FIA post-qualifying press conference – Italy

1. Lando Norris (McLaren), 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 3. George Russell (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Davide Valsecchi)

Q: Say ciao to everyone, to Oscar Piastri. Second today, front row for tomorrow. How was your lap, man? You were there, eh?

Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah, the first lap in Q3 was quite good. Just the second one, not quite enough, which I feel like I've said a few too many times this year. So, no, still a good performance and a really good team effort. You know, I think the field's been incredibly tight this weekend. So, I think I said on the radio, you know, there was no guarantee of a front-row lockout for us. So, yeah, an amazing effort to be able to pull that off.

Q: Yeah, fantastic morning for you and for your team. What do you expect about tomorrow's race? Because it seems that you are in a perfect moment with your car.

OP: Yeah, I mean starting a bit further up the front than last week is definitely a positive for myself. It's obviously a long run down to Turn 1. So, starting second here is not always the worst thing but yeah, let's see what the tyres do tomorrow. It's been a little bit different to what we're used to in Monza. So, yeah, it could be a pretty exciting race, and with such a tight field at the front I think it will be very exciting.

Q: Well done, congratulations for tomorrow Oscar Piastri. And now we have George Russell. Good to see you. George, third position, just at the end. How was your lap and how was your car to drive?

George RUSSELL: Yeah, it was great ending up P3. A little bit better than I expected because it was a really tough session, Q1 and Q2, and fortunately we saved it until the end, not too far behind the McLarens. They're so fast at the moment and we're working so hard to catch them up, but I'm super happy with third.

Q: And tell me about tomorrow, because you had some amazing races this season. What do you expect and what do you think about Monza?

GR: I think it's going to be a tight battle. Everybody's so close out there. So exciting for F1. We've all been waiting for this competition and knowing that if you do a great job, you've got a chance of victory. So I'm pretty pumped for tomorrow. Get some nice pizza tonight to fuel me up and a bit of extra a bit of extra weight, so not too light tomorrow and hopefully we can fight for a good result looking forward for it.

Q: Well done and congratulations, third position for George Russell with Mercedes. Lando, very well done! Pole, man, fifth of his career, pole in Monza. Talk me through your lap my friend.

Lando NORRIS: Yeah, thank you. I mean another pole, which is amazing. Like Oscar said, to have two cars first and second when the field has been as tight as it has all weekend it's a little bit of a surprise but a nice one. So, big well done to the team. They did an amazing job. Honestly, my lap was... It hurts me to say, but it was not a great lap. My Q3 run one was, but run two was a little bit more, and we're still getting a pole. So a little bit surprised again, but very, very happy.

Q: Congratulations on it. Seems that you are building up fantastic momentum for yourself. You're racing so well. You are always competitive. Your car is helping you. What do you expect for tomorrow's race?

LN: Yeah, the same. Really, the same would be lovely, but like we've seen all weekend, it's so close. There's a lot of very quick drivers behind, in quick cars, so I'm not expecting a very easy race tomorrow. And like George said, a lot of unknown things going into the race with the degradation, the tyres, the tarmac, you know, so plenty of question marks and plenty of excitement, I'm sure.

Q: And then, Prima Variante, first chicane here in Monza scared me so much, but I'm not a London horse, but what do you think about that?

LN: I mean, it's always a little daunting, you know, on a quality lap especially. You don't know how much to push. But it's a fun one. The whole circuit's amazing, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Many congratulations, Lando. It was another brilliant qualifying session for you. How satisfying was this fourth pole of the season?

LN: Very, because I think it's probably been, like everyone's seen, the closest build-up, FP1, FP2, FP3… I think we just looked as good as the others, nothing more, nothing less, honestly. So yeah, just expected a tough qualifying, and it was, for sure. But I think for us to come away with a 1-2, to come away with another pole, was probably not quite what we were expecting, but in a good way, of course. Yeah, a good qualifying, I wouldn't say the cleanest. Just difficult to put laps together around here, and when the margins are so small, you try and go for everything, but you can also pay a price, you know? So risk-reward in a lot of corners. But I think the risk that we had through it and the set-up changes and things we made into qualifying seemed to have made a good amount of progress, and we seem very quick.

Q: Tell us a little bit more about those set up changes, because as you say, there was nothing to separate you and the pack in practice. So what made the difference?

LN: It's tough to say. I think we just continued to progress. Not a lot. My first lap in quali was already a 19.8, which was a great first lap out of the box. It wasn't like I went out and found big chunks. It wasn't like Zandvoort, where I went three, four tenths quicker and that kind of evolution. But there are a lot less corners around here, and it's trickier to put it together, I think. Just small things with the car, like you don't get to FP3 and then quali and change the whole thing or turn it upside down. You're nudging it in different directions and just trying to make a car in which you're comfortable to execute good laps on. I feel like we made a bit of progress with that. But also maybe with fuel and things like that, when you bring it down, the car just seemed to come a little bit more alive come qualifying. Definitely seemed to progress ahead of some of the others.

Q: You got quicker and quicker in Q3, yet you said a minute ago that your second lap wasn't the best. What was the issue with that?

LN: It just didn't feel like a nailed lap. I think all of us, as drivers, when we go out in quali, you just want to put together a perfect lap. You want everything to flow. I tried pushing the braking a bit more for one, and I actually got one so much better. I then smashed the inside kerb of Turn 2, because I turned in too early. So I was about tenth and a half down just after Turn 1. So I was kind of like, ‘eek, it's over already before it even starts’. And I didn't really expect to gain it. But then I nailed the second chicane and gained one and a half tenths back straight away. And then just made a couple of hundredths of a gain in every corner from that point on. So it just didn't feel like a nailed lap. It didn't feel as good as my lap last weekend, but clearly still good enough for pole, which is a nice feeling.

Q: Let's throw it forward to the race itself. Do you think you and McLaren will hold an advantage over the field?

LN: Honestly, I think when you look back to Zandvoort, you could say yes. There's enough evidence that led us to believe we could have a very, very strong race. Here, less so, just because it's been so close, but we're still first and second, which means we have a good car, and that normally translates well into a good race car. But I think tomorrow there are more question marks with, you know, graining and degradation and things like that. You know, everyone's 4-1-2 with tyres and probably a little bit more nervous of what can happen and what might happen. But we're in the best position for it. So excited to see what we can do.

Q: Lando, final one from me. What about the start? It's a long run to Turn 1 here. What have you learned since Zandvoort that might help you away from the grid tomorrow?

LN: What we learned? I mean, a couple of things. For sure, we of course reviewed things like we always do. And I feel like we've made progress so far with our practice launches and stuff like that. So, yeah, just crack on and do our best.

Q: Alright. Very well done. Thank you, Lando. Oscar, let's come to you now. Another great qualifying session for you and for the team. Talk us through Q3. How good were your laps? How good was the car?

OP: I think the car was very strong. The first lap I did in Q3 was solid. A couple of little things to work on, but, yeah, the second lap just wasn't as good as it needed to be, really. A similar story in Turn 1, really, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of my lap. Had a big wheel spin out of Turn 1, and it was a bit of a mess from there. Yeah, I just need to tidy it up a little bit at the end. But the car was performing well. I don't think, after practice, it certainly wasn't guaranteed to have this result. I think we very easily felt like we could have ended up, you know, seventh or eighth if we didn't get it quite right. So to come away on the front row is a very good result for the team.

Q: Oscar, tell us a little bit about the conditions. Track temperature of almost 50 degrees. Was it difficult to keep the tyres alive?

OP: Not so much to keep them alive. Just the tarmac has been quite difficult to judge. It's had a lot of rain or dirt on it. You know, when you watch the TV shots in some of the corners, it's basically two black lines from where we've been driving and the rest is kind of brown. So it's made life a little bit difficult and it's quite a… just a difficult tarmac for whatever reason to drive on and also for the tyres. We've seen a lot of graining throughout practice so it's been difficult. I don't think it's necessarily been the temperature but it's yeah been very, very tough I think for everybody to nail a lap this weekend, even with all these attempts in qualifying I don't think anyone or I certainly don't feel like I have.

OP: And the last time you two were on the front row together in Hungary, it wasn't the smoothest race for the team, although you did win it, Oscar. Just what do you see as the key moments tomorrow? Where are your best opportunities to beat Lando?

OP: I mean, I think you know the start is always a good opportunity. It's a long run to Turn 1 here. Obviously we, as a team, we need to do a bit of a better job than last week unless we plan on getting bad starts and just creating a roadblock. That is an opportunity but there will be more opportunities tomorrow. I think, you know, it will… The strategy is still a bit of a question mark. No one's done really more than 10 laps on a set of tyres. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. So I think it'll be a pretty interesting one, even after the first lap.

Q: Oscar, final one from me. Can I just ask you about an incident in the pit lane with Max Verstappen when you pulled out just in front? Just talk us through it from your point of view.

OP: I've actually not seen it yet, to be honest, so I need to go check it with the team and see what happens.

Q: Alright, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much. Now, George, coming to you, you said a moment ago that P3 was better than you were expecting. Well, what were you expecting? How's the car been performing this weekend?

GR: Yeah, it was a very up and down weekend, obviously. Missed a lot yesterday, which put me really on the back foot and had to make a lot of changes from FP3 into qualifying because that was really my first proper session out on track. And Q1 and Q2 was really, really messy. I wasn't confident, didn't feel good in the car and just sort of scraped through the session. And then suddenly I managed to get it in the sweet spot for Q3. Both my laps, I think I was third or fourth,. and obviously ended up third. So pretty pleased with that result and it's kind of exciting to see how close it is with everyone.

Q: Now, the car is much better here at Monza than it was at Zandvoort last weekend. Were you expecting that or just talk us through how much better it feels inside the cockpit?

GR: Yeah, it feels good around here. Last week, I think we recognise where we went wrong with the set-up and you know in this sport it runs away from you really, really quickly if you're just on the wrong side of that sweet spot and that's absolutely what we found in in Zandvoort. As painful as it is, it's important sometimes to have those disappointing weekends. There's no guarantees for tomorrow. You know, we weren't a million miles away in qualifying in Zandvoort, but I am confident we'll be more in the mix tomorrow and try and keep up with these guys.

Q: You've just said that you've been chasing it all weekend as a result of a lack of mileage yesterday. But without that long run practice yesterday, how much are you on the back foot going into this Grand Prix?

GR: I mean, I don't really know what to expect because I've just not really done the laps, to be honest. So I'll just have to trust my instincts and go from there, really, and adapt on the fly. So as I said, I'm really, really pleased to be lining up P3 after the day we've had, and the car definitely seems to have potential.

Q: Do your instincts, does your gut tell you that you can beat these guys tomorrow?

GR: If they make a start like last week, then we've got a chance, I think. But if they have a good start, then I think it'll be very difficult. You know, McLaren have done an incredible job these recent races, they are the team to beat. Seemingly, everywhere we go, they've been the quickest, and that's probably been the case since... As long as I can remember, really. I've got a short memory, but it seems like a long time.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Same question to the two McLaren drivers, please. How much do you think that the upgrade work that the team has done in the last few weeks has really contributed to this result today, given that previously Monza was quite firm Red Bull territory? And Lando, you sat here the other day and recalled how tough things were for McLaren here last year.

LN: Not much. Simple way of putting it. For sure, every little counts. And we've definitely been taking some smaller steps forward. But some of the upgrades we had have been track specific. The rear wing that we had, which was the main part of the upgrade last weekend, we don't have it again here. So it's not like what worked perfectly well there, works here. So we had that, but we also had the rear wing again this weekend. So specific things, but it's not like it revolutionised the car or made the car feel like it's a lot better. It's just a bit more efficient. Smaller things, but those smaller things really, they make big differences in the end. If you have one or two smaller snaps over a single lap, you can gain half a tenth, one tenth quite quickly because the tyres are in a better condition, the temperature's less, and things like that. They've definitely helped. I think less than maybe what people expected, like a lot of parts, but nothing which was like, now we're going to be three tenths quicker all of a sudden, you know? So, steps forward. But we need more still, as well as we're doing. We need more. We believe we can do more. And I think, you know, when you go to our debriefs and stuff, there's plenty of stuff that Oscar and I complain about and still would like to be improved. And we're working hard to continue to try and do that.

OP: Yeah, not much to add, really. I think the baseline of the car was really kind of set earlier in the year and we've just been able to gradually improve it a bit. And yeah, it certainly wasn't the same kind of upgrade that vaulted us up the order last year or earlier this year. It's a really small thing, so I think just the underlying performance of the car is very strong. But when the field is so tight like it is at the moment, every little bit counts, like Lando said.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lando, I appreciate you're taking things race by race at the moment, but with Max down in P7, were you surprised to see him that far back? And how much is tomorrow an opportunity to inflict some damage on him in the championship fight?

LN: Yeah, for sure. It's a good opportunity. I mean, I expect him to come through and probably be behind us quite quickly. Their race pace looked very strong on Friday. They were on the better side of the graining and the degradation, so I expect them to probably be a bit more hopeful tomorrow. For some reason, they just didn't seem to take those steps forward through qualifying. He still seemed quick, like in Q2 he was right there and ended up quicker than me, even on a used tyre. And even his gap to Pérez wasn't as big as what it normally is. So I don't know if he just struggled more with something or just didn't put good enough laps in, but... Yeah, it'll be for a reason, I'm sure. And yeah, we need to try and make the most of that.

Q: (Velimir Veljko Jukic – Auto Fokus) We are all in red territory, and I have a question for all three of you. Are you ready for some negative emotional outbursts from the fans. It's quite tough sometimes to see all people against you. Can we expect some fairness? You're not in red, but you still maybe can win the hearts.

LN: No. I mean, I'm sure Ferrari fans want Ferrari to win. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know who their second favorites are. But I think there's a lot of supporters. I feel like I have a lot of support from the Italians and from the Ferrari fans. So I've always loved that. I've always appreciated it. And yeah, sometimes it's good to disappoint. Yeah, I think they're always a lot of fun and passionate no matter what. And I think they're great fans, probably some of the best in the world, most passionate in the world. So I don't think any of us would think like that.

OP: Yeah, I mean, I think in Imola there were a few stories of some of us getting a little bit of stick, but it's fun. It's not serious hate, like what we see sometimes. I think for myself, you know, I always love coming to race in Italy. You know, as Lando said, I think they're probably the most passionate fans we have all year. I mean, my last name is Italian, so I think some of them consider me one of their own a little bit. So it's always fun coming back here and for me Monza is one of the best races of the year.

GR: Nothing more to add.

Q: (Ed Spencer – Auto Evolution) A question to both Lando and Oscar. Mercedes today have confirmed that Kimi Antonelli will be one of their drivers. What do you make of him as a potential rival? Do you see him as a potential race winner in years to come?

OP: I mean, he seemed very quick yesterday in FP1. Obviously, his session didn't last that long, but the laps he did seemed very competitive. You know, he's been very competitive in the junior categories as well. I know it's been a bit of a tougher year for him in F2, but I think it's been a tough year by Prema’s standard. Yeah I think he will definitely be competitive. Obviously he's very young um but Mercedes have clearly put him into you know a race-winning car for a reason and I'm sure he'll be a yeah a great competitor next year.

LN: A lot of the same, honestly. I mean, he's going to be in Formula 1 because he's probably good enough to be there, and Toto sees a lot in him. So he's proven himself a lot in the junior categories and coming up through. I think it's a big jump to go from F4 to F2. Yes, it's a big jump, so it's not probably been easy on him, but to go from F2 and then straight to F1, it's a lot. So I'm sure it will be a steep learning curve for him, steeper than probably what most of us have ever had, which always comes with pressure and things like that. So as long as he copes with that well, I'm sure, you know, learning from one of the best here as his teammate, then I'm sure he'll be up to speed in no time.

Q: (Alejandro Alonso Lopez – DiarioMotor.com) A question to Lando following on the question on slow starts this year. With such a long run to Turn 1, how concerned are you that this could be repeated?

LN: I'm not.

Q: (Theodore Baker – Air Mail) This is a question for any of you who wants to answer it. Today is the anniversary of Anthoine Hubert's death. I was wondering how often you find yourselves thinking about the danger inherent in this sport and whether your approach to risk has developed over the course of your career.

OP: I mean, in my personal experience, I think of it very, very little. I think if you're consciously thinking about the dangers of the sport, then you're not giving your full attention to trying to drive fast and trying to win. So, I think as soon as that starts to creep in, it's obviously not a great sign. I think when events like that happen, where, you know, tragic accidents happen, of course, in the moment, it's very, very difficult to not think about it. And unfortunately, we have had a few major accidents in the last five years or so. Yeah, certainly going racing the next day is a bit different than it is most other days. But I think once the helmet goes on and we're out on track, we're always concentrated on trying to get the most out of the race in front of us. And the fear very quickly goes away.

Q: (Diletta Colombo – Auto Motor) A question for Lando. How important is this pole for you to keep the momentum going mentally after Zandvoort?

LN: It helps. It's a great thing. You're always trying to do your best and the higher you are, normally the better you're doing. So it's always rewarding, but it's... If I wasn't on pole today, you know, and Mercedes were first or Red Bull were first, it's also not the end of the world. And you can only do the best you can on every day. And today, again, to show that we could be first and second was a great thing. But everything's important at the minute, for me. Every point, every position is crucial. And that's the way we have to work until the end of the season. But kind of like we covered last weekend, it's not like I have to do this and I have to do that. There's no desperation, there's no need for things, but it's always going to help and make my life easier the higher up I am. So of course it's rewarding, it's a great thing. It makes me happy in the end of the day knowing that we're on pole and we have this kind of momentum. And it's not just a good thing for me, honestly, because I don't think I think of it too much, but more for my team, for the mechanics, the engineers, everyone back in the factory, i's just constant motivation and boosts for them to know we've come a long way, we've done a lot of work, and we still have plenty more to go.

Q: (Nate Saunders – ESPN) Inevitable question about team orders for the two of you and McLaren switching positions. What have the discussions been around that, just given where Max is and given where we're at with the championship?

LN: That's our Sunday morning meeting. It's a little bit, it's been discussed already, but at the minute it's free to race, like it always is.

OP: Yeah, we've discussed it a bit already, and we will discuss it again tomorrow, I'm sure. Yeah, don't really have any more to add.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to the two McLaren drivers, please. I just wondered, were you using any tow tactics throughout qualifying, particularly in Q3? And if not, why not?

OP: No. I mean, I think you always want to try and keep some kind of toe. In the end, there weren't any tactics between us two. We kind of ended up in the middle of the pack. So I think I was behind Lando. But yeah, you know, we're kind of all getting a toe off each other. So just free to try and get our own space and get our own gap.

LN: Nothing more to add. But also, yeah, it depends what you're comfortable on. Some people will be closer, some people further away. Also, you know, with even Q3, I had two cars ahead, Albon and the Haas, I think. So just avoiding yellow flags and things like that. Not because I think they would have caused them, but some people have higher chance of causing yellow flags than others. And just thinking of even of those things to kind of a big gap just to give that little bit more time in case someone locks up in one or there's a yellow flag for some silly reason. So a little bit of that. We were quick on our own. Even when we compare us this year to last year, we're like 20kph or something quicker in the straights. It's a lot. Last year, we were pretty shocking in the straight, which came as a bit of a surprise, but it shows the difference of when you're not prepared to when you're prepared for a race, where we were last year to where we are now.

Q: (Velimir Veljko Jukic – Auto Fokus) A very difficult question for George. Kimi damaged your car pretty heavily. How difficult is it to repair it? And how difficult is it to put it back online to your taste for disqualifying?

GR: Yeah, I mean, obviously we've lost quite a few parts. Fingers crossed Lewis and I don't do any further damage, otherwise we'll have to revert back to some of the old parts, unless we can get some new pieces made in the interim. It's not the end of the world as long as we both don't do any further damage. As it stands, we don't have any spares of our upgraded stuff.