SJ: First of all congratulations on that 1-2. That came out of nowhere! Those Chariots are on fire.
RM: Aha, well thank you. The guys back at the factory and the trackside crew here having been working really hard and it's great to see that hard work paying off but even we are a bit surprised at just how well it's gone.
SJ: Where did that pace come from? You were ahead in both runs.
RM: Well I think this track just suits our car's characteristics more than the others we have visited. I think you can see that a little bit with some other cars looking a bit out of sequence, but I think our strategists looked to roll the dice on the rain not coming out and going late, especially as previously this season we have gone for early runs expecting rain and then underperforming against our expectations.
SJ: I think it is fair to say that your driver Kinopio has been vocal about the team's and the car's performance this season. He doesn't strike me as the type to jump around in excitement but he must have a smile on his face today.
RM: Yeah, I'm sure he does. Look, we haven't been as high up the grid as we would have liked in previous races and Kinopio is a competitor and he wants to be further up the grid. But that energy drives us forward as a team and if I had a driver happy to be finishing in the bottom three each week then he wouldn't be a driver with us for long. And when we get the car hooked up, look what he can do!
SJ: Rumour has it that you were looking to replace Captain Red Dog. Thanking your lucky stars you didn't?
RM: Our car is quite aggressive on the tyres and that works against CRD because he can't lean on them as much as he would like to in the race, and then they fall out of the operating temperature. We're working with him to solve that particular issue.
DC: It hasn't escaped out notice that the elements of your wings are quite well developed compared to some of your competitors, has that given you the edge today?
RM: Yes and no. We've been developing the car to be more suited to one-lap pace. The wings are part of that, but other components do the same. So our peak performance can be very good when we get it hooked up. We've also spent a lot of time getting to grips with those new parts this weekend and that has helped us out. The downside to that is that we'll probably not win in the race tomorrow, as our long run pace didn't look good, but you never know. There are no points for Saturday, but you're much more likely to score them if you start on pole rather than 18th.
SJ: Are you going to get CRD to hold up the pack and let Kinopio scamper away? Is that your best chance tomorrow?
RM: If you ask CRD, he'll ask if Kinopio can hold the others up for him. I think when you are at the front you just have to try and make the most of the clean air in front of you. Even if you go backwards, you won't lose as much time as you might as the pack spreads out in the opening laps. And going long in the first stint means harder tyres that might lose you 6 places off the line due to a slow getaway.
SJ: Thank you for your time Roon. Enjoy your evening.