AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX DE-BRIEF - MARTIN WHITMARSH
Following the season opening Australian Grand Prix yesterday,
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,
discusses the race and looks forward to the next few months
for the team.
Victory for Lewis Hamilton and a strong Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes debut for Heikki Kovalainen, who was unlucky to drop
from second to fifth, the 2008 campaign could hardly have
started more sweetly.
"It has been fantastic, although obviously we very much
feel we should have had a one-two. Lewis did a terrific job
all weekend and didn’t put a foot wrong. To an extent
we expect that of him. He has grown and developed tremendously
in one year of grand prix racing. He is really determined
to get the job done this year. The team also had an excellent
weekend with Heikki. There is a huge amount of pressure on
him, because there’s an expectation that Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes drivers are going to win races. The pressure is very
different from anything he’s experienced before, but
he raced faultlessly. Unfortunately, the final Safety Car
period cost him second place."
Were you expecting more of a challenge from your
main rivals in Melbourne?
"We had a solid winter test programme and it’s
clear we’re competitive. I think some pundits believed
Ferrari would be stronger than us and, at some tests, they
were. By our assessment, though, things were very close between
the two teams before we came to Australia and some of our
other rivals weren’t far behind. I think Ferrari underperformed
in Melbourne but we shouldn’t be writing them off. They
have great depth and we have no illusions about this. This
time last year we sat here having been soundly beaten but
we were able to regroup and dominate the following race in
Malaysia - we need to make sure that trend isn’t reversed
in 2008. I think we’ll be strong at Sepang."
From his own description, it sounds as though Lewis
had a relatively easy drive to victory. "Breeze"
was the word he used.
"He told us several weeks ago that we had given him a
car with which he could win in Australia and, as it turned
out, he was absolutely right. He is very comfortable in the
MP4-23. We knew we had a good basis from the moment we launched
the car in early January and we improved it progressively
throughout the winter tests. We wanted to retain our ability
to extract first-lap performance, but we were also aware of
the need to find a way to preserve our tyres better than we
did previously. We’ve made good progress in that area,
but I still think we can do more. If you look at our long-run
performance during practice, both Lewis and Heikki were very
impressive. We always felt we could beat Ferrari here and,
as it turned out, they underperformed."
What benefits do you think Heikki will draw from
his performance this weekend?
"He pulled off some interesting moves against Kimi Raikkonen
and did a fantastic job to get past Fernando Alonso with a
couple of laps to go, although there was then a slight blemish
when he activated the pit lane speed limiter while removing
a tear-off visor on the pit straight, so he lost the position
again. That notwithstanding, I believe he’ll have drawn
a great many positives from what he has achieved this weekend
and I have no doubts at all about his ability to win races
this year. It was an important race for him and he’ll
come out of it with greater mental strength and confidence.
The team has done its best to support him and he has paid
that back with a calm, constructive contribution."
Does the loss of a likely second place remove any
of this weekend’s gloss?
"A solid one-two might have made us jump a little bit
higher, perhaps, but I’m sure we will get results like
that this season because Heikki has crossed over to become
a fantastic Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. He came of age
this weekend and will be pushing hard in Malaysia. We want
him to do that and so does Lewis."
Some of the younger drivers appear to have a particular
appetite for the latest breed of grand prix car, with fewer
electronic aids and no traction control.
"Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has one of the youngest race
teams and both drivers have adapted very quickly to the new
rules - but then so have our test drivers Pedro de la Rosa
and Gary Paffett, who are both incredibly experienced. I suppose
there is a little bit less to get used to for the younger
drivers, who have been exposed to traction control for a smaller
percentage of their careers, but they have responded fantastically.
It’s exciting for the sport."
What will be the next big development step for Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes?
"We are only able to carry out strictly limited developments
for the first three flyaway races, because the schedule is
so hectic, but we expect to have a major upgrade in time for
Barcelona, and I’m sure the same is true for most other
leading teams. We’re encouraged by the performance gains
we’re expecting there and our goal is to make the car
more than a tenth of a second per lap quicker at every race
thereafter. That’s what you have to do to win world
championships nowadays."
How do you see the season evolving during the next
few months?
"We’re not perfect and we recognise things that
can be improved in the way we operate, so we’re not
going away from Melbourne thinking this season is going to
be easy. We want to win as many races as we can and, hopefully,
that will add up to a world championship."
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