Q&A with Federico Gastaldi (Lotus)

Federico Gastaldi is feeling positive and optimistic ahead of the team’s first
visit of the season to North America.

Monaco did not go according to the script; will Lotus F1 Team bounce back in Canada?

In Monaco we were heading in the right direction with practice and qualifying, it was just the race itself where we didn’t get the results we wanted. With Pastor there was a technical issue and with Romain there was an issue with another driver. That is racing. In Montréal the team has a good history and Romain has gone very well there in the past. We know that this year’s car, the E23, is good so we’re aiming - and ready - for a strong result.

The Canadian public is always super enthusiastic, how much does the team like to visit Montréal each year?

There are a few races which are classics on the calendar, and Montréal is certainly on that list. The Canadian Grand Prix is a part of Formula One’s DNA. Canadians and Montréal have been a real part of the history of Formula One. The city really comes alive for the race weekend, it is a fantastic place to go.

Is Montréal special for you personally?

I named my first house Gilles’ Blue Ranch which should give you an idea of my enthusiasm for Gilles Villeneuve, who the circuit is named after. He was such a passionate, talented driver, racing in an era very different from today. The whole city has a very special place in my heart, from the architecture, the people, the bars, restaurants and cafés. It’s certainly one place where I wish the race weekend was a lot longer.

What are your thoughts on the various potential future regulation changes being discussed?

For me, it’s always great to hear the feedback from the fans and the great amount of interest there is in our sport. There are a number of different ideas being discussed and a number of different opinions, with some quite strongly opposed viewpoints.

In Monaco the team announced an exciting new partnership with Pharrell Williams; can we expect more partner or sponsor announcements in Canada?

For sure we are working on some exciting deals with Pharrell and with other partners too. Montréal, like Monaco, is one of the most popular races of the year, it’s a good place to make any announcements so watch this space.

Pharrell visited the team at the end of the race; how did that go down.

Pharrell gave a lot of time to see the team and even sat in Pastor’s car to see what an F1 car feels like. He’s a tremendously talented individual and having seen how he can turn himself to so many different fields of endeavour, I’m sure he would be a very handy racing driver too! He is a huge enthusiast of Formula One and came to us straight from Cannes by speedboat. He was very nice and very friendly with all of us and we’re looking forward to working with him on a number of exciting initiatives and seeing him at some other races this season.

When does the team start looking to 2016?

It’s amazing, but already almost a third of the way through the season and we’ll be at the half-way mark in two months’ time. Naturally, we’re already looking at next season, whether it be technically, commercially or in other ways too. We’ve made a huge step back towards the front of the grid this season after our troubles in 2014, and we hope to make a further step forward in 2016 too.