PART ONE – TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
Otmar SZAFNAUER (Alpine), Andrea STELLA (McLaren), Franz TOST (AlphaTauri)
Q: Franz, can we start with you please. The biggest news story coming into the weekend was the return of Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri. How’s he settling in?
Franz TOST: Very good. He came on Friday to the factory. We had a very emotional comeback for him. It was nice to see him once more in our team, because as you know he was driving for us two years, and we are very happy he is back.
Q: He’s 10 years older, he has eight grand prix victories to his name, but other than that how do you feel he’s changed as a person and maybe as a driver as well?
FT: How much he has changed as a driver I can tell you after a few grands prix. As a person, of course he is now more matured and I must say that he was always a very friendly person, we had a very good relationship in the past and I think that this will also be the case now. He is a friendly person, a good character and I’m really happy we have him in the team.
Q: How is Yuki relishing having a new team mate alongside him?
FT: Yuki is open to this, and although Yuki had a good relationship with Pierre Gasly as well as with Nyck De Vries, I think that there will be no friction between him and Daniel Ricciardo: both of them want to be fastest, yes? That’s usual in Formula 1, and we will see how this interesting game will end.
Q: Can we have a word on Nyck De Vries? What is it about his performances in the opening ten races that wasn’t hitting the mark?
FT: This was also a very emotional decision, because we have a really good relationship with Nyck, I just spoke with him on the telephone last week, and he didn’t have an easy time with us. First of all, as a rookie – and this is generally for rookies, also for the future, the first half of the season is not so easy because they are racing at many race tracks which they don’t know, like Melbourne, Miami, Saudi Arabia. Then they come to Baku, where it’s a Sprint race, that means it’s only FP1 and then it’s already the qualifying. That means, nowadays, if a young driver comes to Formula 1, he really has to be prepared in the best possible way, which for me means at least 5-6,000km of testing, private testing with an old car. Like Alpine did it with Piastri, this is the way how to go. Coming back now to Nyck, it was difficult for him, also our car was not so competitive, and if a car is not so good, it’s even more complicated. I expected a much better performance in Austria and in Silverstone because both of these tracks, Nyck knew quite well – but the performance didn’t come up and we decided to change him. Also, thinking to the second half of the season where he doesn’t know Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Austin and Qatar, which would not have made it quite easy. Now, with Ricciardo we have an experienced driver in there, which also helps us to develop the car, to find out better where are the deficiencies of the car and hopefully to improve the performance of the car.
Q: Let’s talk about performance quickly. You had upgrades on the car at Silverstone, further upgrades here at the Hungaroring, what are your hopes for the weekend ahead?
FT: The hopes are that at least one car is in Qualifying 3 and the hopes are that these upgrades work as expected, as the aero group calculated in the wind tunnel and CFD. But you know, decisive is always the lap-time and I hope that we made a step forwards with these upgrades.
Q: Andrea, coming to you now. The MCL60 was incredibly fast at Silverstone. You scored 30 points. Just how important was that race result for McLaren?
Andrea STELLA: It’s obviously a bit of a milestone in our journey. It’s important for McLaren. It’s important for the people that work very hard to develop and deliver these upgrades, and for our fans that finally could cheer a good result and a McLaren on the podium. But, having said that, it doesn’t really change what we are doing. It’s… as I keep saying… it’s all about working harder to deliver upgrades to the car and then let the results come to you and try to have these as regular as possible.
Q: You talk about the work that everybody is doing in the factory. Did that result in some way justify the changes that you’ve made to the technical team in the last few months?
AS: I wouldn’t use the word ‘justification’. I would say that, by having enabled some conditions, especially when it comes… I would remark the aerodynamic development, we have definitely accelerated the development of the car, and this has allowed us to take this performance step and, as we know, we have also taken the opportunity to reorganise, from a functional point of view, the technical department, identifying various areas in which we wanted to have focus and in which we wanted to have clear leadership. So, definitely an important change which has – kind of – enabled the talent that was already available at McLaren.
Q: So second fastest car at Silverstone. Will that pace translate here at the Hungaroring?
AS: I think what we saw in Austria, and in Great Britain comes with some premium. So, it’s not only the performance of the car, we took benefit of the track layout, high-speed corners, cold conditions. So, here in Hungary, I think we are much more realistic, because of the track layout, because it will be a hot Sunday. We’ll see in qualifying what the weather will do. For here in Hungary, we will be happy with being a solid contender for points, which already means that you are in condition to fight Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes, leaving Red Bull alone. I hear Franz saying ‘we want to be a Q3 contender’, so it’s tough. So, we will be happy to be a solid points contender.
Q: Now it was a fantastic race by Lando Norris at Silverstone. But can I ask you about Oscar Piastri? So close to his first podium. Do you understand some of the frustrations he had after that Grand Prix?
AS: Well, I think we all understand because he definitely deserved to be on the podium. And it was just for the unfortunate timing of the Safety Car that he couldn’t achieve it. I think, for Oscar, while we see this peak in his result, actually, for us is just confirmation of his trajectory. If we go back even to Bahrain, we were already talking about his progress from session to session, and from testing to the first race as well. I think this is just capitalising on this gradient that seems to be so strong and consistent for Oscar.
Q: After two difficult seasons with Daniel Ricciardo, how has Oscar lifted his side of the garage?
AS: Well, the side of the garage, they kept working in the way with the best practice, with the attention that they’ve had in the previous years. But definitely, it’s important from an engineering point of view that you learn as much as possible, having worked with different drivers, having gone through highs and lows. What’s important in this sport is that every day you are better than yesterday. So, even in terms of the engineering that supported Daniel and now is supporting Oscar, there’s definitely been quite a lot of learning and self-criticism, in a way, which is the way that you actually cash-in the learning from experience.
Q: Andrea, can we just get a word or two from you on the return of Daniel Ricciardo to the grid this weekend. What are your thoughts on that?
AS: Well, actually, I find it quite exciting and interesting. You know, Daniel is, first of all, one of the most popular drivers. Even when he was not driving, we could see, anytime he was on television, you could hear the crowd cheering, so that’s good news, I think, for Formula 1 in general. We at McLaren, we left with a very good relationship. We love Daniel. So we definitely support him and we wish him all the best.
Q: Andrea, final one from me. McLaren was involved in the FIA’s spray guard test at Silverstone last week. How do you feel it went?
AS: So, first of all, let me remark how important it is that the FIA has taken the initiative to look at how we can improve the situation with the visibility associated with the spray. So that’s, I would say, a high priority topic in the agenda for motorsport. And therefore, we welcome this initiative and we’re happy to support the FIA. It looks like we could acquire quite a lot of data that were important to validate the models, because you do a lot of the design based on the development models, especially computer simulation and these days, I think, are invaluable in terms of being able, in the future, to use these tools to fine-tune the design of these devices. And I’m sure through the practicality of the tests, you could learn also, like, can these devices stay all the time on? What is the implication for pit stops, and so on. So, a very important step in trying to improve the situation with the spray.
Q: Otmar, thank you for waiting, coming to you now. Can we start by talking about management changes? There’s been a fair bit going on at Alpine, Bruno Famin in coming as vice president of motorsport, then there’s a new CEO of the Alpine brand as well. How is all that impacting the Formula 1 team and your management of it?
Otmar SZAFNAUER: So, I’ll start with my management of it: shouldn’t have an impact whatsoever. I’ve been there for about a year and a half now and the plans that I’ve already put in place, we’re going to continue to pursue. The infrastructure that we’ve embarked on, where we’re continuing to pursue and some of the hires that we’re looking for, some like-minded individuals, that’s still happening. Bruno’s been with us for over a year in Viry and also in endurance racing and Dakar and this just adds Formula 1 – although he was part of Formula 1 already. So, it’s not really that big of a change. And then on the corporate side, the there’s a new CEO of Alpine Cars, whose focus will be Alpine Cars and not Formula 1.
Q: And Laurent Rossi has moved to special projects. Will he have any involvement in F1?
OS: So I’ve been told that he’s moving to special projects, and no more than that, but I don’t think his involvement will be Formula 1.
Q: Let’s talk about performance now. Unfortunately, Silverstone was a very frustrating result for the team with the double-DNF. What was your message to everybody at Enstone after the race?
OS: It’s always hurtful when you have a double-DNF. On one side of the garage, we had a hydraulic pump failure. And on the other side, we were following Fernando quite closely and tried to – rightfully – undercut him. Pierre believed he was quicker than Fernando, so an undercut was the right thing to do. And two laps after we pitted, the Safety Car came out, which we couldn’t have predicted. And that was really Pierre’s race. He was that fighting with Lance and, I think, Carlos Sainz, and I think they came together and that caused the DNF. So not Pierre’s fault at all. I think he was fighting for points at that point. But, you know, without the Safety Car, we would have been in a different spot.
Q: Given the pace of the car at Monaco, earlier in the year. Do you think the Hungaroring will be a track that will suit the car better?
OS: Yeah, I think so. There are certain tracks that suit our entire package a little bit better. And this is one of those tracks. Monaco’s another one. And we also qualified well in Barcelona, for example, but that didn’t quite go our way with some of the penalties that Pierre accumulated. But yeah, this is a track that should suit us.
Q: What about the upgrade path that the team has going forward? I think there’s something coming for Spa? But are you satisfied with everything that’s been put on the car so far this year, and what the plans are for the remainder of the season?
OS: Yeah, so we’ve done something similar to last year on the upgrade plans. We don’t bring large packages, but when we do have an upgrade, we bring it as soon as possible. And we’ve had a new front wing recently, a new front of floor that we’ll be running here. We haven’t raced it yet. And then again, we’ll have a new floor in Spa. So yeah, I’m pleased with the upgrades that are coming and the frequency of the upgrades and then we’ll have some further upgrades after the break.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Question for Andrea. I believe a few races ago, you stated that the upgrade plan was big one for Austria, and then two smaller ones in quick succession. But you’ve not listed any new parts for Hungary this weekend. So, can you just clarify, have I got that right? Have you changed the plan? What going on there, please?
AS: So, first thing to say is that here we have the front wing to be allocated to Oscar, the new front wing, which was impossible, because of the limited number of parts in UK. Then when it comes to the upgrades, actually, we realised that we need – from a design and production point of view – a bit more time to complete the full round. So, what we will actually see is that there will be some new parts coming in the next races and, above all, post-shutdown.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Franz, a question for you about Nyck. It’s obviously been a difficult period for him but when the decision was taken to hire him last year, off the back of Monza, there was a lot of hype, a lot of buzz around him after just one good race, really. With hindsight – I know it’s a beautiful thing – but should a bit more time has been taken to assess his performance and suitability for the seat?
FT: There was no possibility because he didn’t race any more. And was at the end decided by Red Bull. And yeah, afterwards, everyone is more clever. I think at that time, it was the right decision.
Q: (Josh Suttill – The Race) Question to Otmar. Obviously, with the new structure, you’ve obviously got the vice president to report to instead of the CEO. Is that going to help the F1 team operate a bit more independently, without the threat of any kind of interference from management? Is that going to change the way that you operate? Especially, as you said, that the CEO is going to be more focused on Alpine Cars, rather than the Formula 1 team?
OS: So, you’re absolutely right, the CEO of Alpine Cars will be focused on Alpine Cars exclusively. Bruno, who’s been in motorsport for a very long time and has worked closely with Enstone, because he also runs Viry, will just mean that we’re more like-minded in in the way we go forward.
Q: (Bence Boa – racingline.hu) Question to Otmar. At the start of the season, you said you wanted to be fourth in the Constructors’ and to close the gap to the top teams. But with poor reliability and other DNFs, you are only sixth, due to Aston and McLaren. How much of a challenge will it be to come back from this tough situation?
OS: Well, it’s definitely a bigger challenge than at the beginning of the year when we all had zero points. But we continue to upgrade the car like we planned, we continue down the road of our plans of upgrading the team and putting the tools in place that we need. And our goal now is to make sure that even if we don’t end up in fourth at the end, because of the points disparity, that we can be the fourth fastest team. So, we’re still working towards that, and working hard, and everybody at Enstone and Viry are putting the effort in and bringing upgrades and the drivers, one of which has been with us for a while but the other one is gotten used to the team now. So, let’s see what we can do going forward.
Q: (Olivér Kovács – Vezess.hu) A question to all. The latest news of the past weeks hints that there are professions that might be replaced by artificial intelligence. And journalists also can be in a kind of danger. Which jobs do you think can be replaced in Formula 1 by AI? Is there any process which has already been covered by it or is there an experiment going on about this?
OS: So, which roles will AI replace in Formula 1? I should probably start with roles that it won’t replace. So, our catering team, our chefs, won’t be replaced by AI. Our drivers won’t be replaced. My perspective, and, because I’m old, I’ve lived through robotics coming into industry and the auto industry especially, when I was there, and robots took over a lot of jobs that humans used to do. And everybody was worried. And there shouldn’t have been a worry, it just redistributed the work and that created more jobs for engineers or technicians that would look after the robots. And I think AI will be similar. We will get to a place where it will naturally take over some functions. However, us humans will then adapt and do other things. So don’t worry, I think in the future, even with AI, you’ll still be in the room asking questions.
Q: And will the Team Principals be answering them?
OS: Probably not. But I’ll leave that for my colleagues to answer.
AS: That was actually going to be my point, we’ll see if AI will replace Team Principals. It’s a tool, that’s how I see it. There’s always been tools, Otmar recalled the robotics, for instance in Formula 1 computational fluid dynamics, it took time, but now it is the dominant way of designing Formula 1 cars. And I think for AI it will be similar. What I can see is that teams will deploy this kind of tool in various areas, and then we will see the areas where it will be more fruitful. It is very early days, in reality. But it’s something that you cannot ignore, as a Formula 1 team, because it may come with large opportunities. So, it’s a tool that can come with opportunities and it deserves investments, but there’s no concern.
FT: You know, as Formula 1 is the peak of motor sports, also on the technical side AI will play an important role in the future. And it’s already involved in different tools on the technical side and will be enlarged in the future. Therefore, I only see positives on this, because it will enable us to sort out different topics much faster, and will bring us to another level.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Motorsport.com) For all three of you, the CapEx extra allowance is being discussed at Spa next week. Has it basically been agreed, in principle, is it just a question of signing off? Or is there still going to be a debate? And also, how important is it in your three individual cases to have that extra spending opportunity?
FT: So, currently, our situation is that we will agree to this, because I think that the infrastructure is a very important performance differentiator and if you have more money to spend there, this will also help to increase the performance of the car. Therefore, we are in favour of it.
AS: Yeah, so it’s not been agreed yet. There’s a couple of options in terms of how you change this regulatory framework. In general, we are supportive of a little expansion of the expenditure. So that’s our position at the moment, we will see what the majority of the teams will vote for.
OS: Yeah, Andrea’s right. There are a couple options as to how much to expand. And I think if we’re all sensible on the amount of expansion to level the playing field, then we’re definitely in favour of that.
Q: Otmar, can you just remind us how many teams are needed?
OS: Five are needed for the change.
Q: (Florian Niedermair – Motorsport-magazin.com) A question to Franz. Obviously, Red Bull has taken the decision to release Nyck de Vries, but did you get consulted before this decision was taken? And if so, up until which point did they involve you in those discussions?
FT: Of course we are always sitting together to discuss different drivers. There’s usually advantages and disadvantage. And then we make a common decision.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Franz, yesterday, Yuki Tsunoda said that in terms of technical feedback he could learn quite a lot from Nyck and he said Nyck was so detailed in the debrief that it reminded him of Niki Lauda in the movie Rush. How do you reflect on Nyck’s technical contribution to the team, and is that maybe one of the elements that you will miss about him?
FT: You know, Nyck is a very experienced driver. There’s a reason that he won the Formula 3 championship Formula 2, and the Formula E World Championship and his technical feedback was very good, very detailed. and Yuki in his second year plus 10 or 11 races. That means he still is in a learning process and he will also learn a lot from Daniel Ricciardo, but the technical feedback from Nyck was very good.
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Otmar, I know you’ve said that the new set-up has lots of motor sport experience. But you might say, well, I might say, that there’s not a lot of direct F1 experience. Are you confident that there is enough knowledge of this championship to give you and the team what it needs?
OS: We don’t know each other that well, but I’ve been doing this for 26 years now, Formula 1, and 33 years of motor sport. So I think we have enough Formula 1 experience. And if you look beyond me in the team that we have there, we’re very experienced at Enstone. So, absolutely, I believe we have the experience element of it.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Andrea, a question for you about Lando’s development and progress this season. You’ve worked with him for a number of years, what kind of trajectory have you seen him take, particularly this year? How has Oscar helped push him? And is he evolving into more and more of a team leader in his fifth one season?
AS: I think you cover two important points. One is that Lando is definitely evolving towards more of a leading position. Not a leading position as the leading driver, but just drivers that kind of try to pull the team, just not only being on the receiving end of it. And the second point is that by having a driver as quick as Oscar, definitely you are in the condition to exploit the potential of the car better, because in some corners, even in FP1 Oscar is immediately competitive if not a little quicker, so Lando can say ‘OK, we can do this in this corner’, and so on. And likewise, obviously, for Oscar with Lando. The second element, which is remarkable this year, is how similar the comments are between the two drivers. And this is not only in the offline debriefings, but it’s also when the drivers come back after they run the first run during a session. They actually use the same terminology, like it looks like they are in communication before reporting their feedback. This is obviously very important for engineers, because it means that what’s coming from the driver is very consistent, is very clear, it gives you a clear direction for set-up and for development.
Q: (Jon Noble – Motorsport.com) Otmar, you say that the management changes won’t change anything for you and the Formula 1 team. But have you had conversations with either the new CEO or Luca DeMeo about the Formula 1 operation, because senior change normally happens only if there is unhappiness about what’s happened at a top level? Do you feel they’re committed? Do you feel they’re happy with your 100-race plan, especially in light of the rapid progress Aston Martin and McLaren have made in a shorter period?
OS: Yeah, everybody wants to do better and win. You know, we wanted to be fourth this year and we’re still working hard to make sure that we can be at least the fourth fastest team by the end of the year. As for the Formula 1 team and the new management structure, the new Alpine CEO will not have any input into the Formula 1 bit of it. So that change was made mainly from an Alpine business unit perspective, not from a Formula One perspective. I haven’t talked to Luca yet, but I will do over the weekend.