FIA Thursday press conference – Great Britain

PART ONE – Oliver BEARMAN (Haas), Alex ALBON (Williams), Lando NORRIS (McLaren)

Q: Lando, let's start with you. Good to see you. Home race. You've got your own grandstand. You're coming here on the back of a win last weekend. Just describe your sense of anticipation ahead of this one.

Lando NORRIS: I mean, I'm very excited for everything. Every day is one to look forward to. Of course, the driving on track is still the best bit, but I've already done some stuff this morning. We did Trafalgar Square yesterday, which was pretty special. I went over to the stands earlier this morning. So, plenty of things for me to look forward to. All good things, all exciting things, more like a positive distraction more than anything else. So, it's good. And, of course, coming off Austria is a nice feeling too. So, ready to get going.

Q: Lando, you’ve finished second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth here at Silverstone, but you've never won. If you were to do that on Sunday, would it be the crowning moment of your career so far?

LN: Yeah. I mean, I think it's tough to ever put something above Monaco, but I said it before Monaco that if I could win anything, if I could swap all race wins for one, it would be for a Silverstone win. So, it's a plan. Obviously, a lot of work, a lot of things to do before then, but Monaco is special. I think they'll be very different, for different reasons. Monaco is just the history, what it means to everyone and the people that have won there. Silverstone is because it's my home race, and the British fans and the Lando fans, all those guys. So, different reasons, but it'll be the one that probably puts the biggest smile on my face, bigger than Monaco, and it's the one that since I was a kid and since I first started watching Formula 1 that I've wanted to win the most.

Q: Alex, let's come to you now. While Lando was in Trafalgar Square yesterday, you were at 10 Downing Street. Just how did you find that experience? And what was it like seeing Formula 1 right at the heart of government?

Alex ALBON: Yeah. It was great. It was first time there. Have you been there before? No. Ollie was there as well. It was interesting. It's bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. Didn't expect that. That was about it.

Q: Alex, in terms of performance, let's talk about that. It's been a frustrating run for you and Williams recently. Just what is the mood in the camp? How much confidence do you have that things are going to go better here?

AA: Firstly, we need to understand why we've had so many DNFs. It's a recurring issue. We have some tests to try to understand where it's coming from. We'll change our own plan and try to get to the bottom of it, but it's not totally solved yet. So, obviously, it would be nice to finish the race on Sunday, and we're working hard. We've done a lot of work back at the factory over the last two days to understand it more and more. I think we know what area we need to focus on, and then hopefully FP1 produces some results that we can move on from.

Q: Ollie, coming to you now. Your first British Grand Prix, 12 months on from the moment when you were confirmed as a Haas driver. Excited?

Oliver BEARMAN: Yeah. I think excited is an understatement. It was 12 months ago I announced that I would race in F1 this year, and that was very special. So, returning as a full-time driver is an incredible feeling and really excited to race here for the first time as an F1 driver.

Q: What about the car? You've got some upgrades on it this weekend. What are you hoping they'll do in terms of performance?

OB: Yeah. We have some upgrades this weekend. It looks like it's going to point us in the right direction. Generally, our weak point has been qualifying, because actually in race pace, we've been pretty strong. We've been P10 and P11 for the last two races, with qualifying positions that tell us that we shouldn't be that good. So, this is going to hopefully bring a bit more quali performance, high-speed performance, and hopefully that can give us a few hundredths, because that's all it really takes. It's really tight.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) It's a question to all three of you. You're all born in this country where the Formula 1 World Championship started, and we celebrate 75 years. Half a million people are going to come to this Grand Prix, which is the epicentre of world sport this weekend. Is this a bit of a pinch yourself moment that you three are very much part of this and out there and Formula 1 is pretty massive at the moment? Did you ever expect to be in this position, not just driving, but also Formula 1, given where it is? And do you ever stop and think, blimey, this is pretty cool, isn't it?

LN: I mean, it's obviously not something you necessarily think of when you are a kid, when you're watching it on TV. But you see the grandstands full, and you see all the fans. And I think that definitely adds to it. If you watched the race and there were no people there and you just saw a podium, I'm sure it wouldn't look as exciting. So, I think it's always very difficult to know what it's going be like, the feelings, in the sense of coming here and seeing people with your shirts and your hats and shouting your name. You don't know what that's going to be like until you're here. So, it's hard to anticipate that feeling and have the knowledge of it. But it's also the reason why we love our home race. It's a great track, but it's more the fact that the fans are the best, and it just gives you an amazing feeling that, for us, you don't really get it in any other sense of life, that feeling of support and endearment. So, special. Even more from my side that this is my seventh Grand Prix here, I think, and every year it gets better and better, and my supporters have grown and grew, and now to finally have my own grandstand is also something that's pretty incredible, to think that I'll have that many supporters and that many fans cheering for me. So, special to all of us. At the same time, it's one of the most loved sports at the minute, and it's still growing. The amount of people that are going to be either here or back at home watching on TV and supporting people who are trying to do it for their country and do it for the Brits, it's the same as when we watch tennis or football or golf or whatever. So, it brings a lot of people together and I think it's always an incredible thing. But it's weird to think that that's us. That it's going to be us on the TV and people are going to be cheering for us. So, it's always hard to think of it from that perspective, but that is the perspective and that is the feeling that probably makes us more proud than anything else really is the fact you have those people supporting you. So definitely, for me, one of the most exciting, fun, enjoyable, and memorable weekends of the year, for sure.

AA: Yeah. I would say very similar to Lando in many ways. The sport is so fast-paced, it's hard to self-reflect and look at where you've come from and where you are now. Silverstone for me, that's where my dad took me to my first race, and the noise of the engines was obviously captivating, but in many ways also intimidating. I was like, there's no way as a five, six-year-old that I would ever end up driving one of these things. Back then, they did sound louder, to be fair. But the impression it gave me at that time was partly complete awe, but also didn't really believe that I would be able to think about going into one of them. It was always a dream of mine. Then I got my racing license at Silverstone as well. There was a kart track, which I think was taken down before. So, it always comes back to Silverstone when I think about my career. It's what Lando says. It's weird to think about now that you're one of those drivers that you looked up to as a kid. Sometimes I don't even want to really think about it. Just get on with my racing. But it is very amazing.

OB: Yeah. I'm just starting, so I don't know how it feels to race at home yet, but my first time at Silverstone was in 2015 for the Grand Prix, so exactly ten years ago. I was one of the people in the crowd, cheering, and now to be one of the people on track and making people so happy and united is a really incredible feeling. I'm really proud to be racing in the UK, flying the flag, and hopefully we can all have a great weekend.

Q: Who were you cheering, Ollie?

OB: I was cheering for [Sebastian] Vettel! Actually, if you hear the podium ceremony, you can hear a little kid shouting Ferrari, that was me. Lewis won but Vettel was third on the podium.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg - ViaPlay) Yes, also for the three of you, a question. This is the home race. How different is your schedule? How packed is it for this weekend? And does it really make sense to say yes to everything that comes your way when it's such an important weekend? Ollie, why don't we start with you this time?

OB: Yeah. Definitely a bit busier than the standard weekend. Starting on Wednesday, we visited the Prime Minister yesterday. Can't say I've ever done that before on a race week, or ever, actually! But, yeah, it's the home race, and of course there's a lot more attention and stuff going on. But by the same token, I think we saw in Kimi's case in his home race, a lot of extra stuff, and I think it's important to still have the energy to race and remember that the focus of the weekend is qualifying and the race. So, I've personally been quite vocal with the guys about trying to keep things as efficient as possible, especially since it's my first time. I want to remember it for being a great weekend and such a fun weekend on track, and we're doing a great job of that.

AA: Yeah. I think it's inevitable. For most of the teams at a home race, with a lot of people around, sponsors, family and everything like that, the demands are up, but I think the demands have been up every race, every year so far. It just gets more and more. But for the most part, we learn to try to stabilise everything and rest as much as we can. I think there are a few races where we don't mind doing a little bit more, and Silverstone's one of them.

LN: I definitely don't say yes to everything. But this is a weekend when you almost want to do more, not more stuff, but more of the things like the fan stage. I'll do it more than just one time, and I went to see the grandstand earlier and my merch store and things like that. There's always a balance, which is the biggest part of it. I'm here to drive, to race, and to do well, and you have to always remember that's the priority. But there's only one home race a year. For me, it's all about the enjoyment and memories and things like that. So, it doesn't just mean more interviews, but it might mean more time with the fans and doing events rather than sitting down and doing more interviews. If you ask me now, do you want to do an interview, I'll say no. But if I want to go and see the campsite and some of the fans, then I'm happier to do that because it's more about the fans than anything else.

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italy) A question to Lando. Lando, we are journalists that love to play with words. We say that in Austria ‘you found your garden’. Do you think Silverstone can be a track where you can find the same good feeling you found there, especially to make a difference against your teammate?

LN: I mean, if there's any place you would hope I can ‘find my garden’, it's here. I definitely felt a little bit more back on track in Austria, but it's not a guarantee that I'm going to have the same feelings here. Sometimes it can be very track specific, tarmac specific, tyre temperature, whatever. I certainly felt better, certainly felt more back in the rhythm. My quali lap in Q3 was one of the best I've ever done. I certainly got that feeling, a bit more of the old me back, but I'm also not one to ever just say I'm back. I think I’ve got to prove that with consistency and prove it to myself as always. Austria just gives you more motivation coming here to try and achieve a similar thing to last weekend. You always want to feel like your home race gives you a bit more of an advantage. So, I hope that's the case this weekend.

Q: (Patrick Laub – Servus TV) Lando, back to Austria. Racing each other as teammates when you're able and allowed to can be a privilege, but at the same time a thin line with having a close look not to crash into each other. So my question to you is, how far or how much are you guys able to race each other? And what is the absolute red line which you just don't cross? How is that communicated in the briefings?

LN: I would say Canada was a fairly red line. Yeah. That was the red line. So, the red line is just no contact. That’s it, I would say. It's simple. It's also not simple because when you're racing so much on the limits and you're trying to push the limits of everything, it's so easy to make mistakes. As much as you can say we're the best drivers in the world, doesn't mean people don't make mistakes. Even the very best who have won multiple World Championships still make mistakes. That's the line that we don't ever want to cross, and I think we both know that very much so as drivers. We want to race. There'll still be times when as a team we get told we'll have to hold position or do this or do that because we're still under the guidance of the team. But the whole race last weekend was "let them race", and that's what we did. It's clear to us. It's not always something that we have to voice and make clear to everyone else, but it's quite simple. You can do what you guys want to do. You can have fun. You can get close. I'm sure it'll make them nervous like it already did last weekend, but there's also a lot of people that work hard to build our cars and give us the possibility to win a race in the first place. If we lose those opportunities because of something silly, then that's where we easily cross the line. So, free to race most of the time for sure, and just don't do what I did in Canada.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – The Athletic) A question to Lando, please. Just on the suspension change that came in a couple of races ago for McLaren, I wondered, can you talk to us about how you're feeling about that after two events using it? And also, just the process of how you work with the team to come up with that – was it something you were asking for from the start of the season or did it take a little while to work out? How did that go? Thanks.

LN: Yeah. Honestly, and it's even an answer I can't give to the team that clearly, if you ask me now, is it better or not? I can't give a definitive answer. It's something that we believe might shift things in the right direction. That's how small of a change it was. It wasn't like, we know this is going to help, it's going to do a better job. It's also not a performance item. It's not something that we've got and gone, now we're going to be quicker. It's something that might change how the feeling is to the steering and to the front suspension. But because you go track to track, it's not something you can necessarily just change between sessions. It's not where I can just go out and give a clean answer to the team. It's one where I’ve just got to have the confidence and belief in the guys and girls who have put it together and thought of it believe it's in the right direction to give me maybe some more feelings or a better feeling, or more of a contrast in feeling. And I'm happy enough that that's a good enough answer, that they think it's better, and I'm confident that it's going to give me that feeling, but it's not something I can go, I'm feeling a lot more in the car. I certainly felt more in Austria. Canada is a very separate one and the car is always all over the place in Canada, so it's hard to judge things there. But certainly in Canada, I felt like we unlocked a little bit more, but I also don't feel like I'm still back to the level necessarily that I was at last year with feeling, understanding, and things like that. But it's a complicated one at the same time because a lot of other things have changed too. So, as a team, we're working hard. Obviously, I'm working very hard with my team to understand more things and tried more stuff in the simulator and expand my vocabulary of driving in a way. But it's, yeah, also one where I guess I have to use my experience of being a driver and saying last year I was very confident that I had more knowledge, more feeling through the car, because I'm the last guy that will ever say, guys, the car is just not good or isn't as good or whatever. I never want to blame it in that perspective, but I certainly wasn't happy. I made that clear to the team, and I think I was therefore in a position where the team got to work on their side and I got to work on my side. Together, we made some improvements, and I'm happy with that so far.

Q: (Diletta Colombo – AutoMoto.it) A question for Lando. Do you think that what you did in Austria could be replicated on another track as far as your confidence is concerned, the way you felt with the car?

LN: I mean, it's definitely my goal to do something like that again. I think especially from a qualifying point of view, my lap in Q3 was probably one of the best laps I've ever done in quali. So, in some ways, I want to be confident that if I can replicate it, then no one can beat it. That's how good it felt. But I also know how hard it is to achieve that every single weekend in the first place. So, it's a tricky one. All I can do is focus on this weekend, focus on practice, then quali, then the race. I also don't have the expectation that I'm going to do it every weekend. I have the desire, but not the expectation to have a weekend like that every single weekend. Like I said, all I can do is work on my job one step at a time. The team do their stuff, and together we try to achieve it more than once.

Q: (Niharika Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) A question for Lando. Lando, can you specify the area that now you're comfortable with when it comes to making improvements on your car? Any particular area you identified that was not making you comfortable enough?

LN: I'll clear up the first bit. I'll say I'm more comfortable. I wouldn't say I'm completely comfortable. The thing is, it's hard because I can't really compare to many other people. I don't know what other people think, feel, do inside the car, and I can only speak for myself and my experience of previous years, and only ever driving McLarens, because that's the only car I've ever driven. So, I have to use my experience and voice my opinion on what I think is different and all those things based upon my past experiences in different cars over the past few years. But I'm also very much a driver who feels most of my things, like most people, through their hands. There are obviously many other senses that when you're in the car, you try to use and utilise and put them all together, whether it's your vision and just feeling through your body and your legs, your feet, but always my understanding of where the grip lies comes through my hands and through the steering wheel. For me, that's my most sensitive area. Anything that's always been since I've started, I've always been very vocal, more vocal than my past team-mates, whether that was with Carlos or Daniel, on issues that I've had in terms of feeling through the steering and grip and understanding these different things. That can be positive and negative at the same time, but that's just something I've learned over the years. I think it's a strength of mine, my understanding of that. But therefore, when I don't have those feelings and I can't use those feelings to get the maximum out of the car to perform at my limit, then I'm not happy, I guess. And I'm not as comfortable as I want to be. So, it's trying to understand where I feel like we've lacked or we've lost some of those things this season and how to get them back.

Q: (LA Wilshaw – Top Speed) Oliver, it's a real family affair this weekend at Silverstone. Your brother Thomas will be racing in British Formula 4 over the weekend. I was with him last weekend at Oulton Park for his very first single-seater race win, and it was an amazing win, whatever the circumstances. Can you please let us know how it feels for you as his older brother? He did say in the interview that the Bearman brothers are racing together this weekend. So, what are your thoughts on Thomas racing this weekend, not alongside you in F1, but alongside you? And any words for him, words of advice?

OB: Yeah. It's been amazing to watch him grow up in motor sport. I remember some of our first times on the track together in karting, and those are always some really fun memories, ones that I'll cherish. I was so proud to watch him win his first race. That feeling of standing on the top step of the podium for the first time is incredible. He got to share that with his – well, with my family actually. Except me. I wasn't there! With his family? I'm not adopted, I promise. And, yeah, it was really, really nice to see. Now he gets to race in the British GP, so I'm not the centre of attention. It's spread about. No, it's going to be really nice. The only thing I don't envy him for is the early starts, because I think he has to be at the track at like 6am on Saturday. Aside from that, he's going to have a great weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it for him. We were on the sim together a little bit. I was giving him a few tips. I think he has the highest chance out of us two of scoring a podium this weekend. So, I wish him the best of luck.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lando, earlier on, you were speaking about the support you have here, and obviously you've got the grandstand named after you. You're also the highest-ranking Brit in the standings in terms of going for the World Championship. Do you come into this race thinking you're the British number one?

LN: I mean, theoretically… I'm not even going to say it. I have the best chance of winning the race, I would say, and of course the one who's most likely fighting for the Championship this season. Am I British number one? I don't know. I don't know how much you take history into account. I think if you still take history into account, then Lewis is quite convincingly at the top. A lot more race wins and poles and championships than anyone else really, put together. So, maybe I'm the favourite of the weekend from a British point of view, but I don't know. That's your job to put the numbers on people, not mine. It would be nice. That's my goal. It's the same as it is with any sportsman in whatever series they are, tennis, golf. You want to be number one, but I would say I've not proven myself to be that yet, but it's something I'm working on.

PART TWO – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Yuki TSUNODA (Red Bull Racing), George RUSSELL (Mercedes)

Q: Why don’t we start with Charles today. Charles, podiums in three of the last four races. Just how confident are you and Ferrari coming into the British Grand Prix?

Charles LECLERC: Yeah. I mean, first of all, I think we are quite satisfied with the latest tendency. We are improving step by step. We are not fully satisfied yet because obviously the end target is to try and win races. But going into this race, I think it's a race in the past where we were pretty competitive. Lewis has always been exceptional here as well, so I hope we can have a great weekend and hopefully have a shot for victory. I mean, it's been a long time since we last fought for victory, so I hope this weekend is the one.

Q: Charles, you say you’re not satisfied yet. This is the halfway point in the season. Can you just sum up what you and Ferrari have achieved so far this year and what you think the second half of the season looks like for you?

CL: Much tougher first part of the season than what we expected. I think when you end up last year like we did fighting for victories, fighting for the World Constructors’ Championship, we started this year hoping that at least we’d start in the same position, which was not the case. We struggled a bit more. But now we are finding our way again with the development. It definitely helped us to do some steps forward. I know that there are more things coming, hopefully as soon as possible, which will help us to close the gap to McLaren, to Red Bull as well. Mercedes seems to be maybe a bit more up and down. But it’s up to us to do a better job than others and try and catch the guys in front.

Q: How will it look like for the second half?

CL: I don't know. I hope brighter than the first one.

Q: Alright. Thank you for that. Good luck this weekend. Yuki, let's come to you now. It was a tough one for you in Austria. Let’s start by talking about that. Do you understand the issues that you were having there?

Yuki TSUNODA: The issue in the race was me. The overtake… tried to overtake in a way that probably I could just wait one more lap. It was a bit unnecessary to push flat out that much in that situation. So, the race craft wasn’t ideal for myself. The pace itself, yeah, to be honest, after that… changed the front wing and everything and just, it’s not really probably the best reference I'll get. But, yeah, it’s still the mostly the session I’m working on really hard so far. Especially the long run is the stint or the session I’m normally struggling at. So we worked so hard last couple of days into here, what we can do better or not. And we're going to try another couple of stuff that I never thought about. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it, feeling strong. I think in the short run it will just come hopefully soon in terms of the confidence level I want.

Q: Yuki, some observers think that Red Bull is a one-car team. Do you feel you have the full support of everyone at Red Bull Racing?

YT: Definitely, yeah. I mean, I feel definitely the support, especially these days and more than ever, from Christian, Helmut. I went to the south of UK with a physio Red Bull Racing to kind of reset myself, and that was coming from them. They just wanted to have fresh air and everything. So that helps a lot to me to build up my rhythm. Also, we're going to try a couple of things that I never tried, and they allow me to do quite a lot of things that probably they wouldn’t do in a normal case. So, yeah, definitely.

Q: Okay. Well, best of luck this weekend. Hope it goes well for you, Yuki. Thank you. George, good to see you. Got a new contract yet?

George RUSSELL: No messing around there. No updates since the last time we spoke. Honestly, as I’ve said for the majority of this season, I’m just focused on the driving. Of course, this weekend’s a huge weekend for us. For me, my home race is my favourite race of the year, and that’s where I want to give all my focus and attention to try and win this Grand Prix. We were on pole here last year. We were leading the first third of the race. Temperatures look slightly more favourable for us this weekend. Not as favourable as they were 12 months ago, but much more compared to Austria last week. And we know clearly that’s where we struggled. So, yeah, just excited for that.

Q: Well, I hope the performance is good. But just bringing it back to the contract, the longer this saga goes on, George, do you start to question the team’s loyalty to you?

GR: I mean, there’s a lot of conversations behind the scenes that are not public. And I know where their loyalty lies. It doesn’t need to be public. It doesn’t need to be broadcast to everybody. We’ve obviously spoken a little bit more over the last week because there’s numerous news articles and whatnot out there. But in all honesty, it doesn’t really change anything my side because, as I’ve said before, I feel I’m performing better than ever. And it’s as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything.

Q: Are you talking to other teams?

GR: No.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN, Spain) Question for George considering this topic. It feels like it’s been your best season in Formula 1 or one of the highest level seasons you’ve had in Formula 1. Do you feel it’s a little bit unfair that you’re in the middle of all these rumours?

GR: I mean, that’s for you to judge. For me, I feel quite thick-skinned, and I don’t really read much news or listen to rumours. I just focus on the facts, and I focus on the driving. I said it at the beginning of this year, you can have a contract, but if you don’t perform, you’re out. And if you do perform, everything sorts itself out. So, yeah, from my side, not really much more to add really and just focus on the driving as I’ve been for this whole year.

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports, Italy) A question to George. You said no news about your renewal and no other option. But George, maybe knowing that your team is also speaking with another driver or other drivers, is it right for you to check out other options beside Mercedes for yourself?

GR: I mean, every team has two seats available, and it’s normal that every team is considering what the future holds. And I don’t take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning. I’m happy to be team-mates with anybody. So of course there’s lots of conversations, lots of rumours, and all of these are being pointed towards me. But from my side, that isn’t really going to be the case. I want to continue with Mercedes into the future. The fact is, Toto has never let me down. He’s always given me his word, but he’s also got to do what’s right for his team, which includes me. But it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes. For me, it’s nothing to worry about because I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere. And whoever my teammate will be, it doesn’t concern me either. So, just focus on the driving.

Q: (David Croft– (Sky Sports) Still with you, George, but I’ll change the subject. There might be a candidate coming forward to seek election for FIA President. As the man who heads up the GPDA, do you welcome a competition to Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the FIA presidential elections later this year?

GR: I think in life, competition is always good because it brings out the best in people. It’s something we’ve been vocal about in the past. It’s probably got a little bit too much airtime in the past. Things have seemingly been moving in a better direction, which I think is just good news for everybody involved in the sport. But at the end of the day, if there are two people fighting for one position, you bring your A-game. It’s a bit like a driver’s contract, I guess!

Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Question for George. Bringing it back to the contract, sorry, I had to ask you. But does Mercedes provide you with the best opportunity to win a Drivers’ Championship?

GR: I think so. I think going into next year, there are so many unknowns. So many unknowns with the car, so many unknowns with the engine, with the fuel. And I think for us, from both sides, our best opportunity of winning is to continue as we are. We’re performing, I feel, at the racetrack at a very high level. I feel I’m performing at a high level. I’ve been working with the team now. Will be going into my fifth year next year. And I think for all of us, you know, Lando, Charles, drivers who have been with their teams for so long, when you’re going into such a fresh start, I think consistency gives you your best shot.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, question for you, not about your contract. Silverstone is obviously such a spiritual home for F1, a very special weekend. For you, what’s your earliest memory of coming to this race or driving here, and just how important has this track been to your career and your progression?

GR: Yeah. My very first memory is a real clear one. It was the race start of the 2009 Grand Prix. I was sat on the outside of Copse, which was Turn 1 back then. I just remember the noise and the speed, just sort of giving me goosebumps. I was racing in cadets at the time, and I knew that one day that’s where I want to be. Then it’s where I did my first race, my first win, my first ever test in an F1 car was here as well, so a lot of memories.

Q: (Niharik Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) A question for Yuki. Given that Red Bull can be at times pressuring on the drivers, and now that you have had about eight races at least in that RB21, do you think it takes almost a season for the second driver to adapt with that car, or that a second driver who’s not Max would need more time in that car to match Max?

YT: Yeah. I mean, I don’t know. It depends on the driver, but also at the same time, I didn’t see yet so far the driver who probably got used to it in that car straight away. So that’s probably the fact, but at the same time, I feel I’m in the right direction, at least on the short runs. Yeah, I missed out probably Q1 in Austria, but at the same time, gap was pretty small. Also in terms of the whole package, I know there’s something to come as well into this year compared to Max. So once I get full package, I still have good confidence that I can be in a level that they want. That’s what I’m working hard on. In terms of the long run is exactly the place that I’m still probably struggling at, but I’ll find a way. I saw a couple of driving styles that I can try that I never tried in my career in Formula 1. It’s just the learning stuff. Is it true that in terms of confidence, when the condition changes every session, maybe I’m taking a little bit more time compared to where I used to have at VCARB where for example, I knew exactly how the car was going to drive in each set-up, I can go flat out from the first push. But maybe in the Red Bull, I had to build up, which for me is the right approach. I don’t think it’s a wrong approach, but just takes a bit of time. I don’t know if it’s going to take a whole season or not, but at least it’s positive that I’m going in the right direction.

Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it) Question for Charles. Do you think that the upgrades still in the pipeline are going to help you close the gap to McLaren?

CL: I’ll be worried if I didn’t think that way because obviously we are doing everything in order to close that gap as much as possible. We are going to try and bring upgrades as soon as possible that will tackle some of the weaknesses we have. I’m sure it will close the gap. Whether it will close completely the gap, I don’t think so. It’s a significant advantage that they have at the moment, and it’s not down to only one upgrade or one part of the car. I think it’s a multitude of upgrades in order to get to the level. But little by little, at least if we are close enough to put them under pressure, I hope that we can force them into a bit more mistakes because at the moment, they’ve got too much margin for us to be putting any kind of pressure.

Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it). Charles, you said that the first part of the season was more difficult than expected. Looking also at 2023, Ferrari finished the year on a high then started to struggle the season after. Do you think this is just a coincidence or there is an explanation behind this pattern?

CL: I can definitely say that the two reasons of why we did a step back are definitely not related at all. But again, I felt like we learned from our mistakes. I just hope that at one point, we manage to build a strong car from the start and have a very strong season from start to finish, which hasn’t really been the case so far. But yeah, we’re working in the right direction. I just hope that we don’t end up finding another issue in few months. But this you never know. Especially with those cars, I think it’s not only us in this situation, but many teams are in this situation where it’s very difficult to find your way because you always tend to find another barrier along the development line. So, yeah, we’re working well, and I just hope that we find our way now.

Q: (Jake Nichol – RacingNews365.com) Question for George on the contract, I’m afraid. Do you have a deadline for when you need to know what next year will bring for you? Or have you spoken with Toto about that at all?

GR: I mean, there’s not really any deadline in place, to be honest. Obviously, naturally, you try and have stuff done before the summer break. From my side, Mercedes manage me as well, so it’s not really a deadline in my hands as such. So, yeah, not really. And I’m not even thinking about it right now. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions about it. But the more we speak, the less we speak about it, nothing really changes. It’ll happen when the time is right. I expect probably in the next couple of weeks, probably something to happen. But, yeah, we’ll need to wait and see.

Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio, Brazil) Question for Yuki. Dr Marko indicated numerous times that Red Bull won’t switch you with anyone for the seat. Does it help to have that kind of support and to be relatively sure that the seat is yours for this year?

YT: Yes, rather than him saying probably going switch in two races or whatever, for sure. But like I said, him and Christian are very supportive. He was not obviously happy with my race in Austria, but at the same time, he’s still willing to continuously help or support me. He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it. Helmut is just a direct guy. Some races if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right. It’s a kind of pressure that he gives me. Sometimes brings me into the level that I never think about or extracts from me some performance. It’s just the way that he works since when I was a junior, and yeah, I appreciate the amount of support I’m getting so far.

Q: (Brian Van Hinthum – GP Fans) Question to Yuki as well. Earlier this weekend, Zak Brown said that without Max, Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls in the pecking order. I can understand that’s quite harsh to hear for you. Would you like to react on that?

YT: Well, it’s the truth that probably we’d be behind. But he was saying that probably that [unclear]. I don’t know. I mean, the performances at this point I’m getting, probably we’ll be behind. But at the same time, I was not in the off-season tests there, so I don’t know. But VCARB so far, yeah, definitely performing well. I’ve shown good performance first two races. Probably if everything goes well with Australia, China was a bit hectic, and if the strategy, everything goes well, I was probably scoring a lot of points. So it’s good that they’re performing. But at the same time now, I’m fully focused on Red Bull, and it’s a car that definitely you can make it work. I just need, I guess, my opinion, just need more time, build the understanding, work hard to understand, work hard with the engineer as well. I just have to get his point more.

Q: (Keith Collantine – RaceFans.net) Question to all three. A lot of people expected that in this final year of the regulations, the field would close up a lot, and as we saw last year, we’d see a lot of competition between the big four teams, but each of your three teams really has dropped back from McLaren. What’s your interpretation for why that’s happened? Why do you think you’ve fallen back relative to them? Who’d like to start? George?

GR: If we knew, we wouldn’t have fallen back, to be honest. We don’t really know exactly why. They seem very good on the tyres. They seem very good in hot races. Clearly, their updates are working as they expect. And I think when you find yourself on the right tracks of this development slope, the rewards are endless, and they’ve clearly found that perfect path. Like Charles was saying before, these cars, these regs are not easy. I think we’re all looking forward to a change of regs. It’s not going to be easy next year, but the cars do seem a little bit more conventional. But then obviously we’re going to have the challenges with the PU and the batteries, so that’s a secondary factor.

CL: I mean, I agree with everything that George said. I wish I knew what made McLaren so fast this year. For sure, they’ve done a significant step forward, something that I don’t think many of us expected, exactly for the reasons you mentioned because when you get to the last year of those regulations, everything tends to converge a little bit. But this year they just did a big step forward. I doubt that it’s coming from one thing. It never comes from only one thing. I think it’s just many different things that they are doing better than others, which makes a big difference at the end. But it is true that one of the characteristics that significantly improved since last year is hot weather. I think I remember there was an FP3 in Bahrain this year where I’m still wondering how did Oscar do that lap time in that heat, which was very impressive. There are these kinds of laps that you look and you say, you’re just a bit lost for words and you don’t really understand where the performance comes from. So they found something, especially whenever it’s warm and on tyres, that we’re still trying to figure out.

YT: I didn’t drive last year in Red Bull, so yeah.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Another one for you, George. If you don’t get a Mercedes deal for next year for whatever reason, how confident are you in the contingency plans and alternatives that you would have, not just to seat in F1, but one that’s in line with your ambitions and status?

GR: Yeah. Pretty confident, to be honest. Because I think what I’ve proven so far is plenty enough and not really much more to say. Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, look, I am loyal to Mercedes. That’s where my future lies. Ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place. But there hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say. But I’ve been focused on my side. I am loyal to Mercedes. At the end of the day, everything will work itself out. And the likelihood I’m not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.

Q: (Jack Smith – Motorsport Monday/Motorsport Week) A question for Charles. You said recently that you’ve tried the 2026 car in the simulator and you weren’t a fan because of the way the car drives. Assuming that there’ll be more runs in that simulator soon, how difficult is it from a driver’s perspective to balance that whilst still racing a 2025 car?

CL: Oh, it’s so different that for sure I don’t confuse which car I’m driving. But to put back into context my comments that I did, it wasn’t really specific to our team, which I’ve seen did headlines saying that we are struggling or whatsoever. I was just meaning that the new direction for us drivers is a little bit less attractive and a little bit less nice to drive overall. But it’s the way it is. I still find the motivation in the challenge of making these new regs as fast as possible. If we are competitive, I’m sure that I will start to like it a lot more. If not, then I’ll probably hate it a lot. But I hope it won’t be the case.

Q: (Jérôme Porier – Le Monde) After Suzuka, Fred Vasseur said that this championship could be a championship for qualifications. Now since the beginning of the season, eight times the poleman won the race on Sunday. So we are exactly at half season. What do you think about that?

CL: I mean, I kind of agree. It’s a big shame because we are very slow in qualifying. I wish it was the other way around, but I also think that it makes it look that way because McLaren is very often on pole position this year, and they are the fastest car by quite some margin in most of the tracks. So then they end up also winning on the Sunday, which makes sense. So, yeah. I don’t know. I mean, he has a point for sure. Numbers say so. I just hope looking at ourselves that we’re going to improve our qualifying in order to be a bit more in the mix for victories.