Excerpt
Q: How do you see the season developing?
HM: I believe that Monaco already has shown a more realistic picture of the pecking order in the paddock and if you take today’s two sessions there is a clear indication that ‘surprise winners’ are very likely a thing of the past.
Q: What do you make of the fact that we’ve had six races and six different winners?
HM: That due to the new tyres the reaction time of the teams to cope with them differed significantly - and that the characteristics of the cars supported that. There is a fine line to optimize the tyres and some teams have understood that fine line better than others. But I would say that right now there is a much broader understanding, so we see the strong teams making it to the front again.
Q: Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz said in Barcelona that he is no fan of a tyre lottery. Is that a game you are reluctant to play?
HM: That was Barcelona - light years from now. Meanwhile we understand the game and let’s wait for the next two races. Then we will be able to say if like the game.
Q: At the moment it seems everybody can win. So why is it so difficult to win effectively?
HM: At the first couple of races, if you were able to get the tyres to temperature it didn’t matter what car you were in - tyres temperature meant everything, the car nothing. That is now a thing of the past, as all teams do understand the tyres now and that means that we go back to the ‘usual’ balance of power.
Full interview: Helmut Marko on 2012
His tone throughout the interview is bullish so he may be exaggerating. However, to say that "all teams do understand the tyres now" is a strong statement and not necessarily backed up by some anomalous results in the last couple of races.
Do you think he is right? Will the big four teams monopolise the podium positions from now on? Do the tyres have any more surprises in store?
Edited by Juggles, 09 June 2012 - 02:41.