14/03/2025
NEWS STORY
Today's team representatives press conference with James Vowles, Frederic Vasseur and Andy Cowell.
Q: James, can we start with you, please? I know it's only FP1, but Carlos took testing a couple of weeks ago, he's repeated it in FP1, and Alex Albon is up there as well. Are you starting to believe in the FW47 and its potential?
James Vowles: I believe in the work we've done across the winter, but it's just practice, and we're running, I'm sure, a slightly different programme to some of our colleagues. We've done a good job, there's no doubt about it, and Carlos is in a great state. With Alex, we didn't have a great session due to an issue around the brakes and we didn't give him a great session as a result of things. But we also have to be realistic. The top four giants of the sport now, and that includes McLaren in that. I'd love to say we'll break into that, but that's not the reality of where we are today. Our job is to make sure we keep progressing. I think you're going to see the field as the closest it's ever been, and it'd be great to be scratching on that door, being irritating from time to time.
Q: And you think you can do that?
JV: I think you'll find the grid is such that a lot of people can do that. It doesn't take much to make a small mistake and drop back a few tenths. But I think what we have is a good foundation to build from, which is what I've been building towards as a team.
Q: Tell us about Carlos - quickest at the test, P2 in FP1. What impact has he had on the team so far?
JV: First of all, he's been to a number of organisations, so he understands different elements and he's been across a number of drivers we would all consider world championship material. That's made him into the driver he is today. His ability to communicate what's going on in the car is fantastic, his ability to understand what's going on in the team around him and how to bring them forward, what excellence looks like, what winning looks like, and how to elevate our state from where we are is his strength. That's part of the reason why I wanted to make sure he was with us this year and beyond. In terms of his pace, we knew he was quick, but I've been really impressed with his ability to interact with our aero team or our engineers and bring them on a journey as well.
Q: Thank you very much. I'm sure there'll be more questions for you in a minute. Fred, on the subject of Carlos, does anything that James has just said surprise you?
Fred Vasseur: Nope.
Q: Well, let's bring it on to Ferrari's session. How clean was it? How much potential has the car got for the remainder of this weekend at Albert Park?
FV: Yeah, but I think we all said the same this morning, you want to draw conclusions after FP1. When we were in Melbourne last year, after two races, you were asking when Red Bull would be champion, and they weren't champion at the end. I think we have to build up the pace, build up the weekend. There's still a long way to qualifying and a long way to the Sunday race. Stay calm. I'm sure that will apply to everybody, but it's far too early to draw any conclusion about who will be champion or win on Sunday. We've been doing this job for years, and we always get the same questions after FP1 of race one.
Q: Fred, I asked James about Carlos. Can I just ask you about something Lewis said in here? He said this is the most exciting period of his life and that he's really enjoying it. Is it rewarding for you to hear him say things like that?
FV: It's the word of Lewis... Don't ask me if I'm thinking the same! But for sure, I think it's a good journey for him. He enjoys what he's doing, and we enjoy working with him. But you know, we're all in the same situation. During the winter period, we're all world champions, we're all best friends, and then we have the first qualifying session and we're back to reality. Now, it's the start of the season, and we have to be focused.
Q: Thank you for that. Andy, we'll come to you. Very different conditions here at Albert Park compared to Bahrain a couple of weeks ago. How is the car performing here, and what's your potential for the rest of the weekend?
Andy Cowell: Yeah, Bahrain provided a good backdrop for doing lots of experiments, although the weather got in the way a little bit. We've crunched all the data, worked out the best set-up for this track, but again, this morning, we were doing a few experiments across the cars. We managed to run both tyre compounds. I guess everybody lost a little bit of track time because of the red flags. Just trying to get ourselves ready for qualifying and the race.
Q: Let's talk about something that's just happening at Silverstone. The new wind tunnel is now online. Tell us about the advantages it gives you that you weren't getting using the Mercedes tunnel before.
AC: Yeah, it's been a big project with lots of people working on it, so it's great to see it finally come online as our nominated wind tunnel for development work. It's got some great technology, great technology in the measurement systems and within the model that goes in the tunnel. Having everything in one location... The aerodynamicists don't even need to put a coat on to go to the wind tunnel now! Before, it was about loading the model into a van, driving it down a bumpy dual carriageway, and hoping it was still in the same condition at the other end. From an efficiency, but, the challenge everybody has of trying to understand what goes on with the aerodynamics on track, compared with the wind tunnel, compared with CFD - those three worlds that the aerodynamicists battle with, we believe this new wind tunnel gives us greater understanding and greater mechanisms for understanding the flow physics and the streams going over the car.
Q: Final one from me. What was Adrian Newey's reaction when he saw it for the first time?
AC: Yeah, we went for a wander, without needing to put our coats on,. into the wind tunnel, and it was great to see him stood in the section, having a look at it, the technology and the model and the measurement equipment. But then he was very quickly back in the engineering office, looking at the 2026 regulations and working out the compromises needed to create a fast race car under the new rules.
Questions From The Floor
Q: (Ian Parkes - Racing News 365) Question for you, Fred. Charles Leclerc yesterday described it as his obsession to become a Formula 1 World Champion. Do you understand that desire within him? And do you feel this might be his best chance this season to address that obsession?
FV: I'm not sure 'obsession' is the right word, but for sure, when you do this job, that is racing, he started when he was three years old, that was 23 years ago, he's spent his life on track, so for sure to have the goal, the target, or the dream to become World Champion is the normal approach. To know if it's for this season or not, I don't know. It's the same reply as before - we have to stay focused. He's putting everything into doing a good job this season, and I'm sure he'll continue to improve.
Q: (Oliver van Bronswijk - The Roar) James, just how positive is the feeling in the team? Spirits surely must be high considering Carlos's integration into the team and the pace shown, no matter how early it is.
JV: Yeah, you summarised it well. It's a team that's been through so much pain, and when I joined a few years ago, you could feel it. I know I'm a man of science, but you really could feel this sort of difficult period that the team had been through. That's not the case now. One item we didn't talk about in there is our future. It's great what's going on now. This is what I would call the most low-hanging fruit that we're picking up on. There are some great things happening back in Grove and there will be more coming online over the next few years. You can see it in individuals, it's just building momentum and positive energy. What you see today is just a little bit of a fallout from that. As Fred described, this is FP1. it's great, nice to see, but it's FP1. Let's wait until qualifying, the race, and a few races in. That's also why I'll bring everyone to our future and the destination we're going towards.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm - The Race) James, Alex said yesterday that the simulations showed the car was going to be a decent step faster, but when it actually ran in Bahrain, it seemed to invite more confidence from the drivers than last year's car. Does that imply the car is maybe even faster than expected? And are those gains in any way related to the updated Mercedes suspension you've been able to adopt this year?
JV: First of all, I think we need to reassess where the car has moved to, based on a few things, but it's about where we expected it to be. What Alex was talking about is that from a driving perspective, it gives them a lot more confidence than last year's car. Formula 1 is a strange business, there's no silver bullet, no one thing that suddenly switches a car on and makes it better. So, the Mercedes rear suspension helps a tiny bit, but what we've done over the last few years - developing our tools and systems to produce better vehicle dynamics, better aero, and a better way of combining the car together - is all coming together now. That's what makes the package better. It's really not one area; it's a combination of a team that's starting to get stronger by working together.
Q: (Ben Waterworth - The Roar) Fred, how impressed have you been with Lewis fitting in with everything that comes with being a Ferrari driver? He seems to be really relishing it. And how good does he look in red?
FV: We had two months of marketing - it was a huge wave at the beginning. The most important thing is to be able to turn the page and get back to business as usual, to do FP1, FP2. It's a long way. We have something like 150 sessions over the year, so this is just the beginning of the story, as James said before. We just have to focus on it and forget about the world around us and work as a team. But honestly, when he's in the briefing room, he's fully focused on the objective and he knows the job perfectly, and he has to build relationships with the team. That's not a long process, but it's a process we have to follow. We are on that path. We shouldn't expect too much from the first session - that's not the target. We know we have a long way to go, and honestly, we did a good step compared to last year and I have a good feeling.
Q: And does he look good in red?
FV: I saw a picture of Lewis in red last year in Abu Dhabi, so... yeah.
Q: Different shade of red.
FV: Yeah.
Check out our Friday gallery from Albert Park here.
Q: (Adam Cooper - Adam Cooper F1). For all three of you, the trailer for the Formula 1 movie was released today. What do you think of the footage you've seen? What are your expectations for what the film will do for your sponsors and for the sport as a whole? James, I think you filmed a cameo on the grid in Abu Dhabi. Are you looking forward to the result?
JV: I suspect they've cut that from the film. For me, if you look at what this has done... And example would be Top Gun and if you look at what that did, it was enormous. Netflix has been transformative - and it's not because they are filming over there in the corner. They really have transformed who we are as a sport and where we are today in the business and we wouldn't be the business we are without them. My opinion is that the film will open us to a different and larger market, and that's why we're all excited about it. From what I've seen in the trailers, especially when you sit and watch what they have been doing with it, they're doing everything to make it look like there's not an extra gear they've added or an accelerator you can push harder. They're fundamentally trying to replicate our sport in film, and that's what I connected to when I went through it.
FV: As James said, I'm already convinced Netflix helped a lot over the last years. If you go back to 2018 or 2019, F1 was absolutely not in the same shape. Netflix helped us massively on this journey, and I hope this movie will do the same because it's the best way to attract new audiences. F1 today is targeting a new audience - more female, younger - the same as what we had with Netflix. And from the quality of what I've seen so far, it was something magic, it's good.
AC: I agree with these two. The work Netflix has done has made these two celebrities! [laughs] The O2 launch as well, a different style of event, a different way of reaching people. So events, entertainment in addition to the 24 races, provides that opportunity to reach a broader cross section of people and It's the business we're in, so completely support it.
Q: Specifically on the film?
AC: I'm looking forward to seeing it. I think there's a preview coming up that we're all going to go along and watch.
Q: (Reilly Sullivan - Maxim Australia). Fred, you have Zhou Guanyu as your reserve driver. How important is it to have a Chinese driver in the sport, especially ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix? And is the role of a reserve driver becoming more front-facing?
FV: You can call him reserve, development driver, whatever. The issue we have today, we have a couple of good guys, they are also involved in the WEC, so when we have a race on the WEC, we have nobody in the simulator. That was the main reason for us to take Zhou. I know Zhou perfectly because he was with me at Alfa Romeo before. He's experienced, he's done three or four seasons with these tyres, and for sure, he's an asset on the development.
Q: (Diletta Colombo - AutoMoto) A question for Fred. Lewis' acclimatisation process with Ferrari is inevitably complex, but how close is it to getting to the limit of the car at the moment in your opinion?
FV: It's not that he has to be at the limit on one session, you know. It's not a matter of speed. The target is to for him to know everybody into the team, to discover the software, the process, the system, that I think I'm really convinced that we have something very similar to Mercedes, but at the end of the day, perhaps not with the same name or the same way to use them and it's just a learning process. But we did one or two test days with the TPC one month or two months ago. It was a good way to approach it, but nothing compared to the rice weekend. You know that means that we have to go through and we have to do it. I'm not worried at all about this.
Q: (Phil Duncan - PA) Fred, do you think it will take Lewis a little while to get up to speed or to be on Charles' pace? Obviously, it's only first practice, but he was a little behind. Just for the reasons you spoke about in terms of adjusting to a new team, might it take him a while to be on Charles' pace?
FV: I don't know what more I can say than before. You can't draw a conclusion after the first session. I have absolutely no doubt he will be able to perform and perform soon. Last year, I think Carlos was P8 or P9 in free practice, and he won the race.
Q: (Michael Doyle - ABC Sport). Andy, you touched on Adrian Newey already looking at next year's regulations. As a team principal, how do you balance between making sure you have a competitive car this year but also start next year on the front foot with a really good challenger?
AC: Great question and something we're all balancing up. We've got 24 races this year, and we all want to develop our cars and we've got a new regulations set for next and we've got different aerodynamics, powertrains, and fuels. How do you balance that in a world with a cost cap and there are aero restrictions and in CFD and in the wind tunnel. We have to make judgments and work out what to do. Adrian joining brings a huge amount of experience and a gr3eat competitive mindset and the choice we have made at the moment is that Adrian is working on the 2026 car, he's putting a lot of effort into that and understanding that. Maybe when we've learned where our car is, it's strengths and weaknesses, in the opening races, he'll come up with the odd development tweak for the 2025 car. We've got a new wind tunnel and we have got a lot of equipment within the factory and we are trying to develop and build those tools so they all fit together and build the team, the team spirit, so that we're focused on creating the fastest race car we possibly can.
Q: Andy, will the date that you switch to '26 be influenced by 2025's Constructors' Championship position?
AC: I think for all three of us sat here on the sofa, the answer is yes to that. It depends. If you're leading the championship, you'll put effort into winning the championship that year. We've got new regulations, and we're taking the step to be a works team, creating all the components ourselves, developing the power unit with Honda, and working on sustainable fuels with Aramco. There's a big jobs list to work on, a huge amount of effort going into it, lots of enthusiasm and team spirit. But that's our challenge, and I guess everybody's in a slightly different position.
Q: (Rodriguez França - Car Magazine Brazil). Fred, Lewis raced all his career in British and German teams, so it's a long time for him racing in teams with a different, with the mentality than Ferrari. How do you think he's adapting to the Italian way of racing, dealing with the tifosi, the food, and life in Maranello?
FV: In F3 and F2, he was with a French team. I'm not sure that it's a drama to adapt yourself to Italian food when you are coming from the UK.
Q: (Roger Barn - Beyond the Racing Line) James, how concerned are you about falling behind in the facilities race with Aston Martin's new wind tunnel going online? How are you feeling about your facilities going forward?
JV: We fell behind 15 years ago, so it's not a question of now. We've been investing, just as Aston Martin has been investing, and McLaren has been investing for the last few years. The point of that investment is to try and stem where we have been and create a new future. Without question, Aston's wind tunnel will be a benchmark, but I'm comfortable with where we are. We're moving slowly up the grid, which is an indication we're probably using our facilities fairly well. Where we have other issues is elsewhere within the infrastructure of the organization, but we have plans in place to rectify that over the next few years. It's not something you do overnight. It's different to what you're saying. It's not so much falling behind, we're already on that investment pathway.
Q: (Adam Cooper - Adam Copper F1) The Cadillac entry was confirmed last week after all the fuss over the last year. What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of competing with an 11th team, on and off the track? What can General Motors bring to Formula 1? And Fred, you're in a slightly different position as a supplier - maybe you can tell us a bit about how that partnership is developing.
FV: I think we have to avoid being arrogant. The car manufacturing world is going through a tough direction. If you remember the journey of 2008, it was brilliant, and then in two or three days, everything switched completely. For me, having another OEM onboard is good news. It's an American one, which is another good news. But it's still a bit early to consider them as an OEM because they will join the championship as a car and engine manufacturer at the end of this regulation. I think it's good news as long as the team is structured solidly and so on. I think that's the case today. We have a good relationship with them. They are doing a good job and they taking it seriously. For sure, it's a challenge. As James said before, for teams already on the grid it's not easy. It's no easy to be competitive and to start from scratch is a huge challenge, but everything is possible.
AC: Yeah, it's great for the sport, as Fred said. Having Cadillac and General Motors coming into F1, deciding that this is the environment they want to compete in, is a testament to the growth and success of Formula 1.
Looking forward to it. Two more cars on the grid - 22 cars - will be good for the spectacle and for the fans. So yeah, looking forward to competing.
JV: I think it's well summarized. The fact is, it's a big marque, a big brand, and it will bring elements to the sport that we don't have today. What's happened is in our past, now we move on and we fight them on track.
Q: (Ian Parkes - Racing News 365). My question is also on Cadillac. Initially, when the entry was announced, it was going to be Andretti, and there was a lot of pushback at the time, particularly regarding the likely dilution of prize money. Where do you stand now that there will definitely be an 11th team? Bearing in mind the prize money pie will now be 11 slices instead of ten, did you have a say in the anti-dilution fee that Cadillac ultimately has ultimately been forced to pay to enter F1?
JV: As I mentioned a second ago, what's happened is now behind us. Ultimately, it's down to Formula 1 to manage the entry and the teams, and part of that gets contained in a future Concorde Agreement. My opinion is, it is what it is, ultimately. The key difference to Andretti to be really clear is that GM and Cadillac are major brands that bring with them huge amounts of accolades, and I think they will put the sport in a better place, attracting more sponsorship. To explain the differential between Andretti and GM/Cadillac, it always has complications. It's less about dilution, It's more that within the UK, I think you're going to have nine teams in a different form... I think it will only be Ferrari that doesn't have some sort of base in the UK. The biggest impact will be in the job market - GM is doing a great job of attracting talent, and that's probably a bigger issue than anything else.
AC: It's what we said before, really. It's great for the sport, GM and Cadillac coming in. It's a good news story. Let's look forward to competing with them. And with their big base in the UK, it's good for all the graduates coming out of motorsport degrees, they're going to get opportunities in these growing teams.
Check out our Friday gallery from Albert Park here.