Who is Max' Toro Rosso race engineer Xevi Pujolar?
Published on 14 December 2014 by Stefan Meens
A crucial part in getting the maximum performance out of a racing car is the set-up. Pivotal in getting the set-up right is the driver feedback and the ability to work that feedback into the car. This is were the race engineer comes in to play. He is effectively what links the driver and set-up together.
With Max Verstappen having joined Scuderia Toro Rosso, he started working with new team and thus a new racing engineer, Xevi Pujolar. The Verstappen Info Page caught up with the Spaniard to discuss how he got into F1, Max' progress so far and we look ahead to the 2015 season.
In over a decade in Formula 1 Xevi has been part of memorable moments with various different characters as his drivers. “At Williams we had some good results with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya and later on with Mark Webber. And I have to say Pastor Maldonado's win at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012 was a special one. To be honest, I think the best is yet to come, with Max. The potential and ingredients are available to become successful.” The fact that Max has less F1 experience compared to Vergne, does not bother the Spaniard. “It's definitely a challenge but I'm looking forward to it!”
With the announcement of Carlos Sainz claiming Toro Rosso's second cockpit alongside Max, is there a possibility that Xevi joins Sainz' side of the garage? “As far as I’m concerned I’m working with Max in 2015. And in terms of nationalities, I don’t really mind if I work with a Spaniard or a driver from a different country.”
So far, Max has completed a F1 test at Adria, three Friday free practice outings and both days at the Abu Dhabi post-season test. Thus far, he has left a positive impression on his engineer. “Max went from F3 straight into F1 at the Adria International Raceway, which is a low-speed track. He really showed he has a very advanced car control. To be honest, Adria isn't suited for Formula 1 cars, so we still didn’t know how Max would fare on a proper track with other drivers.”
Max rose to the occasion. “He was focussed, quick and didn’t make any mistakes. He learned how to deal with tyres. Not only was he quick, he also has the capacity to communicate with the team whilst driving. I mean, there are a lot of drivers that are very fast, but when they drive on the limit, it's too much for them to take in any questions. Drivers like Fernando Alonso have that ability to be super quick and at the same time control everything else around them. It's an extra skill a driver has to have. Not everyone has that skill, but we believe Max has that potential.”
During the Japanese Grand Prix, Niki Lauda remarked that the current generation of Formula 1 cars are too easy to drive. Xevi does not agree with the Austrian. “I think the cars today are just different. Experienced F1 drivers basically had to find a new reference point for their driving style. Of course, those experienced guys are still quick but with the new engines and different rules, everyone starts from scratch. The cars are less stable on the brakes and slide around a lot more. I think the drivers that have been around in F1 for a while have become used to a lot of grip and a stable car. They might become a bit nervous because they're not used to these new era of cars, whereas the younger drivers, stepping up from the lower categories, are still used to sliding cars and they'll just keep pushing.”
Xevi worked on a wide variety of cars so does he think someone like Max would have been able to make his début, age 17, in for example a 2004-spec car? “I believe that would've been a lot more difficult. The cars had a lot more downforce and the tyres, due to the tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin, had a lot more grip. Only if your really knew how to switch those tyres on, were you able to extract the maximum out of the rubber. 2004 was also the last year we used the V10 engines which had over 900 horsepower”, concludes Xevi, who is looking forward to working with Max in 2015.
