INDIA in F1

Tag: Otmar Szafnauer

  • BWT Racing Point F1 Team Update from Otmar Szafnauer

    BWT Racing Point F1 Team Update from Otmar Szafnauer

    Silverstone, 26 March 2020: In an unprecedented time for the sport, Otmar Szafnauer provides an update on Racing Point F1 team’s current state of play
    Otmar, it’s been a difficult few weeks – not just for motorsport, but communities across the globe. How is morale in the team?
    “Our first concern at a time like this is the physical and mental wellbeing of our team-mates, their families and friends. We have everybody back home in the UK now and adjusting to this new reality – but it’s certainly not easy for anybody. We’re obviously disappointed not to be able to race for the foreseeable future but, ultimately, we all understand the significance of the situation. The challenges the world is currently facing are unlike anything I’ve known in my lifetime and clearly transcend the sport, so the decisions that have been made are the correct ones.”
    Is the factory still operational at this point?
    “In light of the latest guidance from the UK Government we shut down on Wednesday evening, our doors will be closed for at least three weeks. As things currently stand – and it’s important to stress that this is a constantly evolving situation – we’ll be returning to work on Thursday 16 April. We’ve also worked extremely hard over the last few weeks to ensure that all staff who can work from home have the equipment they need to set up home offices.”
    Racing Point F1 team image
    How will this affect preparations for 2021?
    “This is an unprecedented situation – one that is changing by the day. Right now, we simply cannot say with any degree of certainty when we’ll be back to normal. There are so many factors that are not under our control. With that in mind, another decision taken between the teams and the FIA has been to delay the introduction of the new regulations until 2022. From both a logistical and a cost perspective, this makes absolute sense. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can afford to take it easy when we return to work. When we do eventually get back on track, we need to be in a position to compete – whatever the regulations. There’s still plenty of work ahead and we’ll be ready to tackle it when the time comes.”
    What message do you have for the fans of the team and the sport?
    “On behalf of everybody in the team, I’d like to thank our fans for their support at this challenging time. I’d also like to recognise the commitment and positivity of our commercial partners. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will get back to the racing. In the meantime, there are some excellent efforts going on with F1 Esports and our drivers will be involved in those online events in the weeks ahead. My final thought is to reinforce the government’s advice to stay at home and act responsibly; the more we all follow the guidelines, the quicker we will be back racing.  It’s important we all stay united through these unusual times and stay safe and healthy.”
  • A productive day despite some tricky conditions, says Force India’s Szafnauer

    A productive day despite some tricky conditions, says Force India’s Szafnauer

    Perez during Free Practice on Friday. A Sahara Force India image

    Barcelona, 11 May 2018: Sahara Force India, the only Indian outfit in the Formula One World Championship, who finished fourth consecutively for the last two years, to head the midfield, and punching above their weight in terms of resources when compared to the top teams, have begun 2018 on a sober note. But with Sergio `Checo’ Perez, finishing on the podium in the last round, the team is buoyed with the third place as the F1 bandwagon moves to the European leg starting with the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona.

    Perez who failed to score in the first three races, bounced back with a his 8th podium, the 5th with Force India. And the 15 points garnered in Azerbaijan in the last round and along with Esteban’s one point from his 10th in Bahrain, brought back Force India into the 6th place with a total of 16 points, 20 behind McLaren, who are currently in fourth place and 19 behind Renault who are in fifth place, just one point behind McLaren.

    SERGIO PEREZ – VJM11-02

    FP1 1:20.924 P13 36 laps
    FP2 1:19.962 P10 28 laps

    Sergio: “I think we’ve made a lot of progress throughout the day. We have some good information and we have learned about the new parts on the car; we have made a step forward. The balance is still not ideal so there is the potential to find more performance tomorrow. The track was very green this morning, but it improved this afternoon even though it was very windy.”

    ESTEBAN OCON – VJM11-03

    FP1 1:21.144 P16 27 laps
    FP2 1:20.024 P11 38 laps

    Esteban: “It was a solid day and a big effort by the team to try so many different things on the car in the first session. We managed to complete most of the big jobs and now we need to do more homework to understand everything. I think there is still a lot more to come because we are not exactly where we want to be with the car. Track conditions were not easy for anybody because it was very windy and difficult to put together a clean lap and stay on the track.”

    OTMAR SZAFNAUER
    CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

    “It’s been a productive start to our weekend, despite some tricky conditions. Our work today was mostly aimed at evaluating new aero parts – floor, barge boards and front wing – as well as gathering data about the tyre compounds. The wind was reasonably high and it caught a few drivers out but we managed to collect all the critical data we needed to help our preparations for the weekend. There was a small problem with Sergio’s left front wheel at the end of the session, the cause of which we are investigating, but it only cost us a minimal amount of track time. We are in pretty good shape ahead of the weekend with plenty of data to analyse tonight so that the team can make the right decisions for qualifying and the race.”