FIA Thursday press conference – Singapore

PART ONE – Valtteri BOTTAS (Kick Sauber), George RUSSELL (Mercedes), Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)

Q: Why don't we start with last weekend's winner. Oscar, it was a phenomenal victory for you. Have you had time to celebrate properly?

Oscar PIASTRI: No, I got humbled very quickly the next day by George actually playing an UNO World Championship on the plane. So I got brought back down to earth very quickly. No, I mean, it was, it has been a fun few days, you know, I think for myself, it's always nice when you can reflect on a race where you feel like you've done a, you know, a very good job and a job you can be proud of. So yeah, Not too much celebrating, but a lot of happy memories. So, yeah, I'm ready to try and go again this weekend.

Q: Certainly a job you can be proud of. Just how much confidence does Baku give you coming into Singapore?

OP: It is a nice confidence boost, definitely. I think, you know, it's similar in some ways, but very, very different in a lot of others. You know, I think we should be competitive this weekend. And, yeah, you know, I think the biggest thing I took from last weekend was just the execution of the race from myself and from the whole team. Because, you know, I don't think it was our most competitive track of the year. I think we've definitely had a couple more races where we've been... Using a bit of electricity. There's been a couple of other races where we've been quicker than that relative to the competition. So to be able to pull off a win like that when Ferrari especially was so competitive was a nice confidence boost, definitely.

Q: Oscar, race engineer Tom Stallard said after your victory on Sunday that your rate of improvement hasn't started to level off at all yet. In what areas do you think you can still develop as a racing driver?

OP: I think it's still a little bit everywhere. I would say, you know, I've not made life easy for myself in qualifying this year. So, you know, qualifying better, more consistently would help. You know, I think I've been very happy with... Um, you know, particularly the elements I showed in Baku in terms of overtaking and, um, and, you know, being under pressure and stuff like that, I was, um, was happy with. Um, but yeah, you know, there's still going to be some tough races in the latter part of the year on tracks that I've only been to once. Um, so just trying to work on some of the weaknesses I had at those tracks last year, um, is still going to be a, you know, a key to the end of the season. So, um, Just a bit of everything because I feel like I'm improving a lot as I go through my career, but I'm certainly not the finished product yet.

Q: Oscar, final one from me. Can we just get your thoughts on the FIA adding a fourth DRS zone here at Marina Bay?

OP: I think it's a good thing. I've seen where the activation is and it's quite early. So hopefully we'll get through whatever the next corner is, Turn 15 or 16. I think it is the little kink. But yeah, I think for racing it should be better hopefully.

Q: Alright. Best of luck. Thank you very much for that. George, why don't we come to you now? A great result for you on Sunday. But it wasn't a straightforward race. We're now at another street track with the same tyre compounds that we had in Baku. What learnings do you have from last week that you can apply here?

George RUSSELL: Yeah, first of all, every race we go to at the moment, it's quite a unique circuit. Obviously, Azerbaijan was very unique in its own way. Singapore is unique in its own way. And there's a lot of these types of tracks on the calendar. And as Oscar said, it's so competitive now at the front. And a tenth or two can be the difference between a front row star or P6 or 7 on the grid, which is very exciting. We went really strong here last year. The pace was really good in Singapore. So hopefully we can continue that good performance we had here last year and see where it takes us.

Q: If your car performance is as good here as it was in the second stint in Baku, what's possible?

GR: I mean, yeah, we were really competitive in the second stint last week. Definitely surprised ourselves there. But I think now this circuit, that extra DRS zone, I hope the racing will be slightly better. It's not going to make it worse, that's for sure. And maybe overtaking will be possible. So I think it will still go down to qualifying. That's going to be key, getting a good Saturday in and that'll set you up nicely for the race.

Q: As you've already said, you were very competitive here last year, you qualified on the front row. You were going great guns until the moment on the penultimate lap. Do you feel that you have unfinished business in Singapore?

GR: No, not really. It's not really something I'm thinking about. It's part of racing, part of street circuits. If you're not 100% focused every single lap, you're going to get bitten. And it was a long old race. I was on the last lap. I thought the race was kind of done. And right behind Lando, he kissed the wall. I touched the wall. And before I knew it, I'm out of the race. But That's how the game goes, and it's not going to change my approach one bit, how I go into this weekend. You learn from things like that.

Q: How gruelling is this Grand Prix? Is this still the toughest race for the drivers physically?

GR: I mean, for sure it's top two, with Qatar. Here and Qatar are by far the most physical races. I think here it's challenging because there's so many corners – pretty relentless. Slightly easier now that we've got that straight at the back versus what it was like a few years ago. But just with the humidity, you're dripping in sweat as soon as you go outside, let alone when you're locked in a race car for two hours.

Q: Dripping with sweat, dripping with rain as well. You got caught in a rainstorm the other day didn't you?

GR: Yeah you know padel is obviously the new big thing in Formula 1, so it was nice to take all of my mechanics and part of the team and then it just you know the thunder and lightning and rain came from nowhere. So, I think it's almost every year we see it in Singapore, there is bad weather around. So, you know, maybe I think that was around race time as well. That was 8 pm when it poured down with rain. So if that happens on Sunday, I'd probably mix things up a little bit.

Q: George, thank you for that. Best of luck. And Valtteri, let's come to you now. It's been a tough couple of races for you and for Sauber recently. What are your expectation levels coming into this race?

Valtteri BOTTAS: It definitely has been tough. A few races, not just a couple. Expectations, realistically, I don't think it's going to be an easy weekend as we don't really have any upgrades. It is a bit of a different track to Baku, different downforce level. If we can get things right, we can be in a better shape, but not expecting any magic, to be honest.

Q: What are the issues with the car that are highlighted around a track like this?

VB: I think for me, for sure the overall efficiency is not there and overall performance as we can see from the results, but also the car is quite a bit on the edge, let's say, pretty sensitive to crosswinds, yaw and roll, kerbing content, uneven surfaces, which is something we do have here. But yeah, I think in the last couple of months, we've really understood the weaknesses, especially after Zandvoort. But like I said, not an easy week in the head, but we're still here to, of course, try to do the best. And with this kind of Grand Prix, you never know. It might be the opportunity. There might be that opportunity on Sunday. So, of course, we will keep pushing and we'll keep trying as hard as we can.

Q: There's a month-long break in the calendar after this Grand Prix. What kind of possibilities does that present in terms of pushing through upgrades, understanding the car better?

VB: It's definitely going to help us. The whole team will have much more time at the factory. I'll be spending some time there as well in the sim and in the meetings about the direction for the future. So it's important and hopefully expecting then for the next race after this one to have some new bits, which is something that we really need.

Q: Talking about the future, Alessandro Alunni Bravi said last week that a decision about the second driver for next year is going to be made imminently. Have you been given a date? is there a deadline in your mind?

VB: Not really. We've been in talks now for a while with Mattia since he joined and Alessandro as well. I can't really share much. I might know a bit more than other people, but let's just focus on the racing this weekend. At least there's then a good time between this and the next race to continue the talks and then we'll see what happens.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Albert Fabrega – ESPN Latam) Question for Oscar. All drivers said that they have a special feeling after the first race, the first Grand Prix you win. Was the win in Baku more special than the one in Hungary for you?

OP: I would say definitely. I think just the amount of hard work and pressure that I was under in Baku made it much sweeter. I think Hungary was definitely special, don't get me wrong, but I think, in any kind of race where you have to work so hard for such a long part of the race… I think I said last week, I've kind of had one race win like that in my career. And until Baku, you know, it wasn't necessarily my most dominant performance or my best performance, but it's always the most exciting one. And I think now Baku takes the cake for that. But, yeah, the emotion after Baku was special for different reasons compared to Hungary.

Q: (Roldán Rodriguez – DAZN Spain) A question to Oscar as well. How much deep in your brain are you thinking on the World Championship as a driver?

OP: Honestly, not much. I think for me, maintaining the lead in the Constructors’ Championship now is by far a bigger target. I'm not out of the running for the Drivers’ Championship, but I think now on average, I need to score, like, it's over 10 points more per weekend than Max, I think. So, I can try and go out and win every race, but it's now at the point where I need other things to start happening to win that. And for that to happen for seven races in a row is not very realistic. Of course, I'll try and go into every weekend trying to get the best result I can and if the picture starts to look a bit brighter, then that's a bonus. But, I'm certainly under no illusion that I'm well and truly in the fight for the championship. It's more if some crazy stuff happens, then I'll be there to work my way into the fight.

Q: (Laurent Dupin – Canal+) A question to Oscar also. You mentioned qualifying being one of your weaknesses. It's true that from Monaco to Baku, you were always out-qualified by Lando. Do you know why and what you have to improve to be better on a Saturday?

OP: I think just consistency more than anything. You know, I've not really had many sessions apart from maybe Baku where, you know, I've been happy with my performance all the way from Q1 to the end of Q3. You know, the gap has always been very small in pretty much all of those races. But I've always been on the wrong side of it. So I think it's just a matter of consistency. You know, I don't feel like I need to try and find extra time or something like that. I think that my best performances are good enough to qualify on pole position in the right circumstances. But I just need to be at that level more consistently.

Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports Mexico) Valtteri, is the fact that the car hasn't been really competitive this year further complicated things in terms of securing your future with the team? I mean, we look at Franco comes in, Williams is at a good level, and suddenly he seems like a candidate for your seat.

VB: Yeah, it's how the sport is. I think it's not just this season, but if you look at this season and the last season, when you're fighting towards the back, obviously, it's much less visible on what you can do and what kind of performances are you having. And it's pretty much against your team-mate that you can have a comparison. So, for sure, you're more out there if you're fighting within the points and towards the front end. That's just how it goes. So, for sure, it has not been helping the situation. But, yeah, there are still people in the paddock who know what the real performance is, and especially within the team. they know how I'm performing weekend to weekend and that's the main thing you know. I just need the people who need to know to know how I'm performing and that's what matters.

Q: Valtteri, in terms of your own performance are you driving as well this year as you were when you were winning races with Mercedes?

VB: I feel like, yes, especially in qualifying this year, I haven't felt any signs of being worse. If anything, you keep getting better with experience. You gain more consistency, more confidence. You can solve different issues in a different way. You can adapt to the car the more time you spend in the sport. I feel actually I'm driving better than what I did at Mercedes, but obviously it's not that visible.

Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports Mexico) Question to Oscar. There's a lot of talk about the rear wing on the McLaren after a few videos emerged on social media. Is it too much fuss about a few millimetres?

OP: Is it too much fuss about a few millimetres? Well, I mean, it's legal. So yeah, as long as it passes all the tests. We get tested a lot, and it passes. So yeah, I mean, it's certainly not the magic ticket or magic bullet for why we're competitive. But it's legal. It passes all the tests. So I'm pretty happy with it.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, a question for you. Going into the summer break, Mercedes was on a real high, picked up a lot of momentum and since then, we've seen McLaren win a race, Ferrari win a race. Where do you see where things have changed a little bit for Merc in that period? Is it just that the margins are so fine right now that being a little bit behind is maybe looking a little worse than normal?

GR: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, to be honest. The margins are so fine. You know, we have still been putting in some strong performances. You know, qualified third in Monza, fourth in Zandvoort, and was half a tenth from third again last week in Baku. And that was obviously on an old engine as well, which didn't help the situation whatsoever. So, I think if things had gone very slightly differently and if we had nailed those three races as we nailed probably those three qualifyings, we would have been on the podium in all three of them. But we definitely underperformed and I made the mistake at the start in Monza, which had a big impact on the race result. But that's how it is right now. One small error and you're three, four, five positions lower down the order than you probably would have been in other years.

Q: (Norman Fischer – Motorsport-total.com) A question to Oscar. Before Baku, there was a lot of talk about team orders and papaya rules. After your win, has this been reassessed and has there been any change?

OP: No. You know, Lando is obviously still ahead in the championship and, you know, just being honest, he has a more realistic chance of winning the Drivers' Championship. But I think the race in Baku was honestly a great exhibition of how we want to go racing as McLaren. Lando was definitely a factor in helping me win the race in Baku by some tyre saving with Checo. So, those kinds of things are the message we're trying to get across. And I think Baku, we, we got it across perfectly on track, our culture and how we want to go racing. So, if I'm in a position to still win races, then that's what I want to do. And I think I showed in Baku that I'm capable of doing that. But naturally, if there's times where I can help out for Lando's championship bid, then I'll be happy to help out as well. So, it's not really changed anything. But I'm still free to go into every weekend trying to achieve the best result. And there are so many situations… There was obviously a lot of talk before Baku and after qualifying, there was no talk because we were so far apart on the grid. So until you arrive in specific situations, difficult to discuss, apart from demonstrating it on track.

Q: (Molly Hudson – The Times) George, you mentioned how difficult it is to drive in these conditions in Singapore. Can you talk a little bit about how you prepare for that and how it changes maybe the build-up to a race with your hydration and things like that?

GR: Yeah, for sure. Singapore, it is probably more of a humidity in all honesty than the heat. But when we're driving these cars, the cockpits getting on for 50 degrees Celsius, you know, with the ambient and the humidity, the feelings kind of like 40 degrees out there and all of the drivers, we lose almost four kilogrammes of fluids in an hour and a half race. So it's a pretty good weight loss programme if that's what you're what you're what you're chasing. But for me personally it’s just, you know, you do a more layers. When I go outside for a run, you know, three layers on the bottom, three layers on top and just trying to get used to it. But when you have a race like Baku the week before, you've also got to rest and recover. You've got to travel. We spent 10 hours on the flight on Monday traveling from Azerbaijan to here and getting used to the time zone change, etc. It's not straightforward to prepare in the best way possible.

Q: At what point in the season do you begin your preparations for Singapore?

GR: To be honest, a few months ago. The training during the summer break. I was back training the last week of the summer break, and that's purely getting ready for Singapore. That's by far the biggest outlier because you're just dealing with something very different, which is heat. And when you look at other sports, when you're in very hot climates, in football, there's water breaks every, I don't know, 15 minutes, I think it was, in the World Cup. Or once every half, you've got a 15-minute break at half-time to rehydrate or do whatever you want. And we're obviously powering through in our fireproofs in the car for two hours. So it's definitely quite a challenge.

Q: (Matt Coch – Speedcafe) Oscar, you described Baku as perhaps your sweetest win, but I'm curious to know at what point you felt that in your career you were able to race against the very best in Formula 1 when you felt you had their mettle, so to speak.

OP: I think for me, honestly, pretty early on I felt comfortable with doing that. If I was to pick a weekend in particular I think probably Silverstone last year, which was the first time we had a competitive car or a car capable of a podium. And until you race… It goes without saying, but no one on the grid is easy to race against. We've all gone through the junior categories and been successful there. So, it's not like, maybe, some other categories on the way up or other championships, it's really the culmination of 20 champions on the way there. So, no one is easy to race, but when you start racing against the guys that are at the front for years, and in some cases decades, it can be a little bit intimidating at first. I think Silverstone, when I had that opportunity for the first time and held my own, that was a good confidence boost and I've been confident to be able to race with everyone on the grid since then.

Q: (Zuhrah Beevi – Vavel.com) Valtteri, you mentioned having difficulties with the car for quite a few races. Can you specify what those struggles are and do you feel like your feedback is taken into account by your team?

VB: I think I earlier touched on the struggles. The car is just quite sensitive overall. Of course, lacking overall performance as well and efficiency, but yeah, we're too sensitive on certain factors with the ride and cornering conditions, let's say. So it's a bit on the edge. And yeah, the feedback: obviously me and my team-mate we keep giving as much as we can. But at the same time in this sport you can't turn things around overnight or sometimes the lead times can be months. Once you see an issue then you always need to find a solution. First you’ve got to design it, you’ve got to try it in the wind tunnel and then see if it's actually better or not. So the lead times in the sport are big and also as a team we're still not at the level of the biggest teams in this sport in terms of amount of people, as well as some facilities at the factory. And that's still ongoing work. And I think Mattia has been taking this issue very seriously. So I think in the future there will be quite big changes.

Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Question for you, Oscar. You touched on the rear wing or you asked about the rear wing earlier. When you were shown it for the first time and what it could do, do you question it or do you just trust in the technical department that this is them pushing the envelope of those grey areas within the FIA technical regulations?

OP: To be honest, the first time I knew it did that was the same time as everyone else last week. And it's not a grey area. It gets tested every week. It's legal. They've got a lot of different tests for the rear wings now. So, yeah, I honestly didn't even know that it did that until three days ago. So, yeah, obviously in the sport you find every bit of performance that you can without breaking the rules. And, you know, I feel like that's what we're doing. And that's what you need to do to become a championship winning car and championship winning team.

Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to George and Oscar. Both of you winning races in Formula 1 and also being champions in junior categories such as F3 and F2 in the first year, do you think this boosts the confidence of young drivers that want to be in Formula 1, not just being in Formula 1, but also winning races in the future?

GR: Yeah, I mean, in Junior Series, at the very sharp end, you're racing against the very best of that level, and if any driver were to win, you know, F4, F3, and F2 in their first seasons, you know for sure you're going to be more than capable of fighting at the very front in Formula 1. So, I know there's a couple of guys who are doing very well in the junior formulas now and have won from the very off. No doubt they'll be in Formula 1 in the years to come and will for sure be competitive.

OP: Basically the same. I think to win in any championship in the world, there’s going to be tough competition, in particular on the way up to F1. It’s very very tough. We're going to have a lot of rookies next year and I think even last week, with Franco and Ollie, I think they proved that the sport is in safe hands for many years to come, I think. So, yeah, I think if you have success on the way up, then, of course, it's a nice confidence boost that you can have success at the very top. It's never guaranteed. And even getting to the top, there's other factors apart from winning. And at the same time, sometimes winning doesn't always show the full picture. Like I said, there are a lot of variables in motorsport, a lot of which you can't control. So, yeah, I think just showing to the right people, even if you're not necessarily winning, what you're capable of is very important. But getting those wins on the board is always a nice confidence boost.

Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) A question for Oscar. Just going back to the wing on your car, do you think questions are perhaps being asked because your rivals are almost scared or they see you as the car to beat or the team to beat, so that's why questions are now being asked, whereas if you were kind of further back, maybe those questions wouldn't be asked?

OP: To be honest, I think it's natural. I think you look at any car that's been competitive and it always gets scrutinised to the highest level. You look at the Mercedes a few years ago with their rear wing and the infamous 50K touch. You know, you look at a lot of the teams trying to work out Red Bull's DRS effect for the last couple of years. You know, we've seen flexi front wings in the past and all sorts, so I think naturally, you know, there's going to be scrutiny of just people curious to know why your car is competitive. So, I certainly don't think it's personal to us. You know, all the other teams are trying to find, including ourselves, we're not just thinking that we're the best out there and we don't need to learn anything from anyone else. You know, we're always looking at the other teams as well. So I think it's only natural and when you're at the front and when you have a car within a second of you for 30 laps and the rear wing camera on there for 30 laps, then naturally people are going to notice it more too.

PART TWO – Lance STROLL (Aston Martin), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Yuki TSUNODA (RB)

Q: Why don't we start with the reigning world champion, Max. I hope you're in good form. How are things? Good?

Max VERSTAPPEN: All good.

Q: Excellent. Now look, Marina Bay was a bit of a bogey track for Red Bull last year. You qualified 11th, you finished 6th. How confident are you that it's going to be better this time around?

MV: Well, I mean, I know that it's not going to be our easiest weekend, just straight up. But, of course, you know, you analyse the race that you did last year. A few things that could have, you know, been done better. That's what we'll try to do this weekend. But, yeah, I don't expect it, of course, suddenly to be one of our strongest weekends. But, yeah. I just hope that what we did in Baku already, it stabilised the car a bit more. That was positive. And hopefully we can just build on that and see around here. I mean, of course, around here normally it's a bit more bumpy than Baku, but hopefully the car can take it.

Q: More bumpy than Baku, but how much of a good testing track was Baku ahead of this race?

MV: I think it was good enough to see a few things on the car. And yeah, hopefully you can just work from there.

Q: And what were the issues last weekend that you think might repeat themselves here?

MV: Just our car. Generally, it's not very good on bumps and kerbs. And that's, of course, what you have around here. So we need to try and, yeah, try and stabilise that a bit.

Q: Can we put a number on it? I mean, you didn't quite make Q3 last year. Are you confident that you can at least do that this time around?

MV: I would hope so, yeah. But I mean, putting a number on it, I don't know even where to start. But yeah, I'm confident that we can do a better job than last year. But at the same time, of course, also the competition has improved quite a bit, naturally. But yeah, I'm definitely targeting Q3, but let's see where we end up.

Q: Alright. Look, there have been some structural changes within Red Bull that have been announced recently, one of which involves your race engineer GP. Is it a concern to you that he's taking on more responsibility? Will it somehow take away from the work that you two do together in the garage?

MV: No, it doesn't. I mean, he already did more than just being my race engineer anyway. So I think it's well thought about and basically spreading a bit the workload. So for me, that's fine.

Q: Final one from me. Can we talk about the Championship? You know, there are seven races to go. The gap's 59 points. Are you mentally preparing for a fight to the wire? Or do you think Red Bull's going to get its mojo back when we go back to permanent racetracks like Austin?

MV: It's not mentally preparing. I just want to make the car faster and better balanced. If I manage to do that with the team, then I know that we can be very competitive again. And that's the only thing that I can do. I mean, there's no secret to that. You know, we just need to find a bit more performance and just make our lives a bit easier.

Q: Alright, Max, thanks for that. Good luck this weekend. Yuki, can we come to you now? If you didn't have bad luck, you'd have no luck at all at the minute, Yuki. What's your headspace coming into Singapore after a couple of frustrating races, let's put it that way?

Yuki TSUNODA: Yeah, I think anyway, the races, even if I have good races, I'm still able to reset. So, yeah, I mean, the last two races are the things that I want to, you know, it's not the way I wanted to finish, obviously. But, yeah, I like the Singapore track, so I'm trying to think in a positive way. You know, there's nice food here, exciting track. It's going to be anyway a very tough race, a physically demanding race ahead of us, so yeah, i'm still motivated and aiming for high.

Q: Well, you haven't done many laps with the upgrades yet due to the various issues you've had in the races but have you done enough to know that they're a step forward and do you think they will have a positive effect on the car here?

YT: Yeah, definitely from the new floor that we introduced in Monza, for sure it will still work here. I think it's more, I guess it works well in mostly slow speed, like we've done in Azerbaijan and Singapore. I think still probably still need to look into it into more to Monza, for example. What I had, definitely I felt not really fully comfortable then more towards like high-speed corners, so I'm not sure it will work, for example, in other tracks but I felt definitely positive in Baku and if you ask me ‘OK now you what you're going to choose between new floor, old floor in Monza’, if I'm going again, I'm not sure yet, to be honest. And probably I'll stick with the other floor, maybe.

Q: Can we talk team-mates now? There's a lot of speculation surrounding Daniel Ricciardo's future at VCARB. Do you get any say as to who your team-mate is? And who would you like to be your team-mate going forward?

YT: Of course not. I can't say anything. I mean, probably I don't really... Yeah... I don't know. To be honest, it's just speculation. I don't know anything about it. So, yeah, it's up to them. It's not up to me at all. I just have to focus to what I can do.

Q: Can we focus on the incumbent, Daniel? What have you learned from him in the last 12 months or so?

YT: I definitely respect him a lot, especially, like, the things he has are the things I don't have. Especially the emotional control and how he's able to consistently being consistent to the team, I would say. I'm a bit more probably emotional, for example. Like if I have a bad session, whatever, for example, the quality of the feedback might be a little bit worse than usual, but he's very consistent, and I think he understood more about the car. Well, like, he understood more about the situation and what things it will give positive to the team exactly. So, yeah, I learned a lot of things from him, and I'm still learning about that. And, yeah, those things I definitely respect him.

Q: Alright. Thank you for that, Yuki. And Lance, if we could come to you now. Like Yuki, you've had a rough run in the last few races. Can we talk about the performance of the Aston Martin since the summer break? Do you feel relative to the opposition it's dropped a bit?

Lance STROLL: I mean, compared to the beginning of the season, yes. I think we were comfortably the best of the rest at the beginning of the year, I think the last few weekends we've been on the back foot but looking forward to Singapore this weekend and we’ll see what we can do.

Q: And after the I don't know what we call it, the collision with Yuki in Baku at the weekend, did the race turn into something of a test session for you and did you learn anything about the performance of the car there that can help you here?

LS: Yeah, I mean, it was never really going to turn into much after the Lap 1 incident. Unfortunately, it was one of those races where, you know, just kind of hoping for something to happen, maybe some Safety Cars to get back in the mix. But yeah, you know, we circulated and yeah, an unfortunate end to the weekend. But like I said, looking forward to Singapore.

Q: Well, let's look at some positives now. The first time you've been in the FIA press conference since the announcement that Adrian Newey is joining the team next year. What aspect of working with Adrian are you most looking forward to?

LS: Just working with Adrian. You know, he’s the most successful person to build cars in the history of the sport. And I think it's just a very exciting chapter for Aston Martin. Not only Adrian, but other people that are coming on board. And I think we're growing into a team that is setting up for a very bright future. And it's very exciting.

Q: Lance, as you say, the team is growing, growing rapidly. How important is it to have a guy like Adrian who has, what is it, 40 years of experience in Formula 1? How important is that to help guide all of the new people at the team?

LS: Yeah, very important. I think it's important that, you know, we have a leader and we have direction on what we're doing. And, you know, yeah, a vision and a structure that, you know, gets us to another level. And that's what we're in the process of doing.

Q: Final one for me, Lance. You didn't get to race here last year after the crash in Quali. Just how much are you looking forward to getting back out there around the Marina Bay track?

LS: Yeah, really looking forward to it. It's a great track. I always enjoy coming back here. Aside from lap 55, 60 of the race, I think it gets pretty hot in there. But it's a great track. It's, you know, like all the street circuits, a good challenge, close to the walls, very intense in the cockpit. So, yeah, looking forward to it.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Roldán Rodriguez – DAZN Spain) A question to Max. Last weekend, for the first time of the season, your team-mate was in front of you in qualifying and then in the race until the crash. I would like to understand, as you guys watch all the telemetry, where he was faster or adapting better to the car, at least in qualifying.

MV: I don't know, man. Different set-up. So as soon as I went into qualifying, I knew the car was *****. Yeah, I tried to optimise the car all the time and this time it didn't work out. So I knew that I was stuck with it. And then you tried to optimise it. But yeah, also, I mean, of course, my run one in Q3 that would have been enough for P3 in qualifying hurt me. And you start in the back of the top group. The balance was, of course, not there in the race. Then you get stuck behind two cars in the middle of the race. So you kill your tyres. So, you know, basically everything just went wrong from qualifying. Because the rules, of course, don't allow you to change anything on the car. You're stuck with it, and that's what happened.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) A question to all three drivers. Lance, you've got a close relationship with Daniel Ricciardo. Max and Yuki, you have two and were former teammates. Does Daniel Ricciardo deserve to stay in Formula 1 for next year?

MV: Daniel is a great guy. I think he has proven himself as a great Formula 1 driver. He's a friend of mine. And I think, in general, always being in this kind of position is never nice. But at the other end also, I don't think he has to feel sorry for himself. Sometimes things maybe don't work out the way you want them in certain stages of your career, but you still have achieved a lot more than anyone could ever dream of in their lives. So even if this is, let's say, the last race or whatever, you can still look back at something amazing that not many people can achieve and do something else maybe in life also. I mean, why not? Many more... other race series or not. Maybe just chill back at the farm. Have a lot of fun. I mean, he's a great guy. So, you know, for me, yeah, it doesn't really matter or not if you deserve to be here. A lot of people deserve to be here. Some don't deserve to be here. That's life also, you know, in all kinds of sports. It's how it goes.

YT: Yeah, I think same as Max. Yeah. Yeah, like I said previously, I respect him a lot. And yeah, I mean, we see how it goes, but I like him. Obviously, we all want to see him racing as well. So yeah, it doesn't matter if he deserves it or not. The thing is, we want to see. But yeah, like Max said, he achieved a lot of things as well at the same time. So let's see.

LS: Yeah, I think most of it was said. Wherever he goes, if it's in the sport or outside of it, whatever the future holds, just wish him all the best.

Q: (Laurent Dupin – Canal+) McLaren is the only team having both drivers with two wins this season. Do you feel they are the strongest line-up? And do you feel that Oscar is overperforming for a second year in Formula 1?

MV: Yeah, for sure. Oscar's doing a great job, you know, being in your second year. You're still learning a lot about Formula 1 and in general. Yeah, he's doing a fantastic job also lately. He's really scoring the points also for the team. And yeah, they at the moment are very strong as a team. So it's now up to us to try and make it a bit more difficult for them, generally, I think, but that starts with ourselves. We have to be better and make the car faster and that's what we're working on. But yeah, for sure from Oscar's side, he's having a great run now.

Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports Mexico) Following up on Crofty's question, I mean, Daniel was a good benchmark for you in your Red Bull days as teammates. Are you surprised that he hasn't been able to make quite the impact back in the Red Bull fold?

MV: It's, again, very difficult to comment on these things because you cannot look within the team as well, right? I mean, OK, from the outside, maybe people always expect more or wish for more. It's just very tough in the midfield, I would say, to have a great run of form also. Yeah, I don't know, it's just, I guess everyone hopes for more. I think also himself, right? You always want to be better, naturally. Every year you want to become a better driver and sometimes that works a bit better than other years.

Q: (Fred Ferret – l’Equipe) Max, do you have an explanation on why you never won in Singapore? Is it because you don't like the track or is there another?

MV: I mean, Most of the time, we just came up short. I mean, I've been on the podium. Unfortunately, the last, I think, few years, the car has not been the best. Yeah, we've just been struggling on the bumps and the kerbs. ‘22 would have been a good shot at it, but I didn't have enough fuel in the car in qualifying. So then you start further back. Sometimes, you know, it's it just doesn't work out where in other races the luck is a bit more on your side or naturally the car is in a better window in these tracks and it comes to you a bit more, where here I think so far it hasn't been like that. But yeah, I still have a few more goes at it. so we'll see if it changes.

Q: (Ben Hunt – Autosport) Max and Yuki, if I can ask you, please, as probably the most passionate and outspoken drivers, not afraid to call it how you see it, the FIA have announced that they want to stop and limit swearing. Max, obviously, I noticed your response earlier on. Do you think we're being a bit too sensitive and you should be allowed to say what you think, not worry about all this bleeping out and all this sort of stuff, or do the FIA have a point about language?

MV: I think you will swear anyway. if it's not in this room maybe somewhere else. Everyone swears. Some people a bit more than others. It also depends a bit what language you speak. Of course, abuse is something else. I think a lot of things get broadcast nowadays where in other sports you don't run around with a mic attached to you. I think a lot of people say a lot of bad things when they are full of adrenaline in other sports, it just doesn't get picked up. Where here, probably also for entertainment purposes, you know, things get sent out and that's where people can pick up on it, discuss it on social media and you get all sorts of trouble. So I think it already just starts with not broadcasting it. I mean, if you don't broadcast it, no one will know. Only the team, but with that you deal internally with these kind of things. But yeah, it's just probably a bit the world that we live in, within the sport but also in general it seems like people are a bit more sensitive to stuff. Yeah, that's how it goes. I guess the world is changing a bit, but I think it already just starts with not broadcasting it or not giving the option for people to hear it in general. Of course, there are a lot of apps where people can listen to radios and stuff. You have to probably limit it or have a bit of a delay that you can censor out a few things. That will help a lot more than putting bans on drivers because for example I couldn't even say the f-word. I mean it's not even that bad right? I mean the car was not working, the car is f-ed, yeah. And then, excuse me for the language but come on, what are we? Five-year-olds six-year-olds? Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching I mean they will eventually swear anyway even if their parents won't or they will not allow it. When they grow up they will walk around with their friends and they will be swearing. So you know this is not changing anything.

YT: Yeah, I think definitely sensitive. I mean, because probably we have radio systems, so that's why the broadcasters, you know, they get to accidentally maybe show the swear words in the TV. But I'm sure if you mic'd up in every other sports, you know, football, if you mic'd up every players or, you know, basketball, whatever, they're all swearing, I guess, so... I mean, just because there's radio and things, that's why...

MV: You're in the wrong sport, man, we have to play basketball.

YT: Maybe, yeah, I think so. In America...

MV: You can be on my shoulders…

YT: That would be great, huh? I mean, it's part of the... I wouldn't say personality, but, like, just the things, and... Obviously, there's certain words that obviously will go above the limit. It happens to me this year, but yeah, it's just like f-words or whatever. It's just part of the part of the world that you express the feeling. So, I mean, I don't I don't see why there's an issue. And yeah, it's just I'm sure those even FIA people they swear sometimes.

Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Another question for yourself, Max. A lot has been made over these past few days of the rear wing on the McLaren. I don't know how much you're aware of it, where you've seen the rear-facing onboard footage. What do you make of it, first of all? Have you asked your technical team? What have they made of it? Whether they feel it's legal? Your thoughts, please.

MV: Yeah, I mean, of course, I've seen the footage. That's the beautiful side of social media, right? Everyone has the video ready. And then, of course, a lot of discussion is made. I mean, it's quite clear, of course, that it's moving, like, it's at speed. It might be smart, might not be smart, but at the end of the day it's up to the FIA of course to decide if it's legal or not right? Of course Baku is not the first time that it was used so there were other tracks as well. I guess it's important to come with a clarification. But that's not only on the rear wing it's the front wing as well. What is allowed? How much is it allowed to bend? All these kind of things, right? So we just have to wait and see, yeah from our side.

Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to Max. Max, the drivers love to watch the scenes of the race, the top three drivers always love to see the start, the crashes, the battles, and the screens. But do you drivers watch the full race after you've done it, like on Monday or Tuesday? And if so, do you do it alone or with the team? Does it help you to understand the other teams, other drivers, or does it make any difference?

MV: It depends a bit. Most of the time I watch back my races and see what could have been done better. Sometimes, of course, you have a bit more time to do so or more in-depth. But the one from Baku is still quite fresh in my memory, so I didn't really need to look back at it in full length. It was not the most exciting one for me anyway. But again, there are always things that can be done better that you look at.

Q: Can we open this to the other two. Yuki? do you watch the races back sometimes not every race.

YT: Sometimes.

Q: Not every race?

YT: No.

Q: Lance do you?

LS: It's been a while since I watched a race. At the beginning I did and now we just have too many races, so I don't watch them anymore.

Q: (Norman Fischer – Motorsport-total.com) Ollie and Franco made a good impression in Baku. Were teams a bit reluctant in recent years regarding rookies? And do you think that some teams kept some people for too long? The question is to all three, please.

LS: I have no strong opinion on the matter.

MV: Yeah, it's always a difficult one. Sometimes you want to go for experience or when a team had a bad experience in the past… But yeah, I'm impressed. They're doing a good job when they jump in. You can see they're well prepared. And yeah, they're just doing a great job. So it's nice to see that from rookies. And hopefully that just opens it up a bit more for future talent to come into the sport. Naturally, I think, of course, you need your experienced drivers and stuff, but also opportunities for rookies. And, yeah, it looks like now, finally, that is, again, you know, happening a little bit. So that's great.

YT: Same.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Max, you talked about the need to, I guess, get back into the competitive picture at the very front. How important is this period coming up? We've got the gap to Austin. There's no ban on, I guess, development at work as there is in the summer break. And Austin being a normal track will, I guess, give a chance to see where the car is at. So is that race going to be really make or break to how the rest of the season, the championship picture looks?

MV: I don't know if it's a make or break, but from now on, of course, we want to make steps forward. When or how it will arrive, I don't know yet. But we're just trying to get the balance back together. I think Baku is already a small step forward, so we just need to continue that route. And yeah, of course, here this weekend, you can't really do a lot from Baku, but hopefully with the two, three weeks that we have, we can make some further improvements. There's still a few more rounds left where I think we can improve the car, which will also help for next year.

Q: (Frederik Hackbarth – Motorsport-total.com) The question is to all drivers. On the upcoming calendar schedule, we have now a long break coming up after Singapore. Then we have two very demanding triple headers in the end of the season, including races like Vegas and Qatar, which are very hard. So how do you like that? Would you wish for a change there?

YT: I'm OK, I think. I feel, I mean, there's a three weeks gap also after Singapore. So there's times a bit to rest and recharge ahead of two in a row, back-to-back, three weeks. So I feel OK, but it will be for sure tough, especially more towards the mechanics, you know, engineers, like for those people it will be much tougher than us. So, yeah. Yeah, it's more concern to them, I guess, rather than drivers.

MV: I mean, I've always said, it's quite a lot of races, of course, that we have in the calendar. But I think for me, it's more just travelling with the time zone differences, you know, between Vegas and Qatar. You're flying almost to the other side of the world again, which I think we can do a little bit of a better job if we do triple headers, that they are a bit closer together. For me, that would make a bit more sense. So that's probably something that we have to look at. if we're going to do so many races at least make sure that they are closer together. But again, of course, it depends on ticket sales. But yeah, I mean at the end of the day you have to come to a bit of a middle ground, right? It's a long flight, Vegas to Qatar. But then, of course, you're in Qatar, you fly to Abu Dhabi, which is fine. For me, that is not a problem. But yeah, end of the season, when you're getting a bit tired, it's easier also to get sick. And then actually flying for a long period of time is not helping.

LS: Yep. I agree. I think we could probably do a better job, like Max said, just geographically linking up the races, so that we do Asia, and then America, and then you know, the Middle East. There's still a lot of jumping around and jet lag and stuff on the teams, you know, where I think as drivers we have it pretty easy compared to some of the team and staff members that have a tough time getting around.