Question: How would you review the Silverstone weekend, now one week after its conclusion?
Vijay Mallya: There are so many variables in F1, given the competitive nature of the sport, that sometimes you get one thing right and two things wrong. That’s what makes it so exciting, but makes it equally frustrating. I can’t help but think about the fact that Rubens Barrichello was a couple of tenths away from Adrian (Sutil) in qualifying for the British Grand Prix, and when Adrian was running, he was in 11th and Barrichello was 10th. As we know, Rubens finished on the podium after a great race, so maybe we could have done things better. So this race was really an opportunity missed. Hopefully we’ll not make the same mistake again.
Question: Cricket has always been the national sport now, has Formula One racing taken on the same status yet?
Vijay Mallya: The way we look at it, India never qualified for the Olympic hockey, and in football we didn’t qualify for the World Cup. Here we have an Indian team that’s actually racing in the World Championship. That itself is an honour, to fly the Indian standard at one of the top flight levels of the sport.
Question: Is there an expectation from India though to be on top of the game as the Indian cricket team is?
Vijay Mallya: Of course, we need to now show better and get better results, but it has only been six months since we took over, so what can you expect? Ferrari didn’t win a World Championship for years until Michael Schumacher came along in 1996, and even then it took three or four years to win. So people can’t expect miracles from me in one season, but I’m getting there, and I’m showing that I’m inching forward. The commitment is there, the determination is there. I’m a guy that enforces accountability everywhere, so I’ll make sure we have the right answers, we don’t make the same mistakes, and we capitalise on our opportunities. Our real focus is on 2009, and I’m absolutely determined that in 2009, we’ll have some reason to be proud.
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