Formula1 News: GP of Austria Thursday Press Conference

Six Formula 1 drivers, in two groups of three, met with the media at the Red Bull Ring Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of Austria.

PART ONE – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Isack HADJAR (Racing Bulls), Pierre GASLY (Alpine) – Pictured above

Q: Max, why don’t we start with you. You have an incredible record here at the Red Bull Ring – four wins so far. Just how confident are you of a fifth this weekend?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Is it four? Five.

Q: Going for five. 
MV: It’s five.

Q: How confident are you of another one!
MV: Well, I mean, there are no guarantees. So, yeah, we’ll always, of course, try to do our best. In the past, yes, we’ve had a lot of great races here. I mean, some, I think, back then were also unexpected wins. So, in a way, maybe we come into this weekend again, not as favorites, for sure. But I know that myself and the team will always try to optimize everything that we can. It looks like quite a warm weekend as well, so it’s going to be tough to make the tires last anyway. But I’m excited. I’m here to do the best I can, and of course I hope to be on the podium.

Q: You talk about optimization. You’ve got some new parts on the car here in Austria. What are you expecting from them?
MV: Yeah, I mean, hopefully it gives us a bit more performance. The team has been working hard to get these parts. So, of course, I’m very happy that we have an upgrade here. And yeah, every little bit forward will help us be more competitive and hopefully close the gap a little bit. But at the same time, we also know that others are also bringing bits throughout the year. So, we just need to keep working hard, keep trying to close that gap down.

Q: Max, tell us a little bit about how you drive a lap here, because you stunned everybody last year with that pole lap that was 0.4 of a second faster than anyone else. What is the secret?
MV: Brake late or go early on throttle, smooth driving. I’ve always felt good here for whatever reason. I think there are always tracks that are naturally probably suiting you a bit better than others. And this one probably suits me a bit better than some others, naturally. I know, of course, it’s our home Grand Prix, but I don’t know. It’s just a flow of the track, maybe in Sector 2, Sector 3, faster corners. You need a car that performs around here. And I think for most years, our car has been pretty decent. Last year was a bit of a surprise, the gap in qualifying, but I think we really executed the performance well in qualifying with our tire prep and everything, which on a short lap is not always the easiest. Because I think in the race, it was a proper battle.

Q: Max, final one from me, about Sebastian Vettel, who’s come out this week saying that he’s been in regular contact with Helmut Marko about maybe a position within Red Bull Racing. Can we get your thoughts on the prospects of Sebastian Vettel joining the team in some capacity?
MV: I mean, it’s more than normal that someone that has achieved so much with Red Bull, has been brought up by Red Bull, that, in a sense, there’s always a spot available, right? I think also, Seb always kept a really good relationship with Helmut anyway, even when he left. So, I didn’t know that they were talking, but I’m sure that there’s always a space for Seb in any kind of form.

Q: Isack, let’s come to you now. Can we throw it back to last time out, first of all? It was a slightly frustrating weekend for you and the team in Canada. Do you understand the cause of the issues that you had there?
Isack HAJAR: I mean, on one-lap pace, it seems like it was very hard to drive for us.
Our ride was quite terrible, but somehow we managed to be in Q3. But you can do those things on one lap; over 70 laps it’s much harder to be on the very maximum of what the car can do. And we are suffering a lot more compared to the other teams in terms of tire degradation, especially on the Medium, with the graining. But again, it was a very fine margin with the other midfield cars. It’s just that we were on the wrong end of it, which usually we’re on the opposite side. So, we’ll try to turn this around.

Q: I mean, this is race 11. Just tell us a little bit more about the car. Is it actually a difficult one to dial in? In one race, it’ll be good, the next race, it’ll be bad – or are you feeling some consistency there with it?
IH: No. It’s been probably the most consistent car, performance-wise. We never had bad surprises. It’s just you don’t design your car around Montreal, that’s for sure. It’s a very specific one. And I think going back to a more traditional track, the European rounds, we’re going to be much more competitive just like we were in Barcelona.

Q: Tell us a little bit about this race track here in Austria. You finished on the podium in the past in Formula 2. It’s a short track. Qualifying has been a strength of yours so far this year, so do you feel that Saturday here is something that you can really get stuck into?
IH: It’s going to be the target. If the car is able to go to Q3, then I’ll go to the maximum I can, to top the midfield. But again, it’s a track I really enjoy. I’ve been competitive in the past.
But every time you go in an F1 car on a track you’ve been in the past with Formula 2 or Formula 3, it becomes a different track, to be honest. It’s so much faster, obviously. But yeah, I enjoy this. Sector 1 is more like pure braking efficiency and very slow speed, and then you go into very high speed. So, the track is kind of split in two, which I really like.

Q: Pierre, let’s come to you now. Can we start with Canada as well? Difficult weekend. Tell us about the learnings that you’ve had from Montreal.
Pierre GASLY: Well, I think it was quite unfortunate. We had an unfortunate Q1 exit, which put us on the back foot, starting from the pit lane, in a DRS train for 40 laps. So, it was a very frustrating race. I think the pace was not too far off to challenge the last few points inside the top 10, but starting from the pit lane obviously was going to be tricky. We got some learnings. We knew going to Montreal it wasn’t going to suit our package too much. And looking at the gaps this year, how tight it is, you can easily swing one way or the other, and we would probably be on the wrong side of it in Montreal.

Q: Similar question to Isack – is the Alpine a difficult car to dial in? Easy one week, hard the next?
PG: I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. I wouldn’t say it’s easy. At the same time, I think we know our weaknesses and we know our strengths. And at the minute, it’s very much about maximizing the strengths. A tenth at the moment can move you three or four positions up and down the grid, and that’s why we’ve got to focus on every single detail we can. The focus is going to be there. We know the car we have is going to be the car we love until the end of the year. The focus is on next year, and that’s our weapon and we’ll try to get it in the best position we can every single time.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) A question for Max. Obviously, some good championship points and a strong second place in Canada. There was the team protest – not a driver protest – after the race. Toto Wolff described it as petty, maybe unnecessary. Did you think enough was going on there to make it a reasonable protest for the team to submit?
MV: I think everything has been said about Montreal. At least,  I have nothing to add from that race.

Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) Even the time it took to sort it all out?
MV: I have nothing to add. It doesn’t help anything to keep talking about it.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg –  Viaplay) For all three – we started off the day with the publication of stewarding guidelines. We’re at a track where racing is always tough. Are you completely confident that you know now, in situation A, it would always result in situation B or penalty B, like it’s set out in the guidelines?
PG: To me, it’s clear on how hard you can race and the limit of it. Obviously, as drivers, you always take it right up to the limit and try to use any gray area that you can. But I think step by step, we’re reducing these gray areas. And I think it’s, at least to me, it’s very clear on what you can do and can’t do.
IH: Yeah, clear.
MV: Has it changed? I’ve not seen anything. I’ve been busy.

Q: The FIA has published them.
MV: OK. Well then, it’s the same. We know that already.

Q: (Mariana Becker – TV Bandeirantes) Max, you’ve several times been pointed out as a driver very sensitive to any signs that come from the car. You understand the car in a way that is rare to see. Your fellow drivers have said that. Do you think that with this car, when you see the feedback your teammates have been giving to the team, is it a matter of being super sensitive or also experience that brings you this?
MV: Well, I think first of all, every driver is different. Every driver needs a different thing from the car. So what I need from the car might not work for someone else. That is quite normal. So, from my side, I just focus on what I need from the car, and just go off what I learned from a very young age – how I drive, how I adapt to car situations. For me, it’s a very natural process. It’s nothing really special from my side – how I do things. It’s just how I know how to operate, how to work. We just focus on if I have understeer, oversteer, how can I balance it out, how can I adapt my driving, and how do we move forward with the progress of the car? There’s no rocket science behind it. It’s just what I feel, what the team sees, and you communicate what you want to improve on. Every year you build a new car, and there are always things that can be done better. Then if things cannot be modified very quickly, how can I adapt as a driver? It is a constant process that you go through in Formula 1.

Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) Question for Max. Does the amount of penalty points change your approach this weekend?
MV: You’re joking? Is this like a trap? I’m getting this question every single time, every weekend.

Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) This is the last one.
MV: I have nothing to add.

Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365) A question for you, Max. Are you aware initially of some comments that Sergio Pérez made on a podcast in Mexico this week? He refers specifically to the 2022 incidents between you and him in Monaco and Brazil. In the end, he turned around and said that you are someone who usually holds things in until you let them out, and that’s generally on the racetrack. Does that kind of comment from Checo disappoint you, bearing in mind you’ve had such a good relationship with him over the four seasons together?
MV: No. But I think also how you now worded it is not how he meant it. I have a great relationship with Checo. We’ve always been great team-mates. I have a lot of respect for him, he has a lot of respect for me. That’s it from my side. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing him again soon in the paddock. I still need to give him a helmet of mine – I promised him that, because he gave me one of his with a very nice message on it. I promised him, yeah, hopefully around Mexico that I can give him mine. So, for me, whatever is written in the media, I know how Checo is and we have a great relationship.

Q: (Shanna Lutgert – F1Maximaal.nl) Max, you’re testing a GT3 car at Spa, probably to help your team for the 24 Hours of Spa. How do you help them – coming from Formula 1 – to prepare with the car and make the shift to endurance?
MV: Well, it was also more for myself. I had not really driven the Aston that much up until that point. It was very early in the season, so I just wanted to get a bit more experience for myself. The guys, of course, are racing it, preparing for the 24 Hours. But it’s more for me to get more of an understanding of what we can do with the car setup-wise and development.
That was the only day available before arriving here. It was a great day, nice and warm, and we did a lot of stuff, which I enjoyed – just to help my understanding of that particular car.

Q: Max, how different is Spa in a GT3 car compared to a Formula 1 car?
MV: It’s quite different, yeah. But it doesn’t matter – in any car, for me, Spa is amazing to drive.

Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it). A question for the three of you. Do you think that racing has become less natural with the way it’s regulated at the moment? That it feels less natural for you to interact with other drivers on track because you have to think a lot about what you need to do – because it’s over-regulated.
PG: No. To me personally, I don’t feel that way. I think you go hard racing and you know where the limit is. There is mutual respect with other drivers and that’s the limit of the environment, and you try to push it to the absolute limit. Sometimes you go slightly over it. Now, the way we penalize is another question – whether some of the penalties are too strong, not strong enough, etc. This is another conversation. But in the way that we go racing wheel-to-wheel, it feels natural.
IH: Yeah. I mean, all the fights I had this year, they’ve been clean and I enjoyed them.
I didn’t feel like I was reading a book when fighting them, so, following guidelines. It was really, really natural. At the moment it’s going well.
MV: I’m not going comment on that. I cannot risk a penalty point.

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-Total.com) Question to Max as well. Alexander Albon, in an interview, once described that for him, driving the Red Bull felt a little bit like a computer mouse that you turn to maximum sensitivity – it has a very good peak, but it’s very hard to control. Is that something you can relate to or would agree with?
MV: The thing is that I don’t know any better, right? I’ve basically started with Red Bull, so I only know one car. And that’s how I drive. I adapt to it. Is it the best? Is it the fastest? Is it not? I don’t know. I just adapt to what I have – or just drive what I have under me. And, yeah, it’s been performing for many years very well. We, as a team, have done great things. And this year, last year, other teams have also stepped up. Now it’s up to us to try and find more performance. But every car, I guess, when you drive on the limit, is not easy.

Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Just to pick up on something Pierre said about the penalty points and how they’re given out – question to all three: Should penalty points only apply when it’s a truly dangerous move, rather than just mistakes? Because at the moment, it seems like you can pick up a lot of single penalty points that will add up to a potential race ban.
PG: You know you’re not going to get a long answer from Max, right? Yeah, I mean, personally I’m not a big fan of penalty points. I think the level we have in Formula 1 – we are professional in what we do. We obviously push things to the limits, but to have a race ban potentially… I was in that situation a couple of months ago, and I don’t think I was a dangerous driver on track. So, for me, it’s something that can be reviewed, and maybe there’s another way of applying some sort of penalties without getting into the risk of having a driver missing a race.
IH: Copy-paste from what he said. I mean, I don’t like having penalty points, that’s for sure, because then you don’t want to end up changing your approach. And, yeah, I think it’s very clean field, to be honest. So yeah, it’s not very needed.
MV: I’m not going to comment.

Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1Vilag.hu) Max, looking at the performances and the results this year, how important is it to find the right moment to shift focus to the development of the 2026 car? And do you have any preferences on this?
MV: No, I mean, of course, I think teams are already focusing also on ‘26. So you try to get more performance out of this car, which is already planned for a while – the steps that come. But at the same time, you know that ‘26 is a big opportunity to get it right as well.
So I think, from what I’ve seen, what I’ve heard, it’s been the right approach by the team.

Q: (Carlos Platella – Formula Passion.it) Max, in the past you shared your concerns about the next set of regulations. Do you think that after all the changes that have been made, the situation has improved or not? What do you think is going to be good? What are you concerned about?
MV: I’m in the middle, you know. Maybe good, maybe bad – we’ll see. I’m very open-minded, honestly. I don’t even think about it too much – just enjoying the moment. When I sit in the car next year, we’ll figure it out. I’m not making the rules anyway. Even if I have my concerns, it’s not going to change anything. So I’ll just jump in and drive it, and then we’ll, along the way, get better at it, understand it better – like any regulation in the past. You keep optimising, keep improving, and then just go from there, really.

Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) Question for Max. Max, something else Checo said in his podcast was that more problems at Red Bull started when Adrian Newey left last year. Is that a fair comment, do you think?
MV: I don’t need to go into that now.

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-Total.com) Another question to Max. Are you going to be driving for Red Bull Racing next year?
MV: I’ve had that question before as well in my life!

Q: Here, last year.
MV: Yeah. I don’t think we need to talk about that. I don’t know, do you want me to repeat what I said last year? I don’t know. It’s the same answer. I don’t even remember what I said last year, really. But again, it’s not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance, and then we focus on next year.

Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) First of all for Max – have you seen the movie yet?
MV: Is it out? I haven’t seen it on Apple TV. I was on Apple TV yesterday. I haven’t seen it pop up.

Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) For the other two – there’s no embargo on reviews now. Can you tell us what you really think – the things you like, the things that maybe were a bit unrealistic? And also, for Pierre – Brad’s singled you out as a potential future Hollywood star, so just wonder what you thought of that.
MV: Romantic comedies.
IH: Well, I didn’t learn much from the movie because we have one driver, so it’s not much we’re learning. I think it’s just good that it’s going to hopefully send our sport into another dimension again – make another step just like Netflix had this impact on the sport.
So hopefully this benefits us. I think it will.
PG: I just wanted to tell Max: they show you winning the race at some point, so you definitely should watch it. You’re going to enjoy that. Personally, I really, really enjoyed it. I think we’ve already made a lot of comments about the movie, so I don’t want to expand too much. But it’s cool and really looking forward to seeing what the people think about it.
Hopefully, as Pierre said, it just brings even more fans and people enjoying our world of Formula 1. And yeah – about Brad Pitt’s comment, I must say it clearly made my mom pretty happy. She was very pleased to be the first one in the family group chat to send it to all the family. So yeah, let’s see how the season goes, but hopefully we score a few more points. Otherwise, you might see me in Hollywood.

Q: Did you act as a child?
PG: Zero. I think it’s just the French side of me. I can play a French lover or something like that.

Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365) Question for you, Isack. Either side of you, you’ve got the past and present of Red Bull Racing. Do you see yourself as the future of Red Bull Racing? And if so, what do you feel you have to do to become a Red Bull driver in the future from the position you’re in right now?
IH: I mean, when I got signed by Red Bull four years ago, that was definitely the target – to end up in the big team. I’m still on my way. At the moment I’m happy where I am, learning a lot. And yeah, that would be the natural progression – no need to hide it.

 

PART TWO – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren), Esteban OCON (Haas), Gabriel BORTOLETO (Kick Sauber)

Q: Oscar, why don’t we start with you? And let’s throw it back a couple of weeks. It was an eventful end to the Canadian Grand Prix for you and Lando. How was the post-race debrief?

Oscar PIASTRI: It was fine. Half of it was on the way to the Stewards’ room, so that was fun. But, no, all good. We spoke about it honestly before we even got back to the team. Lando put his hands up and apologized. So, all good and looking forward to going racing again.

Q: Just one final point on this. Any changes going forward to the papaya rules that we’ve spoken about in the past?

OP: Nope. Same as always. What happened in Canada wasn’t ideal, but we’re still free to race, still fighting for a championship each. So, no, keep going racing and make sure that we don’t come into contact again.

Q: Now, what learnings did you have in Canada? That was the first race this year that we haven’t had a McLaren on the front row. Why was the car so difficult there? Do you think that will carry over into this weekend in Austria?

OP: I hope not. We got taken by surprise a little bit that we weren’t as strong as we hoped in Canada, but hopefully it’s a one-off. By the time we got to qualifying, I think we were in a better place and in the race, our pace was actually not bad, just we qualified a bit further back. I think we kind of understand what went wrong in Canada. So, we’ll try and have a better weekend here, but I’m confident we’ll be back on top form.

Q: Is there talk of new parts this weekend as well, and what are you expecting from them?

OP: We do have some new parts, yes. I think some bits at the front of the car, and hopefully it makes us quicker. That’s normally the plan.

Q: The weather is due to be very hot this weekend. Do you think that’ll bring it more back into McLaren territory?

OP: Potentially. I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s made the biggest difference this year. We’ve seen at some races where it’s been cold, we’ve still been strong. At some races where it’s been hot, others have still been strong. So, I don’t think it’s so much to do with the temperature or the weather. It’s just going to be how the track suits everyone’s cars, and hopefully it suits us well.

Q: Esteban, let’s come to you now. Cracking race in Montreal. Haas’s 200th Grand Prix to P9. Did that take you by surprise?

Esteban OCON: By surprise, no. But we knew that our race pace was going to be better than our quali pace. It’s usually the case. So, we did a really good strategy. I was very happy with that. Managed to fight with Carlos the whole race as well, which was a good surprise because we thought they were going to be quite a lot quicker than us. But yeah, it was very nice for our 200th Grand Prix that we managed to score some points. Took a while because there were a lot of decisions happening after the race in the FIA’s room, but it was all good in the end. We sealed the points, which was a good thing.

Q: It seems this year that every time you have a sniff of an opportunity for points, you’re nailing it. Is that how you see it?

EO: I think it can go wrong very easily, but so far, definitely when we had the performance, we were sealing the opportunities. In such a tight midfield, you need to be taking these points every time—even if it’s one or two—because you never know when someone’s going to have a great weekend and you suddenly recover all your loss in one go. So yeah, it can only seem like two points, but I’m not going to say it’s a victory, but it’s almost like a podium for us. It was a pretty strong race, and we need to keep that going, see how the car feels this weekend. It’s an interesting track always, and the team has done well historically here. So, we’ll see if our VF-25 will work well here.

Q: The team has had a good record here over the years. Both cars in the points last year. Does that give you more confidence than, let’s say, going to Canada last week?

EO: We will see. I think it’s been great that the team had good races historically, but it’s good preparation because you can rely quite a lot on some data and what the team has done last year in terms of work. But we need to see when we put the car down in FP1, see how we are compared to the others and not arrive too confident, obviously.

Q: Final one from me. The FIA Steward Guidelines for Penalties and Driving Standards have been made public today for the first time. Do you see this as a good move to increase people’s understanding of the sport?

EO: I think so. I mean, I thought that was public already before.

Q: It’s public to you and the team. Not the general public.

EO: So it is news to me. But yeah, I think that’s a very good thing that it’s transparent for everyone.

Q: Gabriel, let’s come to you now. New parts a couple of races ago seemed to lift the performance of the car. You’ve got more new parts this weekend. So, what is the mood in the camp at Sauber coming into the Austrian Grand Prix?

Gabriel BORTOLETO: Well, for sure, it’s good. In Barcelona, we brought this new upgrade that worked very well. So, we expect a jump again with the new parts. Obviously, we need to see how big it’s going to be, if it’s going to be as much as the one we brought in Barcelona or a bit smaller. We are only going to know tomorrow on track, but I’m looking forward to it. The team has been doing a very good job developing the car, still in a good way, for this year, and finding some lap time. Hopefully, we’re going in the right direction. At least that’s what it looks like. We’re getting closer and closer to fighting for points in a more constant way. Because so far this year, before Barcelona, unless there were big crashes ahead and a chaotic race, it was very tough to score points. From Barcelona on, I think we are at least in the fight now. Let’s see. Hopefully, this weekend will give us even more chances.

Q: What about your own performances in the car? We’re at the halfway point in the season now. How comfortable are you in the car in terms of extracting performance both in a race and over one lap?

GB: I think I’m a bit more confident and comfortable with the car on one lap. Since the beginning of the year, the pace has been there in a one lap. Since Australia, I already felt quite comfortable. Obviously, I’ve been evolving since then and understanding a bit better how the car works and what it needs to go faster, from my side as a driver and also from a set-up side. In the race, I have a very experienced teammate on my side. Sometimes I feel like he still has a wider vision of the race than I do in the moment—what is happening around him, the strategy he’s going for, or the way he’s pushing or not at the beginning of the race to save the tires. Stuff like this. Things you get with experience. As a rookie, you learn. And you can only learn doing these mistakes sometimes. I feel like Nico has been doing a very good job in the races on that side, also positioning himself in good ways in lap one. We are always starting very close to each other, but somehow these two positions make a big difference in the big picture of the race. So, yeah. So far, I’m quite happy. I feel like I’m extracting quite a lot of it in a one lap, as I said, and now we are making the jump in the right direction for the race pace.

Q: How much of an advantage is it coming to a track that you know so well like the one here in Spielberg, where you won the Feature Race in Formula 2 last year?

GB: It’s definitely positive. It’s better than going to a track that you don’t know, and you lose a bit of time understanding what you can do or not. But still, it’s a new track for me in F1, so it will be a bit different compared to F2. In F2, it’s much slower here in the high speeds. It’ll be interesting. But I’m confident about it. I’m happy to be in Red Bull Ring. I have very good memories in this place, not only in F2, but in F3 and other series. Looking forward to the weekend.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) A question for Oscar. The team obviously want to allow you to fight, but do you have sympathy? How difficult is it for them to police an absolutely even contest between the two of you? For example, could you have pitted a bit later in Canada, but didn’t do so to avoid Leclerc maybe disturbing the team result, and that created a little bit of an imbalance which saw Lando being able to attack you?

OP: Not really. I mean, we’ve been doing things in terms of strategy to just try and get the best result for each car. I was trying to beat the cars ahead of me, and we wanted to give me enough laps to try and pass them. It is a difficult position. I think the fact that we’ve got a healthy lead in the Constructors’ Championship makes that a little bit easier to manage, but it’s obviously a tough situation. I think we’ve done a very good job of managing things, of pre-empting things, and not being naive that, whilst it’s a good position to be in with two strong drivers and a good lead in the Constructors’ Championship, it obviously does have certain aspects of that job.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) For Esteban. It’s been an inconsistent year for most of the midfield, and Haas is no different. Is it different this season compared to the ones you’ve had before? And is it something that the team particularly struggles with—to get consistent results from weekend to weekend?

EO: Yes. It’s a very good question because this is what we are trying to improve—our consistency in terms of performance. The issue is how close the field is, especially in the midfield. One tenth can be three or four positions, or can make you go into Q2 or not, or can make you go into Q3. That’s the difficulty. A couple of years ago, you could be two or three tenths slower but still keep your position compared to one team or another. Now it really is about nailing the lap, nailing the set-up, and getting everything under control. If your car is not suiting the track well, you clearly have no chance in qualifying. You still have a chance in the race because it’s so close between everyone, but not in quali. That’s where the difficulties are.

Q: (Rosanna Tennant – BBC Radio 5 Live). A question for Oscar. With quite a healthy lead at the moment, do you envisage a time that you’ll feel confident enough to ask Andrea and Zak for preferential treatment at some point?

OP: A healthy lead in the Drivers’ Championship?

Q: Yeah.

OP: Your version of healthy is much bigger than mine. I think, for me, I just want—and we all want—a fair opportunity trying to win both championships. Especially in the Drivers’ Championship, because ultimately, it can only be one of us. I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations, and they’re a very long way away at the moment. So at the moment, all I can ask for is a fair chance to try and win the championship, and that’s what I want as well. No, I’m not willing to enter those talks at all.

Q: (Harry Benjamin – Sky Sports F1) Oscar, In the last few races, there seems to have been a rise of Mercedes power unit issues—all seemingly different—but across their team, Williams and Aston Martin as well. Is there any concern from your side and McLaren’s side when it comes to the power unit?

OP: No. We’ve obviously been keeping an eye on them, whether they’re team-related or just power unit related. I don’t have any concerns, and I know the team doesn’t either.

 

Q: (Mariana Becker – TV Bandeirantes) Gabriel, usually, drivers liking or not liking tracks are related to good memories on these tracks. And I believe you have a good one from here. Do you like this track and which part of the track do you like? What’s the good part of this?

GB: Well, I like this track. But since I didn’t actually have maybe great results here in the past, I always liked the way the circuit is made—the low speeds, the high speeds combined. I think it’s a track that is quite complete in this sense. You need to apply different techniques of driving through the lap to be fast. I like this concept of tracks that you need to change your driving, adapt, and set up the car in a different way to behave in certain areas of the track compared to others. It’s just a bit like a mystery, and that’s why I like it so much.

 

Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN Spain). Question for Oscar. Oscar, allow me to go back to what happened in Canada. It felt like the situation didn’t escalate much because of the sportsmanship you both showed. But I understand that at the beginning of the season, you, Lando, Andrea, and the team leaders wrote down the rules of engagement to have it clear when situations like Canada happen. I was wondering, was there anything that you wanted written down in those rules of engagement—or anything that you don’t want written down?

OP: I think the biggest and most important thing was just that things remained fair from as many aspects as you can. Obviously, there are certain situations that are not always going to be completely fair—whether it’s strategy because there’s only one pit box, or some other things. But I think that’s the biggest thing for both of us. Obviously, the first rule, regardless of whether it’s written down or not, is that the two cars from the same team don’t crash. I think that’s the big thing. In Canada, what we’ve done well this year is acknowledging that it’s a possibility. I think we dealt with it very well in Canada and since Canada. I don’t have anything else. I think what we’re doing and the way we’re going about things is the correct approach. It’s obviously a difficult one to navigate, but that’s a good problem to have in some ways. What we’ve been doing is good, and just a fair opportunity is what we both ask for.

 

Q: (Josh Suttill – The Race) On the topic of the racing rules, a question for all three of you. Do you think F1’s racing rules are overregulated at the moment? Are you happy with how they are, and how much are you actually thinking about them when you’re racing at a circuit like this?

OP: I think the first important thing to point out is that they are guidelines. They’re not set-in-stone rules. Trying to put in words every single racing scenario is impossible. So, it’s a very difficult job. I think these guidelines provide the Stewards with some guidelines on what should be acceptable and what’s not. Obviously, there are still degrees of factors that can’t really be written down. Every situation is different, but I think it at least gives us as drivers some clarity on what is and isn’t allowed. There have probably been some tweaks since they came out—I can’t remember when they came out exactly, but maybe in the last 18 months or so. It’s just important that people don’t treat them as black and white—this is what needs to happen, this is what isn’t going to happen—because even if you wrote 10 pages of lines and a driver’s going to find a gray area just from the situation you end up in. So I think it’s important to recognize that and not jump to conclusions like, “it says this in this sentence, so this is what should happen.” It’s still in the Stewards’ hands.

EO: Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of rules, that’s for sure. I think the racing aspect is quite straightforward for us and very clear, but it’s all the little side things—like what happened, for example, at the exit of the pit lane with that double yellow flag with me and Carlos. That was not that straightforward and a bit of a surprise for all of us. That caught Carlos by surprise as well. So yeah, it’s all these little things on top of an already complicated situation that can lead to difficult scenarios and going to the Stewards and having long decisions and all of this. In the end, I think the FIA took all the right decisions. They knew it was side things and small things not leading to any consequences. It was quite straightforward before I went to the FIA’s room, but it’s always a stressful moment—especially when you get a result which means something. So yeah, the next three hours after the race were quite long for me and the team.

GB: I think they said everything. I share their opinion, and, yeah, I stand on that.

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-Total.com) Question to Oscar. Your manager, Mark Webber, was involved in an intra-team championship battle in 2010, and I’m quite sure that he would say now that there are things he could have learned or done differently, that you can probably learn from now. How often are you having those conversations, and was one of them taking place post-Canada?

OP: No. I think the situation is very different. I think Lando and I are very different people to Mark and Seb. I think the situation within the team, the situation in their careers, was also different. Also, the incident in Canada didn’t warrant any big discussions or big decisions. It was a misjudgment from Lando that he admitted to and apologized for immediately. I don’t think it needed anything else. We knew going into this year that it was probably going to be a close fight between Lando and I with a championship at stake, so it’s no surprise to anyone that we’re kind of in this scenario now. Ultimately, just trying to make yourself as fast as possible and do the right things—that’s all you can do. I’ve said it multiple times before, but Lando and I don’t just want one opportunity this year to win a championship. We want this to go on for as long as we’re in Formula 1. The headline a few weeks ago was: “It’s not wise to fight for a championship or win a championship and bring the house down with it.” I think that’s still very much at the forefront of our minds, and we want this success for years to come. Having the team united is a very simple way of doing that.

Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1Vilag.hu) Oscar, you always seem quite relaxed. Do you feel less pressure because of the fact that you are leading the championship and your teammate made some clear mistakes in the first part of the championship?

OP: No. I mean, obviously I’m enjoying the position I’m in at the moment. It’s a position I’ve been in before in my junior career. I look at it quite simply: it normally means you’re doing something right if you’re leading a championship. That’s not to say there aren’t things I can improve on—Canada was a scrappy weekend. There have been a couple this year that have not been as good as I wanted, but there have also been a lot that have looked as good as I wanted. Just trying to make every weekend look like that—that’s the most important thing. What’s happening with anyone else on the grid, I’m not really concerned by. Ultimately, to try and win the championship, I need to put my best foot forward. If I do that, then I know it’s enough to win. That’s what I’m focused on and trying to do every weekend.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Racing News 365) Apologies to Esteban and Gabriel, it’s another one for Oscar. Given the situation on the grid between yourself and Lando, the number of Grands Prix where you’re on track together, and the situation in the championship—bearing in mind what happened in Canada—do you feel now that you’ve gained any kind of psychological advantage over Lando? And that he may now think twice about passing you or trying to defend against you when you’re going wheel-to-wheel?

OP: No. I don’t think it will change anything. For me, I certainly won’t do anything different, I won’t behave any differently. If Lando’s going to do anything different, that’s for him to answer, but I don’t expect anything to change. We’ve still got a long season ahead of us. I think it’s going to be a tight battle for the rest of the year.

Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) Question for Esteban and Gabi. How was the premiere? And for Oscar, are there any regrets that you missed the event?

OP: No. I saw the movie as well. It looked like a cool event, to be fair, but I was otherwise occupied.

EO: Yeah, it was not something I thought I would experience one day in my racing career or my dream to get to Formula 1. Being there in the middle of Times Square with all ten cars behind was quite incredible. It didn’t feel real, really, but we were there and it was a crazy experience. First, to be in New York has always been a dream of mine—to really visit the city. I grew up watching Spider-Man, so for me, it’s quite special to be there. I had an interview, which is probably one of the random things I’ll be able to tell my kids in the future: being in the middle of Times Square with the roads blocked, having an interview on the big screens all around – it was very impressive. The movie’s out now, people are able to watch it. I think it will boost our sport even more.

GB: Yeah, it was a cool event. As Esteban said, in the middle of Times Square—it’s not something you have every day. It was enjoyable. I met Brad Pitt, so that was cool as well. I watched the movie in Monaco, but not again in New York. The movie is quite cool. I think people will enjoy it. It’s going to be a good thing for the sport.

Q: Brad has said that Pierre Gasly is the driver most likely to make it in Hollywood. How do you feel about that?

GB: Oh, there’s a lot of drivers here that can be actors, I think.

Q: (Casio Cortes – Car Magazine Brazil) This one’s for Gabriel. Gabriel, there’s a lot of anxiety in Brazil—many years without a driver. Now we’re nearing half the season, and we can see you’re feeling more comfortable with the car. But how do you perceive the fans’ view? Do you think the Brazilian fans are being understanding about the fact that you still don’t have a front-running car, or do you feel on social media a bit of anxiety from the Brazilian fans?

GB: Well, I think Brazil’s last driver was Massa, right? Eight years ago, something like this. And obviously, we are a country that won a lot in the sport back in the day. There’s a lot of fans that didn’t actually watch Brazilian drivers winning in Formula 1 because they are new fans—football fans that saw Brazil win 20 years ago – and they miss the feeling of winning in a sport again. Obviously, Brazil has not been successful in the football World Cup recently, and in motorsports, in the last years, in the sense of winning a title. Even if we do well, we don’t win a title. Brazilian fans are very emotional people—that’s Brazil. That’s what I love about my country as well. I think those that understand the sport and understand the difference between the cars, and that it’s a sport where you can actually develop a car—it’s not that everyone has the same chassis like in junior series where you just play with the set-up and make your car fast—those fans understand my situation right now. They just expect me to do better every race and improve with time and experience. But maybe some people that don’t understand much about F1 and they look at Senna back in the 1980s, they think you can get any car and win a race in Monaco in the wet. And it’s not like this these days anymore. It’s not that easy. Not saying it cannot happen, but this is okay. I don’t mind these comments. It’s okay for me. I do my best on track, and that’s what I care about.

Q: (Axelle Valliere – Motorsinside.com) For Esteban. We’re doing a subject on the elevation of this track. Can you tell us how this changes your approach to driving?

EO: Yeah, it’s true. I think it’s one of the highest altitude tracks after Mexico—probably the second highest. This is quite hard for us in terms of brake wear, in terms of temperature in general—for the car, for the engine. It’s tough on every component of the car. We’ve seen in the past some teams struggling with this and having reliability problems. I heard it’s about to cool down anyway for the rest of the weekend, so that should reduce our issues. But in terms of driving, the elevation is really something that I encourage people to go and watch in real life if they have the chance, because you don’t realize how it is until you see it with your own eyes. On TV, it flattens things quite a lot more. When you go and have a run with your team around the circuit, I can tell you that Turn 3 is quite a big one. For us, it is as well. When we’re in the car, you brake super late—it’s almost like 65 metres to take a hairpin, which normally would be more like 100 metres or 90. For these guys, it’s 50. But yeah, it’s a really cool circuit. It’s iconic. It’s a bit of a shame in the past that track limits have been such a topic, but now with the gravel being put closer, I think it’s really a good sensation around here.