FIA Team Principals press conference – Australia

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES: Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Adrian NEWEY (Aston Martin), Graeme LOWDON (Cadillac)

Q: Adrian, perhaps we could start with you. The team’s been very open about its current challenges, both during testing and here in Melbourne. It looked like you had more issues in FP1. Just talk us through what the problems were, first of all, if you could?

Adrian NEWEY: We’re having continuing problems with the battery, so we’ve had a fresh problem, if you like, [with] communication internally with the battery to its management system. But the much more underlying problem is the vibration issues that we continue to struggle with.

Q: Honda said that they were coming to this race with hopefully some solutions to the vibrations. I know you haven’t done many laps, but is there any evidence of a solution?

AN: We tried a different solution in Lance’s car today. There’s some analysis going on as we speak as to whether that’s helped or not. And then depending on that analysis we’ll define what we do for FP2.

Q: FP2 and the rest of the weekend, just tell us how it looks. What are you hoping to achieve in FP2, FP3, qualifying and the race? What does it look like for you?

AN: Well, obviously 30 laps in each and 50 laps in the race, or whatever it is. I think realistically it’s just trying to manage the problem. We are short on batteries. We’ve only got two batteries left, the two that are in the car, so if we lose one of those then it’s obviously a big problem. So we’ve got to be very careful on how we use the batteries.

Q: Adrian, you’ve experienced so much in your career. Just on a personal level, is this one of the most challenging moments you’ve ever experienced?

AN: I think it’s one where I kind of feel a bit powerless because, clearly, we’ve got a very significant PU problem, and our lack of running then also means at the same time we’re not finding out about the car. So, our information on the car itself is very limited because we’ve done so little running, and particularly running at low fuel, because running at low fuel… Fuel acts as a damper to the battery. Honda have limited us very much to how much low fuel running we can do. It just becomes a self-feeding problem. And of course it’s using a lot of energy, in the human sense as opposed to the kilowatt sense, on our part to try to work with Honda and to produce the best overall solution, because we can turn around and say, “Well, it’s not our problem,” but it is our problem because ultimately the car is the combination of chassis and PU.

Q: Adrian, thank you very much for that. I’m sure there’ll be more questions for you in a minute. Toto, if we could come to you now. Could we start just by talking about FP1? It looked like you got a good number of laps with both cars. Just give us your summary of work done so far at Albert Park.

Toto WOLFF: We are certainly not in the magnitude of problems that Adrian has, but it was a difficult birth today also for us, but not unexpected, I guess, when you start with new regulations. We weren’t in such a good place on the chassis side, power unit side, but all things that are surmountable. Quite some interesting, exciting challenges to overcome for FP2 and the rest of the weekend, but I would say we are where we are and that’s going to be alright.

Q: You are where you are, but George had a quiet confidence about him when he was in this room yesterday. Given everything you’ve just said about FP1, how confident are you for the rest of the weekend here in Melbourne?

TW: As I’ve said before, in 15 years or so I have never been confident. Even if we started the season magnificently, I’ve never been confident enough to say that we are going to be faster, we’re going to be on the podium at the end of the race weekend. That is no different to this year. I’m not going to say that because simply we don’t know. We had a challenging FP1 but not out of the ordinary, so we’ve just got to put the work in step by step, do it calmly, and then hopefully be fast enough to fight for a podium or a win on Sunday, but it’s not a given.

Q: Okay, Toto, thank you for that. And Graeme, coming to you, your first official Formula 1 session done. Just how did it play out for you?

Graeme LOWDON: Well, it was very hectic because it’s the first time we’ve ever run two cars! I mean, you know, the regulations allow you to run one [in testing]. So far, the whole project has been a series of firsts and today was another one of those. But if we just focus on the work that was done, we had some upgrades here, we ran through a programme, we had a couple of issues during the session, which I don’t think is unusual. We lost a couple of wing mirrors, but these are the kind of problems that we can iron out and work on. I think on a project like this it’s very easy to see Melbourne as the end objective, and it’s not. Obviously, it’s our first ever Grand Prix for Cadillac Formula 1 Team, so this isn’t our objective. Our objective is to start racing, and that’s what it felt like for me. It was the start of a very, very, very long journey.

Q: But quicker than an Alpine with one of your cars. Does that give you confidence for the rest of the weekend here?

GL: Well, I think there’s a general lack of confidence in everyone. It’s FP1 and nobody knows really where they’re at. We know we’ve got a huge amount of work, but also, I’ve been super lucky on this project. I’ve had a front-row seat to see just what’s being achieved by everybody, not just in Indianapolis but in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Silverstone. It’s hard. This is the greatest team sport in the world but it’s the most difficult team sport in the world. The competition is just insane and it’s so, so difficult, and we know that. So, do we take confidence? I mean, we have a very, very grounded appreciation of just what it takes to try and build a team, and this is the first step in a long way. Also, I’d very much like to take this opportunity to thank not just everybody in the team but everybody behind everybody in the team, so the families, the friends, the husbands, the wives, the boyfriends, the girlfriends, the family members. That’s the rock that we build the team on, and there’s no way we could do this without all of that support. So, I just want to take this opportunity to thank all those people, and hopefully a lot of them are at home watching. There’s nowhere to hide in Formula 1, so this is our first time we’ve run two cars and you’ve got to do it in front of a few hundred million people, but that’s Formula 1. That’s what we’ve always wanted to do.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sport F1) Toto, after Kimi’s engine problem in Bahrain, are you worried about reliability preventing you from pushing to the limits now?

TW: Reliability is always an issue, particularly with new cars and new power units. They say, “In order to finish first, first you have to finish,” and I guess that’s going to be the motto for this first couple of Grands Prix, to see where our limitations are, where our reliability worries are on either component or on any component in the car. So no, not particularly worried about one reliability issue related to the engine, but it’s more the overall car concept.

Q: (Mervi Kallio – Viaplay Finland) Adrian, I think everyone in this room and in this paddock wishes you to get better during the season, but what do you see as the worst scenario that can happen to the team?

AN: It’s very difficult to forecast at the moment. I think there’s a very clear action on Honda to try to reduce the vibration which is emanating from the PU. They are working on that. It’s not going to be a quick fix because this involves fundamental balancing and damping projects that they will need to conduct. I can’t comment how quickly they can achieve that, but that has to be the main drive. Once they’ve got past that, then they can really start to concentrate on performance, but at the moment this vibration issue is sucking all energy in every area. I mean, as I said, emotionally, I mean our mechanics were up until four o’clock this morning. So of course they’re on their knees. The factory has been offering a lot of support, so it’s something we really need to try to get on top of as quickly as possible.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Adrian, this is all very reminiscent of 2015, or 2017 for that matter, but Honda have been in F1 for 12 years now and won the World Championship in between. Have they given any indication to you as to why they’re in such a mess? And as a corollary to that, how’s Fernando dealing with it?

AN: I think, okay, the first question, a bit of history is important there. Honda pulled out at the end of 2021. They then re-entered the sport, kind of, at the end of 2022, so over roughly a year, a year and a bit, out of competition. When they reformed, a lot of the original group had, it now transpires, disbanded and gone to work on solar panels or whatever, and so a lot of the group that reformed are actually fresh to Formula 1. They didn’t bring the experience that they had had previously. Plus, when they came back in 2023, that was the first year of the budget cap introduction for engines, so all their rivals had been developing away through ’21, ’22 with continuity, their existing team, and free of budget cap. They re-entered with, let’s say, only, I’m guessing, 30% of their original team, and now in a budget cap era, so they started very much on the back foot and unfortunately, they’ve struggled to catch back up.

Q: And on the topic of Fernando?

AN: Well, I mean, Fernando obviously, in my opinion, he’s one of the true greats. His ability, his talent, his all-round capability, he should have won, in truth, far more than the two championships he has to his name and however many race wins. He’s still, I’m not sure how old he is, nobody quite knows, but he’s in his forties. But he’s still super quick, super talented, super sharp. Talking to him, he doesn’t feel as if he’s suffering in any way. His eyesight’s still very good, his reactions, apparently he’s very proud of the fact that he was the fastest starter last year on reaction time. So, he’s an amazing person, and so we all, I suppose, were trying to contain our hopes because we knew this was going to be a difficult year, a build year. Certainly, on the chassis side, we on AMR’s side, we started very late with a very compressed cycle. Not trying to make excuses, but it means we knew that certainly the first part of the season we were likely to be a bit behind, but hopefully with the potential, which I still believe we have on the chassis side, to catch back up, or would have done without the distraction that’s now caused. So, for Fernando it’s a hard mental place to be in at the moment.

Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) For all three of you, you’re obviously all here to look after the interests of your own teams, but looking at the bigger picture, do you have any concerns about the kind of show we’re going to see on Sunday afternoon, especially in terms of how the public perceives it, whether they understand it or enjoy it? And do you see one possible scenario that it’s so chaotic that it’s actually entertaining?

TW: I think there’s more than 500,000 spectators predicted for this weekend. The enthusiasm is great and everybody’s happy to see the cars and the drivers out there. Certainly, like it is with all new regulations, it’s going to be different in a certain way. Like you say, some cars are going to struggle, others not. We maybe may see the odd surprise. So, I’m not worried at all. That’s not the word that would come into my mind when looking at the overall entertainment factor and show and sport that we’re going to see Saturday and Sunday.

AN: Yeah, I mean, I think as Toto said, it’s very difficult to forecast. Somehow, Formula 1, new regulations, there’s a lot of negativity going in, and somehow it always all rises on the night, and I think that should be one of those cases.

GL: Yeah, I think not much more to add. It’s fantastic to see such a big crowd and they’re obviously here because they love the Grand Prix racing, and that’s what they’ll get on Sunday. I’m sure an awful lot of people are going to be tuning in at whatever time of day it is to see the same. I think there’s just a huge level of interest, possibly because of the regulation change.

Q: (Issy Coghill – 4ZZZ) This one is a technical question. My question is for Adrian Newey and by extension Toto Wolff. Adrian, if the choice was yours to make for the AMR26 power unit, would you have preferred Mercedes power? And if so, Toto, would you have been happy for Aston Martin to retain supply of your power units?

AN: I think we are where we are with Honda. Obviously, our focus now is to work with Honda to get to the best possible place. Being realistic, this season is first of all, as I mentioned, getting on top of this vibration problem so we can run reliably, and from there to see how much performance they can add to the combustion engine in particular. Then at the same time, of course, Honda needs to start working on the ’27 engine because it’s clear that a very large step in combustion engine power is needed for ’27, and that has to be their sole focus.

TW: I like the formal way you ask the questions, by the way. Aston Martin was a client and a partner of Mercedes over those many years, and we still deliver engines and other components to the road car side, so that wasn’t a Mercedes decision to not go with Aston Martin. I think it was a conscious decision to become a works team, with Honda, with their partner Aramco, and that’s why we had to let them go.

Q: (Jon Noble – The Race) Toto, everyone else has installed you as clear favourites coming into this weekend. We’ve talked of a difficult birth and some challenges. Are these challenges that can be overcome in two practice sessions, or do you feel you’re slightly on the back foot compared to everyone else’s expectations and you aren’t the favourites at the moment?

TW: Yeah, they can be overcome because we’ve seen if we want today, it was much more challenging than the Bahrain test, for example. So, it’s not inherent problems that we have in the hardware. Some of the software, it’s just teething problems. Now, having said that, I’ve always stated that I think Red Bull and Ferrari are very fast, and people try to continue to talk us up, and that’s flattering, but I’m not sure it’s 100% the reality, and certainly not what we have seen in FP1.

Q: (Samuel Coop – RacingNews365) Adrian, my question is for you. You mentioned fresh faces at Honda. Were Aston Martin aware of the lack of experience at Honda when the works deal was signed? And if not, would that agreement have been made?

AN: No, we weren’t. We only really became aware of it in November of last year when Lawrence, Andy Cowell and myself went to Tokyo to discuss rumours starting to suggest that their original target power they wouldn’t achieve for race one, and out of that came the fact that many of the original workforce had not returned when they restarted. So, no is the answer.

Q: (Oliver van Bronswijk – The Roar) A question for you, Adrian. More on a personal level, this is your first time as team principal. How do you go about the challenges of keeping the team environment positive and making sure morale stays where it needs to be?

AN: I think my title of team principal, the difference compared to how I operated, for instance, at Red Bull, is that at Red Bull I was doing a very similar role but confined to the engineering department. In this role it’s the whole company, so it’s a bigger role in that sense, but in many ways it’s an extension of what I’ve been doing for many years.

Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Adrian, not a lot of people know, but in Brazil fans are really proud that you started your career in Fittipaldi. Can you please talk about those years and the importance of the Brazilian team in your career?

AN: Yeah, that’s very simple – if it hadn’t been Fittipaldi, I might not be sitting here. I’ll try to keep it brief, but in 1980 I graduated, having studied aeronautics at university, not out of any interest in aircraft but simply because I wanted to get into motor racing and I thought that was the best degree to study. When I got to graduation, this is 1980, way before the internet, I wrote round to all the addresses of teams I could find. Most didn’t reply. The one that did reply was Harvey Postlethwaite at Fittipaldi. I went for an interview, actually on my motorbike, a Ducati. He had a Moto Guzzi Le Mans. He said, “Can I have a go on your Ducati?” I said, “Yes.” Off he went around the block. When he came back, big smile on his face, he said, “When can you start?” And that was my foot in.

Q: (Manuel Vicente Barrera Baquero – Televisa) Question for Graeme. You just told us that it’s the first time that you have both cars on the track. Are you at the point that you imagined? Are you far away? Are you in a better mood? What are the feelings about this FP1? Thank you.

GL: Actually, it’s very, very difficult to know just where one would be. A new team coming into Formula 1 doesn’t happen very often, so there’s very little precedent for where things are. Personally, I think everyone in the team’s done an exceptional job, they really have. Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of actually getting the entry, and in that time we’ve had to obviously build the cars, but we’ve had to design them, we’ve had to hire the people to design them, and build the buildings that they’re designing them in. It’s just a massive amount of work. So if somebody had said a year minus a day ago that we’d have two cars running in FP1 and operating as a Formula 1 team and starting that whole journey, that whole engineering journey of trying to make an automobile go faster, you’d rip their arm off and say thanks very much, because it’s just so... yeah, it’s very difficult to convey how difficult Formula 1 is other than just keep repeating and saying it. It’s unbelievably competitive. The standard of all the... I know Aston Martin have got some challenges at the minute, but this is a top team and they’ll overcome those challenges very, very quickly, I’m sure. We’re racing against the best in the world, and so just to get here, hopefully on the respect of these teams, and then of course yes, over time we want to challenge them. You have to start somewhere, and I think the journey that we’ve been through as a team has been really positive. The mood inside the team is very, very strong. We’ve said we want to make this a team that everybody wants to join and people are proud to be part of and hopefully don’t want to leave. I firmly believe that that’s the team that we’re building, and for me it’s a real honour and a privilege to be part of it.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Another one for Adrian, please. As things stand, how great or genuine is the risk that Aston Martin may not be able to qualify or race in Australia this weekend?

AN: The critical point is the number of batteries. As I mentioned earlier, we came here with four batteries. We’ve had conditioning problems or communication problems with two of those batteries, which means we’ve, as we sit here today, only got two operational batteries. That, given our kind of rate of battery damage, is quite a scary place to be in. Obviously, we’re hopeful that we can get through the weekend and start two cars and so on and so forth, but it’s very difficult to be concrete at the moment about that.

Q: Adrian, is there the possibility of flying more batteries in?

AN: Unfortunately not. There aren’t any.

Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhua News Agency) Adrian, now that you’re a team principal, are you able to devote the time that you would like to improve the performance of the car if you also have to oversee the entire operation of the team?

AN: I try. I think for that I rely on an extremely talented group of senior department heads. We have our new HR recruit, she’s going to be very good. She’s only one week into the job and straight away up to speed. We have in Enrico Cardile a very talented CTO. Our COO Paul Field is also very experienced and bringing a lot to the team. It’s those key people, others, Robert Yeowart, that I rely on so that I can be very efficient with my time. So, as I mentioned earlier, actually on the engineering lead, with Enrico, I have to spend less time than I did at RB doing, if you like, cultural coaching, whatever you want to call it, or trying to instil the right environment and working practices, which of course, same as with RB, that was a lot of work early on. As the organisation matures, then it becomes more self-managing. I think when I look at where we are with AMR now, then similar challenges to when I first started at RB of working practice, communication, silos, all the things we know and love and try to break down. I think the personnel, the staff that I see at AMR are a very, very talented group, that we just needed to get them working together and between each other and so forth much better than they had been, and that’s well developed now. It’s well on the right path. We’ve of course got work to do. So, do I feel as if it’s distracting me from my core job of trying to work with everybody, work on my own to come up with ideas, development directions, et cetera, et cetera? A little bit. Certainly, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the big distraction at the moment has been the work we’re putting into trying to work with Honda to assist them. But overall, I feel that once everything’s settled down with that senior management plan in place, or group in place, then no, I’m not worried about it.

Q: (Kieran Jackson – The Independent) A question for Toto, please. F1 is scheduled to race in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month. Obviously, given the situation in the Middle East, what does your hunch say about whether we will be racing in those countries next month? And is there a deadline for the teams and for the sport in terms of logistics, et cetera, to make a decision?

TW: First of all, Formula 1 in a way becomes the second priority. It’s such an important topic in the region that it’s even quite difficult, I guess, to talk to the local leaders and say: “What about the Grand Prix?” I think this is up to Stefano as a promoter and the FIA to manage that situation while respecting the current challenges that they have. My hunch is I would very much hope we race. Is it realistic that we race there at the moment? I’m not quite sure. But again, I leave it to Stefano to manage that situation. I hope generally it gets better there so we are able to come back as soon as possible.