25/09/2020
NEWS STORY
Today's press conference with Mario Isola, Christian Horner and Toyoharu Tanabe.
Press Conference
Q: Tanabe-san, it was a frustrating couple of races for you in Italy. Can you tell us what was the cause of the issues on Max Verstappen's car and are you confident you have cured the problem?
Toyoharu Tanabe: I don't go into very [great] detail but it was very complicated issues and many parameters involved in that issue. After the race we analysed the data and tried to understand what happened, especially just after the race. We identified the root cause of the issues and this race we have applied the countermeasures to fix the problems. It should not happen again.
Q: Have the AlphaTauri guys experienced the same problems?
TT: Not it was a very rare situation. It was the first time since we started Formula 1.
Q: Good. Let's look at the positives, in that Honda has won with both of its teams now this year, becoming the only power unit manufacturer to win with more than one time in the hybrid era. How much satisfaction does that give you?
TT: Actually we are very happy with Gasly's Monza win and so we mean, I believe, Honda and the Red Bull family. AlphaTauri based in Italy and then Gasly has been working with us since Super Formula in Japan and he started with us in the Toro Rosso era. And he showed the people a very strong race, so he led the race for half distance. It emphasised very much our passion. Japanese fans were very happy to see his win and his podium. We keep pushing for both teams, working very hard with both teams to improve our performance.
Q: Thank you. Christian, let's throw it forward to this weekend. Your team has never finished on the podium here in Sochi. Is this is a trend you are confident of reversing?
Christian Horner: Thanks for reminding me of that Tom. It's been a bit of a bogey track for us over the last five years or so. I think Mercedes have won every single event here, so they are obviously very much the favourites for this race, yet anything can happen. We've had a frustrating last couple of races and obviously we come here... we know it's going to be more of a challenge, but hopefully we'll survive the weekend and then there are some tracks coming up that hopefully play a little more to our strengths.
Q: What were your guys, the drivers, saying during FP1 this morning?
CH: They said the traffic is awful and that people don't look into their mirrors. It's a unique track here. It's very short corners, 90 degree corners, and you know, it's quite a challenge. But generally they were reasonably settled. Obviously the circuit is still very green and there is not a lot of rubber down. I think the times were a little bit... about half a second of the times they were doing last year, but it's hotter as well, and that's also having an affect.
Q: Let's talk about Alex Albon. He said, after getting his podium in Mugello, 'thanks for sticking with me'. He was obviously feeling vulnerable going into that race, for him to say that. Will that result free him of any concerns that his future is in doubt?
CH: He only feels vulnerable because you guys keep telling him every week that we should put someone else in the car. I think it was really good for him to get that result. He came close in Brazil last year, he could have won the opening race in Austria, and obviously got turned out of that race, so to get that first podium... and he had to do it the hard way. Daniel is one of the hardest racers on the track and to pass him around the outside of Turn 1 as he did, it was a great performance from him. You can already see him walking a little bit taller. That confidence that it will give him, hopefully he'll build on that. He has got the full support of all the team. I think the team is doing a good job with him. His race engineer is extracting more from him and that confidence is growing.
Q: What was your reaction when Eddie Jordan said recently that Lewis Hamilton would be a good fit alongside Max next year?
CH: I wondered what Eddie had been drinking. Look, from a fan's perspective he's absolutely right, but I've not heard from Lewis recently, so I can only imagine he's staying where he is. I think everyone wants to see Verstappen and Hamilton go head-to-head and hopefully we can give Max the tools to do that, certainly in the remaining races of this year but very much so next year and the year after.
Q: Mario, you've gone a step softer with the compounds here in Sochi compared to last year. Can you just explain why you've made that decision?
Mario Isola: Yeah, mostly because if you look back at the race last year, most of the teams, or all the teams, were focusing on the medium and the soft, so the hard was not used, but we also have an example two years again when we decided to be more aggressive in compound selection and the teams had to manage the compounds quite heavily, for the reasons Christian just mentioned - the traffic here is an issue, it's difficult to overtake, and also the pit lane is very slow so an additional pit stop can cost a lot to each one. But we know that we also have a new specification from 2019 compared to 2018 and this a bit more consistent, so I believe that even if we have a softer selection of compounds this year they can push a bit more compared to last year and all the three compounds are suitable for the race. This morning more or less all the teams used the three compounds on different cars, that means they are trying to understand the performance of the different compounds. The track was not in a fantastic condition. I can imagine a lot of track evolution for this afternoon. The weather is slightly different. There are a lot of elements that are playing a part in building a strategy for the race, so hopefully with this selection we have a mix of one and two stops for the race. We will see tomorrow. The qualifying will be a good indication. If the top teams are going to qualify with the medium, to start the race with the medium is an indication or not, let's see what happens tomorrow in qualifying.
Video Conference
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll - Motorsport.com) Tanabe-san, Honda is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2021. When do you expect a decision from the board if Honda is going to remain in Formula 1 and if the answer will be a yes, is it set in stone that it's going to be a continuation of the exclusive partnership with the two Red Bull teams?
TT: Actually I'm not involved in that discussion at all. I'm taking care of the technical side so I have no answer to tell now.
Q: (Christian Menath - motorsport-magazin.com) Another question for Tanabe-san: if I remember correctly, Max Verstappen was reporting some problems after his qualifying lap at Spa, that he ran out of electric energy and I think Pierre Gasly had a pretty similar problem in Mugello two weeks ago. Do you see a pattern; was it the same problem and why did this problem occur? Did you underestimate the performance on a qualifying lap, or what's the problem?
TT: It happened because of the slightly different application so we maximised the energy usage for the lap. So if you remained energy after the finish line, it means you lose the performance so we maximise how to use the energy and the lap was slightly different conditions, that's why it happened for both cars.
Q: (Scott Mitchell - The Race) Christian, just going back to Alex's performances; obviously there have been some quite clear examples of progress but just not quite piecing together a full weekend, so from the outside, perhaps, other people have missed that progress but I guess that speculation will only remain until he's 100 percent confirmed in Red Bull for next year. So do you have a timescale in mind for that?
CH: It will certainly be before Christmas. Obviously all the drivers are under contract to Red Bull on multiple years, so there are trigger points at different times in their contacts but it will certainly be later into the autumn. Our intention is to retain Alex, he's doing a good job, he just needs to build on the kind of performances he put in in Mugello and obviously continue that development.
Q: (Louis Dekker - NOS) Verstappen's contract clause; is it realistic to think Max can leave Red Bull after this season because the team's targets have not been met or are you one hundred percent sure he'll stay for 2021?
CH: Well obviously the contact between the driver and the team is always going to be confidential, there will always be speculation regarding it but I'm a hundred percent certain Max Verstappen will be in a Red Bull racing car next year.
Check out our Friday gallery from Sochi, here.
Q: (Alan Baldwin - Reuters) Christian, Stefano Domenicali's pending appointment as Chase's replacement seems to have been broadly welcomed by other team bosses. I'm just wondering if on your part there is any concern at the extent to which former Ferrari management are now running the sport, or will be running the sport?
CH: Look, I think... obviously the news about Stefano seems to be a fairly open secret. If he takes that role, I think it's great for the sport. He's one of the good guys. Having competed against him, when he was the team principal of Ferrari, he has a lot of integrity, he was a racer, a competitor, he understands the business. Obviously he's spent life in a commercial world outside of Formula 1 for the last few years. He's done a great job at Lamborghini and I think that he would be a real asset to Formula 1. Obviously you would look at the make-up at the top end of the sport with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Stefano and it looks like a mid-1990s or early -2000s Formula 1 set-up, but I don't think that there's any particular bias or love towards Ferrari from any of those individuals, so I'm sure Stefano will be - if he takes the role - would be scrutinous in his impartiality.
Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) Christian, has the recent Concorde signing, the change in the regulations coming up, the victory by Pierre Gasly in Monza - has that changed the sort of dynamic between Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri? I noticed the other day you referred to them as the sister team whereas previously the implication had always been that they were a junior team, so has this changed any way recently?
CH: I think - as I mention previously - AlphaTauri, they've grown up in many respects, they - as I said - they've gone from being a junior team to a sister team but that was the case from the beginning of this year and will be the case moving forward. Of course, both teams have identical ownership and shareholding. We are converging on some of our tools, within the rules, where both teams will share the same wind tunnel for the first time going into next year. The sort of dynamic has changed slightly and the aspirations of that team have changed as it's been rebranded as AlphaTauri but from a driver perspective, all the drivers remain as being Red Bull Racing contracted drivers that are placed accordingly in the two teams.
Q: (Peter Thomas - Car Magazine) Mario, we've got Nurburgring, Portimao, Imola and Turkey coming up. How do you select the tyres for those races? What data do you rely on?
MI: The system is always the same, because every year we have new tracks, this year a lot more than usual but we rely on team simulation so we make a calculation of the energy that is going through the tyres in a lap or in multiple laps. We consider the tarmac roughness; in some cases it was possible to measure the roughness; in some cases we have to rely on historical information that we have. With that in mind, we select the three compounds for each event. We have an additional option, this year, that was also to slightly modify the breakdown of the compounds. You know that this year it was decided to give to each team two sets of hard, three of medium and eight of soft in order to speed up the production and shipment and be more flexible, considering the calendar was quite fluid. For Portimao and Istanbul we have decided to increase the number of hard tyres from two to three and obviously to reduce the number of soft tyres from eight to seven because this circuit is quite severity circuit, the asphalt is abrasive and therefore we decided to make this reduction, together with the FIA. So this is the way in which we select the compounds.
Q: (Andrew Benson - BBC) Christian, I believe you were keen on the idea of reverse grids when it first came up. Is that still the case? And as a follow-up, why is there such enthusiasm for this idea from Formula 1 is they're confident that the 2022 regulations are going to do what they are intended to do?
CH: I suppose it's conflicting in many ways; the racer in your and the purist says it's absolutely the wrong thing to do and then of course you see a race a little bit like in Monza and that brings the point to the fore again of mixing things up and obviously the best way of mixing things up is something like a reverse grid. That is artificial but inevitably, when you have the fastest car starting at the front of the race, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that in many cases they will stay in grid order. So I think that Formula 1 shouldn't be scared of perhaps trying something different. If there was an occasion or a type of venue or an invitation race or maybe even a non-championship race, that something like that could be tried, it would be very interesting to see what the outcome of it would be because if you don't try something you never know and I think it's very easy that we get stuck into a rut of saying 'that's ridiculous, it wouldn't work'. The purist in me says the same but sometimes in life you've got to try things and see what the outcome is and if that could be done in a manner that didn't affect the championship because I can't see how you can have a different rule for one race to the other events but maybe a non-championship race, an invitation race... We've got all these great new circuits that are pushing for races this year, that we won't be able to accommodate in future years but if one event was selected to try a different format, to try something totally different, what would we have to lose?
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll - motorsport.com) Christian, you said earlier that you are 100% sure that Max Verstappen is going to remain at Red Bull for next year. Are you equally sure about Adrian Newey and are you aware of any attempts from other teams - particularly Mr Stroll and Aston Martin - to lure him away?
CH: Yeah, the situation with Adrian - he's been with us for 14 years, he's very happy within the team, he enjoys working within the environment, he's obviously taken more of a step back in more recent years but he's still motivated and yeah, he will absolutely be with the team next year, without any doubt.
Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) Christian, you referred earlier on to the open secret of Stefano Domenicali's appointment as CEO of Formula 1. You've variously been linked with the role over the years. Are you disappointed that possibly the decision has fallen there or are you saying 'well, he's 55, maybe in ten years' time I have another chance' or where do you see yourself in this overall consolation in the future?
CH: Well Dieter, I enjoy every much what I do. I enjoy competing, I enjoy the role that I do. I am now, believe it or not, the longest serving team principal in Formula 1 and it's gone by in a flash. My motivation is to get the team into a winning position again. I love racing, I love competing, I love working with the people who are part of our team. I feel a responsibility to them, to Red Bull and so for me it's not even something I would consider at this stage in my career. I think Stefano would be a great candidate. I think he's a great guy. We raced head-to-head against him for the 2010 and '12 championships. He always had an awful lot of integrity, he was a gentleman and I think he will be an asset for the sport, he will be an asset for Liberty. He's got that understanding and I think that as the sport evolves, he will bring a lot to it so yeah, I've got no complaints from our side but as far as my own focus is, I just want to get this team back into a winning position. Mercedes have had it their own way for far too many years.
Q: (Scott Mitchell - The Race) Just wanted to clarify quickly something that Christian said earlier, just to avoid any potential misinterpretation. You mentioned that the drivers are on multi-year contracts. Does that mean that Alex is under contract for 2021 and it means that you just need to decide where to place him? And as a second part of that: is Pierre the obvious plan B if Alex can't build on what he's done so far or would the likes of out-of-contract drivers Perez and Hulkenberg appeal?
CH: Well, the first of your question is yes, all the drivers are on multi-year contracts and it's up to the team to take up its option on those drivers. As far as Pierre is concerned, he's doing a great job at AlphaTauri, he's a good fit for them, they enjoy having him within the team and their aspirations of a team, as I say, have changed so they need an experienced, competitive driver. Our intention is absolutely to retain our current drivers. Alex is our preferred choice. Inevitably, you have to be aware of what the other options are out there but our absolute preference and likelihood is to retain the existing driver line-up that we currently have.
Check out our Friday gallery from Sochi, here.
Q: (Christian Menath - motorsport-magazin.com) Another follow-up for Christian: you have mentioned the invitation race or non-championship race, to try things like the reverse grid. It sounds pretty nice, the idea, but can you see the chance to really do this, because with a calendar of 22 races - or a normal calendar - it's already pretty tight to bring all the races in there and who should finance this non-championship race or invitation race? And do you see a real chance or is it just an idea?
CH: I mean at present it's just an idea because it's very difficult to have different rules for one race than others. We missed that opportunity unfortunately this year because racing twice at two venues in Austria and at Silverstone, it would have allowed that opportunity but why not have two races in Austria for example? You could have them within a week. And of course there are so many permutations and questions surrounding it; at the moment it's just an idea that I'm putting out in front of you after the question that I've been asked. It's not something that's been discussed with other teams or with Liberty or the FIA. It's just a reaction to the question asked.
Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) Christian, when I was watching Le Mans last weekend, I couldn't help but notice how many ex-Red Bull racing drivers were in front running positions. If you have a look back, are there any drivers whose contracts you didn't take up that you now regret not having taken up?
CH: That's an interesting question. I think the great thing about that is that Red Bull have given this opportunity to so many guys out there, whether it was Jean-Eric Vergne, da Costa, Sebastien Buemi, fantastic to see him win the race and indeed he's still supported by Red Bull, so all drivers that wouldn't have had that opportunity if it weren't for Red Bull's support and patronage in their earlier career days. But I don't think there's any real regrets. The cream always rises to the top. I think that maybe it would have been interesting to see what da Costa could have done in a Formula 1 car, but that opportunity never really presented itself.