Thread: WRF F1 2007 League 2 - Team Talk

Ferrari Pre-season Press Release

The eye's of the motor racing world turned once again to the Prancing Horse as Ferrari unveiled it's latest entry for the World Championship. A cheer went up and the flash bulbs blazed in the Milan auditorium as the F2007 was unvieled to the theme of "Dream On" by Aerosmith.

The Ferrari team are hopeful that this new car will elevate them to the constructors championship which was dominated by McLaren last season.

In order to further their goal of regaining world dominance Ferrari has seen a major re-organization. Ferrari Manager Luca Di Montezemolo comented on the changes:

"We were very proud of what we were able to accomplish last season, but we knew we could go so much further than that. A new car, new designers, new engineers, and new drivers are all part of our un-ending goal of being the greatest team in F1 and the greatest manufacturer in the world."

Ferrari has brought in two new drivers in an attempt to regain thier world championship glory. First is rookie Englishman Cal Vera. As a new comer it s not known exactly what to expect from him, but he shown good speed in the junior catagories and has topped many of the pre-season test sessions.

Alongside Vera will be last seasons championship underdog, Ryan Esch. Victory in 2 races last season, including his home race at the Canadian Grand Prix, in none other than a Super Aguri certainly caught the attention of top teams in Formula and Ferrari was delighted to offer him a generous contract which Esch accepted.

"It feels amazing to join the Ferrari family. It took a bit of serious thought, and it was hard to leave the amazing atmosphere inside the small Super Aguri garage, and it was also hard to leave my good friend Salty who improved so much during his rookie season, and stands as the title favourite heading into this season. But I knew that to realize my own championship dreams there could be no one better to join than Ferrari. There's really something special about sitting inside the scarlet red cars, and seeing the prancing horse on the steering wheel. It's an honor just to be hear and I will represent the Ferrari with pride."

This seasons F2007 feature's:

2.4 litre, 90* V8 engine
7-Speed "quick shift" carbon-fibre gearbox
Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Zero keel, double wishbone front suspension
Double wishbone, independent rear suspension
Fuel by Shell
Tires by Bridgestone

To many, Cal Vera seems to have appeared out of nowhere but, with chart-topping early pace, now everyone knows about the "Man from the Mansion". Autosport caught up with him at his home in the heart of the silicon valley of motorsport...Oxfordshire.

Autosport: Before the first pre-season test many people were surprised that Ferrari would take such a risk on an unproven driver...

Cal: Well, I was surprised too! Clearly they could see the underlying talent and were prepared to take a risk. I'm just glad that, so far at least, I have rewarded their faith and shown my speed.

Autosport: You certainly have. But why have you been unable to show this talent earlier?

Cal: A combination of inexperience and luck really. I'm still learning the details of racing. The raw speed is there, but I still have a nasty habit of making mistakes in the last few laps of races and obviously that doesn't help with the points table! However, a recent run of podiums in my 2002 Jordan in the current Thoroughbred GP series has raised my confidence that I'm moving in the right direction with my technique.

Autosport: Ferrari have also signed another new driver as your teammate, the experienced Ryan Esch. How does this affect your role in the team?

Cal: He's the number one driver plain and simple, but I don't think Mr Di Montezemolo has any team orders in place, so hopefully i can give Ryan a few scares! However, if i'm not in a position to win the driver's championship then hopefully i can do all I can to help Ryan, and I'm sure he would do the same for me.

Martin Brundle in a pre-season interview with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Ryan Esch.

Exclusively on ITV.

Brundle: Welcome Ryan, thanks for consenting to this interview. What is the biggest change you've noticed between minnow Super Aguri, whom you drove for last season, and Ferrari?

Esch: Thank you for having me Martin. The biggest difference between Super Aguri and Ferrari is just the sheer size of the operation. Super Aguri I believe employed about 120 personnel, while Ferrari employ well over 1000. At Super Aguri I was able to get to know and work directly with all the mechanics, and communicate to them what was to be changed. While at Ferrari there are just to many people to know them all. Almost all of my communication with the team is through my personal mechanic and the team bosses who pass my judgment of the car and what changes are necessary to the mechanics.

Brundle: This season Ferrari has taken a different approach than most other teams, they have gone with a longer wheel-base while most are using a shorter wheel-base. How do you think this will affect the performance of the car.

Esch: The car is incredibly stable at high speeds. It's just a sheer pleasure to drive. Given that most tracks these days are fairly quick, especially the Tilke designed circuits near the end of the season, such as Istanbul, Shanghai, and Fuji, as well as Monza, Spa, and Interlagos, we should be very quick down the stretch as long as we continue to develop the car. I am somewhat concerned about the long wheel base at tight tracks like Montreal, the Hungaroring, and of course Monaco. I guess you'll know we've over done it on the wheel base if you see us doing three-point turns to get around Lowes hairpin.

Brundle: What is your opinion of your new team-mate Cal Vera?

Esch: Based on what I've seen so far in testing he looks very much like he's heading for success this year. He's cool and calm. Very friendly, all the mechanics enjoy working with him. But above all he is very very fast.

Brundle: In an interview with Autosport Vera stated that you were the unofficial number one driver at Ferrari. What is your reaction to that?

Esch: Obviously it's great to hear that you're going to have the full support of the worlds greatest Formula 1 team behind you 100%. But I don't want Cal to put himself into the position where he has to hold himself back in order for me to achieve success. He was brought here, just as I was, to do what racing drivers do. Win races. I want him to know that he has my support as much as I have his. If he has the better shot at taking the title as the season draws to a close I would move aside for him.

Brundle: What is your opinion of the teams that look to be your main rivals this season, BMW-Sauber and McLaren.

Esch: Either of them could make a serious run at the title. I wouldn't be surprised to go into Brazil with 3,4 or even 5 drivers still in with a shot of winning the title. Fernando Waldren is certainly my biggest concern from BMW. I recently teamed with him in the World Sports Car Trophy in a BMW M3 and he was consistently faster than I as we took the BMW to the teams championship despite a lack of pace late in the season that saw him loose the title. McLaren look to have a great car and two drivers who could easily take the title, Hizam and Salty.

Brundle: Speaking of Salty much has been made about you and Salty Surprise over the off season. You two are compatriots, you were team mates last season, you became very good friends, and now you stand to become the biggest rivals in Formula 1. How do you feel about this and what do you need to do to defeat him the coming season.

Esch: Salty is a blindingly fast driver, great at setting up the car, and a great friend. The only thing that I can think of that comes close to being teamed with a great friend is to have that friend as a rival. That said I am confident that I can beat him. Don't forget I taught him everything he knows.

James Allen interviews the reigning world champion Jo Stream for F1 Magazine.

Allen: We're finally back for another season of Formula 1, and I have to say I'm very excited. How does it feel to return to the grid as a World Champion.

Stream: It's a great feeling of course, but as I said already last year, it's a very difficult one to describe. It was a tough season, but very rewarding. To have the number one on your car is very special and might help the setup. We'll have to wait and see

Allen: Obviously the talk is always of Ferrari, BMW and the team you won your first title with last year, McLaren. Why did you, and Samuli for that matter, part with Woking? Was it the money? In the press release it just read that you agreed to go different ways...

Stream: That's true. I can't speak for Samuli, but there were a number of points we could not agree on when we started talking about extending the contract. That's all I can say on the record

Allen: Do you think you can defend your title this season? The Williams has not been strong in pre-season testing...

Stream: I hope I can defend my title this season. You're a veteran in the business James and you're right, testing didn't go as well as we had hoped, but look at where I was last season. Didn't have a great start either

Allen: How are you and DriverDB getting along?

Stream: DriverDB is very quick, reliable and a great guy. He's a great addition to the team and I think we'll get along well this season.

Allen: Last year's title was a McLaren matter towards the end and Cerci is not taking part this season. Who are you watching out for this year?

Stream: I might have an answer to that by mid-season . Obviously the Ferrari, McLaren and BMW drivers have shown strong performances.

Hello just joined your game, looking forward to getting the wheels turning.

Originally Posted by Daz Lil

Hello just joined your game, looking forward to getting the wheels turning.

So are we! Not much longer now.. Nice to have you in the game.

I was looking over some of the competitors last night.. Now I'm scared...