Interview With Mario Theissen
Jun 16, 2008
BMW Motorsport
Question: What does this one-two result mean for you personally and for the BMW Sauber team?
Mario Theissen: Montreal was a first for the BMW Sauber F1 Team: now we all know how sweet victory tastes - not just a victory, but a one-two, of course. This was reward for the enthusiasm, the commitment and the expertise which marks us out as a team. It has been less than three years since the decision was taken to put the team together. We set ourselves ambitious goals and embarked on a two-year development programme which has laid the groundwork for achieving these aims. As things stand we are right on schedule - and in this respect, the result in Montreal represents confirmation of the work we’ve been doing. We are heading in the right direction and will continue along this path.
Question: Do you see Robert Kubica or the BMW Sauber team as serious contenders in the battle for the world championship title?
Mario Theissen: Nobody who is at the top of the drivers’ world championship after seven races is there by accident. The team and drivers have been working their way gradually towards the top of the standings over two years. We certainly won’t be taking our foot off the gas now, but instead pushing forward at full power. We can talk about the results at the end of the season.
Question: Now that you’re in with a chance of winning the world championship, will you be channelling resources away from the development of the F1.09 in order to make the F1.08 even faster?
Mario Theissen: The challenge, of course, is to keep up with the development pace of the big teams over the course of this season and, at the same time, to push ahead with conceptual work on the F1.09. To this end, we will assign the available capacity very precisely to the areas where we need it, especially when it comes to aerodynamics.
