Q&A: Niki Lauda.

Niki Lauda faced the press at the launch of the Jaguar R3, the Austrian triple-champion discussing his hopes for the team he now heads in the 2002 season. With the expectations and resources of motoring giant Ford behind the team, Lauda stressed the need for the team to improve on its 2001 performance.

Jaguar Racing finally have access to a wind-tunnel in the UK...

Niki Lauda: "We have bought the Reynard wind-tunnel in Bicester, which was done last year, so we are going to start using it on the 12th of February this year.

"The team and factory will stay in Milton Keynes, with the wind tunnel only 20 minutes away. With the Arrows wind tunnel, we have said to Arrows that we are interested in it, and the system here - the Ford system - is to check the facilities and make a decision."

From some of the things you said during the launch, you seem to feel the team has made a big step forward.

NL: "The faults of the old car were identified, and therefore we have improved with this car. But in the end we have to run the new car before you really understand what it is doing, so therefore I don't want to say too much now because the new car has not been driven. Let's want and see - next week we are going to get the first indication."

What needed to be done to make the car more competitive?

NL: "The car is lighter - because everybody is underweight in Formula One as you know - and then by adding ballast you can alter the balance of the car. Last year we were 25kg too little underweight to adjust the weight were you want to place it for your handling. This is one target we have achieved and are very satisfied with.

The other one is the aero - you have to improve your aero to be more efficient. We have some numbers which look good, but again, I don't know what improvements the other teams have made."

Have you re-organised the team to make it more competitive?

NL: "We re-organised the groups of people who are in charge of this car, so that they are working together properly. In the past this wasn't really happening as we hadn't finished getting them all together.

"So Steve [Nichols, Technical Director], John [Russell, Chief Designer] and Mark [Handford, Chief Aerodynamicist] are now in co-ordination with each other, which is from my point of view perfect. This was one of the big handicaps in the past, so for the first time they are a group of people who I all areas are responsible for the car - this wasn't the case with the R2 a year ago.

"We put together the car quickly, and we are ready earlier than we thought, the only think which will really satisfy me is the speed, which we don't know yet."

Is there pressure on you this season?

NL: "Pressure is always on if you don't perform. There is no question.

"The other thing which is important to me is the Cosworth issue. They are part of the group, so we own Cosworth, so there is an engine improvement to be expected too. So they have done work over the winter to make the engine more powerful. There are two engines in the pipeline - one is the existing one, last year's engine, and then there is a new one which is called the AK engine, which is a parallel development.

"As soon as the AK engine, which has a different bore, is better on the dyno, then we are going to use it. We are aiming for Imola to have the AK engine reliable enough to race."

Does it worry you that some changes at the top of Ford might have some implications to the company' attitude towards Formula One?

NL: "No - because that Ford management fully supports the five-year plan we have, so from this point of view I don't see any problems. What Ford expect us to do is perform, so really it is down to us and the team to do that."

Do You have to show an improvement this year?

NL: "Sure - we have to show we have moved forwards. Now we are eighth in the Constructors' championship - now our target is to finish fifth. If we can get into the first five then we can show progress."

How important a year is this for your drivers?>

NL: "I'm happy with both our drivers because basically the real problem is the car. We have to give them a car which is more competitive and as soon as we do then the pressure is on them. At the moment they can blame more the car's performance than themselves.

"I hope that this car runs much better so I can put the pressure on them."

What do they need to do to make sure you come back with the offer of another contract?

NL: "All they have to do is perform. So Eddie and Pedro have to perform as much as we have to perform giving them a car. We discuss in the middle of the year how far they will get, whose fault was it, and we see we will do for the future."

Will Arrows be getting exactly the same Cosworth engines as Jaguar?

NL: "At the beginning of the season yes, then any development which is done on the engine will first be available to us, then when they are enough new parts to be put into the Arrows engine then they will have the same."

What is the morale like in the team at the moment?

NL: "With 352 people, there is always someone who is not happy! Which is normal in the company. From my point of view the morale is there and they all support the team. But what is most important is to have success, because as soon as you produce points and results, the morale goes up, so what we have to work on is to perform, because it is easy to motivate people if you do that."

Who do you expect to perform better, Pedro or Eddie?

NL: "Eddie is certainly more experienced in Formula One, no question. With Pedro, over the last year I was impressed the way he improved. When he came in he had to get used to the car and was half a second behind Eddie, but in the end he out-qualified him six times. Both drivers, from my point of view, performed very well."