© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff attended the Monaco Grand Prix Thursday Press Conference. Here is the transcript.
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.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) 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.
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?
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.
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) 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?
Laurent ROSSI: 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.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) 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?
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.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – Auto Hebdo) 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?
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.
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: (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.
Source: FIA.com
