Matt Campbell: "We want to bring Ford back to the top in Le Mans overall"

How did the car feel during your first test laps?

The first test (at Le Castellet, Ed) went amazing and better than expected I think for everyone to be honest. It went extremely smooth, we got lots of decent running done and for a first test I don't think we could have asked for anything more. Yeah, it went extremely well and obviously lots learned going into the second text. We were able to bring lots more improvements. 

What do you like most so far about this Hypercar in terms of driving dynamics or design?

The appreciation for our philosophy in design. For me, it's definitely the looks of the car. It's very, very aggressive and a combination of that with the noise of the V8, it's phenomenal. I'm really enjoying that sides of things. And then obviously we've got a long way to go in the handling aspects, in learning the car so it's very, very early but for sure the design at the moment. It's looking awesome and feeling awesome which is the main thing. 

You are now immersed in the development programme for this Hypercar. What are the key steps ahead before we see it in competition?

To be ready to race, I mean for me that's an easy one. Obviously there's still a lot of learning to be done with the car before the start of next year. Obviously we still have a lot of testing and development still to come. But, for sure the systems and everything around this car will take a long time and even through until the end of next year before we really start to fully understand and get to a position where we're extremely happy.

I know from my past experience in programmes, that's the one area of the car that takes the most time to be able to get to the point where you're really, really happy with it and can trust it at all times as well. So, that's going to take the longest part of the development to be ready for racing next year.

To what extent does your previous experience at the wheel of an LMDh help you in developing this Hypercar?

Having the experience of an LMDh-based platform car I think has been a huge help for this stage of the development phase being involved from the very beginning, even from the simulation side of things from February of this year.

Obviously these cars are very complex like I just touched on regarding the systems and the softwares and everything like that related to the hybrid system, especially around the braking system on the LMDh platform and anything I can try and bring across from my previous programmes such as it is for Nick and Tom as well to speed up this process is hugely beneficial especially at this time.

Now that it has been a few years since the start of this regulation, obviously now we don't have any issues or problems with the control components of the car, with the hybrid system, the battery and so forth. So, any knowledge we can bring across to speed up this process for lap time is key.

As a development driver, describe your relationship with the engineers, and to what degree does your feedback inform their decisions?

I think it just comes back to my last two topics regarding the systems. I mean it can take an extremely long time to get to the position where you're really, really happy and everyone obviously has a different approach with every manufacturer as well so there is no right or wrong answer a lot of the time with different approaches especially with a few of us coming from different programmes. It's going to take some time to get on top of this.

Especially at this stage of the development, I suppose being one of the more main drivers being involved in a programme now for a very long time, you know the drivers having a huge influence on the development especially at this stage being very, very early. Although we have a lot of sensors on the car and so forth, and more that are allowed before we go racing, obviously the sensors in the car, especially with the experience of different cars, is very, very important.

The driver at this stage of development is definitely the most critical. You know, always the computer is the telling the engineers what's happening, but obviously the feeling inside the car can be very, very different at time, so making sure we're being as productive as possible with direction from the very beginning to make sure we're not losing any time down the road.

Other than performance, what qualities do you look for in a teammate in order to succeed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Especially at Le Mans, for me this is an easy one. You know, it's definitely consistency. Making no mistakes and being on the same page, and especially that last topic is the most important for me with endurance racing and teammates. You know, I've had some fantastic teammates in the past and making sure you're both on the same page is one of the most important aspects, and being able to push and pull on each other is hugely important.

You know, when we need to lift each other up, or pull one another back, this is where having a great teammate by your side is one of the most beneficial factors of endurance racing for sure.

Max Verstappen seems interested in trying his hand at endurance racing. Thoughts?

Having a driver of his calibre in the car would be really interesting. I am certain he would be extremely fast, and we will have to wait and see what happens. 

How do you feel when you look ahead to June 2027 and imagine returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of this Ford Hypercar?

For me to be back at Le Mans, obviously being the pinnacle of endurance racing in the entire world, obviously missing it last year was quite a tough one but at the same time very exciting [with] the announcement of myself being a part of Ford racing programme for the Hypercar return.

For me, next year will be the first time behind the wheel of a Ford obviously at Le Mans, but looking forward to being back. It's going to be a huge test and challenge. Obviously that's what we're working for. That's the reason why we're back to try and get an overall victory.

The first year is always going to be tough, but we're going to give it everything at that point to try and get the best result possible for Ford.   

Fans are already dreaming of a Ford-Ferrari face-off like the ones seen in the past at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What can you tell them about that?

The remake of Ford vs. Ferrari since let's say the story line from back in the 60s and the movie and so forth, yeah hopefully we can rewrite history once again and you know do something similar in this new regulation and bring Ford back to the top in Le Mans overall.

How excited are you about participating in the upcoming FIA WEC season with Ford?

For me, I mean, really excited and obviously extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to join Ford in the WEC. For me I mean, it's a bit of a fresh start from wearing the colours of a different manufaturer for 10 years, to something new and different with new people, new experiences and so forth,

I honestly can't wait for the beginning of next year. Obviously it's going be a big challenge. I know how tough it can be at the beginning of a project with a lot of learning to do, but so far I've been really enjoying working with the new people in the programme and only look forward to getting racing.

Obviously we're a long way from that, but going from testing to racing is a very different story and approach. [I'm] looking forward to that side of things when we do finally get going.