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PART ONE \u2013\u00a0Esteban OCON (Haas), Lando NORRIS (McLaren),\u00a0Franco COLAPINTO (Alpine)
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Q: Lando, let’s start with you. 150 races not out. Time flies. Give us a highlight and a lowlight to start the press conference of the last seven years of your life.
Lando NORRIS:\u00a0Yeah. It’s crazy. It’s a big number, matching DC [David Coulthard] for amount of races with McLaren as well. So it’s not just races in Formula 1 \u2013 it’s 150 with McLaren. So Qatar will be 151. So the most… I don’t know what the word would be… most “racing-est” driver for McLaren \u2013 whatever it is. So that’s cool. That\u2019s something I\u2019m pretty proud of. It’s quite an achievement. But yeah, 150 in F1 \u2013 like, this is my dream, you know? It’s been my dream since I was a kid, so to get that far, to get one is pretty incredible, but 150\u2026 Time certainly flies. But I still remember Australia 2019, I still remember being on the grid there and the lights coming on and everything. So it doesn\u2019t feel that long ago. Lowlight is tough to say. There are always tough moments in everyone\u2019s career. Don\u2019t know what that would be, but certainly the last couple years for us as a team… Silverstone this year is probably my proudest achievement in terms of winning at home. It\u2019s the one race in my career that I would want to win \u2013 at home, in Silverstone. So I would pick Silverstone as the proudest moment. My parents down there, the team, my fans, the grandstand \u2013 that was a moment that really brought me back to my childhood but also made me feel on top of the world for a few minutes. So that was certainly the best.
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Q: So if getting to Formula 1 was your childhood dream, it must be a dream to be leading the world championship by 24 points with three races to go. Just how much are you enjoying the moment?
LN:\u00a0I certainly am. Everyone knows my approach is still just one race at a time, and I’ll treat it like that until the very end. I\u2019m enjoying the places I\u2019m going, I\u2019m enjoying the people I\u2019m doing it with. I\u2019m certainly enjoying every session, going out and obviously always trying to win. It’s always sweeter when you end up on the podium or you can win the race. It’s always a better feeling because that’s what we all want. So it’s been a good few races recently. And it is hard at times when you’re fighting and you’re in the position that we’re in at the moment as a team, between Oscar and myself, to sometimes step back and realise what you’re doing. You’re so just in the moment, in the headspace of, you know, “What can I do next time out? What can I do in practice, quali, the race?” Whatever. You don’t often step back and go, “Oh, I\u2019m in Formula 1. I’m fighting for the championship. I’m traveling the world.” You forget those things sometimes because your mind is so buried in what you’re trying to achieve. So yeah. But the moments when you’re reminded of it or you do take a step back, it’s pretty insane because I’m lucky to be here and even luckier to get to fight for the positions that we\u2019re fighting for.
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Q: So bringing it onto this weekend specifically, Vegas hasn’t been very kind to McLaren the last couple of years. Are you confident that it’ll go better this year?
LN:\u00a0Well, I have to be. Apparently, I’m not allowed to say we’re not favourites anymore. So, from the last two years, it\u2019s certainly been the hardest race of the year that we’ve had. So my expectations are not to the same level as Mexico, Brazil, where we’ve been performing very well for a good amount of years. But we’ve had an excellent year and we’ve improved in places that we\u2019ve struggled in the past. So I’m certainly coming in with more confidence than in previous years, but not the same amount of confidence as going into the past few races that we\u2019ve had. So you never know. Expectations are still high. I’m still coming here to win and to want to repeat the last few weekends that I’ve had. But I think it’s going to be trickier for sure than the last couple.
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Q: Franco, congratulations. 24 starts in Formula 1. It’s been a challenging season for Alpine this year, but the pace of the car in S\u00e3o Paulo was a little better, and it was very competitive in Pierre’s hands here last year. How confident are you that you can challenge for points?
Franco COLAPINTO:\u00a0Yeah. I think generally the car has been feeling a lot better. Brazil was a step in the right direction. I think Pierre did an excellent weekend and it was very positive for the team to see the car back in the points, to see the car back up there fighting for good positions \u2013 having the pace to compete with other teams was very exciting to see. So I think here, it’s a track that is very different, very specific compared to previous races. The tarmac is very tricky as well. So, you know, not really expecting anything amazing, but I think Pierre had a really good weekend here in \u201824. So it\u2019s looking good. I think we improved a lot compared to Mexico, to Austin, and with some good steps in the right direction. So let\u2019s see where we are at. But yeah, of course, looking forward to what we can do here.
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Q: Esteban, we’ll come to you. Haas had a good run here last year. The team is in cracking form at the moment. The car is going very well. What do you think is possible for the team here in Vegas this weekend?
Esteban OCON:\u00a0Yeah. I mean, since we’ve brought the upgrade, the car has been coming into much better form since Austin, and we’ve been able to get some good points as a team. So yeah, looking forward to seeing what we can achieve. Obviously, it is a weekend here that I really enjoy. I finished fourth here two years ago, so it was a good memory. And it is one that brings opportunities. A lot happens in Turn 1. It\u2019s very difficult to get the tyres up to temperature, so you can make the difference with that quite a bit. We don’t know if it’s going to be raining also at times, so that could be a first. I mean, there\u2019s a lot of things that will come into play, but I really look forward to seeing what this car can do here and if we can get the same performance as in recent races.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
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Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Lando, question for you. Andrea Stella said there was something in your last stint here in the race last year that gave McLaren an indication of the way to go to improve their fortunes. What did you do in your last stint, last year in Vegas? And what is the answer?
LN:\u00a0What did I do? I don’t know if I should say or not.
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Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Please do.\u00a0
LN:\u00a0Alright. I mean, because we were so bad, I just ended up trying as much stuff as I could. And it was more just \u2013 actually, I\u2019m not going to say. I\u2019m fighting for a lot, so I want to reveal the least amount possible. But I think we were so bad that you just get to a point where you try a lot. I mean, it\u2019s probably not too difficult for people to figure out. But yeah, it\u2019s a long race, a lot of laps, and we were struggling consistently with the same thing. So I was just experimenting with a lot \u2013 experimenting with my driving, with driving styles, approaches to the car, which is not always easy, trying to figure out how the car likes to get driven because it changes every weekend, and with the toys and things like that. So it was more… Yeah, it took us to the end of the race, the final stint, to really try and figure out what was a bit better. We found pace. Like, even if you look at the race trace now, you can quite easily see the final stint from me was a lot more in line with Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes. I think Lewis\u2019 last stint last year was pretty incredible. So we\u2019re still quite a long way off what the Mercedes was, but we looked more raceable, let\u2019s say. It was just too little, too late. I think we\u2019ve learned from that. Doesn\u2019t mean this year\u2019s going to be mega, but it\u2019s certainly given us a direction to go in. So it\u2019s more experimenting with different things. But I\u2019m not going to tell you. So, yeah, you can try to figure it out.
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Q: (Mara Sangiorgio \u2013 Sky Sport\u00a0Italy) A question for Lando. We would like to enter a little bit more into the driver mentality. Are 24 and 49 points enough to feel the title is a little bit more in your control?
LN:\u00a0I don\u2019t know. I think because of the weekend that I had last time out\u2026 I don\u2019t know what the points swing was prior to Brazil and then post-Brazil \u2013 or even if you say prior to Mexico and then post-Brazil \u2013 it was a lot of points. And I feel like I’ve very much been on top of a lot of things the last few weekends, but it’s a very difficult level to perform at all the time. And I have incredible drivers that I’m up against. So, you know, my expectation for myself is to try and perform at the same level, but that’s not always a guarantee. And I know that it can also just change very quickly \u2013 whether it’s because you get unlucky or whether you’re not performing at the perfect level and the guys I’m up against can perform at that high level. Things can change very easily. So, of course, I feel maybe a little bit more in control, but at the same time, you’re not in control of any of these situations. And I’m not thinking of it apart from just going out and taking one session at a time, maximizing FP1 and then FP2. And as long as I treat it like that, it doesn\u2019t\u2026 I don’t feel like I’m in a different position to what I was in Brazil. From the exterior, it’s clear that it looks that way. But inside, I think it’s treated as completely normal and just keep going as I am.
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Q: Lando, talking of levels, do you think you’re extracting more from the car recently than you were earlier in the year?
LN:\u00a0It’s hard not to do a better job than what I was doing at the beginning of the season. I certainly struggled at the beginning of the year, and we’ve changed some little things on the car that we think \u2013 not all of them are even guarantees. We’ve spoken about that in previous races and stuff. But the things with the front suspension and steering \u2013 some of it, we think it’s better, we think it’s going to help us and help me, but it’s not a guarantee. So that’s helped at times. And even when we put it on, it wasn’t like, “Oh, this feels way better.” It was more like, we think it’s better. If you don\u2019t feel anything, we’ll just leave it on because we think it\u2019s better. But the rest of it is more up to me and just trying to figure it out myself and with the group of people that I have around me \u2013 my engineers, my full team. So I certainly feel like I’m doing a much better job. I certainly feel like I’m executing laps better in qualifying and performing very well in the races \u2013 good starts, good restarts, all of that, the smaller things, let’s say. So I\u2019m definitely doing a better job, but it’s not come without the work behind it all.
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Q: (Tom Slafer \u2013 DAZN\u00a0Spain) Question for Lando. You were mentioning the last few races and how you’re performing every time better. Considering what happened in Mexico and Brazil, what changed during summer break? Did something click before or after Zandvoort maybe to see you performing at this level?
LN:\u00a0I mean, I would love to say yes, but it’s not, you know? It’s just a constant amount of work that I do with my team to always keep finding little things. It\u2019s not like I\u2019ve gone out and said, “This is how the car needs to be driven.” I still struggle now. One weekend to the next, it changes. Mexico, Austin \u2013 completely different feelings. Brazil \u2013 again, completely different feelings. So, it’s not like you figure it out and then everything’s easy. I still, every weekend, just have to adapt a lot to how the car wants to be driven. But there was never one thing. It’s just a lot of things that I\u2019ve been doing on the simulator. I\u2019ve been spending time with my team trying to figure out and adapt to having better procedures of working through FP1, FP2, FP3 \u2013 to try and understand more about the car and the way it needs to be driven. So I\u2019ve just had to step up more than ever in terms of my work ethic, my understanding of all of these things, get more out of the people around me, and then get more out of me at the same time \u2013 and just work more than I ever have done before. So, no magic thing. Just work away from the track.
Q: (Rachel Brookes \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Sorry Esteban and Franco \u2013 it’s for Lando again. Lando, can you tell me: has your relationship with Oscar changed at all during this season? We used to see a lot of videos from the team of the two of you having fun and chatting. Have you noticed a relationship change? Do you spend more time on your own as the battle intensifies?
LN:\u00a0No. I think the reason you see less videos is because we both asked to do less videos. We\u2019re racing drivers. We want to come and drive, not make videos for social media. So yeah, that\u2019s our request as drivers. But we still get made to do plenty. Otherwise, it’s still the same. And I’m very happy \u2013 I think we both are \u2013 that that’s how it is. It’s not because that’s just how it is, it’s because we both have a lot of respect for one another and we both understand the position that we’re in.
And we both treat the world of driving versus just personally what we’re like away from the track quite differently. That’s how I’ve always been. I feel like I’ve always got on well with my teammates since karting. I’ve always wanted to because it just makes my life more fun, more enjoyable, and that’s also why I’m here \u2013 because I love what I do. So the more I can do that, the better.
But we still very much understand that we work for McLaren, we want the best for the team, we work very hard. And, as drivers always do, you try and maximise your own performance more than anything. But then when we step out of the car, we can still have a joke, we still have laughs in our debriefs, and we still enjoy everything away from the track. So, no. I think it’s still better than ever in many ways. I think we\u2019re still very different people. Like, he\u2019s very calm, down to earth, very relaxed \u2013 always looks, just cool. And that\u2019s something I admire quite a bit \u2013 how plain sailing he is with a lot of things. It\u2019s a good attribute to have. Always hard to read what mood he\u2019s in, but\u2026 and I think probably for me, you see more visually the moods I\u2019m in. But otherwise, it’s not like we go play golf together and do things like I have done with Carlos. Daniel \u2013 I didn\u2019t play golf with, but, you know, we\u2019re still different people. But in terms of relationship \u2013 we get along well, we still work together well, and I think it’s still better than it’s ever been.
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Q: (Ian Parkes \u2013 RacingNews365) I\u2019m going to give Lando a break for a second. Question for you, Franco. Is there any particular reason why you chose to criticise Lance Stroll after the Brazilian Grand Prix? You said in comments that he\u2019s always taking people out, that\u2019s what he\u2019s like. We\u2019ve just done a media session now with Lance and he\u2019s at a loss to understand why you came out with those comments. And he’s basically turned around and said that maybe you should just focus on scoring your first point in this season instead.
FC:\u00a0Yeah. I think you’re seeing a heat of the moment after the race. So the incident with Guanyu \u2013 I was just behind, and I just saw the moment. But of course, sorry if it affected him, of course. I was in the heat after the race, and yeah, hopefully it’s all good between us. But we’ve been spending a lot of time together on track in the races. We’ve been very close to each other, and we had some close fights. So, yeah.
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Q: (Luke Smith \u2013 The Athletic) For Lando, please. You talk about the adaptation you have to the car and how difficult it\u2019s been to drive. I think that\u2019s a comment you\u2019ve actually made for quite a few years with McLaren. So it\u2019s got easier and easier over the years \u2013 and particularly at a track like Vegas where it\u2019s so cold and so difficult and so tyre dependent, does that make it even more challenging this weekend?
LN:\u00a0You know, I think it’s a challenge for everyone. One thing I\u2019ve learned is everyone complains about the car \u2013 no matter if you’re in the quickest one or the slowest one, you’re at the front of the grid, back of the grid. We complain now, and we have consistently the best car. Yeah, like, everyone always complains whether you’re first or last. That’s just what we do \u2013 we do that very well as drivers. That’s our specialty probably more than anything. But yeah, I think a car can be very quick, and can always be very quick, it’s just sometimes very difficult to kind of put it in the line that it needs to be. And we\u2019ve certainly opened up that window of workability and drivability this season, and that’s what’s allowed us to be a lot more consistent at a lot more places. But it\u2019s still very difficult. And like I said, it changes a lot, track to track. One weekend I have to drive like this, the next weekend\u2026 I mean, I win this race, maybe the next weekend I try and do the same thing because it worked, and I\u2019m way off the pace and just clueless for a minute in terms of understanding how I\u2019ve got to do it. So now I’m able to judge things better and work these processes out faster. But I mean, Vegas again is just a whole different ballgame in terms of cold, low grip. I always struggle a lot with front graining. I feel like I’m probably worse on the grid with it. I’m definitely better now \u2013 I think I probably used to be the worst on the grid. I hate it. I hate understeer. I hate the front not working \u2013 those kinds of things. So, and that’s something that can happen a lot here as well and has done in the past. So, you know, as long as I can combat those things \u2013 I know those things very clearly, I know I have to work on them. And once you start the weekend like that, then you can be more confident. But, like, if I go out tomorrow and FP1, FP2 and I grain the fronts, I\u2019m not going to be very happy when I come in. And you\u2019re going to ask me in the pen tomorrow, and I\u2019m going to probably say it\u2019s been a crap day. So, you know, there’s all these things that I have as the expectations of it, but this is a different track altogether. Low downforce, long straights, difficult braking zones, difficult to be consistent \u2013 and that’s never a nice thing in our car. But we changed a lot of stuff on the car this year, and it might be that we turn out to be the best. So we\u2019ll wait and see.
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Q: (Sahil Kapur \u2013 NBC) Lando, you gained 58 points over your nearest rival in the last six race weekends. The gap now means you can win the championship even if you come second to Oscar in every remaining race. I just wonder, does that affect your mentality? Do you start to think you have the luxury of playing the long game, maybe taking fewer risks and bringing it home? Or are you thinking you just want to clinch this as fast as possible and go flat?
LN:\u00a0No. I mean, what’s done me so well the last few weekends is by going flat, staying out of trouble, staying out of the chaos behind. It\u2019s almost a safer bet in terms of pushing. So I think it’s not the right mindset to have. I come here this weekend to try and win. I\u2019ll go to Qatar to try and win. I still treat it as if I\u2019m not in a championship \u2013 I\u2019m just here to try and win this weekend, and that\u2019s the mentality I\u2019ll have. Of course, when you’re on track, you make different decisions depending on risk levels and things like that. But I feel like my judgement of that generally is pretty good and pretty accurate. So I\u2019m happy. Yeah, for me, it’s another race weekend. Nothing changes because of whatever points I\u2019ve got.
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Q: (Andrew Benson \u2013 BBC Sport) Lando, this is for you. What’s been the secret for you psychologically this year? It’s easy to say, “one race at a time”, it’s another thing to live it \u2013 especially when you go 34 points behind with 10 races to go or whatever it was. So, how have you kept an even keel and kept your belief?
LN:\u00a0Yeah. This could easily be like a 10-minute answer, so I\u2019ll try and keep it short. Good group of people around me. It’s probably as simple as I can keep it. I have a very strong \u2013 and I\u2019m very proud to have \u2013 a very good group of people around me to support me, to direct me, help me in all of these different cases, whether it\u2019s been a good weekend or a bad weekend. People who always have my best interest at heart and are there to especially keep me and give me the right mentality when I\u2019m down and I\u2019ve not had a good weekend. So I feel like two reasons I\u2019ve done well are: one, I\u2019ve done a better job, so I\u2019m performing better more often; and two, I\u2019m not always more positive, but I\u2019m more positive and less negative about when I have bad days and bad sessions. And I believe in myself a bit more that I can turn it around. There\u2019ve been a lot of races this year when I\u2019m like \u2013 I get post-qualifying even, and I\u2019m a bit lost. Especially at the beginning of the year \u2013 just off the pace, don\u2019t have an answer, don\u2019t have a clear, “Okay, tomorrow I need to do this and I\u2019ll be fine.” I\u2019m just\u2026 timings of things are off, I\u2019m not driving well. But then I turn it around \u2013 and I turn it around either into qualifying from practice, or I turn it around onto Sunday. And I\u2019ve done that a good amount of times where I got to a point where even if I have a bad weekend now, I\u2019m like, “Well, I\u2019ve done it before against all the best drivers. I\u2019ve been off, and I turned it around come the time it matters.” And that\u2019s a very reassuring feeling that I need. That is always very welcome, I think, as a driver to have when you\u2019re inside the car \u2013 is that “I\u2019ve done it before, I can do it again” kind of attitude. So there\u2019s, again, not been a key thing. There\u2019s not been a “this” or “that”. But like I said, a lot of work away from the track with different people. A lot of work at the track. But it all starts with my team around me.
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Q: (Max Haupt \u2013 DPA) Just curious about your thoughts on the weather forecast for the next few days and how that\u2019s going to impact what’s happening.
LN:\u00a0Yeah. I just \u2013 I mean, it\u2019s cold. I think that\u2019s the biggest thing. It\u2019s cold, same as previous years. So just like I said before \u2013 graining and things on tyres is not going to be an easy thing to understand.
From what I\u2019m aware of, everything is just going to rain on Friday \u2013 maybe a bit into Saturday\u2026 oh, crap, Thursday. I get so confused. Thursday and a bit into Friday for maybe FP3. But I think Saturday in qualifying should be fine. So I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll affect us too much. I think it\u2019ll be an incredibly difficult track in the rain \u2013 yeah, pretty nasty, I think. It’s going to be a hell of a challenge. Obviously not a lot of room for error \u2013 quite tricky and quite quick in terms of being a street circuit. You’ve got the white lines, all the paint and stuff, which is never \u2013 it\u2019s pretty horrible at times when you\u2019re in the car feeling these kinds of things. So yeah. It will be a pretty insane challenge, I think, if it stays wet \u2013 especially if it doesn’t dry very quickly either because of the temperature. So excited for both, but I prefer if it\u2019s dry.
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Q: (Ronald Vording \u2013\u00a0Motorsport.com) Sorry, it\u2019s another one for Lando. Coming back to the mental aspect \u2013 did anything change in terms of mindset after the DNF in Zandvoort, in terms of what you had to lose and maybe taking more risk because you were even more the hunter? And picking up on what you said about being negative at times \u2013 was Zandvoort the most difficult moment of the season, or was that the beginning of the year when you were struggling more with the car?
LN:\u00a0No. I actually \u2013 let\u2019s say in terms of where I am now, a lot of the result of where I am now is from a mental side. A lot of it is \u2013 I’m in this position because of the beginning of the season. Like, I\u2019m almost happier that I had a pretty crappy beginning of the year \u2013 bar obviously a couple of races in Australia and things like that. But those difficult times certainly allowed me to focus, and I started to do a lot more work on all of those things to improve them, which has led me to be in this much stronger position that I am now. So there’s not been a moment. Actually, I think even if you go back to probably my post-race interviews in Zandvoort \u2013 things like that \u2013 I was pretty upbeat. Not upbeat or happy with what happened, but for the position I\u2019m in, fighting for the world championship, going in whatever it was \u2013 35 points down or something \u2013 I wasn\u2019t too deflated about the situation. I was obviously gutted and not happy, but it wasn\u2019t like I came in and I was just deflated about everything. Even on Saturday \u2013 Oscar got on pole by one hundredth, I think, split us. Tiniest of margins. Again, it wasn\u2019t like I was like, “Game over.” I was still pretty upbeat about things. The race pace was still reasonably strong. So I think it was prior to that. Everyone says and refers to Zandvoort as being that moment that turned things around \u2013 but already prior to Zandvoort, I think I started to be on the right track. Zandvoort, I would have finished second. Oscar was always going to win there, but that was just a big step back in terms of positioning. But the change had already started by that point. So I think by the time we got Zandvoort out the way, it gave me a bit more time to kind of refocus, and then it was more evident \u2013 which I think is why you probably use Zandvoort as that turning point.
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PART TWO \u2013\u00a0Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin), George RUSSELL (Mercedes),\u00a0Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)<\/p>\n
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Q: Why don’t we start with last year’s winner, if we could, please? George, pole, emphatic victory here last time, in 2024. Just how confident are you of doing that again this time?
George RUSSELL:\u00a0Yeah. Obviously, last year was a great race for us. The car definitely performed very well in these cooler conditions, but we’ve also got to be realistic that success a year ago doesn’t mean you’re going to have success a year later. We won in Singapore this year and had a terrible race there last year, in 2024. So it doesn\u2019t mean it’s going to be the same case this weekend. I think, you know, the likes of Red Bull have made big improvements on their low downforce setting as well. They won in Monza, won in Baku. So I expect them to be strong too.
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Q: Toto’s even joked that maybe you should have brought last year’s car to the race this year. I know he’s joking, but is this year’s car more of an all-rounder? And might you have dialled out some of the reasons why it was so good last year?
GR:\u00a0Yeah, definitely. I mean, everybody’s objective is to make a car that’s strong over the course of a 24-race season. Last year, we had a car that was exceptionally good in those cooler conditions, and I think that’s why as a team, we had more victories, but we were further away in the championship. We finished fourth in the championship last year. We’re fighting for second this year. So we do have a car that is stronger across a range of circuits, but it does potentially mean we won’t be as competitive.
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Q: You mentioned the Constructors\u2019 Championship. You’re second, as you say, 32 points ahead of Red Bull. Just how confident are you now, with three to go, that you can stay P2?
GR:\u00a0It swings so quickly, to be honest. You have a good result as a team and get a one-two, for example, and that can swing so quickly. We came away from Austin, Mexico on the back foot, not performing well. But then in Brazil, we picked up a load of points as a team. So again, not being complacent, just taking it race by race. And, of course, our goal is to finish second, but we also want to win again this season. I think these next two races are the best chance.
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Q: Final one from me. You are 150 not out this weekend. Time flies just as it has for Lando as well. Can you give us a highlight and a lowlight of these last seven years?
GR:\u00a0Yeah. I mean, it’s flying by. I’ve obviously got some more races to do to catch up with the guy on my right. But yeah, I think highlights \u2014 probably just the first race, you know, reaching this dream for all of us. There are so many races now. The season’s relentless. And it’s only when you achieve these sorts of small milestones that you recognise that we are living our dream. We all dreamt of being Formula 1 drivers when we were younger. And as I said, when you’re in this competitive spiral week after week, you sometimes forget the position you’re in. So moments like this give you that small time of reflection.
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Q: Alright. Best of luck this weekend. Thank you, George. Fernando, let’s come to you. You were celebrating your 150th race back in 2010, just for the record. But, look, George was talking about the Constructors\u2019 Championship. Can I start talking about that with you? Just what’s your read on where Aston is, and do you think you can catch Racing Bulls with three to go?
Fernando ALONSO:\u00a0I don’t know really. I think, yeah, it depends a little bit on the weekend. Lately, I think Haas is scoring a lot of points, and probably we need to focus on that as well \u2014 not only the guys that we have just in front of us. Also, the people behind are pushing. So yeah, it’s going to be, I think, tight until Abu Dhabi, and we will do our best starting from this weekend.
\u00a0
Q: Well, tell us about this weekend because Vegas wasn’t particularly kind to the team last year. Do you think you’ll go better here this time?
FA:\u00a0Let’s see. Following George’s comments that last year in Singapore they were bad and this year they won \u2014 in Vegas, definitely we were struggling last year. So maybe we fight for something! But yeah, I think it’s going to be tight always. Qualifying will be stressful \u2014 Q1, Q2, hopefully Q3. And then in the race, yeah, we have to see. Last year, I remember that\u00a0 graining was an issue on the tyres, so we have to try to mitigate that in the setup tomorrow in free practice. Weather as well \u2014 rain yesterday, a little bit more rain today than expected. So yeah, we should be open for anything.
\u00a0
Q: What do you think this place will be like in the rain, if it is wet?
FA:\u00a0Not fun. Not fun at all. Yeah. It’s fast. Visibility is going to be a challenge, I think, under the lights. And also, the grip level is very low already on dry tyres. Temperature is low. So it could be fun to watch, but not to drive.
\u00a0
Q: Alright. Thanks. Good luck this weekend. And Max, let’s come to you now. Such a good race from you in Brazil last time out. If you get a similar feeling from the car here in Vegas this weekend, can you challenge for the win?
Max VERSTAPPEN:\u00a0Well, I mean, looking back at Brazil, yeah, I guess so, because the race pace was pretty decent. Of course, I would have liked to start more up front, but at the same time, it was fun. I had a good time out there, you know, racing through the pack and fighting basically until the final lap. Of course, it was for P2, but it was still \u2014 yeah. I had good fun, and I hope that we can be competitive this weekend.
\u00a0
Q: Now the championship. You are 49 points behind Lando. You’re the outsider, but you’re never going to give up. How are you approaching these last three races and the title fight?
MV:\u00a0Same as always. Doesn’t really change. I mean, it’s a lot of points, so I’m not really thinking about it too much, because there’s also not much that I can do. We need a lot of luck now \u2018til the end to even have an opportunity. So I, personally, don\u2019t think about that.
\u00a0
Q: Irrespective of what happens in the title fight, you’ve had some fantastic races this year in a car that hasn’t always been easy. In terms of what you’ve done behind the wheel, is this your best season in Formula 1?
MV:\u00a0It’s been good for sure. I think every season you want to try and be better, which is not always easy, but you try to be more consistent and try to really optimise everything that you can with the car. And I think most of the time, we really did that. So I’m pleased with that. But yeah, I mean, it’s not where I wanted it to be for most of the season, right? Otherwise, you’re fighting really for the title \u2014 and we haven’t really. So, yeah. I definitely enjoyed the highs and the wins that we did score, but at the same time, the lows were also not fantastic. But at one point \u2014 after the summer break \u2014 we were looking at a points gap of more than a hundred points, and it really looked like it was only going to get bigger. And at one point, we were really overturning that by quite a bit. Sure there a bit of luck in some places, but yeah, I think that’s something we can be proud of \u2014 to still score some good results at the end of the season.
\u00a0
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
\u00a0
Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) A bit of a British question, this one. Let’s talk about the rain. Fernando says fun to watch, not fun to drive. But Max, George, there’s a high likelihood of rain tomorrow, maybe Friday as well. Where is it going to be tricky out there, and are you actually looking forward to a new challenge \u2014 Vegas in the wet?
GR:\u00a0Yeah. I think every time it rains, it offers an opportunity. And I think, ordinarily speaking, you’re ready for that opportunity. Of course, for us, if we were to pinpoint one race on the calendar where we thought we could fight for victory, this would be the race. So out of all of the races, I would choose for this one not to be wet. But nevertheless, I still feel good, and I think \u2014 yeah. As Fernando said, it’s going to be very cold. The tyres will be difficult to switch on. Street track, white lines, a bit bumpy in sections. So it’ll catch people out, and you\u2019ve just got to make sure you’re not one of them.
MV:\u00a0Yeah. I mean, if it rains, the tarmac is wet. So it’s a bit slippery. I’m not looking forward to that potentially. I prefer to just have a dry race. It’s already hard enough to get everything working here \u2014 or understanding at least something. So yeah, I prefer a bit more straightforward. But, I mean, if the track floods, maybe less practice is also not a bad thing.
\u00a0
Q: (Rachel Brookes \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Max, this time last year you won your championship here. And in the pen behind us, you said to Lando that “your time will come,” or words to that effect. He’s on the brink of something now, if he can hold off his teammate and you in the fight. Have you seen a different Lando this year than the one you saw last year? Are you two still close? Do you talk about it at all?
MV:\u00a0I think, lately, yeah, the weekends seem to be really coming together very nicely. So, yeah, in that sense, definitely a bit different. But, I mean, every year you also grow and learn from past mistakes or weekends where you think you could have done a better job, and that goes for everyone. It’s not only particularly Lando in this case. And what I said last year, I meant \u2014 simple as that. There’s nothing that I lied about, and it’s quite clear, right, this season. Sometimes, yeah, you just need to be a bit patient and wait for your moment.
\u00a0
Q: (Tim Hauraney \u2013 TSN) Question for Max. Max, it’s been an impressive run from Zandvoort to here. Do you still feel that the title is still within your reach?
MV:\u00a0I mean, with a lot of luck till the end \u2014 but I’m not thinking about it. It’s a lot of points, and I just want to have a good weekend, good weekends till the end. And then, yeah, after Abu Dhabi, we close the book, have a bit of time off, and we go again next year.
\u00a0
Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Ant1 TV) A question for all three. A few years back, if somebody told us that we would have a race in this location, racing on the Strip, doing this spectacular thing, we would think he was crazy. If it was up to you, what would be the next crazy location or place that you could imagine for an F1 race?
GR:\u00a0London, I guess. I don\u2019t think anybody could imagine a street race in London, but nobody probably could imagine a street race here in Vegas. So yeah, I\u2019d like to see that.
\u00a0
Q: Fernando?\u00a0
GR:\u00a0Fernando Alonso’s go-kart track.
FA:\u00a0Yeah, my hometown. And my go-kart track, making it a bit bigger. It\u2019s unthinkable, so maybe this place was unthinkable as well.
MV:\u00a0North Pole.
\u00a0
Q: (Tom Slafer \u2013 DAZN\u00a0Spain)\u00a0Question for Fernando. Fernando, the team is in the fight with Racing Bulls and Haas for sixth position in the Constructors\u2019 Championship. We now have three very different races to go. Which ones do you think the car will perform better in? Which one of the three weekends do you think you have the best opportunity to score more points?
FA:\u00a0Difficult to say. I think we saw this year that a couple of circuits where we had high hopes, we underperformed a little bit. And some others, we were surprisingly fast. So difficult to say which one of the three will be better for us, but we will try in all three of them.
\u00a0
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio \u2013 Sky Sports\u00a0Italy) Question for George. You mentioned the progress Red Bull has made on low-downforce tracks. You didn’t mention McLaren. Don\u2019t you think they are your rival here \u2014 on paper, obviously?
GR:\u00a0Honestly, no. I don\u2019t think so. If I took Mercedes out of the equation and I were to try and guess who would win this weekend, I think this would be a circuit where McLaren would struggle more than usual. When you look at their performance in Canada, it was the only time they weren’t on the podium, and their performance in Baku \u2014 the only [other] time they weren’t on the podium. This circuit has some similar characteristics to those tracks: the coldness, type of tarmac, the C5 tyre. And obviously low downforce \u2014 Baku is the same as Las Vegas. But, you know, there are always these surprises. I think it’s so close in Q3 now between so many teams. If you can do a magic lap and you can start on pole position, your whole weekend changes. So they’ll be there or thereabouts, but I think Red Bull probably have a better chance.
Q: (Alessa-Luisa Naujoks \u2013 RTL TV)\u00a0Follow-up to Max. Max, you were mentioning the lows this season \u2014 the difficult situations you were in. How would you say the situation has changed you?
MV:\u00a0No, not at all. Just \u2014 you deal with it. You try to be better next time out as a team. And that\u2019s what we did. I think we really stuck together, tried to make the car faster and learn from the mistakes that we made on some weekends. And, yeah, try to be more competitive.
\u00a0
Q: (Luke Smith \u2013 The Athletic) A question for all three of you. Oscar\u2019s penalty in Brazil has kind of reopened the debate around the racing rules and the guidelines and how stewards police car-on-car contact. He called it an unacceptable penalty earlier. I just wanted to get your thoughts on both the penalty and talks about racing guidelines going forward. And is the racing incident now dead in Formula 1?
GR:\u00a0I think it\u2019s very difficult. The guidelines have to be guidelines. There\u2019s a bit of a wording or a view that if a car is locking up, it\u2019s deemed to be out of control. This corner in Brazil is totally cambered into the corner. The inside of the car is always going to be unloaded, and that tyre is not even on the ground. So that tyre is locking, but you\u2019re totally in control. That\u2019s why it has to be guidelines, and you have to treat every single corner, every circuit, every incident totally different. And it goes back to the same point \u2014 if we have the same stewards race after race, we can have these conversations and explain to them some of the uniqueness in driving a Formula 1 car at a circuit like Brazil in a corner like Turn 1, where the tyre is going to be locking up. But it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re out of control. So, look, it’s very difficult for the stewards. They do their absolute best. And, you know, the majority of the time they get it right. There\u2019s always going to be the audience that say they get it wrong. But, yeah \u2014 not easy.
MV:\u00a0Yeah. I prefer not to comment on that here. We’re not going to solve it in here anyway. George also explained it well.
\u00a0
Q: (Jenna Fryer \u2013 Associated Press) Max, in 2023, when we got here, you thought that this was maybe too much of an event, not really about the race. Then you won the race and in 2024, you won the championship here. Do you feel any differently about the Las Vegas Grand Prix than you did prior to the first year?
MV:\u00a0No. I feel good. I mean, the food is great. Had a good dinner last night. The hotel is great. I also learned to not always speak too much \u2014 because first of all, it\u2019s better for myself, and less headlines. So that\u2019s probably safer for everyone. But I have a good time. I\u2019ve been here many times even before F1, and I\u2019ve always enjoyed it.
\u00a0
Q: (Fran\u00e7ois David \u2013 Journal de Montr\u00e9al)\u00a0Max, in the last nine races, you’ve racked up 176 points with seven podiums and three wins. Would it be possible for you to stay in this championship battle and fight back for the title with Christian Horner still in the team principal chair, you think?
MV:\u00a0I find it a really weird question. I don\u2019t know why that would be suddenly now \u2014 that we closed 49 points like that? I don\u2019t know. You can fill it in yourself. I think we\u2019ve done a very good job the last few races. What else can I say? We try everything that we can. The car has been good at some places, maybe not so good at others. But that\u2019s it.
\u00a0
Q: (Jack Smith \u2013\u00a0Motorsport Monday)\u00a0Question for you, Max. You recently appeared on a podcast with Gabriel Bosletto and spoke very highly of him, and you’ve also been quite publicly supportive of other drivers like Kimi this year. Is there a reason why you\u2019ve chosen to be so publicly supportive of the rookie drivers? Is there any way that you were treated as a rookie yourself \u2014 either positively or negatively \u2014 by senior drivers at the time?
MV:\u00a0No. I mean, they\u2019re just great guys, and I think I\u2019m quite open in general. For sure, it\u2019s different \u2014 it\u2019s exactly the generation of go-kart drivers that I basically missed. Right? But we get on very well. They\u2019re very keen, very fast drivers. And, yeah, when you just naturally get on well \u2014 why not, right?
\u00a0
Q: (Ian Parkes \u2013 Racing News 365) Max, given your form and performances since the summer break, does it frustrate you now when you look back on the season that you didn’t have the car to fight for race wins, and that has obviously ultimately led to you being in this position \u2014 49 points behind with three races to go and struggling to try and win that fifth title now?
MV:\u00a0I mean, honestly, I\u2019m not really too stressed about it. If I knew everything in advance, I would have been a billionaire now. That\u2019s just how life goes. If you would know things in advance or how to do things better, yeah, it makes your life a lot easier. But people always learn, make mistakes \u2014 we\u2019re not robots. That\u2019s just part of life. That\u2019s why I\u2019m not too disappointed about it. I know that my team always gave it 100% from the start of the season until now. What else can you do? I mean, we really tried everything. We\u2019ve had some really great years, and this one is just not as good as the years before. But that happens. Formula 1 is a very competitive world. And in particular, one team this year has done a better job than us.
\u00a0
Q: Fernando, just while we’re talking about seasons, can I get your thoughts on 2025 for Aston? Just what you feel the biggest lessons the team has learned this year?
FA:\u00a0Obviously, it has been a very different season compared to the past, as the 2026 regulations are a big change for everybody. And 2025 was, yeah, a season in the middle of nowhere. And, you know, we couldn’t probably put the job into the 2025 car we wanted. And the base car of 2024 was not maybe the best. The second part of 2024 was not really competitive, and that was unfortunately the base for 2025. And then, as I said, with 2026 being a lot of focus for everybody, we were struggling to find the path this season. So, yeah, it has been challenging for Aston for sure, and we are not happy with the season. But, yeah, it was a complicated scenario, I think.
\u00a0
Q: (Andrew Benson \u2013 BBC Sport)\u00a0This is for Max and Fernando. It’s very clear that you’ve always had a lot of mutual respect for each other. What is that based on? What aspects of each other do you see that creates that? And do you perhaps see a bit of yourselves in the other one?
FA:\u00a0I don\u2019t know. I mean, I think, coming from countries that are not really into F1 so much \u2014 especially Spain, I would say, because Jos was already a master. In fact, I raced with Jos a couple of years and with Max eight. And, yeah, I mean, it is a tough environment. And when you come here and you are \u2014 well, you have some success at the beginning of your career \u2014 maybe you are not the good guy, if I can say. Maybe you are not politically correct. You are not in the system. You are more yourself than what you should be. And I think it\u2019s what I saw in Max as well. And obviously, apart from that strong personality \u2014 the results and the talent, not only in F1, also in the junior categories and from karting already \u2014 we all knew that he was this kid coming. So, you know, in my case, I had always a lot of respect.
MV:\u00a0Yeah. I mean, there\u2019s not that much more to add. What I like is just Fernando\u2019s mentality and just general personality. He\u2019s just himself, which I think \u2014 yeah \u2014 is just very nice to deal with. You see what you get. And, of course, before I was in Formula 1 \u2014 might sound a bit funny \u2014 but, you know, when Fernando was fighting against Red Bull, I was cheering for him to do a good job. And being that underdog and still getting these results and dragging the car to wins when he shouldn\u2019t \u2014 yeah, it attracts you. I think as a driver, you like what you see. He\u2019s a proper fighter, and he still is. I have a lot of respect for Fernando \u2014 still doing it at his age. Sorry. But yeah, it\u2019s very nice to see, you know, to have that much passion for the sport.
\u00a0
Q: (Sahil Kapur \u2013 NBC) Question for Fernando. You just talked about racing with Jos all these years later. You’re still doing amazing things in the car. How have you kept this form up? Do you think you’re driving at your best now? And can you keep this up for several more years? How many more years?
FA:\u00a0Difficult to know your own performance \u2014 if it has changed somehow, if you are better or worse \u2014 as long as you don’t have a competitive car and environment that, you know, probably wakes up your feelings and your competitive spirit. That is a little bit not ready now, you know, when you are not fighting for big things. But 2023 was a good example of that \u2014 when the car was up there in the podiums. So yeah, I have self-confidence. I have a lot of trust in the team that next year we can put things right and fight for something more important. And, yeah, as long as I feel competitive and I feel fast, motivated and physically at the level, I will keep racing.
\u00a0
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas \u2013\u00a0The Athletic) My question to George and Fernando, please. You\u2019ve only got three more races left with the current era of cars. They may not be what a driver wants in slow corners, but they may be great in the high-speed. So I just wondered \u2014 will you miss them, or are you looking forward to driving something different next year?
FA:\u00a0I will not miss this generation of cars, I think. But I think next year, probably, we will go slower, and we will miss them when we drive the next cars because we always want to be as fast as possible. But I think these cars are definitely too heavy. They are too big. And the ground effect and the ride heights \u2014 we are racing in a way that is not really fun to drive and probably not even to follow cars. The expectations of this regulation, that it was to follow closely and to have better action on track, was not really a success. Maybe the first year a little bit, but not after that. So, yeah, I don\u2019t think we will miss too much of this.
GR:\u00a0Yeah, similar to Fernando, really. I think they haven\u2019t been the most pleasant generation of cars to drive. Super stiff, really low to the ground, which has caused a lot of challenges. And of course, since 2017, the cars have been huge, and I think that has created some other challenges. So I think we\u2019re all looking forward to a change and a fresh start \u2014 that\u2019s always exciting. I think it\u2019s going in the right direction \u2014 making the cars smaller, lighter. Maybe it hasn\u2019t gone quite far enough. But as always, you\u2019ll miss \u2014 you always remember the good stuff from something in the past. You never really remember the bad stuff. So I\u2019m sure we\u2019re going to miss that high-speed performance and we\u2019ll probably forget about the negatives, but that\u2019s just how life goes.
\u00a0
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PART ONE \u2013\u00a0Esteban OCON (Haas), Lando NORRIS (McLaren),\u00a0Franco COLAPINTO (Alpine)\u00a0Q: Lando, let’s start with you. 150 races not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13335,13331,4403,13328,13317,13327,13339,13338,180,13326,13318,13332,13329,85,46,13337,843,13315,13316,13333,13330,13325,13334,105,13336,13321,13319,13320,13324,13323,13322],"class_list":["post-142931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-action-for-road-safety","tag-circuit","tag-connectivity","tag-eprix","tag-f1","tag-fe","tag-fia","tag-fia-president","tag-formula-1","tag-formula-e","tag-formula-one","tag-hill-climb","tag-historic","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-jean-todt","tag-mobility","tag-motor-sport","tag-motorsport","tag-off-road","tag-rally","tag-rallycross","tag-road-safety","tag-sports","tag-todt","tag-touring-car","tag-wec","tag-world-endurance-championship","tag-world-rallycross","tag-world-rx","tag-wtcc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}