I said I wasn't going to be involved in teams after 16 or 18 years. I said the only reason I did the deal when we got together with Enrique was that I said when you provide a solid platform, I'll put the team together, and that seemed to me like a perfect mix. And, again, I have a great loyalty and affection for that period of time. No-one planned, but four years with any programme is a pretty good run. Then, suddenly, my shoulders got a bit wider and there was this situation with a team that you just could not let it die because of what we've built.
So, yeah, Christmases generally are not a very fun time, I must admit, because you're usually up against it. I mean, how do I get the next year? It's certainly not the best business you take to the bank, or plan for years ahead. They are difficult - it's always probably the worst time of the year when you have a team, but you're used to doing that and I don't think you should lose sight of that or become complacent.
It is a nice feeling [this year], and I don't think it's really sunk in yet, to be honest, that we don't have to worry. We still have to worry. We still have to put the budget together. We still have to get the drivers, and there's less excuses now. But I guess, now that you've actually mentioned it, there's a little less nail-biting. I'll probably get drunk more this Christmas!
Q:
Quick question, Paul. You sort of alluded to maybe doing some things to bring in a few people to sort of strengthen what was already a pretty good team last year. This comes at a time when other teams seem to be adding engineering and other capabilities. With the new car, at least for 2007, the amount of development work that you're allowed to do on the car is going to be very restrictive. I wondered if perhaps and you Keith can both address how the team is going to prepare and maybe attack the 2007 car differently than it has over the past couple of years with what was effectively the spec Lola, but was comparatively more free to develop?
KW:
Obviously, with the Lola, let's go back five years. There was so much development that spending $20-$25 million was a possibility to develop the car. I think rules have tightened down on the car and I think because the car stayed somewhat stable, it's allowed a lot of the others teams [to catch up]. It's no secret that there's migration, plenty of engineers have disappeared, a lot of ours have been poached over time and information spreads. So the car does become a bit more spec in the sense that most people know a lot of the development that the other people have done. You know, with USB these days, it's pretty easy for people [to swap] information.
