Post-race Q & A with Ron Dennis
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, April 8th 2007, 23:22 GMT
Q: That is a fantastic result for the team. You must be very pleased?
Ron Dennis: "We are delighted really - understandably. But I don't know where to start. To finish first and second you cannot really better, but both drivers drove impeccably. Neither of them left the track and Lewis fought well and clean. He played the pressure well with Kimi and had everything under control and deserved to finish second.
"I don't think anyone gifted anything to us today. We had good strategy, good starts and ultimately we got the result that the team and the drivers deserved."
Q: Are you surprised by the manner of the turnaround since Australia?
Dennis: "I think that it is difficult to put into words how many people work so hard behind the scenes. Modern F1 isn't about making one single part and the car goes suddenly quicker. It is about lots and lots of parts contributing to the meaningful lap time improvement, so there is just a ginormous amount of work going on.
"The test last week was interrupted by rain so to piece everything together and get a result is a credit to the whole supply chain - the people back in England and of course the drivers that put it to good use."
Q: Fernando was playing down your potential for the future but there must be a certain amount of momentum - especially for next week?
Dennis: "Fernando is a team player and he hasn't experienced winning in McLaren, so perhaps he thinks our efforts or commitments is going to be diminished. Success actually heightens every aspect of our organisation, there will be more commitment and we will be trying even harder.
"We will try to come to Bahrain with a laptime improvement and we will certainly be in Spain with a significant laptime improvement, and we will do everything we can to win both world championships. But there is an awful long way to go yet and this is the second race. We are under no illusions. Ferrari is a very strong team and it was good to see Nick Heidfeld pick up some points. For us it is great that they didn't go to Felipe Massa."
Q: Lewis has become a force to be reckoned with on first corners now?
Dennis: "I think the important thing is just how clean his manoeuvres were. There was nothing untidy about what he did. There was no wheel banging or anything, but by driving like that it shows the other people with whom he is driving that he is going to be decisive and committed."
Q: Do you think the movable floor issue played a part in the final result?
Dennis: "I think the issues that were discussed in Australia and were defined for here are the same for everybody. And I don't think anybody is doing anything other than ensure that everybody has the same interpretation of any regulations. Everybody contributed to the process and the FIA gave the clarity. I don't think it particular adversely affected anybody, but certainly when you have these concerns they are better cleaned up."
Q: What happened with Fernando's radio?
Dennis: "The radio was a repeater failure in the garage. So our radio technician was able to identify the problem and fix it quite quickly. It was at a critical time the failure because we were calling in him for fuel and if he had not seen the signal then he would have run out of fuel. That was it..."
Q: Were you afraid?
Dennis: "Let's put it this way. I was relieved to see him come down the pitlane!"
Q: Looking at Hamilton's race overall, which part of it most impressed you?
Dennis: "I think the opening laps. I think he was just very committed and clean. And of course withstanding the pressure of a charging Kimi. He could have gone quicker but that is the key, isn't it? The key is to finish and get the best result you can. And it is not about by how much. So to keep his driving tidy and look after the car and just do what was necessary to come second displays a level of professionalism that you would not expect to find a guy in his second Grand Prix."
Q: When you said he was driving to finish second, but that first stint after he got the second place, was he driving that tactically then?
Dennis: "No, we raced end to end tactically. Clearly Fernando broke away and what was very encouraging for us means that the car got quicker which means we have come to grips with the issue of tyre degradation and as the fuel dropped out the car got quicker.
"So that gives us some degree of confidence that we have come close to mastering the challenge of managing the Bridgestone tyre. That is possibly an edge that other teams have had. We felt we were second in that understanding and I think we have got closer to that understanding which should help us in the balance of the season."
Q: The fact that at the second race of the season McLaren were better able to manage the tyres, does that surprise you?
Dennis: "The answer is to the question is, we are under no illusions. We are the second race into a long world championship and there are several very formidable teams. Of course Ferrari is one of them. Our intention is to stay ahead, keep pushing and developing the car. That will be the intention.
"There is obviously a very logical and easy to understand race on the circuit but there is equally a challenging race to develop your car faster and more effectively. It is a costly exercise but it is an exercise that you need to bring great discipline to.
"It is so easy to go down technical cul-de-sacs. It is a good feeling to come out of this race, but we are under no illusions about the future. It is going to be difficult to maintain the pace and be as competitive as we need to be to win the world championship."
Q: Looking back on your decision to go with Lewis this year, how does that decision look now?
Dennis: "Firstly it was not mine, and mine alone. In many ways I deliberately took a slightly back seat on the process to make sure it was something supported by everybody. Of course it was easy for me to support it, but I didn't want to find myself in a position where if he had struggled people would be saying it was my decision and my decision alone. But his inclusion in the Vodafone McLaren team was justified from when we started testing.
"These races just demonstrate to everybody that has not got the understanding of it because they are stood back from it about his capabilities. Everyone can see it. And I think we can all see that he is not just a capable racing driver in the car, but also very talented in his approach to the job and his physical fitness.
"He is a very good all round talent but he has also got a double world champion as his teammate. And as you can see after the race, they were delighted for each other and if we can maintain that team spirit through the balance of the year we will have a great year."
Q: Fernando said at the end of running on Friday that Ferrari were the team to beat. Was that an element of "kidology"?
Dennis: "This is a very difficult sport to second-guess what is going to happen. We knew that we had closed the gap on them after Saturday. Qualifying on no fuel indicated that we had the ability to outpace them and I think the thing that was difficult to know was whether we had come to grips with handling the tyres.
"And today we did a better job in that area. We realised that we were going to have to sacrifice a little bit of straightline speed and put a bit of downforce on - and take the hit in respect of outright performance. But at the end of the day it was the right thing to do."
Q: After the first victory since 2005, what are your feelings?
Dennis: "To be honest, I feel like I have only gone two hours without a win. I think the year before is a distant memory. At the end of the day we exist to win and we think we have done a very good job.
"A lot of people work very, very hard over the winter and I don't think there is anything lucky about what unfolded. You get out of motor racing what you put in. And sometimes it is absolutely confusing to be pushing so hard and not get the result, but this year it seems to be coming off."
Q: You said both your drivers were impeccable today. You must have had a wry smile when you saw the size of the gap that Kimi left at the first corner, and the fact that Felipe was asleep for the first three laps?
Dennis: "I don't think he was asleep. I think he was pushed into getting his tyres a bit dirty. I don't think that helped. At the end of the day Lewis played a significant role in the opening laps and it was very positive."
