Motorsport TechnologyMasha Krylova: We are in Austin for the U.S. Grand Prix and we have special guests from Scuderia Toro Rosso: Team Principal Franz Tost and Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat.
Daniil, we heard great news today that you’re staying with the team for the next season. How do you feel about this?
Daniil Kvyat: I’m very happy with the news. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the next year. Now we can focus on the job! There are still a few races left this season. So, we’ll keep our focus on the season and then start from the beginning again next year. We are going to push real hard, because this is what we have to do.
Franz Tost: The Team is very excited and satisfied that we made this decision, that Daniil will be with us next year. We are convinced that we’ll have a very successful season.
We have high skill drivers, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, and I’m convinced that our engineers will design and build a very competitive car, and then we will push and push Daniil (laughs)!
Masha Krylova: Great news! Acronis is very excited about this! Could you tell us about the new regulation changes? What are your expectations for 2017?
Franz Tost: Everybody has to come up with a new car because of the completely new regulations. New chassis, new tyres (they are much wider, front and rear), the entire aero package is different. We’re working very hard on this.
We started at the beginning of this season in January. I think our aerodynamics guys have done a good job. But the rest we will see next season.
Our goal is quite clear – we have to be in front of the midfield, which is, in the Constructors’ Championship, is around position five. With a new Renault power unit, new car, new tyres, and our two fantastic drivers, I think we can achieve this goal.
Masha Krylova: Daniil, what is your goal for 2017 and how do you keep yourself motivated? You have a lot of support from Acronis social media, with everyone asking about you.
Daniil Kvyat: Keeping yourself motivated is not really a problem. There are no specific goals – we just try to be as good as possible in every area. For me, personally, the area that I can influence is driving. I’m also working hard with the engineers, trying to help with the car, and stuff like that.
The regulations are changing so much next season, so we never know where we’re going to be.
Masha Krylova: Exciting news. Now, Acronis is all about data protection and with Formula One being the most technologically advanced sport, what is the most valuable piece of information you collect from the car?
Franz Tost: There is a lot of different data we get from the car here at the racetrack and at home when we work with CFD. We are very happy to cooperate with Acronis to take advantage of the safe data storage and data backup.
If you lose data (and it happened in the past) then you immediately lose a lot of performance because you lose the opportunity to study data. The drivers, for example, also study historical data to prepare for the next race. Formula One is a data-driven sport. We are happy to work together with such a professional company like Acronis. Because it keeps our data protected.
Masha Krylova: You have our full support. We have racing car simulators in all our offices at Acronis, with employees racing against each other. Soon there will be an online competition between Acronis employees and the winner will receive a ticket to a real Formula One race. Acronis is very excited about Formula One. We learn a lot, follow the races, follow the drivers. There is a lot of support from the company and we are happy to partner with Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Franz Tost: Thank you very much and we’re looking forward to increasing our cooperation.
Daniil Kvyat: It’s great that Acronis stepped in to support Toro Rosso this season. We are a healthy team and together we’ll keep going in the same direction to achieve new goals.
The interview has been edited for clarity purposes.
Imae: © Red Bull Content Pool.
Craig Scarborough
Fraser Masefield