we will supervise the roof over the expenses “

Andrea Cremonesi

05 April 2022 – 20:33

– Milan

Nik Tombazis, 53, with a long past (2006-2014) in Maranello, has been the technical manager of the FIA ​​single-seater sector since March 2018: he is one of the fathers of the new regulation.

Tombazis, what balance do you draw from the first two GPs?

“The signs are very promising but giving an opinion after two races is a bit early. The objectives were two: the first to give the cars the possibility to stay closer and the drivers report that it is easier to follow those in front; the other. was to reduce the gap between the first and last. The distance for now is similar or shorter than in the last races of the previous regulation and I take this as a good sign because I was expecting a wider fork “.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia lived on the duel between Ferrari and Red Bull. Was it a predictable scenario or did you expect more teams involved?

“Well, I would not have been surprised if there was only one car capable of dominating. So we got off to a better start! In addition, I expect more insertions in the fight at the top in the coming months. But a situation like last year will repeat itself. , where the last race was reached with two riders on equal points, it takes luck. And this is not the purpose of the rules “.

There is a lot of discussion about whether the mobile wing still has a reason to exist, what do you think?

“It would be good to eliminate it but with machines that produce so much load and with the wake effect that, although reduced, it has not been canceled, it cannot be done. However, the areas of use can be shortened, we do not want easy overtaking”.

Ferrari started very well, do you find similarities between this and that of your times?

“Ferrari have a special place in F1. There is immense pressure from the outside especially when things don’t go well. This creates performance anxiety which has a negative impact on the team. I remember the one to win back in 1997. -99 and I imagine that even now, after a few years without success, the same pressure has been felt. By winning, in addition to receiving an injection of confidence, you can concentrate on medium-term projects and think calmly where it is best to invest the money. It can be a good boost for the next few years. ”

Since the beginning of the season, Mattia Binotto has not missed an opportunity to invoke a strict control by the FIA ​​on strict compliance with the cost ceiling: are you willing to reassure him?

“Our very first goal is to keep the championship clean, we want those who deserve it to win. Today’s regulations require a lot more resources to check. In the past it was enough to weigh the cars and check the track and displacement. Now we have to inspect that. that companies do at home. But we have a capable team, led by colleague Federico Lodi. Mattia can rest assured, we are doing everything to keep the situation under control. We have tax experts who control the financial statements, the pieces that are assembled in machine to make sure they have been billed correctly. ”

What happens with the expense cap in the case of accidents like the one that happened to Schumacher in Arabia? Are these costs that can be deducted from the roof?

“No, on the other hand, if I have an accident and destroy my car, I will spend less to go on vacation. But it has always been like this. There are many exemptions to the ceiling on expenses – too many, so much so that they will need to be reviewed – but they do not cover accidents like Mick’s. “

Freezing of engines: if one is left behind is he sentenced for four years to chase or is there a possibility that he can work to recover?

“First of all, none of the four engineers are in trouble at the moment, the performance is similar. When we discussed introducing freezing we established that if one got into trouble, everyone would have undertaken in good faith to discuss how to fix the problem. problem, perhaps allowing some development. There is no interest in condemning someone to stay behind four years. It is not ideal to freeze the engines for a long time, but we had to do it because it would have been unsustainable for the manufacturers to develop these units and the ones that will be introduced in 2026. Will there be a roof for engines as well? Yes “.