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PART ONE \u2013\u00a0Franco COLAPINTO (Alpine), Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes),\u00a0Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin)
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Q: Fernando, welcome to Monza. It’s a place, of course, that you know very well. How hopeful are you coming into this race? Because the last two races in Hungary and Zandvoort, the car has been performing very well. Do you think it’ll translate to the long straights here at the Autodromo?
Fernando ALONSO:\u00a0Let\u2019s see. I think we come to Monza a little bit more cautious about our performance. Last efficiency circuit was Spa, and we were not that fast in Spa. So yeah, we\u2019ll see. We made some changes after Spa on the set-up of the car and how we approach the weekends. So hopefully we can be a little bit better. But I think, you know, on paper, it\u2019s not the same track, Monza, as the last two races.
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Q: We’re two-thirds of the way through this championship now. You talk about changes to the set-up, but can we focus on the positives? How much better is the car now compared to where it was at the start of the season, and in what areas?
FA:\u00a0I think it is a lot better than at the start of the season. I think my first point in the championship came in race eight or race nine. So yeah, at the beginning we didn\u2019t have a car to be in the top 10 on Sundays. And now it seems that we are able to fight in the midfield and to score points regularly. In the last nine races, I think I\u2019ve been seven times in Q3, in the top 10. So definitely there is a very different car now. It is better on the aero platform. We didn\u2019t change much mechanically on the set-up. Yes, we are working a little bit weekend to weekend, but I think aerodynamically the car is a lot more stable, a lot easier to drive, and we can put the laps together.
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Q: And when you look at the remaining nine races of this championship, where do you see your best opportunities?
FA:\u00a0I think we have a couple of places that we think are more similar to Budapest and Zandvoort. Maybe Singapore can be one of those, maybe Brazil. But, you know, we\u2019ve been surprised a little bit \u2014 sometimes negatively surprised, sometimes positively \u2014 so we are not really putting all the hopes in one or two races. We will go every weekend to give our maximum, like this one in Monza, even if it seems difficult. And yeah, we\u2019ll see in Abu Dhabi how many points and which constructor position we have at the end.
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Q: Alright. Fernando, best of luck this weekend. Thank you for that. Kimi, let’s come to you now. Back at Monza, scene of the announcement last year when you were confirmed as a Mercedes Formula 1 driver. It’s been quite a 12 months since then. Can we start just by reflecting on everything that’s happened since Monza last year?
Kimi ANTONELLI:\u00a0Yeah, it happened a lot of things. I have good memories, but also really bad memories here. But yeah, I mean, it\u2019s a really special place, and I think it\u2019s going to be a special weekend because it\u2019s not just my second home race, but obviously, as you said, this is where it all started with the announcement. So that\u2019s why it\u2019s going to be a very special one. But, you know, it\u2019s been very intense ever since. And yeah, so far, it\u2019s gone quite okay.
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Q: And when you look at car performance, where do you expect to be coming out this weekend?
KA:\u00a0It\u2019s always tough to say because the cars now are getting closer and closer. But last year, looking at the result, especially in qualifying, they were up there. So this year, it\u2019s been a bit of the trend that the car where it\u2019s been good last year was also quite good this year. So hopefully it\u2019s going to be the same, but we never know.
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Q: And when you’re on the simulator, are there similarities between here and Montreal? Of course, Montreal was a great race for the team.
KA:\u00a0Well, I mean, first of all, it\u2019s a lot lower downforce here, but the first two chicanes are really high braking and then going into a slow corner, similar to Melbourne. But also here you\u2019ve got some quick corners such as the Lesmos, Ascari and Parabolica. So in some way, it\u2019s similar to Montreal in terms of characteristics, but the second half of the lap is a bit different. But hopefully \u2014 obviously we\u2019re back on the old suspension, which has given us more confidence \u2014 so hopefully we\u2019ll be able to have good pace.
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Q: One thing \u2014 you talked about this being your second home race. You were quite open after Imola saying that maybe if you’d had that race weekend again, you might have done things differently. There were a lot of demands on your time there. Are you approaching Monza a little differently?
KA:\u00a0For sure. I will be much more prepared, and I definitely know much better what to expect. I know much better how I need to move around, how I need to behave during the race week in order to be able to be 100% every time I go in the car.
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Q: Alright. Kimi, best of luck. Thank you very much for that. Franco, welcome to the press conference. So back at the scene of your Grand Prix debut last year \u2014 just how different does it feel coming back to a racetrack for the second time as a Formula 1 driver?
Franco COLAPINTO:\u00a0Yeah, it\u2019s the first track I actually raced in last year. So from now on, we\u2019ve got another nine races that I know \u2014 races that I\u2019ve already been in \u2014 which is always very helpful. But just very nice memories. Being back here in Monza after a year of my debut, it does bring a lot of flashbacks and memories back, which is always very nice. To win that surprise call last year, that I was jumping in this weekend, was a dream coming true, and a lot of things happened from there. So yeah, it\u2019s really nice to be back here in Monza. It\u2019s a track that I always like and I really enjoy driving in. It\u2019s full of\u00a0Tifosi, very passionate people and fans that support us, and it\u2019s a great track to race. So yeah, can\u2019t wait for it.
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Q: And do you come here with a lot of confidence? Because last weekend, you finished very close to the points. Do you feel you’re making progress with this car now?
FC:\u00a0Yeah. I feel much more in control, starting to be just more confident with the car, and I\u2019m gaining that feeling that I had last year very quickly. I didn\u2019t have it this year so early on, and I think now the team, my engineers, really helped me to win that back a little bit. We are still working on it really hard because it\u2019s not where we want to be. We are doing a lot of progress with the car, but I think generally it\u2019s been much better. The last two races have been more competitive. We showed that we\u2019re very close to the points. So still a lot of work to be done. This track, it can be quite hard for us with the long straights, but I think if we do well and we take all the opportunities available, we can have a good weekend.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
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Q: (Tom Slafer \u2013\u00a0DAZN\u00a0Spain) Question for Fernando. You were mentioning how much better the car is now compared to the beginning of the season. Besides the good results that the team is getting lately, it feels like the team has found its way in the development race with the new floors in Imola and Silverstone, and maybe particularly with the new front wing. Does this make you feel even more optimistic going towards 2026?
FA:\u00a0Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I think to trust the tools that we have in the factory and bring things to the track that actually deliver what was expected from them is obviously a very good thing. We didn\u2019t have that in 2023 and in 2024. So yeah, it\u2019s good to go back to a more normal factory-track kind of correlation and develop the 2026 car next winter knowing that the tools are correct.
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Q: (Mara Sangiorgio \u2013 Sky Italia) A question to Kimi. Kimi, you told us last week how much you needed a fresh weekend. How do you get rid of bad thoughts like Zandvoort or Monza last year? What\u2019s the way?
KA:\u00a0Just focusing on myself, just focusing on what I have to do. It\u2019s really easy to get lost and focus too much on the final result. Instead, I think it\u2019s much better \u2014 and this I haven\u2019t been doing super well \u2014 but just focusing on the things I have to do: driving well, putting things together, and helping the team the best way to find the best balance as well. So I think that\u2019s the main thing \u2014 just trying to focus on myself and trying to get every detail right.
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Q: (Moritz Steidl \u2013 Servus TV) Question to Fernando. It\u2019s a 22nd\u00a0time in Monza driving. Take us maybe through the years \u2014 how much did it change to drive a car in this Temple of Speed?
FA:\u00a0Yeah, definitely, it did change a lot. I think I drove even different configurations of Monza, not only the current one. But yeah, the way the cars changed makes Monza a little bit different than in the past. The way the downforce behaves now is a little bit safer. I remember the first couple of years in Monza, driving with no rear wing basically, made the car feel like it was floating on the straights, and it seemed like you were not totally in control of it. Now I would not say that it\u2019s easy, but the cars are in control all the time. Obviously, now we have different devices that are making this place safer. That\u2019s for me the biggest difference. In the past, when we used to come to Monza, you felt the danger, you felt the speed, you felt the adrenaline. Now it\u2019s a little bit more difficult to feel that thing. We have the Halo, we have the HANS device, we have different things that I didn\u2019t have the first time I drove here. Everyone is doing tests before coming to F1 in Monza, or at least with very low downforce. Back in the 2000s, there were not these kinds of privileges.
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Q: (Craig Slater \u2013 Sky Sports) A question to all three. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has talked about maybe young fans having shorter attention spans, and maybe we need more Sprints or maybe even Grand Prix should be reduced in length. What do you think about that? Who\u2019d like to start? Go on, Kimi.
KA:\u00a0It\u2019s a tough one. I think personally, Sprint weekends are fun because you have a lot of activity. You have to be on point straight away because you have one practice, then qualifying, and then you go into a Sprint race. But I think shorter races \u2014 I don\u2019t think it would really work, because already now with long races, we do one-stop strategy with the tyres we have. They would have to implement so many more rules for a shorter race in terms of pit stops and so on, because I don\u2019t think it would change so much. I think also with the longer race, probably you have more time to build your race. But yeah, I don\u2019t really know. I can\u2019t really give a clear answer on this, but that\u2019s my thought. But Sprint weekends are fun, so that wouldn\u2019t be bad \u2014 having more of them.
FC:\u00a0Yeah, I think they are just doing a great job. Stefano did a great job in bringing the sport to where it is now. He\u2019s a great leader, and I really appreciate the effort that everyone is doing to try to make it better for the fans, for everyone here. It\u2019s getting bigger and bigger, Formula 1. If it\u2019s from someone, it\u2019s thanks to them and the effort. I can\u2019t comment too much on that \u2014 there are a lot of new things happening in the sport and they are bringing a lot of new people to it. I think we are all very grateful for the effort they have been doing in the past to make the sport better and to bring it to where it is now. I just enjoy driving. So if we keep driving and keep doing a lot of laps, I\u2019m happy with that. It doesn\u2019t really matter what session it is.
FA:\u00a0Yeah, I don\u2019t know. I mean, I will be on the other side \u2014 I will be in front of the TV when that happens. So I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a problem with the sport. So probably it\u2019s not needed to change, but Stefano knows better than anyone. So if he thinks that it\u2019s needed, we are in good hands with him in this kind of decision. But I don\u2019t know. Also, football matches are a little bit long. When I sit in front of the TV, I\u2019m not watching the 90 minutes fully concentrated. I go to the kitchen, come back \u2014 there\u2019s always some moments of distraction, and no one is talking about having 60-minute football matches or something like that. So it\u2019s a problem of society and the kids, but not the sport. So probably it\u2019s not needed, the change.
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Q: And Fernando, if you did shorten the Grand Prix \u2014 with all your experience \u2014 what would we lose, if anything?
FA:\u00a0I think, as Kimi said, probably you need to do your own race and you need to find your way into the race to go back to your natural position at the end of the race if you execute it well. If it\u2019s too short, like in some of the Sprint races, if you start with a bad qualifying or whatever, there is not time to execute anything. It\u2019s difficult to follow \u2014 all the cars have the same tyre age, there\u2019s no possibility to recover places. So the longer race gives you that possibility, that freedom on the strategy. But yeah, as I said, it\u2019s a difficult topic. Probably refuelling would be the best thing \u2014 I\u2019ve said many times. I know this is totally the opposite direction of how it\u2019s going. But when you can choose your fuel load and have different strategies, that changes completely the way the race unfolds and that creates an incredible, attractive strategy and races.
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Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) Sadly there wasn\u2019t much overtaking in the refuelling days but we can talk about that another time. Question to Kimi. If a rookie year is all about learning, what did you learn from Imola that you have changed for this \u2014 so that when you say you\u2019re better prepared for this, your second race, you’ll do differently?
KA:\u00a0Well, definitely when I said I\u2019ll be more prepared \u2014 obviously, it was my first home race and there was a lot going on, especially outside the track. I think also on my side, I didn\u2019t manage energy the best way, and just going back in the car and not feeling 100%, also focus-wise. So I feel like on that side I will know much better how to react and how to behave. I think that\u2019s going to be the main learning \u2014 also trying to manage the energy the best way possible during the whole weekend. Because, obviously, you start the weekend and then as you go, as you arrive to Sunday, of course you have a bit less energy overall. But the most important is that you arrive with the most amount of energy. I remember being in Imola and already from the Saturday I was pretty tired. So yeah, definitely that was a good learning and I don\u2019t want that to happen again.
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Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis \u2013 Antenna TV Greece) A question for Kimi. Obviously, you are the home hero and whole Italy cheers for you. But when you were in Santorini this summer, everybody was sending me pictures \u2014 \u201cOh, Kimi\u2019s here, Kimi\u2019s there.\u201d How do you cope with this sudden stardom of F1 even in places where there is no race and you don\u2019t have your team kit? And secondly, what did you like about our country?
KA:\u00a0Well, first of all, I love Greece. I went already a couple of times and I think it\u2019s a really great place to spend summer \u2014 whether with family, with a girlfriend, or with friends. I think it\u2019s really nice, the place, first of all, because it allows you to disconnect and to relax. And the other question \u2014 you kind of expect it a little bit, especially when you\u2019re racing at the peak of the sport. But it\u2019s obviously super nice to see that there are already a lot of fans supporting you. I just try to embrace this as well \u2014 getting the positive energy from them. Of course, sometimes you need to maybe say no, but in that occasion, on holiday, I was happy with that. I was just trying to get the positive energy from them, and it\u2019s always nice to have these kinds of things.
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Q: (Ian Parkes \u2013 RacingNews365.com) Question for you, Fernando. You’ve been involved in many a great title tussle over the years \u2014 some you’ve won, some you’ve lost. When you’re in the position that Lando and Oscar are in right now, what’s the ideal mindset to take, particularly when you know, given that it’s strictly between those two, that any mistake or any incident \u2014 as Lando unfortunately suffered on Sunday \u2014 can prove incredibly costly?
FA:\u00a0Yeah. I mean, nothing you can do on the external factors. You just need to deliver the job every weekend as they do. They are doing incredibly well. They have a very strong car, but they keep delivering always, even on the difficult weekends. Lando was unlucky in Zandvoort, but still many races to go. So you just focus on winning every weekend if you can. And if you do that, you will be champion. And accepting that sometimes you will be second or third, and try to keep the next one alive.
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Q: (Silvia Arias \u2013 Parabrisas) Franco, after one year in Formula 1, which are the aspects in which you feel more comfortable? And which are the ones where you still have to try hard?
FC:\u00a0Yeah, I think that one year ago everything was new, and everything was tricky to get used to it so quickly. Now I\u2019ve got a lot more experience, a lot more time. I think that step of suddenly having to work with 20 engineers, or 30 engineers, in the factory \u2014 and in F2 you only had one person really to talk to and get all that information out. Here, it is a really big team. It\u2019s a lot of people putting a lot of effort to make that car go quick. It’s more than a thousand people in the factory making that car to put it out on track. And I think that\u2019s the best thing I\u2019ve learned \u2014 to work well with everyone and with the team, and to understand that for it to go well, it needs to be really strong from the base. And I think working with the team constantly really brings a big help to make the car go quick and do what you want it to do. That\u2019s really important.
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Q: (Ludo van Denderen \u2013 GPBlog.com) Fernando, with your company, you signed Ren\u00e9 Ramos last week as one of your drivers to be managed. What do you expect from him, and do you see a future for him in Formula 1?
FA:\u00a0Well, I mean, at that age, you never know what the future will bring. Every driver that we take in aged 14 \u2014 obviously, we try to help as much as we can to follow their dreams. But ultimately, I think you want to be a professional driver. When you are in karting and in junior formulas, you normally have to invest money, and everything is expensive. You need to keep deciding which programme you do the following year depending a little bit on the budget as well. So if we can manage to have drivers that are professional and get paid to perform the job in the future, that’s already the first goal. To get to F1, obviously, that\u2019s the dream of all the young drivers. And the problem in Formula 1 is that there are only 22 [seats]. That\u2019s the only filter that you need to go through eventually. But he has the talent. He has been extremely fast in karting, attracted the attention of many Formula 4 teams, and he\u2019s doing very well in single-seaters. So for sure, he\u2019s one of the most promising drivers we have in the academy.
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Q: (Leonid Kliuev \u2013 GrandePremio.com.br) Question for all three. In Zandvoort, Carlos was quite vocal about the stewards’ decision on the collision with Liam. Did you guys talk about it in the drivers\u2019 WhatsApp group? And are you now unsure what\u2019s allowed and what\u2019s not?
KA:\u00a0I mean, not really. I was already busy with my stuff and with what I did. So I didn\u2019t really have to look at it.
FC:\u00a0No. I don\u2019t really know. I think he said he wanted a meeting with the stewards after, so we should ask him. We\u2019re not in that meeting, so I don\u2019t know.
FA:\u00a0Yeah, same. No. I didn\u2019t know anything further.
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Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge \u2013 Autosport) A question for Franco, please. Franco, you said after Zandvoort that your team didn\u2019t maybe maximise the chances to get you into the points. I think it was about you and PS switching positions. Did you get clarification after the race on that incident? Are you happy with how it was handled in retrospect?
FC:\u00a0Yeah. I think it was a really good weekend. In general, I was really happy with how it went. We did find a lot of performance, and in the race I think we did a good job on the strategy. The team did a good job as well. I think everything was very clear. We did swap positions and everything was good on that. We were just very close to the points, and it was a bit of a pity we didn\u2019t score, but I\u2019m sure it will come soon.
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Q: A question for Kimi. After what happened in Zandvoort, do you think it\u2019s best for you that there is another race straight away, even if that comes with the extra pressure of being on home soil?
KA:\u00a0Yeah. For sure. I think in the race I was having good momentum. The pace was strong, and especially on that hard tire I felt pretty well. I was able to catch, lap by lap, the group in front. And then of course, the contact happened, which obviously was not ideal. In the moment I felt like going for it, also because it was probably my only chance. So yeah, just a shame \u2014 obviously it wasn\u2019t me. But of course it\u2019s always nice to have a back-to-back race because, despite what happened, I can still carry this momentum into this race weekend, especially after seeing that the pace overall was better. So hopefully we can keep working, keep improving, and then deliver a great result this weekend.
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Q: (Carlo Platella \u2013 FormulaPassion.it) Question for Franco and Kimi. About the possible increase in the number of sprint races \u2014 do you think that it will make life for rookies more difficult, considering they will have less time in practice to learn and experiment?
KA:\u00a0I think yeah. I mean, it obviously depends on the track. If it\u2019s a new track, it\u2019s a bit tougher for rookies because they have to get up to speed \u2014 like we had to do in a couple of occasions this year, such as China, Miami, and Austin as well with Sprint. So sometimes it\u2019s tough. But if you have the confidence, you\u2019re able to build up into the session and find your rhythm pretty quick. Compared to more experienced drivers, it can be a bit of a disadvantage because you don\u2019t know the detail of the track, where you can make most of the time and where you can lose the most. But overall, if you\u2019re able to get up to speed quickly, and especially if you have the confidence, you can still deliver a good result even with one practice.
FC:\u00a0I think we are used to two weekends \u2014 it’s very short, very small amount of laps before quali \u2014 and you need to be very quick on top of it. It\u2019s always tricky when you don\u2019t know the track. I had that last year. I think Austin and Qatar were Sprints. I didn\u2019t know the track, so it\u2019s tricky, but I still had a good result there in Sprint Quali in Austin. So it\u2019s not \u2014 I think if you prep well nowadays, the simulator also helps a lot. So yeah, if you can be on top of it and do a good prep, it really helps. We are used to not having a lot of laps in practice, so it\u2019s not too bad, I think.
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PART TWO \u2013\u00a0Carlos SAINZ (Williams), Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari),\u00a0Yuki TSUNODA (Red Bull Racing)<\/p>\n
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Q: Lewis, let’s start with you. Amazing scenes yesterday in central Milan. You’ve experienced a lot in your Formula 1 career. Just how was it seeing so many people cheering you on?
Lewis HAMILTON:\u00a0Well, good afternoon, everyone. Yeah, yesterday was such a unique experience. I think already from yesterday morning, I got to Maranello. And when you walk in and then see the Ferrari logo, I still have to pinch myself. It\u2019s really so unique. There are people outside the factory always. I\u2019ve never seen fans outside of a factory before in any of my years, and you see that every single time. There\u2019s just such a positive energy, clearly so much love for this brand and what it means to people. To be in Milan, really in the heart of it all yesterday and seeing the fans and just how passionate they were\u2026 wow. It was intense but very, very positive. I really tried to harness all that good energy that they gave us.
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Q: And have you stopped and thought just for a moment what it would be like to stand on this unique podium here at Monza as a Ferrari driver?
LH:\u00a0Honestly, I haven\u2019t, simply because I\u2019ve been on the podium plenty of times here, so I know what it\u2019s like to be up there. I\u2019ve seen how it\u2019s been for other Ferrari drivers, and anything I try to imagine will be far from what that feeling could be. But always, just coming here for anyone, no matter what team you drive for, it\u2019s an incredible experience. Being in this park, at this historic circuit, and then seeing the whole\u00a0Tifosi\u00a0throughout the pit straight. But also when you do the parade lap, the fans are very close, so it feels like they\u2019re right with you in the car. It\u2019s pretty cool.
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Q: Let\u2019s just talk about performance. How do you think it\u2019s going to play out this weekend with the car?
LH:\u00a0I don\u2019t know. I mean, I\u2019m still obviously in my first year with the team, and so every weekend is the first time driving this car at that track. The approach is different from my previous experiences. When you go to different places, the set-up\u2019s different. So it\u2019s always new, which I\u2019m enjoying at the moment. I think Ferrari\u2019s journey has gone pretty well in the past years. Obviously, they won here last year with a great strategy and a great drive from Charles. I\u2019m really keen to see how the car works here. We\u2019re definitely learning from weekend to weekend, loads of positives to take from the last, so I think we just have to keep building on that.
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Q: Yuki, talking of positives, back in the points at Zandvoort last weekend. Do you feel you\u2019re really starting to make progress with the RB21 now?
Yuki TSUNODA:\u00a0Yeah. Good afternoon. I think I had progress since day one of being in this car. I wouldn\u2019t say the first few races it showed in the results, but at least in how I felt. I was fully convinced I was in the right direction, just step by step. Jumping into the middle of the season is not easy. A lot of things changed also within the Red Bull team as well. So I gave my all every race. But I knew, especially in the last few races, it\u2019s been getting closer and closer. It\u2019s all about putting it all together, especially as the whole field is very, very tight. Every millisecond from Q1, Q2, Q3 counts a lot. It\u2019s a race [Zandvoort], I was able to put it all together. One of the best weekends I had in terms of progress and the quality throughout the weekend. It was not easy with the safety cars and everything, but I was able to squeeze out points, which I\u2019m pretty happy with.
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Q: Monza hasn\u2019t been kind to you in the past, has it? Do you come here this weekend with renewed confidence?
YT:\u00a0I mean, I reset every year. Although, like you said, three out of four times I had DNFs with a lot of troubles. So I hope I don\u2019t have that this year. I still enjoy this track a lot. Very challenging in terms of confidence. When you have confidence, you know you can do a quick lap, and also for the race it\u2019s quite a raceable track compared to others. So yeah, I\u2019m still looking forward to it.
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Q: And how important is a good result for you at the minute? Do you feel you\u2019re still having to impress the team, impress your new boss, Laurent Mekies?
YT: Yeah. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do every race. You always need results as much as possible. I try to exceed expectations and just keep doing what I\u2019m doing. I don\u2019t think I have to change much. Since Laurent joined, actually, my results haven\u2019t been too bad. Obviously, whether it\u2019s enough or not, that\u2019s not for me to decide. But I just keep pushing.
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Q: Carlos, let\u2019s come to you now. You have a good record here. I think back to that pole position a couple of years ago. Williams also goes well here historically. Just what sort of opportunities does Monza present you guys?
Carlos SAINZ:\u00a0Yeah, it\u2019s a track that I love coming to. I think it\u2019s one of the best racetracks in the world. Having all the\u00a0Tifosi\u00a0there makes it more enjoyable. I just do well here for some reason. Maybe the big brakings or just feeling the car a bit more loose, with a low downforce package, I always feel more comfortable. It looks like it\u2019s been a good track for Williams in the past, so hopefully we can get a good result.
Q: James Vowles said after the summer break that the next three races \u2013 Zandvoort, Monza, Baku \u2013 are a great opportunity for Williams. Can you explain to us why your car can be so competitive on three such different race tracks?
CS:\u00a0Well, it just completely depends on the type of corner. We have a car that does very well in straight line braking and 90-degree corners. We don\u2019t like spending too much time in a combined situations of entry and exit. We struggle very much with through-corner balance limitation, which hurts us in long corners. Even though at this track we should be better, there\u2019s still Parabolica or Lesmo 1 where, compared to the competition, we\u2019re going to be down. Those are pretty important corners. But even like that, we believe we can still do good lap times in the straights and in tight short corners like Turn 1\u20132, Turn 3\u20134. We have good ride, we have good braking capacity. So yeah, it\u2019s an interesting car. I\u2019m discovering a lot of new things this year, having to adapt my driving style a lot to different limitations that I wasn\u2019t used to in the past. It\u2019s a process I\u2019m enjoying, but also one that is making me more complete as a driver. Maybe it\u2019s not the nicest car to drive in some areas, but it definitely has very good qualities in others, and you just need to know how to maximise them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR<\/p>\n
Q: (Moritz Steidl \u2013 Servus TV) Question to Lewis. I remember that when you joined Mercedes, Niki Lauda convinced you. Niki\u2019s first title with Ferrari was 50 years ago this Sunday. When you decided to come to Ferrari, how much was Niki in the back of your mind?
LH:\u00a0Well, firstly, I have so much love for Niki. But Niki didn\u2019t convince me to join Mercedes. It was more Ross, really, back then. When we sat together in my mum\u2019s kitchen, he told me where the team was going and what they were doing. Niki was definitely a part of it, but it was mostly that meeting that really pulled me in. Niki and I had an amazing relationship. When I joined Ferrari, I hadn\u2019t even thought of Niki having driven at Ferrari. It was literally just because, as a kid, I watched Michael and was a big fan of the team. I always looked at the reaction from the crowd every time Ferrari was on the podium \u2013 the passion was like no other team. I wanted to feel what that was like.
Now having joined the team and learning more about the history, it\u2019s amazing this weekend, because I got to celebrate Niki at Mercedes, I got to celebrate winning championships with him, and now to be able to come to Ferrari and celebrate him here too. His legacy continues to live on. I know what he would be saying to me nowadays, and he\u2019s always in the back of my mind that thought. When I didn\u2019t do well, he would do this and he\u2019d tell me to \u201cgive them hell\u201d \u2013 but he would always say the word \u2018arseholes\u2019! I never understood it at first. I\u2019d say \u201cwhat do you mean? Do you mean give them hell?\u201d and he would say no \u201cgive them arseholes!\u201d. But he was just such a fighter.
\u00a0
Q: (David Croft \u2013 Sky Sports F1) In the spirit of Niki, you\u2019ve got to go out there and give it hell on Sunday. The chase for the first Ferrari podium continues, and you\u2019ve got a five-place grid penalty. Is a podium still realistic? And also, is there frustration that an infringement that happened thirty minutes before the start of the race wasn\u2019t dealt with at Zandvoort and carries over into this weekend?
LH:\u00a0Of course. I don\u2019t know how the other drivers felt about the decisions from the last race, but when I landed back home and saw I got this penalty, I was really shocked. But it is what it is. It\u2019s obviously not black and white. If you look at the report, I did lift, but to their liking, not enough. To get the penalty and penalty points is pretty hardcore. But I learn from it. There\u2019s no point whinging about it. I\u2019ll move forward. It\u2019s going to be challenging this weekend. Qualifying is already so close between us all. Just getting into Q3 is tough, getting into the top five is very tough. And then on top of that, to be set back five places is not great when you\u2019re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari. But it gives me more to fight for, and I\u2019m very motivated to make up those places regardless.
\u00a0
Q: (Craig Slater \u2013 Sky Sports) Another one for Lewis. Aside from the penalty and how the race ended, you take a lot of positives from the weekend. Has something clicked with you in the car? Can you see the hard work paying off? Was that the best you felt in it?
LH:\u00a0Definitely in the race. Throughout the weekend, the approach we had was spot on. I felt it was one of our strongest, if not the strongest, and smoothest weekends up until Sunday. Sunday was disappointing and unfortunate, not the result we want. It\u2019s unusual for me because I don\u2019t really make a lot of mistakes in races like that. The great thing is the team remained really positive, incredibly supportive every weekend. They lift your spirits. Then in the following days, they deep-dived into trying to understand what led to it. It wasn\u2019t a lack of concentration. There were several things that contributed: for example, we had a downgraded upshift, which locked the rear wheels and spat the rear end out. Also, it was spitting and so I was maybe 10 millimetres or 10 centimetres wider than the previous lap. So a combination of things. Either way, it\u2019s not great, but I learn from it and move forward. If I apply that same approach this weekend and the following races, I feel positive about the direction we\u2019re going.
\u00a0
Q:\u00a0(Panagiotis Seitanidis \u2013 Antenna TV Greece)\u00a0A question for Lewis and Yuki. Since you are together, I don\u2019t know if you are aware of it or if you have talked about it, but during the summer break you were in the same period on the same Greek island. Am I correct?
LH:\u00a0Yeah. But I think it was a different island, maybe next to each other. I wish I knew so we could have met up. Greece is beautiful. In my past few summers, I like to go to places that are not so busy. Obviously, I went to a relatively busy part of Greece, which is Mykonos, which is definitely way too busy for me. But as I started to travel further south to some of the other islands, it\u2019s breathtaking. It\u2019s definitely my new favourite place to go. At the end of my trip, I was discovering new places, and I was like, I wish I came here first. There\u2019s still a lot more for me to see. I loved how private it was. The culture looks really beautiful, the buildings, the little towns, and the food is incredible. I can\u2019t wait till next summer to go back.
YT:\u00a0Well, yeah, I didn\u2019t know also that Lewis was at the other side of the island, next to each other. Same, like, you know, you want the beach, the seas are always beautiful. The food is incredibly fresh, especially the seafood. I enjoyed it a lot, especially for training as well. It\u2019s consistently nice weather, and it\u2019s warm, but at the same time you feel some nice breeze consistently. For me it\u2019s the best place to do that. And most of the islands are not that big, so if you do cycling you can do a whole loop and see most of the places from that island. Yeah, it\u2019s really cool.
\u00a0
Q: (Margot Laffite \u2013 Canal+) Question for Lewis. How do you deal with the mixed emotions you\u2019ve gone through during the whole adventure of Ferrari between the love you received from the\u00a0Tifosi\u00a0and also the doubts you have expressed until now?
LH:\u00a0Yeah. It\u2019s been an emotional roller coaster. Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of feeling? No. But that\u2019s life. Even though we had a difficult Sunday, we\u2019re coming out on the brighter end of the tunnel. I read something recently saying there\u2019s no point stressing about tomorrow because it often puts shade on the present. So I\u2019m really trying not to worry about tomorrow. I\u2019m trying to be present and enjoy every moment because this half of the season has gone by really quick. It\u2019s my first half a season with this team, and there\u2019s obviously a long way to go. I don\u2019t want to miss any of these special moments. For example, yesterday, my first Monza in Ferrari red. When I leave the garage tomorrow, it\u2019s going to be incredibly special coming onto this circuit. I reflect on when I was a kid watching Michael winning here. Now I get to have that experience of being on the receiving end of the Tifosi. I want to give them absolutely everything this weekend to get the best result for them because the passion and the support they\u2019ve given me and this team is like nothing I\u2019ve ever seen.
\u00a0
Q: (Rui Chagas \u2013 DAZN Portugal). Assuming that you will get to Q3, as we all hope, you and Charles, and he needs a tow, have you guys discussed that?
LH:\u00a0A tow? Yeah. For pole, let\u2019s say? No. I know that Ferrari used to do it many years ago. I remember when I started at least, I noticed Kimi and Felipe used to do that often. I\u2019ve never really\u2026 it can be beneficial, but in my past it felt like there was more risk, and often one person had to be sacrificed for it. So I\u2019m not sure whether they will do that this weekend. It\u2019s not been discussed.
But if it meant getting Charles there, then I would be happy to play that role.
\u00a0
Q: Carlos has Ferrari done that in the recent past?
CS:\u00a0Not recently. No. We were just going for normal train tows, no specific teammate strategy.
\u00a0
Q: (Ian Parkes \u2013\u00a0RacingNews365.com) Question for you, Carlos. Reflecting on your incident at Zandvoort, and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve had another look back at it, do you remain equally as shocked at the penalty now as Lewis did about his penalty? In particular, and given the words of Liam Lawson that the stewards basically applied the letter of the law with regards to the regulations and the way they stand. And if you are still shocked, what\u2019s the way forward with regard to that regulation? And do you still plan to talk to the stewards, if possible?
CS:\u00a0Yeah. I did get the chance to go and speak to them after the race. There was a misunderstanding while I was in the TV pen where I thought I would not be able to go. But in the end, I had the opportunity to go and sit with them for 15 minutes to analyse the incident. It was very clear to me that as soon as they got all the evidence right and they looked at the places they needed to take the right decision, it was clear to me that I think they realised probably the decision taken wasn\u2019t the best one. Now we are trying to see if we can come up with enough evidence to change the outcome of the penalty, because I still firmly believe it was a very poor penalty I received and a bad judgment, which can happen as long as you have the capacity to revisit it. If there\u2019s been a misunderstanding or a lack of evidence or analysis, then there is still time to reanalyse it, reopen it, and change it. I do believe they had a very difficult Sunday looking back at it. They had a very busy afternoon, and maybe it was overwhelming because of the amount of stuff that happened in the race. But I still firmly believe what I thought after the race. Now in a cooler-headed state, I still believe the penalty was not acceptable, and I made it very clear.
\u00a0
Q: (Jon Noble \u2013\u00a0The Race) Another one for Carlos, just as a follow-up. How do you judge the process and the dynamics between drivers and the FIA when it comes to these controversial topics? Is it working? Are they listening? Are they open to making changes when these flashpoints happen?
CS:\u00a0It\u2019s very tough. I keep, especially after the race, trying to do my best to control my emotions. But there are moments where it\u2019s very difficult to control them and it\u2019s very difficult to understand certain things. I\u2019ve always said it, and I will always support the idea, that in F1 we should have fixed stewards. The regulations are already incredibly complex, it would be very useful to always have the same people judging and applying them, because then you know what you\u2019re dealing with. My belief is that\u2019s the way forward. I\u2019m not speaking for the GPDA or anyone here. That\u2019s my individual belief. I think they have an incredibly difficult job, and sometimes they also have restricted time. I think what happened in my case in Zandvoort was a consequence of trying to rush a decision without looking deep enough in the analysis. If you just apply the rule in the rulebook, you could understand why they would want to penalise me. The moment you analyse the onboard footage and go into detail, you can clearly see why I should have never got a penalty. But the opposite can be applied for the incident Lewis. Maybe in the Lewis incident, the decision process took too long, and he\u2019s now having to suffer a penalty in Monza when he did nothing wrong here. He had half an hour during the race to pay a penalty for his infringement. That shows how difficult the process is, how difficult everything is to handle, and why there\u2019s always improvements to be made and it needs to be a collaboration between drivers, FIA, GPDA, to try and find better solutions. Zandvoort exposed why we are not at the right level yet for such a difficult but incredible sport to watch.
\u00a0
Q: (Alejandro Alonso L\u00f3pez \u2013\u00a0Diariomotor.com) Question to Lewis. You have been around for a while. You experienced success and tough moments as well. Would you say this is still the toughest season of your career so far, with all the expectations for you joining Ferrari? How have you been dealing with that, and what have you learned?
LH:\u00a0I don\u2019t remember every single season, to be honest, so I don\u2019t really want to compare it to others. I\u2019m sure there have been plenty of seasons that have felt difficult. I remember 2009 was difficult. I remember 2010, 2011 wasn\u2019t great. 2012 was a pivotal moment for me. Obviously 2022, 2023. So there\u2019s been plenty of others that were just different. I was in a different place in my life. This one, really living the dream, moving to race with Ferrari. Of course, I had the whole of last year to think about it and try to prepare, but there are still things you couldn\u2019t foresee. There\u2019s been a lot of adjustment both from my side and the team\u2019s side. They\u2019ve really moved heaven and earth to accommodate me. Obviously, there are cultural differences. Fred made a comment that perhaps they underestimated me joining the team and the year we\u2019ve been faced with in terms of the problems with the car. So yeah, a combination of all those things. But honestly, the harder it is, the better it can make you. This year has been tough for everyone in the team, but it prepares us for better days. We\u2019ll be stronger having gone through this tough first six months. I\u2019m really excited and motivated for a positive uphill battle from here, and I feel like I\u2019ve got the best people around me to do that.
\u00a0
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PART ONE \u2013\u00a0Franco COLAPINTO (Alpine), Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes),\u00a0Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin)\u00a0Q: Fernando, welcome to Monza. It’s a place,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[15987,15983,11069,15980,1687,15979,8097,15990,372,15978,7318,6537,15984,15981,15989,822,15970,3005,15985,15982,15977,15986,101,15988,15973,56,54,55,15971,15972,15976,15975,15974],"class_list":["post-115161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","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-formula1","tag-hill-climb","tag-historic","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-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wec","tag-world-endurance-championship","tag-world-rallycross","tag-world-rx","tag-wtcc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}