Q&A with Tony Fernandes - An incredible design team

A dragon by birth in the Chinese calendar, Tony Fernandes reckons that this dragon year will be “good and strong”. But behind the folklore, he says everyone has the ability to change the future, and that includes Caterham F1 Team...

Tell us about the launch... It was a bit different, and we were first out of the blocks.

Yes, and I’m pleased it was different! We are Caterham, we are open and our team is all about bringing Formula One to the fans. If we can show people the car at the earliest opportunity, then let’s do it. Let’s be honest – it’s unlikely Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari are going to be copying our car this season, so we have nothing to lose by being the first to reveal the new car. It did create a lot of debate, so one thing we can say for sure now is that we have set a bit of a trend with the nose!

Launching like this is something I want to continue to do – showing the fans what the new car looks like as early as we can is good for everybody. So next year we’ll find another way to take the wraps off as soon as we can.

You’ve said that you love our new car, new nose and all. Since testing started the world has seen that most of the grid has followed the same trend but what did you think when McLaren unveiled a 2012 car with what looks like a much more traditional nose?

We have an incredible design team and I have obviously been aware of what the car looks like for quite some time. As I have said numerous times, I like to bring the best people I can into all the businesses I’m involved with, give them the scope to make the most of their talents and trust them to bring us success.

I wouldn’t be human if there wasn’t a tiny thought about how we had read the regulations when I saw the McLaren, but that thought was banished as quickly as it appeared. I know what we are capable of, so my next thought was that perhaps McLaren had missed a trick!

I’m so incredibly proud of our car. Of course we have yet to see it race, so you never know, but at this stage I think that we have shown that we are serious about making progress year-on-year and we are doing it in the right way. Compared to where we were last year, we have taken a very good step forward, so I know my faith in CT01 is justified. I am delighted for everyone involved in its creation and I’m sure that it marks the next stage in the growth of our team.

We’re in our third year now. Does that mean no more excuses?

I don’t think we’ve ever used excuses, although I understand how hard it is to compete with teams who have been around for decades when you’re just starting out! Saying that, I still wouldn’t have done anything differently, and thinking back to when we knew we were in a position to start our own Formula One team... Wow, that seems like quite a long time ago now! But I stand by my philosophy – make your own success. That’s what I do, I take failing businesses, or projects with a significant challenge, and turn them around – that’s the drive for me, and with people like Din, Nasa and Riad around me it’s a philosophy I will always stick to.

Caterham F1 Team is getting stronger and stronger. We are stabilising and expanding the core team and it is obvious that we are attracting top names to the team. We have proved that we are here to stay and to move up the grid. It is a slow process but it has to be done properly – there are no shortcuts to the places that are really worth going to, and I feel very confident in the team and ready to keep pushing on.

Why is this year, the year of the dragon in the Chinese calendar, so important for you?

Honestly, I don’t want to overemphasise the importance of the Year of the Dragon for me. I was born in that year, and so by Chinese tradition, this year will be good and strong for me. But I want to say this: everyone has the strength to change their future at any time. I’ve always wondered why people make resolutions at New Year, because I honestly believe that if you have the strength to change something then, then you have the strength to change it whenever you want. Perhaps there is just more positive energy around at New Year? Either way, you need to take that energy and use it. No one ever became successful by waiting.

It takes a hell of a lot of courage to make a big change in your life, but once you’ve decided to change something then you’re halfway there. I have always stuck by that maxim and it hasn’t failed me yet.

Well, that’s pretty inspiring! Do you push the guys in the team to think differently then?

I suppose I do. The reality is that the technical guys know much more than me and I can never hope to influence the design process – I’m not going to even try! If I can instigate a way of thinking, then that has to be a good thing, but I’m not going to say that I have any influence on the design of the car.

But in terms of marketing the team and the way we use communications to express ourselves and include fans, I think we have been quite different. Social media is something I believe all the teams now use, but we were possibly the first to really embrace it, particularly Twitter, and we are still one of the most open teams out there, and possibly the team with the most character.

So you still love F1 and you’re passionate about our ‘fantastic little team’ as you’ve called us before?

Yes, more than ever before. We have come so far in such a short space of time. We have fought a lot of battles and I am sure we have many more to come, but it is the people that make up the Caterham family that give me strength for the battles ahead, and I cannot wait for what lies ahead of us.

If I was offered the chance to fast-forward to the day when we score our first point, to see one of our drivers climb up onto our first podium, win our first race and claim our first title, I would turn it down. I don’t want to bypass getting there. I relish every challenge and I truly love the stories we are making. Long may that stay true.