14/03/2005
NEWS STORY
Pat, first of all, you collected the team’s trophy on the podium in Melbourne. How did that feel?
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: It was a really fantastic feeling to be up on the podium. After twenty-five years in Formula One, I have won a lot of races, but it was a very special moment to look out from the balcony and see the excitement and happiness of the whole team. It was a real sense of accomplishment to be up there as I felt I was there on behalf of the whole team both those at the track and those back at base who had contributed so much to our success that day.
After the result in Melbourne, do you have a clear picture of the balance of power, or are there still questions to be answered?
PS: There are still lots to be answered. As we have seen in the past, Australia was an unusual race, and for one reason or another we did not see the true form of all the teams. We think we know where that form might lie, but we need to see it under clean conditions. Secondly, while the tyre performance in Melbourne was extremely good, all the teams approached the problem with a degree of conservatism. Conditions were cool, and when we get to other tracks, maybe even Sepang, we will see tyre management become a much more important factor, that may further differentiate the teams.
What will be the keys to the race in Malaysia?
PS: Tyres. Their management under extreme conditions will be critical. Equally, we will see the reality of whether the teams have really built two-race engines. Reliability was superb in Australia, but we only ran the engines to half their life – and failures are much more likely in the second half than the first…
Finally, what are your performance expectations for the team?
PS: We were extremely pleased with Australia. Melbourne was only the fourth circuit at which we have properly run the car but at each one, we have found the set-up sweet spot almost immediately. So we are confident, but as I have said, tyre management and temperatures are now a more fundamental part of Grand Prix racing than ever before, so the picture may change. I think we are close to a number of teams on performance, and it will take very little for the pendulum to swing one way or the other.