Are you going to go ahead with the same philosophy for 2020 or are you going to look for another direction?
“With regard to the front wing, I believe that at the moment someone is copying us, they are looking at us more than we are looking at others. Next year’s single-seater will be a development of the current one, developing an efficient car is always good for fuel economy and speed.
“If we look at this season between the victories achieved and the opportunities missed for a short time, I do not think that we are in the wrong direction, but there have been other reasons because of what in this World Championship we have not collected what was expected, it is not only the concept of the car because when we have fixed some critical points the results have arrived, and the last weekends have shown it”.
Do you think that the management of two drivers without hierarchies can cost the team points? The Mercedes has a clear leader…
“As I see it, Mercedes has two top drivers, and in the past they won with both Hamilton and Rosberg when they were in the team together, so I don’t think it’s impossible. I’m very happy with the drivers we have, I think that today a great mix between an experienced figure and a talented young man, for Charles having Seb next to him is a key factor”.
“How are we dealing with that front? I think we are not behaving badly, we are managing our drivers in the race, and they are understanding what the team wants from them. I don’t see it as a problem or a limitation.
You mentioned missed opportunities. Do you have more regrets now because of the current form?
“Having regrets leads to nothing, you have to look ahead. If we haven’t collected what we expected, or lost opportunities for other reasons, it’s our responsibility. And, therefore, we need to learn from mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again in the future. It’s not a matter of regret, it would be if we didn’t learn from the mistakes we made, but on the contrary I see a team that is growing, and that’s the most important thing.
Do you still have more updates for the next races?
“I would say that now in Maranello we are really focused on next year’s car, and if something comes up it will be minor news”.
In qualifying you confirmed a very good performance, but in Singapore we did not see a great race pace. Do you still have any question marks about that?
“We were more competitive in qualifying than in the race, but with differences from track to track. On some circuits we were not as strong as expected, on others it went better, in Bahrain we were the strongest in the race pace, also in Austria, Germany, Belgium, etc.”.
“I don’t think that we have a problem in the race pace, but that we are competitive on certain circuits to the point of being the first, while on others, like everyone else, maybe it goes worse. Then it’s true that we do better in qualifying because we have advantages: the understanding of the tyres on a single lap and the maximum power”.
The advantage in qualifying surprised you, where do you express great power in a lap? The step forward came at a time when the competition seems to be converging…
“I don’t fully agree with what you said. I don’t think the other power units are converging, I still think there are differences between the four manufacturers. Today we probably have the most powerful engine, but I don’t think all our opponents are at the same level, and in the end our advantage is not as great as you imagine. There is an advantage, okay, but a very good speed on the straight also depends on the single-seater, on its resistance. We have an advantage of engine but not as huge as that which had the Mercedes in the past, when they simply had the best power unit”.
What objectives have you set yourself at this point of the season? Try to win all the next races? The Championship?
“It would be nice to do at least better than last year, so the team would show that we are improving. I know we had a bad start to the season, and that’s complicated things for us, but it’s not impossible. That should be the first objective, so let’s try it, and if it becomes possible to do more we will certainly not back down”.
Are you afraid of qualifying in the wet?
“If you have a good, well-balanced single-seater, it must be competitive in all conditions. Even if it’s wet, there’s still a circuit with long straights, and we know that drivers can make a difference, and we can count on two top drivers”.
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