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DRIVER GROUP 1 – Valtteri BOTTAS
(Alfa Romeo), George RUSSELL (Mercedes), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Alex ALBON
(Williams), Lance STROLL (Aston Martin)
Q: Valtteri, great result for you and Alfa Romeo in Bahrain. Just how much
pleasure did that P6 give you?
Valtteri BOTTAS: [mic dropout] … starting the season more or less on the
right path, and that we have potential with the car. We have potential in
the team, within the people. So yeah, it gives me a lot of courage and hope
for the for the season ahead. So, yeah, really pleased with the end result
at the end.
Q: You say a lot of potential. Did the car’s performance surprise you in any
way?
VB: During the practice sessions last weekend, we saw that if we can get
everything right, we should be able to fight for top 10. Actually,
qualifying sixth was a bit of a positive surprise. In the race… it was not
an easy start the race but then afterwards, what we achieved, obviously,
with some bad luck from competitors, with the points that we had. Yeah, I
think it was slightly beyond expectation, but it's a positive surprise.
Q: Lance, let's come to you next. A slightly more difficult weekend for
Aston Martin in Bahrain. What were the issues with the car?
Lance STROLL: Yeah, a few things are just trying to sort out. We have some
ideas coming into this weekend, so look forward to see what we can do.
Q: The car seemed much more competitive in race trim. Just tell us how the
race unfolded for you.
LS: Yeah, we had a better day on Sunday. But, you know, I still think we
have some work to do to catch up to some teams in front of us and you know,
really be in a position to fight for some points.
Q: Are you going to give us any more detail on what the issues are just
around the lap?
LS: Like I said, it's a few things. We're on top of it. Let's see what we
can do to try and sort some of those things out this week.
Q: Okay. And it's another weekend view racing alongside Nico Hülkenberg.
Just tell us a little bit about your relationship. How well you worked
together in Bahrain.
LS: Yeah, it's been fun. You know, he's a nice guy, obviously. You know,
feeling for Seb, I think he's been feeling pretty rough, so I wish him all
the best and a speedy recovery.
Q: George, let's come to you now. How would you sum up race one for you and
for Mercedes last weekend?
George RUSSELL: I think it was probably as we expected, obviously so many
people thought we were sandbagging during testing and that would just turn
up to race one and turn it up and be fighting for victories. But I think we
all knew what our limitations were. Ultimately, we came away with a good
result as a team. Probably not on merit with the pace of the car, but we say
you gotta be in it to win it. So we'll definitely take that result and keep
on working, keep on pushing and see what we can achieve this weekend.
Q: In terms of your own performance, how did the weekend go? Is there more
to come?
GR: I think there's always more to come, to be honest. I think the pace was
fine, nothing spectacular. Generally looking fine in qualifying until Q3,
made a bit of mistake from my side. But I think… for me personally, it feels
at the moment in a similar position to what I found myself in the previous
years that our competitors ahead of us are so far in front and we do have a
bit of a buffer behind so can almost afford to take a few more risks to try
to make up that gap. And you know, for me, I qualified ninth and we had the
pace to be able to come back through the field and you know, back up to P5,
P6, so we're in a bit of an intriguing spot right now, that we can try a few
things, But I think ultimately, there's more to come from all of us: myself;
Lewis; the whole team, and we just need to keep on working.
Q: Alex, to you now, belated Happy Birthday. Hope you had a nice day.
Alex ALBON: Thank you!
Q: Now, what about your race debut for Williams in Bahrain? Were you pleased
with progress?
AA: Yeah, I feel like actually, if you look at where we were during testing,
especially during the Bahrain testing, we were a little bit on the backfoot.
And to get… we got P13 I believe in the end, obviously, a few DNFs, but a
little bit like George said, actually, for us, it was kind of the same
story. We optimised what we had and I felt like, as a team, we did a great
job to get the most out of the car. And we did a good job over the weekend.
Q: How good is this car? What does the future hold, do you feel?
AA: I feel that we've got a good platform to work with. We know the
weaknesses of the car and focus on addressing them. I think there's
definitely going to be some circuits that suit us more than others. And
obviously, it's trying to make those circuits… well, trying to be
competitive in all styles and really get rid of the weaknesses. So, Bahrain
was, we believe, was one of our weaker circuits. So, if we can fix that and
address those issues, I think we'll be we'll be in a good place.
Q: Well, what about this weekend? Very different track to Bahrain, isn't it?
AA: Yeah, it is. And I don't want to speak too soon in case, in case it's
not there but I think, hopefully, we'll see how it goes, and we'll be
fighting a bit more towards the mid-pack.
Q: Lando, coming to you. It was a tough opening race for McLaren. No doubt.
What were the main issues?
Lando NORRIS: Downforce. Just overall grip. It’s quite a simple thing. Like
there's quite a few times when the balance has been in a decent place. And
if the balance is in a decent place, but you just slow then it's quite a
simple thing of what you need. So there's not loads of problems, it’s just
one, I guess, one big problem, which is very costly in the world of Formula
1, because all you need is downforce and that's what we're struggling with a
minute. So that’s what we need to work on.
Q: The programme back at the factory. Is there a light at the end of the
tunnel? When can you expect progress?
LN: There is, there is. It's not a not an easy thing to say exactly when, or
the timescale or anything. but I have good faith that we've not come out
strong and we've struggled a little bit, definitely, in the first race but
there’s hope and there's a good team back in MTC already working on a on a
good plan to f put things back together. And I guess just try and understand
everything on where it's gone wrong and what we've missed, and so on. And as
soon as we figure that out, then then there is. James [Key, technical
director] is working hard already and was already as soon as we f realised
where we were standing compared to other teams, putting that plan in place
of recovering and trying to get back to much higher positions.
Q: Lando, is this the hardest start to a season that you've had during your
time at McLaren?
LN: Yeah. II mean, it's, it's weird because we started off in… it's not
weird it’s just what confused us a little bit initially is the fact that we
were a little bit stronger in Barcelona. And I think we just started off
with a, I’d say, a decent car. We just didn't make a lot of progress,
because it was a car which just went on to the track very well. And we
understood how to optimise the car very quickly. But then we can make much
further progress from there. And I think that's where all the other teams
were able to take steps forward, continuing to find out about the car and
make bigger steps. There was more hope after Barcelona but that slowly went
away with time, when everyone else was able to find out more about the car
and bring bigger upgrades and we could, then we took some steps back.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Lando, we've heard Aston Martin and Mercedes
talk about having to run the car in compromised state because of porpoising.
So there's potential performance there that just needs to be unlocked. But
it sounds like from what you're saying that for the McLaren is more just has
a lower ceiling in terms of performance at the moment. Is that a fair
assessment of where you're at, and do you see any low-hanging fruit in being
able to improve the cost performance in the short term?
LN: We’ve not struggled with porpoising, so I don't know if that's a good or
a bad thing. In some ways, there’s advantages to having it in a way. And
there's some disadvantages. So, it's not necessarily always a bad thing
about having it. Some parts of having it mean, certain things are working
well. So if that's the reason we don't have it, then that's obviously the
bad thing. But we're also not struggling with the issue so we can optimise
other areas of the car and gain in other areas, but we're just not getting
anywhere near enough, the amount that we that we need. So no, I think
there's good things. And I'm hoping that there will be certain tracks, more
in line with Barcelona-esque, which is going to favour us a little bit more.
I do think but Bahrain was on the tougher side and track, which was more
towards the slower speed and so on. In the medium speed corners, we didn't
struggle quite as much. So, I'm hoping this weekend can be slightly better.
But I don't be too over-optimistic and say we're gonna have a great weekend
when it could be pretty similar to last one.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing News 365) To the four on the right, are
concerned about the Mercedes power unit versus Ferrari, for example, which
was the only engine supplier that really made any progress through its
teams? And do you think that this race will then be the acid test of power
unit performance?
GR: I think there's always room to improve. But I think the Williams with a
Mercedes power unit in the back was the fastest car on the straights, I
believe, in Bahrain, or one of the fastest cars on the straights. So, I
think there's, there's a number of reasons why we were we were struggling. I
think we had more wing on compared to the Red Bull and the Ferrari, I think
the porpoising issues aren't helping things either, because we're just
crashing into the floor, as opposed to skating along the top of a surface.
So, we'll have to wait and see, but I don't think it's necessarily purely
down to the power unit.
LS: Yeah, I think we’ll understand a lot more this weekend. Just nature of
this circuit. Yeah, we’ll have a much better idea.
AA: I think what George said applies to us as well. I mean, we've got to
focus on ourselves first and foremost, I think that's really the main
priority. We're clearly behind but also we're behind in the corners as well.
We'll see where it comes out during the season but for now, at least, we
just need to look close by and see what we can do better.
LN: George and Mercedes are our main guys to compare to from a Mercedes
point of view, and they're a long way down the road from us. So, before we
would ever start to complain about engine or anything, we need a much better
car first.
Valtteri, can I just quickly bring you in on this? Have you been pleasantly
surprised by the Ferrari power unit?
VB: I've been very happy with my Ferrari engine. It's been good to drive but
honestly, they’ve made great progress from last year and we still keep
working hard trying to optimise everything and hopefully there's eventually
more to come but I think overall in a good place.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – racefans.net) Question for George. Mercedes were six
tenths off in Bahrain of pole position. I just wonder over the 23 races
we've got this season, obviously, Bahrain already done and dusted, how
quickly does that gap need to close for you to be realistically in with a
chance of winning the Championship? And how, how much faith do you have that
you will be?
GR: I think in Formula 1, things change incredibly quickly. We are very
fortunate that the calendar is not, as I said before, it's not very dense at
the start of this season. And even if it's a couple of months, we are only
six or seven races down and out of a 23 race season. And even if you come
out the blocks incredibly fast after the summer break, even as Mercedes and
Lewis did last year, you're still in with a shot. So, we need to be in
almost damage limitation mode at the moment, pick up the pieces, when
there's an opportunity, don't throw away unnecessary points, even though it
may just be for fifth or sixth or hopefully, a bit higher, and make sure we
were within touching distance always. And then hopefully, when the car does
improve, we can come back fighting. It's a very long season, I think we've
all got confidence that if we do things right, there's no reason why we
can't close the gap and potentially overtake – but we equally appreciate and
recognise that Ferrari and Red Bull will continuously improve as well. So,
we could close up by six-tenths; there’s no reason why they can't extend by
another six-tenths as well. So we need to play it by ear.
Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Question for Valtteri. You mentioned after the
race in Bahrain, the clutch vibration problem at the starts that occurs
about 50% of the time. How confident are you that that will be resolved for
this weekend? And where's it arising from? Is it a consequence of having a
very narrow window for the starts and trying to optimise it, but you end-up
sometimes compromising yourself in that situation? What's setting it off?
VB: I think it's been one of the biggest priorities since the first race.
And we saw already in testing, there's unfortunately, the no quick fix. I
think the lead time is going to be – I don't know – maybe another one or two
races, at least for a mechanical fix as such. But there's other things we
are trying to try to look into, how we can avoid it, because like I said,
like 50% of the starts, it happens. But how do we avoid it, you know, in
terms of hold the revs, where you drop the clutch, or the driver inputs,
trying to be as consistent as possible. So, we're working in all those areas
to try and hopefully have clean starts for both cars and more consistent
ones. So, that's where we're at at the moment, and we're working on it.
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Question for Lando. This is the first time since
you've joined the team, and since Andreas Seidel joined the team that there
maybe hasn't been an obvious stride forward at the start of the season. So
given that, and people talking McLaren up in testing, has there been a
noticeable dip in morale that you've observed in the team?
LN: You can't lie. There's always… if you have points and you have success
and you have podiums, there's always a rise in morale. So, I don't think
it’s got worse, I think there’s expectations, of course, and we want to… as
just racing people… we want to have success and do well. We're never going
to be as happy P16. compared to if we were P8 or P7 or whatever. So, there's
always just a little bit of our happiness gone. But at the same time, I
think the key thing is everyone's still very motivated. Like George said,
there's still such a long season to go. And, and even if it is two months of
struggling, or six, seven, eight races of struggling, I think everyone's
quite confident and just motivated within themselves and with other people,
that we can make good progress again, and get back to where we should be. So
yeah, I don't think we can be happy with where we are. I think that's the
point of what I'm trying to say: we can't be happy, and therefore we're not
but the important thing is we're all motivated still to get back to where we
know we should be.
Q: (Jon Noble – motorsport.com) To all of you. Formula 2 are testing some
video screens on the entry to some of the fast kinks here that offer footage
of that the corner exit. Is it happening for Formula 1, and do you think
it'd be a good solution for helping visibility during the race? Or could it
be a distraction?
GR: We'll have to test that and see, and we'll only get the feedback once we
go out there. Sometimes solutions like this work really well; sometimes not
so well. We know the difficulties of visibility on a circuit like this. And
I think the more the FIA can do to help us is only going to be beneficial.
So, I can't comment quite at this moment but it could be quite an intriguing
implementation and if it works we’ll potentially see it in Baku, Monaco,
Singapore maybe and it reduces the danger, risk and improves safety for all
of us, then why not?
LN: Yeah, George said it well. I think we have to kind of just wait and see.
It's such a quick section – it isn’t like you have a lot of time to look at
a TV screen and see what's going on. But we'll see, and if it is good then
I'm sure we're trying to implement it more through the rest of the season.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Since we’re limited for time, I’ll ask Valtteri and
George. Lewis said that, in the last race that drivers should use their
platforms to raise awareness on ongoing human rights issues. Two weeks ago
here, there was the biggest mass execution in Saudi Arabian modern history,
of 81 people. I just want to ask your reaction to that and if you feel
comfortable racing here?
VB: I think the fact is that as drivers, it almost feels like we didn't
really have a choice where we race. If we could choose places, maybe we
would change the calendar a bit. But we love what we do and I love racing,
and we're here to get points. I think we end up going to places and trusting
Formula 1, that it is appropriate. And, of course, Formula 1, the big thing
is to try to raise the issues, and bring the awareness and go to places and
try and do something positive than negative. Already, from last year, I can
see a bit of a change in the country. And I've met a couple of local people.
And you know, they're all really hyped about Formula 1, so I think it
creates positive things in a way. But for the things that is going on behind
the scenes, I'm not fully aware of all of those. So yeah, I don't really
want to say too much, I just hope that we have positive impact. That's what
I'm… I really hope so. Yeah. And I race, wherever if that means I can get
points because I'm a driver.
GR: I think it's clearly concerning to see what is going on in some of these
places but I do hope that racing in some of these countries, it does raise
awareness, and we can have a positive impact. And I think if Formula One can
look back in 15, 20, 30, 40 years’ time, and see that the impact of our
sport has had a positive change on society in some of these countries we're
going to, that's something we should all be incredibly proud about. So, I
think you can't ignore these facts. I just hope that with our platform, we
are raising the right awareness and we can have a positive change in the
long run.
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) So George, you're probably
the best one to answer from GPDA perspective. There have been a few concerns
about safety in the past. I think you called it ‘unnecessarily dangerous’
because of the visibility. This year, the cars are pretty different to
drive, especially with the bouncing. Do you think this track could be a
dangerous one for this generation of Formula 1 cars?
GR: We have to wait and see. I mean, some teams are experiencing more issues
with the porpoising than others. For us last week in Bahrain, it was
definitely not pleasant down the straights. The difference here is, there
are no straights. The straights are bends and if we experience that, that
may be quite… we could find ourselves in a dangerous situation. But we have
to wait and see. I can't look into the future. For sure, with these bigger
wheels and with the wheel arches, our visibility has reduced, it will be our
first street circuit and I think it will be intriguing to hear from all the
drivers to see how we get on with the visibility. Some corners are worse
than others. It's generally the tighter corners where the bigger wheels are
having a negative impact for the visibility. It may not be such an issue
here but perhaps when we go to Monaco, Singapore, it will be. So, we have to
we have to wait and see.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing News 365) Lando, your team has changed from the
Japanese Akebono brakes to AP, I believed. Do you notice much feel? Could
this also be part of the issue?
LN: No, it's not the issue. We just need to go around the corners quicker.
We don't need to try and brake any later at the minute. We'll be able to
brake later when we have more downforce is just as simple as that, really.
So, there are some changes, some different fuel changes and so on, but it's
got nothing to do with our pace loss and where we're struggling at the
minute.
DRIVER GROUP 2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Zhou GUANYU (Alfa Romeo), Kevin
MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Daniel RICCIARDO (McLaren), Nicholas LATIFI (Williams).
Q: Lewis you said it was it was a difficult weekend with a good result in
Bahrain for you but how much difference can the team make to performance in
a week?
Lewis HAMILTON: Hi, everyone. It’s good to see everybody. Well, a huge
amount of work has gone on in the past three days. I’m very proud of my team
for just keeping their heads down, staying focused, churning through the
crazy amounts of data that there is, every time we're basically out in the
car, and just trying to understand what are the issues we have. We were
aware of the problems we have, but in terms of what's causing it, we're just
working through trying to figure that out and how we can rectify it without
losing performance and ultimately gaining performance. But three days
doesn't… there is such a short time between races there's not a huge
difference here this weekend. But hopefully, we'll have some things to try.
And from a driver's perspective that that's exciting when you go to come to
today when we get in the car for example, just trying something new and
hoping that it unlocks a bit of performance. But those are the others are
still very strong. And as I said last week, it was great to see Ferrari back
up there after a couple of difficult years.
Q: Very different track characteristics here in Jeddah. Does that give you
reason to be upbeat?
LH: It is different, so yeah, it shouldn't be as bumpy as Bahrain obviously.
Bahrain is a much older circuit, it’s got more character to it, because it
is as old as it is. This track is super fast and but a different surface
will behave with the tyres differently. These long, long straights where we
might not be too fun with the bouncing if we still have it. But yeah,
everyone's… well, those that have the bouncing are in the same boat. And
hopefully, we'll try and fix some of it.
Q: Zhou, let's come to you now. Bahrain was a great weekend for you. Just
how good did it feel to end your first race in Formula 1 in the points?
Zhou GUANYU: Yeah, it was very good and I was more like very satisfied with
the result, just because there's a huge relief from the pressures I was
having since last year, as I mentioned before in few interviews. But yeah,
overall, I think with the debut, our first weekend, I was able to have no
mistakes inside the cockpit, which was very good, and then that was able to
give me that confidence try to improve session by session. And of course
there's plenty of stuff for me to be still looking at and to improve from
myself, but nevertheless, I think especially for the race it was a very good
comeback after a difficult start of the opening lap. And then, yeah, I think
the team did a very good job to, you know, make a big step of improvements
in the car compared to where we were the year before, so that really gives
us the boost to be keep working and yeah, it's still a long season to go but
it was a very good starting point and then all the team are very happy with
you know, we was able to give them the reward or this hard work during the
winter so that was very nice.
Q: How much confidence has that result given you?
ZG: It definitely gave me confidence or more like a belief with the car, how
much I was able to push, probably more into the limit of the car, but
nevertheless I think that was what was missing in qualifying because I think
both cars had maybe the ability to be going into Q3 but to be already in Q2
I think was a good first step. But here Saudi is a complete different layout
of the circuit, a lot of high speed, a lot of straights and we have to
probably be more realistic [about] where we are compared to the others
because it could be you know, In Bahrain we were good, could be here we are
even better or we struggle more, so we have to find out. But nevertheless it
was nice to be able to trust the car more, since day one in Barcelona to
Bahrain qualifying I have much more built up the confidence with the car.
Q: Best of luck to you. Kevin coming on to you. Have your achievements in
your racing career, where does last weekend rate?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: It's certainly one of the more enjoyable ones, you know,
because of the element of surprise also, getting back into Formula 1, and
not expecting that, and then going and having such a weekend was just so
surprising. And I guess, something that rates very high in the results,
although P5 isn't the best result I've had, it was very surprising and
satisfying.
Q: You didn't get much time to prepare for last weekend, how much more is
there to come from you?
KM: I don't know. I mean, it's not like I felt very rusty. I'm not expecting
to get a huge amount better. But everyone is still, I guess, learning about
the cars, and there's going to be a race to kind of get fully on top of
these cars. But no, I don't feel like there's going to be massive
improvements for me. I felt very good in Bahrain and I felt on top of it.
Just going to get physically better. I was sore in my neck the day after the
race. But it didn't really hold me back. So I'm quite happy.
Q: Daniel, on to you. First of all, how are you physically? How tough was
the Bahrain Grand Prix, having so recently recovered from COVID?
Daniel RICCIARDO: I feel OK. Thank you. It was a little a little more
physical than it probably should have been. Yeah, it was like that. But
yeah, I would say like, each day is kind of just gets better and better. So,
I feel OK. Thank you for asking.
Q: Now, what about the car? Difficult weekend for you guys. Is there a light
at the end of the tunnel?
DR: I mean, there has to be, you know. That's what we work towards. And
we'll keep working towards it until we get to see the light, if you will. I
think it's going to be a bit of a process now. It's not an overnight change.
It's not a change that can happen in the space of a week, you know, so maybe
here at this circuit maybe it plays more to our car, and we do a little
better, but I think we have some kind of bigger changes to address to get us
in a, let's say, top five position. But that's what we have to work harder
now than ever for to get there. So at some point, we'll get there.
Q: Nicholas, thanks for waiting. Good skydiving earlier in the week, I hope.
What about the performance of the Williams in Bahrain?
Nicholas LATIFI: Yeah, I think after the second round of pre-season testing,
it was clear we were not going to be where we wanted to be and where we
hoped to be before any of the pre-season started. In large part, we had a
lot of the same limitations that we had with last year's car, and Bahrain
was always one of our weakest tracks last year. So in that respect, I guess
it wasn't surprising. Well, it’s not nice to say it wasn't surprising that
we were where we were. So I guess coming here it's a completely different
track and again, based off these feelings we had last year, it should suit
us slightly better. At the same time, I'm under no illusion. I don't expect
us to make a massive step up in performance. So yeah, we have a lot of work
ahead of us for sure. You have to be quite patient as well, as you know,
everything takes a lot of time in F1 and we just have to learn to optimise
more what we have right now. As well from my side there is a bunch of things
I didn't do correctly last weekend, in both tyre preparation and qualifying
as well. Managing these new tyres in the race is a completely different
challenge I feel compared to last year's tyres, but still just as sensitive
in a way. And yeah, just make steps bit by bit.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Fred Ferret – l’Equipe) Question to Lewis. You're the driver who has won
the most night races. Do you have a secret or do you work differently in the
night GPs?
LH: Yeah, I pretty much am nocturnal, yeah. I don't think so. I think we
probably all do the same. You don't really notice a huge difference from day
to night, it's just temperature and track surface difference is probably the
only thing. The night races are awesome. And naturally, when the track
cools, it makes it a little bit easier for us to do what we do in terms of
making these tyres, that struggle to last on the hotter surfaces, last.
Hotter tracks are difficult. But no, not really. I think I’ve just probably
been fortunate that we've hit the sweet spot on most of the night races.
Q: (Adam Cooper – motorsport.com.) Another question for Lewis. Just
wondering if you had a chance to see the King Richard movie about the
Williams sisters and their father and what you thought of it? And even if
you haven't seen it, do you see parallels between your career and their
career? The challenges you faced and the support the girls had from their
family?
LH: Yes, I did see it. And I was really fortunate actually just during the
process to be speaking to Serena and Venus about the whole process and how
excited they were about the documentary. And of course, I know Will [Smith],
so really proud of what he was able to project with this film. I know he's
had awards and stuff, but I was really moved by the story, I think
ultimately, because I think we all of us have watched both of them rise and
see their success and trials and tribulations. But like all of us [we] very
much don't always understand what it's taken to get there. People that tune
in probably just think that they're just the best and [they are] not
understanding the commitment and the time and sacrifice that they have to
put in. And so it's amazing that Will was able to highlight that. Behind
everyone that's successful there is always somebody and I can relate to it
because I have a very amazing family who, without them, I would not be here
today. And I hope at some stage, I'll be able to do something similar, to be
able to… I think it's inspiring for families out there who… I'm sure anyone
in here that has kids wants the best for their kids and wants to create the
best opportunity and push them in the right way, but not too much. And I
think that was a great showing of how you can do that.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Mainly to Lewis but if any of the other
drivers have anything to add, please do. Just on the subject of the
porpoising, the bouncing. I wondered how different it is, as a driver and a
team, to try to address this problem, because it just doesn't seem to match
the conventional handling problems. If you've got a bit of entry understeer
or your traction-limited on the exit of the corner, you guys, as teams and
drivers, know how to handle this. But this feels like a much more complex
issue to get your head around.
LH: Yeah, It is. I don't know if everyone here has the bouncing. But it's
something that when I've sat down and spoken to the aerodynamicists and
engineers that we've not faced before. So it's new for everyone. I think
it's exciting when there's something new, but when it continues and
continues and you can't figure out how to fix it of course, that's not
always the best. But we will get to the bottom of it. And I think some
people been able to fix the bouncing that they have. Of course, we have this
downforce and we have these bumpy circuits, so there has always has been a
form of bouncing, but nowhere near to this kind of level. So we're just
trying to learn as fast as we can in the short space of time that we have
between races.
ZG: Well, for us, how we started at the very beginning, first day, put the
new car on track compared to now is of course a big improvement. I think
it’s the same for the other teams out there. But nevertheless, I think we
normally suffer more when the DRS is not open on the straights when the
bouncing to be a bit more unnatural for me. But in a way I'm quite used to
it because when I drove F2 we normally were suffering very harsh, stiff,
bouncing or with the kerb riding. So I'm used to that. But definitely having
bouncing [at] high speed is not something nice to have. But I think we can
have probably if going to Monaco, tracks like that, bit more bumpy on the
straight, maybe we can suffer more because the visibility already is quite
low with the new car compared to last year. And then that is definitely not
helping. But it's only the very beginning of this development of the new
car. So I'm sure everybody can or maybe will find a way of figuring it out.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) The campaign group Reprieve has said 97 people have
been executed in Saudi Arabia in the past fortnight. They predict that
number could reach 500 by the end of the year. I just want to know if any of
you guys have reservations about racing here, and whether you would consider
not racing here, given those statistics?
DR: Yeah, we're aware of some of the situations when we come here, we're
informed. But I think by coming here, we also have a chance to create some
change or have some positive influence. As opposed to not coming here. I
know F1’s doing a lot. 40% of staff are females here this weekend, 600 I
think underprivileged kids, orphans and underprivileged kids are here today
at the track to be educated be inspired. Is at McLaren, we're working with
KAUST, which is the first co-ed university here in Saudi Arabia. So,
inspiring, trying to create some opportunities. So I think there is, let's
say, a positive impact we can have when coming here. We're still trying to
do more and do our best to create that or influence that in a better way.
And, of course we're aware of some of the other issues, but we're trying to
create a good change or have a good impact from us being here.And for now,
that's all we can do. I think.
LH: I don't know what to say, really. My position is still the same as I
spoke on last year. There's not really a lot that I can say that's going to
make any difference. It's obviously mind-blowing to hear the stories. I've
heard that there's a letter been sent to me, for example, from a 14-year-old
who is on death row. When you're 14, you don't know what the hell you're
doing in life. But we don't decide where we go. And, as Daniel says, I think
we do have an opportunity to try… I think we're duty bound to try and do
what we can while we're here… It's not necessarily our responsibility, us up
here that are brought here, but we try and do what we can. And I think it's
important that we just try to educate ourselves. And with the little bit of
difference that we can try to make, make sure we are doing something. But
ultimately it's the responsibility those of those that are in power to
really make the changes. And we're not really seeing enough. So we need to
see more.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – racefans.net) Lewis, a question for you. Obviously,
in Bahrain, you were quite downbeat, you said you weren't going to be
fighting for wins at least at the beginning of the season. Just wondering
now that you've been out in the car, and you've been able to get a podium,
is there any sort of change from you? Obviously you’ve still got issues with
the car but are you feeling more confident? Is there more of a turnaround
that we're going to see a bit quicker or are you still really struggling?
And how hard is this circuit going to be, considering we saw such drama last
around?
LH: Well, I didn't feel downbeat. I was being realistic that we have issues
and we’re fighting to fix them. I think there's a lot of potential in our
car and we're just trying to work as hard as we can to rectify them as quick
as possible. And we've seen the amazing performance of some of the other
teams, how close it is between all of us. And so I am hopeful that week on
week we will improve. I have no doubt that I've got the best group of people
behind me in order to come up with solutions and fix it and extract
performance. So I don't currently feel too stressed. But I want to get in
the fight as soon as possible. But the last race was an amazing feeling for
us. Given where we thought we were going to be, to come out with the result
we did. But we can't rely every weekend on that to happen. So we need to
move forward as fast as we can.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Just to follow up on Phil’s question
and can I ask Lewis and Daniel, as you've spoken about this just now?
Obviously, you're trying to use your platforms to raise awareness. Do you
think there's potential to go a step further and perhaps ask to meet some of
the people in authority here to discuss this directly with them? Is that
something that you would be prepared to do as drivers??
LH: I think again, just reflecting on that, it shouldn't be our
responsibility to have to do that. But it is obviously a very, very complex
situation. But I'm always open to having a discussion, to learning more, to
try to understand exactly why the things that are happening are happening
and why they're not changing at all. Because, look, it's 2022 and it's easy
to make changes. So, but I'm open to doing that. I don't know who I'd have
to speak to exactly. But I'd love to see that. I know that Boris has been
over here recently. I heard that human rights were raised during that, but
what was said, what’s being done, I’ve heard about that?
DR: Yeah, I guess I'm not too sure how to answer it. Again, if we could have
positive impact or learn or educate. I mean, even from being here last year
until now, it's only a few months, but I feel I've tried to at least
understand a bit more and learn a bit more about it. So if speaking to,
let's say, a group of people could help them. Why not? But I think for now
the best thing is to remain open-minded and to see that we're aware there is
room for change here. And if participating in certain things helps, then I
think we're very open to do so.
Q: (Matt Kew - Autosport) I know your affiliation with Mercedes stretches
from well back before F1, but this weekend will your 180th Grand Prix with
the Mercedes team. And the significance of that number is that it surpasses
the partnership between Schumacher and Ferrari. I just wondered if you had
any sort of reaction to that number?
LH: I didn't know that. That's pretty amazing. I'm grateful for Mercedes’
loyalty to me over the over the years, you know, but I've been with Mercedes
since I was 13. So, it’s a long stretch together and I'm very much embedded
in the family. And I'm grateful to be a part of that history ansd continuing
to work on adding to that in the future.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing News 365) Predominantly Lewis and Daniel please,
with the others as well, if you’ve got some comment. Obviously the bouncing
can be compensated for through changes and downforce, tyre pressures, etc.
Have you guys got any idea how much you've actually lost? In terms of having
to sacrifice performance or comfort?
DR: I can answer quickly from my side. I'll jump in. We haven't had too much
of it. Yeah, that's probably as far as my answer goes. I think we've, as a
team, have been suffering less with the porpoising. And, yeah, I look at
some on boards of the others and I'm sure there's a few sore heads after a
long race. Everything is already quite intense with a helmet on, balaclava
and everything, so it’s quite easy to end a race dehydrated or with a
headache. So yeah, it doesn't always look comfortable for the others but for
myself it's been quite, I say myself in Lando, it's been quite chilled for
now.
LH: I've not been given exact numbers, but I know they're large. But I think
it's the same for everyone. You know, those that have had to raise their
car, it's much steeper steps that we've seen compared to previous years. And
there's lots of performance when you can reduce some of those steps,
obviously, lowering the car, for example. The cars that were ahead of us,
for example, have an incredible amount of low-speed downforce. So I don't
know what the exact number is, but I know it's, it's nothing. It's not
small.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Another one for you Lewis, if you don't
mind. Just getting back to the King Richard movie. I was just wondering,
you’re only a few years younger than Serena and Venus. I was wondering if
you've ever been approached about doing a similar kind of project, a movie
about yourself? If not, is it something that you would consider down the
line? And finally, as a funny aside, who would you consider to play yourself
in that role?
LH: I have no idea who would who would have played me. But as I mentioned
the last time I was here, we have this documentary that we're working on and
I think you have to just do everything at the right time. The documentary is
the current focus. I think stories are there to be told. I think it's
important. I think there's lots that can be learned. And as I mentioned, for
people, if you can affect and have a positive impact, if your story can have
one positive impact even on one person or one family that's could be
amazing. So I think, yeah, one day I perhaps will try to do the same maybe.
Very inspired by how Will did it with his team. And with those two icons,
pretty proud of them. So yeah, maybe one day.
Q: Come on Lewis, who would play you?
LH: I don't know. I have no idea who I get to play me. I don't know who's
out there that that are that I would use at the moment. I'd have to do some
research. But I'm actually going through a process right now of castings for
another project that I have. And that's quite an interesting process to go
through. So it's quite exciting, reading up on all these different
characters, people that could fit a role that the script… you know, when the
script’s written, and they’re writing that character, finding someone that
matches that and represents that character is quite an interesting process.
Q: (Matt Coch – Speedcafe.com) Predictably for Daniel. Looking beyond this
weekend, next up is Australia. Tickets have sold out for Saturday and
Sunday. In fact, they've kept attendance because they're struggling to get
staff because the interest is so strong. They're expecting one of the
biggest crowds and event’s history. How much are you looking forward to
getting back to Melbourne? What are your emotions ahead of the return? And
what sort of reaction are you expecting when you get back down there?
DR: Yeah, I'm expecting to see more beautiful beards like yours, Matt. It's
getting better by the week. I think your camera as well, the quality's
better, so we can really see the definition. The real girth on that beard.
It's gorgeous. I'm excited to go home. Definitely. You know, it's been a
while and yeah, I've heard sales have been nuts and it's going to be an
awesome atmosphere. So I cannot wait. Max is cheering. He's excited to go as
well. Obviously it's personal to me, because I'm Aussie, and it's a home one
and that's a privilege. But every driver I speak to about Melbourne, they
love it. They love it as an event. And it's exciting to go through the track
changes as well this year, see what kind of racing that produces. So just a
big bundle of excitement. Nearly as big as your beard.
DRIVER GROUP 3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing) Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari),
Mick SCHUMACHER (Haas) , Esteban OCON (Alpine) Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Q: Max, we'll start with you. A very unfortunate end to your race in Bahrain
on Sunday. No doubt about that. But let's just look at some positives from
the weekend. Up to the point you retired, how happy were you – with your
car, with the race?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Well, not entirely happy, but I was still in second, which
would have been, of course, a good amount of points. But unfortunately we
couldn't finish the race. But still a lot of things we learned, because we
more or less completed the whole race. So we had a lot of information from
that. And, yeah, we'll try to implement that here. Of course, the track is a
bit different, but it was a good understanding of the first proper race
distance on the car.
Q: Good understanding, and did the car perform in line with your
expectations?
MV: No, it didn't. I expected more, but we have our reasons for that. So
that's why we'll try to do better here.
Q: A quick word on that racing. The overtaking was shall those three laps
were tremendously exciting to watch. What was it like inside the car? Could
you follow him closer than in previous years?
MV: I do think it was a tiny bit better. But I don't think Bahrain is the
best example because of tyres overheating, and once you're following for
like two laps you just start sliding too much, even if you can follow a
little bit better. So, I think there will be some other tracks where the deg
of the tyre is a bit lower and then for sure you will be able to follow a
bit longer. But it felt like it was a bit better. And that's why I guess we
had a fight for like two or three laps instead of only one.
Q: Carlos coming to you now. Great result for you in Bahrain and for Ferrari
of course with the one two. You did say after the race that it had been a
difficult weekend for you? Do you understand now why that was?
Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, maybe I was a bit too negative after a race because
still, you know, we managed to finish on the podium and bring home a 1-2,
but yeah, it is not a lie that I was probably not very happy with a car and
just not driving it the way I should have, and probably just not
understanding this new generation of cars 200%. But I'm working on it. And
I'm feeling like I also need to bring the car a bit more to my driving
style, to my liking. And as soon as I feel a bit more comfortable the
results and the pace will come. But still without feeling very confident and
comfortable in the car we managed to bring home a P2, it would have been a
P2 without Max’s retirement. But yeah, exciting times ahead. And I think
some time to find.
Q: Exciting times ahead, let's look even further ahead into the future
because there's talk of a new deal for you with Ferrari. Just how close are
you to sorting something and how important is it to get to get it sorted out
quick?
CS: Yeah, we are getting there. Obviously it is an important contract in my
career and I really wanted to make sure that everything was done and both
Ferrari and I were happy with what we are signing. And yeah, we are very
close to finalising it. It still needs the last details. But yeah, it looks
good for the future.
Q: Mick coming to you. So close to scoring your first points. Last weekend,
how do you reflect on the race?
Mick SCHUMACHER: Yeah, it was obviously positive. The car feels a lot better
than last year, it's a lot more competitive, obviously. We had a car in the
top five, which is amazing for the team. So I’m really, really proud of
that. And it just shows the potential of the car. So we have everything to
play for. And I think we have a good season ahead of us.
Q: Did the clash with the man on your left affect the performance of your
car in the race?
MS: I think it wasn't as it was before, that's for sure. But the damage
wasn't huge. So you know, obviously we were struggling a bit more than we
hoped for after that but nonetheless it's racing. These things happen. You
come close to each other and yeah, I came away with a nice 360 there, so
that's alright.
Q: It was very well saved. Mick, one final one for me. You've said already
that the car is clearly good. Just how different is the atmosphere He has
this year compared to last?
MS: It's amazing to see the difference. You know, everybody's
super-motivated, everybody's super-happy to be working and to have a car to
look forward to and to see the progression, especially from a very poor last
year, the poor performance last year in the car. I think that there's more
to come. We have upgrades planned and stuff. That's something that I haven't
had last year. Definitely, yeah, I'm sure they will keep on growing and keep
on improving.
Q: Esteban, coming to you now. Can we just get your thoughts, first of all,
on being back here in Jeddah, after such bittersweet memories for you in
December, when you came to within one tenth of a second of a podium finish?
Esteban OCON: Yeah, it was very close. It's a bit of a bittersweet memory,
of course. But, you know, nevertheless, it was, it was a great race weekend
here last year, finishing with 12 points, P4, qualified in the top 10. The
car was very competitive and it's a track that I felt comfortable with
straightaway, to get my foot in. So, yeah, I can't wait to feel those new
cars, the high speed is usually a very strong point for these 2022 cars. And
that's most of what you have here. So it's going to be very interesting.
Q: What about the overall performance of your car? Double points, of course,
for the team last weekend? Just how encouraged Are you by what you've seen
so far?
EO: It's a good start. It was a very positive start to finish with both in
the top 10. Of course, we want a little bit more performance to get closer
to the cars in front, we're always looking for it. We have a way of working
that we think is the right one, and it's going in the right direction. As
always, both me and Fernando give very close feedback together. So that's
good. And hopefully we can, you know, make that into some good developments
in the future for the car.
Q: Pierre, thank you for waiting. Very frustrating for you on Sunday, of
course. But what positives do you take from that weekend in terms of car
performance?
Pierre GASLY: It was frustrating not to see the chequered flag for the first
race of the year. And until we had the issue I think we had a pretty clean
race, a well executed strategy. Performance-wise it was great. We were
fighting in the points and it was good to see. We expected a pretty tough
race, because we saw Haas and Alfa Romeo were pretty strong, we knew it
would quite close with Alpine and we still managed to end up in that P8
quite comfortably. So it was a shame, but still it's positive to see we have
the performance to fight for some points. I guess it’s the same as everyone,
we are still not in a position that we would like with the car, not as
comfortable as what we would like and hope for. But it's our job to improve
that and find some directions to find more performance.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) For Max and Pierre. Both your teams did, not
the highest, but a very high number of laps in testing. I wondered now if
the teams understand the problems, which I understand were different on the
two cars. Are they the sort of things that you're just like, ‘well, that's
just unlucky, there was no way of seeing that’. Or do you look at it as in
‘Oh, that's something that should have been spotted during testing’. Thank
you.
MV: Yeah, well, we didn't encounter it in testing. So we didn't know about
it at all. And I don't know how we would have spotted it. You can say, in a
way, it’s unlucky, but it shouldn't happen. It's as simple as that. Because,
you know, to retire basically three cars was pretty bad. I mean, there is no
way around that. And we have to do better. If we want to fight for the title
you cannot have too many races like, like we had in Bahrain.
PG: Similar comments. I think we had the cleanest testing of all the years
I've done with that team. So we came into the first race quite confident in
terms of reliability. But I must say, motorsport keeps you very humble all
the time, because these things happen and it’s obviously painful on our side
and there was no sign that this was going to happen. But obviously it should
not happen. We lost quite a lot of points. And so it was clearly not the
ideal start to the season. It was different problems with Max and Checo. But
clearly things that that we need to sort out and can’t have in the future.
Q: Just remind us how much warning did you get?
PG: No warning at all. It was just all on-off out of Turn 1, the whole car
switched off. And that was it pretty much.
Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Finalistitecnica.com) Just a quick reaction from all
five drivers on Stefano Domenicali’s decision to cut down on the drama on
Drive to Survive for the sake of a more accurate product. Thank you.
PG: I must say, I haven't seen the whole series, so I haven't seen like
[more than] pretty much the first two episodes. You can clearly see that
some scenes are kind of made up for the show. It's difficult to speak for
the drivers, I'm not in their position. I don't know how they [Netflix) get
on with other guys. I think on our side with Yuki, which is what I can
compare, it was kind of normal. But obviously as a driver you don't want to
be portrayed differently than the person you are in reality. I think that's
the main thing that we ask for, you know. We're happy to play our part in
the show but as long as it kind of reflects who we are personally. On my
side, I never had any issue. I never felt like they were kind of changing or
adding more drama than we had. I think we had enough drama over the last
three years. Didn't need more. But I understand Stefano. I think it makes
sense for us as well.
EO: I think I will join Pierre on the comments. I think, of course, it's
good to have an opening, you know, from the outside world of Formula 1. I
think it has been a big benefit to have Netflix on board. Just to show how
it works from the inside as well. But it's important, I think, to stick to
how we are in reality. But yeah, for me it has been has been positive.
MS: Obviously, the first part of Drive to Survive, the first seasons, are
quite interesting, and quite dramatic. And I think that brings a lot of
people to the sport. But I guess as the show progresses it's important to
become more accurate with some of the things and maybe don't mix up some of
the comments or radio messages and stay true to how it actually was on
track. I think that that would make more sense. And maybe chronological
order could also make more sense. But again, I’m not the producer of the
show, so it's just an opinion.
CS: I agree with all of them. All three have said interesting things, which
I actually agree with.
MV: I'm sure we'll talk about it with Stefano. But at the moment, I'm not
really interested to take part in it. It's also just taking more time. And
we're already doing so many things. And I don't really… I saw the benefit
initially, of course, to get more popularity. But for me, now, I think you
reach a stage where it's a bit more like keeping up with the Formula 1
world, if you know my reference… I think it shouldn't be like that. It's
better just to make a season review by F1 itself. I think that's way nicer
to look at. But that's my opinion, nobody needs to share my opinion. I just
don't like to be a part of it.
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) To all five of you. There
have been some safety concerns in the past on this circuit. There have been
some minor changes made. But also this year’s cars are different to drive,
probably more problematic with the bouncing on these long straights and
bends. Are you concerned about the safety here.?
MV: Visibility will be a bit more tricky. And the bouncing, we'll find out.
I don't know my car is going to respond to here. But if you do get it, it's
not going to be enjoyable with such high speeds for such a long time. I've
read about the changes but I haven't walked the track or anything. So
probably on my lap, I’ll just take a bit more of a good look at it. But it's
going to be different. But it's the same for everyone, right? So we just
have to deal with it and we know that the first sector is not… It’s really
cool to drive, don't get me wrong but it is definitely, not the safest when
you have to guide through traffic and stuff. But yeah, we'll see how it
goes.
CS: I think the steps that have been done are going in the right direction,
but are very small. It's not like in 100 days between the last race and here
you can do much more to such a big circuit. So yeah, I think for the future,
we just need to keep working together to maybe try and improve a bit the
visibility of this circuit, because in 100 days… I like what has been done,
but it's still on the limit. And we need to be making the circuit maybe a
bit more… to have a bit more visibility. Because as Max said, the first
sector is super fun to drive, it’s actually one of my favourite sections of
the of the calendar, but we need to keep improving it.
MS: I've seen the changes. And probably they are into the right direction.
But I think they don't improve visibility and especially in the first
section where visibility was an issue and where things did get quite close
last year. I just wonder if there's maybe something else we have to do to
get the safety up. And I guess, as Max said, also the visibility of the of
this year's car is a bit different, a bit more difficult. So I guess we'll
just have to try and find out on the fly how it goes.
EO: I think it's very similar to last year, in my opinion. Of course it's
very high speed here. It's very enjoyable to drive but I think still the way
we were working with engineers from last year, just telling us if there is a
slow car in front and all that, it’s still going to be valid this year. So
yeah, we'll be as careful as we can.
PG: Not much to add, I mean, at such high speed it's always going to be
dangerous. And this year with a bit less visibility than last year. We all
know it's a kind of dangerous track. And we all deal with it the best way we
can, but I think it just requires definitely more attention from all of us.
[you have to] pay more attention than any other track. But the changes have
been made are a step in the right direction. Whether it's going to be enough
or not, this will we'll find out this weekend.
Q: (Clare Cottingham – Racefans.net) Max, a question for you. Drive to
Survive again, I'm sorry. Domenicali was going to have a chat with drivers
and you just mentioned that you haven't had a chat yet? Would you be willing
to sit down and have a chat and then maybe make some changes to what happens
moving forward? And what would persuade you? And was there a scene that you
saw, or is it just a collective thing that you weren't really keen on? Was
there something that you specifically saw and will actually, no?
MV: I'm always happy to talk. I'm not against that. And you know, Stefano is
a great guy and you can talk to him about anything. Well, I watched a few
episodes of the last one and I was surprised as I suddenly found myself
talking in it. And it's probably stuff from like, 2018 or something they
picked up and used again, about fighting and what I like to do. But that
already is not correct. I could hear that my voice was a bit different. And
I realised also, actually, a lot of times I was saying stuff, and they were
with this beam around, and they pick up a lot of stuff. So I have to be a
bit more careful with that as well. It's just not my thing. And then of
course, they all tried to pick, throughout the whole season, they tried to
pick moments and fabricate in a way. And for me personally, what I didn't
like and it's not even about me, it was about Lando and Daniel, who I think
are two great guys. They're really nice, first of all, and made it look like
Lando was a bit of a dick, which he isn't at all. And again, you know, I
think… I know Lando and I think many people know Lando as a funny guy, a
great guy. He has a great character. And actually when you look at that
episode, you really think who is this guy? What the hell is going on? And I
think when you're new to the sport you don't like you've never seen a racing
car or a Formula 1 car in general, they don't like him. And why should that
be? Because he is a great guy. And you just immediately get a wrong picture
of a person. And that's exactly what I think happened to me in the
beginning. And then I think I'm someone who, when you ruin it from the
start, you don't fix it. That's it, you ruined it. So that's my stance. And
that's how I'll go forward.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing365) Question for Pierre, please. As you said
just now, your retirement was different to the other two Red Bulls? Can you
confirm that it was actually a battery fire and that all safety systems
worked as they should have? Have you got any concerns about these sort of
fires?
PG: Well yeah, it was battery related but yeah, it was all safe. Everything
worked.
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