Interview: Mol relishes new team boss role

So with Spyker's buyout of the team finally becoming official after a shareholders meeting in the Netherlands, autosport.com caught up with new owner Michiel Mol in Shanghai to talk about his involvement, the takeover, and his plans for the future.

Q: Now that the deal has officially gone through, how does it feel to be a Formula One team boss?

Michiel Mol: "It feels great, actually. It is hard to think about how to put it, because it feels slightly unreal in a way. You have to get used to a different situation, but I am looking forward to the future with a very big smile."

Q: Have any of the other team bosses said, 'Welcome to the Piranha Club', yet?

Mol: "We have spoken to a few, and there is a lot of enthusiasm from all sides - all over the paddock and more importantly the outside world. Out of 100 reactions I think at least 99 were positive."

Q: The offer to Alex Shnaider was made quite early in the year, but things seemed to drag on for a while...

Mol: "We started talking as early as the first practice session in Bahrain. So it almost took from the beginning to the end of the season to get the deal done."

Q: Were there times when you thought that the deal was not going to happen?

Mol: "Yeah, lots of times. There were big ups and downs during the process."

Q: And was it only just prior to Monza that the talks accelerated?

Mol: "Well, even on the Saturday that we did eventually close the deal, that morning I really wasn't sure that we would get a deal at all."

Q: So it was only on that Saturday night that you finally felt confident?

Mol: "Yeah. At 11:11pm, when we finally put pen to paper."

Q: What is the attraction for you to get involved in F1? The sport is obviously very expensive...

Mol: "By having an F1 team, my vision is that you have your own channel to promote yourself to the world for your sponsors and your own brand.

"Spyker cars being a car manufacturer, it is still very small and not very well known, we are sure that within a year more people will know of the brand Spyker. And even more importantly, they will immediately attach the right values to it - with F1 being high-tech.

"So both for recognition and for brand values it is a very big step forward. Hopefully it will help all small boys around the world having a poster above their bed of a Spyker car. And in the end some of them might be able to buy one of them later."

Q: With the FIA moving to cut costs in F1, was that an important factor in attracting you to the sport now?

Mol: "Yes, definitely. My feeling is that it is the right timing to do. With the engine freeze and those kinds of restrictions and new regulations, they will all be in favour of the smaller teams.

"Plus the television money gets rearranged with the new Concorde Agreement, so the income is bigger and the costs are less. I think this is a very good time to step in."

Q: What is the plan now to take the team forward? What are you going to be working on?

Mol: "First of all, we have to finish the season, of course. We will do that without any real changes. The livery is a big difference but that doesn't make the car any faster.

"So we finish the season and we will use the time to get a really good idea of what there is at the moment and, more importantly, what is needed to take the team further forward.

"Meanwhile, development on next year's car is being done and a decision on engines is the next thing we have to decide. And hopefully we are able to do that today or at the latest tomorrow to be able to announce that in China."

Q: What are the budget plans for next year?

Mol: "We haven't had the complete budget fixed for next year yet, but obviously a part of it will come from FOM income, part will be direct sponsoring and part of it will be driver related - but the exact figures have not been set yet."

Q: On the engine front, you have been in talks with Cosworth and Ferrari. Have you decided what route you are taking?

Mol: "No. Still both are open."

Q: And what will be the deciding factor - the cost, the technical package, competitiveness?

Mol: "Of course cost is an issue, but there is also the competitiveness and wanting to look for a long-term deal. If you want to make real progress over the year then you have to have a long-term partnership."

Q: How close are the two offers? Is there a lot separating the two choices?

Mol: "It is pretty close. If there was a big difference then the decision would be easy."

Q: Everyone assumes that Christijan Albers will be here for a while. How much focus are you putting on drivers?

Mol: "As I said for engines, for people as well we have to make a long term plan. Personally I would very much like to see continuity in our driver line-up for next year, but at the end of the day we have to have a budget.

"If we can agree on the budget then my personal option would be to not change our drivers. But the last word on that has not been said yet."

Q: Everyone assumes there will be a strong Dutch flavour to the team?

Mol: "Well, we will be a Dutch team, but we like to get the best of everything. The best drivers, the best mechanics, the best partners, the best sponsors. Some of them will be Dutch, but not all of them. The best is more important than being Dutch."

Q: Johnny Herbert is not Dutch and is not here, either. Has he got a future at the team?

Mol: "He was originally a Midland thing of course. I have spoken with Johnny and somewhere in the next week or two we will sit down and have a chat to see if there is a future or not. At the moment I don't know yet."

Q: So it is not like he has been fired?

Mol: "Well, his deal with Midland finished and we have to see if we can do something with him in the future."

Q: Is it likely that confirmation about Christijan Albers's new deal will come this weekend?

Mol: "Yeah, well I don't know exactly when Christijan will make the next announcement. He said originally it would be on October 8th, but I would not be too surprised if that is made much earlier."

Q: There has been talk of a new motivation at the team thanks to your involvement. Does that please you?

Mol: "Well, I see a lot of smiles. But I think only next year, when we can show some improvement, then I think we will have a real reason to be happy. They know that we cannot change everything in a week's time, but are in here for a long run and that is hopeful for a lot of people."