With Alonso, Button, Klien, Kubica and WebberChampionship leader
Fernando Alonso is joined at the Thursday press conference in Hungary by
Jenson Button, Christian Klien, Robert Kubica and Mark Webber. Here’s what they had to say.
Q: Christian, a point last weekend,
was that a relief?
Christian KLIEN: Absolutely, it was really good for me to get this point. The last time we scored a point was in Bahrain and in between there were a lot of unlucky races where we could have scored a lot more points and so it was a bit of a relief for me and the whole team.
Q: So, do you feel more confident of staying with the team?
CK: Of course! Yes. It is looking quite good and now there are a lot of discussions about next year because we didn’t get the results this year because of reliability issues on the car and being a bit unlucky at the start of some races. So, we didn’t happen to get the good results together or we could have scored a lot more points and then everything would look different. But this was a bit of a release, this point in Hockenheim, and the whole race weekend actually was good. And now we try to do the same in Hungary and in Turkey and I think it is looking quite good that I continue with Red Bull next year.
Q: Robert, the eve of your Grand Prix debut… Excitement or a little trepidation?
Robert KUBICA: I mean, I knew just one hour before they announced so it was quite unexpected for me to join the team on Sunday for the race.
It is a good opportunity for me, a good chance not only to run on Friday, but to see how Saturday and Sunday work, to discover a weekend of Formula One and I hope for a good weekend.
Q: Do you think your programme is going to be more cautious than it normally is?
RK: For sure, I will run much less than normally on Friday because we have to save tyres and engine and it will be something strange for me because I am used to running a lot on Friday and this weekend I will do only a few laps.
Q: Is it a circuit that you know?
RK: I have been here since 2001. I have raced here in Formula Renault two litres, but that was the fourth race of my career so I cannot remember everything about it.
Q: Mark, disappointment and frustration after the German Grand Prix? It’s happened so many times…
Mark WEBBER: Obviously it was very frustrating because everything was going pretty well. The race was coming to us in terms of strategy and also in terms of tyres performing very well and we knew the opposition were struggling at either end of their cars, depending on which team it was, but it was a great chance to get a few points, but we had a little reliability problem which stopped the car. Unfortunately.
Q: Now, Williams have announced their drivers for next year and you are not one of them. What is your current situation? Are you happy or unhappy with it?
MW: Everything is under control. Obviously Flavio is looking after things at the moment and we have got a few plates spinning out there and we will see how they come down.
Q Have you got offers on the table, as they say in Australia?
MW: Well, it would be silly to walk away from Williams and not have anything, wouldn’t it? I thought they were going to announce Alex at Hockenheim to be honest. That is what I expected because we couldn’t come to an agreement with Williams and that is the way it was.
Q: It is suggested that your future team begins with RE – is that possible?
MW: (laughter) Clever but that’s still two teams isn’t it?
Q: Could it be one of those two?
MW: We’ll see. As we all know in this game, things can change pretty quickly and I think things will continue to change over the next few days, to be honest. I am very relaxed and looking forward to driving here this weekend.
Q: And next year?
MW: Driving here next year? Yeah, I will.
Q: Fernando, obviously last weekend was not one of the best. Are you fearful of the same thing here this weekend?
Fernando ALONSO: No, I really hope not, but you really never know in Formula One. Every race is different and we saw in Canada we won the race and one week later in Indianapolis we were one second off so things change very quickly in Formula One. So I hope that things change that quickly again compared to last. We’ll see what happens. We have full confidence in the car again and it should be much better and hopefully we are back in the fight.
Q: Is that a ‘mass damper’ effect or just a better choice of tyres? What is making the difference?
FA: The mass damper did not affect anything at Hockenheim in the race. We saw very clearly that we had a lot of rear problems with tyres that we didn’t expect. We had some big blisters – and, you know, you can put as many mass dampers as you want but the rear blisters will be there anyway. So we did probably a bad compromise with rear end of the car and we had that mistake and it was unexpected. So we know what we can do for that and for here it will be much better.
Q: Jenson, perhaps you could talk a little more about the tyres vis-à-vis Hockenheim and here? The conditions are much cooler at the moment. How much difference does that make?
Jenson BUTTON: Well I think both tyre manufacturers have their working ranges for certain tyres. At Hockenheim, that wasn’t an issue for us. The first two stints, for me, were not so bad, albeit a second off the Ferraris. But the last stint we had a problem with the front wing. We had quite a bit of damage to the front wing from debris I think and that was the reason I had so much graining in the last stint, I think, so that’s the reason for fourth place and not able to fight for third. Here, we don’t know what is going to happen with the weather. Tomorrow there is a chance of rain and Saturday and Sunday we have to wait and see and hope we have chosen the right tyres. I think we have. Obviously we have been deep in discussion with Michelin as every Michelin team has been to make sure we have the right tyre for here because the Ferrari over the last few races has been very strong on Bridgestones and Williams has too.
Q: Christian, do you see this as your home race?
CK: Almost, yes. It is very close to Austria, but from my part where I live it is pretty far, about 900 kms and for the rest it is very close and there are always a lot of fans here and I like to race here. I like to see some Austrian flags, it is good motivation and I hope we can do a good job here and I think the track should fit our car reasonably well and hopefully we can fight again for some points.
Q: Robert, how has the news been received in Poland? Can we expect an invasion of fans from Poland this weekend?
RK: Well, I mean, for the first time in the history of Formula One there will be a Polish driver so of course there is some interest and I think a lot of people are here already for the European Swimming Championships so they are watching that and maybe they will come and join Formula One during the weekend. I knew some people for sure who are coming – they were planning already to come, not only to see Friday, but also to see Saturday and Sunday, but for sure more people will come because I am racing.
Q: Mark, are you going to do your Challenge Tasmania in the three-week gap coming up?
MW: Actually the Challenge will take place in November, but there is a lot of preparation going on in these few weeks, back in Australia, meticulously organised and everything, but I am not involved in that -- which is good. I’m letting everyone else do that. It’s coming on well and we’ve got a lot of teams involved. We’ve not bitten off more than we can chew, but we’ve got quite a big operation going on down there. James Cracknell is going to do it. He’s coming down for a bit of a play and we’ve got some good people coming, but I’ll be doing a bit of training for the Challenge in the break.
Q: In Europe, or in Australia?
MW: I’ll stay in Europe. I’ve got a ‘stag do’ on the first weekend so that will slow me down and then we go indoor go-karting I think, and then watch Liverpool-Chelsea at the Millennium, and then the wedding itself, which I am the best man at, so I’ve got to practice my speech as well – it’s more pressure than a Grand Prix weekend I think especially with the bride’s mother hanging around as well. … I’ve seen them all. I’ve just got to do a good job in a couple of weeks.
Q: Fernando, I think this is the circuit where you had your first Grand Prix win?
FA: Yes, it was a long way ago. It was in 2003 and 2004 I got a podium and last year my worst race was here, 11th, unfortunately, so I really don’t know how the car will be at this track. It should be good for the characteristics of the car and the corners here, but in another way also last year we thought we would be super-competitive here and we arrived and we were not on the pace so we need to wait but I only consider the victory at the end of the weekend and it is all we have to do and we are all optimistic and confident in ourselves so I think we can do it this time.
Q: Jenson, a little bit of relief because of the Hockenheim result?
JB: I don’t know about relief, but it was a nice feeling to get some points. I hadn’t scored any points for five races and as a team we hadn’t been performing as we would have liked to have been for the last few races. There were many things that we changed on the car, some to do with the engine, aerodynamics and front suspension. I think all those things put together made the difference. We obviously aren’t forgetting that we are always quick at Hockenheim, the last two years anyway, and we have just got to hope that we have the performance here, but I think we have to wait and see for that one.
Source FIA
