Q & A WITH ANTHONY DAVIDSON, SAF1 TEAM DRIVER, CAR 23
Q. Are you happy with the progress that the SAF1
Team has made during the winter preparations for the coming
season?
Anthony Davidson: I am very happy. Reliability has been on
our side and we have not caused one Red Flag situation during
testing so far, which is really good because a lot of the
other teams have caused a lot of stoppages during testing,
so I think that this has been one of our strengths going into
the early part of the year especially. We have made a lot
of progress on making the Bridgestone Potenza tyres work,
because in the beginning it was a struggle for everybody,
including our team, when it was cooler and there was a lot
less grip. But we have really turned this around and I feel
much more comfortable driving the car now at this point. I
have worked on changing my driving style slightly to suit
the new tyres and I think that everyone has been in the same
situation up and down the Paddock.
Q: ….And with the 2007 car preparations?
AD: During the first week’s testing in Bahrain last
month we tested some new aero parts. The team has expanded
the aero department over the winter and has made some pretty
impressive steps forward. In Bahrain we found that the new
aero package was looking after the tyres quite well, on the
longer runs especially. The car was a lot more balanced and
I think that Taku had a very positive test the following week
when even further upgrades were made. The team is pushing
forward a lot and we should see some good results.
Q. What will F1 be like with only Bridgestone Potenza
tyres in 2007? Will the sport change?
AD: I do not think it will change from the general public’s
point of view. We will still have two different tyre types,
albeit from the same manufacturer. The different compounds
that we will have at the races will make it interesting, seeing
as we have to use at least one of each type during the race,
so this will be good for the fans. Obviously there is no ‘tyre
war’ as such between manufacturers, but this is Formula
One and the sport will always naturally push things to the
limit. Even though the tyres are a little slower than what
we had last year, the cars are constantly developing and Bridgestone
will obviously be pushing to keep the teams happy, and when
we are fast we are happy!
Q. Who do you think that you will be taking the challenge
to this year?
AD: The first challenge will be to take it to Takuma, to
fight him through the year and be as close to him as I can
from the word ‘go’. By the end of the year I hope
that both of us will have worked with the team to improve
the car and be taking the challenge to the teams at the back
of the grid, within striking distance of our car, and from
what I have seen from testing so far, this is likely to be
teams like Spyker and Toyota.
Q. What is it like working with Takuma again?
AD: It is really nice. It is good to arrive at a new team
with new faces, but to also have a known quantity in Takuma.
And someone you know you can work well with aswell - we always
have. We raced against each other in Formula 3 in 2001 and
were obviously team mates at B.A.R Honda, so it is good to
have him here.
Q. What are your aims for 2007?
AD: To finish the race in Melbourne and get to the checkered
flag - that’s the first goal. It is something I have
never done in Formula One and I hope to progress from there.
Also to bring a few points home for the team would make a
dream year for me. So my aims have to be to improve the car
as the year goes on and be fighting for points at the end
of the season. A personal aim is also for the last race to
be my best race – I want to improve myself constantly
as the year goes on.
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