Q & A with Stefano Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali: Unfortunately we had a problem, and we saw it at the last stop. Some of the fuel did not go into the tank. We don't know yet what is the real problem, and if it is connected to the tank itself. We are checking it now, and we already had a short second stint because we planned to have a longer one because we saw we were going very well.

Then the problem occurred again on the second stop. When we had the possibility to check the situation, we tried to see if it was possible to change the refuelling rig and come back in, or stay out. And it seems it was the best solution to do that and complete the last laps.

Q. Felipe says that the step forward in the car this weekend has given you fresh optimism about your chances of fighting for the win, but he thinks you can forget about the championship as Brawn GP is too far ahead. Do you share those sentiments?

SD: Well, I think first of all we want to see things in house. We need to make sure that what we are doing is the maximum level that we can do. So as soon as we are ready, hopefully very, very soon, at all levels performance, reliability and management and so on, then we need to look ahead and see where we are. For sure they [Brawn] are very reliable and very quick, and the situation for us is the opposite. So I said, on our side we will try and do the best and then we will see.

Q. What do you have to do because you have trouble with strategy and trouble with the car?

SD: I think that we need to rely on our people to make sure they will do a step in their performance. It is easy to say to people - go home! Then, what do you do? You don't improve the situation for that, so we have to be very rational now. We need to put all the problems one behind the other, because for sure the problems up to now are not acceptable.

Q. Looking at the fuel weights from Saturday, Felipe should have gone in the first stint much longer than the Brawns. Why did he come in so early?

SD: I think that there is an interesting point to see what is the situation with the fuel consumption. It could be an interesting element for the future. I would say, that is it.

Q. While on the one hand you had a good weekend with a huge step on the performance side, when you look at the mistakes and things that happened, and compare it to the days when Ferrari gave nothing away, does it cause you some pain? And how do you rally the team against it?

SD: There is a lot of pain. I would be dishonest if I didn't say there is a lot of pain, because that is the thing that I have now. It is important that, once again, we need to make sure that the people who have the responsibility in all the areas do the maximum job we can do. I am here to keep the pressure on them, but of course I need the people to work and react very hard to take responsibility because otherwise it will be difficult. For sure, looking back, it should be a target to reach back at that level as soon as possible.

Q. Talking about the mistakes and the problems, do you worry about your own position in the team?

SD: To be honest with you, that is not really the problem. If that was the problem by the fact that I could be available for everything and the situation would improve, then a company guy who has worked for Ferrari for 20 years, I would be the first to do it. To be honest I don't think that is the point to make sure we are able to go back to our standard level.

Q. For many years Ferrari was the reference point in F1, but now there are mistake. Why do these things happen this year?

SD: Well, I think for sure unfortunately we had a problem with reliability in other years. If you look back in the past, that was really the biggest problem and in the past decades we were not able to solve 100 percent. We unfortunately had a lot of experience on that, and it is something that really, really we need to do something. It has been a long term problem and we have not been able to solve it.

For sure on the other side, and managing the tactics. This is something that, with all respect, we are not at the level that we should be. We need to investigate the people, and we need to rely on the people that have that responsibility. This is something that we need to improve.

Q. What are the reasons for the change?

SD: I think that it is difficult to say that there is only one reason, because otherwise the others are God and the other people are not correct. There are reasons, but it is not only because you have in mind that there is only one person who was taking a decision.

Q. On the fuel thing, you seem to be suggesting that the engine is thirsty?

SD: I don't know, to be honest, we need to see. Looking at the weight of the car, it seems it can be a factor with fuel consumption and driving style. For sure we need to understand that.

Q. Several teams this weekend, some in private and some in public, have said they will not enter the 2010 world championship unless there are significant changes to what is on the table. What is Ferrari's position on this?

SD: This weekend, I had other problems that took place. For sure as you know we are trying to find a solution because this situation with the actual regulations is something that we do not think is the right way to go. We want to find a solution.

Q. Was it a new fuel machine with Felipe?

SD: No. We need to understand what is the problem, we don't know yet.

Q. Can you explain what happened to Kimi?

SD: Not yet. It seemed to be an hydraulic problem but they don't know yet the reason for that. They are just looking in the garage to try and find out.

Q. The race pace seemed to be quite good today. How much confidence do you get from that?

SD: I think that is for sure the best and the only positive aspect. It is very significant for this weekend. I would say that Felipe was fighting for the podium today if he did not have the problems he had. This is something we need to keep from this negative moment as a positive point to step back for when we are preparing to go to Monte Carlo.

Q. What did you think of Massa's race?

SD: I must say he's done an extraordinary race. He had the problem with the wheel flange breaking, but you saw that as soon as he lost it, he regained performance immediately, so under this aspect we go back home from this weekend with plenty to regret, because this certainly isn't what we wanted and what the team deserved. But it's clear that when things don't go well, we must react and put an end to the problems. We must react to this situation with rationality, calmness, but also with a lot of determination.

Q: Was Raikkonen's issue a fly-by-wire problem like the one you already had had?

SD: We don't know. They've just brought the car back to the garage, so they are looking at it now to find out the problem. I don't know yet.

Q: How can Ferrari get out of this situation?

SD: What needs to be done is to make everyone feel responsible with regards to controls, work methods, which obviously aren't up to standards with the situation. Everyone must put an end to the problems that concern them and try to anticipate the problems. We said that last time but it obviously isn't enough: we need people to give themselves a wake-up call, because people must demonstrate their worth within this group.

Q: With the car of the previous races, going to Monte Carlo would be a disaster, while now you can go with a certain degree of optimism...

SD: I think that from a performance point of view we must go there with the knowledge that the car is completely different and competitive, and it must show that in Monte Carlo too. However the number one priority is putting an end to the problems we carry on having, because you can improve the car as much as you like, but if it stops or if there are problems that prevent you from using it to the maximum, then it's clear things aren't well. So the priority at the moment is to sort out the problems we have because there's a risk of reacting in the wrong way, and we can't afford that, since we've already wasted too many points.

Q: Does your development programme include further steps and if so, when?

SD: It includes constant development because we should be bringing something new in Monte Carlo already and there will be a further step of improvement at the race that follows. So we are trying not to follow some pre-programmemed steps, but we are trying, where possible, to bring everything possible race-by-race. We saw there is room for improvement from this point of view.

Q: Did you consider at some point calling Felipe in for a splash-and-dash?

SD: Yes, we did think of it. But when we did have the information to eventually manage this kind of opportunity, at that point it would have been too late. So in the end we preferred to manage it the way we did.

Q: Was this big development effort what lowered the level of reliability?

SD: Well, it would be easy if I had the answer. It's clear that these are two programmes must go in parallel, so on one side performance, on the other reliability and working method. So I don't want to think that way, I just want to think that the people at the factory must make improvement steps at all levels, otherwise it's not good.

Q: Felipe just said that it's difficult now to think about the championship. Do you think the same?

SD: I want to be realistic: today I want to think about what we need to improve to do the maximum in performance, reliability, and overall package of the car. When we solve all this we'll see where we stand. Clearly the Brawn cars are quick and reliable. But I repeat: our priority at the moment is to get back to our levels, because we aren't there at all.

Q: Have you identified what your problem is with hard tyres?

SD: Well, our problem with hard tyres has always existed: it's probably tied to the building philosophy of this car's design. The lack of grip we have compared to the other compound is fairly usual, so I think it's linked to the principle of our car. So what we can do is to always improve it with the set-up, because I think changing the car structure is impossible.

Q: Is Monte Carlo coming at a bad time for you, given its characteristics?

SD: I don't know. Since we've never gone well at Monte Carlo lately, then maybe something positive can happen with the way the season has gone! We'll have to think that way...