21/05/2021
NEWS STORY
Today's press conference with Mattia Binotto, Toto Wolff and Laurent Rossi.
Q: Mattia, can we start with you please. What is it about Charles Leclerc and his home race? A very frustrating start to the weekend for him with that gearbox problem.
Mattia Binotto: At first, I think enjoyable, exciting, I think it's important for him, he knows very well the city, very well the streets and knows that he can drive very well around that layout. Last year we didn't race here, the year before, we had somehow, let me say, a problem or an issue, a bad choice in quali that put him out of the top ten in quali. So, it was frustrating in the past and he knows that being back here this weekend he can try to do certainly better. I think it's important to support him to his best, to our best, so that he can have a good weekend. The start, as you said, not exactly what we were hoping for. He had a gearbox problem very soon in the session, so he had to stop and that's a shame - because certainly in Monaco it's important to build the confidence and the more you can drive, the better it is. So certainly, he had missed an entire session - but he knows as well there is an entire history before quali and for him it will be important to get the experience he is missing from the morning.
Q: Mattia, looking at the positives, Charles has qualified brilliantly this year, fourth in three of the four races. What kind of opportunity does this race present him?
MB: I think Charles is very strong in quali. He has always been very strong and he has performed very well at the start of the season during the quali. Here again it will be important because, again, we know how important is quali in Monaco, for the entire race and the race result. So, at least he can try to do as good as he did in the first races, of course, and eventually, let's see, whatever he can do on track. I think driver ability is very important. As we said, he's very, very strong in quali.
Q: It's been a strong start for Ferrari as well this weekend, now just five points from McLaren in the Constructors' Championship. Would you have believed it after winter testing?
MB: It was for us important, I think, to show that our capacity of developing and addressing weaknesses and, when coming to Bahrain for winter testing, I think the car behaved at least as we were hoping and expecting and that was, let me say, the first good result, and after Bahrain we knew we had a car that was certainly better than last year, which was a minimum objective. We knew that somehow we could have done well during the races but we know as well that Bahrain is a very specific circuit and I think we said we should first wait for five races in the season to understand our true potential - but I think that the car is behaving consistently since the first start. The entire team as well. I think the team is dealing well through the race weekends. Solid race weekends from the pit crew, from engineering. We had some difficult events, difficult races, like in Imola with the wet race - but not only Imola. I think that overall in terms of strategy, pit-stops, overall I think it has been a solid start to the season and for that we are pretty happy.
Q: Toto, coming to you next, if someone had told you during winter testing that you'd win three of the opening four races, would you have believed it?
Toto Wolff: No, probably not. We were lacking pace in Bahrain and then somehow we were just clinging on with our fingertips in Bahrain with the right strategy and then Max running off the track - but obviously that could have been his race. And then it just continued. So we need to take that, and I'm very happy about that.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about how you've done it? How have you made the progress?
TW: I think it's just churning away. Looking at the data, trying to analyse. We have a completely new tyre that everybody needs to get on top of it. We needed to tune our car differently than in the past years but certainly the kind of gaps and advantages we had last year has vanished but that's also good. I think we're enjoying the ride.
Q: Let's throw it forward to this weekend. Do you think, Red Bull Racing, is this their biggest threat of the year?
TW: I wouldn't discount any other teams. We've seen the Ferraris have been pretty strong. Carlos was always there, right up, and Charles didn't even run so the Ferraris have been very strong. Red Bull definitely, that has been their track, they have a lot of downforce, so we expect them too - but the McLarens have always come when it matters in qualifying. So yeah, everything can do well here.
Q: Laurent, coming to you now. While we're talking progess, how pleased are you with things down at Alpine?
Laurent Rossi: Well, I'm quite pleased because we started at a rather lower position than expected. Expected in terms of where we want to be. We want to carry on with the momentum from last year. We knew we would start a bit low because we had problems this winter in the wind tunnel, so it was a matter of catching up. And that's what we did. The team put in a brilliant effort here, they've been adding downforce and tenths of seconds throughout the races and it's been noticed. We've been picking up the pace, which is good. At the moment we're in a good spot in terms of qualifying most of the time. On the race pace, we're more in-line with our natural pace, which is natural position if you will, which is, like, mid-rank. We don't stop here. We'll carry-on improving the car for a little bit, so I'm pretty pleased here.
Q: Can we have a word on the drivers? Is it a surprise that your young charger is leading the way?
LR: I'm not surprised by it - if you mean Esteban - I'm not surprised at all. Esteban, we knew, is extremely talented. He's been racing against all of the drivers, most of the drivers, when he was young - younger, he's still young - and he's always consistently beating them, most of the time. So, I knew he had a lot of talent. It's the second year he starts having good references in the team. We also made some modifications to his own team, and also to the way we build-up the weekends. The race weekends and the qualifications, so it shows. The guy has talent, so it shows. I think he is where he should be - which is good.
Q: And Laurent, in a month's time, we're going to be at Paul Ricard. Can we just get your thoughts on having the French Grand Prix this year? How important is it that it's there, even though it's been moved - and do you have anything special planned for that weekend?
LR: Yeah. Anything special planned? I'll keep it as a surprise. All the more so we need to make sure this can still happen because moving it forward was not necessarily anticipated. It's an important grand prix, it's the national one, it has a lot of meaning for the brand, for the Alpine brand beyond the F1 realm. That said, for us, it's just another date on the calendar and we need to perform the same way as we do in Baku before and Austria after.
Questions From The Floor
Q: (Luke Smith - Autosport, via email) Laurent, Toto was asked about Esteban Ocon's future in Spain and he said that it would be up to you and Esteban to decide how to continue before Mercedes would have an involvement. Are you looking to sew-up Esteban's future in the near future and lock him in with Alpine in the long-term.
LR: Yeah. We were very grateful after Toto said that. And it is indeed something we are considering and Esteban is doing everything to make me consider keeping him in the team. I would be remiss if I didn't think about it. So, at the moment, we are already engaged in some conversations with his agent, his management team, Mercedes at large. Esteban is a great driver so I'm happy to have that type of problem - which is not actually!
Q: (Scott Mitchell - The Race) This is probably best addressed to Toto and Mattia but Laurent, if you have anything to add, please do. We know that the FIA are implementing stricter tests on flexible wings shortly. Andreas Seidl told us earlier that McLaren is pleased by that but strongly disagrees with the fact that it's going to be a delayed implementation. What's your view of the action being taken?
TW: My view is very similar to Andreas. We have seen in the past that complicated redesigns for teams had a delay. It's clear that, if you have a back-to-back race, or maybe even two weeks, it's too short for everybody to adjust - but we're having four weeks to Baku and it is incomprehensible that, within four weeks you can't stiffen-up a rear wing for the track that is probably the most affected by flexible rear wings. That leaves us in no-man's land, because the Technical Directive says the movement of some rear wings has been judged as excessive - so teams who would run these kinds of wings are prone to being protested and probably this is going to do to the ICA, and nobody needs this messy situation.
Mattia, can we get your thoughts please?
MB: Yeah, at first, obviously what's happening on the rear wing, I think it's normal administration as whatever is happening in F1, always trying to push the boundaries, and somehow the FIA tried to clarify the intentions and the principles of the regulations. Now, on the time, I'm pretty sure that the FIA checked deep what was right, what was wrong, I'm pretty sure that by deciding a certain date, they somehow analysed pretty well, the case and I trust them fully. As Ferrari, we are happy there is now a clarification and eventually we need to adapt, or someone needs to adapt - whoever - to that new Technical Directive but on the time I think we should respect the FIA decision because I'm pretty sure they did it be being fully aware.
Laurent, anything you'd like to add?
LR: Well, I mean, on our end, we designed a car that conformed to the regulations. If the tests prove that we need to comply to a new set of rules, we will do that. That's all I can say.
Check out our Thursday gallery from Monaco, here.
Q: (Andrew Benson - BBC) Will any of you have to change your designs as a result of this ruling? Are any of you currently exploiting flexible rear wings? And, despite what Laurent said, bodywork is not allowed to move, so, how come things aren't being acted on more quickly, do you think?
MB: I'm not sure I understand the question.
Q: (Andrew Benson - BBC) Will you need to change your car as a result of this ruling? Are you currently exploiting flexibility in your rear wings? And, despite what Laurent just said, bodywork is not allowed to move according to the regulations - so why has this not been acted on?
MB: Yes, we are exploiting. I think as all the teams are exploiting somehow what's possible and what we believe is right. The Technical Directive is clarifying furthermore. We will need to slightly adapt but I don't think it's impacting Ferrari much - and certainly on the lap time from what we've seen, very, very little but there are some redesigns just needed which need to be carried over somehow to comply fully to the Technical Directive. Again, I think that, as Ferrari, it's not impacting us much but still, a redesign is required.
Toto please?
TW: I think before, let me clarify, each of us three here is doing the job and needs to adapt to the regulations. We have been left in a limbo since a long time. We have flagged the flexible rear wing situation last summer, without having received any feedback and I understand some of the teams' frustration when, making the concept of this year's car, that this was an area that should have been tackled much earlier. To come back to Andrew's question, yes, we will need to modify our wing. We need to soften it. Our wing is extremely rigid, complying to the famous article 3.8 that it must remain immobile. The new test that has been introduced is a half-baked solution which is giving us opportunity and the whole thing can soften and can bend more in the future.
Laurent?
LR: I'm not going to add much more to what Mattia said. We're going to make the modifications. I'm an engineer so I'm going to refrain from having a comment on the impact before my engineers give me a result. It would be an insult to their knowhow, so I will just say 'we will adapt'. We'll see how much it costs us, if anything.
Q: (Christian Menath - motosport-magazin.com) Question for Toto. You've mentioned the ICA earlier. If the regulations would stay as they are, or the Technical Directive that comes into place for the French Grand Prix, do you consider to protest another team at probably Baku?
TW: We had in the past a situation, I remember DAS last year, and every year we had these situations but this one, as I said before, delaying the introduction for whatever reason leaves us in a legal vacuum. It leaves the door open for protests. It's not only us but it's probably two other teams that are most affected. Maybe more. Obviously a protest could end up in the ICA. So - and that is a messy situation. It can take weeks before we have a result. And we should not have ended in this situation if we're having four weeks to the race that is most relevant in the calendar.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll - motorsport.com) Question is to all three gentlemen. It seems there is a growing consensus about getting rid of wind tunnels in Formula 1, which is understandable given they cost a lot of money to calibrate, to build. They're using a lot of energy, which is not exactly the message that F1 wants to send, probably . Are you in favour of banning wind tunnels, and do you think it could happen any time soon?
LR: Eventually, if it helps curbing the cost obviously it's a good measure. Now, it remains to be seen what the CFD to track reliability is, and I think we're not there yet, to the point that we can just get rid of the wind tunnel altogether. So, I guess at some point we might phase it out with progress of simulation but in the meantime it will probably rely on the measures that are in place now - the ATR and such - which are limiting the number of hours, which is already a step in the good direction.
Toto?
TW: I can absolutely mirror Laurent's feedback.
Mattia?
MB: Banning the wind tunnel has been discussed for 2030, not earlier. That was the proposal. So, it's a long time from now to there. I think that all the teams are open to the discussion, and open to accept it eventually because it's a long time from now. Are we today ready to ban the wind tunnel. Not at all. I think in general it has always been about design simulations and testing and testing is still very important, whatever it is: aerodynamics, power units etcetera. I think that in terms of cost reductions, we are already reducing at the moment the hours in the wind tunnel, which is a step in the right direction. Banning it completely, if you would do it today, the testing would be on track and that would be even more expensive, rather than doing it in the wind tunnel - so I don't think the times are mature today for a decision. I think it's right to discuss it but I think the testing is part of our normal engineering process, so for today, it's important to have the wind tunnel, and let's see how much simulation will develop in the future.
Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) A question for Toto and then a second one for Mattia. Toto, I believe Mercedes has decided not to do the wet weather Pirelli test for the 2020 tyres. If that is correct could you also confirm it was due to the budget cap concession that are in there and that they are not sufficient and Mattia, could you confirm that you are actually doing the test and if so how can you afford it?
TW: Yes, Dieter, that's right, we are trying to make the budget cap, which is not trivial and we couldn't take the costs related to the tyre test and we wouldn't have been able to send our mechanics on such a long journey.
MB: As Ferrari, we always said that 2022 is somehow our priority over 2021 and testing Pirelli tyres, helping Pirelli develop the new tyres we believe is important for us. Luckily enough we didn't have a crash in Imola so eventually we have some more contingency to Mercedes today, so somehow we are happy to accept and support.
Q: (Julien Billiotte - Auto Hebdo) A question to all three please. Can you describe the challenges you are facing in terms of logistics after all the latest calendar updates, from the cancellation of Canada and Turkey, to the extra race in Austria and the change of date for France?
MB: I think that luckily enough we have been made aware that Turkey would have been probably cancelled in time enough not to send or ship any material there, so in terms of logistics costs we didn't incur those costs at the time. What we are adding is adding European races which in terms of logistics are certainly the easiest and double races in Austria in terms of logistics is somehow pretty, pretty easy. I think the way the calendar has been shuffled is helping the current logistics and as well the costs we are affording for it, so overall I think it's great and fine.
TW: Yeah, I think we can cope with it. It's a shame for the French Grand Prix, because we had a nice programme planned with Romain and the car and some laps for the fans on the weekend and we can't do that now. He's still going to get a proper test thereafter. And with Austria, obviously for all the teams there is no better place to be - 10 days in Austria, in the mountains. It's the right back-to-back.
LR: Yeah, I'm going to echo what Toto and Mattia said. It's unfortunate that we have to move France forward, it's changing a little bit our plans, but all things considered it's still not that bad. I mean Canada was overseas for us European-based... all the teams are European-based obviously, so switching that to a European programme is not that big of a deal, so it's pretty easy to adapt to that.
Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) Another question for Toto. The Daimler Q1 results state that the team is held for sale. I take that to mean as part of the announcement in December - one third to yourself, one third to Ineos. Could you clarify how long this process is going to take and where we are in that process please?
TW: Yes, that's right. That refers to the sale of 33 percent to Ineos and some percentages to me and the transaction is signed and not closed and we expect this to happen in Q3 and that's what the reference was to.
Q: (Scott Mitchell - The Race) Laurent, you mentioned earlier the job that Esteban is doing. I just wondered if Pierre Gasly is a contender for an Alpine seat for next season. He's young, French, a grand prix winner, and he doesn't seem to have an immediate future at Red Bull, so he seems to have a ceiling there. Is he someone you might be able to tempt away?
LR: Well, we're not looking at any drivers for next year. At the moment I am considering Esteban, as we mentioned earlier on. Fernando is here next year with us. If we want to carry on with the momentum we have we will do that. Pierre is obviously a great driver of value but at the moment this is not on the cars, I would say.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll - motorsport.com) Toto, there seem to be rumours again and again about Andy Cowell joining Red Bull Powertrains. I just wanted to ask if you were aware of another offer they made to him or if you are confident that he is going to stay out of F1, as was reported so far?
TW: I speak to Andy every week about different things and for me it doesn't seem that he is going to Red Bull. But in this sport we have seen many black swans, so at the moment, what I think is he's not going there.
Q: How much of a surprise would it be if he does go to Red Bull Powertrains?
TW: It would be a big surprise because it would mean it's different to what we have discussed but there is nothing stopping him from taking any decision, whether he continues on his entrepreneurial journey or returns to Formula 1 in a different role.
Check out our Thursday gallery from Monaco, here.