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Q & A with Flavio Briatore

After two seasons spent restructuring Renault and getting the team back to the front of the grid, Flavio Briatore has his sights set on a world championship fight in 2009

Autosport.com heard from the flamboyant Italian at the launch of the R29 on Monday, to hear his views on the season ahead, Ron Dennis' departure and a few choice remarks about rivals BMW over the KERS issue.

Q. There was a report in the Italian papers a few weeks ago that you were going to leave Formula One. What is your plan?

Flavio Briatore: The plan is, I don't know really. I never said that to the Italian newspaper. I believe we are living in a very crucial moment in Formula One. This crisis we have, I believe, is something that makes everyone think. What I want is to make sure that we have done what the managers need to do to give F1 the possibility to survive this crisis. And we need to change the business - instead of being a centre for costs it should be a centre for profit.

I believe we have the responsibility for the people working for us to give them a future. We need to accept that at this moment it is very difficult, not just for us but worldwide. We never had a moment like this in history and I want to be a part of this changing F1. Whatever it takes I will do it, and after that I will see.

Q. So you could be around for years in F1?

FB: I hope not to do it for so many years" We are working very well the team together with FOTA, we are working well with Max and we are working well with Bernie. We have talked about costs for a long time, and now finally we are there. We are trying to structure F1 in a different way and I want to be part of it. I hope it does not take 10 years, but we need to take the responsibility to do it as quickly as possible.

Q. What are your feelings about bringing KERS in so quickly into F1?

FB: I think it is a terrible mistake. In the end Renault, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari supply engines to other teams, and we are not making any money - it is costing us but we are doing it for the good of F1. We have the big reduction in the costs of engines, but in another way we have opened the door on something else. We don't know how much it is going to cost us in the end with development, and we don't know if it is dangerous or not - it looks like it is not 100 percent in control. And does it bring any good to us? What it brings to us is only cost, that is sure.

We have this situation because one team only was determined to take this programme. We know already for 2010 there is an option for a standard KERS - so whatever money we spend this year is for one year only. In this kind of environment it is completely unnecessary what we are doing. Plus, if you ask about performance - nobody knows. If you ask me, better with KERS or better without KERS? That is a big question mark.

But for sure BMW wanted to go to the end, so we had to follow that. It is difficult for us to have one competitor developing a programme and we are not part of it. We are talking about performance, but in this moment to support such a programme brings no good to anyone. What we know is we spend a lot of money for nothing. That is for sure.

Q. So will Renault be running KERS from Australia onwards?

FB: Absolutely. We have the option to run KERS or not, but absolutely we will be there with KERS.

Q. Fernando Alonso and Renault finished last season very strongly. With all the regulation changes, will that disrupt the flow of the team?

FB: I don't think so. What happened last year was we made tremendous development of the car through the season. It was because we come back to our normal performance. We had a terrible year from (the end of) 2006 and 2007, after we change the tyres from Michelin to Bridgestone.

At the moment we did not understand why we were in the wrong direction. It cost us six or seven months as going in this direction meant we were starting from the wrong base. It is like building a castle in the sand - it looks good but in the end it collapses.

Last year we come back to our usual business of Renault because we understand what is going on and we improve dramatically the car during the season. Everything we tested was correct. We are building the car with the same philosophy and the same principle, and we are pretty sure we have done a good job. I don't see a reason why we will not be competitive next year.

Q. So you are confident that you can carry the momentum into next year? You are not worried that other teams that stopped development early will be better off for 2009?

FB: You know what? Just look at our history in 2004 and 2005 - forget the Michelin drama because they stopped one year early and we had very short notice at the time we were fighting with Ferrari for the championship. Everybody was pushing Schumi like mad to win the championship. So we were fighting not only with Ferrari but with everybody.

At the time we really had no time to think about tyres - and when we received the tyre from Bridgestone it was very late and it was a disaster, it was a true disaster, and it took 18 months to return everything and to make sure that our indications were the true indications.

Now we are there, and the demonstration (of that) was last year. We started the season 1.5 seconds behind everybody and in the end of the season I believe that sometimes two tenths or sometimes three tenths, we were more competitive than BMW (Sauber) and we were fighting with Ferrari. We were as quick as everybody.

Q. You finished the season very strongly, scoring more points at the end of the year than anybody. But how can you be sure that you will start so well in 2009?

FB: What you can be sure is that the weather was bad here today. I don't know what is happening in two months, but we are working. We want to achieve our target - although I don't know what McLaren have done and I don't know what Ferrari have done.

But I know as well we have improved a little bit the engine as well, as last year we had a big loss of power. I believe our package looks honest and correct, and if it is that, then we will be fighting at the top like the end of last season. Sure is difficult to say, because nobody can be sure to be competitive next year.

Q. Do you think it will be more open than normal?

FB: I think next year there will be three or four, maybe five, drivers fighting for the championship. This is what I believe.

Q. Have you had to build up the engine department to make the changes?

FB: We don't change the engine at all. We made some development, but nothing dramatic. It was enough to close the gap to the top people. Sure McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari may be a bit better, but at least we have closed the gap a little bit. So now we can maybe compete.

If you saw our car last year - when you have a good base in the factory, a good base in the wind tunnel and a good base in all the equipment you have, and then after that you develop the car - you know the base is strong. You know the wind tunnel tells you the truth and everything else tells you the truth. So what you find in the factory you go on the circuit and you get the results. Now the rule changes for everybody, not just for us.

Last year was a bit tough as we developed the 2008 car, but we started the 2009 car and today we have achieved exactly the target we expected to achieve for the first race in Melbourne.

Q. You've talked about three, four or five drivers fighting for the championship. Will Fernando be one of those?

FB: He was last year, at the end of the season. I don't see why he should not be there this season, I don't see any reason why he won't be there.

Q. But he wasn't fighting for the championship then?

FB: I told you before. We improved the car, and if last year the championship started in June rather than March, if there was a mistake in the calendar, then we are there. Unfortunately we started in March - now we know we start in March. Everybody in the team knows the first race is in March!

Q. In recent years there has been a lot of talk about Renault looking at its place in F1, making sure it gets good value for its investment. In the current economic climate, does that put extra pressure on the team?

FB: This is funny because everybody talked about Renault, and afterwards Honda stopped. Maybe someone else will stop before us. Renault never had a problem with the budget, I just didn't want to spend the money unnecessarily - it is as simple as that.

I am always fighting for the budget. Whatever money I need for the budget I never had a problem. I tell that one thousand times, and I (say that) to Carlos Ghosn as well. I never had a problem.

Meanwhile you guys always think about Renault having a problem, and in the meantime Honda are stopping. Why not ask Honda? You never ask them about money or not, and in the meantime they are not there anymore. Why not go ask somebody else? I promise you someone else is in more difficulty than us.

I have always done what I believe was good for the performance of the car. I always spent the money in proportion what I felt was right to spend. In 2006 I did not spend anything, as I knew the car was not good for anything. So why spend the money? I tried to spend the money this year during the season because I knew we were going in the right direction with our development.

I don't want to spend the money only because we are in F1. That is not my skill, honestly. I was always pushing for a reduction in costs and now it looks like everyone has my idea. If we had done that five years ago then maybe Honda would still be in business. It is as simple as that.

I was pushing for the reduction in costs, not for me, but for the environment of F1. Now it looks like everyone wants too much now - we are overreacting now. For five or six years I said at every presentation that we spend too much: it made no sense to have 1000 people to have two cars on the grid, it makes no sense to develop stuff like KERS - for what? Now it looks like everyone has the same idea.

Q. How difficult is it for manufacturers to justify F1 in general. What if the car sales go even further down hill?

FB: It is the same if you sell apples or T-shirts. If the store is not working then that is the economic situation. This is the reason why for me F1 needs to be a centre of profit, not a centre of costs. Only if you make your company a profit, and it doesn't matter what company you have, will you stay in the market. Then you will survive forever.

It is very difficult to survive if your goal is to lose money. We need to stop this - as this situation will never happen again. For the manufacturers it depends what is the cost of F1. For the manufacturers it is important how much money we are talking about - and it is easy to see the benefits of marketing from F1.

Q. But the profit depends also on revenue coming in too. Do you need to have talks about that?

FB: Sure. When you clear up something, first you need to talk about the costs. And it is the rules that determine costs. With no rules, I promise you that whatever money you give to our engineers they will burn it in two weeks. So the rules need to have a good base, and after that you need to work towards the point where we are paid enough to survive.

We don't need extra money from the owner of the team, or the manufacturer. We need to survive on the product that we sell. We need to have enough money from FOA, and from sponsors, to be there. You shouldn't need extra money every year. If you have a situation like that, then as soon as you go into a crisis it is finished, like it is finished with Honda. Honda were putting in I don't know how much money, but there was no future.

If the manufacturers see in three years that we have put our act together, and F1 is not only costs any more - but it is a good show and in balance from the job we have done, then I believe everybody will stay forever. And maybe we will have a line of people who want to come back into F1.

Q. What do you think of no races in North America next year?

FB: This (the race) is something we want to have, but in the right way. We have the experience of Indianapolis and I don't think it was great. I know Bernie is working very hard on this issue.

But it is not so easy negotiating for a race in America, when the people of America think the most important thing is the show, and our show is not fantastic at this moment. Bernie knows we want to have a race in North American and I am sure he is focused on that. It needs to happen in the right moment in the right town.

Q. What do you think about the departure of Ron Dennis?

FB: I have great respect for what Ron Dennis has done in F1, honestly. Ninety percent of the time we did not agree. We had a different view of F1, but I respect completely what Ron Dennis has done in the last 20 years of F1.

He was one of the great owners of a team. He built up an incredible company and I have a lot of respect, especially in the last few months. McLaren give up a lot in FOTA. I believe there are a few teams who have done an incredible job, and Ron Dennis was a big supporter of FOTA - and the policy of McLaren changed completely.

Ron was a big player in FOTA, and my respect for him in the last few months was more. Ferrari also gave up a lot, Renault also gave up a lot and some gave up nothing.

Some put themselves one step back in the interests of F1, and that was Ron Dennis. Some teams, instead of that, pushed hard to ensure everyone spent a fortune to have KERS in Australia.

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