Q & A with BMW Motorsport Bosses

Conducted and provided by BMW's press office

Q. What are the implications for the BMW engine of the new qualifying regulations for 2003?

Mario Theissen:

Firstly, they don't imply any significantly different requirements. The basic idea is to maintain the existing pattern of engine replacements. In our case that would mean installing a new unit on Friday evening for Saturday's free practice and final qualifying, which is now of course just one timed lap. Afterwards, the car gets a new engine for the warm-up and the race.

Q. What could alter this pattern?

MT:

Well, so far the engines have been running up to 250 kilometres on the Saturday, with the twelve permitted qualifying laps accounting for an average of 60 of these. For the new requirement of just one flying lap plus a warm-up and cool-down lap we could develop a special engine to be installed on Saturday between free practice and qualifying. Such a short-lived unit would, however, be an extremely costly parallel development and would thus go against the spirit of the regulations for 2004, which as we know, will prescribe one engine for the entire race weekend. We are assuming that the FIA would put a stop to any such moves in 2003.

Q. In 2002 the BMW V10 was the first Formula One unit to pass the magic threshold of 19,000 revolutions a minute. When will the 20,000 rpm threshold be surpassed?

MT:

2003 will see a further increase in the rpm level, but the increments will be considerably smaller. In the long term we will see a fall in engine speed anyway because from 2004 onwards an engine will have to be designed for double the distance of 800 km.

Q. For a world record lap of the kind Juan Pablo Montoya drove in 2002 during qualifying for Monza you don't get any world championship points. Race retirements, on the other hand, have been costing valuable points. From that point of view, wouldn't a more conservative power plant be the safer option?

MT:

Despite the fact that no other team in 2002 amassed as many race laps as the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, the fact is we didn't always meet our reliability targets. In Formula One, however, the answer isn't conservative technology but innovation. In serial production technology as well as in motor racing, BMW aspires to building the best engines in the world. To that end we go down our own routes. The P83 will be an even more powerful, lighter and more compact engine. We want to set the benchmarks for the third year in succession. At the same time we have further enhanced our quality control and are anticipating an improvement in reliability. But you have to realise that it's virtually impossible to get through the season without any engine damage at all when you're driving at the physical limit.

Q: How does BMW's road car production benefit from the company's Formula One involvement?

MT:

Safeguarding the ongoing technology transfer between motorsport and road car production is a matter of course for BMW, and this was from the outset a prerequisite for the company's involvement in Formula One. That has led to close links with BMW's Research and Innovation Centre in Munich.

For example, we have been able to draw on internal resources to develop the engine management system for the F1 power plant entirely at BMW - hardware and software, development and production. The team responsible for this had previously developed the electronics for the M3 and M5.

This technology transfer works both ways. The sophisticated electronics of the 7 Series range is based on high-performance processors which we had previously developed and tested for the F1 project. Similarly, the SMG transmission in the M3, which operates with steering wheel-mounted paddles similar to those in F1 gear changing, is a technology derived from the race track. Beyond that we have built our own Formula One foundry as well as an F1 parts manufacturing facility. Both plants are operated by the same teams that cast and process the production components.

It means these departments have an excellent technological laboratory at their disposal in which they can rapidly familiarise themselves with future casting and manufacturing techniques while at the same time having to meet the extreme demands of Formula One regarding speed, flexibility and precision. This knowledge impacts directly on the next generation of BMW production engines.

Q. What are the future prospects for Formula One?

Gerhard Berger:

Formula One is not immune to the global economic downturn. On top of that, there's going to be a European ban on tobacco advertising in a few years' time. Even so, I don't go along with the doom-mongers. Firstly, there is still no sporting event that regularly draws so many television viewers, and secondly, Formula One is now reaching new markets. Races in Shanghai or Bahrain are major opportunities for car manufacturers such as BMW.

Q. How will the GPWC manufacturers' association develop?

GB:

The question of who will have how much power and what kind of authority in Formula One in the future is very complex. I fully appreciate that the car manufacturers are keen to ensure planning stability in the light of their immense investments, but I'm not convinced that a purely democratically structured manufacturers' association can run Formula One. I fear that the competitive situation in the sport and in the market won't allow that in the long term. It would be better for the sport if it continued to be run independently. Having said that, it isn't easy to replace a man like Ecclestone.

Q. What are your objectives for the 2003 season?

GB:

So far we have set ourselves high but realistic targets each year and have consistently achieved them. Unless something suddenly goes wrong at Ferrari, it's unlikely that the BMW WilliamsF1 Team will be World Champions in 2003. But the new BMW engine is again designed to set benchmarks for Formula One in 2003, and we certainly want to see more podium places and wins than last year. We also aim to follow on from the outstanding qualifying performance of 2002, in which Juan Pablo gained seven pole positions. We will have to keep an eye on McLaren for sure, especially now that Mercedes has poached some of our technicians and the team is bound to grow in strength again.

Q. What role do the changes in the regulations play?

GB:

A very crucial one, particularly where qualifying is concerned. If a driver has the possibility of just one flying lap instead of four, as previously, that presents a completely different challenge. For one thing, it will show which driver has the best nerves, and for another, drivers will be at the mercy of the weather. Because Friday's practice times will determine the order in which drivers set out on their final qualifying lap, unpredictable weather conditions or even a gap in the clouds leading to a rise in asphalt temperatures could have a decisive impact.

Q. How will the internal rivalry between Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher develop?

GB:

If two team mates have been together for two years and haven't shown too much difference in their performance, that isn't going to change in the third year. I'm assuming that they will both be on a par again in 2003 and will be up among the front-runners.