Formula 1 News: 2025 GP of Monaco Thursday Press Conference
Six Formula 1 drivers in two groups of three met with the assembled media ahead of this weekend’s 2025 GP of Monaco Formula 1 race
PART ONE – Isack HADJAR (Racing Bulls), Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Pierre GASLY (Alpine)
Q: There was a special screening of F1: The Movie last night. Can we get your thoughts? What did you think? Pierre, let’s start with you.
Pierre GASLY: Yeah. Honestly, it was really cool to be able to watch the movie for the first time. I think it looked great. I think for Formula 1, for the sport, it’s an amazing opportunity to dive into our world. And yeah, it’s a Hollywood movie, but personally, I’m a big fan of Brad Pitt, and he makes us all look very good as Formula 1 drivers. The production did a fantastic job. I don’t want to give too much away, but I definitely hope that people from the outside are going to enjoy it.
Q: Charles?
Charles LECLERC: It was really cool. I mean, obviously, we are looking at it as Formula 1 drivers, and we always try and see all the small details that are not exactly the way we live things. But it’s very Hollywood-like, and I think that’s really cool because it’s not just for F1 drivers in the end. It’s for a broader audience, and I thought it’s absolutely great for the sport to have a movie like that. The scenes are incredible. I’m super impressed by how the camera was put onto the cars and the angles that we see from the cars driving. I know that Brad drove the car a little bit himself, which is very impressive, and I’m sure he enjoyed it. So it’s really cool. And I think for F1 it’s amazing because we are reaching people that we wouldn’t have reached without this movie. There’s a cool storytelling as well, so that’s nice.
Q: And Isack?
Isack HAJDAR: I think it was weird to watch a movie about Formula 1. Like, it was quite strange, and I think it’s going to send the sport into another dimension again. I think it’s going to make the sport even bigger, which is nice. And as both said, it’s hard to give feedback, as drivers, because we’re really critical. But I think if you’re a kid or someone who doesn’t know about the sport, I think it’s the best way to get started.
Q: Brilliant. Thank you to all three of you. Can we come back to the hometown hero now? Charles, this was a race that went so well for you last year. Just what chance a repeat in 2025?
CL: I mean, if you want an honest answer, then low, because unfortunately our car hasn’t been particularly strong in low-speed corners. And there’s only low-speed corners here in Monaco. So on paper, it doesn’t look like the most promising track for us. But Monaco is so unique and so different from anything we race on over the season that we can have a good surprise once we put the car down tomorrow – which I hope will happen. And if it does, then I hope to be there on Saturday because qualifying will remain the most important part of the weekend. But on paper, it’s going to be a tough one.
Q: You’ve always been so quick here. How much difference can the driver make even if the car isn’t all there?
CL: Well, it can make a difference. I think there’s been years where we definitely did not expect to be on pole, and when you think that you have zero hopes, you just go for it – maybe a little bit more than people that are trying to manage expectations in Q3. And you manage to do something special, like I think we did in 2021 where we were nowhere all season, but we managed to put it on pole here. So, I still have hopes that we can reproduce what happened last year. Obviously, it’s still very fresh in my mind to come back in this paddock. The last time I was there, we won, and it was a very special moment for me.
Q: Pierre, let’s come to you now. You’re sat next to Charles, so I thought we could start just by throwing it back to last weekend. Have you two had a chance to chat about what happened at Piratella?
PG: Yeah, we talked right after the race, and then coming here after reviewing some of the videos, we talked again. So, it’s all clear. We had a good fight already the lap before, Turn 7. Charles put his nose in there and we had a small touch. Then all the way up to Turn 8 we were side by side. I tried to fight the position, giving some space. Ultimately, I thought I could make the corner and the grip was lower than I thought. It was all talked about. As friendly as we are off the track, when we get to the track we’ll obviously fight each other as hard as we can.
Q: So all good between you?
PG: Yeah.
Q: Pierre, you’ve always gone very well in Monaco. I think it’s five points finishes for you in your F1 career. Just give us a little preview of this weekend and whether you think the Alpine will go well.
PG: Well, I think as Charles touched on, Monaco is one of those tracks where it’s difficult to predict or have a clear idea of where performance is going to be. It’s one of those tracks, as a driver, where you feel like you can have a bigger impact on performance. The car performances are potentially more level compared to traditional tracks. All of that brings good opportunities. On my side, I see a weekend full of opportunities. I’m quite optimistic about what we can do, and I know it can be a great chance for us to get some points. It’s one of my favorite tracks. It’s always worked out quite well around here for me, and I’m looking forward to another year.
Q: It’s a mandatory two-stop race. Do you think that will provide opportunities for you?
PG: I always see things from the bright angle. So, I see opportunities. I see some unknowns, which we should embrace rather than be afraid of. At the end of the day, I’m not too sure anybody knows what this is going to do. It might not change much. I think what remains extremely important is qualifying. We know if you get it right in quali, you’ve done a big part of the job. But I’m sure it’s going to open up some potential strategy, which we’ll have to be on top of.
Q: Isack, let’s come to you. It’s been a while since you’ve been in the press conference. Four times in seven races this year you’ve been Red Bull’s top driver behind Max Verstappen. Things are going well. Can you sum up the progress so far? Have you got to grips with a Formula 1 car quicker than you were expecting?
IH: Yeah. I mean, I had doubts at the start of the year. I didn’t have much testing, so I was a bit worried – like, can I handle this car? Is it going to be too fast? But now I don’t have any doubts anymore, and I’ve adapted to it quicker than I hoped for. So far, it’s been going better than I anticipated, which is – for me – I can’t dream of a better start.
Q: What about Monaco this weekend? You came so close to winning in Formula 2 last year. Do you feel there’s a bit of unfinished business?
IH: No. I mean, I think Monaco treated me well over the years. It’s where I signed my Red Bull contract as a 16-year-old, so it’s definitely a special place for me. What I like about this track is it’s the best qualifying session of the year by far, and that’s what I’m looking for.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sport Italia) Charles, you were talking about the low expectations before, but you have already driven other difficult cars here. Do you think you can still make the difference personally on a track like this?
CL: Of course. Of course, you believe in yourself. I know that on street tracks, it’s been relatively positive for me in the past, so I know that there’s an opportunity there. The only thing that I will say changes from this year compared to other years is that we have a very specific weakness, in my opinion, which are slow-speed corners. And Monaco being only slow-speed corners, it will be a very big achievement – and a very big surprise as well – if we are a lot better than what we expect. But yeah, the motivation that I have coming here is always very special. It’s a very unique track, very different to what we are used to everywhere else. And we can be surprised positively. So the hopes are still high, but let’s say that on paper, it doesn’t look as positive.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Charles, clearly something’s not right with the car and you say it’s slow-speed corners, but what’s in the pipeline to come for Ferrari after a few upgrades have already hit the track? How convinced are you that the problem can be solved? And internally, have you considered the possibility of just abandoning this season?
CL: No. We definitely don’t want to give up now. It’s still kind of early. I mean, we’re getting to mid-season soon, but we cannot afford to give up now. We’ve seen last year the situation changed a lot since when McLaren brought those upgrades. I believe that in Barcelona will be another very important point of the season with this new regulation on the front wings, and then we’ll see whether it benefits us or not. Then we’ll have to make the decision – probably Fred will have to make the decision – whether it’s the right time to move on and prepare next season, that is going to be super, super important for everyone to be starting on the right foot. What is wrong with the car? I wish I knew. What’s in the pipeline? We’ve got quite a few things, but I cannot give any timelines. And the timelines keep changing because the team is pushing a lot to bring them as early as possible. There are things, but whether it’s going to be enough to close the gap – I hope so. But to be in front and fighting for wins, I’m not sure yet.
Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Ant1 TV) A question for all three. Yesterday, we had the Nationale Piloti traditional game here in Monaco. Charles as a guest, Pierre as a captain, and Isack playing as well. How much do you enjoy playing in games like that, and how important is it to have an activity that you do all together?
PG: Alright. The enjoyment is probably a hundred out of ten. I love football. I love playing. I love the feeling. I used to play when I was a kid, and I absolutely loved every single game and practice. Now, to be able to play in this sort of event, especially in an iconic stadium, kind of reminded me of some of my dreams I had when I was a kid. It’s incredible to live this moment and, as you say, share a moment where you get the drivers, who are your rivals on track, but work together in this event, it’s quite a unique feeling. Yesterday, I was with Isack on my left, trying to work out how to score a goal, to defend together with Carlos. Charles used to play in the past. It’s just a nice event and a nice way to get into the Monaco race weekend. And we do it for charities. There was the Jules [Bianchi] Association we supported yesterday. It’s great to gather a lot of people – the fans are happy, we are happy, and we raise some money to support charities. It’s a great win for everybody. It’s unique to Monaco and always a great highlight of the weekend.
IH: Yeah. It was tough on the legs. It was really tough. I’ve never actually played 11 against 11 on a real-size pitch. So that’s done, for me. It was really hard – much harder than I expected. I realized also my muscles are not made for football. Changing directions… it was tough.
IH: I nearly got injured? No, it’s fine. I’m okay. Something could give up anytime, you know? I felt weak.
Q: Has Isack got a future at FC Versailles?
PG: No. But maybe in the management. I like his mentality and his team spirit. Not on the pitch. He runs – I must say he’s a great player because he just goes all out. Same as on track, he’s the same on the pitch. I’m not too sure for the body it’s the best, but at least for the team, it’s great.
Q: (Mariana Becker – TV Bandeirantes) Pierre, if you weren’t a driver, would you be a football player? And if you would, who did you want to play for? And who’s the best football player of all time for you?
PG: That’s a lot of questions. You’re going get told off for that!
Q: (Mariana Becker – TV Bandeirantes) Sorry! Just one. Of all time, who’s the best football player for you?
PG: You can’t answer that question. It’s the same as saying who’s the best F1 driver of all time – different generations. You’ve got to go for Messi or Ronaldo, you know? It’s one of those two.
CL: Zizou.
PG: Yeah. Zizou to me is my icon since I was a kid. That’s the one I looked up to. Whether you can say he’s the best of all time, it’s very tricky. But for sure, as a kid, initially my dream was to be a football player – until the first time I jumped in a go-kart. That first lap out there, the dream of football just disappeared. Then it was all about Formula 1. But I kept playing football. And to be fair, if F1 had not been part of my life, I would have tried to pursue a career in football. Don’t think I would have made it, but at least it was clearly my second dream as a kid.
Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN Spain) Question for all drivers. The other two races of the Triple Crown – Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500 – have different points allocation or different rules to other races on the calendar. Do you think the Monaco Grand Prix should have different point allocation or rules?
CL: I personally don’t think so. At least for the points, I wouldn’t change or award more or fewer points for particular races. I think it’s a good system, the one that we have. Whether we should have points for qualifying – maybe this is another matter, because in Monaco qualifying is super important and pretty special. But I’m happy with the system we have at the moment, so I wouldn’t change these kinds of things. Then we can think about ways on how to make the race more interesting in Monaco, but the point system is fine to me.
PG: Copy paste.
IH: Same.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) Charles, you mentioned the low-speed performance this season hasn’t been strong. But do you think because we’re coming to a circuit that’s all about low speed, you can set the car up specifically for that and not have to worry about compromising for other areas like high-speed corners?
CL: That’s definitely one of the questions we also asked ourselves coming here. The answer – we’ll have it on track tomorrow. We don’t really know yet what to expect. But it is true that there’s only low-speed here. So obviously, we’ll try and focus and put the car in the best place possible for low-speed corners, which normally on most other tracks you just try and find a compromise between high-speed content and low-speed content. But here, it’s all about low-speed. I hope we’ll discover something new about our car that we haven’t seen yet since the beginning of the season.
Q: (Carlo Platella – Formula Passion) Charles, you just said that you and the team expect the rule change in Barcelona to be quite important. Do you expect your car will be affected by it or not?
CL: All cars will be affected by it, whether positively or not, again, that still remains to be seen. I honestly think we shouldn’t be too affected by it. But again, time will tell. We’ll see if some other teams will be more affected and that will hopefully help us to close a little bit of the gap. I don’t think it’s going to be a game changer. I don’t think we’re going to see a massive change in the pecking order that we see today. But it might make a little difference, and I hope it will benefit us.
Q: (Giuseppe Marino – Motorionline.com) Charles and Pierre, you had the big battle in Imola, with Pierre on gravel. Did you talk about the race, and what did you say?
CL: Of course we did. Pierre is one of my best friends, so it’s not like we have any problems with each other. I remember when we were in karting, sometimes it happened that we crashed together. So, we’re used to having these kinds of conversations. And actually, I think we are two people that separate very well what happens on track and our relationship off the track. I know 100% that when he has the visor closed, he won’t give me any opportunities and vice versa. That’s the way it is, and it’s always been like that. It’s great that it’s that way as well. I remember that at the end of the last race I came to him and I was like, “Yeah, I was a little bit hot at the beginning of the race and I just wanted to attack very quickly to be in front.” He was like, “Oh no, no. It’s my fault.” Then he came back to me after watching the images and was like, “Yeah, actually, you were a little bit too aggressive.” And I agree. So yeah, I think the actual incident – there was nothing special there. The corners before I was a bit on the limit. Honestly, it’s just a frustrating situation, as team, that we find ourselves in. When you’re in those kinds of situations and you’re starting P11, you haven’t got much to lose and you take more risks than people around you. I’m aware of this. But the actual incident where Pierre lost it – it was just a racing incident. I don’t think there was any blame from either side.
PG: More than anything, there is a lot of respect, and that’s the most important when we race together. One day I’ll get it wrong, another day it might be Charles that gets it wrong. But we know we’re racing at the limit and it’s always with the right intention. Sometimes you go slightly over it – it happens, and it will happen in the future. But we know the respect is there, which is the most important.
Q: (Leovid Kliuev – GrandePrêmio.com.br) Any thoughts on the online abuse Mick Doohan received after Imola?
CL: Sorry, on what?
Q: (Leovid Kliuev – GrandePrêmio.com.br) On the online abuse Mick Doohan received after Imola. There was a fake screenshot online that Mick screenshotted from the footage when Franco crashed – with laughing emojis. Then, it was revealed that it’s fake, but Mick received some online abuse already.
CL: I wasn’t aware of all the details of the situation, but I think as a global picture, that’s never something you want to see. I think there’s a lot of respect. I’ve grown up with F1 as a target and looking at it thinking it was incredible to see so many fans from different teams, but having a lot of respect. That’s what I want to see going forward, no matter what the situation is. Especially now with social media, it’s more and more toxic. There is more and more false information being spread. But the most important thing in any situation is respect first. It’s a shame to see these kinds of things in a sport like ours.
PG: Yeah, I fully agree with what Charles said. There’s no space for abuse in any sort of way, anywhere. It’s just sad to see really. I think F1 has been really good in that sense. The community we’ve had over the years, really supporting – but never really spreading hate. You can support any team or any drivers – many different drivers – but we’ve never really seen that sort of hate happening. I hope people understand there are human beings behind everyone – families, drivers, teams, mechanics, engineers – and respect should come first, always. So yeah, we don’t want to see any of that.
Q: (Rodrigo Franca – Car Magazine Brazil) Question for the three of you. You all have Ayrton Senna as a racing idol. How important is Ayrton’s record of six wins here – at the most challenging and difficult circuit – to your admiration of his skills?
Q: Isack, can we start with you – with the helmet?
IH: Yeah. I made a helmet, actually, because, you know, I thought I could do it in Brazil – it makes sense – but I think to do it here makes maybe even more sense. Because there’s one king of Monte Carlo, and it’s Ayrton. As a kid, I watched a lot of clips on YouTube – watching him basically demolishing everyone around here. I thought, “Well, if I’m going to be a racing driver in Formula 1 and I’m going to race here, I want to pay tribute to him.” You can see on my helmet the statistics – his pole laps, how many times he won, which years. I think it was a good idea.
Q: Charles, was Ayrton an inspiration to you?
CL: Yeah, of course. He’s been a huge inspiration. I think everything he achieved – especially in Monaco – had a huge influence on me. My father witnessed and saw Ayrton in the streets of Monaco, actually racing here. Every time there was a Grand Prix, my father would explain to me how impressive it was – especially in the rain. And you can also see some onboard footage from back then, which is just incredible. I think it’s part of the magic of Ayrton, and Monaco is definitely one of the most special laps he’s ever done. So, yeah – it definitely adds to the myth.
PG: Same for me as for Isack and Charles. The footage you can see on the internet – some of the laps Ayrton had around Monaco and the documentaries, those races in Monaco – especially in the wet against Alain Prost… Being French, anytime you hear about Prost, you hear about Senna. They’ve both been idols of mine since I was a child. I think there was a special connection – the way he used to say what he felt behind the wheel around the streets here. That’s been a big part of why I admired him since I was a kid.
Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it) Question for Charles. How frustrating is it for you to know that your own race weekend is probably going to be an uphill battle?
CL: It’s not frustrating yet, because I haven’t hit the track yet. So for now, there’s just a huge motivation to try and surprise ourselves positively. And that will be the case until Sunday, really. I mean, then when you’re in the race on Sunday and you feel there’s no pace in the car – that’s where the frustration actually starts, because you need to do 50 laps. I don’t know how many laps there are here – more than 50?
Q: 78?
CL: Alright. So the frustration will be very long if it’s there. But yeah – no matter what, you give your best. Until qualifying, until you do that lap in Q3, you’ve got the hopes of doing something magic because you don’t really know where you stand. You have some initial ideas of where you’re going to be fighting in qualifying, but until you get that lap in Q3 and everybody goes flat out, you don’t really know where you’re going to stand. So I’ll have hopes until the end.
PART TWO – Alex ALBON (Williams), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Gabriel BORTOLETO (Kick Sauber)
Q: Max, why don’t we start with you? General question first of all – Monaco, what makes this event different and special?
Max VERSTAPPEN: I think it’s just how difficult the track is to master in qualifying, to get the most out of it. Also knowing that overtaking is difficult on a Sunday, qualifying is even more important. It’s incredibly narrow, challenging, bumpy. The history, of course, of Monaco in general – this is one of these races that you really want to win. It is very special to be racing here. It’s pretty insane, to be honest. But once you stand on the top step on the podium, it’s something where you’re like, “That was a great weekend.” You’re like, “done!”
Q: Talking of great weekends, you had a great weekend at Imola last time out. You’ve clearly made a lot of progress with the car in recent races. Is it enough for you to win your third Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday?
MV: Well, I mean, if you take the average of Miami and Imola, I don’t think we look that great. So we have to be calm. Imola was a very good weekend for us – I say weekend because Friday was not good. We just have to keep understanding our car a bit better, what we want with the set-up. This is a very different track. If you look at the season so far, we’ve only really been properly competitive on high-speed corners. Monaco is not a high-speed track. I’m a little more reserved for this weekend. Even if you have the best car, to nail it in qualifying around here is very tough. We just have to see what happens tomorrow and work from there. I have no idea where we are in the order. Historically, we’ve not been particularly great on street circuits. Hopefully we can change that a bit, but I don’t know.
Q: Max, can I ask you about the championship now? We’re one third of the way through the season. You’re only 22 points behind the leader, Oscar Piastri. Do you believe you are genuinely in this battle in terms of pace with McLaren?
MV: Well, it’s not about believing. It’s about where you finish in the last race, and we just keep working every race to be better and improve the situation. A lot can happen. If you asked me last year around this time, I’d have said, “Yeah, we’re going to win it. No problem.” But then a lot changed as well. It’s not for sure that it’s going to be straightforward to the end of the season. I think we still have to improve in areas, but that’s fine. We’ll try to find the improvements.
Q: Max, this is something of a home race for you. Are we going to see your daughter, Lily, coming trackside, maybe coming into the pits or staying home?
MV: No. It’s better she stays at home. It’s more relaxed for her.
Q: Alex, can we come to you? Can we start by talking about last night? There was the screening of F1: The Movie. Can we just get your thoughts on that first of all?
Alex ALBON: Yeah. We should ask Max… How was the movie? It was good. I think they’ve done a good balance, to be honest. It’s hard to not look at everything with a fine comb and just see it for what it is – just relax and watch it as a movie. I know you were there. I don’t know if you had the same impression, but I think for Hollywood and for what we do, they did a good job.
Q: Gabriel, can I bring you in on this as well? What did you think?
Gabriel BORTOLETO: I think it’s a very Hollywood one, but it’s nice. It’s going to be very good for those that still don’t know the sport so much. It’s going to be very good for our sport. For us drivers, we live this every day, so we know every detail. Some stuff we realise – I don’t want to give spoilers or anything – but that’s what I’m sure will be good for the sport. And for those that don’t know so much about Formula 1, they can learn and get involved with us.
Q: Alex, can I bring you back in? What about Imola? You were driving with a bit of rebel in you. You seemed to be enjoying yourself out there. Was that the best race you’ve driven for Williams?
AA: No. I wouldn’t say the best race. I don’t think it was my strongest weekend. I was actually on the back foot for most of the weekend, just not feeling that comfortable with the car, which is even more telling – that even when things aren’t going fantastically, we can still come home with a P5. What’s been good for us generally is we’ve made a step, clearly everywhere. Our race pace compared to the top teams as a midfield team is usually worse come race day than Saturday. But the last couple of races, we’ve actually been pretty much on the money with where we’ve left qualifying. It’s being putting us in contention with teams like Ferrari and even Mercedes. So, it’s been really enjoyable – more than anything, just to be able to mix it with the top teams has been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed that a lot. It’s a nice change.
Q: Has the improved performance been track-specific, or do you think you can be strong everywhere now?
AA: It’s interesting, because the last couple of tracks – we knew Miami would suit us. We didn’t expect Imola to suit us. We’ve definitely made setup changes along the way, but not to the point where we expected to be the speed we were at. So in many ways, it makes you think maybe we come here and we’re going to be just as quick. You’re kind of treading the line of careful optimism, where I think I think yes, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be quick here. But at the same time, were we just good in the last two races? I don’t know.
Q: Gabriel, can I just bring you back in? We saw improved pace from Sauber last weekend. Do you think that will translate to Monaco this weekend?
GB: I’m not so sure about that. I think Miami we were a bit better. In Q1 we went to Q2 with a bit more margin. Imola was not our best track. We went to Q2, but I don’t want to take any credit out. But at the end of the day, Yuki crashed and Berman got the lap deleted. It was not the best quali pace, but the race pace was a bit better. Unfortunately, we were not able to maximize the opportunities we got, so we didn’t manage to score any points. I think we are making progress, taking steps ahead. Let’s see – in Barcelona, we’re bringing a new package, so maybe that can be a very good thing for us.
Q: You finished on the podium in F2 here last year. How are you expecting this racetrack to feel in a Formula One car?
GB: Very tight. The F1 cars are quite big, and even driving the sim, you can see clearly it’s a super tight track. With these F1 cars going so quick, it’s going to be amazing. For a young driver, this is one of the races you always dream of racing – the Monaco GP in Formula One. I’m really looking forward to starting the weekend and learning this track with the F1 car. Even if I raced here in the past, the approach with F1 is completely different. It’s going to be very interesting. I’m looking forward to it.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Question for Max. I think we’re all in agreement that qualifying here this weekend could be the most important of the season. Take us through your approach to qualifying. You steadily get better as the sessions go on – do you push from the outset? Do you know how hard you can push by the time you get to Q3? Yuki Tsunoda said your approach is quite unique. Give us an insight into how you go into a qualifying session.
MV: I guess it also depends a bit where you are on the grid. Right? I’d say if you’re on the back, you need to push flat out in Q1 to try and make it out. So let’s first find out where we are in the grid. But then, yeah, Monaco is a special one where you do push, but the track is also coming to you quite a bit even in qualifying. So, you just have to be out at the right time. And of course, traffic can be a problem in Q1 – a lot of cars out there. It’s always that fine line of how much you’re willing to risk already, and making sure you’re in a good rhythm. At the end of the day, a lot is rhythm, because on a normal track it’s a bit more straightforward. The grip is good, you have space, you get quite comfortable. But around here, I don’t think you ever feel super comfortable. You’re always on the edge. So, through qualifying, follow the track, get into that nice rhythm. Make sure that the car is to your liking, make sure that the tire is in the right window. It all sounds very easy, but it’s not that straightforward, unfortunately. And with the C6 compound now, I have no idea how they’re going to respond around here as well. That’s something we all have to figure out – all the drivers, all the teams.
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italy). A question to Max. You usually love traditions. How much could this race change with the two mandatory stops in your opinion?
MV: I guess it can go both ways – it can be quite straightforward, or it can go completely crazy because of Safety Cars coming into play or not making the right calls. I think it will spice it up probably a bit more. Normally, with one stop, once you have a good pit stop and everything is fine, then you drive to the end and just stay focused and not hit the barrier. But maybe with a two-stop, it can create something different – people gambling, guessing when the right time is to box. So hopefully, it will spice it up a bit more.
Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN Spain). Question for Max. You were talking about qualifying and your approach. Every time we come to the Monaco Grand Prix, at least in Spain, people post your lap of 2023 – the pole that could have been for Fernando. Was that Monaco 2023 Q3 lap the best one of your life?
MV: It was a good one, but honestly, around Monaco it’s always very tough to say “that was unbelievable” because you never really feel super comfortable. But at the time in ’23, I knew that I was down in the first two sectors, so I knew I had to risk a bit more. And it worked out well for me. It was a cool lap, and of course it meant a lot because it meant that you start first. Normally you win the race if you have a normal start. But like I said, normally, and now there’s a lot more that can go wrong with two stops. So, first, let’s see where we qualify and then we’ll see what happens. But for sure, ’23 was a good year and a cool qualifying around here.
Q: (Regine Anthonesson – ViaPlay) Question to Alex. Can you describe the feeling of a qualification out there in Monaco?
AA: Honestly, similar to what Max is saying. I think with these cars and the weight of them around such a narrow track like Monaco, and also with these softer tires – it sounds strange, but it’s actually easy to overdrive. You have to wait for the track to come to you and be quite disciplined in your driving. You don’t want to feel out of control. You can get to a point where you take so much risk that you’re just not comfortable and you can’t build on it. What Max is saying about a bit more of a steady approach – when it comes to Q3 and your final lap is when you start pushing the limits of comfortability and you’re trading that with technique, lap time, and tire damage. It’s a bit of a mental game around here. It’s not just about taking as much risk as you can because it’s a street track. There’s a skill to it.
Q: (Mariana Becker – TV Bandeirantes) Alex, what are your worries – or the worries of a driver – when you think about two stops here? I can easily imagine everybody going into the pits on the first or second lap. What do you worry about? What are you going to bring to the team?
AA: I think the biggest thing is – obviously, we’re doing this to shake it up. And the worry is that it doesn’t shake it up and it just creates, like you’re saying, a lap-one situation where everyone starts to come into the pits and just tries to take some of the space and use lap two, three, four, five – whatever it may be – to push. Who knows? The biggest thing if you speak to the team, and I think every strategist, is that we don’t really know how it’s going to play out. Especially in the midfield, it’s team-mates and how they help each other. A good example would be Jeddah last year with Haas, when Kevin made a race where he basically parked the bus and allowed Nico to have a free stop. When you do work that around a track like here with two stops, that’s definitely possible. You don’t want a race like that. That’s not to say I think it’s a bad idea to do a two-stop. I think we need to try something – but it may not really change the style of the race.
Q: (Diego Mejía – Fox Sports Mexico) Many times this year – and last time at Imola – you had a poor Friday. You were overtaken by the McLarens on your race run, but yet you managed to be fighting for pole and win the race. Why is it that so many times the baseline is so out of the window and suddenly you’re able to come back so strong towards qualifying? And how important is the job that the drivers on the sim do?
MV: I wish I knew why the Fridays are not always great. We don’t do it on purpose, I swear. But it’s been a bit more difficult just to get the car in the right window. I do think we learned quite a bit actually in Imola – what we want from the car. It’s not always easy to extract that now on a street circuit compared to Imola, but it was a very useful lesson. It gave me more confidence to push. We do a lot of simulator work. Although we have the simulator drivers, we communicate what we want from the car, what we need. Unfortunately, our car over the last year and a half – maybe two years – has probably had quite a narrow window. As soon as you’re a little bit left or right, it becomes quite a bit more difficult to drive. That probably translates to a poor Friday. But the team is good at analysing and making the right calls for the next day. So, most of the time, we improve the situation – and in Imola, it improved quite a lot.
Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Ant1 TV) A question for all three. You all have contracts for next year with the same teams and you will have different engines next year. From what you can share, how confident do you feel about next season and how much are you already involved in what your teams are doing for 2026? Maybe implementing new ideas and stuff. Max, let’s start with you.
MV: Yeah. Just the last few days, I was still at the factory designing the piston. So, yeah, I think we found a good compromise. Now, I think it’s going to be a rocket ship. So, we’re ready! Honestly, I think no one – of course, you can always be very confident in what you’re doing, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. It matters what you deliver next year. So we’ll see. Time will tell.
AA: Yeah, I think especially if we’re not a factory team, then we’re even more out of the loop than maybe a team like Red Bull would be. But at the same time, in the end, it’s just more self-centred around our car. We’re more focused around that – trying to deliver the best car we can. The PU is the PU. It’s almost the second phase. [inaudible question] In terms of a design point of view, yes. From what I understand, we’re pretty clued up on where the geometry of the car is going to be. But that’s about it.
Q: Alex, how much 2026 sim work are you doing now?
AA: We’ve only really scratched the surface recently, and we’ll definitely ramp it up as the season goes on. For now, I think also because we’ve had a good start to the year so far, we’re maybe a little bit more focused on doing more prep toward the weekends themselves. Our time on the sim is quite valuable, and so far, we’ve shifted it a little bit more towards this year for now.
Q: Gabriel?
GB: I think it’s a bit difficult to know at this stage. It’s a bit too early, also comparing to other teams. Sometimes I try to ask Max, but he never tells me how they are doing with engine and car.
MV: If you tell me what you do, I can tell you a little bit of what I do.
GB: But I think we are in a different situation right now. You can help me more than I can.
MV: I’ll help you with the sim driving. I put the banker lap, and then you spend a hundred laps to beat it, and then we continue.
GB: That’s not true. I don’t spend a hundred laps. Only fifty! Anyway, I think we are still in an early stage. Some sim drivers are doing the work already in the sim for quite a while. But we are still focusing on 2025 and trying to improve a bit our car for now. I think it won’t take too long before Nico and I start to do the proper work for 2026 as well in the sim and understand where we are.
Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365) Question for you, Max. At this stage of the season, it’s very much looking like a two McLaren versus one Red Bull battle for the Drivers’ title. How much would you now like Yuki Tsunoda to step up to the plate – not only to provide the team with great strategic options to help you out, but also potentially to provide you a bit of defense going up against Oscar and Lando?
MV: Well, I think as a team you want both cars in the best possible position. But look at 2023, for example. If we have a good car, you will be fast and then it doesn’t matter what the other teams do in terms of strategy because you will beat them. We have to make sure that we put ourselves back in that position. At the moment, sometimes it works – in Imola, it was fine. When the car is working and you are comfortable with what you’re doing, then it doesn’t matter what the other strategies are from the other cars or teams around you because you just follow your own strongest strategy. But naturally, as a team, we want to finish one-two every single weekend – but that’s tough at the moment. We have very strong competition. McLaren is doing a great job. So we just keep working, trying to improve – for myself, for Yuki – and we’ll see in the coming races what we can do.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Max, I think you were the only driver who missed the screening of the movie last night. I know there are obvious reasons with a young baby and domestic life, but are you planning on watching the movie? Are you interested in it?
MV: Yeah. I notified FOM about that. They were well aware that I wasn’t attending. I wanted to spend more private time, because it is private time at the end of the day – the evening also. I think it’s coming out on June 27? I’ll download it on Apple. So yeah. Of course, I get it – there was the opportunity to watch it, but if I watch it now or in three or four weeks, that’s fine as well. I heard good stuff from the movie, so I’m sure it’s going to be exciting.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Max, I know you’re maybe not the biggest fan of events like Miami and Vegas, that have put more focus on the show than the spectacle on the track. But do you feel Monaco – just with the history and everything – still has that balance right? Is it still the history that buys into this being a really great race?
MV: From when I started to now, I don’t think it has changed a lot. It’s very exciting. Like I explained before, the format – the qualifying – is very important. The track, like I said, is narrow. These cars that we have currently are, for me personally, a little bit too big. It would be better if we go back to some smaller, narrower cars. I think that would only help racing here around Monaco. Hopefully, we can achieve that a bit. I know the coming cars are going to be a little bit smaller, but I think it’s still not enough. Hopefully, in the future we can try and make them smaller again. But we’ll see.
Q: (Carlo Platella – Formula Passion) Max, last year you were complaining quite a lot about a car that was jumping all around. You described it as a go-kart. Do you expect the new car has improved in this area?
MV: Yeah. I don’t know, really. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. But it is a fact that that’s normally not our strong point. We’ll see. I have no idea how it will respond.
Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it) Question for Max. Is consistency the key to keeping your hopes alive for the title? And if so, how difficult is it to be consistent with a car with such a narrow operating window?
MV: I think, of course, if you want to win a championship, you have to be consistent anyway. But I think what we have to focus on is just performance. The more performance we have, the easier we make it for ourselves. That’s what we’re trying to do – finding more performance in our car, better tire life, all these kinds of things together. That’s our focus now for the rest of the year. I mean, everyone is doing that, but we want more.
Q: (Giuseppe Marino – Motorionline.com) Max, I think that you are driving better than ever. Is this your best moment in Formula 1 for you?
MV: Yeah. I mean, it’s going well. But this is something that I think you can’t consistently ask of yourself. You want to try and improve. Some weekends are better than others. But overall, I’m quite pleased. But you can also not be fully satisfied. You always analyze everything that can be done better – even on the positive weekends, but naturally also on the negative ones. And I’m sure you never stop learning in Formula One.
Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to Max and also a comment for Gabriel. Max, you seem to help Gabriel a lot, like a young brother. In Brazil, we say there’s a bit of a bromance between you two. Gabi, can you comment on your older brother saying he’s faster than you on the sim?
GB: That’s a lie, first of all. It depends. When we drive together, I start beating him, then he goes and changes the whole set-up of the car to make it difficult. Then I spend a couple of hours trying to beat his lap time, and he goes around telling everyone, “I beat Gabi and he’s taken me two hours to beat me again”. So…
MV: Yeah. I mean, it’s good. I like the competition. We used to do this already when Gabi was still in F3, F2. Now it’s nice – both of us are in Formula 1. Whenever we have free time, we race. Of course, with the Formula 1 cars, but also any form of gaming to be honest. It’s great that you can do that as drivers together. Gabi had quite a similar route to F1. He started in karting with CRG. He was telling me stories with the boss, with Giancarlo at the time – who I also grew up with. So, it’s very nice. Wherever I can say something or advise, I think I’m quite an open book, so I do that. And besides that, the healthy rivalry we have when we are on the simulator preparing for a weekend or whatever – it’s good. You do battles, hot lapping at the same time, trying to beat each other. It’s fun.
Q: Can we see you two as teammates in sim racing in the future?
MV: Well, yeah, it depends on Gabi. I’m already competing. It’s more about his free time and what he wants to dedicate.
GB: No, I’m already spending a lot of time on sim racing as well. But, yeah, why not? If Max invites me to do some endurance racing, I’m happy to do it.