Why Schuey Spun in Brazil
6.4.01

Autosport magazine's Adam Cooper interviewed Ross Brawn after the Brazil GP. This is a transcript of that interview:

Q: Obviously not a great day for you – what happened?
“In the morning warm-up Michael was very happy with the car. He was very strong, and considering the amount of fuel we had on, we were quite encouraged. And even when the race started he was pulling away quite happily. I don’t know whether something happened when he got close to Montoya. It was a great move by Montoya, but Michael got caught out a little behind the safety car. Then after a few laps Michael was struggling to keep up with Montoya, which didn’t make any sense for what we were doing. The fact that when the rain came and we put the wet [intermediate] tyres on the car was so bad indicates that we had something wrong.”

Q: Was the set-up fully dry, or a compromise like McLaren’s?
“It was a normal dry set-up, but in Malaysia we had a dry set-up, so it’s not that dramatic for us. Michael spinning several times in the wet is not normal, so we had something wrong somewhere. We’ve done some comparisons on the data from the race and from the morning, and there’s no comparison on the car. So we’ve had something go wrong.”

Q: What do you think of Montoya’s passing move?
“It was very good. Unfortunately Michael got a little bit held up with the safety car, and I think Montoya was able to get a run on him. We knew the safety car was coming in, and Michael backed off, because the safety car hadn’t gone as far as we’d hoped. The safety car was still in the pitlane [entry], and you’re not allowed through until it has crossed a line on the track. So he went and then had to ease off because the safety car wasn’t as far forward as we thought, and that gave Montoya a chance to get him.”

Q: He’s done a few rolling restarts in America…
“He’s got a bit of practise, yes, certainly more than we have! But it was a very good move. David’s move was excellent as well, but Michael was struggling a bit.”

Q: Did this track suit the McLarens?
“The race was a bit strange really, in that we had a problem. Mika wasn’t there, and David had set his car up for the wet, so I don’t think his dry performance was a very good judge. Montoya was very strong, but I don’t know how much circumstances flattered him, so we’ll have to wait and see until we get a few more normal races and then make a judgement. This track tends to be a bit of an equaliser, so it will be interesting to see what happens at Imola. It is a bit of an odd track. It’s strange that we were so much slower than last year, considering that the tyres have moved forward so much. There's something unusual about the track surface here.”

Q: Were you always intending to do two stops?
“Yes, because the car was so good this morning, the thing we were scared of ironically was getting stuck behind someone on one stop, if Michael had made a bad start. Given that we were so happy with the car in the morning, the plan was two stops, make a good start, and just disappear. It didn’t quite work out. I don’t know if we would have done it anyway, because of whatever problem we had. Even if Michael had got past Montoya we would have had a tough race.”

Q: Were you always hoping that the second stop would coincide with the rain?
“Yeah, we were fortunate. It did work out perfectly, and we went out with about 20 seconds in hand, and then of course Michael spun. But he said the car was almost undriveable, which is not normal for us. It was one of those lucky situations where the rain coincided with our second stop, but we still weren’t able to use it.”

Q: Is it the case that the intermediates are not much slower than the wets, but aquaplaning is a bigger problem?
“That’s the thing that you have to watch, but really aquaplaning wasn’t Michael’s problem. He just had no stability in the rear end of the car. He came on the radio and said I think you’ve fitted the tyres the wrong way round, because the car was so bad. Which we hadn’t done, but that’s how it felt. The car behaviour in the race compared to when we used them before was just night and day.”

Q: It is a relief or a disappointment that the record of nine consecutive wins can’t be beaten?
“I guess it’s a bit of a disappointment. We’ll just have to start trying to build it again!”

Q: Do you think that Rubens can bounce back from a disappointing weekend?
“Yes. There was a little bit of pressure on him this weekend, and a lot of expectations from his fans. I think he’ll have a quiet 10 days or so now, and then he’ll be fine.”

Q: His day started to go wrong even before the start. What happened?
“He had a fuel pump failure for some reason, which I must say we recovered from very well. It was a shame that we weren’t able to use the work that had been done by people. There was a lot of argy-bargy going on at the time, and he caught the end of it. It was a shame.”

Q: How much of a job was it to convert the T-car for Rubens?
“It was pretty heavy, because Rubens brakes with his right foot, and Michael with his left, so we’ve got a complete pedal swap. So they did a good job. We had to put on the heel rest on the grid, but we managed to get all the pedals in place.”

Q: He’s been involved in incidents in three races – is there a story there?
“I don’t think so, no. Maybe he’s been at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Q: He’s obviously on the limit…
“All drivers are. Michael got punted out of two races last year, and you couldn’t say he was doing things any different. Sometimes that happens, because it’s all very competitive. Ralf’s been involved in an incident in every race this year.”

Q: But he’s been a little unlucky…
“Well, you can say that, but you can put yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m not making any judgement on the Villeneuve thing at all, but when two people go for a corner, it takes two to have an incident…”

Q: What are your expectations for Imola?
“It’s a high downforce circuit, braking is important, traction is important. So I’m sure it will be very competitive, and the three teams will be showing themselves at the front of the grid. It will be another tight race, and I hope we can be up there.”

Q: Do you see a three-way fight for the championship?
“Yes, if Montoya had won today, and we get a couple more races like that, it could well be. I think I commented that I thought Williams would be a real threat, and they’re proving it.”

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