Mattias Ekström: “What Monaco is for Formula 1, is for rallycross Höljes.”

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media.

Mattias Ekström claimed a podium finish last time out in Norway, while his teammate collided with Peugeot's Timmy Hansen in the final. The Swede heads home to Höljes, Sweden for round six in the World RX championship. 

Höljes is regarded as the craziest world championship round of the year. “What Monaco is for Formula 1, is for rallycross Höljes,” says Mattias Ekström. “The atmosphere is unique and the circuit one of the best on the world championship calendar. The coolest thing is the extremely fast right-hand corner taken at around 170 km/h just before the jump. Immediately after comes the most spectacular jump of the entire season.”

An estimated 40,000 fans make the pilgrimage to Circuit Höljes Motorstadion for the world championship round. 

The Circuit Höljes Motorstadion, 200 km north of Karlstad is 1.210-kilometres long (Joker lap: 1.250 km) with 6 left corners and 5 right. The lap is 60% tarmac and 40% gravel, with the longest jump approximately 38 meters. The fastest lap currently stands at 41.448 seconds from last year. 

“Höljes is the ‘magic weekend’ for every rallycross driver that everybody would love to win,” said Andreas Bakkerud. “It is not just a big thing for the many Swedish teams and drivers. I also eagerly look forward to the race every year.”

Ekström and Bakkerud have both tasted victory in Höljes. In 2014, Ekström took his first victory at his home race. In 2015, the Swede won again. Bakkerud won in 2013 and 2016 and in his five previous Supercar outings in Sweden he stood on the podium every time. 

“Of course I want to continue this series with the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro,” says Bakkerud, 

The Norwegian will be accompanied by around 250 of his loyal fans. Because there are no hotels in Höljes, they live in a dedicated ‘Bakkerud Blue’ camp directly at the race track.

Petter Solberg targets a magic weekend in Sweden.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Petter Solberg finally turned his luck around at his home event in Norway, claiming an all important podium. 

The Norwegian had the perfect launch in the final and went on to claim the Monster Energy Supercharge Award, but had to take avoiding action after Timmy Hansen and Andreas Bakkerud collided. '

Solberg now looks to build on the positives of Norway. He has only stood on the podium three times this year, but is very keen to make the top step in Sweden.

“I like this track. Before we have the new regulation about the testing, we used to do some running up here – it’s the closest place for us," said Solberg. 

The Norwegian has only won four qualifying heats in Sweden, since 2014.

"Like the last track in Norway, Höljes is the natural rallycross circuit and it’s really quick in places, I like that," says Solberg. “What I really like is the way you can use some kerbs and use the crests, jumps and dips to move the car around and keep it sliding – it’s a real driver’s track this one." 

Petter Solberg explains why he likes the Höljesbanan circuit in Sweden: 

“It’s famous, I think for three things. The first is the banked left-hand corner which leads you onto one of the fastest stretches of the season, downhill on gravel. I love this. That takes you to the second most famous part of this track: the jump. It’s a real big one. If you wanted, you could fly and fly, but all the time you have to check who’s around you and what’s going on. The focus is always on the clean landing to get the nice line into the next corner."

“The third thing which is most famous about this place is the people. There are 45,000 people here and they’re all here for a mid-summer party. It’s amazing. It really is the magic weekend."

Solberg has not tasted the sweetness of victory thus far, but has shown the speed in his Polo R Supercar. The Norwegian has the opportunity to turn around his victory drought this weekend.  

“This time, I want to make it my magic weekend," he added. "I missed the final last year because I stalled from pole position in the semi-final."

"I’m more determined than ever to get to and then make the most of Sunday’s final race.”

Super Swede Kristoffersson sets sights on victory at Höljes

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Defending World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson heads home, with four wins and 31 points clear at the top of the table. The Swede can not be happier with how his 2018 title defense has begun. 

Last time out in Hell, Kristoffersson entered the history books with the second ever World RX "clean sweep" with wins in all four qualifiers, semi-finals and the final. "Norway was really perfect, everything came together so well in Hell," said Kristoffersson. 

Regardless of the four wins, the Swede found it difficult to put together a clean weekend often struggling on Saturday's, but he turned it all around in Norway. 

"At the earlier rounds [this year], I was maybe struggling a little bit to find the perfect place – the real sweet spot – in Saturday’s first two qualifying rounds," he explains. "Sunday was going well, but I needed to hit the ground running a bit more."

Johan hit the ground running in Norway posting the fastest lap time: 37.777 in the first practice session. The Swede went on to post the third fastest time in second practice, a mere 0.256 off the fastest time. 

“Free practice was good, then as soon as we went into Q1 the car felt fantastic," said Kristoffersson. "The Volkswagen Polo R Supercar was just brilliant for me, the team has worked so hard for this and I’m so grateful and so happy."

Despite Johan's four wins, his rivals are closing in with new developments and updates. Both PSRX Volkswagen Sweden drivers feel that there is more pace in the Polo R Supercar. 

"We did some testing before Hell and everything worked, it gave us some time to test some options on set-up for the car and we’ve gone in a good way," the Swede said. “Petter and I both think there is a bit more to come from the car still, so this is exciting. And I think we will need it – for sure the competition is coming closer." 

Johan Kristoffersson claimed victory at his home event in front of a record 45,000 Swedish fans.The Swede aims to replicate the result this coming weekend. “Winning at home was one of the most special results of my career in Höljes last year and all I can do is try to repeat that result next week," he said. "Competing in front of so many thousands of fans is unbelievable, when you see the flags everywhere the atmosphere is just going through the roof. I love it.”

Can the 'Super Swede' take his fifth win of the season?

2018 French GP: Post-Race Press Conference.

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Franck Montagny and Jean Alesi)

Franck MONTAGNY: Lewis, congratulations for this beautiful win. How was it for you, because you were clear from every problem, so how was it for you?

Lewis HAMILTON: I feel very grateful. Just grateful for a solid weekend. My guys, I’ve been with them for six years and they are just continually pushing the boundaries and never giving up, so I’m just forever grateful for all their work, here at the track and back at the factory. This is a great day, really. I enjoyed the race. The weather was good and the fans have been crazy today. It’s been really good to see so many people here for the French Grand Prix. So for me personally, this is the best French Grand Prix I’ve ever had.

FM: Happy to take the lead again, of the championship?

LH: I hadn’t really thought about it, but that’s where I want to be.

Jean ALESI: Hey Max, a happy Sunday?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was good. I tried to follow Lewis, of course he was controlling the pace. Yeah, I had a good race. I enjoyed that. Of course, I didn’t really have to work very hard for it but it’s always good to be on the podium

JA: Did you see something at the start? Can you explain something? 

MV: At the end of the day everybody was trying to go, to try and get a position and at the end of the day, you know, people can make mistakes. So, yeah, that happened.

FM: Kimi, fantastic race for you also. You finished on the podium. What is your feeling after this crazy start?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think everybody more or less got similar starts and it felt quite slippery in the first corner. I chose to go outside but it was the wrong side in the end, I should have slowed down a bit an cut in on the inside, so I got a bit blocked with all the mayhem that happened. Then we did a decent recovery in the long stint and things worked well and in the end we had a lot of speed and I managed to get on the podium

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Congratulations, Lewis. I just wondered if you did get to see the England before the race and what your thoughts were?

LH: Honestly, I didn’t get to see the game. When I walked into the garage to put my helmet on, I saw it was 6-0 at the time. And then when I went out and did the three laps of the grid and came back to go to the toilet and as I went to the toilet I got to see it again and it was 6-1. I mean, jeez, that’s a mighty score. What a great result for England.

MV: They’re going to bring it home, right?

LH: Jeez, I hope so, if they’re playing like that. They need to keep opening the can of whoop-ass on everyone and that could be frickin’ awesome. I don’t know how England would be able to take it though if we did win the World Cup. It’s been such a long, long time…

MV: Earthquake?

LH: Yeah, probably!

Q: (Aurelien Attard – Le Mag Sport Auto) Lewis, you just won your 23rd grand prix in a different country and you’ve now beaten Michael Schumacher’s record?

LH: I didn’t know that. It’s news to me. Every time I’m told of these records I’m blown away by Michael, even more and more. He had obviously a long career and incredible statistics, and did a… it just brings me back to watching him as a kid. I was actually just sitting here thinking, and I don’t know if Kimi knows, I remember growing up wanting to be in Formula 1 and obviously I was at McLaren since I was 13 and I used to play F1 on the Playstation all the time and I was always Kimi, which is kind of crazy. I wasn’t Montoya, I was always Kimi in his car and I always wanted to race against him. It’s just crazy how life works and how you get the opportunity to work with some of these legends. I don’t know if they realise the respect that the younger generation will have for them. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t but… yeah.

Q: (Joe van Burik – Autocar.nl) Question to Max. Max, when did you realise during this weekend that the soft was the best tyre for your second stint? How do you feel about the fact Lewis was able to hold back, ahead of you?

MV: I think quite quickly we realised the soft was a good tyre already from the start of the weekend. And yeah, Lewis was just doing his race and I was doing mine and he was just controlling the gap. So, not much you can do. You just then have to focus on yourself to just drive a clean race.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for all three drivers. Wanted to get your thoughts on the first corner incident between Seb and Valtteri and the fact Seb got a five-second penalty but was able to come back to fifth. Do you think that was a bit too lenient? Lewis, I know you were in front at the time but I think you’ve seen a replay since.

LH: I’ve not seen it in detail but they quickly played something back there. I saw an image of it on-screen. For me it’s disappointing because for the team we had the chance to get a one-two, and I think that would have been a… it’s always an incredible feeling to get a one-two, that’s the ultimate goal within the team. Valtteri had really done a solid job all weekend, as he has really been doing this year. I mean, we’re all going into Turn One as hard as we could – but yeah, ultimately when someone destroys your race through an error and it’s only kind-of a tap on the hand really, and just allowed to come back and still finish ahead of that person that they took out, it doesn’t weigh up, y’know? Ultimately, he shouldn’t really be able to finish ahead of him, because he took him out of the race. But, yeah… that’s the call they made.

Q: Kimi, what’s your thoughts on Seb’s penalty, you had to avoid that incident at the start?

KR: I didn’t even know that he got a penalty. I saw quickly kind-of what happened but I only see the part when they touched. Things happen, y’know, and obviously, there is stewards, they give penalties if they feel it is the right thing, sometimes they think not for others and we live with it. Is it fair sometimes? Maybe not – but y’know, I think it’s balancing out in the long run between all of us. So, yeah, unfortunate for both of them – but that’s what happens sometimes.

Max, anything to add on five-seconds penalty for that incident?

MV: Yeah. I think next time you see Seb you should ask him to change his style, y’know? Because honestly, it’s not acceptable. That’s what they said to me at the beginning of the season, so I think they should do the same! And then, of course, Seb shouldn't do anything, and just drive again and learn from this and go on. That’s my advice to everyone in this room.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To all drivers. Three different teams on the podium, like the last race. The next grand prix is a completely different scenario to this one. What can you project for the Austrian Grand Prix?

KR: Hopefully good things. Impossible to really say. It’s a slightly different circuit. We need to make a good weekend out of it. It’s going to be pretty close. I don’t see massive difference between the top three times – but I might be wrong.

Lewis, are you expecting Mercedes to go well next weekend in Austria?

LH: I think Austria should be a fairly decent track. It’s been a decent track for us in the past, so I don’t see why it should be any different now. I think the car should be good there. I think the Red Bulls have been particularly quick there in the past because it’s quite a good downforce circuit, so it’ll be interesting. As you’re seeing, the cars… it’s great that we are close in qualifying nowadays, but positioning is everything really in qualifying, and you can’t overtake. At that track you can’t really overtake… even though you’ve got those long straights, very, very difficult to overtake. You can’t follow through Turn One. It’s going to be about who qualifies where at that track, isn’t it?

Another part of that question was that the tyres will be different next weekend. Does that make any difference to the pecking order, do you think?

LH: Jeez, we’ll see. The tyres felt the same to me this weekend. Are we having the soft…?

I think it’s the tread-depth compared to here.

LH: yeah, but we’ll still have the soft, supersoft and ultra, I’d imagine. Should be OK.

Q: And Max, how do you see Red Bull going next weekend at the home race?

MV: I think, yeah, Red Bull has been on the podium for the last two races out there. We are a bit compromised on the straights but somehow it was always not too bad. I’m also looking forward to the weekend because I think a lot of Dutch fans are coming out so a lot of orange around, so that’s always good.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Congratulations, Lewis. Just on Seb, we’ve seen him make a number of high profile errors as Max alluded to, in the last 12 months. Maybe last year, Baku, Baku again this year, Singapore at the back end of last year, today. There’s been a few. Does it surprise you that someone of his level keeps making what are proving to be costly errors?

LH: I’m not really going to get into that. Honestly, I know what you’re saying but it is really a racing incident in turn one and those things can happen. We’re all going into that first corner at great speeds, it’s not always easy to… I mean I went deep and wide because I saw them really close to me so I thought I was going to get rear-ended, to be honest, so I went quite deep. No, I don’t feel that he’s particularly made more mistakes than… we’re all on the edge, we’re fighting for the World Championships, we’re not pootling around, we’re out there putting our lives on the line, we’re out there putting the cars as far beyond the edge as we can in the safest manner. It’s not like a train track, you don’t just stay on the rails. Sometimes you can go off. We’re only human.

Q: (Laurent Seguin – Nice Matin) Lewis, you have said that you didn’t like this track before. Do you like it now?

LH: I’m not going to answer that the way you want me to answer it. No, it’s still not my favourite. The location is one of my favourites. I think it’s really so beautiful down here and I’ve really enjoyed my week. I stay right close to the track and earlier in the week the weather was particularly spectacular but it was really great. It felt like… particularly when we did the drivers’ parade today it felt like an older day race, when there were people everywhere, just surrounding the whole track. There are a lot of tracks we go to and the grandstands are not even half full, there’s massive long banks that are just empty. Today there was a lot of people here which is great. What I dislike is that they are so far away from the track, like you go to turn eleven and they’re like a mile away from… They must all have binoculars. Next year I’m going to bring a binocular stand ‘cos I’ll probably make a lot of money on it so people can watch. But no, there are a couple of bits on the track that I really like, like the more and more I drive it the more I was enjoying it, particularly like sector one, like turns one and two, when the wind is with you, it’s ***kin’ awesome. It’s hard to see the corners and obviously the back straight is not the greatest, the chicane, and it’s not that easy to follow here so maybe for next year they can make an alteration of some sort, maybe, so there can be more overtaking maybe? But ultimately I think it’s the fundamental issue of the cars. We shouldn’t have to have… I think it’s a 1.5 second delta: Max has to be 1.5s faster than me to overtake me today or more. Anything less than that and he’s got no hope. I think people… I want to see more closer racing, not just at the start of the race, so I hope in the future they are able to somehow figure that out. But I’m glad we had the race here and this is, for sure, my best race weekend in France. I did have some really great weekends in France when I was in karting and as I mentioned earlier on in the weekend, I was… the last two corners really reminded… did you (Max) do karting in France?

MV: I did a few tracks.

LH: There was a really cool track that I went to, I think it was Val d’Argent or something like that, might by Val d’Argent or…

MV: Val d’Argenton?

LH: Maybe. It was a really really cool track and the last two corners are exactly the same as it is here. We used to take it flat, the left hander, and come up on two wheels and you kind of had to lean to keep the kart down. It was sick.

MV: I never ran with that much grip. We were already sliding because the tyres changed.

LH: Ah, OK, OK. We had like supersoft Bridgestones which were sick. Miss those days.

Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportswereld) Max, Christian talked after your third place in Canada about a slightly different approach, that weekend. You did something different here also or have you found the perfect approach now?

MV: I didn’t change anything since the beginning of the year. I’m the same person.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Max, this is the second weekend now that you and Red Bull have been able to evaluate the upgraded Renault engine. They think it’s worth 0.3s, based on what you’ve seen in qualifying and the race here; do you think you’re getting that full amount?

MV: Ah, it’s not 0.3s, but let them be optimistic. No but it’s not 0.3s but every little step, every little gain is of course positive. I wish it was 0.3s but hopefully later on this season we get a bit more. We have to keep pushing.

Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Proto Thema Newspaper) Lewis, first of all congratulations; the first thing you mentioned on the team radio was the people back home, after a great win in football also, now in Formula One. Given the fact that McLaren, Williams are not in the best period, do you still feel affected and overwhelmed when you represent in a race and win, not only for yourself and Mercedes but also for Great Britain and your compatriots?

LH: No, definitely. A lot of the teams are obviously in the UK so yeah, there are a lot of British teams but ultimately, individually, we are all holding our own flag, representing our own countries, so yeah, when I have a day like today I look up and I see the Union Jack above me it’s honestly such a great feeling and on top of that to know… Honestly, I grew up playing football, it was something that I was massively into and I had to stop really because I was in a team where these players were… hacking was crazy and I didn’t want to get injured so I couldn’t race. But to watch England every year, and I used to collect the cards and I was always hoping that we were going to get a World Cup and year in year in year in year we didn’t, didn’t get it and it’s just great to see the success, you know, because there’s so much talent in the UK and I can’t get it round my mind why we haven’t won more. So to have the result today, it’s a great day for the UK and I hope that I’ve contributed in a positive way to that.

2018 French GP: Post-Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Jean Alesi and Franck Montagny)

Jean ALESI: Lewis, your 75th pole position today. It was a good one?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. Impeccable.

JA: And the weather? 

LH: The weather has been OK. It was much better obviously earlier in the week, but qualifying is always tough. Q3 has not been spectacular. Q1 and Q2 were good but then Q3 was so-so.

Franck MONTAGNY: How does it feel to get the first pole position here in France? 

LH: It feels great to be back in France, such a beautiful place. We’ve got a great response from the crowd here and really excited to come to the first grand prix here at Paul Ricard for a long, long time and to be at the front is a great showing of the hard work from all the guys at my team.

JA: So Valtteri, how it was for you, the last lap?

Valtteri BOTTAS: It was not a bad lap, but not perfect either. I’ve been struggling to get perfect laps this weekend and missed pretty much all of FP2 and we didn’t do any running in FP3, so I was kind of catching up run by run, but yeah, a one-two for us is perfect.

FM: Valtteri it looks like you had a massive advantage here in qualifying, especially with the new engine. Is that right?

VB: It feels good, the new engine. It feels very fresh and powerful, and the team has done an amazing job on that, and hopefully tomorrow we can also prove that is good.

JA: Sebastian, it was a tricky lap, very complicated. We have seen the car, sliding a lot.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it’s a difficult one to get the right balance. I tried to push everything in the last attempt, but looking back I pushed too hard. You try to a little bit too much here and there and then you lose the tyre, the car and then it slides, you lose the line and you end up losing time rather than gaining. After the first attempt I saw that we are maybe there, so with a really amazing lap I maybe have a chance but tit didn’t come. In the end I’m happy, because the car should be good in the race, but yeah, it was a good session though.

FM: What is the feeling here to have the Ferrari car, you're going to start on the second row, with all the French people here, it’s the first time we get back in France?

SV: Yeah, it’s crazy. I think I raced in the last French Grand Prix. It’s amazing to see so many people, the excitement, obviously the weather today was a bit comme ci, comme ça, but it’s amazing – so much support, so many fans for Ferrari as well and I think for all of us it’s nice to be here. Normally here this place is a bit grey but now there is a lot of colour, a lot of people and it really comes alive and for tomorrow I think we have a good chance.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, your third pole position of the season in what looked like a tricky session, just talk us through your final lap?

LH: It was a good qualifying session. I think the team have done a great job throughout the weekend. I think we have all pulled together and done a great job in putting the car where we need it, for both Valtteri and I. The session was pretty straightforward, it was a really simple session to be honest. I think Q1 and Q2 were particularly good and then Q3 was OK. It could always be better. But really, really happy to have the pole. It’s something we have been working on for so long. And the pressure is, as you know, you can see how close it is between us all. It’s really, really great to have this result, and a one-two. Our bosses are here watching us, so I think it’s a good showing for Mercedes and the team.

Q: Congratulations. Valtteri, the final lap you pulled out had you on pole position, at least for a few seconds before Lewis crossed the line. Did you think you had done enough with that lap to take pole?

VB: I wasn’t quite sure, you know. When you know Lewis has still to finish his lap you can never be sure. Lewis did again a great job in the qualifying and I think for me missing as bit of track time in FP2 and with limited running for everyone in FP3 it felt like during the qualifying I was catching up all the time and I was finding the gains run by run. In the end it was decent, still not quite perfect but enough to put us on the first run. And like Lewis said, it’s been an amazing job what the team has been doing with the car, with single upgrade we put on the car this weekend making the car better, including the engine of course.

Q: Congratulations. Seb: third place today. We saw in your final run a little bit of an error where you ran wide. Did you think pole position was on offer? 

SV: I didn't know. For us, qualifying started a bit slow; obviously with the conditions it was a little bit tricky. Starting slow meaning it got better throughout the qualifying and yeah, I was confident I could improve a little bit for the final attempt. But already at the beginning I tried to push hard and probably pushed a little bit too much so I lost a little and yeah, then you’re playing catch-up. I just didn't get a great feeling closing the lap. It wasn’t as strong as the lap before. It was also slower. I thought that there was a tenth or maybe a tenth and a half, maybe enough to pip Valtteri, but obviously both of them improved. I think we can be happy with third. For tomorrow I think we have a good car. Yesterday looked really good, we have a little bit different strategy on tyres, so let’s see.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) – A question for Lewis and Valtteri. Guys after the delayed introduction of the upgraded Mercedes engine in Canada, how much of a relief was to to have that engine here and how much difference do you think it made today?

LH: As I said in the conference the other day, I didn’t feel relief. I was getting a new engine either way. The gains are… nowadays… how many years have we had this V6? The gains, the upgrades you get now are usually so small, I didn’t really… I’m very happy with the work that everyone has done, but that’s not the whole, entire reason we are here on the front row, so I don’t feel any relief at all.

VB: I think we definitely needed it. It’s going to be a close season ahead, so I’m glad we could have it in this race. Obviously it would have helped us in Montreal, but we are here now and now we are in the first row, so for sure that’s good.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Lewis and Seb. What are your thoughts on Charles’ qualification today?

SV: He was eighth? So… I saw only on the screen that Fréd Vasseur was pretty happy, so I thought one of his drivers did well in Q2. I didn’t see in Q3 but obviously eighth is an impressive result. I think they are still quite a long way behind with the car so I think for him, he’s doing the job. It’s good for him and good for Sauber as well, to be up there. And hopefully for them they have some chance to score points tomorrow.

Lewis, you’ve praised Charles before. Your impressions of 8th place?

LH: Yeah, I just saw before I went out that he was… I think he was in the top ten going into Q3, I think. So… which was very, very impressive to see. Particularly with the all the pressures you could see. There’s a lot of pressure for him, being here in the South of France, so yeah, really, really good. Really happy for him – particularly in that car, which is… yeah, he’s doing a great job with what he has and probably delivering more, which is what you would hope from a good driver.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Sebastian, last time you used this tyre, 0.4mm, you did one pitstop extra. For sure you have more in hand with the car after the test of Barcelona. Same question to Mercedes, can it help the team in the race condition?

SV: Well, I think for tomorrow, it’s not Barcelona, the track’s not easy on tyres but we saw yesterday that we had pretty good long runs and no problems with the tyres, so yeah. Obviously we also start on a different set, so I don’t wish for an extra stop, compared to the others. The pitlane is quite long here. But we’ll see. First we focus on the start and then we see the true pace in the race but it should be good for us. Tyres… then we see, obviously in Barcelona Mercedes was very strong, so couldn’t go with them – but for here I hope it’s going to be different.

There’s a question there for the Mercedes drivers as well. Do you believe the tyre strategy will help you guys tomorrow in the race?

VB: We obviously believe that is the optimal for our car. That’s why we decided to qualify on the supersoft – but that’s something we’re going to find out tomorrow because obviously it's a very limited data on the long runs. Temperature are going to be cooler than they were in Practice 2. So, we’ll find out.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) We’ve seen in the first attempt the two Mercedes drivers lost quite a lot of time in the last sector compared to Vettel. Did you any problems there in the last sector? Do you think this is due to a different setup? What do you three think of it?

LH: I got a bit of traffic with Grosjean, that’s all.

VB: I had a lock-up in Turn 12, lost quite a bit of time.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Sebastian, just looking at the recovery you and Ferrari have made from yesterday, it’s been a bit of a trait for you guys this season. I know you can’t give away secrets, can you give us an indicator of how much has changed on the car and how different the car has been in your hands today from yesterday?

SV: Maybe I had a bit of a slow start as well yesterday. Obviously the track’s… we’ve been here but then there’s so many options to use, so maybe I was a bit slow to get in the rhythm but I thought by the long run it was a lot better. Car-wise, I know we didn’t change too much but, for sure, the things that we changed, they helped. Not dramatic, this I can tell you – but it was good to have the support from the factory. They were obviously looking into it, trying to get everything out for qualifying, and for the setup mainly. I think we were relying on the help from the simulator. Antonio Giovinazzi and, yesterday, Daniil Kvyat was here and helping us, so those two, thanks to them as well. Yeah, I don’t know why it is Friday we seem to be a bit off and then Saturday a lot better – but it’s obviously better that way than the other way around.

Q: (Bart van Dooijeweert – NU.nl) Question for all of you. We’ve seen a lot of cars struggling in Turn Six today and yesterday. What’s so difficult about that corner?

SV: I went wide on the last run. I think you have the sequence three, four, five before. So, it’s quite tricky, then, by the time you arrive for six, obviously, there’s not much straight between five and six – but the tyres are quite hot, the car is quite light and you know there’s a lot of time to gain if you can get a little bit early on the throttle, because after that there’s a long straight. I think that’s what we all try but it doesn’t always work. You then try to work around the kerbs as well to balance the car – but it doesn’t always work. That’s why I think it’s quite tricky. Today, I think going in we had some tailwind – which doesn’t help either. Going out, then it gets better but… yeah, I think the other way would be easier. A bit more help initially.

Lewis, any trouble with Turn Six this weekend?

LH: I did the same. That’s exactly how I would answer it. Same with my last run. I went wide as well, so, that’s where I lost a lot of time.

And Valtteri, how have you found Turn Six here?

VB: Tricky! Yes, definitely. Like them. Like for everyone.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) How would you rate the track if it’s wet tomorrow for the race? Will it be difficult, slippery?

LH: It’s always difficult in the rain. I’ve not driven it in the rain so it would be as difficult as you could probably imagine. I don’t know what the lines are, I’ve not driven it in the rain so… You saw how much standing water there was today, so I think it would be pretty tough for us all.

VB: Yes, I did some wet tyre testing here but obviously very different layout but yes, standing water can be an issue if it’s raining like today but I think the grip level is actually quite OK, so just the standing water.

SV: Same. I did a test three years ago but different layout. I think the new asphalt makes it a bit trickier, the water doesn’t have any place to go so it sits on the track which is obviously limiting us from running. I guess the reason why we didn’t run this morning was because of that, or I know the reason why we didn’t run was because of that. And usually when the asphalt is new and there’s a lot of sunshine and then it rains, you saw this morning as well, it’s like shampoo or I don’t know, some foam or… yeah, it can get quite slippery, part of the oil is then released or something but I don’t know, we forecasted FP3 to be dry and it wasn’t, so let’s see. I’m not trusting the forecast for tomorrow. I think we’ll look at the grid, what it’s like and see what we do.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) On television, you see a lot of red and blue lines, sometimes there’s a little car in between. Are you already used to the visuals, the layout of the circuit? Or does it still distract you?

VB: No, it’s definitely very clear in my mind how the track is and I’m not looking elsewhere than where I’m supposed to go. I think the first run here was just a little bit like seeing all the different bits of track and getting used to that but I think after that, after the first run it was fine.

Q: Lewis, any difficulty for you here picking up the track layout with all the different options?

LH: No.

SV: Well, I think for us it’s not so much the lines of the track because if you go onto the track and if you walk the track and you go on your knees… we are sitting quite low, that’s what I want to say, so we don’t actually see so much of the lines, the colours, the blue and the red. I think the more difficult thing is that there’s no reference. Normally you have everything a bit closer to the track, a little bit more elevation and things but I think by now everybody’s used to it.

2018 French GP: Team Members' Press Conference.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA.com

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Eric BOULLIER (McLaren), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Frédéric VASSEUR (Sauber), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Eric, you played a big role in the return of this race here to Paul Ricard. Just tell us the story of how it came to pass?

Eric BOULLIER: Well, I have not played that big role, as it is described, just bringing a little help and you know, being on the other side of the channel, so just making the connection between Christian Estrosi and Bernie Ecclestone, at the time, to make sure that the project that has been started a few years before, concrete.

Thank you, we’ll come back to you in a bit. Fréd, you’ve obviously been here before in junior categories but what do you think of Paul Ricard as a grand prix venue?

Frédéric VASSEUR: For me it’s a lot of memories for sure. I think it will be a good event. The layout of the track, for me, is fine and everyone will enjoy the weekend.

We just saw in FP1 there some encouraging pace in the car but then an accident for Marcus. What are your hopes for Sauber this weekend and is there an update on the car?

FV: We have a small update on the car, it was difficult to see this morning, but step by step we are improving. The first target was to catch up the field and I think we did it. Now we have to improve step by step. For sure for Marcus it was a tough session this morning and he won’t do FP2 this afternoon, but let’s see tomorrow.

Thank you for that update. Cyril, Renault’s home race, as well as one for yourself. How much pressure is there on the team and how big an event is it for Renault?

Cyril ABITEBOUL: Well, we are trying to be a bit insensitive from pressure, because we know that the pressure is not going to improve the result on Sunday, so we are just trying to take a similar approach to the approach we have been taking so far, which is trying to be in the top 10 on Saturday and Sunday, which we think the car is capable of, including this weekend. And great to have a home race, it’s an extra boost for everyone. There are a number of French players in Formula 1. What I mean by players is drivers, engineers, managers, teams, so it’s great now to have a stage to see all those players in action.

Christian, another topic that has been in the news this week is that you are going to have a new power unit partner from next year onwards. Can you just explain the thinking behind that decision?

Christian HORNER: Yeah, it’s exciting news for us. We’ve been in a relationship for what will be 12 seasons, so it’s a hugely long time. But basically, we’ve reached a juncture where we have decided to take a different path for next year. We have been following the progress of Honda’s development very closely, having obviously been in the back of our sister team so far this season. Driven by an engineering-led decision, we’ve elected to take a different route for the future. We’ll look back on our time with Renault, obviously there have been many highs, some lows, but overall it has been a very successful partnership – 150 podiums, 57 grand prix victories, eight world championships during those 12 seasons. We’re hoping to add to that between now and the end of the year, but obviously from 2019 it's a new journey for us and one that we're looking forward to.

And as for Renault’s home race, you just touched on it there, what are your hopes for the rest of this season with this partnership, what can it still achieve this year?

CH: Renault, ever since we have been supplied a power unit by them… they’ve had a works team, they left the sport, they came back in, but what they have been very good at with us is giving us parity and equality in terms of the state-of-the-art equipment they have and we have no reason to believe that won’t continue until the end of the year. We’re outsiders in both championships, in both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ championships and we believe that we’ve still got opportunities to close the gap to the cars ahead and we are going to need Renault’s support to achieve and do that between now and the end of the year, which I’m confident that we’ll have.

Cyril, can we get Renault’s feelings on the news from this week?

CA: Well, as said by Christian, it’s an important news, an important development both for Red Bull and for Renault, and obviously for Honda. We put a little bit of pressure because it was important to get that clarified sooner rather than later for a number of reasons, starting from a logistics perspective with procurement and supply of part and also IP and confidentiality, because even the way we are working with Red Bull, which is completely integrated, without any sort of Chinese wall or barriers. It was important to get that clarified sooner rather than later so that we can make plans and also can focus our efforts on 2019, knowing exactly where things are at in terms of customer base. So that’s done, thanks to Red Bull for making that clear. And that’s a clarification of really the plan of last year when we agreed to terminate Toro Rosso at the end of ’17 and Red Bull at the end of ’18. Frankly, as said by Christian it has been a wonderful journey. I’m extremely thankful of Red Bull, which has been a good partner team – very challenging, demanding, but also by being challenging and demanding in that sport which is a competitive sport and a competitive environment that we progressed. And we have progressed as a team, as a group. It’s certainly something then when we will look back we will see that we have achieved and learned a lot together. So for the future, again as said by Christian, we have a package all together that is capable of winning races, maybe championships, why not, so we will continue to do what we have always done, nothing less, nothing more, to try to help in that respect. That will show that what we are providing is of quality, both in reliability and performance and for the rest, I full appreciate that there was a strategic decision that was involving a number of parameters to be done by Red Bull.

Finally, Eric, what does this news mean for McLaren, as it becomes the only Renault customer from next season?

EB: We are starting a new journey with Renault and getting used to working together there are a lot of things to discover and to build on and having obviously a little bit more focus, less distraction for Renault, having one team less to supply and to care about it’s obviously good news for us and we wish Christian the best.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Daniel Ricciardo is on the market for next season, he’s named your respective teams as possible options for next year. I just wanted to get your thoughts on how interesting an option he is for you and what you can offer him, given that the competitiveness currently lags behind Red Bull?

EB: It’s obviously this time of year that you start to think about your driver line-up for the following year or following years. Obviously we love Daniel, I personally have known him for many, many years. He is doing a good job with Red Bull. As long as a driver of that calibre is on the market you look if there is any discussion possible but at this time of year it’s still too early to talk about our driver line-up for the future, so just a normal, gentle discussion.

CA: We have in Nico and Carlos a very strong line-up. I am extremely pleased with the way that they are developing together. They are performing and they are also driving the team and building the team. For the time being it’s a bit early to talk about the future. Obviously we have a particular situation with Carlos, in the sense that he on a loan to us from Christian and Red Bull. So we have to see. We can say that it is unconnected to engine decisions but it’s not. Frankly Carlos was loaned to us because of all the musical chairs that happened last year, so it was part of that agreement. So I expect that there will be some collateral consequences and that’s something that frankly we are here to discuss with Red Bull and I’m pretty sure that we will discuss that in the next few weeks. We need to watch out for any driver development from Red Bull’s side first and the collateral consequences that it may have on us. For the time being our focus is on developing the best car possible. If we show that we can progress, if we show that we can build a good car, drivers will get interested in joining us. We have to focus on that first and foremost.

Christian, anything to add, these are your drivers we are talking about?

CH: Yes, they’re both our drivers actually. Look, the situation with Daniel, I think that there is an intent from both sides to move forward. The first thing was to close the situation with the engine. That has now been done. Daniel understands the rationale, the engineering rationale, behind that. Let’s not forget that he has been in a car that in the last couple of grands prix has been lapping the cars to our left. So it would be a fairly bold decision to step out of a car that he has won two grands prix in this year as a championship contender. I would be surprised if he was to leave, because it’s a good fit between himself and Red Bull, but it is Formula 1.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Christian, although you have alluded to the performance-led decision about the engine swap to Honda, there are obviously certain commercial benefits in terms of engine supply, possible branding on the car etc. Given that Red Bull contributes about 25% of your budget per annum, will these commercial benefits be used to offset that or will you be ramping up your engineering spend in the face of budget caps and costs?

CH: Well, of course I’m not going to get into the depths of the financial arrangements of contracts but it’s safe to say that we are going to see benefit in that we won’t be paying the amounts we have been paying to Renault, but there are costs involved where you are feeding dynos and gearboxes and other hardware. The net result is obviously a positive one but it is one we are investing within the team to ensure the continued performance is absolutely there. I think that it’s important for us strategically… the rationale behind this partnership was very much with an eye towards what’s past 2020 as well, of having the right partner for the future. Aston Martin have also been very involved in our decision-making, they are fully supportive and let’s not forget, they don’t make engines, so it was a natural fit.

Q: (Laurie Vermeersch – F1only.fr) Question for Eric Boullier. We know that Fernando Alonso might leave this season. Do you have any alternative for next season?

EB: Like I said before, drivers are under consideration and it’s just a matter of when you start to thing and build and maybe discuss. As far as we are concerned for Fernando, we would like obviously for him to stay in the McLaren family and I’m not sure yet he has taken his decision, so we will see at the right time.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Eric, will McLaren seek to identify and potentially discipline the individual member of staff who spoke out against the team today?

EB: This is obviously an internal matter, so we need to discuss what we need to see internally, what’s going… why that individual is unhappy. When you have, obviously 800 people… we have a lot of support from the workforce and from the engineering. I think it’s just a matter of a couple of people who are grumpy. Actually, in some way it’s maybe good for us because we have a lot of feedback and good feedback.

Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) Eric, do you accept any responsibility for the failings of this car. And will you resign?

EB: That’s a good question. Obviously, we are all responsible for the car performance. No, I will not resign, to answer your question. I know you have written some articles. I’ve got my twentieth year now in racing, I’ve won races and championships with every team I’ve managed before, including Formula One, so this is some record that you cannot take away from me. So I think we’re on a journey. We are not where we want to be, we are not happy with where we are – but with the journey, with the new Renault engine partner, and obviously we have a good team of people, we just need to make sure we are finding the issues with the car and correct them. We know where the issues with the car are, and make sure… when you build a car, when you believe in a concept, you have to develop the concept and make sure you correct if for the next one.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Eric, all though you currently run about halfway up the grid in terms of your championship performance, a year ago you were right at the back, so there has been an improvement – however it’s still halfway to where you really need to be as McLaren, as a championship-winning team. Is it realistic to project some form of progress this year, or do you think fifth is roughly where you are? And what are the actual stated objectives and how realistic are they?

EB: Well, it’s true that this time last year we had no points at all, so obviously we are now in the fight for fourth with Renault and once again, we would prefer to be comfortably fourth, which was one of the targets we had assigned to ourselves. The car this year is obviously not working exactly like how we expect to be but we are still using this as an experimental experience, especially like this morning, for example, a lot of new parts on the car. We want to learn from this car and learn as well working with Renault – because it’s a different partner from last year who we worked with for some years. We have something new to learn; some of the technical options we have not explored yet.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Another question for Eric, going back to the media reports today. Is there a toxic atmosphere at McLaren? Are you untouchable and are you fighting to save your job?

EB: No, I think at this level of responsibility we are all obviously working for the company, we are all making sure we take our responsibilities. There have been a couple of stories about some chocolate-gate, I think in the media today which was a bit funny to read – and again, it was good because actually we have tonnes of email from people saying ‘this is a joke’ – so maybe it’s a couple of people grumpy, which in any organisation you have some people who agree or disagree when there has been maybe miscommunication. I don’t know what is the problem of these people and I think we have invited them to come and see us to understand what their problems are, other than obviously talking through the back doors, y’know?

Q: (Benjamin Vinel - Motorsport.com) Question to Christian Horner. Red Bull currently doesn’t have any junior drivers holding a superlicence and none of them seem to be in a position to get one next year – so are you looking at more experienced junior drivers, and secondly, what would happen if one of the four Red Bull drivers got injured and Sébastien Buemi was held back by commitments in WEC or Formula E?

CH: Well, obviously, as you pointed out, we do have Sébastien Buemi. Within the junior programme we have Dan Ticktum in Formula 3 that is winning races and will have, for sure, a licence later this season. So it’s not something we’re particularly concerned about. We also have Jake Dennis that complies with a licence criteria, that we’ve been using on our simulator programme. So, it’s not something that we at Red Bull have a concern about.

Q: (Joe van Burik – Autocar.nl) Question to Christian. Which targets have you set with Honda for the next two seasons for you to consider working with them beyond 2020?

CH: Well, we obviously don’t want to go backwards, we want to go forwards, and that’s the whole purpose of the change that we’ve made. We believe it’s the best route for us to make the steps required to consistently challenge Mercedes and Ferrari – so y’know, this is a very different situation than McLaren found themselves in. I think Honda have matured. They’ve got a good structure in place, they’re on a good development path. We’re confident on the decision we’ve made, which wasn’t taken lightly, that this is absolutely the right route for the team, for 2019 and 2020 seasons, and then we’ll see what happens beyond that.

Q: (Gaëtan Vigneron - RTBF) Question for Eric. Starting from point that you could be interested by Daniel Ricciardo if Fernando leaves, does that mean Stoffel would be too light to be your number one, and what does he need to recover his full potential as we saw before?

EB: Well, I think firstly he has a full potential and he has a good learning curve. His team-mate is obviously one of the maybe the most difficult one to have, with Fernando. You can draft any story, y’know? Today we have Fernando and Stoffel, we are happy with them. We have not yet a discussion about the future. So, at the right time, again, at the due time we will discuss about it.

Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Eric, just another one of Freddo-gate, is it right that you’ve ordered loads of Freddos in for your team this week as a show of support and you hope that perhaps you could get some strength from this situation?

EB: No, it’s not true! We are not working with some Freddos

Perhaps you should…

EB: Well yes, it’s a lot of energy anyway, so thanks for considering this.

Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) A question to Fred. Fred, is Ferrari trying to recruit Charles Leclerc for 2019? And how keen are you to keep him at Sauber next year?

FV: I think that we have to take it a bit easy and that two months ago, some of your colleagues came to me after China and asked me if he will be fired in the next few days. It’s not because you are getting results two or three weekends in a row that you will be World Champion in six months. He has to be focussed first on FP2 and then on the race this weekend, to do the job, step-by-step. I think it’s by far the most important thing for him today, and I’m pushing like hell to keep him motivated on the next events – and he will be.

Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Eric. Just to go back to the Freddo thing, will you be reviewing how you hand out Freddos at the factory? Will you stick with the Freddo rewards – or do they stop?

EB: I think if you did a course in management we can organise this for you. And if you’re really desperate to test the Freddo chocolate, we can send a box to you, don’t worry.

Thank you. Thank you for that offer. Could I just say…

EB: That’s enough of it. You’re looking after something, we will give you any answers later but I think it’s enough.

No, no, it’s not enough. Do you expect to still be in your job at Silverstone?

EB: Yes. Of course. It’s a journey. It’s not a plug and play story. It’s a journey when you have to work too. You’re after me, apparently…

But you’re being briefed against, by your own staff, by your management…

EB: I think you are lying now.

Matteo BONCIANI: Sorry (Eric) Jonathan, we do not want to have a one to one. I’m trying to give a word to everybody. Eric, if you need so say something else?

EB: No, I am fine.

Jonathan MCEVOY: I’m not lying.

MB: Jon, please. (Next question).

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Cyril, what do you think the commercial and performance implications of the Red Bull decision are on your team and Fred, we can assure you that Freddo-gate doesn’t refer to you at all? But do you look at this Honda deal, which Christian obviously sees potential in, and sort of wonder what they see that you didn’t see a year ago when you decided to cancel the pending Honda deal?

CA: OK, implications of the termination of the deal on our budget is really marginal. Yes, there was a substantial revenue associated to that supply but there were also substantial costs associated so frankly, from an economic perspective, if you look at the bottom line, it’s fairly neutral and clearly marginal in comparison to the overall budget of our organisation as we speak. What we are losing, frankly – you were not asking – but what we are losing is a benchmark because clearly I have to say that it was great to have Red Bull as a benchmark for the last two years, to evidence the progress of both the engine and the chassis, but I feel that we are at a point in our construction and our progression where we can afford to lose that benchmark and everyone must focus on where there is performance to be found, which frankly, as we speak, is really on the chassis so that we can match – to hopefully compete one day - against those guys.

FV: Yeah, on our side, we need at this stage to have a benchmark and it was quite tough for us to start with Honda alone. And the second point in my decision was also that we were not able to do our own gearbox last year and I had the feeling that at one stage McLaren will leave Honda and I didn’t want to be in the position that I have to go to Eric to ask for the gearbox and if he’s focused on the Renault project, it was more than uncomfortable.

Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Eric, you’ve spoken about the journey quite a few times throughout this press conference, that you were taking McLaren on. Is it harder for your vision to be felt by the team with the management structure that’s got multiple chiefs, and are you still confident that you’re the right man to lead the team and make your vision felt?

EB: Well, obviously when I joined McLaren they were obviously the people in place and obviously you have to build an organisation that you believe in and I think that during the Honda era it was not obviously planned to be where we were. Again, no points, a lot of reliability issues and we had to deal with this, so you have to manage the company a little bit differently when have brought few people in, coming from a World Champion team. You obviously don’t want to lose them. I think now with Renault as well, we can score points now, at least we try to be fighting for Q3, this is not where we want to be, but again it’s a journey. We still discover… for example in the last race one of the pipes broke during the race and this is something we have investigated and this was a new problem we had to face and this is part of the journey. Again, we are learning to work with Renault and our new partners.

Q: (Bart Von Doijewert – Nu.nl) Christian, how far are you prepared to go to keep Daniel in your team and if he leaves, would you rather have a young talent next to Max Verstappen or a more experienced driver?

CH: Well, obviously our priority is to see if we can find a way to keep Daniel. I think things are going in the right direction. We have talent already on the books on loan to Cyril, we have not a shortage of requests from outside of our own contracted drivers. Obviously the cars are performing extremely well, so there’s no shortage of demand from drivers that want to be in the car for next year but our priority is to retain the same driver line-up for the next couple of years.

Q: And the second part of that was if it was to change, would you want an experienced or a younger driver alongside Max?

CH: I think we definitely want fast and cheap! The two don’t always go together but the Red Bull philosophy has always promoted young talent and given talent, opportunities and hence the guys who have graduated through Toro Rosso, it’s been a proven path.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Christian, given that you and Toro Rosso will again be sharing the same sort of power unit, will you be moving more and more towards a Haas-Ferrari-type deal between yourselves and Toro Rosso?

CH: Well, not quite the Haas-Ferrari because obviously Toro Rosso have their own infrastructure but there’s obvious synergies that a common power unit supplier provides within what’s permitted within the regulations – transmission, drivetrain etc – that creates those obvious synergies that will apply there, so I think it just makes life a bit easier all round.

Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) To all of you: in today’s Formula One, can you win titles as a customer team and if not, how can you change that beyond 2020?

EB: Good question. Well, I think Christian is the showing that you can win races as a customer. I think winning a championship is another level, you need to have a works team status.

CA: Yes, there are very different types of customers, obviously, but I think it’s important that in future we retain the capacity for any team to win races and a championship and I think that this is the direction that things are taking under the new ownership of Liberty.

CH: We’ve demonstrated, with 150 podiums and 57 Grand Prix victories, we’ve paid for every single engine along the way, varying amounts.

CA: Varying performance.

CH: We’ve gone through four different groups of management during our time with Renault. It started with the well-known Flavio Briatore, when we first took the engine. We ended with, as part of the deal, having a box at Queens Park Rangers and sponsoring the Billionaire Club for a season, so it’s been an unconventional route but a successful one. Conflicts of interest didn’t exist in those days. It’s demonstrated that you can win with a customer power unit, I think. Our view on the future is that the situation is slightly different now with Cyril having his own team. Obviously the engines are a bit more complex these days so integration is very much focused around his team whereas we are all selfish in this business, we all want it to be focused on what’s right for your own team and so therefore this relationship with Honda allows us to have that marriage that is focused and unique to Red Bull, rather than having to share.

FV: Yeah, but honestly so far I don’t think that the fact to be customer team is the biggest issue if the target is to be World Champion for me. We will have some other topics before.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Fred, Christian and Cyril, possibly, maybe, last word about Freddo. Do you give your staff chocolate bars as rewards for hard work?

FV: Cyril first!

CH: We obviously have a totally freeflowing supply of Red Bull that people indulge in every day. We even send it to Cyril and his guys after a good result, so we’re not really into Freddos, we’re more into Red Bulls.

CA: We do receive them and we’ve drunk every single one of them. No chocolate, no. But if I may just jump in, I was hesitating. One thing I think about McLaren’s situation: I was talking about benchmarks and the fact that we have Red Bull as a benchmark is also working for engine manufacturers and I think something that has been badly missing for both Honda and McLaren in the past has been the lack of benchmarks. I think that they have a clear understanding of the issues, I think we need also to appreciate that the time needs to focus on those issues. I have absolutely no f**king clue about the chocolate bar that you’re talking about. I don’t want to comment on that, but I just wanted to make that point regarding benchmarks which is very important in a competitive environment.

Q: Thank you very much and apologies for any colourful language in that answer.

FV: Sorry, for me I have to stop the chocolate bar also.

Q: (Stuart Codling – F1 Racing) Christian, can I ask you a non-confectionary-based question: you said just a few moments ago that your golden days with Renault were before there were conflicts of interest. Is it the case that Renault’s return as a works force has made your relationship untenable and that’s set you on the journey to where you are now?

CH: I wouldn’t say it’s made it untenable; it’s changed the dynamic, particularly with this era of power unit. Renault’s priorities are obviously their own team and they should be that and I think that our feeling was that the time is right in this… you know, after 12 years, and it’s one of the longest standing engine supply relationships in Formula One. The decision’s not been taken lightly. A huge amount of analysis, a great deal of research has gone into this and we’ve decided that this is the right route at this juncture for the team and the business to go in this direction.