2007 SAF1 TEAM CANADIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
An Interview with Antonio Cuquerella, Race Engineer,
Car 23
Q: Tonio, a frustrating race for Anthony Davidson
in Monaco with his drive-through penalty, but a lot to be
optimistic about at SAF1 Team, wouldn’t you say?
Antonio Cuquerella: Yes there is and the drive-through was
the shadow in a good performance so far this season. Ant has
been competitive since the first race, showing us very good
speed and gaining experience in participating in races and
qualifying that he did not have before. During the fly-away
races Ant showed us his potential and race-by-race he has
been transforming it into results. He is increasing in self
confidence and from these first five races we have converted
the test driver into a race driver. The extra things that
he needed to learn were essentially driving in traffic, handling
faster cars coming from behind, pitstops and being concerned
about race set-up instead of solely the development of the
car. Ant had a steep learning curve and is now starting to
perform at the same level as the other F1 drivers.
Q: The Monaco and Gilles Villeneuve circuits are
fairly similar. They're both ‘street circuits’,
the barriers are incredibly close to the track and there are
few places to overtake. How much of what you learned in Monte
Carlo will you be able to use in Canada?
AC: Both circuits have a slippery track surface that makes
us work with a very soft Bridgestone Potenza tyre and yes
the barriers limit the amount of risk you can take. But on
the other hand the set-up of the car is completely different.
Canada is a low downforce circuit with a very high average
speed, where drag and power are going to be important and
these factors were not relevant in Monaco. Both circuits are
extremely tough on the brakes, but in different ways - Monaco
because of the temperature and Canada because of the power
needed for braking.
Q: So how you have to think about set-up and strategy
for Montreal?
AC: On the set-up side we are going to be completely different
because of the aero requirements, but the Montreal circuit
needs very good change of direction for the car and braking
stability. In Montreal we use the kerbs in many places, so
we need to set-up the car for these conditions. As we start
with a very green track on day one this will make us change
the balance of the car completely from the beginning to the
end of the weekend. On the strategy side overtaking is difficult
but possible. All of the teams will not be as protective in
race position by doing a one stop strategy and there will
be more two-stoppers. In Montreal the fuel weight effect is
low, the pitlane is short and tyre degradation is high, so
these are the most important factors for the teams when defining
their strategy. It will also be tough for the engines and
brakes, but grip is not as determining as it was in Monaco,
so it will coming back to a normal level of influence on the
lap times in Canada. This is because the amount of cornering
force per lap is one of the lowest on the F1 calendar.
Q: How is Anthony settling back into racing again
and how is your relationship developing?
AC: I think that he is changing his mind-set positively and
quick enough for everyone to consider him to be a racing driver
now. After spending five years testing it is not easy to change
your mind to ‘race mode’. Our relationship is
building and getting stronger race by race. We understand
each other better all the time; he knows what I am asking
for and I know what he needs. Right now we are confident in
our capabilities and we make a good team. Ant is working well
with the rest of the engineers and his car crew and is going
to be an asset for the rest of the season.
Q: Talking about the rest of the season, how do you
feel SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM’s Car 23 will perform?
AC: SAF1 Team overall has performed over expectations in
the first five races of this year and clearly our first Championship
point in Barcelona was the result of all our hard work. But
looking forward Car 23 is obviously targeting finishing in
the points and this is something that I believe Ant and the
whole car crew can achieve soon.
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