Formula 1 News: 2024 Azerbaijan GP Friday Press Conference
Three Team Representatives met with the media Friday ahead of the 2024 Azerbaijan GP Formula 1 race on the Baku City Circuit.
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
- Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing)
- Alessandro ALUNNI BRAVI (Kick Sauber)
- Ayao KOMATSU (Haas)
Q: Christian, can we start with you? So, we now know it’s official, Adrian Newey is going to Aston Martin. Can we start by just getting your reaction to that news?
Christian HORNER: Well, it wasn’t a great surprise. I think it was becoming clearer and clearer that was the route that he was going to go rather than, you know, into retirement or any other team. And so, you know, obviously it’ll be a new challenge for him. And, you know, we’ll be sad to see it when he leaves next year. But, you know, wish him all the best for the future. You know, obviously I look back, you know, with great fondness, the time that, the 20 years almost that we spent together. And, you know, obviously the highs and lows during that period. But we look forward to the future. And I think we’re well positioned for that.
Q: You know the impact that Adrian had on your team when he joined. What have Aston Martin got to look forward to?
CH: Adrian is obviously a very creative guy and he’s not your average designer. I think he’s the only person still in Formula 1 working on a drawing board. So inevitably there will be a process of having to get to know each other, how each other work and so on. But yeah, he’s unique in many respects and I think that Aston will obviously look to draw upon his huge experience.
Q: OK, what about the here and now? The competition have caught up. What is the mood in the camp at Red Bull Racing now compared to three months ago?
CH: I think it’s pretty positive. I mean definitely coming out of Monza was a tough weekend for us. But I think out of every negative comes a positive. And I think the negativity of that weekend exposed some key areas of the car that we’ve been grappling with for some time. And I think it’s given a clear direction. And so, you know, the whole team, from the drivers putting in large amounts of time on the simulator, all the way through every single department are really determined and pushing as hard as possible. Some long hours going in in Milton Keynes at the moment from all the men and women back there. And hopefully, we can turn things around.
Q: I mean, FP1 here in Baku looked promising. But how quickly can you turn things around? How quickly do you need to turn things around?
CH: Well, things can change pretty quickly. I mean, we’ve won seven Grands Prix this year. The most, or Max has certainly won seven, the most that any other driver has is two wins. So, things can change quickly. And, you know, we’ve had some imbalances in the car that we’ve been looking to understand and I think we’ve got a clear direction on that now. But, of course, it takes a period of time. It’s one thing understanding the issue, it’s another thing addressing it and getting the parts on the car that enable that to happen.
Q: If you took this car back to a circuit where you dominated earlier in the season, Bahrain let’s say, would it be slower than you were at the race?
CH: No, no, no. I think that there’s several aspects. One thing you’re talking about is in terms of absolute load that you’re putting on the car through upgrades, but then you have balance as well. And I think we had a better balanced car at the beginning of the year. I think as we’ve put load on the car, it hasn’t correlated with what we’ve seen in our tools. And I think a couple of other teams have had that as well. So as we’re starting to push the extremities of these regulations, Sometimes you find that correlation drops out between track and your simulation tools, which are primarily the wind tunnel and CFD. And so there’s been obviously a big push to understand that and address it.
Q: And how do you see the two championships now?
CH: Look, there’s everything to play for. I mean, obviously Max in the Drivers’ Championship has a solid lead, but it’s nothing you can take for granted with eight races to go. So we’re super conscious of that with races and Sprint races. It only takes a couple of bad weekends and big weekends from Lando, and suddenly it’s an awful lot closer. The Constructors’, it’s a three-horse race. I mean, obviously we’re eight points ahead of McLaren, but you can’t discount Ferrari either that have quietly snuck their way back into this. So it’s a flat-out fight over the last remaining eight races.
Q: Are you enjoying it?
CH: Am I enjoying it? You never enjoy when your cars aren’t performing. Are we up for it? Absolutely. And I’ve never seen a team more motivated and working as hard as it currently is.
Q: OK, Christian, thank you. I’m sure there’ll be more questions for you in a minute. Alessandro, let’s come to you. The car hasn’t been easy over the past couple of races. What are the drivers saying about it here after FP1?
Alessandro ALUNNI BRAVI: I think that FP1 confirmed our weaknesses in terms of high-speed instability. Of course, with this low level of grip, we struggle more than others. We have seen during the season that our car has a huge sensitivity, and especially in these kind of conditions, it’s difficult to find the balance between high-speed and low-speed corners. As mentioned by Christian, we have identified our weaknesses and the area to work. Then it’s a different aspect to find a good solution and to enable the drivers to exploit the package.
Q: Red Bull have a load of new parts here. When are we going to see some upgrades on the Sauber?
AAB: But we have, as you know, introduced a big package for us in Silverstone and Hungary that then was available to both drivers as of Zandvoort race. And now we need to optimize this package. We struggled to get out most of the performance, especially in Zandvoort. We made a step in Monza, but there is still a lot of work to be done to find the right balance. We will have other upgrades during the season. We are targeting Austin, but of course, for us, this year has been more marginal gains than a big step. So we continue to develop the car. This is also important, not just for this season, but also for 2025. It doesn’t mean that we are giving up this season, but we are working hard first to identify our weaknesses. And of course, nobody has a silver bullet in Formula 1. We know that we need to do steps and, you know, the upgrades that will be introduced later in the season should allow us to do another step. If this will be sufficient to catch up, our direct competitors will be just a track to assess this.
Q: What about drivers? Can we talk about the second driver for next year? Valtteri Bottas talked in quite positive terms yesterday about his chances of being retained. First up, what kind of a driver are you looking to place alongside Nico Hülkenberg? Do you want an experienced guy like Valtteri or are you still thinking about an inexperience, someone new?
AAB: I think this is the current assessment that Mattia is doing. He just started two weeks ago, so we have said already in Monza that he’s taking charge of all the dossiers and the drivers is of course one of the most important ones. We are evaluating all the options to see which is the best balance between a short-term experience and medium, long-term, maybe young talent. There are potential candidates on both sides. Valtteri is a strong driver for our team. We know him very well. He has been with the team already for three years, and of course he’s one on top of our list. But there are other opportunities. We are just looking at all the pros and cons, and Mattia will take a decision based not only on 2025, but also the medium-long-term strategy for the Audi F1 project.
Q: Have you got a deadline by when you need to have taken the decision?
AAB: It’s not about the deadline because, of course, we are not opportunistic. Now that there is only one seat available, we want to take time. It’s more to assess everything, every aspect, and to take a right decision. I think there is no rush, but we want to tick this box also soon. So, I think it will be a matter of the next weeks.
Q: Now, I asked Christian earlier what Adrian Newey is going to bring to Aston Martin. And of course, since you were last in the press conference, Alessandro, Jonathan Wheatley has been announced as a future Sauber Audi team principal. What kind of an impact are you expecting him to have?
AAB: I can just judge Jonathan from outside because I don’t know him personally, but of course we can see that they have a strong impact and contribution to the last 18 years of success in Red Bull. Red Bull has been at least still the benchmark in Formula 1 as a team in terms of organization, in terms of talents. And so I think that a person that has been in one of the key roles in this team can just bring a positive contribution and I expect that Jonathan will be leading our team together with Mattia. So for me, it’s a positive addition and we are looking forward to him next year.
Q: Thanks, Alessandro. Christian, can I just bring you in on Jonathan Wheatley? How instrumental was he in the success that you’ve had at Red Bull?
CH: Jonathan’s done a great job as initially team manager and then sporting director for us. He’s been part of the journey over the last 19 years or in our 20th season. We’re very grateful for what he’s done and the effort that he’s put in during that time. an opportunity like this to become a team principal has come along. So we certainly didn’t look to hold him back in any way and we wish him the very best of luck for the future. But that, in turn, allows there to be progression within our own organization. And we’ll be announcing very shortly the structure that is a succession to Jonathan’s moving to Audi.
Q: Thank you. Ayao, coming to you now. Can we start by talking about Ollie Bearman making his race debut for Haas this weekend? So far, so good in FP1. What do you want to see from him here in Baku?
Ayao KOMATSU: Yeah, again, what we talked about quite a lot is just building up to the whole weekend. Obviously, it’s a completely different mindset, whether you’re doing just FP1 or got a target on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. But again, this is a street track and the FP1, we all know the grip level is going to be really poor. So really important to set certain objectives along the way and then just build up to it. And then as you saw in FP1, he’s done that perfectly. So it’s great.
Q: Is he working with all of the engineers that he’ll have on his car in 2025?
AK: No, because that’s not been finalized yet. So it’s really a simple case of a straight swap between himself and Kevin’s crew. So Kevin’s usual crew is running Ollie this weekend.
Q: OK, because I was going to say, are you treating this like race one of 2025?
AK: It’s not really like a race one of 25. Of course, we’ve been working with Ollie throughout the various FP1s, right? But like I said, the objectives and mindset is totally different when you got the whole race weekend. So it’s a great opportunity for him, but also for us as well. And then again, alongside Nico, we cannot ask for a better reference. So yeah, that’s a great opportunity for everyone.
Q: Well, we know how quick Nico Hülkenberg is. One of his former teammates said this week he was a career killer. What can Ollie learn from Nico?
AK: I honestly haven’t had the career killer thing. Nico’s great, and he doesn’t play any politics. He’s a very straightforward guy, and he’s always transparent. And then he always sets the benchmark, especially in a qualifying-type run. So it’s very easy to talk to him as well. So I think for Ollie, I don’t think, honestly, you can ask for a better team-mate. And in terms of high fuel management, et cetera, I think they can both run from each other. But again, Nico’s got a bit more experience now. Yeah, I think it’s a great environment for Ollie to come in to as a first race weekend.
Q: And final one from me, in terms of car performance this weekend, I mean, you’re coming here on the back of a decent result, on track at least, at Monza with Kevin. Do you think you can perform and challenge for points here?
AK: Yeah, I’d like to think so. I mean, I just find it this year, it’s very difficult to predict precisely exactly where we’re going to be at each race. Like, for instance, Zandvoort, I was expecting slightly worse. And then Monza, again, our race pace was better than I expected. But looking at FP1, I think we are there and thereabouts, and we need to still fine-tune certain things. You know, again, driver feedback, both from Nico and Ollie, it’s been very good in the sense of like, in terms of weakness, how they’re describing it. So I think we identified pretty clearly which areas to work on. so we keep chipping away at it and then for sure our target is to score points with both cars this weekend.
AZERBAIJAN GP QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) A question to Christian, please. You said it wasn’t a great surprise to see Adrian end up at Aston Martin. But what about the scale of the announcement, even the fact that he was at another team’s factory, given he’s still on the payroll at Red Bull? Lewis Hamilton, when he was announced as a Ferrari driver, he wasn’t at Maranello. So what’s going on there?
CH: Yes, it was obviously a large announcement by Aston. And, you know, Adrian has always tended to do his own thing. So, you know, obviously it was a big moment for that team. They chose to celebrate it perhaps potentially slightly prematurely before he’s finished his contract with Red Bull Racing. But obviously it was a big moment for that team.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) Another question for Christian. Before we went into the summer break, there was a lot of talk about drivers, not just Checo, but also Daniel, what both Red Bull teams would do for the rest of the year and into next season. Both teams have had technical issues to prioritize since the summer break, not just Red Bull Racing, but also the other team as well. Where are you at on that? Is it very much that the cars, the priority, the drivers are set for both teams in the Red Bull family for the rest of the year?
CH: Well, as you say, the car very much is the priority for us. I think Sergio has definitely made a step forward since the summer break. And he’s showing signs of a good recovery. And hopefully, as we improve the car, that will help some of the issues that he’s been having. I think regarding VCARB, I think that’s a question for Laurent. But again, I think obviously priority has been placed on developments that they’ve brought to the cars recently and fixing the cars.
Q: Christian, in what areas has Checo taken a step forward since the summer break?
CH: I think that just before the summer break, obviously, there was massive scrutiny and pressure being placed on him. And obviously, it’s a media business that we live in, and of course, that scrutiny can sometimes become overwhelming. And I know he was struggling with the constant speculation about his job prior to the summer break. And I think going away, having the ability to reset, refresh and come back with a clear mindset, knowing that he’s got the full support of the team that he is our driver, and we know we’ve got some issues on the car that we’re pushing to sort out and, he’s been putting in a lot of hard work to help address that. And I think that, you know, we’re starting to see him find some of the form that hopefully he showed at the beginning of the year because we’re going to need it as we strive to defend this Constructor’s title.
Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Another question for Christian, please. Mercedes and McLaren have both had their front wings scrutinized and given the OK under allegations they were perhaps flexing. Is this an outcome that you’re happy with, given that, I guess, Red Bull went through the same thing about a decade ago? Does it mean that you can follow that path, or will you be seeking further clarification on that?
CH: We went through it a little more recently than a decade ago, I think three years ago. But I think what’s crucial for any team, as with all these things, is always clarity. Is something acceptable or is it not? If it’s deemed to be acceptable, then obviously that encourages you to pursue similar solutions yourself. So the regulator, obviously they have all the information available. They have all the analysis that they’ve recently put cameras on, many cars. So I guess they’re collecting that data. But yeah, it’s one of those things, as I say, that if it’s deemed to be acceptable, then you pursue that route.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) For all three of you, the rookie Sprint event in Abu Dhabi looks like it’s coming closer to being a reality. What are your thoughts on that? Is it all positives? What are the challenges? It’s obviously useful for teams who’ve already nominated a rookie for next year, like Alpine, Mercedes, Haas, maybe even Sauber. But also for Christian, you’ve got a chance to run two rookies who wouldn’t otherwise be anywhere near a race potentially in the next couple of years.
AK: Yeah, I think it’s great. You know, the post-season test, if we don’t do things like that, you are just doing the tire test. So I think it adds value to the day and makes it more exciting and another opportunity to put young drivers in the car. These days, it’s such a rare opportunity for young drivers to get in the current Formula 1 car. So I think it’s really an interesting move.
AAB: I fully agree with Ayao. It’s important to give the rookies more opportunities, to show them. We know how much it’s difficult to get into Formula 1, so I think that FP1 sessions are not sufficient to showcase what you can do. and there are a lot of risks linked to proper performance in FP1 also for the team. This is a really nice opportunity. Also for us, not having a TPC program it’s an additional opportunity to have more data and to assess not just the performance itself, also the mindset and the approach of the rookie driver.
CH: Yeah, it’s something that I tabled at the last couple of Formula 1 Commissions because I think it’s great for the young drivers. And I think that the problem with some of the rookie tests is they all get used for testing. You never know, are they running on 50 kilos, 70 kilos, 30 kilos of fuel? What engine mode are they going? You don’t really know. You don’t know how the opposition are doing. So I think this is a non-championship race for the junior drivers. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity and I think that it comes at the end of a busy season, but opposed to just running around burning fuel and tyres and only the teams that are running those drivers knowing whether they’re doing a good job or not to give potentially 10 drivers or 10 rookies the opportunity of jumping in the current cars and having the equivalent of a Sprint race, I think is fantastic. And I think it’ll be a really popular event.
Q: (Joost Smedema – NOS) Question to Christian as well, please. Yesterday, Checo said he was pretty optimistic about the two upcoming races, Baku and Singapore, of course. Do you understand his optimism, although this generation of cars has been pretty difficult for you on street circuits?
CH: Well, based on [the fact that] 95% of his race victories have come on street circuits, it’s clear why Checo is feeling more confident with being here in the streets of Baku and then Singapore. But I think for the characteristics of our car, particularly this circuit, is all slow 90-degree corners and you know, that hasn’t been the Achilles heel for the car. So some of the changes that we’re making and some of the discoveries that we’ve had actually are not that applicable for this circuit. They’re more applicable for the likes of Austin, some of the faster-flowing circuits. So still valuable lessons that we can learn and some of the stuff that we’re trying and testing will certainly not be unbeneficial for a race like this, but we’re expecting it to have a bigger effect at some of the more flowing circuits.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) Question to Alessandro. I just wondered with the changes that Audi has made or is making with the Formula 1 structure going forward, what does it mean for you? Is there an opportunity for you to continue in the role that you’re in at the moment to bridge the gap to Jonathan joining next summer? I think Mattia said that there needs to be a way of working out exactly how that kind of on-site leadership works before Jonathan’s in his position.
AAB: First of all, let me say that the changes that have been done are a positive one for the entire team and of course there is now a different leadership team. About myself, I will talk to Mattia in the next few weeks and we will have an open and transparent discussion about what are the positions available, what could be my role in the future. There are, of course, many factors to be evaluated. I’ve been going through different roles within Sauber Group from the beginning as a managing director and then team representative. Of course, the situation with the Audi F1 project now has changed, also for me, and I will assess what is the best also for me in the near future.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autorsport) Another question to Alessandro, please. You spoke a little bit earlier about the discussions over the second driver that you might have next year, the free seat, but I wondered what about the driver you’ve already signed quite a while ago, Nico Hülkenberg, announced as joining next year. What have you made of him this year and how excited is the team to have him on board next year?
AAB: I’m happy about your question because of course we have been quite early into the driver’s market this year. We tried to anticipate the market and I think it was a good idea and a good move after what we have seen in the second part of the season. but Nico is a very strong driver for us. He’s a good qualifier and this is one point that will be even more important in the future. We have seen how much qualifying is crucial in Formula 1 and he has this kind of characteristic. I think that Ayao can confirm that. He is also a straightforward guy and we need you know people that you know speak clearly within the team. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us and there will be no politics, just hard work ahead of us, and I think Nico can fit properly into the Audi F1 project. He has at the same time a lot of experience in Formula 1. And of course, to have a solid foundation and an experienced guy in the team will help at the initial stage of the Audi F1 project. So I can just see positive things about him. And we are excited to have him in the next year together with the team. But now we need to be focused on our drivers and to get out of this season. the very best.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) A question to all three but maybe starting it with Christian. With the possible race for the young drivers, when that first emerged as a possibility it was obviously in very tentative early stages in around July. How much has been resolved since then and how much kind of needs to happen be agreed before for it to be realized? Because it felt like something that was a lot more realistic for ‘25 but had a faint chance for ‘24.
CH: Well, it’s like all things in life: if you want it to happen, you make it happen. And I think there was a clear directive to say, come on, let’s get the job done for this year. And so obviously that puts pressure on the Sporting Working Groups and the various team managers to work with the FIA to come up with a set of regulations. But I think mainly adopting Sprint regs and so on, it’s eminently doable. It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. I think it’s just going to be a single car from each team rather than two cars. And effectively, you’re just using the mileage in a different way as opposed to, you know, just performing over during a test day. So I think the event will take place all in one day. So a qualifying and then the equivalent of a sprint race. So, yeah, it comes at the end of a long season, but I think it’ll be a great thing. It’s a great opportunity for the young drivers, and we’re fully supportive of it.