Simon Cayzer the new Team manager of the Minardi Piquet GP2 team gives us
some insight into the newly formed operation. Simon has worked for Piquet
Sports since 2004. Prior to that he had 6 years with the Jordan F1 Team.
MCSF -How are you settling into
Veggiano?
Simon - Fine we had a good break
December and January now its all systems go. I’m taking classes in Italian
and the area around Vegianno is so beautiful.
MCSF- Has the merger been well
accepted and has the entire Piquet sports team moved or is there still a
base in England?
Simon -Well it was a bit of a shock at
first. We moved from Silverstone to Oxford in '05 and when we were told we
were joining up with Minardi it was a mixture of emotions both exciting with
the history attached to Minardi and what they could bring to us but
worrying also, moving to anther country is difficult. Saying that once the
team gets back to testing and racing we will all be fine. We lost two
mechanics that’s all. And we will have some new Italian boys with us. Apart
from our Suppliers in the UK we do not have any base there.
MCSF- Four of us were in
Veggiano last September. It looked to be a fantastic facility. How will the
two teams share the facility
Simon - This is a great facility, Bigger
than our previous base in the UK. Biggest bonus is the fact all the support
needed for the team is based locally. Even Dallara are just an hour or so
away. It is plenty large enough for both the F3000 and GP2 teams to share
anyway we will all be working together.
MCSF - How much common equipment/space do the two organizations utilize?
Simon - Everything! Our goal is to have
the F3000 team with GCM find the upcoming driving talent to enter GP2. The
F3000 guys will get all the assistance they need from us. We hopefully can
help the F3000 team with simulation, and other technical issues that
otherwise were unavailable to them
MCSF -How has sponsor hunting gone now that you have two famous names
combining efforts?
Simon -Medley are the sponsor of Xandi
Negrao they will show on the sidepods of both cars. Primarily the Drivers
bring the sponsors and the drivers support the team. Therefore both Roldan
and Xandi will bring quite a few sponsors with them. As well we have for the
first time some team sponsors who will have there logos on our cars
MCSF- Where is the main sponsors money coming from?
Simon -The Drivers really
MCSF - With the merger has the number of full time staff increased? And
what ratio of Minardi/Piquet staff are involved in GP2
Simon- In GP2 the staff levels are
small. We will have approximately 12 staff on the GP2 project including
Tancredi who has been fantastic. This along with 12 more in F3000 shows this
is quite a large team. The ratio is very close.
MCSF -Have you had much if any
contact GCM?
Simon - Giancarlo is next door in his
office. He is a nice gentleman who is excited about the coming season. One
of the legends really.
MCSF -Giancarlo Minardi concentrates
on Driver development and finding new talent . What input will Nelson Piquet
sr have this year.
Simon -Nelson is an extremely busy
business man in Brazil this takes a lot of his energy. However Felipe Vargas
and Nelson will be in constant contact. Nelson should attend quite a few
races also.
MCSF - What is it like to work with NP but GCM also?
Simon -Great! Simple as that!
MCSF - Xandi Negrao starts his 3rd
season in GP2. It must have been hard for him being no 2 to Nelson Jr. How
do you rate him and how do you see him performing this year?
Simon - Xandi was never a No.2 driver we
never operated a system where one driver got better equipment than the
other. Xandi came straight to GP2 from Brazilian F3 he never got the chance
to race in Europe before entering GP2. This is his 3rd year
hopefully he will show the talent we know he has.
MCSF -Whats your opinion on Roldan
Rodriguez?
Simon- I didn’t know much about him
until the Jerez test. I engineered him there and was impressed by him. He
has a very mature head on young shoulders. He wants to progress and be the
best. He has moved to London and is improving his English as this is a weak
point for him. This year he will not know many of the tracks so he will
possibly struggle, however we know his attitude will be a big bonus for him.
MCSF - Will you have any input with the F3000 team?
Simon - Not in the teams running but we
will assist in helping out where ever required.
MCSF- GP2 is one of the best
racing series around. Do you see any area that the series can improve?
Simon -The GP2 concept is fantastic
second only to F1. The Achilles heal in 2005 was reliability but apart from
some minor technical aspects it is good now. I am not a fan of reverse grids
but some think this is great. TV coverage could definitely improve. The ITV
highlights only program is poor to say the least and Eurosport well their
commentators are not up to scratch. I don’t know about the USA though.
Hopefully as the series grows the coverage will improve.
MCSF- What's your take F1?
Simon -The rich get richer and the poor
teams struggle!. I think a system like in American Football should apply
where the team who finishes last gets more money so they can improve, This
would of course mean limiting spending but when you have teams like Toyota
and Ferrari this would be nigh on impossible
MCSF -The launch is March 24th
what colours will the new team be racing under?
We will be running the traditional
colours of Minardi similar to the F3000 team of 2006. The only changes will
be the Turquoise colour of the Medley logo which somehow we will have to
incorporate into the cars.
MCSF - It’s early days yet but
realistically where do the team hope to be at the end of the season?
Simon -Aiming for the top! But seriously
though it will be difficult. Saying this we have an exciting team and with
Felipe and Roberto Costa guiding the drivers we will be strong. We will give
it our best. I see Timo Glock as the potential champion this season.
MCSF- Simon it has been a pleasure to
talk to you. We all wish you the best of success this coming season Forza
Minardi Piquet!
Simon- Thanks to you all for your valued
support
