Formula 1
Nick Fry interviews with Italian media
NICK FRY TO 422race.com: "WE'LL DECIDE ABOUT DRIVERS ON JANUARY" On their drivers decision: "We are working on it, as you might expect. We have nothing to say at the moment, we might say something before Christmas, but it's more likely to be at ...
Published: Dec 18, 2009, 10:52 PM
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NICK FRY TO 422race.com: "WE'LL DECIDE ABOUT DRIVERS ON JANUARY"
On their drivers decision: "We are working on it, as you might expect. We have nothing to say at the moment, we might say something before Christmas, but it's more likely to be at the beginning of January. Michael Schumacher? We are discussing things with a number of different drivers. Three or four. Nationality has literally nothing to do with this at all. Mercedes said it would be nice to have a driver who was German and we got that already with Nico. It wasn't a big deal from the start and it's completely irrelevant to the decision."
On the importance of drivers' experience: "I think we learned this year that it's important to have two drivers capable of scoring points in every single race. And the reason we won the Constructors Championship is because we had that. Both drivers did a sensational job and they were very similar to each other. We knocked in the points in every single race or virtually so, and we need that. With the lack of testing, it's very difficult to expect a younger driver to do that. Clearly we'll hire some people with F1 experience."
On Nico Rosberg: "I think Nico is a race winner. He's not won races yet, but none was Jenson, until he won with us in 2006. Give him a very good car and I think Nico will flower, especially under Ross' tutelage. I'm hopeful we'll give him a very good car next year. Possibly he didn't have the best car in the last couple of years, but what he has done is accumulate a very large amount of experience, which is very attractive to us. He is still very young, has three years of experience in Formula One, there is no doubt he has got the speed, he has the genetic structure and with Ross coaching him, I think he can be a race winner, undoubtedly."
On the new team setup: "For us it's the absolute perfect situation. We've got Mercedes with 45%, we've got Aabar, and people keep forgetting their influence, they are of the biggest investment companies in the world, with a huge portfolio, they've got 35%, and Ross, myself and the other existing shareholders have got 25%. I think that's a great split, because it just balances out the different requirements and I think it'll work perfectly. The running of the team continues exactly as it is. I will continue the job I've been doing and Ross will continue to do the job that he's doing. Norbert is the manifacturer, the owner representative and will continue to do really what he's been doing. We're not anticipating any significant change between any of us."
On the battle between Button and Hamilton: "It's going to be fascinating. Clearly I've had some nice chats with Jenson over the last few days at social functions and contrary to what people might think, there's no hard feelings at all. We wish him all the best. We were disappointed that he left our team, but we've got a nice relationship and we all want to work together in the future. I think Jenson has got a difficult task ahead of him, and that's nothing to do with whether he's got the talent, it has all to do with going into a team where Lewis has been there for a long time and knows it very well. According to my experience in Formula One, for a new driver coming into every team it takes months or even most of the first season really to understand the lay of the land. That's quite difficult to do. Jenson is a brave lad taking that on and he's got the raw skill to do it. It's a matter of learning how the team works, he's going to have to accelerate himself up the line very quickly."
The complete interview (in Italian) is available at www.422race.com.
-credit: 422race
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