F1: Πικάντικη συνέντευξη του Bernie Ecclestone

Όπως πάντα οι συνεντεύξεις του Bernie Ecclestone είναι πικάντικες. Ο «άρχοντας» της F1 μίλησε για όλα και όπως πάντα δεν κρύφτηκε πίσω από το δάκτυλό του. Για να δούμε τι είπε :

 

Ένα από τα σημαντικότερα θέματα είναι τα πολλά έξοδα. «Οι ομάδες θα πρέπει να μάθουν να είναι ανταγωνιστικές χωρίς τους τόνους των χρημάτων. Θα πρέπει να εστιάσουν και πάλι στα βασικά, στους αγώνες, στα έξοδα και όχι στα φανταχτερά motorhomes και σε κάθε είδους διασκέδαση», και πρότεινε να μπει ένα υποχρεωτικό όριο στον προϋπολογισμό, με βάση τις μικρότερες ομάδες, αλλά οι μεγάλες ομάδες δεν θέλουν κάτι τέτοιο.

 

Στην συνέχεια ρωτήθηκε για τους αγώνες οι οποίοι αρχίζουν και φεύγουν από την Ευρώπη : «Είμαστε ένα Παγκόσμιο και όχι Ευρωπαϊκό πρωτάθλημα. Δείτε το και διαφορετικά : Πόσοι ζουν στην Ευρώπη και πόσοι στην Ασία ή την Αμερική;», σχολίασε.

 

Μίλησε και για το πρωτάθλημα που ξεκινάει : «Πιστεύω ότι μπορεί να το ξανακάνει (ο Vettel). Υπάρχει κάτι το οποίο να δείχνει το αντίθετο; Πιστεύω ότι οτιδήποτε διαφορετικό θα είναι έκπληξη. Οι χειμερινές δοκιμές έδειξαν κάποια πράγματα ξεκάθαρα: Η Red Bull δείχνει φοβερά ανταγωνιστική και ο Sebastian είναι μόλις 24 χρονών, συνεπώς έχει ακόμα πολλά να δώσει. Ρεαλιστικά όλα δείχνουν τον Sebastian. Έχει ότι χρειάζεται : ταλέντο, πάθος, ζήλο, καθαρό μυαλό και δεν θέλει να χάνει. Θα μπορούσα να τον δω να σπάει το ρεκόρ του Michael», ενώ είπε ότι εάν ήταν να ποντάρει αυτή τη στιγμή θα έλεγε ότι ο Vettel είναι μπροστά, ο Webber πίσω του και μετά μια McLaren μάλλον με τον Hamilton.

 

Για την Ferrari τόνισε ότι το πρόβλημα στην ομάδα είναι στον τομέα της αεροδυναμικής και πρότεινε αντί να απολύσουν, να προσλάβουν κάποιον. Συγκεκριμένα τον Adrian Newey! Πάνω στο αντικείμενο Ferrari ρωτήθηκε και για τον Felipe Massa : «Ένα πράγμα είναι ξεκάθαρο, ο Felipe δεν είναι τυχερός, αλλά είναι γρήγορος. Θα έλεγα ότι είναι ένα ερώτημα για τις εναλλακτικές λύσεις στην Ferrari: Από τους διαθέσιμους οδηγούς ποιος είναι γρηγορότερος από τον Felipe; Δεν βλέπω κανένα. Αλλά είμαι σίγουρος ότι ο Robert Kubica θα καθόταν τώρα σε μια Ferrari εάν δεν είχε αυτό το τρομακτικό ατύχημα στο Ράλι»

 

 

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“I’m still one of the best”

Posted on March 11, 2012

Darren Heath

 

On the eve of the new F1 season Michael Schumacher has said that he is still one of the sport’s top draws and expects to compete for podiums this season in the new Mercedes.

 

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport the seven times world champion said, “I was out (of F1) for three years, I’m now 43 and I don’t know if I can compare myself to when I was 30. But I know I’m still one of the best in the world, that I’m motivated, that I enjoy myself and that most people are happy to have me still in F1.”

 

Bernie Ecclestone has endorsed that last point, speaking today in an interview on F1.com, the official F1 website, the 81 year old was asked whether he thought Schumacher would have a breakthrough this year, “If the car is fast enough, yes. I do hope that’s the case,” he said. “For him and all the Schumacher fans. He is still a big name and we all profit more from a successful Michael Schumacher than from a beaten one. Ask in the USA – he is still the biggest name there.”

 

Schumacher has played his part in patiently building Mercedes into a title winning outfit. As part of the Ferrari team with Ross Brawn which set the benchmark in the 2000s, the German knows what it takes to win in F1 and to beat the current benchmark, Red Bull. Schumacher and Brawn know how hard it is to keep a team at the very top and they know the signs that it’s beginning to slip. That will be Mercedes’ moment to strike and the timing looks positive for the Brackley team.

 

“We’ve set the basis for a future at the highest level,” Schumacher said. “But I doubt we will reach it this year.”

 

As to whether he sees himself in the cockpit as part of that future, Schumacher said, “Right now I’m focussed on the project, I don’t see the need to start discussions on the future.”

 

There is little doubt that the main candidate for Schumacher’s seat would be Lewis Hamilton, soon to be a free agent, should the 2008 champion wanted to look around for alternatives to McLaren, who have Jenson Button under contract for three more years.

 

Mercedes is definitely building nicely for a championship assault, with Ross Brawn and a highly experienced management team around him. A driver of Hamilton’s calibre would be the final piece of the jigsaw. Vettel is committed to Red Bull for a few more years and Alonso is locked in at Ferrari on a five year deal.

 

Likewise Hamilton wants to win more championships and needs a team that will put him at least on level pegging with Vettel, preferably give him a faster car, better pit-stops and all the other little details. McLaren looks like it has a quick car this year; he may feel he’s better off sticking with what he knows.

 

Whether – and how aggressively – Mercedes go after Hamilton this year, will show us how highly they rate Nico Rosberg. Ross Brawn and other management figures speak highly of him and he certainly has had a good advantage over Schumacher in qualifying. But last season Schumacher performed better in a number of races and it leads one to wonder whether Rosberg has that little bit extra. Equally, Mercedes and McLaren will be looking at how Hamilton attacks the F1 season. Last year, by his own admission he had his eye off the ball,

“Last year quite a lot of times I went out and enjoyed myself thinking that these things don’t affect you but in actual fact they do, they have a knock-on effect. It takes you two days to recover, you miss two days of training and your mind is somewhere else when you get to the race, ” he said.

 

That’s not what a top team wants for its £12 million + a year investment. Hamilton says he’s fully focussed on F1 again now. So is Schumacher.

 

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Stefano Domenicali: “I’ve got pressure on my back…”

 

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali admits that the Italian team is not where it wants to be heading into the 2012 season, but he is confident that the situation will improve.

 

He denies that there is any sense of panic in the camp ahead of Melbourne.

 

“There is none of this, just an awareness of where we stand,” said Domenicali. “We have been realistic when communicating about the problems we have had, because transparency is part of the way I go about things.

 

“The lack of satisfaction comes from the fact we did not meet our technical targets and so everything refers to ourselves. Where we are compared to the others, we do not know for certain and our lack of satisfaction might also turn out to be excessive. Having said this, a clearer picture of the hierarchy on track will only emerge after the first four races.”

 

Domenicali defended the decision to go for a more radical car for 2012.

 

“We had asked our engineers for an extreme car, because without that, we would have been unable to close the gap to the best. The first configuration of the exhausts showed good potential, but it caused problems – the tyres overheated and the performance was unstable. Therefore we had to change, even if I certainly was not happy about it. We are still working on the original set up, but we will be unable to test it until the Mugello test at the beginning of May, because we believe it could give us a good performance advantage.

 

“Sport goes in cycles. Over the last thirteen years, McLaren has won just one Constructors’ and one Drivers’ title, Renault had two fantastic seasons and then nothing, Brawn had a one-off, Mercedes has only managed two podiums in three years and at the moment, this is the Red Bull cycle.

 

“In 2010, we began a new technical cycle. Important steps were taken in terms of the organisation and working methodology and here I’m thinking mainly about the areas of simulation and strategy. Aerodynamics is not yet at an adequate level. It’s not easy finding the right people, but this has to be a stimulus for those who work for us. I tell you this as someone who experienced the Schumacher era first hand and I recall how much we suffered before getting there. Ferrari will be back with another winning cycle as the basics are in place to achieve it.”

 

Regarding the team’s potential rivals, Domenicali said: “This year, Red Bull again starts out in front. McLaren is on form, Mercedes has taken a step forward and Lotus is looking strong, but they also began well last year.

 

“Toro Rosso and Force India also seem good, especially on a flying lap. So there might be some surprises at the start and then the situation will settle down but I expect everyone to be much closer to each other than in 2011.”

 

He admitted that there was pressure to get the job done.

 

“I’ve got pressure on my back, which is as it should be. I am not the one who designs the car: my task is to give my people everything they need in terms of organisation and structure. Having said that, I am very much aware of my responsibilities. There is pressure, but I feel the support of the whole team and of President Montezemolo.”

 

Domenicali also made some interesting comments on the RRA: “The agreements relating to cost reduction are still valid and we are evaluating if it can be up to the FIA to ensure they are respected, introducing sanctions of a sporting nature.

 

“Why didn’t we ask for the checks that were outlined in the agreement to be made last year? Very simple, because we did not want it to sound like an excuse for our performance. As for the Concorde Agreement, I can only say that we are moving forward. Maybe, after what happened to the ocean going liner of the same name, we should not call it this anymore…”

 

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