Christian Danner Interview Part 2: “It’s All About the Power Units Now”

Pre-season testing is over, the first practice in Melbourne is only days away. An exciting new era of Formula 1 racing is about to begin. In part 2 of our 3-part interview, DHL’s F1 Expert and former F1 driver, Christian Danner, shares what the drivers and engineers think about their cars and the fast-approaching season.

Find Part 1 of the interview here

DHL: What are the drivers telling you about the new cars? Is it a completely new drive?they'll be gonethough on fuel overloaded right now

Christian Danner: Yes. Most of them say that it is, in fact, very different. You have a lot more torque available on the throttle, meaning that once you put the throttle down there is more action. There’s more power. And the entire feeling of the car is very different. That said, most of them – except the Mercedes drivers – have not done the number of laps they’d have liked to because of reliability issues. They love the new power units. And I can tell you that the drivers love it once it’s running. If it’s not running, they don’t like it. (laughs)

DHL: Right. I guess the fact that Mercedes has had the chance to test more than the others could make a significant difference in the first few races of the season.

Danner: That’s an understatement if I've ever heard one. It will make a huge difference in the first half of the season.

The race will sound very different but I think it sounds pretty cool and is actually quite sexy. I don’t mind them not being screamers anymore. It’s more like a cool racing engine sound.

DHL: Do you think the regulation changes will make a difference to the fans? Will their race experience change, too?

Danner: Yes. It will be different, but I personally think it’s going to be better. For one thing, the sound is very different. The race will sound very different but I think it sounds pretty cool and is actually quite sexy. I don’t mind them not being screamers anymore. It’s more like a cool racing engine sound.

The fans will also need to become familiar with the engine specifics to understand what is going on – but in my experience they often tend to know more than me! (laughs) So that actually won’t be an issue in all.

DHL: Cars do look very different this year. Fans are already commenting up and down the blogosphere about the new looks. A lot of chatter about the noses of the cars. What do you make of the fact that the cars all look visually quite different from each other?

Danner: I say thank god. After about a decade of relative rule stability, I would say it is quite refreshing to see that everyone is started from scratch and most of the teams have come up with slightly different ideas about how they should go about it. It’s quite nice to see. From an aesthetic point of view, it’s actually a very good thing.

DHL: Some say that big rule changes in Formula 1 can shake up the order on the grid. That it levels the playing field somewhat. But do you think the rule changes this year will eventually level the playing field and end the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.

Danner: I don’t think we’re going to see any leveling off at all. To be quite frank with you, I think we’re going to see a Mercedes-Benz performance that is going to blast everyone to pieces. That is clearly going to stop Sebastian’s and Red Bull’s superiority, at least in the first half of the season anyway.

If you’re Mercedes then you’re on cloud nine – just listen to Lewis or Nico – they’re enthusiastic and happy and they think it’s all fantastic and a blast.

DHL: Now I assume you went through some technical changes yourself in your career, so you have first-hand experience. What do you think about this quote we saw recently from a member of the Williams F1 team who said: “from a technical point of view, it’s extremely exciting. I can’t even sleep at night.” Does that describe a time like this well – is it really an exciting time for all – for the engineers, drivers and ultimately the fans?

Danner: Well, let me put it to you this way. As a driver all you want to do is win so if you are stuck in a car right now that is lagging, then it’s not exciting – it’s frustrating. You don’t like it. If you’re Ferrari right now then you’re half way there and feeling somewhat excited. If you’re Mercedes then you’re on cloud nine – just listen to Lewis or Nico – they’re enthusiastic and happy and they think it’s all fantastic and a blast. I’m afraid the reality is that it isn’t for most. It’s certainly a crazy time for all, full of unknowns. But it’s safe to say that only a few of the drivers would call what they’re going through exciting.

As far as the engineers are concerned, they have an incredible task. The technology is, in fact, brand-new. It didn’t exist before. Think about it: an electric motor harnessing energy from the turbo that would otherwise be wasted heat. The engineers have basically been on permanent overdrive over the past one and a half years in order to get this thing done. The Mercedes engineers are about to break out the champagne while the others are still sweating.

So it is extremely exciting for the engineers right now, but come the first race it may be somewhat boring. It’s all about the power units now – they are overshadowing everything.

DHL: Are you saying the first couple of races are going to be boring?

Danner: They’re going to be exceptionally boring the way looks at the moment (laughs). Ok, I’m exaggerating, but think about it: if the Mercedes is racing six seconds a lap faster than the Ferrari, then the race for the checkered flag at least will be rather unexciting. But anyway, we will wait and see.

After all, I think it’s still a very exciting time because of the challenge has been the same for everyone – some were able to achieve it much better than others it’s how it should be. And therefore it’s fantastic to watch it and see how things progress. We will be in for a few surprises.

Go on to part part three of our interview with former F1 driver and DHL F1 Expert, Christian Danner, in which tells us how the ingredients for setting the fastest lap have changed.

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