Hungary GP: Friday Press Conference - Part 1

17/07/2020
NEWS STORY

Today's press conference with Mattia Binotto, Otmar Szafnauer and Marcin Budkowski.

Let's kick this session off, if we might, with a quick summary from each of you please about how FP1 went today. Mattia, could we start with you please?
Mattia Binotto: Obviously after FP1 it's always very difficult to judge: you're focussed on your own programme. We're running here the parts we brought already in Austria last week. We obviously had wet sessions, had a very bad race, very short, so really we didn't have an answer from them, so today the programme for us was really to understand the car, and then try to find the balance for the rest of the weekend. We've got again a lot of data to analyse. I don't think we've got yet an output but the two drivers certainly are focused on the weekend. We know that quali will be important here. Grid position is key in Hungary, so we need to prepare well for the quali tomorrow. Likely that we've got a wet session this afternoon so this morning session was important really to collect data and try to somehow understand the car, the balance in order to be ready tomorrow.

Otmar?
Otmar Szafnauer: Not a perfect session for us. Sergio didn't get his long runs in at the end so we've got a little bit of understanding to do. One lap pace looked OK, the balance was good but it's really hard to know what everyone else is doing. Yeah, single lap pace looked better than in years past for us. And long run pace, I still think we need to work on a little bit.

Marcin?
Marcin Budkowski: It went pretty well. We executed our normal Friday morning programme. We didn't use the Soft this morning, we just did runs on Hards and Mediums. Pace is encouraging. Both drivers felt that they could improve the balance so they could go a little bit quicker. Daniel was a bit happier with his car than Esteban was and so, yeah, a good start to the weekend. Again, it's Friday morning. But it's looking positive at this stage.

Video Conference

(Adam Cooper - motorsport.com) To all three of you. I think on Wednesday you had to tell the FIA how you plan to deploy your freeze tokens. Can you talk a bit about that process? Have you made that call? Is it frustrating that you can basically only really change one thing?
MBin: We submit our tokens. We somehow try to address whatever we can for next season in terms of car development, trying to understand what are the most weaknesses of this season. The token system has been put in place ahead of the entire freezing we've got. I think it was important to have at least two tokens. It's obvious that system is overall, let me say, a compromise of the current entire situation post-Covid. We cannot be fully happy because, if you look where we are as Ferrari, our intention would have been to fully develop but we understand the point and I think that's part of, as we often said, part of the season compromises that have been taken during this period. And I think, as Ferrari, knowing our situation, we have been assessing it as an act of responsibility towards the entire Formula 1 and the other teams. So that's what we've got. We've chosen our tokens. I think that the only point on looking at next years, on which we are still debating, I think we are not fully happy that there are teams that eventually can upgrade their entire package from a 2019 to a 2020 package. That I believe would be unfair, because the season with two tokens is similar for everybody. We've got only two tokens and everybody should be limited to that one.

Otmar, your thoughts.
OS: We too decided a while back to look at how to use our tokens. We've made our selection. I think the token system itself works well and when you have a variety of elements across all the teams, and how do you allow certain developments for some and other developments for others. So I think the token system was a clever way of allowing some freedom but within the confines of what we decided to do to save money going forward because of the virus situation. So, I think it's good, it's fair and we chose already how to use them and that's what we'll do. We'll make those changes for next year and see how we go.

Marcin?
MBud: I think not a lot to add. It was a necessary evil to be able to save... well, to be able to continue in this situation and part of the freeze decision for next year. So, we're happy with the system. We're still looking at where best to spend them. We still have a few days and a few opportunities that we need to choose between but I will also support Mattia's view that the system has some flaws, unfortunately. There's a loophole there that would allow a couple of teams to benefit from the system and this is something we're discussing with the FIA and the other teams and we hope will be addressed.

(Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) As we know, Ross has said that after everything was planned for closed races, etcetera, the next imperative was to look at the Concord Agreement. Could you please indicate where you stand on this? Whether you're ready to sign? Particularly Ferrari, Mattia please, because obviously you stand to lose the most under the Concord. And then with input from the other two as well please.
MBin: The Concord Agreement and where we are today is the output of long discussions we have between the teams and certainly with the F1. As far as Ferrari, we are ready to sign. We would like to sign it even, I think, quite soon. I think that's important for the future. For clarity. At least we can all know where we are. I think it's important as well for the small teams, somehow because that's part of the entire, let me say, package. So, looking ahead with clarity is important. So somehow ready to sign. I think we are as well somehow happy because we know that F1 has understood the importance of the role of Ferrari within F1. And for us that was key. And somehow satisfied from that.

Marcin?
MBud: Yeah, I think it's a process that's been delayed a little bit by the Covid situation and it's resuming now, understandable. I have no particular comments to make on it. It's a step forward for the sport certainly. The sport, looking forward from '21 and especially from '22, with the introduction of the cost cap, the fairer prize fund distribution. It's going in the right direction. It's certainly things that we are supporting at Renault. A fairer, more sustainable Formula 1. So, really, it's looking at the position from our side as well.

Otmar:
OS: As was previously said, this was a logical incrementalism to get to this point. I think a lot of work has gone into it and I don't think we're that far off to having something that we can all sign but there's still a few talking points which I think will happen in the short terms.

(Mark Hughes - The Race) Just to follow up that point on the Concord with Mattia. We understand the broad agreement has been there for quite some time but it's still not a universal agreement. Can you touch a little bit on what the sticking points still are?
MBin: Honestly Mark I'm not really capable of answering you because, as I said, as Ferrari, we are happy and ready to sign. So I think the question should be asked to the ones which are not fully happy yet.

Otmar, talking about the protest from Renault. Parts of your car have been protested by the team. Were you expecting the protest and what's your reaction?
OS: There were rumours of a potential protest in Australia so our expectations were that something would happen. My reaction is that we now have to put together the evidence to show that we're completely legal and I think we have three weeks to do that and that's exactly what we're working on now.

Perhaps throw that on to Marcin. Why have you protested the RP20?
MBud: I don't want to get dragged too much into the details of the protest because, as you can imagine, there's a stewards' decision pending. There's an FIA investigation ongoing which will be submitted to the stewards and they will make their decision based on this. It might go to the court of appeal if Racing Point or ourselves are not happy with the judgement. So, it's a process that's still ongoing. But I think for us it's important to clarify. To clarify what is permissible and what isn't for this season. For the event we protested but for the rest of the season, for next season - but also what Formula One we want in the future. What is the model we want? Do we want the model where we have ten teams independently fighting each other, especially in the context of a fairer sport, a more equal distribution of funds, a cost-cap, so all teams eventually coming to a similar level of spending. Maybe not straight away but with time. So I think there's a great opportunity, together with the technical regulations, cars being able to follow each other, overtake each other, better racing. We think there's a great opportunity for the sport to have ten teams, maybe more, fighting really on equal terms. And for us it's important to clarify what kind of level of exchanges is permissible. Is it permissible to get parts or get geometries from another team and use them on your car or not - because we don't think that's the right model for F1 in the future. It's really beyond the protest, beyond this race. It's what kind of model we want for the future of F1.

Check out our Friday gallery from Budapest, here.

(Andrew Benson - BBC) Question for Mattia initially. Mattia, you said at the first Austrian race that the engine had lost some power over the winter, into this season. Can you explain why that's been the case?
MBin: Yep, certainly. I think that regulation is very difficult and complex. I think there are areas of the regulation of the power unit where maybe clarifications are still required. It's an ongoing process which has always existed in the past and will exist in the future. Since last year a lot of TDs have been released. Eventually clarifying some of the areas in the regulations. I think that through those TDs we had to adapt ourselves. I don't think it's only the case of Ferrari, because looking at the power output of this season, many others, most of the manufacturers somehow had to adapt themselves. But certainly as Ferrari we had to adapt and as a simple output of that, we lost some of the performance we had. I think that obviously now we have more clearer situation of some areas of the regulation. Hopefully that will continue, if required for the future.

(Andrew Benson - BBC) This isn't for Mattia, this is for Otmar. Otmar, yesterday Sebastian Vettel said that he'd had loose talks with Racing Point. Which driver are you considering dropping?
OS: Well, y'know, they're both contracted and we're happy with the drivers we have. It is the silly season already which I just can't fathom because we've only done two races and we're already talking about driver changes but we're happy with the two that we have and they're contracted.

(Alan Baldwin - Reuters) Similar question to Otmar about Checo. He's widely credited with saving the team. He's outperforming his team-mate. What can you say directly to him to reassure him that he will have a seat next season?
OS: Like I said, he's contracted. Checo's focus really is to do the best he can this year with our car and I think he's had two great races, coming from seventeenth to... well, he had a little bit of an accident but I do believe he should have tried to overtake Albon at the end. We had the pace to do it. It didn't quite work but Checo just has to focus on the task at hand, which is qualifying the best we can and putting good races in.

Otmar, what qualities do you think Sebastian has as a driver that would be useful to any team? He's a man on the market.
OS: He definitely knows how to win, he's very competitive. Might be a good question for Mattia. He probably knows him better than I do. But, y'know from the outside, I know him as a friend, he's a lovely guy. I've known him for a very long time. Straightforward, honest, and can be very fast. Four time World Champion.

Let's throw that to Mattia. What qualities does Sebastian have that he would take to another team.
MBin: He is fast, he is experienced. He is a four-times World Champion, so, as Otmar said, he knows how to win. He is a leader in the team. So I think he's got plenty of the right attitudes. He's a talented driver so no doubt Seb can fit in whatever team and hopefully he will find his position for the future.

(Scott Mitchell - The Race) Question to Mattia. You mentioned there have been these clarifications over the last year or so, and you and others have had to adapt, and been affected by it. How difficult do you think it will be to get on top of that - because, by the time the 2021 season starts, the engines will be homologated for a long period of time - so presumably you don't have much time to actually get on top of whatever the setback has been.
MBin: Engine or power unit development is an ongoing process that we never stopped since 2012 when we started developing those engines. Now it's a long time we were developing them. We were doing developments as well for this season that we will not be able to introduce during itself because we had a long shutdown period before the start of the season, which has not been the case for other power unit manufacturers by the way. We will still develop and we try to - somehow - develop as much as we can by the start of next season. That's one point. On the other side, as I said, I think there are still areas of the regulations that need to be clarified and hopefully that may be done in order than in the future at least there are sufficient clarity on the regulation to ensure we've got all the same understanding.

(Sandor Meszaros - Autosport es Formula Magazine) Mattia, it is to you. When you were promoted to the position of team principal, did you expect the job to be as hard as it's proving right now?
MBin: Certainly the job is difficult. Certainly when you are not doing well, as we are not, you've got a lot of pressure - from the outside mainly. But I think we are putting, as well, a lot of pressure on ourselves because we know what's our objective, certainly as Ferrari. But it's 25 years I'm working in Formula 1. It's not the first time we've had difficult seasons in Ferrari. I remember very well how difficult it is so when moving in that job , I was certainly expecting difficult times. More important, when you're in those times is to keep stability, to remain focussed and really making sure, as a team, if there is anything that needs to be addressed or improved, you're making the right decisions and moving forward for something better.

(Laurence Edmondson - ESPN) Otmar, just for clarity are you in a position to confirm that Lance and Sergio's contacts will mean they remain at the team as drivers or could that change?
OS: It's tough to predict the future. Like I said, what they need to do is do the best they can. They are contracted and watch this space, we'll see where we go. But our intention is never to not honour our contracts.

(Abhishek Takle - Mid-day) Otmar, just to follow up on that, by when do you need to make a decision on your driver line-up. You said watch this space but by when do you need to make a decision and communicate it to your drivers and when would Seb have to make a decision if the ball in his court?
OS: There's no time line. Like I said, we've had two races, we're in our third of the season and it's silly season already so there is no time-bound decision-making process.

(Luke Smith - Autosport) Mattia, we had Andreas Seidl from McLaren talking a little bit this morning about the Renault/Racing Point protest and he said F1 could risk becoming a copying championship depending on the result of the protest in terms of teams' integrity as independent constructors. What do you see for F1's future from Ferrari's point of view? Do you think it's important to protect the integrity of the independent teams as constructors or do you think the floodgates might be opened for more of this sharing between teams?
MBin: So, first on the protest, I think the regulations are pretty clear and I'm pretty sure the FIA will be in the position to make the right, proper judgement and that's left to them. On what should be the future during the Covid period, during the discussions as Ferrari we brought at least as a proposal to consider customer... the big teams, as we've eventually got in MotoGP for example, but that proposal was pushed back by the entirety of, let me say, the teams and F1 and the FIA, which we fully understand. I think that has been a decision we all took together. I think as Marcin said before, somehow, we decided that each single team should be independent, they should be capable of doing their own proper developments, I think they have the means now with the new Concorde Agreement and the regulations are sufficiently clear to do that. So yes, it will be great to have 10 teams, 10 different cars certainly on the grid.

Check out our Friday gallery from Budapest, here.

(Christian Nimmervoll - Motorsport.com). A question to Mattia and Marcin regarding the investigation that's going on against Racing Point and of course if Otmar wants to comment on it as well, happy to hear. In this investigation Mercedes is asked to provide brake ducts. Now, I'm not suggesting in any way that in this particular case there is any wrongdoing going on. But in terms of the investigation system, what can be done if a team is asked to provide evidence that no fake evidence is provided. Are you confident that the system is bulletproof?
MBin: As I said before, I am fully confident in what the FIA is doing. That is their job and that is their task and I'm pretty sure they will do it properly.

MBud: I fully trust the FIA team. It's a good team there and I know what I'm talking about because I worked closely with them for a number of years, so I think it's in good hands. To the specific questions of Mercedes being asked to provide parts. When we contend, as we do, that Racing Point has used geometries or designs from another team, you need to find out by comparing them, so it's a logical part of the investigation but the concerns we have are against Racing Point.

OS: Your question was is it bulletproof? I think the process is bulletproof. We'll provide all of the evidence that was asked of us and I think the outcome will be bulletproof as well, which is quite nice as there are things that the camera can't see, especially the internal surfaces of a brake duct, for example, that we completely designed and developed ourselves and then when your compare the two parts by the FIA then you will absolutely know the brake ducts are unique and our IP and designed by us.

(Christian Menath - Motorsportmagazin.com) Marcin, first of all can you explain why you lodged a protest against the brake ducts as there are quite a few similar parts on the Racing Point to last year's Mercedes. And secondly, you said earlier that you expect a decision beyond just the protest and you want a clarification. Do you really expect it because a stewards' decision is usually just, is it in breach of the regulations or not?
MBud: The first question, why the brake ducts? The main point here is that brake ducts are essential performance differentiators on today's Formula 1 cars. They're not only there to cool the brakes, they are an essential aerodynamic device both at the front and the rear in terms of extracting aero performance. But they are also essential in controlling the tyre temperatures and we know that tyre temperatures are fairly important in formula 1 nowadays. That's one of the reasons and the other reasons, as Otmar touched on, is that they are surface that are visible to the eye and to the camera of the numerous photographers that go up and down the pit lane, but there are also surfaces that are impossible to see from the outside and it would be difficult to copy from pictures. Second question: why I expect, why was I saying it's about the future of Formula 1? No I don't expect the stewards to rule on the future of Formula 1, that's not their role, that's certainly not what we expect from the decision. We do think, however, that the decision will have implications on the model of Formula 1 if you want. If the stewards allow a certain amount of exchanges between the team then I think it will lead to a different model than if they are strong and say these are the regulations and it's really important that every competitor, every team designed its own car.

(Dieter Rencken - Racing Line/Racefans.net) A question for Marcin. On the first of July the new CEO for Renault, Luca De Meo, started work. Are you expecting him to hand down any policy decisions about the team's future? It could go either way, he could be fully in favour of Formula 1 for the next 30 years or he could be totally against it. What are you expecting?
MBud: It's very early in terms of his tenure at Renault but he's extremely positive about the Formula 1 programme and he's actually very interested in it himself. It's a bit above my pay grade to talk about the future of the team and the future of motorsport at Renault but there is a very good dynamic with his arrival and it's certainly extremely positive for the team and there is absolutely no discussion about the future of the team in Formula 1. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

Check out our Friday gallery from Budapest, here.

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Published: 17/07/2020
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