PART ONE – Lance STROLL (Aston Martin), Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari), Franco COLAPINTO (Alpine)

Q: Lance, please, let's start with you. Good to see you. Health update, first of all. How's the wrist?

Lance STROLL: Thanks. Yeah, it's good to be here. It's good to be home, racing in Montreal. The wrist is feeling good.

Q: Now we've been told by the team that there was a procedure that took place after the Spanish Grand Prix. Just how confident are you that there won't be a recurrence of the problem that you suffered last time out?

LS: Pretty confident. Should be good.

Q: Why do you say that? I mean, is it because you tested the car at Paul Ricard this week and it passed the test?

LS: Yeah. Just because it was bothering me for a few weeks, over in Imola, Monaco. And then Barcelona was just really brutal throughout the weekend. I got a procedure done and drove this week, and I was feeling pretty good, so I'm confident.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about what the issues are? Is it lack of movement with the wrist? Can you give us any details?

LS: Yeah. It's just the old injury that I had a couple years ago. Just started to bug me again and, you know, so just got it sorted.

Q: Well, I'm very pleased you got it sorted. Let's bring it on to your home race. With the updates that were introduced at Imola a couple of races ago, how confident are you in the car's performance here in Montréal?

LS: I'm feeling good about the weekend for sure. I think historically we've been good here as a team. We scored points here the last few times we came, and it's a track I always enjoy coming back to. So yeah, just looking forward to it.

Q: Just out of interest, when did you first come to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?

LS: Long time ago. I was a little boy.

Q: Alright. Look. Good luck this weekend.

LS: Thank you very much.

Q: Lewis, let's come to you. Can we throw it back to 10 Downing Street? You were there last week. Just tell us about that trip, what it was about, and what it was like to go behind that very famous black door of the British Prime Minister.

Lewis HAMILTON: Good afternoon, everyone. Yeah, pretty special day. I was fortunate to have a call with the Prime Minister and we were just discussing the work that is needed within education and the work that we're doing at Mission 44. He invited me down. I said, it’s really important that we get young people in the room. So, we brought some young students, some that are working within communities that are suffering in terms of kids getting expelled. So, we had all these kids from different backgrounds come in and speak directly to the Prime Minister. We're working on shifting several policies within education to improve school attendance, reduce exclusions, because I was one of those kids that was at risk of that and did get expelled. It's just the beginning of the work I think we're going to be able to do. They're obviously very focused on improving education in the UK. It was a really special day. I hope it's not the last time through that door, for sure.

Q: What's it like behind the door?

LH: I think it's a Grade 1 building, so it's very old. You walk in and you're like, it needs revamping! But you can feel the history when you go in there. It's pretty incredible. There's a staircase in there that has all the images of all the Prime Ministers going back to the early 1800s. In the main room at the back, where we sat around this table – big decisions, like Winston Churchill would have been sat there making decisions back in World War II. You could feel that. It was incredible to be there.

Q: Let's bring it onto the on-track business now. Fréd Vasseur said after the Spanish Grand Prix that both cars were carrying an issue. How much was it affecting you?

LH: Massively. Unfortunately, the team yesterday said they didn’t really want us to talk too much about it, but we both had issues that were hindering us massively from halfway through the race already. I didn’t know whether or not we had that problem, but I said on the radio that it was the worst-feeling car I’d ever had – and it truly was with that issue. At the end of the race, I was like, ‘jeez, I've never experienced something this bad for such a prolonged time through a race’. It wasn’t until after the TV interviews I got back to the engineers and we found out there was an issue. It was a bit of a relief to hear that because I didn’t feel so terrible afterwards.

Q: Thank you, Lewis. Good luck this weekend. Franco, thank you for waiting. Let’s come to you now. It’s been a tough few races for you, that triple header. What have you learned so far during your stint at Alpine?

Franco COLAPINTO: Yeah. They were tough. They were not, of course, maybe as I was expecting. I was expecting to do a bit more progress after Imola, but it’s always tough to get back into F1 after six races of not being there. The drivers learned a lot, tyre management, and when you are not driving it’s really tricky. But I think it was really good, this break, this week off to get back with the team, to get back together and understand the issues, understand what we have to do better, where we were lacking some pace and where I can improve as well. So, it was good. I think it was a good break and hopefully it brings some performance for now.

Q: How different is the Alpine team compared to Williams, where you were at the end of last year?

FC: It’s very different. When I came into Williams last year, the only comparison I got was that. I never even drove another Formula 1 car. So I couldn’t really compare it to anything else, whereas now I have got that. In Alpine I’m learning a lot. There are many good things. There are some things that are different. The car is very different to drive as well, and it’s just getting up to speed with that and trying to understand what’s the weakest way around it.

Q: What are your expectations here in Montréal? Both drivers were on the podium (sic) here last year. Is that something you can dream of this time around?

FC: Last year that was Brazil. Here? I don’t know. Points? Points would be great. I think if we can get back up there, get a bit more of the performance of the car – that I’m sure it has – I would be really happy. So I think we have to start by getting to where we need, focusing on us and then think about the rest.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italy) Lewis, today two important Italian newspapers have attacked Fréd, opening some question marks about his future. What do you think about it? What idea do you have about these rumours? I know you’ve just arrived in the team, but what moment is the team going through?

LH: I was just made aware of it before I got here, so I’ve not read the stories. It’s definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that out there. Firstly, I love working with Fréd. Fréd’s the main reason I’m in this team and I got the opportunity to be here – for which I’m forever grateful. We’re in this together. We’re working hard in the background. Things aren’t perfect. But as I said, I’m here to work with the team and with Fréd. I want Fréd here. I do believe Fréd is the person to take us to the top, and so that’s that. To me, it’s all nonsense what people have written. Most people don’t know what’s going on in the background. It isn’t all easy, like, it’s not the smoothest sailing. We are having to make changes and there’s a lot of work to do. Naturally there’s a lot of pressure because we want to win, but that’s not any part of the discussion at the moment.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Another question for Lewis. You've overcome many challenges throughout your 19 years in Formula 1, and this year's been another challenge. So, this weekend, at a track that you love, that you've done so well at, do you need a really big weekend to give you a boost for the rest of the season?

LH: I don’t feel that I’m searching. Of course, a good weekend is always a good thing, but I don’t feel like I’m in desperate need of one. I think it looks a lot worse outside than it probably is on the inside. Even just coming from engineering now – how they set the car up compared to any other year that I've been here is completely different. And having discussions with engineers to change things… There’s a certain way they like to work ands it's ‘hold on a second – that doesn’t actually make sense’. Like, this is what I’ve done for the last 17, 18 years here, and it’s worked in a lot of them. So, getting those things to consistently work with the team and making sure you're working in a constructive way to make changes. The car has a real sweet spot, and we're trying to get it working at all those tracks, which everyone's having a struggle with. Yeah. I'm hoping this weekend can be strong.

Q: (Laurent Dupin – Canal+) A question to Lewis. You have a couple of things in common with Jean Alesi – being a Ferrari driver and having your first win here in Canada, as he did exactly 30 years ago. Do you have any memories about his win here, and can you say a few words about him?

LH: What year was that?

Q: (Laurent Dupin – Canal+) Jean Alesi in '95. So exactly 30 years ago.

LH: I don’t know where I was then. I was 10. I also wasn’t here. No, I don’t remember watching that Grand Prix if I’m honest. Maybe I was racing or something. But I’ve always been a big admirer of Jean. He’s one of my favourite characters of the older drivers. He’s always been so kind and polite to me, which is not always the case. Obviously, my Grand Prix win here was pretty epic. I was just talking to my engineers – we just watched the qualifying from 2007, or my lap, for example. That was the race where… back then with refuelling, the two cars were often separated by a couple of laps of fuel. One car would get the lighter fuel and I’m sure in some teams it alternated. And because Fernando was the world champion, he’d always get the lighter fuel. I was often carrying at least a tenth of fuel every time we went into qualifying – until this race. I remember arguing after Monaco that I wanted equal opportunity and equal chance, and they gave us equal fuel. Then I out-qualified him and won the race. It was one of those moments where you really have to listen to your intuition and fight for what you feel is right – and that was one of those high moments for me.

Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN Spain) Question for Franco. Franco, the three races with Alpine were difficult for different reasons, but now you had ten days to reflect on them. Can you talk us through the process you had going through your mind during these days, or how was the preparation for this Grand Prix?

FC: I think it always helps to have a little bit of a break after a couple of races. Getting into a triple header is always difficult because you don’t have enough time to change things – to change enough things. I was used to something so different, which didn’t give me enough time between races to reflect enough on it and learn and understand exactly what we need to do. I really trust that this break was really good for us. Hopefully it brings some performance back. Hopefully I can find a bit of that confidence I had in the car last year and find a way around it a bit more.

Q: (Juan Fossaroli – ESPN) Franco, you don’t know this track, but last year you didn’t know Azerbaijan and Singapore. You performed very well at those, also in Austin. Do you think this track maybe suits you a little bit because it’s like a street circuit or something like that?

FC: We’ll see. I think three Free Practices is enough to learn the track. Of course, getting up to speed quickly is going to be very helpful because we have a lot of things to test and we need that time in the free practice. Hopefully we can get up to speed quick and then see. But yeah, it’s kind of a street track, and that always brings a bit more emotion to us as drivers. At the end of the day, to drive an F1 around here – such an historic and massive track in the history of the sport – it's very cool.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Just a question for Lance. Is it your right wrist that’s causing you problems? You haven’t taken your hand out of your pocket since you got here, and I wondered if that was a consequence of the wrist injury or what.

LS: Yeah. It’s my right one. A little bit, but it’s feeling good.

Q: (Sahil Kapur – NBC) A two-part question for Lewis on the movie, if I may. Congratulations on the upcoming release. Given the immersive nature of filming this at actual F1 races, is this the closest Hollywood has ever gotten to authentically capturing F1 and racing? And what tips, if any, did you give to Brad Pitt and Damson Idris to capture the vibe of an F1 driver?

LH: That was our goal. I don’t think any sport has been so immersive in the sense of filming on race weekends. That’s been a real amazing opportunity for Joe and for Jerry. I think they did such a great job in how they approached it. We barely knew – even though they had a whole team here – we were all so focused on our jobs, but it was never disruptive to any of us. I think they captured some really great footage. We had a bit of a preview for the drivers in Monaco, which was really amazing for us. For me, it was nerve-wracking because it’s a four-year project and you want everyone to love it. Just before we watched it, Jerry said, “Look, just remember, we tried to make it as authentic as possible, but this is also Hollywood.” So it’s the best combination we could find of both. I remember on the days that I got to work with Brad, we were at Silverstone. We actually did a track day together in LA. I got to drive and he drove, and straight away I already knew – you could sense he kind of knew where the lines were. He had a bit of a feel for it already. It wasn’t completely alien. I worked as a driver coach when I was a kid just to make a bit of money on the side, and I had some pretty bad drivers along the way. Just didn’t know where they were on track. Straight away you could see he had a concept of a driving line. I didn’t get to drive on track with Damson, but they both went to training. They were both super open-minded and really dove deep into what it takes to be a racing driver, which was really cool to see. Through that process, it was amazing to speak to Brad and see his shock. He’s kind of like, “Jeez. What are our bodies going through?” – especially when he got to Formula 2. He’d text me after the test, like, “My appreciation for what you drivers do is even higher than it already was.” So I hope that reflects in the driving in the race.

Q: (Simon-Olivier Lorange – La Presse) Question for Lewis, right here in the back. There are a lot of very young drivers this year on the grid. I was wondering, from your point of view, do these kids today face the same challenges as new drivers in Formula 1 as you did almost two decades ago, or is it basically the same?

LH: I don’t really know how to answer that one. I mean, the times have changed. I would say the racing space has probably got a lot busier with the fame of the sport, so it's probably more intense. Maybe the media is more reactive, maybe. You’ve got social media presence and online abuse that we didn’t have when I got to the sport. It’s been pretty amazing to see how mature the young drivers that have come in – young men that have come in – have adapted and how they’ve carried that weight, because it’s no easy situation to be thrown into. When I got there, it felt like being thrown into the deep end without having the skills to keep yourself afloat. But there wasn’t the online stuff that you could see, and that’s significant. There are probably even more demands on the drivers today, outside of the car, than ever before.

Q: (Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette) Also a question for Lewis. Lewis, apart from the racing, what do you enjoy most about coming to Montreal, and what do you think the reaction from fans will be now that you’re with Ferrari and there seems to be a passion for that team here?

LH: The thing I look forward to most – it is one of my favourite Grands Prix. The track is very unique. I like coming to Canada. I just enjoy it. I’ve always wanted to go to Vancouver and I just came from Vancouver – it’s my first time in all these years. I get to go to BC in the winter sometimes. I know we both share an interest in heliboarding, heli-skiing – we’ve talked about doing it together at some stage. It’s such a huge country with so much to offer. But Montreal specifically for the Grand Prix – I’ve not been here when it’s not the Grand Prix – during the Grand Prix, it’s just such a great vibe in the city. Great restaurants. The fans have been amazing since I started in 2007. Probably apart from my home Grand Prix, it’s been one of my favourite fan experiences. Maybe because the grandstands are really close to the track. You go somewhere like Austria – beautiful circuit, beautiful countryside – but if you go on the track down to Turn 4, the grandstands are so far away you need binoculars. Here, they’re right next to you as you’re braking into Turn 10, or coming through Turn 2 – they’re right there with you. You get a different sense of that experience from a driver’s perspective. I think it’s amazing.

Q: (Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette) Are you going to get a different reaction, as a Ferrari driver?

LH: I don’t really know what to expect with that. Every race I go to is unique in a sense – it's my first time in the red car at that track. I heard there’s quite a big community of Italians here, which I didn’t know. So I anticipate there’ll be hopefully good support here this weekend.

Q: (Matias Nicolas Russo – La Voz del Interior) To Franco. What have you and the team been working on with the car to try to improve the performance in the last races? And ahead of the race, how are you feeling for this new track?

FC: We worked on many things. Just generally there are some things setup-wise that have not been working for me. I felt very much almost out of phase with everything – with the tools in the car, with the setup. One thing was fighting the other one. Once we understood that after the race in Barcelona, it made much more sense to me. I think here, I arrive with a bit more confidence. I spent a lot of days in the sim, a lot of days in the factory with the engineers so I can understand. Hopefully we made a step. We need that step, so hopefully we can do it here.

Q: (Francois-David Rouleau – Journal de Montréal) Lance, can you bring us through the process of your treatment after Barcelona? What you did and what happened?

LS: Like I said earlier, but I’ll say it again. I was in pain for a couple races. Barcelona was a lot of pain, so I got a procedure done, and now I’m not in pain.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) One for Lewis. As you said, you want Fred to be there at Ferrari. He’s the guy to take the team to the top. How foolish would it be for there to be a change given how long it takes a team to build up to the front in Formula 1, even when there has been a bit of a bump in the road this year?

LH: Again, I don’t think that’s on the cards as far as I’m aware, and that’s certainly not something I would be supportive of. Embedding new people, new personnel – whether it’s a driver or whether it’s engineers or people who run an organization – it takes time to adjust, and the impact that has is significant. That’s not part of the discussion. I’m here to win with Fred. He has my full support. And also, to everyone writing stories of me considering not racing – I literally only just started here with Ferrari. I’m here for several years, and I’m here for the long haul. There’s no question where my head’s at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team. So, there’s zero doubts. Please stop making stuff up.

Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) A question for Lance. In Barcelona, the team suggested that you maybe hadn’t let on to them quite how much pain you were in and were trying to just drive through it and maybe not worry them. Is that the case? Were you trying to just power through in that sense, or did they have full visibility of how hard it was for you to drive?

LS: Yeah. I mean, as an athlete in any sport, you’re always trying to push through pain, discomfort, as much as you can to try and get a good result at the end of the weekend. In that situation, I was struggling and I was trying to push through it, but I just didn’t feel it was sensible to push anymore. I felt like the damage was getting worse, and I needed to do something more serious about it. I don’t really want to get into detail about what I had to do and how I had to do it because it’s just my medical privacy, and I like to keep that confidential. But all I can say for sure is I’m feeling a lot better. I’m looking forward to the race weekend. Being here in Montreal is always special. Good memories racing here every year. Good results over the years – point-scoring results. I just love coming back here, racing in front of the home crowd, and I’m looking forward to the weekend.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lance, there were some suggestions that you were quite frustrated when you got back to the garage after qualifying. Can you talk through what happened and was it related to how you’re feeling with your wrist?

LS: Yeah. I was frustrated for sure. Frustrated about my wrist and the last three races from Imola. It was just inhibiting my driving. So I knew that Sunday was going to be tricky, probably impossible. And at that point, I was pretty frustrated about it.

Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to Lewis. Lewis, it’s been almost six months since you became a Ferrari Formula 1 driver. How is life different for you, and how is adapting – not about the track – but outside the track, like living, going to Maranello and everything?

LH: Honestly, it’s pretty amazing. I’m loving traveling to Italy. I haven’t yet found a spot there – I haven’t made a decision exactly what I’m going to do – but I am lacking in the lingo area. So that’s still something I’m thinking about. But I love going to Maranello. The more I see of Italy, the more I fall in love with the place – with the culture, with the buildings, the architecture. There’s a real romantic feeling when you’re in Italy.

FC: The restaurant at the factory – there’s that famous pasta...

LH: Yeah, they make the famous pasta. That’s somewhere nearby...

FC: There’s one that’s ringing a bell...

LH: I don’t know if I’ve seen that one.

FC: It’s good.

LH: Is it? You’ve been there?

FC: No, I haven’t been there.

LH: Oh, okay. No, for me, it’s the pizza that I love particularly. But honestly, it’s been a whirlwind of a year. I’ve got great new brand partners that I’m working with. I’m working on new projects. I’ve just released my collection with Dior, which I’m really proud of – check it out online. It’s taken a long time to work on. I’ve got lots of business ventures that are going really well. Everything generally outside of the racetrack is going amazing, and I’m working as hard as I can to make sure that’s reflected also in my results. So yeah, I couldn’t be happier in that respect. But I want to be at the front, obviously. Generally, we need to bring more performance to our car. We’ve had one upgrade in Bahrain. Hopefully soon we’ll have another. We’re also in that period where we have to start working on next year’s car. The car I’m racing right now is not a car that I’ve had input in developing and evolving over the past four years. So I’m driving a car that Charles has obviously been a part of developing, knows very, very well, and has its challenges. But I’m enjoying that challenge.


PART TWO – Liam LAWSON (Racing Bulls), Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Kick Sauber)

Q: Nico, let's start with you. Congratulations on that P5 last time out in Spain—your best result since 2019, Sauber's best since 2022. Just for what is a transitional year for the team, how important was that result?
Nico HULKENBERG: Well, look, any result, especially one like this, is very welcome, very positive. Obviously, it’s been a bit of a difficult and dry patch—all the races between Melbourne and Barcelona. So that was, of course, very successful, very positive for us—for the morale and everything. We introduced an update in Barcelona which really had a big impact and made us perform a lot better. Obviously, the race circumstances—the late Safety Car, Kimi dropping out—we got a little bit lucky with some of those circumstances, or they played into our hand. But I also feel we were just on merit. The pace was decent, was points-worthy, and obviously very happy we were able to capitalise in a way like that.

Q: Was that performance track-specific, or do you think it’ll carry everywhere?
NH: We’ll see about that. I think Barcelona is definitely a very high-speed circuit, and here it’s a totally different story—much more low-speed, a bumpy circuit, big kerbs—so it could be quite different. We kind of need to verify and wait and see a little bit how it works here.

Q: Kimi, let’s come to you now. That triple header was pretty rough on your side of the Mercedes garage. What have you learned over the past three races?
Kimi ANTONELLI: Well, I mean, it’s been quite a tough triple header on my side, especially because performance-wise I didn’t do that well, and then we had also a couple of issues. But overall, I think there’s still been a very big learning on my side, especially on how to manage busier weekends. Imola was incredible in terms of how busy it was and also time in front of the home crowd, and I definitely didn’t manage things the best way. So overall, it’s been quite tough—not the way I wanted. But luckily, after these three difficult weekends, we had a week off and now I feel ready to be back on track tomorrow.

Q: Tell us some more about your own performance. You say it was frustrating you a little bit because prior to Imola, your improvement race to race had been fairly linear. What was holding you back at those three races?
KA: I think, above all, the new C6—Imola and Monaco—I’ve been struggling to find the consistency in the tyre, just to find the consistent performance of the tyre. The C6 seems to be a super picky tyre, and it’s really difficult to put it in the right window already from the out lap. That’s what I’ve been struggling with. In Imola, I was having such a swing of performances between sessions. In FP3 in Imola, I remember we were up there, and then in qualifying I suddenly lost five or six tenths compared to FP3. So I’ve been really struggling to understand the tyre and to put it in the right window, and that took some confidence away.
That’s why I feel in Barcelona it was nice to get back into the rhythm. But at the same time, especially at the start of the session, it took me too long to get into the rhythm. That was also because I had two really difficult qualifying sessions in the previous two events. So definitely, I think that was the main issue.

Q: And with the C6 being back here in Montreal, do you feel you’re going to be on top of it now?
KA: During the week we had off, I spent a couple of days at the factory doing some sim work and also trying to analyse the C6—analyse when it went well, why I was able to extract the performance, and when it went badly, what I did differently. I’ve been understanding quite a few things. Obviously, Montréal is a completely different track—close tarmac, a lot of low speed, and also quite cold eventually. So I’ve been trying to really work on that in order to have a better idea, so I know how to behave better, especially this weekend.

Q: Alright. Best of luck. Thank you for that. Liam, let's come to you now. How much confidence do you and the team have coming into this weekend? Because it was a very strong race for the team last year—Daniel Ricciardo, qualifying fifth, racing to eighth.
Liam LAWSON: It’s good to know that the car was fast last year, but at the same time, it’s quite often now that we look at last year’s results and, to be honest, they don’t repeat themselves a lot of the time. Tracks that maybe we haven’t been strong at, we’ve actually been strong at this year, and vice versa. So I think we just have to take it like any weekend. For me personally, it’s a track that I’m very excited for. It’s an iconic place. It looks like a fun track. I actually spoke to Daniel last week about this track and he loved it. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to it.

Q: Did Daniel give you any tips?
LL: Use lots of kerb. That’s probably the main one. It’s a track where as drivers… It’s a bit unique compared to most tracks that we drive on. It can be quite bumpy, and obviously there is a lot of kerb use around it. So, yeah, I think it’s unique, it’s something that we all enjoy, and I’m looking forward to it.

Q: It’s a great racing track as well, isn’t it? And a place where you can get your elbows out. And you’ve been pretty good at that this year—quite aggressive on track on occasion. Nico in Bahrain, for example. Are you looking forward to that aspect of it here?
LL: Oh, I got a penalty for that. I think I got a penalty for it. But yeah, I’ve had a few of those, so need to cut back on them. It is a track that creates racing, which is cool. Having double DRS zones behind each other always creates that, and big braking zones into hairpin corners. Obviously, the weather here as well—it looks alright at the moment, but in the past, it’s changed very, very quickly. So we have to be on top of it.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Question to all three—although one of you wouldn’t qualify anyway—but I’d like your opinion, Nico, nonetheless. If you can’t vote for yourself as rookie of the year so far, who would you vote for as rookie of the year?
KA: I think Hadjar’s been quite impressive. His qualifying form has been quite strong. So I will go for him because he’s definitely been up there and doing well.
LL: Honestly, I have to agree. I’m the guy that gets to go up against him and see all of it. He’s done a really, really good job this year, especially in qualifying. His form in the last couple of triple headers has been very, very strong.
NH: Yeah, I agree with them. Isack has definitely had a very good run so far this season. The car is strong too, which obviously always helps. But to be honest, if I look at all of them, they’re all doing a pretty decent and good job, regardless of where you are on the grid. If I think back to my year and how troubled it was, I look at them and think they’re all pretty good.

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italy) A question to Kimi. Kimi, it’s clear that your car doesn’t like summer temperatures. Here, do you expect as a team to be more part of the game, and how much personally do we need a linear weekend?
KA: Well, for sure we need a linear weekend because it’s been a difficult triple header. Back to colder temperatures—I mean, last year, Mercedes here was super, super strong. This year, to be honest, it’s been quite different, quite unusual, because sometimes in places like Bahrain—not really in my case, but George was, the car was quick, and there it was not that cold. But with colder temperatures, our car always goes pretty well. It’s a bit similar to what Liam said also before. This year, we’ve been strong in places where last year the car struggled massively, and other places we’ve been a bit less strong. It’s very important to find the right window because these cars are very peaky. Finding the right window with the balance can make a big difference. So I think it’s going to be really important to find the right way with the setup to be able to progress during the weekend and try to build from there. I’m super confident with the team. They’re doing a great job. There’s a good atmosphere. They’re really trying to put the best car on track. Now it’s time for me to do the rest.

Q: (Daniel Goggi – Servus TV) Question to Kimi. Kimi, we saw you a lot with your father around the paddock. When he’s on-site, especially on the race weekends, when and what do you speak about? Is it in the evenings? What do you guys talk?
Kimi ANTONELLI: Well, you know, my dad is a great rock. He’s a big rock for me. He’s been there, teaching me everything since I was very little, since karting. I feel it’s very important to have someone like him at the track, especially in my rookie season in F1, because it’s a completely new world—super intense and difficult as well. I faced three really difficult weekends, and I have to be honest, on the mental side, that’s not been easy, because here it’s like being in water full of sharks. If you don’t perform, you get eaten by the sharks. So it’s really important to be on top of it. I think having him helps to stay sharp, to stay focused.
We talk about anything, to be honest. We watch onboards together, we rewatch replays from previous years, and we try to analyse stuff in order to have a better idea and try to improve for the next session.

Q: (Alexis Belanger Champagne – La Presse Canadienne) Question for Nico. You mentioned you were talking about your first year in F1 a bit earlier. When you look back and compare it to today, what do you feel might be easier for a driver coming into F1 in 2025, and what might be harder for a new driver?
NH: Yeah, good question. Well, on the car side, on the technical side, back then it was a lot more open. You had a lot more options on set-up—even gear ratios, weight distribution. There were more things to play with, to understand, and to get your head around. So maybe there was another level of complexity back in the day. Now on the other side, F1 has grown a lot. It’s a much bigger stage. There’s more attention, more screening going on. So I think on that side, it’s harder when you come in now, with how the sport has developed and grown. It was a bit smaller and a bit more chilled back then, not so international, let’s say.

Q: Are the cars harder to drive today than they were back in 2010? Are they more nervous?
NH: I’m not sure, to be honest. Some moments I think yes, some moments absolutely not. These cars are really quick. There’s a lot of downforce. Sometimes it feels very safe. If you look at a lot of the races, we don’t have that many incidents nowadays—not many yellow flags. Or if there’s an incident, it’s usually a big one because these cars snap and it usually goes in a big way. Back then in 2010, it was different in a way. It’s hard to explain.
KA: Much more agile, the car.
NH: Yeah, it was smaller, lighter, different dynamic.

Q: Kimi, what’s the oldest F1 car you’ve driven? Have you driven a 2010-spec?
KA: No. I would love to try, just to feel the way it’s different. Looking at the onboard, the car looks super agile. A bit, you know, moving quite a bit into the corner, but it looked fun to drive.
NH: You’ve been watching a lot of onboards, huh?
KA: Yeah, a lot! And these cars, as Nico said, have a lot of downforce and behaviour, and I feel like the downforce is playing such a big role in these cars. Back then, there was a bit less downforce, much smaller cars. I went not long ago to the Mercedes Heritage and saw all the cars. The difference in size between the 2010 and this year’s car—it’s massive. But I would definitely love to try one, also to hear the V8. I think that was nice as well.

Q: (Stu Cowen – Montreal Gazette) Question for Nico. Lewis was talking earlier about the new F1 movie and how he had worked with Brad Pitt and whatnot, and how the drivers got a preview of it. I’m just wondering what your thoughts were on it and how you think this can help grow the sport.
NH: Yeah, we’ll see how it grows the sport even more, but it was obviously interesting and nice to get a glimpse already or to see it. I think the public is going to like it. I think they’ve captured more angles of the industry, of what teams and drivers do—how much goes into it, especially preparation time and between races. Personally, I liked it. It was pretty cool.

Q: Can I bring in the other two on the movie? Kimi, what did you make of it?
KA: Not a lot more to add on what Nico said. I think they captured all the moments—moments on the grid, but also what’s going on behind the scenes, between races, the preparation that is needed, not only physically but mentally, and also the media side.
I think they really captured our world, and for the public, as Nico said, they’re going to like it.
LL: Yeah, honestly, not too much to add. Especially maybe for anybody who’s not followed the sport in the past or isn’t into Formula 1, I think it’s probably going to bring in more fans, which is obviously good. I think the shots of the cars as well—without giving too much away—were... I’m not sure what the word is, but well, impressive. Immersive, let’s say. So yeah, it was cool.

Q: (Simon-Olivier Lorange – La Presse) Question for Kimi. A couple of minutes ago, you were talking about the world of sharks you’re navigating through right now. How do you find the balance so far in your early career—the balance between learning and discovering this whole new performance level and still not being intimidated or eaten by the so-called sharks?
KA: Well, of course, it’s not easy. What I’ve been learning a lot is you have to be on top of the game since FP1, because then you find yourself a bit on the back foot, and most of the time, it’s hard to recover from there. Overall, there’s no reason why I should be intimidated by the other drivers. Of course, it’s great to race in F1 with the best 19 drivers, and some of them have written the history of the sport. As a driver, even though it’s my rookie season, it’s exciting to go against these kinds of drivers. It’s a way for me to test my skills, to challenge myself, and to see what I can do. At the same time, I have a lot to learn—lots of scenarios to experience and situations to face. The triple header, even though it wasn’t the nicest one, was still a massive learning for me. For the first time, I faced really difficult moments—performance wasn’t really coming, didn’t have the right confidence, and I was struggling with the tire. It’s been a really good lesson, and I know much better how to react for the future.

Q: (Simon Cremer – Radio Canada) My question is for Nico. We were talking a minute ago about the differences between cars of this generation and the previous generations. In 2026, next year, we're going back to a little bit smaller cars. I was wondering if you have any feelings towards the next generation. Have you tried the simulator? How do you feel about where F1 is going?
NH: No, I haven’t had too many points of contact yet with next year’s generation of cars. It’s all pretty much theory and on paper for me right now. We all know that it will change, and I think it’s probably going to be quite different. But I think it’s going to be, you know, for everyone, relearning things. It’s going to be a very steep learning curve, especially in the first couple of months of the season. Relearning, getting your head around the new regulations, optimizing it, and finding the sweet spot. But other than that, I don’t know—just speculating right now how it’s going to be or feel.

Q: (Sahil Kapur – NBC) Question for Kimi. In the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari has pulled just a little bit ahead. What are your thoughts on that battle between now and the rest of the year? How easy or challenging do you think it’ll be to beat Ferrari?
KA: Well, it’s going to be very challenging, for sure, because they’ve been fairly strong in the past few races. I think it’s really important as well, on my side, to bring back the performance because, obviously, George is doing a really great job. On my side, the past three races I haven’t performed as I should have, and I was very unhappy with how I performed. So I think it’s going to be really important for me to be back in the right form and to get back that position. What’s going to be really important is to be consistent, to consistently bring good performance and good results. Then, together with the team, try to do the best job possible—improving the car as much as possible. On my side, trying to develop race after race. It’s not going to be easy, of course, but I think if we work well, it’s something that we can definitely achieve by the end of the year.