Graeme Lowdon wonders what the F1 strategy is

Graeme Lowdon, current head of Marussia F1, welcomed us to discuss his team, as well as the evolution of F1 and its future, at a time when the issue of cost reduction is becoming increasingly pressing.

Marussia is currently experiencing its best season since its inception.

We don’t want Monaco to be a high point in our history but rather a turning point. We must continue to try to move forward, to develop the car. F1 is an incredibly competitive sport and if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. It’s great to finally score points, but we can’t rest on our laurels because we’ve learned in previous seasons that you can lose everything just a few laps from the finish [Editor’s note: In 2012, Marussia was in 10th place in the championship until a few laps from the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix and ultimately lost it to Caterham].

With such a regulatory change during the winter, did you expect to be so close to your direct competitors?

« I think that for everyone, the winter tests left more questions than answers because we did so little running. More than in other years, we started the season without really knowing where everyone stood. Even after the qualifying in Australia, we didn’t know. Now, after a few races, we see that there is one team that is clearly ahead, which has done an excellent job. For us, we are still trying to catch up with part of that gap. We knew we had clearly made progress compared to previous seasons but not exactly how much. »

You were one of the few teams to keep your driver duo, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton. Do you think that has been one of the keys to your current success?

« When you want to develop something, stability is a good thing. Not only from the drivers’ perspective but also from the management’s and some engineers’ standpoint. Both our drivers are young; all their F1 experience has been built with us. There is good chemistry between them, everything is going well, and it helps us move forward. »

Did you expect to be able to score points this season?

« We expected to have a certain number of opportunities that would allow us to score points. However, capitalizing on them was another story. So far, we have also missed a number of opportunities to reach Q2 purely on our own merit, on our speed. We need to succeed in capitalizing on them in the future and continue to develop the car until the end of the season. »

Talking about the end of the season, what is your goal: to keep Caterham behind you or try to compete with the Saubers?

It seems that we are ahead of Caterham at the moment, but everything can still change because they have much more resources than we do, they have much more staff. Similarly, we are starting to push Sauber quite hard even though they have much larger infrastructures. The guys at the factory have done an excellent job, and we have also had some good races. We need to continue on this path because it makes Sunday afternoons so much more fun, really being able to fight. We are only a few tenths away.

From the perspective of your team as such, what has changed with the announced bankruptcy of Marussia Motors?

« Marussia Motors did not own shares in our team. We were two completely separate companies. The concept and the Marussia brand are much broader than that. Therefore, the shareholding structure of our team has not changed at all. »

With the announcement of Caterham’s sale by Tony Fernandes, you are now the only team among the new teams to still be present with your original structure. What made the difference between you and these other teams?

« We would like to emphasize that we are the only team from 2009 that is still present. Three teams were authorized to enter at the time: USF1, Campos Meta which became HRT, and us. Caterham arrived after the 2009 Concorde Agreements. They therefore arrived in a completely different context. I don’t know why we are the last ones still here, but what I do know is that it has been incredibly difficult to still be here! It has been much harder than it should have been! »

A few weeks ago, the FIA World Council took place. What is your opinion on the decisions that were made?

« There have been some basic rule changes that are going in the right direction, but we are still waiting for fundamental changes in how the sport is managed. The industry must reform because there is enormous potential for the development of the sport. The F1’s biggest asset is its fan base. It is huge, global, and loves the sport. We must build on that to ensure everyone has a role to play. We should not be talking about survival. We should be talking about growth, opportunities, exciting races, prosperity. It would have been refreshing to see radical changes adopted for 2015. It’s still possible to do so. It just requires everyone to agree. Everyone should step back, and the functioning of the sport should benefit everyone. »

It seems surprising that decisions like titanium plates under cars or standing starts after a safety car have been adopted when it is the very existence of the discipline that is currently at the heart of the discussions.

« We should talk about strategy. There is a Strategic Group but we are not part of it. We could hope that they talk about strategy. I would like to emphasize something: developing a strategy is not something easy! It’s what big companies do in the world. Sometimes people make mistakes but it’s very important. We would like to know what F1’s strategy is, how to increase our fan base, how to increase revenue in the sport. We are not included in this decision-making process. It would be a good thing if all teams were involved. The very name of the Strategic Group suggests that they should focus on strategy and not on tactics, on small things. It’s even more difficult when these teams are competing against each other. They should put the industry before the interest of their own team because otherwise, they should not be part of this group. They cannot participate in this group if they put themselves above the industry. It’s a difficult task but it’s their responsibility. They must do it because it is urgent. The fans will not wait: if they don’t like what they see, they will look elsewhere. »

Do you think the spending cap still has a chance to materialize?

« Oh yes! From our point of view, we all sat around a table last January and all agreed to implement it! Nothing has changed since then, we still have the same problems. Everyone had agreed, but since then we’ve learned from the media that the Strategic Group is against it. »

In this context, how do you see yourself in the future?

« It’s very difficult to answer that because, to do so, we would need to know the industry’s strategy. Without understanding where the industry is going, it’s hard to say anything other than we want to progress and be a mid-field team. So for now, our goal is to still be here when F1 becomes fair and equitable! It’s really hard to set other goals when you don’t know where you’re going: is it doubling the size of the sport in two years? »

Since our last meeting in Monza last year, you have signed a commercial contract with FOM. What has this agreement changed in the operation of your team?

« In fact, the problem we had without this agreement was one of perception, especially among sponsors. Those who would be interested in talking to us wondered what they didn’t know to explain why we were the only team without a commercial agreement. This posed a real problem, it really hindered our operations. So the commercial agreement not only brings in significant financial contributions but mainly removes this uncertainty surrounding our structure. »

From our special correspondent at Silverstone