![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dppi_00126005_041.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
PART ONE \u2013 Pierre GASLY (Alpine), Esteban OCON (Haas), Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin)<\/p>\n
Q: Pierre, if we could start with you. First race weekend done, what conclusions have you reached about the potential of this year\u2019s Alpine?
Pierre GASLY:\u00a0I mean, yeah, it\u2019s been… I don\u2019t even know where to start. There have been a lot of lessons taken from Melbourne. I think the main one is that, obviously, we\u2019re pretty far from being at the maximum potential of the package we\u2019ve got in our hands, and there are a lot of things which we\u2019ve got to improve, you know, car-wise, car understanding, set-up-wise, engine, maximising the energy, quali, race. I think it\u2019s good to have some sort of baseline. Objectively, we feel that we slightly underperformed in Melbourne and I expect us to be in a better place here in China. We\u2019ve got already a couple of things which should bring us more performance into the car, like everybody, I think, in the paddock. But yeah, a lot to review, a lot learned and a lot to improve here.
\u00a0
Q: I was going to ask whether it was track-specific, because you seemed happier with the car in Bahrain testing and then less happy last weekend. Why was that? What were the main factors last weekend that you weren\u2019t suffering from in Bahrain?
PG:\u00a0Again, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s down to a single thing, but I think ultimately everybody is developing their car. In Melbourne we\u2019ve seen already some upgrades on a couple of cars, here as well. Difficult to say if it\u2019s track-specific, but clearly these conditions and the track layout worked and played less in our favour. But I think overall we just didn\u2019t do a perfect job in maximising our package. In free practice we had a couple of issues with the engine. We focused a lot on the energy, et cetera, and we probably missed some factors on the tyres, some factors in set-up, et cetera. So yeah, I think we know what we\u2019re going to improve and I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll be in a better place, better shape, here. We were better on Sunday than we were on Saturday, so yeah, it just needs some fine-tuning.
\u00a0
Q: Tell us about the atmosphere inside the garage now, because you\u2019ve come from 2025, which was a very tough season for the team. What is the mood now?
PG:\u00a0The mood is we\u2019ve all got to work harder, better. I think we all agree that we didn\u2019t start the season in the shape that we would have all liked and expected, but at the same time I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any alarm or any need to be dramatic about what we\u2019ve got to improve. I think we\u2019re very aware, objective. This wasn\u2019t good enough. I\u2019m confident we can turn things and put us in a better place straight away from this weekend.
\u00a0
Q: Alright, good luck with that. Thank you, Pierre. Esteban, let\u2019s come to you now. Haas were at the front of the midfield in Australia. Just how good does this car feel to drive, first of all?
Esteban OCON:\u00a0Yeah, I think it\u2019s been a strong start of season for us, for the team. I think we have a car that, like Pierre said, we have to understand further and that we are trying to maximise. After Australia it seemed to be not exactly where we wanted it to be in quali, but in quali, unfortunately, on the last run I had the floor that broke on that last lap, so we couldn\u2019t maximise the full potential there. But yeah, we seem to be performing well as a team in the race, and this is something that we need to take further into this race. Of course, there\u2019s only going to be one practice, so we need to make the most out of it. But it\u2019s been an interesting first weekend for us. All happy, obviously, that we are doing good progress and happy with the start point and the base of the car. I think it\u2019s a solid start, so it\u2019s a base that we can work on, definitely.
\u00a0
Q: You say it\u2019s a solid start. Given the struggles the team had in Melbourne last year, how much more confidence is there inside the team?
EO:\u00a0Yeah, that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m talking about, is that the base of the car definitely has huge potential in terms of balance. When we put everything together it\u2019s definitely a much better step forward than where it was last year in Melbourne. Of course, we\u2019ve had different issues last year and we managed to overcome those when we came to China, but now we don\u2019t have to panic and do a reset on most of these things. We have the base that we can work on, and if we do a good job throughout the weekend we can definitely be fighting for something decent, so I hope that this is going to be the case this weekend.
\u00a0
Q: Decent as in another top five like here last year?
EO:\u00a0We\u2019ll see about that, but it would be nice for sure.
\u00a0
Q: Alright, good luck with that. Thank you, Esteban. Fernando, let\u2019s come to you now. Melbourne was extremely tough for Aston Martin and with only a week between races, what are the team\u2019s prospects here in China?
Fernando ALONSO:\u00a0Yeah, not really different, I would say. The situation unfortunately didn\u2019t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so yeah, I think it\u2019s going to be another difficult weekend,\u00a0\u00a0trying to understand as much as possible on the car and, you know, eventually limit the laps in a couple of the sessions because we are short on parts, and yeah, try to get something positive out of the weekend.
\u00a0
Q: What would a positive weekend for you look like?
FA:\u00a0I think obviously when we are able to do laps without any issues, I think they are very important laps because even now here with Esteban and Pierre, they were not optimised for Australia and apparently it was the same case for everybody, and they are, I don\u2019t know, maybe ten times ahead of us. If they completed 1,000 laps since Barcelona test, we completed maybe 100, so we are nine or ten times behind. So, if they are still not perfectly optimised, imagine ourselves. We are at square one, so we really need the laps, we really need to be able to practice and to find the window on the car and the chassis side. That will obviously be very important for the weekend, and I will be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal free practice, more or less normal quali, accumulating laps and probably attempting the full race on Sunday, if we are allowed.
\u00a0
Q: Final one for me. Adrian Newey said last week that you must be in a, and I\u2019m quoting him, \u201chard mental place\u201d at the moment. Just how tough is the current reality for you?
FA:\u00a0Less tough than what you think. I mean, not ideal. We all want to win. We are 22 drivers this year. One will win, 21 will be in a difficult and tough mental state, because for me to finish third or fifth or 17th, it really doesn\u2019t matter much. I was lucky enough and privileged enough to live different eras n Formula 1 and to have fun driving, and eventually super lucky to have competitive cars for half of my career and achieving more than 100 podiums in the category. So now to finish, as I said, in any other position that is not first, for me it\u2019s the same pain and the same struggle. Obviously, we are now in this journey with the team, which is not the ideal start, but it\u2019s the first year of this collaboration between Aston Martin and Honda and we have to go through this moment in time, and I\u2019m ready to help as much as I can.
\u00a0
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
\u00a0
Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Fernando, a question to you. Your answer then seems to be a very different Fernando to maybe the one that we had ten years or so ago, when your last association with Honda. What are you doing behind the scenes to help Aston Martin and Honda through the current situation, and what have you been told by Honda that might make you feel things will be different sooner rather than later?
FA:\u00a0Yeah, about the ten-year difference, yes and no. I think I can see things now in a different perspective and a different maturity, but I don\u2019t think that ten years ago things were, again, that dramatic. This is Formula 1, a very media-centric sport. When you win a few championships just racing against your team-mate, you are God, and then when you are fighting and having some difficult period, everything is magnified as well. In a way, ten years later, some of the things that people thought about me ten years ago, when we had this situation, now they maybe changed opinion and maybe they think that I was right ten years ago, because for me the biggest surprise was all these last few years thinking that ten years ago McLaren, Stoffel, Jenson, myself \u2014 because always people seem to remember only Fernando, but I think Jenson, Stoffel and McLaren, we were saying the same \u2014 that project, the power unit, was not mature enough when we started, which everyone seems now to understand. But two or three years ago it seemed that I was crazy, ten years ago, criticising or something like that. It was, I think, a few frustrations on the radio, which, yeah, were there, and as a double world champion and a competitive driver, I was not happy with the situation \u2013\u00a0wow, you know, should I be happy and clapping inside the car about the job? So now I think when everyone sees from the outside that situation and they see the current situation, I think they are a little bit more friendly with us and they understand more the problems. And now what can I do in the team is just work harder, try to help Honda as much as we can, allocating some of the resources that Aston Martin has into the engine, into the power unit, into the vibration problems, into the deployment issues. Obviously, we are now in a different world in Formula 1 with all the data available, all the GPS, the analysis that we can have from the other teams, and we can allocate some of those resources to make Honda\u2026 or they can focus on one thing, and we can help them in some other areas on the power unit. So, we are one team. As I said, it\u2019s a bumpy start, but I hope it will not last for too long. But it will not be an immediate solution either, so yeah, let\u2019s see.
\u00a0
Q: (Rachel Brookes \u2013 Sky Sports F1) It\u2019s a question to all three of you really, just your thoughts on the starts in Australia and starts in general, and to Franco\u2019s reaction time in Australia. You\u2019ve seen the video, which I\u2019m sure you all have.\u00a0
EO:\u00a0I think for all of us three it has been a really good start, but yeah, it was a scary one for sure for Franco. This is something that we are all aware can happen, especially in this early stage of the year. It could have been dramatic, that\u2019s for sure, and it\u2019s probably something that we are going to be talking about further to make sure that this is not happening. We don\u2019t want to see F2 starts happening in F1, and they should not happen in F2 either, but they are, more or less for the same reasons that they happen. But yeah, all of us three, we got good starts. I made a lot of places, Pierre made a lot of places, Fernando as well. It was enjoyable to race, but we don\u2019t want to see somebody stalling in front of you and then suddenly appearing from nowhere, because that\u2019s probably one of the worst crashes you can have, so yeah, something to bear in mind.
PG:\u00a0Yeah, I think I would say starts at the minute are a lottery, because Liam had an issue which wasn\u2019t down to his procedures. We had a very good one, but I think we all know what we do inside the car, but when you see the outcomes at the moment, it\u2019s more a consequence of the PU and whether it\u2019s doing what it\u2019s supposed to do, et cetera, so you have big variation. I think we came as all winners last week. I have no idea whether it\u2019s going to be the case. I might do the same procedure this weekend and lose five places. So, there is definitely that unknown with these cars compared to the past. Does it bring excitement? Yes, because you can still fall on the right side of it and make crazy numbers of positions on a dry start, which we haven\u2019t seen since maybe the \u201880s when I look at the documentaries. It\u2019s been quite rare to see that much performance difference. Is it fair for all of us? Maybe not. So yeah, I think that\u2019s definitely one thing. And I think on Franco\u2019s situation, clearly it was scary. I thanked him many times again this morning when I saw him because we\u2019re quite short on parts, and I think for all of us in the team it was definitely a scary one, but especially for him, and I\u2019m glad that everyone was okay out of it. It definitely needs some stuff to be fixed because you qualify… Liam did a decent job in quali, then his race was over from something which wasn\u2019t in his power, which should not really happen.
FA:\u00a0Same.
\u00a0
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio \u2013 Sky Sports, Italy) A question to Fernando. Fernando, in terms of timing, when do you think that you and your team will be able to have normal weekends?
FA:\u00a0Yeah, difficult to guess. I don\u2019t know really. We still have too many issues and too many unknown issues that are coming day after day from nowhere, so it seems that we are not on top of the problems yet and that\u2019s why it\u2019s difficult to guess. But we are pushing, we have very high professionals and talented people in the team, so I hope by a couple of Grands Prix we can have a normal weekend, well, at least in terms of doing laps and completing the sessions. Then to be competitive, I think that will take more time, to be honest, because once we fix the reliability then we will be behind in terms of power and things, so there are two steps, let\u2019s say, and hopefully the first step will come soon.
\u00a0
Q: (Guilherme Pinto \u2013 Globo)\u00a0Question for you three please. In the beginning of this understanding process, is it better to have a sprint race this weekend or not?\u00a0
PG:\u00a0Obviously not, yeah. I mean, there are going to be even more differences across the field, but then it\u2019s the same challenge for everyone. But obviously if you ask me, will you be fully optimized by Friday Sprint Qualifying, obviously not yet, no.
EO:\u00a0Yeah, I agree with Pierre, but I think it\u2019s fun like that. Let\u2019s see.
FA:\u00a0Great. I think, yeah, it will not change much to us. We are in survival mode, so let\u2019s see if we can capitalise on some other issues that may happen in front of us.
\u00a0
Q: (Fred Ferret \u2013 l\u2019Equipe) Question to all three drivers. Do you enjoy driving this new kind of car, and can you give us examples of things that you are doing now that you were not doing before in terms of driving?
PG:\u00a0Yeah, I\u2019ll give Fernando some time to think about what headline he wants to come up with. Look, at the end of the day we\u2019re still driving the fastest cars in the world, so for my opinion, as soon as you put me in that car, in the cockpit, behind the wheel, I\u2019m always going to have fun. Now that cursor can vary. Obviously, we came from the fastest cars in the world last year to something which is very different, very different engine, very different load, so it\u2019s always going to be different. Personally, yes, I do enjoy it. Are there things that I\u2019d like to change? Yes, definitely. Can I give a fair objective observation or feedback after only one race weekend? No. And that\u2019s why I think personally let\u2019s give it a few Grands Prix and then I\u2019m sure we\u2019re going to have the conversation with F1 on how to definitely make it more fun for everyone. It depends on who you ask. If you ask the guy that was sitting in his sofa and saw 120 overtakes on Sunday, probably has a different view. So, we\u2019ve got to please everybody and I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a middle ground to find. But again, yeah, I think we just want a fair Formula 1. We all want to have competitive cars that most of the field can fight for race wins and podiums, and something which rewards talented drivers from risk and skills rather than sometimes gaining time in situations where you do lift-off and then someone takes less risk and actually gets an advantage from doing certain things, which isn\u2019t from F1 DNA. All in all, I think there\u2019s going to be a conversation, and again, I enjoy these cars, they\u2019re fun, they could be more fun, and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to work on them.
EO:\u00a0I think the positive is how the car feels in corners. I think this is much more back to how it was probably like 2016, like the good cars in 2016, like the top cars. Definitely the way you slide, the way you can attack the corners, it\u2019s much more predictable and a lot nicer in terms of balance and also in terms of how the car rides overall. So, to me that is a step forward to last year. Then the other positive in the race is that there was, even if they were chaotic, more action. There was more overtaking, more fight wheel-to-wheel throughout the race, which was definitely positive. Is it straightforward in the car? No. Can the driver make enough of a difference as a driving style to be able to make like chess moves? No. And this is probably the negative at the moment. But I think overall that would probably improve throughout the year, and if that improves it should be much more enjoyable.
FA:\u00a0Yeah, I mean, probably you have to separate two things. One is if we enjoy driving these cars. I would say yes, as we love racing. I do every year four or five 24-hour races in rental cars, just to put you in perspective of how much we love racing. So, when you take the rental car and you do 24-hour races, it is because you love what you do and you love driving. So, when you jump in a Formula 1 car, definitely you enjoy feeling fast and embracing the challenge. But it is a different challenge. That\u2019s where you put the line, if these cars are more fun or less fun, and everyone will have their own opinion because it is a different challenge. We used to fight for our life in Turn 12 in Bahrain, Turn 9 and 10, Turn 11 in Melbourne, sorry, Sector 1 in Suzuka, 130R, Turn 7, Turn 8 here in China. There were always certain corners that in Formula 1 were challenging the limits of the physics going through those corners, and the driver had to use all the skills and be brave in some of the moments as well. When you put new tyres and you go through the corner at the speed that you\u2019ve never been before in any of the free practices, that challenge is gone in a way. You use those corners to charge the battery, not anymore to make the lap time. So, it is a different challenge, what you face now behind the wheel. Still fun? Yes, we love racing. Is it the future? We don\u2019t know. Then the next set of regulations or the next turn that the automotive industry will take, also if Formula 1 has to follow or not. But yeah, it is a different challenge and because I grew up on the other one and I was challenging myself in the corners, I probably prefer the other one. But I was super lucky to race in that era and I still feel lucky that I race now, so I like both.
\u00a0
Q: (Weian Mao \u2013 Formula Vision)\u00a0First of all, a question for three of you. First of all, welcome back to Shanghai. It\u2019s the 19th\u00a0edition of the Chinese Grand Prix, and later this year there will be three Formula E races in China, one in Sanya, two here. And it was just announced that later this year the FIA will have the assembly here and do the prize-giving here, so just generally how do you see how far China has come through in the motor sport industry so far, and what do you see the future could be like here?
FA:\u00a0I think, yeah, China has changed a lot since 2004. Not necessarily the circuit or the love for racing. As I remember the first two or three years here, the grandstands were full and people really enjoyed Formula 1 and we had a huge welcoming here. Now it is the same or a little bit less, I would say, but maybe different fans, different type of fans. The country itself did change a lot. For me it\u2019s one of the biggest changes I saw in my career. How the city is now, traffic jams much better now, the quality of things is phenomenal. I think the steps that the country did into becoming one of the best races for me and one of the best cities… I came from Melbourne already on Sunday night, landing here on Monday, and I\u2019ve been in Shanghai enjoying the city and I was amazed \u2013 every walk I did, every restaurant I went. It was a big, big change. And also, in terms of road safety, one of the biggest changes I ever witnessed because I think 20 years ago this was pure chaos in the traffic lights \u2014 motorbikes, bicycles, cars, trucks, it was like no rules \u2014 and now everyone is so precise and so polite and things like that. So, whatever was the change and the force behind, I think we have to congratulate because the change is magnificent.
EO:\u00a0Yeah, I think on my side, I don\u2019t go back to 2004, but going back to the first time I came here, it was 2016. I think for me the support we had back then compared to now, it\u2019s incredible. From the airport to the hotels to everywhere we go, it\u2019s like the area transformed into really a racing spirit and racing place. Everybody is looking forward to seeing the action on track. And then I rejoin Fernando on everything. I was looking this morning at the GPS to come to the track. You guys have the exact countdown of the traffic lights and the exact meters on where you have to turn left, right. That really impressed me about the whole technology. I\u2019ve been following also, as a big fan of road cars, what China has been doing recently, the performance they managed to squeeze out of road cars. It\u2019s really, really impressive. And yeah, I think it\u2019s exciting times that obviously we are here now for Formula 1, but it\u2019s also an exciting future ahead for this country.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dppi_00126005_045.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
PART TWO \u2013\u00a0Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Alex ALBON (Williams), Gabriel BORTOLETO (Audi)<\/p>\n
Q: Max, perhaps we could start with you. So, first race weekend of 2026 done. You went from the back of the field to P6. Just how much potential do you think this year\u2019s Red Bull has?
Max VERSTAPPEN:\u00a0Yeah, I mean, for sure there is a lot of potential. It\u2019s just going to depend, of course, on if we can extract that, I guess, throughout the year. The gap, of course, was quite big and also in the race. I think if I would have started, let\u2019s say, a little bit up front, I think the best that I could have done was one spot higher because we didn\u2019t have the pace of the top four cars. We also had a lot of degradation and graining. But yes, we\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll see what happens in the coming races, if we can close that gap a little bit.
\u00a0
Q: Do you think the gap between you and the top four cars was track-specific to Albert Park? Do you think you\u2019ll be closer here?
MV:\u00a0Impossible to know. I mean, honestly, it\u2019s such a jungle out there at the moment. I think that it\u2019s very hard to really know. I mean, I would hope that it gets a bit closer, not even bigger than the gap that it was in Melbourne, but it\u2019s clear that at the moment we cannot fight with those cars.
\u00a0
Q: Does having a sprint weekend so early in the season complicate matters for you?
MV:\u00a0I guess for everyone. I mean, it\u2019s difficult for everyone.
\u00a0
Q: You\u2019ve confirmed that you\u2019re doing the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours a little bit later in the year. Why does this race hold so much interest for you?
MV:\u00a0Because it\u2019s one of the best races in the world. It\u2019s one of the best tracks. I mean, honestly, in a GT car for me that\u2019s the perfect speed around there. I think if you go anything faster it can be a bit dangerous in places. But yeah, it\u2019s just everything. I mean, I\u2019ve been watching, of course, for a long time. I know a lot of my friends, of course, that have been racing in it already. They say it\u2019s one of the best things ever. And I like racing other cars as well, so this was basically the first time that I could do it proper. So yeah, I\u2019m very excited. Yeah, to see also how we are going to perform. I mean, it\u2019s a very stacked line-up and field in general, so I\u2019m looking forward to it.
\u00a0
Q: Can you imagine doing a demonstration lap in a Formula 1 car there?
MV:\u00a0That was not allowed, otherwise I would have done it already!
\u00a0
Q: You\u2019ve asked, right?
MV:\u00a0Yeah.
\u00a0
Q: Alright, thank you for that. Alex, let\u2019s come to you now. There were high expectations surrounding Williams this year. Just how much of a shock is your current situation?
Alex ALBON:\u00a0Yeah, I think it\u2019s not where we want to be. I think as a team we are disappointed where we\u2019ve started, but it\u2019s just how it goes sometimes. We\u2019ve got a clear plan to come back. I think the gap to the top of the midfield even is quite large, so we do need to… well, we know where the issues are and I think it will take a bit of time, maybe a little bit more than we would like. But yeah, we have a clear strategy to get back.
\u00a0
Q: A similar question to the one I asked Max. Do you think the gap was exacerbated in Albert Park? Do you think you\u2019ll be closer here?
AA:\u00a0Truthfully, I think maybe we\u2019ll be a bit further away here. I think this kind of track doesn\u2019t normally suit us. If you look at last year, we were quite strong in Melbourne. That track normally goes well for us, and when I look at last year, we fell back in China. So, I think we still have similar characteristic issues as we had last year as well. This track is quite front-limited and it exposes cars that have a bit of understeer, and I think we\u2019ll have that this weekend.
\u00a0
Q: Gabi, let\u2019s come to you. Points on Audi\u2019s debut last weekend. Having had a few days to reflect on that result, can you describe the scale of that achievement?
Gabriel BORTOLETO:\u00a0Yeah, it was a great weekend, I must say. I really didn\u2019t expect that. Obviously, coming from Barcelona shakedown and everything, we had a lot of things to work on. And then Bahrain, obviously, we had a little bit of an understanding where we were standing more or less. But yeah, going to Q3 in our first try, then scoring points, it was something very positive that, yeah, I was just extremely happy to be able to achieve that already in our first weekend. Obviously, and as you said as well, tracks change and also results, so we\u2019re going to try our best here and understand actually where we are also standing in different types of tracks.
\u00a0
Q: On a personal level, it\u2019s year two for you in Formula 1. How much more settled do you feel inside the sport now?
GB:\u00a0Much more, I must say. The way I\u2019m dealing with things now, also the understanding about how I want to approach my race weekends, outside of the race weekends also, how I\u2019m working with the team, knowing these people already for two years now is a completely different thing. I just feel much more relaxed, much more also \u2018compromised\u2019 to the project somehow that is finally becoming a reality, to be Audi. And yeah, just probably I\u2019m enjoying much more now than what I was at this moment last year, and hopefully we can keep it going like this.
\u00a0
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
\u00a0
Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Max, question for you first. I think Isack Hadjar is the seventh different team-mate you\u2019ve had at Red Bull. You\u2019ve had a chance to see him now over a race weekend, in the pre-season. What would your assessment be of Isack Hadjar? How good do you think he is, and his future for the sport, where do you think he could go?
MV:\u00a0Yeah, good. I mean, he had a very solid first race weekend. Unfortunately, of course, in the race he didn\u2019t really get to show that, but I think it was a very good start for the team. And also, when I had my troubles in qualifying, for him to be up there, that\u2019s exactly what we need as a team, so yeah, a good start. So I hope that we can continue that way.
\u00a0
Q: (Guilherme Pinto \u2013 Globo)\u00a0It is the beginning of this understanding process of the year, new season, new car, movement, everything, is it better to have a Sprint race here in China already?
GB:\u00a0Yeah, it doesn\u2019t really, I think, make a big difference. Still we\u2019re going to learn a lot through the weekend. If it was a normal weekend we would probably just be testing things in FP1, 2 and 3 and then going to quali with more or less what we think is the best. Here it\u2019s not going to be different. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to have everything maximised before qualifying, so we\u2019re going to be testing things and learning things also in Sprint Quali, Sprint race. But yeah, I think it\u2019s also something that gives a little bit more spiciness in the weekend, to push a bit further and faster.
AA:\u00a0Yeah, same as Gaby. I think if it happened in Melbourne I would say maybe not the smartest idea, but this track is a little bit easier with, touch wood, a bit easier with the deployment side of things, so I don\u2019t think it will be as penalising, or lack of track time isn\u2019t going to be the end of the world.
MV:\u00a0Yeah, whatever.<\/p>\n
Q: (Rachel Brookes \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Max, on a more positive note, you did come through the field last weekend. Had you not had those problems in qualifying, do you think the pace of the car was… How far off is it even possible for you to be able to tell how far off the Mercedes or the Ferrari you might have been at the weekend?
MV:\u00a0No, I said it before. P5, I think, in qualifying. For whatever reason, I guess Ferrari was not where they wanted to be, but it was very clear in the race there was no chance of us matching that, so P5.
\u00a0
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio \u2013 Sky Sports\u00a0Italy) A question to Max too. Max, considering how Mercedes started this season and the good relationship you have with Kimi, do you consider him ready to fight for a world title?
MV:\u00a0I mean, I would hope so. I want it exciting at the front, so I hope for him that, yeah, it is possible. But for sure Mercedes is in a very strong position for the whole season and for sure I hope that Kimi can be up there. But at the end of the day, to fight for a title you need to be consistent and always, of course, maximize your results, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll find out over time.
\u00a0
Q: (Luke Smith \u2013 The Athletic) Max, a couple of questions for you on N\u00fcrburgring 24 that you\u2019re doing. You talk about the enjoyment you get from driving those cars. How important is it to get that, particularly right now when you\u2019re maybe not feeling that so much from Formula 1? And secondly, there\u2019s, I think, an NLS qualifier race going on the weekend that we are due to be in Saudi Arabia. There are question marks over if we don\u2019t go to that race, would you look to do those extra NLS races?
MV:\u00a0Well, I mean, this was of course already planned regardless of what I\u2019m driving this year. Yeah, I mean, I wish I had a bit more fun at the moment, of course, here, but at the same time I\u2019m also very happy that the team here they let me do all these things, and yeah, it\u2019s just something that I\u2019m of course looking forward to. And besides that, if something happens with the calendar, I\u2019ll have a look what\u2019s possible.
\u00a0
Q: Max, is the pleasure you get from driving directly related to speed?
MV:\u00a0Not really, because then the pleasure would be still very high here, right, because it\u2019s the highest speed. But it\u2019s just a way of working with people. It\u2019s a bit of a different environment as well that you\u2019re in in the paddock, I would say. Probably a little bit more old-school, less political, which probably I enjoy a bit more. Yeah, I can probably be a bit more myself. So yeah, that\u2019s what I enjoy, plus of course these races, like all the big endurance ones, I want to do. It\u2019s something that when I was a kid as well my dad was doing. And yeah, I think I don\u2019t need to be only a Formula 1 driver. I can also do other things, especially I\u2019ve done this already for a while and I\u2019ve achieved everything that I wanted to achieve, so that\u2019s why I want to explore also other things. And I don\u2019t want to do them when I\u2019m 40 years old, so now I think this is the perfect age to do it.
\u00a0
Q: (Samuel Coop \u2013 RacingNews365) Max, my question is for you. You mentioned that you hope that Kimi\u2019s ready for a championship fight because you want it to be entertaining, suggesting that you think it\u2019s maybe just between the Mercedes boys. Do you think that Lewis or Charles could get in the fight, and if so why, and if not why as well?
MV:\u00a0Well, that\u2019s the beautiful thing. We\u2019ll find out as well, right? I mean, we can speculate about it now, but yeah, we can go on forever, so we\u2019ll see. I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know the development curves of other teams, what is coming. It\u2019s impossible to know.
\u00a0
Q: (Dzhastina Golopolosova –\u00a0F1Maximaal.nl)\u00a0Question to Max. In Melbourne the main issues were graining and the empty battery at the start. How realistic is it to solve or improve these issues in the coming crises?
MV:\u00a0There are a few simple solutions, but they need to be allowed by the FIA with the battery-related stuff because, yes, starting with a 0% battery is not a lot of fun and also quite dangerous. So we are in discussions with them to see what can be done because you could see, I mean, we almost had a massive shunt in Melbourne in the start. Now some of that is related to batteries. Some, of course, can happen with an anti-stall. But you could see a lot of big speed differences because I was not the only car that had almost, let\u2019s say, no battery, or 20, 30 percent. This is something that I think can be easily fixed.
\u00a0
Q: (S\u00e0ndor M\u00e9sz\u00e1ros \u2013 RacingNews365) It\u2019s a question to Max. Max, you are working with a new number one mechanic, a guy called Mike Payne, who is coming from Aston Martin. As we all know, you always have a special relationship with your crew members. How is the work with him?
MV:\u00a0Yes, very good. I mean, he\u2019s been on my car also for most of testing. Yes, it\u2019s been great, to be honest. Very straightforward, passionate. That\u2019s what you like to see.
\u00a0
Q: (Dzhastina Golopolosova –\u00a0F1Maximaal.nl)\u00a0The question is to all drivers. Talking about energy management, do drivers that race a lot in the simulator have a bigger advantage than in the past?
GB:\u00a0If I understood correctly the question is if the drivers that do more sim, they have a… well, I don\u2019t know. Yeah, there are a lot of things that still there is to improve also in the simulator, at least for us as a team. We have a good baseline in the sim, but there will be sim drivers anyway doing testing and tyre and all this energy thing in the power units while we are also here on track. So, I imagine for all the teams they have full-time simulator drivers doing this work. But yeah, I mean, I do it because I enjoy it, not because of energy management. I do it because I like it. I like to drive different cars and you always end up learning something if you do it a lot, for sure.
AA:\u00a0I think that we spent a lot of time in the simulator over winter and at least for me it feels like you can spend as much time as you want, but when you come to the track it\u2019s completely different. So I think that\u2019s partly down to the correlation and I think some of the teams that are making their own engines have a little bit more data and a bit better ways to make, for example, the turbo model or the battery model in the car. So, there\u2019s still a lot of learning to be done. At least for now it feels like a lot of the learning is being done on track, not in the simulator.
MV:\u00a0I found a cheaper solution. I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and yeah, practicing a bit of Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well. The blue shell is a bit more difficult, but I\u2019m working on it.
GB:\u00a0The rocket?\u00a0
MV:\u00a0The rocket\u2019s still not there. It\u2019s coming.
\u00a0
Q: (Samuel Coop \u2013 RacingNews365) Question for all three of you. We\u2019re expecting the energy management situation to be better here than in Melbourne, but what are the kind of areas of concern around the track you can identify, especially any thoughts on how the back straight is going to be from an energy management point of view?\u00a0
Alex ALBON:\u00a0I\u2019m not too sure, to be honest. I think we\u2019ll wait and find out. I think part of the difficulty is just having one session to get up to speed with it. I think after Melbourne there\u2019s some clear limitations with\u2026 Well, for example, if you drive faster you get less battery and all these kind of things. So, that\u2019s still a talking point and an area which is quite confusing behind the wheel. So,\u00a0\u00a0they\u2019re the main things. To me, it just feels like a continuation of Melbourne, so everything I\u2019ve learned, trying to apply that to this weekend. And then you\u2019re right, I do think it will be easier, but it\u2019s still a huge overhead at the minute mentally. It\u2019s been a very steep learning curve.\u00a0
MV:\u00a0Yep. Copy that. Brilliant.\u00a0
GB:\u00a0Yeah, same. Amazing answer.\u00a0
\u00a0
Q: (Phil Duncan \u2013 PA) Max, you were speaking about the Mario Kart stuff, and before the season Stefano Domenicali said he was very confident that you wouldn\u2019t leave, just that you love the sport and you wouldn\u2019t want to walk away. Is that still right now? We\u2019ve had one race. Is he correct with those comments?
MV:\u00a0Yeah, I mean, I don\u2019t want to leave really. Like I said, I wish I had a bit more fun for sure, but I\u2019m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun. I mean, I get to race the Nordschleife. Hope in the coming years I can do Spa, hopefully Le Mans. So, I\u2019m combining stuff to find other stuff that I find really fun as well. Of course, my team going on, so I have a lot of distractions at the same time. Positive distractions I would call it. But at the same time, it\u2019s a bit conflicting because I don\u2019t really enjoy driving the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well. Yeah, it\u2019s almost like a bit of a mind… I can\u2019t swear. It\u2019s 5k now?\u00a0
GB:\u00a0For me, it\u2019s a hundred.\u00a0
MV:\u00a0One hundred k?
GB:\u00a0No, a hundred euros.
MV:\u00a0Swearing? It\u2019s 5k.\u00a0
GB:\u00a0It\u2019s 5k only for you!
MV:\u00a0I questioned if it was the word or a sentence or… I don\u2019t know. Anyway, you know what I mean, right? So no, I don\u2019t want to leave, but I also hope of course that it gets better. And I know, I mean, I\u2019ve had discussions with FOM and FIA and I think we are working towards something, hopefully, and hopefully that will improve everything.
\u00a0
Q: (Tom Cary \u2013\u00a0The\u00a0Telegraph) Max, you\u2019re maybe keeping your cards close to your chest, but can you tell us a bit about what you are discussing with the FIA? How do you think you can make this better within this current set of regulations so that you can have more fun, or are you resigned to it being like this for the next few years?
MV:\u00a0I definitely hope not for the next few years, but I hope already for next year we can already make a decent improvement. But there are a few options that we are discussing.
\u00a0
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PART ONE \u2013 Pierre GASLY (Alpine), Esteban OCON (Haas), Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin) Q: Pierre, if we could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335127,"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":{"0":"post-335126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-action-for-road-safety","9":"tag-circuit","10":"tag-connectivity","11":"tag-eprix","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-fe","14":"tag-fia","15":"tag-fia-president","16":"tag-formula-1","17":"tag-formula-e","18":"tag-formula-one","19":"tag-hill-climb","20":"tag-historic","21":"tag-il","22":"tag-israel","23":"tag-jean-todt","24":"tag-mobility","25":"tag-motor-sport","26":"tag-motorsport","27":"tag-off-road","28":"tag-rally","29":"tag-rallycross","30":"tag-road-safety","31":"tag-sports","32":"tag-todt","33":"tag-touring-car","34":"tag-wec","35":"tag-world-endurance-championship","36":"tag-world-rallycross","37":"tag-world-rx","38":"tag-wtcc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335126","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=335126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}