Interview: Rinland Flies the F1 Flag for Argentina

As a boy in rural Argentina, Sergio Rinland used to listen out for the sound of an approaching car and dream of the future.

He never made it as a racing driver, soon giving up any youthful hopes of following in the tracks of Juan Manuel Fangio and Carlos Reutemann and immersing himself instead in engineering and design. This week the 49-year-old Arrows chief designer heads back to Buenos Aires, where he is addressing a motorsport conference, as the most acclaimed Argentine now in Formula One.

It is an easy distinction since Asiatech technical director Enrique Scalabroni is the only other candidate from a country that, in five-times World Champion Fangio, once produced the world's greatest driver. Gaston Mazzacane, Argentina's sole Formula One entry of the past two seasons, was dismissed by Prost early in 2001 and the country's overwhelming economic problems could block the pipeline for some time.

Rinland's last car, the Ferrari-powered Sauber C20, proved a revelation and took the Swiss team to their best season's position of fourth overall. He has worked for various teams since he arrived in Formula One in 1983, including Brabham, Williams, Benetton and Fondmetal, but says his design philosophy has basically remained unchanged over the years.

"What I did on the Sauber is not much different to what I did before with the Brabhams and the Fondmetals in terms of philosophy of design," Rinland told Reuters in an interview. "I apply the same philosophy wherever I am - okay, I am a lot more experienced now and I know a lot more now than I did then and that probably helps.

"But the Sauber produced a solid result because it had the money behind it, it had the engine and the drivers."

Differences of Opinion

"When I did the Brabhams and the Fondmetals I never had the money, the drivers, the budget or the infrastructure so the cars couldn't really show what they were supposed to show."

Rinland left Sauber before the start of the 2001 season, joining Arrows in September, after differences of opinion between him and the team.

"I went there (Sauber) on a three-year plan because I believe that in less than three years you can't do anything," he said. "I was there for a year and a bit and I managed to produce more than I thought I was going to."

He had hoped to design an even better car for 2002. "That was going to be the car for them. Even with a Ferrari customer engine but with good drivers I was hoping to break into the top three with them," he said.

"But they didn't have the inner strength or the confidence that they could actually achieve that. So they thought I was dreaming. I never had an argument with (Peter Sauber), I don't argue. I tell things as they are. They obviously had a different view about how they wanted to do things and that was it really.

"Now my aim is to be in front of them."

Argentina's Racing Problems

Rinland expects Arrows, despite regular rumours of cash problems, to make big progress in 2002 but Argentina's racing problems will be far harder to resolve. Whereas neighbouring Brazil has produced a steady stream of drivers, but few technicians and designers, Argentina has almost vanished off the horizon.

Much of that is to do with Brazilians' love of karting, fundamental to the development of a modern Formula One driver, while Argentines have tended more towards saloon cars.

"The formulas in Argentina after the early '80s started to decline in quality so the drivers don't have the chance to train properly," said Rinland. "That's why there are no good drivers coming out of Argentina, it's not like someone just took the talent out of everybody. They just don't get the training.

"On Friday I'm giving a conference, I'm going to talk about Formula One but I know there are going to be two or three people talking about what to do in Argentina. It's a difficult time but you have to always look at the future and not at the present," he added.

Carlos Reutemann was the country's last great driver and Rinland describes him as both friend and hero but there were others whose fame never made it across the Atlantic.

"I met Reutemann very early on in his career and was a good friend not only of him but of the people around him. He was an inspiration," said Rinland. "But before him was the fascination of Fangio and the formulas in the 1960s."

Three decades ago, there was a flourishing Formula One-style scene in Argentina involving year-old European Grand Prix cars fitted with powerful American engines.

"They were very difficult to drive, very powerful and you needed a lot of skill," said the designer. "When Reutemann came to Europe, I would say maybe another five or six drivers could have come here with the same level of talent. Just imagine that."