forums as well for items to arrive in the strategy group. So, there are discussion forums where issues can be discussed, whether thatās technical or sporting, before it gets to the strategy group but the strategy group are the teams that have given a parent-company guarantee to be in the sport for the long term, up to a minimum of 2020. I think theyāre the teams that do have the right to say, potentially, what the future does hold, that have a responsibility strategically, to discuss where or not the sport should go. Obviously there are some big issues on the table at the moment.
Q: (Walter Koster ā Saabrucker Zeitung) Mr Wolff, how do you appreciate the share of Mercedes success in person under the management of Ross Brawn, and your time, your start and the team. Secondly, how does the team celebrate the title Sunday evening, and why without winner T-shirts?
TW:Ā Welcome back to the press conference! Ross had a big influence in the team. When he joined the team in 2010, or when he took it over into the Mercedes era, it went through a couple of difficult years but then he initiated the first crucial steps of what we see today, the success we see today. So, he has played a very important role in this yearās success. In terms of the winners T-shirt, we will have a driver who is going to win the world championship and a driver who is going to come second. I think through the year as a team we have tried to balance it out between the two of them and keep it neutral. They are valuable members of the team, we are going to continue with them next year, and although we are going to honour and celebrate the world championship-winning driver, you need to respect that, for the other guy, itās going to be a very difficult day in his life. This is why we would like to maintain our role as being fairly neutral in that situation.
Q: (Hoaran Zhou ā F1 Express) Two questions, both for Toto, Christian and Marco. The first one is, do you have a deadline on the engine freeze because now itās effectively the end of November and you canāt release a press release on December 31 at 11.59pm, can you? The second question is now the first year of the V6 turbo hybrid has passed, youāve gathered enough data. Can you give us a figure as to how much fuel-saving has been done through the combustion engine and how much fuel-saving is done through the hybrid part, because Toyota, this year, in the World Endurance Championship has shown that a nice-sounding, naturally aspirated engine, partnered with a huge hybrid can give topline performance and good fuel efficiency?
TW:Ā I have a difficult one. There is a governance in place, a governance states a certain timing, the timing is clear for 2015. For 2016, power unit regulation changes, that needs to happen until March 1, so thatās 2015, March 1 2016. The answer to your second question is, I canāt really tell you the exact percentage. What we can see is that the development on the internal combustion engine and on the hybrid system has been tremendous this year, with the fuel reduction of a third. Weāve had almost equal performance today, comparing free practice one to free practice one last year in Abu Dhabi with a car that has been sized down in aerodynamic performance so that is a pretty impressive performance.
Q: Marco, any thoughts on deadlines with regards to the engines?
MM:Ā Letās say at the moment we are targeting what the regulations are telling us so we are working on what governance, as Toto was saying, has suggested, so there is no difference to what we did this year.
Q: And do you have a view on the amount of fuel saved with these V6 hybrid turbos?
MM:Ā No, at the moment no. I would have to talk with the engineers. Thereās a great focus on making the combustion engine as efficient as possible to weekly improve the energy recovery but I canāt give you figures.
Q: And Christian?
CH:Ā I think the engine question is an interesting question. If you roll back the clock for when this engine was thought about, you go back to Max (Mosleyās) rule, weāre talking about a four cylinder engine and it was quite different. Those regulations were given to engineers, engineers then discussed them and there was a compromise sought because a four cylinder was felt to be wrong for Formula One. The four cylinder at the time was supposed to bring in more manufacturers into Formula One and the compromise was to go to a V6. And then, unfortunately when a bunch of engine engineers are left on their own to come up with a set of regulations, theyāve come up with something tremendously complicated and tremendously expensive. The engines that we have today are incredible bits of machinery, incredible bits of engineering but the cost to the collective manufacturers has probably been close to a billion euros in developing these engines, and then the burden of costs has been passed on, unfortunately, to the customer teams so unfortunately, I think we have to recognise whatās been done from an engineering point of view and now look to simplify things, potentially retaining the V6 philosophy, perhaps going to a twin turbo that would address the sound issues that weāve had this year and maybe even a standard energy recovery system would dramatically reduce the costs, dramatically reduce development and therefore the supply price to the customer teams also. So I think thatās something that the strategy group need to discuss and look at.
Q: When you say a standard energy recovery system, do you mean standard across all teams like a standard ECU?
CH:Ā Absolutely, weāve had a standard ECU, why not potentially take it a step further and it would negate obviously an enormous amount of development cost.
Q: (Joe Saward ā Grand Prix Special) Just a quick first question: anyone here whoās not committed until 2020, can you please raise your hand?
CH:Ā You ought to ask whoās guaranteed theyāll be here, it is a different question, Joe, I think.
Q: (Joe Saward ā Grand Prix Special) Alright, who has to guarantee theyāll be here until 2020 and what do you have to pay if you donāt turn up?
(Visual reaction)
Q: Right, I think youāve got your answer there.
Q: (Joe Saward ā Grand Prix Special) OK, the last one is on a question of philosophy: is it logical that the competitors in the sport make the rules, philosophically speaking?
CW:Ā I knew you were going to do that to me. It is what it is, isnāt it? We donāt have an alternative and until we do, thatās the option available to us. From Christianās comments, you can tell we all care about Formula One, we all care about its future and the group that sits around that strategy group table… our overarching agenda is to ensure that we protect the future of our sport and weāre looking at ways to do that. Thereās an argument perhaps to say well, who better to make the rules than the competitors? Failing an alternative, there isnāt an alternative at the moment and if thereās one in the future, then that could bring its disadvantages as well.
OS:Ā If we all get a chance to make the rules then Iām all for it but it shouldnāt be a small group.
Q: (Ian Parkes ā Press Association) Christian, two weeks ago in Russia you suggested the possibility but the highly unlikely possibility of reverting back to the V8 engine. Now youāre talking about a V6 engine with lots of different standardised parts. Why would three manufacturers that have spent a billion euros developing this current power unit for the sake of the motor sport industry itself and the car industry per se, want to revert back to something thatās similar? Are you not sounding like someone whoās desperately clutching at some of straws because your team is no longer winning the championship? Just give us your thoughts please.
CH:Ā Well, first of all, two weeks ago I wasnāt in Russia. Look, I think that… you know, I can understand your question but I think the scenario is such that itās unsustainable, itās unsustainable for manufacturers, any of the manufacturers, to keep spending at the level that they are, and therefore, rather than perhaps going backwards with the V8, maybe we should potentially keep the basis of whatās been achieved but look at simplifying it because if the development costs stay at where they are, we will not attract new manufacturers into the sport and we may well drive current manufacturers out of the sport. So we have to think, not just about today but about the future. 2015, thereās very little that can be done with the regulations but for 2016, an awful lot can be done and I think that the teams, together with the FIA and the promoter, have to have that responsibility to ensure that those issues are addressed and the sport is sustainable and attractive to new manufacturers to come in.
Q: Toto, you havenāt spoken on this. Do you have a rebuttal?
TW:Ā Yes. First of all, I fully agree that we have a big responsibility for all teams and we need to look at the costs but you canāt turn the time back. Formula One is the pinnacle and the pinnacle of technology as well and it is important to attract engine manufacturers in the sport, and actually have brought Honda back into the sport. The current format of power units was actually being proposed by Renault back then and for us, as Mercedes, itās a hugely important showcase of technology, road-relevant technology, hybrid technology, the future. It helps us to attract sponsorship and for us, as a car manufacturer – and I guess the same was the case for Renault when they came up with the idea – Ā that is very important. Itās less important for Red Bull, for sure, but for us itās crucial.
Q: (Michael Schmidt ā Auto, Motor und Sport) Toto, for next year, the other two manufacturers cannot do very much if you donāt agree on what they want, but are you not afraid that in 2016 they could force you either into complete open development of the current engine or as Christian just said, into a completely different format or letās say a similar engine format which costs less and you canāt do very much about it because the others have the majority?
TW:Ā We are all talking about costs and if you would open up the regulations in the way it has been described in that press conference, that clearly means you donāt care about costs because that would be like digging a grave for Formula One. We have spent considerable amounts in the development of the power unit, far away from the billion, I would say itās ten percent of that in our case. But anyhow, I think we need to be sensible and we need to come up with solutions which enable the small teams to survive and which still enable the big teams to showcase the technology. Reversing everything, changing the format, changing the engines would just increase costs, it would be the opposite for what we need for Formula One at the current stage. And to come back to your question: yes, in terms of the governance, if we become insensible and if these decisions are being made for 2016, in my opinion that would be disastrous for the sport. We will be very vocal in addressing that issue.
Q: (Kate Walker ā crash.net) Finbarr, the vast majority of crowd-funding sites actually return money to donors if the target is not met. Does Crowdcube work like that and if so, how are you going to go about returning funds to your six and a half thousand fans?
FOāC:Ā Kate, the principle of what we did was to set it up on the basis… the objective was to get here and to race and to showcase the team and thatās clear on the website. So the fact that we are here shows that we have reached that objective and the funds weāve raised have actually been spent in actually getting here. If we hadnāt made the decision to come which we made on November 14, then the funds raised at that stage would have been returned.
Q: (Leigh OāGorman ā Walker Watson Ltd) Finbarr, how long do you have to make a final decision on a buyer and in addition to that, how far down the line were the design team with the ā15 car? And bearing in mind how much itās going to cost to actually buy a new team, can you actually make it worthwhile for any buyer, considering the new season only starts in four months time?
FOāC:Ā Sure. Iām talking to a number of people who have got different interests. Iām talking to some people who are interested in making a decision in the next few weeks and if that happens, they can take over the team as it currently stands. The employees have all kept together, theyāve all been made redundant. Even though theyāve been made redundant, it meant they are absolutely fantastic people. Theyāve come here to showcase the team and between themselves, 120 of them have all agreed that they will come back and work for any purchaser. So one option is, in the next few weeks, that something like that happens. Iām also talking to people who are interested in the facilities, in the building, in the facilities we have and in looking at a longer strategy, whereby they would use that as the basis for beginning a new team, and that team, clearly would look for a new racing licence in the future. As regards the car, my engineering team tell me that itās not hugely advanced but that if a purchaser comes along now, it will race in the championships next year.
Q: (Thomas Maher ā formulaspy.com) Finbarr, first of all, are you enjoying your time in Formula One and is your current position one that you consider may be long term? And secondly, weāve been reading that Mike Gascoyne has said that he has greater faith in your administration in terms of safety. Can you shed any light on why he might have had any doubts about the previous managementās running of the cars?
FOāC:Ā I cannot. I know there were issues in the press in a previous race which did shine a torch on safety issues in the car. The business Iām in, Iām not somebody who just decides Iām going to have a punt and race this car. Safety is absolutely huge and we wouldnāt be here racing these cars unless I was absolutely certain they were completely safe and I think people have seen the cars out there today. Going back to your other question, this is a sport that people love, they are hugely enthused by it and thatās fantastic but all I can feel really is a responsibility, responsibility for this team, the absolutely wonderful people who have come here and I would happily hand over my team principal badge straight away to anybody who would take it out of my hands and then I could go and sit in the stands and enjoy the Grand Prix. I will enjoy it if I can achieve my objectives, but it is a professional assignment and a responsibility and the team are probably watching this and thatās the sort of person that I think they would want to be him.
Q: (Chris Medland ā crash.net) Finbarr, how difficult is it for you to try and convince a buyer to buy your team when, as the contents of this press conference has shown, thereās squabbles over how much it costs for engines, no one can agree on what to do with them? Youāve got groups where the members canāt always get voted in what they want to do and when the sportās in this situation.
FOāC:Ā Yes, I think that any potential purchaser would prefer there to be more certainty on the way forward. I donāt think the uncertainty is unusual or strange. Every sport, every business goes through times like this. It probably doesnāt help any potential purchaser, I would say.
Q: (Daniel Ortelli ā Agence France Presse) I would like an instant survey: we have a team who is considering using 2014 engines next year to save costs. Is anybody on this panel ā thatās six other teams ā against this perspective, that is, to save costs and maybe save Caterham?
CH:Ā Weād have absolutely no problem in Caterham or any other team using 2014 power unit if that assisted cost-saving, but that would mean a change in the regulations.
OS:Ā No issues for us. For sure we would support that.
FG:Ā No issues for us either.
TW:Ā We would need to look at the regulations how we can make that happen and whether it saves costs and if it does, we need to find a way.
CW:Ā Yeah, agreed.
MM:Ā No problem, thatās why no issues for us.
Q: (Joe Saward ā Grand Prix Special) Claire, you said that there was no choice but to use the strategy group. Surely the FIA is an alternative rule-making body which it has been for many many years. Surely that would be the most logical thing to do?
CW:Ā It would but thatās not my decision to make. At the moment, the structure that we have is that we have a strategy group that the FIA is a part of, that was the group that was set up at the start of this year. We agreed to it and thatās how the sport is run currently.
eom/FIA transcript of the Friday Press Conference