BMW Sauber F1 Team - Interview with Mario Theissen
Munich/Hinwil, 22nd June 2006. It was in Munich on 22nd June
2005, a year ago to the day, that BMW announced its acquisition
of a majority stake in the Sauber Formula One team. So what
better time for BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen to
give us a mid-term report on the new outfit’s progress.
Hand on heart: how often have you wondered whether
BMW’s decision to form its own team was the right one?
“I haven’t doubted it for a second. It was really
the only way to go. The decision to line up on the grid with
a BMW-led team was based on various things we learnt in our
time as an F1 engine supplier. One of these was that the role
of the engine in a team’s success is generally not as
great as before. And, more than anything, we were and are
in no doubt that success is only possible with structures
in place which run throughout the team. The integration of
the team’s bases in Munich and Hinwil through jointly
coordinated project management is now working well. I’m
pleased that we’ve pursued this path towards overall
responsibility. But that doesn’t mean we’re not
constantly analysing how we’re going about things. After
all, we’re still in a development phase.”
How do you rate the team’s progress after eight
races of the season?
“Very positive. We have collected points in six of the
eight rounds of the championship so far and seen both cars
finish in the points on two occasions. The British Grand Prix
went particularly well for us and we were never out of the
top four teams during the Silverstone weekend. Both our BMW
Sauber F1.06 cars made it through comfortably to the top ten
qualifying shootout, and in the race itself we finished seventh
and eighth without benefiting from any retirements ahead of
us. This represents a significant step forward from our starting
point last year.”
Aside from the results themselves, are you happy
with the advances the team has made?
“Getting a Formula One team off the ground is never
an easy task, even with the resources of a car manufacturer
and the existing infrastructure of an F1 team behind you.
We are currently in the middle of a two-year development phase.
I take my hat off to the whole team in Munich and Hinwil for
what they have achieved over the past few months. They have
worked virtually around the clock. Our first move was to link
up the operations at the two locations, then we put in place
a programme for the future and introduced the measures we
needed to implement these plans. An interim car was built
for winter testing, the drivers were signed up, agreements
concluded with four major partners and a separate testing
team assembled. We’ve already got almost 70 new team
members on board, with more set to join us gradually in due
course.”
Is the aerodynamics department now able to keep pace
with the big teams?
“The wind tunnel in Hinwil is first-class – one
of the best, if not the best of any team on the grid. However,
previously there were only enough people to run the tunnel
on a single-shift basis, whereas the top teams were already
using their facilities around the clock, as is standard. We
responded by introducing a second shift in January, and by
the end of the year we should also be running the tunnel on
a three-shift basis. Stepping up the pace of development has
already borne fruit. We are committed to making improvements
available for each GP in the form of tested and approved new
parts. And we’ve managed to do that on almost every
occasion. The correlation between our simulation work, wind
tunnel testing and the introduction of improvements in race
action is extremely encouraging.”
Is it true that you’re looking to expand the
Hinwil facility in terms of buildings as well as personnel?
“Yes, we’ve already secured planning permission
for the expansion of the plant and the new buildings should
be completed by the end of next year. These will include both
offices and technical facilities. Of course, all these measures
are running alongside the race and testing programme, so for
the team this means an especially tough 2006 and 2007.”
What are the team’s aims for the second half
of 2006?
“For our first year on the grid, we set ourselves the
goal of both halving the 1.5-second per lap deficit to the
leading cars which the Saubers were running at in 2005 and
improving on eighth place in the constructors’ championship.
Those remain our aims for 2006 and we’re well on course
to meet them.”
The BMW Sauber F1 Team is currently lying fifth in
the constructors’ standings – is fourth place
within your grasp?
“We shouldn’t get carried away. Of course, you’ve
always got your sights fixed on the teams immediately ahead
of you rather than looking over your shoulder. But if we can
keep hold of fifth position through to the end of the season,
we will have met a first intermediate target.”
In the reliability rankings, only world champions
Renault are ahead of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. How have you
managed to achieve such success?
“When you’ve got to deal with all the challenges
of building up a team and integrating its constituent parts,
reliability becomes the absolute priority. Instead of having
one eye on impressive one-off performances, you first have
to get a handle on processes and negotiate race weekends with
as few incidents and retirements as you can. That’s
what gets you the broadest base to build on. We too have had
retirements and faults to contend with, but they have only
highlighted another positive side to the team’s development:
we are now able to deal with problems at short notice. That
was particularly important in Monaco, where we were plagued
by an electronics problem for a number of days.”
How does the integration of the Munich and Hinwil
locations work on a day-to-day basis?
“From day one it was clear that our ways of working
and thinking were very much compatible. Maximising the potential
of this joint operation has involved blending BMW’s
technological expertise with the efficiency and race track
experience of the Sauber team. It’s all about merging
these previously separate activities into an integrated team.
This basis then has to be built up to the point where you’ve
got a top team on your hands. It’s a long-term project,
but we can’t afford to take any short cuts if we want
to achieve our aims. The most important thing on a day-to-day
basis is effective communication, and this is made possible
by both the manageable distances involved and the range of
state-of-the-art communications technology available –
such as data transfer and telephone and video conferencing.”
How often are you personally in Hinwil? How do you
travel back and forth?
“I’m normally at my office in Hinwil one or two
days a week. Meeting with people is an important element of
my work between GP weekends as well. The journey takes just
under three hours. It goes without saying that I travel by
car between the two locations – and still enjoy the
drive, as long as it’s in a BMW. Hands-free systems
allow me to make a few phone calls while I’m on the
road under rather less time pressure. My main office is still
in Munich, where I’m also responsible for the other
BMW Motorsport projects. We’re looking to defend our
World Touring Car Championship title in 2006, as well as building
further on the success of the four Formula BMW series in Germany,
Asia, America and the UK.”
How do you personally deal with the two-pronged challenge
created by your roles as BMW Motorsport Director and team
boss?
“There have only ever been 24 hours in day – it’s
a question of how you prioritise and organise your work.”
How would you sum up the competition in Formula One as a
whole this season?
“We are seeing a totally new situation. The teams and
cars are incredibly well matched and there’s very little
to choose between them. This breadth of competitiveness has
surprised me. Nobody on the grid can be sure of getting through
to the final session of qualifying, and all the teams have
to appreciate that the battle for the top ten will go right
down to the wire. There’s a lot of tension and excitement
out there at the moment.”
How do you see the future of Formula One?
“On the commercial side of things, there’s an
understanding between the teams, manufacturers and rights
holders which should form the basis for the formulation of
a new Concorde Agreement over the next few weeks. At the same
time, the FIA has presented its vision of the series’
long-term development from both a technical and a sporting
point of view. If the various interests within the sport can
be brought together under one roof in this respect as well,
Formula One has all the ingredients for an extremely successful
future.”
How do you rate the performance of your three drivers?
“We are extremely happy with our driver line-up. Nick
Heidfeld is every bit as good as we hoped. He’s strong
out on the track and is making the valuable contribution we
expected he would to the development of the car. Jacques Villeneuve,
meanwhile, is proving his critics wrong. He’s highly
motivated and right back in top form, which puts a smile on
my face. Our test and stand-in driver Robert Kubica is a rough
diamond. I accept that it was a risk to take on such a young
and inexperienced guy as our third driver, but we have been
highly satisfied with his work and his general development.
We fully expect him to continue in this vein and I’m
in no doubt that he has a future in Formula One. However,
he’s still very young and we need to give him time.”
Who will be driving for the BMW Sauber F1 Team in
2007?
“We will have an extremely strong team of drivers once
again in 2007, but a final decision on the line-up won’t
be made until the end of the season.”
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