Q & A with Ross Brawn

New team principal Ross Brawn joined team members at a press conference in Tokyo today to explain just why the future is bright for the Japanese manufacturer.

Q. What are your estimates of the performance of your new car from testing?

Ross Brawn: I think the performance is probably where we expected it to be. There is quite a strong development programme still going on before the start of the season, particularly with the aerodynamics. I think that was one of the areas of the car last year that needed attention.

The philosophy of the aerodynamics has changed, so there is much more emphasis on the driveability and consistency of the aerodynamics. The new people involved in the programme started in the summer, which is quite late for the aerodynamic programme.

So what we did was launch the car with a basic aerodynamic package. We will have a few new items in Barcelona next week but the main package will be introduced in Jerez the week after. And that should be a reasonable step before the start of the season.

And now we are starting to understand the mechanical side of the car, we have some ideas on how we can improve that in the next few months. So I think the performance is okay. It is nothing special at the moment, but there is quite a lot of potential during the season.

Q. Having observed the team since you joined, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the operation?

RB: I think the team have a lot of strong elements. My priority is to pull all those elements together and try and make them work more effectively as a unit, and I think that is perhaps where the priority is over the next few months.

We have a strong chassis group, a strong aero group and we have the support from Tochigi (Honda's R&D facility) with engine and gearbox. My priority is to pull it all together, and perhaps that is the weakness at the moment. The groups need to bond more closely together and work more closely together. But I will say that everyone has been enthusiastic and responsive towards building a better team for the future.

Q. Having won championships with Benetton and Ferrari, what is your next challenge in joining Honda?

RB: To win the championship!

Q. Is it a different challenge?

RB: There are not so many differences. The thing that was very important to me was to understand, and I anticipated and had it confirmed, that Honda are very committed to doing everything they can to win the championship. That is the important thing.

Some people are in F1 for commercial reasons and some people are in F1 to win championships - and Honda are clearly in F1 because they want to win championships.

What was the reaction from people at Ferrari, like Michael Schumacher, when they found out that you were joining Honda?

RB: Well I hope they are a little bit worried! We have remained very good friends and I hope they wish me well.

From both sides we didn't see a solution to my rejoining Ferrari, so I think they were happy to wish me well and hopeful I am not too much competition in the future - but my ambition is to beat them in the future.

Q. You are working as a team principal now, not a technical director. So you control a wider area. How is the different role?

RB: If we compare the situation to my last 10 years (at Ferrari), Jean Todt was team principal and I was technical director, but Jean had no technical input. We shared the role very much in different areas, and in many ways my role at Honda will be very similar to my role at Ferrari in terms of responsibility for specific areas.

But there are some new areas. There is a closer involvement with the drivers, and a much closer involvement with the strategy for the whole company and how it should develop.

It is obviously good for me to be able to focus on the things that perhaps I am better at. It has also been a very good opportunity to have Nick (Fry), who can focus on the commercial side of the company. We can complement each other in the same way that Jean and I complemented each other at Ferrari, although in different roles. So it is not that different.

Q. Talking about F1, if you make a bad start and are behind it seems difficult to be able to catch up. Looking at the current test results, with Honda being low down and the late aero developments, is there some concern about Honda's form?

RB: I think that there has been, as well as myself, a major restructuring of the team in several areas. We have Steve Clark in charge of racing, Loic Bigois in charge of aero and Jorg Zander joined at the beginning of January in charge of the chassis side.

So I don't think what we are seeing on track, or will see on track, at the start of the season or the next few months, is actually the potential of the team. I think the team has a very strong potential.

What is very important is 2009, because in 2009 there are new regulations. And that gives Honda a very strong opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper.

The difficulty during each season is that if you have bad year then you have to do twice as much to catch up, because all the other teams are moving away from you.

But in 2009 everyone is starting with new regulations and it is a very strong opportunity for us to become much more competitive. So in 2008 I am going to have to balance the resources for improving 2008 against investing in 2009.

I am viewing our programme over at least three years - consolidation, strengthening and planning for the future. I am looking for a three-year plan for wining races and wining championships.

We have to look at it over that period and not be overly concerned with the car we have now, because the car we have now is not a reflection of the people we have now - and it is the people who are most important.

Q. How many wins will you score this year?

RB: I think wins this year will be fortuitous! I think we have to be realistic and say our objective this year is to score some points, to get the team respectable again, to consolidate the team and get everything functioning in the team properly again, so if we win this year it will be very lucky.

But as I said, we have to look at 2009 and 2010. We have a plan now and a programme and I am feeling reasonably confident about the programme Today we don't have a car to win, we will see what happens during the year, but in 2009 and 2010 we can be more optimistic.