Eric Boullier: Were completely behind any tyre changes for safety
A fifth place finish saw Kimi notch up a few more points at Silverstone, but the potential for more was and is there. Germany should offer an opportunity to make amends, reckons Team Principal Eric Boullier
Not the best of weekend in Silverstone for the team?The outcome of the race wasnt rewarding with the amount of work that has been done by the team recently. Most of the upgrades we brought seemed to be working which is a positive sign, although we did struggle a bit in qualifying to generate good grip from the tyres. Our strategy was great until the last safety car. We should have called Kimi in to save at least one position and make the podium. Unfortunately, we made the wrong call for which we apologised to Kimi and to the team. This sometimes happens and it isnt easy to manage when you have so many safety car periods. In Germany were confident we will be competitive and aiming to make amends. For Romain, it was a frustrating race after a strong Saturday performance where hed outqualifed Kimi. Its very unusual for us to have a part fail, so were looking very closely at his front wing to ascertain what went wrong.
How was the post-race debrief at Silverstone?Were all grown-ups and were all pretty frank with each other. It was pretty obvious with hindsight that we made the wrong call. No team can say that they make the correct call on every occasion; whether in race strategy, car design philosophy or any other aspect of the sport. Kimi was pretty frustrated when he got out of the car which is understandable we wouldnt want a driver who wasnt frustrated after what happened but theres no point sitting in the corner sulking; were focused on getting a good result in Germany.
It wasnt the best advertisement of the teams calibre to keep Kimi for the futureKimis an intelligent guy and he wont let a single pit stop call define a decision like where to drive for 2014. One of his psychological strengths is that he clearly lets you know when hes upset about something, then he refocuses and gets on with the next challenge very quickly. He seems to like being with Lotus F1 Team and were doing everything we can to show him this is the place to be for next season and beyond.
What are the positives for Germany?Theres nothing about the Nurburgring to cause us any concern so we should be in the hunt again in Germany. We brought plenty of upgrades to Silverstone and we have a lot of data from the weekend so there should be some more pace to extract there. Another positive for the team to take from Silverstone was that all our race pit stops were completed in 2.5 seconds or under. Its great to see the hard work in this area making improvements, so a big thanks to the pit stop crew who practice their stops so many times both at the track and at the factory as well as the design and manufacturing departments for all the equipment and relevant car parts too.
How is on-going development of the E21?Weve raced with the Device now and we are happy with it. It should make appearances again this season. We have also developed a new aerodynamic package which also brings benefits. Now weve used both on track and are happy with the results, the next step is to combine the two. We also have plenty of other developments continuing with this seasons car and well keep pushing till the end of the season.
Can we mention tyres?Theyre quite a topic of discussion these days arent they? Obviously, we saw more tyre failures than were used to seeing at Silverstone and Pirelli are analysing all the data available. Its something thats very much in the media, but the important thing is that the sport has tyres which are firstly safe and secondly fair for all competitors. The tyre failures in Silverstone were a concern and were doing everything we can to assist Pirelli. Once they have completed their analysis, then decisions can be made based on the available information. Were completely behind any changes which could be required on the grounds of safety and always have been. Weve never pushed to race on tyres which Pirelli have told us could have the potential to be unsafe.
Alan Permane: We could unlock quite a bit of speed this weekend
After a British Grand Prix which saw a fair amount of controversy both for the team and the sport Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane sets the record straight
Whats your analysis of the British Grand Prix?Ultimately we finished P5 from a P8 grid slot with Kimi, so it wasnt the end of the world. However, wed been looking much stronger and our race was actually going very well right up until the last safety car period, which left us with a dilemma; bring Kimi in for fresh tyres or run to the end. With hindsight, its obvious we made the wrong choice.
What were the circumstances leading to the strategy call?Having stopped moments beforehand, Fernando [Alonso] was extremely fortunate with the timing of the safety car. Mark [Webber] was on options that were fading fast, so the timing of Sebastian [Vettel] parking his Red Bull in a place where a safety car was needed was most fortuitous for Mark. Nico [Rosbergs] lead was such that he had a free stop. Of the cars, like us, who were on hard tyres and planning to go to the end, Daniel [Ricciardo] and Adrian [Sutil] stayed out just like us. Based on the information we had at the time and what we believed the pace difference to the medium tyre would be, the call was made to stay out because we believed that our tyres were in good enough shape to run to the end in that position. Had we pitted for options and seen Kimi stuck behind Daniel and Adrian for the remainder of the race we would have been equally criticised, so it was a risk either way.
Moving on, tell us about the NurburgringIts a good track and one that the drivers really seem to enjoy as it has a real mix of everything. The opening sector is really quite technical, with good traction and a strong front end needed for some of the longer radius low speed turns. Then of course theres a couple of swooping, medium speed downhill turns towards the hairpin, followed by the high speed kink which despite the gradient is taken flat out in 6th or even 7th gear at around 280kph and really pushes the drivers. Next, you have a couple of medium / high speed corners leading onto the long back straight, followed by a tight chicane and the last corner, where a good front end is again required to counter the understeer inducing nature of the turn. In terms of chassis setup theres a little bit of everything required; good change of direction for the medium speed corners, decent traction and front end for the tricky first sector and good top end speed for the long straights.
Are there any further upgrades for the E21 this weekend?Having only just been to Silverstone there wont be anything major, as the crew will be driving straight down to Germany to rebuild the cars without stopping at the factory. That said, we still have a new wing which we havent used yet and we still have to try various permutations of the latest upgrades on both cars. If its good weather and everything goes to plan, we could unlock quite a bit of speed this weekend.
What about the Device?At Silverstone, Kimi ran with the Device and Romain rain with the new slimline bodywork package. The gains from both were roughly on a par with each other, so once weve confirmed everything on the data, combining the two which have been developed on parallel but separate development paths could well be the way forward. That wont be for Germany, where weve yet to determine which package we will use. Watch closely when the garage doors open for first practice.
Tyres are a talking point yet againWere supporting Pirelli, as we have all year, with any information and data they require. Obviously, no-one wants a repeat of the situation we saw in Silverstone and Pirelli are trawling through the data and analysing the tyres to establish what went on. From our perspective, we would never block any changes required on safety grounds. Pirelli have always stated that their tyres are safe. If its the case that they believe the best way forward in the interests of safety is to change the tyres to, say, a Canada development specification or even last years specification then well be behind it. As regards a change for any reason other than safety, we have been performing well on the original specification tyres this season and are reluctant to lose that advantage based on the preference of our rivals. Thats only natural in a competitive sport; but safety is an entirely different matter.
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