Gastaldi: Renault return would be ’fantastic’

Mid-way through what has been a character-building season, one of the biggest characters in the F1 paddock, Lotus F1 Team Deputy Team Principal Federico Gastaldi urges the team’s fans to keep the faith for the future.

There have been some trying times at Enstone of late; what’s your appraisal of the current situation?

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I can confirm that the team is very much alive but we have been going through a very strenuous workout programme this season! Things have certainly been tight and we’ve embraced the Japanese just-in-time philosophy a little too literally on occasions. All this has been necessary but we keep fighting the good fight. We believe in the team; we believe in Formula 1 and we believe we’ll still be here fighting for the rest of this season and beyond. Don’t believe any of the negative rumours you hear.

Can you talk about the challenge the team faced to get to Monza?

External factors made it something of a challenge getting ready for Monza, but it was a mark of everyone at Enstone that we took it in our stride and we were able to compete over the weekend. I think we need to make particular mention of everyone on the race team, especially our set-up crew who put our Racebase – the home for our engineers and technical personnel – together in record time so we could operate over the weekend. Thanks too for our fellow teams, all of which offered their assistance and of particular note are Ferrari, Sauber and Toro Rosso who lent us tyre blankets for Saturday after the overnight storm had damaged ours.

Looking ahead, how beneficial is it for Formula 1 to visit an important business hub like Singapore?

It is a very important market for us as a team. We have seen increasing attention and interest from Singapore companies and have regular contact with many of them. The business centre of Singapore is one of the best, influential and most active in the world so we undertake lots of meetings and hospitality at the race. I must say the Singapore people have embraced F1 completely. They are passionate about the sport and they are proud to have a race right in the heart of their fantastic country.

There’s lots of talk about the financial situation of the team; what can you say?

Everything is under control. Certainly, this is a lean-running year and you wouldn’t want to attempt running much leaner. Thankfully we do have some fantastic partners, all of whom understand the situation and are tremendouslysupportive. I need to clarify some misunderstanding too, all our sponsors and partners have paid on time and some even ahead of time. We’re certainly a pretty long way from being flush with money – unlike some of our rival teams – but we’ve done what has been necessary to make the team far more efficient and viable going forward.

Given the background and build-up, how much of a kick was the Monza result?

It was a big stinking race for us, well a short and frustrating one. After all everyone had done to get the cars there, then start from the top ten, we saw the infamous first corner claim both our cars. There was some choice language for a little while after that. Then, we gathered up all the pieces and focused on the next races. There’s no time for “what could have been” in motor sport, you get on with the next challenge.

What are your thoughts if Renault were to return as a works team?

It would be fantastic for the sport and a mega-positive note for Enstone to see their return, but until any deal is signed, sealed and delivered we keep focused on our current tasks. It would be a very different project for Enstone and there’s been a lot of change over the past few years since they last had a full works team entry. Here in Enstone we’re used to adapting and making the most of situations. Certainly we would relish any opportunity to be a works team and welcome them back!

Final thoughts on Singapore?

It is one of the most colourful races – even if it does take place at night! It’s always very well organised and a party most becoming to the sport! A fantastic place with a superb race venue, the people are very warm and welcoming; we’re always very happy to go there.