Brazilian GP: Friday Press Conference

23/11/2012

Eric Boullier (Lotus), Ross Brawn (Mercedes), Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber) and Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren).

Eric, first of all great news from you yesterday on the Burn sponsorship. Can you tell us a little more about it? Is it a title sponsorship? How big is it?
Eric Boullier: I'm not going to release any more information; we have a marketing and communication plan about the endorsement and so you will know later a little bit more detail about this deal.

Is it big enough to make a big difference to your budget for next year? Does that mean you can spend more on development? You know what it takes now.
EB: Whatever it is, it's always welcome. It's obviously more budget for next year and the next years, and it's going to be good to have this brand on the car, obviously, and all the activations that go on around; also promotion for the team and Formula One.

Can you be a top contender for next year then?
EB: Ah, I don't know yet to be honest. There is some stability in the regulations so it's going to be up to every team to deliver a good car for next year. I cannot see any reason why we would lose some ground, I just hope that yes, we will be better. I know Kimi will be on top form from race one, so that will be a big change for us as well.

Monisha, today you announced Esteban Gutierrez as your... number two driver I guess. How important was it to maintain the Mexican connection?
Monisha Kaltenborn: Well, it's always good if you have stability but I think you have to also see clearly that these are two different issues. Just because Esteban is from Mexico it's not the same situation as we had with Sergio because unlike Sergio, Esteban is not a member of the Escudería Telmex. Of course there's a natural connection there because Telmex has this bigger vision of establishing motor sport in Mexico and Latin America, but it's a different situation. But it's important for the team's stability to continue with the partners.

Both your drivers are very popular but sadly it seemed that worked against Kamui, is that the case?
MK: I won't say it worked against him. To take up a new driver is always a strategic decision where many factors play a role. Kamui has been with us for the last three years. He's a very good driver, he is an excellent team player and actually a very fine human being so it's tough to take such a decision. I think if a driver deserves to be in Formula One he's definitely one of them and I hope he can get support from Japanese companies - because Japan is an important market for Formula One - and stay in the sport.

Ross, obviously we're losing double DRS next year. Is that going to be a big change for you for next year's car?
Ross Brawn: Not a huge change. Obviously as a facility it's only of benefit when the DRS is being used and next year there's also a move to DRS only being used in small areas during practice and qualifying, so there's a general move away from it anyway. It's always helpful, it would be foolish to say it's not been an advantage, but we've got other solutions in place for next year.

Change in the financial structure in that Mercedes have brought back a shareholding from Aabar. How much is that changing for you? How much does that mean things change for you?
RB: No change for the team, quite frankly. I think it's part of a bigger disinvestment Aabar are making in the Daimler group and it wasn't logical for the Formula One team to stand out separately. So part of an overall strategy from Aabar. I think it demonstrates the commitment of Daimler to Formula One. So for our team it makes very little difference, but it gives us reassurance and confirmation of Daimler's commitment to Formula One.

For Stefano and Christian, basically similar questions. Stefano, first of all, preparations so far: has everything gone according to plan? I'm sure you had a strategy worked out, a plan worked out for this weekend
Stefano Domenicali: First of all, last weekend was the birthday of Christian and this weekend is the birthday of Ross, so happy birthday Ross. We have to keep the tradition of that. We have done the job we were supposed to do today. We know that this weekend for us is a challenging weekend. We have to do the maximum on our side and that will not be enough if we want to win the Drivers' Championship. We need to go in the race, as I said, trying to be perfect on our side and then seeing what's going to happen. But that's the only thing we can do and we will do.

What's the mood like within the team?
SD: The mood is that we have nothing to lose, because we are already behind. We need to go there with a rational approach, as I said, to try to be there, if some situation will arise, we need to be prepared to take them. This is really the spirit that is around the team at the moment.

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