PART ONE – Yuki TSUNODA (Red Bull Racing), Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren), Liam LAWSON (Racing Bulls)
Q: Oscar, good to see you. Now, you’re leading, but it is getting closer. The three of you now within 40 points. Just how is the looming presence of Lando and Max changing your approach?
Oscar PIASTRI: It’s not, to be honest. I think, obviously, the gap has shrunk a little bit in the last few races, but for me, the focus has always been on just trying to go as fast as I can and get the most out of every weekend – which in some of the weekends we have, some of them we definitely haven’t. So that’s really all I’m focused on. And I think if I do a good enough job of getting on top of that every weekend, then it doesn’t really matter what the picture looks like.
Q: Hunter or hunted? What do you prefer?
OP: I mean, both have their positives and negatives. I think everyone likes a good underdog story or, you know, trying to come back is sometimes a bit easier. But I’d rather have the championship lead than be in any other spot. So, yeah, I’ve always kind of said I enjoy that because it normally means you’re doing something right. And I think through the course of the season we have done a lot of things right, and there are some things that we can still do even better.
Q: Scoring points in every race is obviously crucial. So, no more Sprints like in Austin. Have you reviewed what happened on the Saturday in Austin and are there any repercussions for either you or Lando this weekend?
OP: Yeah, we’ve gone through it again – and we go through every weekend regardless of what’s happened. And I think there is a degree of responsibility from my side in the sprint. We’re starting this weekend with a clean slate for both of us. So, yeah, just going out and racing and see who can come out on top.
Q: So no repercussions for either of you. In terms of performance, do you think it’s going to be very close between you and Red Bull, or do you think McLaren does have the legs of Red Bull at this high altitude?
OP: Difficult to know. I think the form card and where we think we will be strong, and where we thought others would be strong, has not always lined up perfectly, which has often been the case in this generation of cars. But I think clearly over the last few race weekends, Red Bull and Max have certainly found consistency. I think more than anything, there were flashes of that kind of performance earlier in the season, but the last few weekends it’s been very consistent. So I’m sure they’re going to be a threat again this weekend, and we’ll try our best to get the most out of our car and see where we end up.
Q: Thanks for that, Oscar. I’m sure there’ll be more questions for you in a minute. Now, Liam, why don’t we come to you now? Frustrating one for you in Austin, so close to the points in both races. Just what positives do you take from Austin?
Liam LAWSON: I think we had quite a fast quali car. We struggled a little bit in the race, but it’s just close. It’s been close all year. It feels like it’s getting even closer now. So yeah, just important to extract everything, try and put everything together on each weekend, and I think we just didn’t quite do that in Austin. That’s probably why we came very, very close but missed out on points in both races. But I don’t think we need to drastically change. I think the car has been quick, so we just need to basically do our procedure and learn from the one or two things we probably made mistakes on in Austin and try not to do them here.
Q: What about the altitude here in Mexico? Do you think that will play to your advantage?
LL: I have no idea, honestly. I think last year we thought that, and we had quite a competitive car, but it’s just hard. Like Oscar said, quite often we go on past years and experience, and there are certain tracks we think might suit us. To be honest, we felt very good about Austin, and it was a tougher weekend for us. So I think that’s out the window. We just come here with the strongest package we think we have, and then we’ll try and go from there.
Q: Now it’s an important period ahead for you and the team, isn’t it? Because your future in Formula 1 is going to be decided, and of course, the team’s constructors’ championship position as well. Just how are you personally approaching the next few weeks?
LL: I mean, for sure, obviously, we know in the back of our minds that it is an important part of the year. But to be honest, it’s not really any different to the start. At least the approach doesn’t really change. Obviously, every weekend I’m going into it trying to do the best job I can, and I’ll do the same thing this weekend. We’ve done all the preparations, and it’s actually a track that I quite enjoy driving. So in terms of the approach, nothing really changes, and then we’ll see.
Q: Do you believe you’ve done enough to stay at Racing Bulls next year?
LL: I think hindsight’s amazing. You always look back on stuff that you’ve done and you always learn from things. We’re not perfect – I’m definitely not perfect – and for sure there’s things over a season that I’ll look back on and learn from mainly. But I think that’s the main thing – as long as I look back on those mistakes and I learn from them and try not to do them again, that’s the most important thing. So I think from that side, yes, I feel like I’ve done everything that I can, and I’ll continue doing that.
Q: Liam, thank you for that. And, Yuki, can I bring you in on this topic now – of your future and the team’s battle in the Constructors’ Championship as well? How are you going to play the next few weeks?
Yuki TSUNODA: Yes. Hi, everyone. It’s the same. I think Austin was a mixed race weekend, but good races in both races and I scored points. And yeah, I think definitely I’m on the right trajectory, improving lots of stuff. So I’m confident in what I’m doing now and just keep pushing to score points. I think there is still potential to be in P2 in the Teams’ Championship, and there’s still potential for Max to win the World Championship. So I try to be in front of these guys and help as much as possible.
Q: Yuki, as you say, the improvement is definitely there. Do you think you’ve done enough to stay at Red Bull next year?
YT: Yeah. Like I said, I’m confident in what I’ve done and the situation I’m in. Obviously, I try to give the best as much as possible to improve myself as soon as possible and score points. So yeah, I just keep doing what I’m doing. It’s up to them, really. It’s what kind of team line-up they want. But I think I’ve improved a lot of things, and I also keep improving myself to deserve… that I can be in the same team next year.
Q: You’re using the word ‘improvement’ a lot – and so you should because it is getting better and better. Can we just investigate where the improvements are coming from? How have you managed to unleash this new level of performance? Is it something to do with the set-up?
YT: A lot of things, I would say. I’ve been in this environment five years, and, you know, it’s just how the pressure is, things going on – and each team is different. And it’s not just set-up. Especially I was struggling quite a lot in the long run, I would say, in the beginning of the season, and now I’ve improved that, I’ve made quite a big step. Now, a little bit struggling to put it all together the whole weekend in terms of performance in the long run, so that’s what I’m focusing on. But the most important thing is I got support a lot from the team. And Laurent – yeah, the engineers. Without that, I wouldn’t be here and able to improve. The tools are there, and that’s why I started to be in the right direction, I guess.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) Oscar, given that you are the one being hunted and given the fact that this is such a long run to the first corner, it seems that it doesn’t matter where you qualify – there is going to be some chaos. How do you deal with it beforehand, and do you have a plan? How do you stay out of trouble and keep it clean going through the first and second corners?
OP: It is a tough place to start a race. You know, with such a long run, I’d still rather be starting from first and trying to get the best run you can and give yourself the best chance of still leading the race. But yeah, ultimately you have to try and make what you think is the right decision and trust your instincts. Sometimes the outside will work, sometimes the inside will work, sometimes the middle works. So you just have to deal with the situation you’ve got and try and deal with it as best you can because there’s no magic formula.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Another question to you, Oscar. How much of what you’re going through at the moment has any resemblance or similarity to your F3 championship-winning year where your points lead was whittled down to nothing by the final round? And are you using that as a reference point to help you race to race?
OP: There are some similarities, yes. I think ultimately in this championship, I feel stronger than I did in that year, and some things are a bit different. I think it’s also similar to the Formula Renault championship I had – in some ways, scarily similar. But the good thing I have is the evidence that I can pull it off – I won both of those championships. So those are nice things to look back on, definitely. But I also know that just because I’ve done it before doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to happen this time. But it is nice to look back on how I’ve handled those kinds of situations in the past, the experience I have now from that, and how I can apply that to this year. Ultimately, it’s about trying to go as fast as possible and try and qualify as best as you can and finish as high as you can. It’s obviously not simple to execute that, but the plan at least is pretty straightforward.
Q: (Tim Haureney – TSN) Another question for you, Oscar. Sorry. Does it concern you at all how much Max has been able to claw his way back into this championship? Is this something that you even think about? And if not, why?
OP: It’s not really something I think about, no. I think he’s been very consistent in the last few weekends and been strong as well – there’s no denying that. But for me, there’s no benefit in worrying about that or focusing on that. The thing that’s going to help me win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself, the most out of the car, the most out of the team around me, and worrying about anyone else on the grid is not focusing on that. So he’s there, he’s in the fight, but ultimately that doesn’t change how I’m going to approach my racing.
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sport Italy) Oscar, five different tracks from here to the end. Which ones are in your favour, and which ones are pro-Max in your opinion?
OP: I think like I said before, it’s very difficult to read. For me, it’s difficult to predict who’s going to be strong where. I think if anything, it’s more about who maximises their car each weekend rather than whose car suits different things, because there were certain things in Austin that potentially worked well for us, but certain things that didn’t, and a lot of other circumstances. So it’s very, very difficult to judge, but I think it will be close everywhere we go.
Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN, Spain) Question for Liam and Yuki. You were both talking about your future, and three out of the four available seats for next year are part of the Red Bull family. Regardless of what happens or where you’ll be next year, would you like to know now your future or do you think it’s better to wait until the end of the year, until after Abu Dhabi?
LL: I have no idea, to be honest. I haven’t thought about that specifically. I feel like if it was something that was clear and the decision was made, I feel like we probably would know, and maybe that would be better. But at the same time, I think the main thing is it just doesn’t really change how we approach each weekend. So at the moment, as we’re obviously still waiting on everything that’s going to happen, I think our approaches will just stay the same and try and extract everything out of each weekend.
YT: Yeah. That’s a crazy question. I’ve been in this Red Bull family for five years, and I know how it works here. I’ve been in this kind of situation pretty much every year so far. I know how it’s handled in Red Bull. So I just keep proving myself and maximise the opportunity. My most important thing is I’m very grateful for this opportunity that I’ve been given, and I just have to maximise it as much as possible. That’s the only focus I’m doing.
Q: (Laurent Dupin – Canal+) A question for Oscar. Last time after the race in Austin, Max Verstappen said he would have called an idiot someone telling him in Zandvoort that he would be in contention for the title. Back then, did you think that it would be only between yourself and Lando?
OP: I think probably, yes. But I think probably everyone did. The run of form that he’s had since Monza has been, I think, a bit of a surprise. Again, there were flashes of that kind of performance at certain points earlier in the season, but there were also some pretty big dips. So for him to now be consistent – that has been a bit of a surprise. We know they’ve still been throwing a lot of things at their car, trying to improve it, so in some ways, it’s not a huge surprise. But I think for everyone, he’s probably come into the fight quicker than I expected.
Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) Question for both Liam and Yuki. Stakes are high for both of you. There was a little bit of aggro, it seemed, in Austin. Have you guys spoken after this weekend in America? Is everything clean? Are you happy with racing against each other? Or haven’t you spoken?
YT: I don’t think we have spoken in person.
LL: I don’t really know what happened in Austin to be honest.
YT: I apologised to the team, to VCARB. What I said, especiallt in the media was very unnecessary. And I think… yeah. That’s it.
LL: Yeah. I mean, it’s an intense part of the season. So for sure, obviously, each weekend’s going to be tough. It’s just incredibly close this year. So each session – especially in qualifying – we’re trying to extract everything. So it’s little things that make a difference.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Oscar, a question for you. You said it’s a clean slate now between you and Lando. Does that mean that the repercussions that were against Lando after Singapore have now been removed? And your degree of responsibility in what happened in Austin – was it the aggressiveness of the cutback that was deemed to cross the line?
OP: Yes, the consequences from Lando’s side have been removed. And yes, ultimately, it was that. There’s a lot of factors involved, but ultimately, yes – that’s what’s been decided.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Another one to Oscar. With the analysis that was done after Austin, how confident are you that the feeling – or the lack of feeling – that you talked about on Sunday night was COTA-specific, or is it more linked to your overall feeling in the car over recent weeks?
OP: I think it’s very COTA-specific. It was just a messy weekend with everything that went on. So there’s an element of that hampering things. But I think the analysis we’ve done has highlighted that there were a lot of things specific to Austin. So I’m not really concerned that those problems will still persist. Obviously, I’m hoping that this weekend is a bit better.
Q: (Niharika Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) Oscar, you spoke about the rules of engagement between you and Lando before. Are they adding pressure into what is already turning into a three-way battle in the championship?
OP: Not necessarily, no. I think for us, it’s pretty clear what those rules are – which is don’t crash into each other. But I think regardless of what scenario you’re in, that’s kind of how you’re expected to race as team-mates. So I don’t think that adds any pressure into the scenario.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) A question to Liam. Liam, it seems from the outside that you’ve been making a really good case to continue for next year. Is that how it’s felt for you? And if you look back to the start of the season – I know you wouldn’t want to go through what happened after the first two races – but do you think you’ve actually been better off for it? Has it made you a stronger person, a better driver?
LL: I mean, that I’ll never know, to be honest. I can obviously look back on the year, and I think we’ve definitely found a lot of progress through the year, found a lot of things that have helped us. I can confidently say I’m in a much more comfortable position now than I was, especially when I first made the switch earlier in the season. Obviously, you’re just playing catch-up, and as the season went on, I got a lot more comfortable. So I think so. As I said before, you can always look back on stuff, and I’ll look back over the season and there’s always things you can do better. From a stats point of view, it’s got a lot better, obviously. But from a personal side, there’s just things that I’ll always look back on and learn from and try to take that forward into any future racing I do.
Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365) Question for Liam and Yuki. The suggestion is that for next year, Isack could be promoted to Red Bull to join Max, and that Arvid Lindblad will be promoted to Racing Bulls. That would just then leave the one seat open that you two are vying for. Between Helmut, Laurent and Alan Permane, what are those guys looking for from your performances now? What are the deciding factors that you feel will swing things in your favour?
YT: Yeah, I mean, I guess the results, right? I think for me it’s more clear – it’s just like, it’s been a crucial moment as a team and also for the championship, especially with my teammate. So how much I can support that. And yeah, this is the potential, like I said, to be P2 in the Team Championship, which is very good. And what I scored in Austin was obviously a good step. So, yeah, I’m going to have to do more. Or, yeah, it’s basically more of the same and just keep scoring every race. Which probably, you know, others, especially last few years, Red Bull drivers struggled with that. So I think, like I said, I’m in the right trajectory, especially in the second half of the season. I’m showing good things each race. That’s it. I think I’ve proved a lot of things in past years and especially being on the season in different teams. So just… what I have to do is quite clear.
LL: Yeah, I mean, I’m just going to drive as fast as I can every time I get in the car. I don’t think that changes too much. I think obviously it’s a results-based programme – it’s always been performance-based since I joined when I was 16. It was always about performing and then you get promoted and stay in the sport. That’s literally as simple as I can put it.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) For you, Oscar. Coming back to the Austin struggles, Andrea said that the team would also look into the car data to see if there was something wrong with the car. I mean, you had this little crash in the Sprint. Did they find anything in that? And if not, did you even ask the team to change the chassis or whatever? Because drivers tend to believe that there is something wrong with the car when there’s not an explanation.
OP: No, I haven’t asked them to change anything. I think there were some things that were maybe not as good as they could have been, but nothing drastically wrong with the car. I think there were a few things in terms of how the weekend played out and how the race panned out that were different to our expectations from a few different angles. But, yeah, while the car maybe wasn’t ideal, if we could do the weekend again, we’d probably do a few things a little bit differently – but we wouldn’t be changing anything major.
Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) Question to Yuki and Oscar. It emerged after Austin that Red Bull had been trying to remove tape from rivals’ cars in terms of helping with the starting position on the grid. What do you both make of that? Is it gamesmanship? Is it fine? Is it something else?
OP: I mean, I don’t have that much to add, but they’re within their rights to do it. But obviously, in Austin, they were on the grid too late doing it. So, yeah. I guess gamesmanship. But everyone will have their own opinion on whether it’s necessary or not.
YT: Yeah, I think bottom point is it’s just really difficult to see the orange line with this current generation. It’s really hard – it’s just almost like… I guess same for you, right? So I don’t know. That’s why. Hopefully it’ll be better next year with the visibility.
Q: (Victor Mattar – Excelsior) How crucial do you think Mexico is going to be for your aspirations of becoming world champion this year? And also, Pato O’Ward, the Mexican driver, will be in FP1. How important do you think Pato’s work will be for your success here this weekend?
OP: I think there are definitely things we can learn with Pato. It’s always another perspective in terms of driving the car. Ultimately, we can keep working on things with the car with Pato as well. How important is Mexico for the title aspirations? As important as the remaining four other races this year, I think. Obviously, you want to have the best weekend you can every time, but I don’t think there’s anything necessarily special about any of the races that’s going to dictate what the rest of the year looks like. So I’ll just try and do the best that I can. Obviously, I want to win, but, yeah, try my best to make that happen.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today-NZ Herald) Sorry, Liam, a question for you. How much of a setback in terms of performance, or related to your driving, has it been not to be in FP1? And did you have a discussion with the team about that?
LL: I think why a lot of teams do it here is it makes a lot of sense. Obviously, it’s never an ideal situation when you step out of the car, but in this case, at least, it’s a track that evolves a lot over the weekend. It’s a track that at the start of practice is very slippery and quite green anyway. So if we go to tracks that we have to choose, obviously I’ve been here as well in the past – I’ve driven here in a Free Practice session, and I raced here last year as well. So it’s not a new track for me. In that sense, it’s just the one that makes the most sense. Obviously, for me, I would choose never to step out of the car, but it’s something that we all have to do. So it makes the most sense. And Ayumu is obviously somebody who’s driven the car a bit in the past and has a very good understanding of it. So it’ll still be a valuable session for us.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) One for Yuki. You’ve said a couple of times now that you’re willing to help Max in this title fight. So how do you see your own role – apart from taking points away from the McLarens? What are other ways in which you can potentially help? Is that strategy – going long to hold off people? Or is it also with setup, like what happened in Austin – trying different setups and giving Max some kind of direction?
YT: Yeah, I think I can help in a lot of areas. Setup, different resources. We’re still challenging to discover a lot of new setups that try to suit or maximise the current package, and that’s what we are doing very well this year so far. So that, for sure. And I think position-wise as well – especially being as high as possible – will create more opportunity to play around with the strategy, in favour of the team. You know, whatever – I don’t know – extend the stint depending on the situation. Right? Strategy that, if I can help Max to have a higher chance to be P1 or make our competitors’ life more difficult. So, yeah, that’s kind of the role I understand. And especially, I’m not fighting for the championship, my team-mate is. So definitely, yes. But also to do that, obviously, you have to be consistently performing well – as I did in the Austin Sprint race – and that’s what I have to do more in the short run.