Miami GP: FIA Friday Press Conference


By FIA
May 7 2022

 
 FIA Friday Press Conference
 

DRIVER GROUP 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Pierre GASLY (AlphaTauri), Alex ALBON (Williams), Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull), Lance STROLL (Aston Martin)

Q: Lewis, you’re up first of all. How's Miami been so far for you?

Lewis HAMILTON: It's been great. The weather is incredible. And we've had such a warm welcome here. So just been happy to be out here and, yeah, been out on the water. Great training. And yeah, the ambience in the town is incredible.

Q: …bit of golf as well.

LH: I did something with Tom [Brady]. Yeah, but I'm not really very good!

Q: Lewis, let's quickly talk from a performance point of view, what can we expect from you and Mercedes this weekend?

LH: You can expect that we'll begin giving it our all, and trying our best. There's been a huge amount of work going on in the background. Everyone working as hard as they can; you can see we got to a new rear wing, for example. So, I'm just grateful for everyone continue to keep their heads down. And for the amazing, hard work that everyone is putting in.

Q: Do you think you'll be closer to the pace?

LH: I don't anticipate much change in that sense.

Q: Pierre, coming to you now. Well, first up, how was dinner with Michael Jordan?

Pierre GASLY: Well, it was by far the best dinner I ever had really. Honestly, super, super inspiring. Really special evening, just to learn, you know, like the experience and to be able to hear from such a successful guy. I don't think there was anyone else that inspired me more since I was a kid. And yeah, I mean, it was very, very special.

Q: You even managed to get him to try your helmet on?

PG: Yeah, I did. He did. Yeah, we exchanged. So, I gave him one of one of my helmets and gave me a pair of Jordans. So that was pretty cool. But no, mainly just to hear his experience, his career, the mentality, the leadership that he has. Even at his age, he’s so competitive and it was just an amazing, amazing evening.

Q: Let's talk on track quickly. Slightly disappointing race for you last time out in Imola. Although you did have a good battle with the man on your right, Lewis Hamilton. Where is the pace of the AlphaTauri at the minute, relative to the opposition?

PG: Well, we're still trying to figure out, obviously from track to track it changes. Imola, we got it wrong from qualifying onwards and we were involved in a crash in the sprint, started from the back and, as we saw, was impossible to overtake. So, clearly fighting with Lewis was not for the positions we like, but I think there is more than that. And now we'll find out in Miami what we can do. But yeah, we can clearly fight for the top 10. I'm confident for that. And that's what we will push for.

Q: Alex coming to you now. Tell us about your experiences in Miami so far this week.

Alex ALBON: I arrived pretty late. So I haven't seen too much of the place but it's been pretty good. It’s hot, very humid. And yeah, my girlfriend was competing maybe two hours away in Fort Myers, so I was out a little bit earlier, watching her play but that was that was about it.

Q: Quick trip to the hair salon by the looks of things…

AA: Yeah, it looks red on the on the camera there. Yeah, we got it dyed before Melbourne and we finished 10th and then as the dye faded away, we finished 11th In Imola. So it started to affect the performance! So, we re-dyed it, hoping for more points!

Q: Well, you finished 11th In Imola, but it was actually still have a great race by you. What can we expect this weekend from Williams?

AA: Yeah, it was a great race in Imola, and I think we're fighting at the heels for points. It's been two good races where we started out of position just with some issues or with a disqualification from Melbourne. So hopefully we can have a bit more of a smoother weekend this time around, especially for the qualifying, and we'll see. It seems like a very tricky circuit. I do believe that being a new circuit, there's a bit more opportunity in that. Hopefully we can hit the ground running and be ahead of a few others.

Q: Sergio, coming to you now. What chance of you making a full-time switch to the Miami Marlins baseball team?

Sergio PÉREZ: I don't think so! I think I’ll stick with what I’m doing for now! There was not much talent!

Yeah, but was it fun? Just tell it tell us about the whole experience.

SP: It's obviously a very nice experience, to be there with the players learning from another sport. There were a few fans there. So, it's always nice to learn from other sports.

Q: It was another strong performance for you at Imola last time out. Do you see any reason why you and Red Bull can't be the pace-setters this weekend?

SP: I think we were pretty confident we're going to be in fight, but it obviously depends on many factors. I think none of us have been used to these track temperatures. We haven't driven under these track temperatures that we are expecting. So, it will be interesting how the tyres cope with it, and to see which team are able to adapt the best.

Q: Lance coming to you now. What's been the highlight of your stay in Miami so far?

Lance STROLL: Oh, just you know, it's great to be here, the sunshine. Yeah, it's a fun city and I always enjoy coming to Miami. Yeah, I've got some friends around this week. Yeah, now it's time to go racing. So really looking forward to it.

Q: What is the mood in the camp? Because it was a much better race for Aston Martin last time out. Is everyone very buoyed by what happened at Imola?

LS: It was great to get both cars in the points in Imola. I think it was a big boost for the team. We have to see how we go this weekend. I mean, we're going to be, you know, pushing hard and coming up with some ideas, setting up the car and try to find some more pace and see how we go.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Jordan Bianchi – The Athletic) This is for all five drivers. Impressions of the track so far, during the track walk, and if you guys have done any sim work, and what you've taken away from that?

LS: Well, it looks fun, it looks challenging. It's tight, a lot of walls, a combination of high-, low-speed corners with some long straights. So hopefully, we see some good racing. I think there’s some good overtaking opportunities, into 17, into the hairpin. I’m sure it'll be fun to drive and be a good show on Sunday.

SP: I think it will be a nice track to drive. It will be interesting to see the grip level, the asphalt looks a bit different. Some places, it looks like it's already opening up. But other than that, I think it's going to be a great race. The circuit really has long straights, so for racing, should be a good a good circuit for racing. And yeah, we should give a good, fun race for the fans.

AA: It was a tricky one, I found. I felt like it was one of the… it took me one of the longest circuits to get up to speed, at least on the on the simulator. It seems very technical. And just doing the track walk yesterday, the kerbs seem to be different to what we're used to. Sometimes there are no curbs at all. So, I think track limits are going to be a big topic this weekend. But I'm excited. I feel like it's obviously a good track. And I think it favours the racing, especially. The racing should be good.

PG: Yeah, I think it's going to be a cool track. Similar comments to the guys: very, very long straight, so I guess, good for overtaking, should be quite a lot of action on Sunday. And yeah, quite interesting. This very high-speeds first section, very tight second section, so they will be a compromise to find but all in all, I think they came up with a great track design.

LH: Yeah, not much more to add to these guys. It looks great.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) For you Lewis. The FIA seems to be continuing with its clampdown on jewellery. You said before that you'll continue to wear it. I just wanted to know whether you'll stand by that. And if it gets to a position where they say oh, you can't race if you're wearing the jewellery would you still race? And also, do you feel like you're being singled out a bit by the FIA, given you’re the driver who probably wears probably the most jewellery on the grid?

LH: I definitely do wear… I couldn't get any more jewellery on today. I mean, I don't really have a lot more to add than what I already said the last time I was in front of you guys, and we spoke about it. It's… I feel like it's almost like a step backwards if you think of the steps we're taking as a sport, and the more important issues and causes that we need to be focused on and really pushing. I think we made such great strides as a sport. Look, we're here in Miami, this is such a small thing. I've been using… I've been in the sport 16 years, I've been wearing jewellery for 16 years, in the car only I only ever have my earrings on, and my nose ring, which I can't even remove. So, it seems unnecessary for us to get into this spat. And so, I'll try to communicate and work with Mohammed. I think, you know, I'm here to be an ally of the sport, of Mohammad and Formula 1. And as I said, I think we've got bigger, bigger fish to fry, bigger things to do more impact to have. So, I think that's really where the focus should be.

Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) For all the drivers. From next year, we'll have three races in the US. Knowing the kind of home support you guys have enjoyed in your own home races, what do you think an American driver on the grid would do for the sport over here? And are you guys surprised that over the last 20 years, we maybe haven't had more get close, or get on to the grid?

LH: It doesn't really surprise me: I think it's perhaps more a cultural thing. You know, here in the States. It's the NFL, it’s NBA. It's NASCAR, IndyCar. And I mean, in my 16 years of coming over here, it's been such a slow build, trying to bring awareness of the sport. Unfortunately, the Americans have to wake up at odd times in order to watch a grand prix. But I think this new step that's been taken, into bringing awareness, the Netflix show, has really just brought in that amazing fan base, a sport fan base that we have, that there is here in the US. And maybe now's the time to start focusing on how we can include more people here, because it's such a diverse country. I'm sure there's some amazing drivers here somewhere, as they've got so many great sporting talents. So, it'd be a good mission for us to find the next one.

PG: I agree with what Lewis said. I think the culture is the main difference. Coming here four or five years ago, I remember all the fans knew about NASCAR, not many knew about Formula 1. I think to see the evolution, the exposure we got as a sport over the last two, three years, it's been very impressive and now the fan base is just growing massively. And we can feel it, as drivers, when we see Austin last year: 450,000 people coming over the weekend was a very, very special and unique atmosphere. So now very excited to come back here more often with Miami, with Vegas. I’m sure with that exposure we're getting now, more and more people are going to get into the sport and yeah, hopefully we will see more of them in the future.

AA: Yeah, I think same comments as the two of my right. I guess it's Alexander Rossi was maybe the last one in Formula 1? It seems like, for now at least, a lot of the drivers who've got close have come towards the European side to learn how to race, in terms of Formula 3, Formula 2 and that side of things. I see it now with Logan [Sargeant] in the Williams young driver programme. He's going that way as well. But it seems like right now, it's a great catalyst for everything to start happening over here. And I'm sure once nce that level starts to help… I think there's just going to be more people arriving, more younger kids interested in Formula 1, and that's just going to help everything. And then the talent is going to come.

SP: Yeah, I think, in my case, for example, coming from this part of the world, it's definitely harder for us because you have to go at a very young age to Europe, I think. Otherwise, it's just harder, because you have to grow up with the best drivers in the world at a very young age, and just develop throughout. In the circuits, with the tyres with the racing. I think they have a lot of talent over here. Hopefully soon we can have an American-based driver because it will be good for the sport. But it's certainly quite hard to do that, because just by being on this side of the world.

LS: Yeah, it would be great to see an American driver in the sport. I think it would definitely expand the American audience. But, like Checo said, the ladder to Formula 1 is more simple when you race in Europe, come from Europe. If you're over on the side of the world, we got to move over to Europe to compete in Formula 3 and all that that stuff, and it's not so simple. But yeah, there's definitely a lot of talent here, and be great to see an American driver in the future.

Q: (Jenna Fryer – Associated Press) For Lewis. You manifested this race back in 2017, I guess. You love the US. I'm wondering, has the atmosphere and the event lived up to what you manifested? And what do you think of that marina?

LH: It definitely is what I expected from Miami. Already, just going through the city, seeing events everywhere. The buzz… I was just in New York, and I would just remember just walking through the streets, and I heard someone talking about ‘hey, you going to Miami?’ and they didn’t know I was there. There's just talk on the streets: this race, and the excitement. I've been to a couple of Super Bowls. This kind of feels like a similar vibe. And what a great place for us to have it, y’know, and around this incredible stadium. I think it's gonna be an amazing spectacle. And also really cool for people across in Europe, and around the rest of the world to see just how great Miami is.

Q: And the Marina?

LH: It’s stunning! Like Monaco, not as many yachts I don't think I've seen, but I was out there yesterday, just catching the sun and doing some jet surfing, which was pretty awesome. I saw some dolphins, which is nice.

Q: (Tom Cary – Daily Telegraph) Lewis, another one for you. Just to follow up on Phil's question earlier. Sorry, apologies is going back to something that you've spoken about a lot. But if the FIA really insists on this issue with the jewellery, what is the solution? I mean, you say you can't take it off. They say you have to: what was the end game here?

LH: I really don't know. As I said, I can't remove at least two of them. One, I can't really explain where it is. And, what I can say is that it’s platinum that I have, so it's not magnetic. It's never been a safety issue in the past. I've had, in 16 years, so many MRI scans and not had to take out the platinum, for example, because it's not been an issue. So yeah. I mean, if they stopped me, then so be it. We got a spare driver, so we’re ready and prepped for the weekend. There's lots of doing the city anyway, so I'll be good either way.

Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Another one for you, Lewis. You said this season is for your toughest since 2009, in terms of the car. Just wondering if you could tell us, in difficult times like these, could you share who you take inspiration from: people, friends, family, team members or people outside the sport: where you where you draw inspiration to carry on?

LH: I wouldn't say there was one individual during this time that I I'm focused on. I think I look all around me, and I see I tried to ignore the negative that I see. I'm not really watching the news a lot, but there's so many inspiring characters out there. And I think just continuously proving that you never give up, you keep pushing. And I love working with this team. Being in a team is such a privilege and working with so many people towards a common goal. And everyone lifted each other up. I've had amazing conversations with my team mates in this past week. Incredible how supportive everyone has been through the difficult times, and then we've had the most incredible times together. So, you know, a couple of bad races is not going to stop us in our tracks. This is where we unite: this is where we learn more about ourselves as individuals; this is where we, we grow the most. And it makes that eventual success – which I have no doubts we will eventually get to – taste even better.

Q: (Nathan Brown – USA Today) Lewis, at the start of your Formula 1 career, the US Grand Prix took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now, from what we've seen, from Miami, what we expect to see at Vegas next year, do you feel like a track in a venue that was really built around the history rather than the spectacle of the event, would have a fit on the Formula 1 calendar down the road?

LH: Look I’m a bit old school. So of course, I love the history, particularly in certain circuits. But the older I get, the more I realise it's about the people. We could go to the middle of nowhere that has very few people, not great accommodation, not great community and for us, as individuals, driving on a track that’s historic is cool – but it's about the people. And the people really do make… we've experienced with pandemic, no one being in there and that's just no atmosphere. It was like a test day. It was not enjoyable. And now we're seeing hundreds of thousands of people turn up to the race, energised, excited, keen to learn more. And so, I think the fans are at the heart of what this sport is about, they create it. So for me, it's, I think, being in cities where we can really engage in communities and actually also have an impact. When you go to those… I love Nürburgring, for example, but there's not a diverse community there. We're not actually impacting the place there. Here, we can do something. Yesterday, I met a bunch of kids from diverse backgrounds, who now want to get into engineering and STEM subjects and so, it's way cooler for me.

Q: (David Wilson – Miami Herald) For Lewis, kind of following up on what you were just saying. Everyone’s saying Miami, but really we're in Miami Gardens, which is the largest majority black city in Florida. Does that have any significance to you? To race in a city like this?

LH: It definitely does have a significance. I think just, as I said, just like in my 16 years… The first five or 10, maybe five years or so, I didn't see many people of colour in the grandstands. When I was on stage, very, very few people of colour, you know, not as diverse as I'd hoped. And as I said, yesterday, I was standing on stage and I'm seeing I'm seeing the crowd as… it couldn't be any more diverse. And that's amazing for me, to not be the only one there, which is nice to see. And it's just it's just great to be seeing that we're tapping into those different cultures, those different communities who perhaps once didn't think it was for them because they didn't see someone that looked like them in the sport, maybe. And I think that's the super encouraging. And as I said, there's more to do in terms of encouraging these young kids not only to be NFL players or basketball players but… education is key and STEM subjects can lead to so many different avenues. And you can be a racing driver, also. So it's pretty neat.

Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) To the other for drivers, aside from Lewis, do you guys have any sympathy for Lewis's position with regard to the piercings debate? Is he right? Are there bigger fish to fry? And just to conclude with yourself, Lewis, we’re assuming you've made your position clear to the FIA, regarding your piercings, and if so, what was their response? Thank you.

PG: I do understand. I do, I do believe there are bigger, bigger things to focus on. And I appreciate FIA are looking after our safety. That’s also their priority and our priority. My personal case, I have also religious item that I wear with me, when I'm racing, which are important to me, which I don't feel comfortable not having was me driving the car. And I do feel it's a little bit personal. We should have the freedom to do what feels right for us. At the end of the day, we have the responsibility to go out there put our life at risk. And I do feel it should be a personal choice, but I respect the FIA and their will to always improve the safety. But I'll appreciate a talk with them, to see if we can find a better solution than such a strict decisions as they made. So we'll see what we can do.

AA: I think Pierre sums it up well. There's not really much to add to that. I still agree with Lewis's comments, I understand. It's our bodies at the same time as well. Like everything when you're older, you're prepared to have those consequences if, you want to do what you want to do, then so be it. You have a freedom for yourself. So yeah, that's all.

SP: I fully agree with Pierre and Alex in this case is good, from the FIA point of view to look after our safety because at the end of the day, it's for us. But as Lewis said, he's been in this sport for so many years, and he's been doing it, and he already has them with him, so it's, it's not like that easy to remove them. So I think it would be good to find a compromise, to work together with them. And, and yeah, just make sure that we are all in the same line and not against each other. And I think that will be the important thing.

LS: Nothing more to add, really. I think it's great that the FIA is looking out for our safety but little things like a little piece of jewellery and stuff, I think it's our own responsibility, as well to just accept the risk of something happening, wearing a bracelet or ring or whatever that might be. I get the big picture. But, I think there's other things to focus on. Definitely bigger fish to fry,

Q: Lewis, anything you want to add about your discussions with the FIA?

LH: I'm willing to sign a waiver to take the responsibility away from them in that respect if I need to. But I think, Iike Pierre was just saying, it's about individuality and being who you are. And I did try Mohammad for example this morning, but I'm sure he was super busy. But I sent him a message, just reassuring him that I want to be an ally, I don't want to fight with you guys over this. This is very silly: let’s have great weekend. But I’ve not heard back yet. So, maybe he's texted me. I don't know. But I try and speak to him before the race.

Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Lewis after the race in Imola, Helmut Marko said, when you were lapped by Max, he said maybe Lewis thought he should have stopped last year. The day after, I think you put up a post on Instagram saying ‘I'm working on a masterpiece – it's up to me when I'm finished’. When you hear comments like that from Helmut, does that motivate you even more just to fight back and get further up the order and back to the top of the game?

LH: I mean, I don't listen to those silly comments to be honest. Ultimately, I mean, there's a… it’s been interesting to see there's quite a lot of disrespectful comments that I've seen over time, but it's to be expected. And yeah, I just keep my head down. I know who I am. I know what I do. I love what I do. Going through a tough time. We didn't come out of the starting blocks the way we wanted, but we're fighters. And if you don't know that about me, then you just don't know me and that's totally fine. I'll doing my best to huddle up and group up with the team and fight as hard as we can.


DRIVER GROUP 2: Kevin MAGNUSSEN(Haas), Valterri BOTTAS (Alfa Romeo), Esteban OCON (Alpine), Yuki TSUNODA (Alpha Tauri), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

Q: Kevin, we're going to start with you. Now you must have happy memories of being in Miami. Given that it was here that you got the good news earlier this season.

Kevin MAGNUSSEN: Yeah, it was, it was fun coming back here, you know. It's not been that long since I was here, and wasn't an F1 driver so this is where I got called up by Gunther and all of this happens, so it's fun, it's… yeah, I'm enjoying it.

Q: A different reception from the fans this time around?

KV: Yeah, definitely. It is different. You know, this is a Formula 1 event and there's a lot of interest and, you know, attention on this, so it's been great so far, and I think it's going to be a fun weekend.

Q: Well, it was great at Imola last time out as well: another points finish for you. Just what can we expect from you, and the Haas team this weekend?

KV: Hopefully, more points, that's what we want and that's what we are expecting, I think. We should be able to be in that fight. It's very, very tight in the midfield so you can easily be out and, you know, but likewise, it doesn't take a big difference, then you're in the points too. So it's interesting and it's a fun fight. So, yeah, hope to do that again.

Q: Valtteri coming to you now. You've been in the US for a while. How was San Diego?

Valterri BOTTAS: It was nice. I'd been a bit everywhere. I was in California for some time, then Utah and Arizona. And now I'm here.

Q: What's been the highlight of the trip?

VB: I had a podium last Sunday on a bicycle, though, but first podium of the year. Hopefully I can continue that run.

Q: Well, talking of podiums Valtteri, what might you have been able to achieve at Imola had you not had that problem in the pit lane?

VB: It’s a good question. I don't like thinking what if but yeah, the fact is that we still haven't had a perfect race weekend. Either we've had issues in practice, qualifying or the race, and it is all about getting a perfect weekend. And I think that way we can be pretty close to the podium, obviously, depending on the track, but it is a great motivation and goal for us and what we're really, really pushing for. We just need to keep making progress and trying to be perfect.

Q: Esteban, coming to you now. You stopped by Inter Miami earlier this week. Just tell us a little bit about what you got up to there?

Esteban OCON: Yeah, it was great fun, you know, I never really came in Miami, it’s the first time that I visit the place and yet the Inter Miami team of football, you know, they invited me to their facility. We had a good training session there. And yeah, it was awesome just to discover how things are done here and to see the interest that people have in Formula 1. It's also extremely special.

Q: Were they impressed with your skill?

EO: Not really. I think I should stick to four wheels really. But I managed to juggle, to keepy-uppy a bit.

Q: Now let's talk on track. Esteban, a great comeback drive by you at Imola to 11th on the road. With the new floor this weekend what sort of step forward can we expect?

EO: Yeah, we had obviously the issue in Imola with the gearbox in qualifying, which, you know, we've put things in place to fix that. We are going to have, obviously on my car, the new specification of updates and hopefully that's going to give us a boost of performance. Definitely what we want to achieve here is score more points. Out of, you know, the four races, two times we’ve qualified top five so the car is capable of being fast. We just need to make it happen in the race as well.

Q: Now, you've actually been driving since the last race; you were testing with Pirelli at Imola. Can you tell us a little bit about the programme there and what progress you made?

EO: Yeah, so we were testing, you know, tyres for next year, so always, you know, very good data, to see and we could also, you know, try a few different things, compared to the race weekend. It was a very fixed programme for Pirelli, but, you know, on my side experimenting was a good thing and, yeah, we come here with quite a lot of knowledge and good preparation, also in the simulator straight after, so there's been a lot of work in the background and we're ready to fight here.

Q: Yuki, you've been busy: New York City, swamp racing. What's been the highlight of your time in the US so far?

Yuki TSUNODA: Yeah, definitely swamp buggy with Max and also, yeah, I will say the boxing match as well. Also, there was my New York experience, that was a super insane fight. I enjoyed it so much. Also the atmosphere there in Madison Square was super amazing. The swamp buggy was super interesting, way more serious than I expected. They have big engines, more than 900 horsepower and I had a bit of a wheelie at the start., so lots of things that I never experienced. So yeah, I super enjoyed it.

Q: And on track, just throwing it back to Imola, you went from 12th to seventh, one of your best races in Formula 1 so far?

YT: Yeah, I would say, especially coming back from qualifying. We struggled a lot in the qualifying and we were able to gain positions, session by session, and in the end able to score points with P7, so I was happy. I will say my best race I had in Formula 1, but I think obviously we need to score points more, to be able to achieve our targets. But yeah, I think the performance I had in Imola was quite… really good, so I don't have any, you know… there's no reason that we cannot perform well, like we had in Imola, here as well.

Q: Max, thanks for waiting. Did you enjoy the swamp buggy as much as Yuki?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was really cool and they told us before we would get really wet, so I did everything I could to not get wet. And it was fun. Yeah, Yuki was flying, literally was flying. He really took off at the start. He was just floating over the water…

YT: Super light, I think yeah.

MV: He was wheelying a bit more than me. It was good. It was a nice.

Q: Now, Max you were the driver and the team to beat last time out. What can we expect from you guys here?

MV: Well, I think you always want to try and achieve a weekend like we had in Imola, but that's not always the case, unfortunately. But let's see what we can do here. I mean, of course, I think we have a good car and we can have a good result again, but on a new track a lot of things can go wrong or can go well, but it's of course trying to find out what works for you. And it's first trying to, you know, get up to speed with a new track and actually see the track conditions as well with the tarmac and just go from there. And of course try to do something similar as in Imola.

Q: What are your first impressions of the track here in Miami?

MV: Yeah, I think the fast corners are cool and the straights are very long. And then of course, we have this like little tight section of the track which is going to be interesting as well. So let's see how it is to set up the car as well between the two kind of parts of the track.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) A question to Max, please about your teammate, Sergio Perez. We saw how closely he fought Lewis Hamilton at times last year, he's been on pole this season, helped the team take the one-two last time out. How impressed have you been by how Sergio is performing this year? And is it any different or any better than 2021?

MV: Well, I think it helps, of course, to have a year with the team. And I think, of course, with the new rule changes everyone had to start from zero really. And that seems like he's a lot happier in the car so that's really good for the team and of course, we were extremely happy with our performance, you know, both of us in Imola so we can keep that up.

Q: (Stuart Codling - GP Racing) Max, as the defending World Champion how has that - if at all - affected the way you approach Grand Prix weekends now that you're defending a World Championship, you want to win another one? Do you draw confidence from that? Does it enable you to bounce back from setbacks? Are you just kind of looking to step your game up to another level?

MV: I think naturally every year you want to try and be better, right? But you need a car for that as well. Luckily, we have a very competitive car. But from my side nothing really changes. I mean, you try to do the same like you want to be as consistent as you can be, try not to make mistakes and eventually of course try to get the best result possible every single weekend. And of course, you analyse every single race weekend and you try to be better again the weekend after but from my side, the feeling as well is pretty similar.

Q: (Jenna Fryer – Associated Press) Valtteri, much was made last race about you battling Russell at the end and people seem to think it was personal. Is that a personal battle when you are racing around him?

VB: No, it's points, were chasing points and always, you know, just really trying to maximise every opportunity, every position you can make and obviously, it was a nice target for me in that race, because, you know, from me to the end of the race, there wasn't really much action around me. So I was catching him like a few tenths a lap, and that just gets me pushing. And the target was more points rather than a person. So, you know, that's how it goes.

Q: Valtteri, how much are you enjoying life at Alfa Romeo?

VB: I'm enjoying it a lot. You know, we started the season with the first race, you know, with points and what I've been really enjoying is the progress we've been able to make together as a team. So we're definitely not falling back. And that is a motivation for us to go ahead rather than backwards. And yeah, I'm really, really enjoying the ride. And yeah, hopefully, it's another good one this weekend.

Q: (Alejandro Cisternas - El Mercurio) Max, last year you were fighting for the championship with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton. And this year, the Ferraris, particularly Charles Leclerc. How different do you feel are these battles and how different for you also is the approach as our reigning World Champion?

MV: I think in general it is just good for the sport that, you know, also, like a team, like Ferrari with a lot of history in the sport is back up front. I think it's really nice to see that. And from my side, of course, I think I know Charles for a longer time, we really grew up through racing. And it's been really good battles, I think we really enjoyed it and yeah, I've said it before, you know, I just hope that for the rest of the season, we can continue what we've been doing so far. And for me, winning a championship doesn't really change that, you know, in terms of how I'm battling. I still want to, of course, win and I tried to be ahead, but you also need to be realistic at times, if that's possible or not, when you go into a battle.

Q: (RJ O'Connell - racefans.net) Yuki, you've been on such an incredible upward trajectory since the second half of last season, obviously very close to a podium. Only three Japanese drivers have ever finished on Formula 1 podium. Do you feel like yours is just around the corner, potentially yours and Japan's first Formula 1 victory?

YT: At the moment, I don't know. I'm just really focusing on the situation I have now, to develop the car mainly. At the same time, just score points as much as possible. Of course, if I had any opportunity that I’m able to maybe get a podium, I will try to maximise that opportunity. And it will be of course, good to have podiums, but currently, I'm not really focusing to those things. I will say I tried to have podiums or whatever last year, in the first half season, and I was just expecting too high and suddenly I had lot of mistakes, and just always pushed a lot of corners. Currently I don’t try to think about those things. And I'm really enjoying the situation I'm having now, working as a team and scoring points as much as possible. But of course, if I win or a get a podium, that'd be great.

Q: (Jeff Clark - The Athletic) I'm wondering what the new track… obviously, you have simulation and stuff but how long does it take you to get fully comfortable, fully up to speed when you're out there in practice?

KM: I don't know, I mean you will continue to find lap time. But I mean, it doesn't take that long to really get a pretty decent rhythm on the track. I haven't driven the sim for this track. I haven't had the opportunity so you know when it's completely new, it's nice to drive the sim just to get sort of an idea of the lines and breaking points, etc. But I don't think it's going to take too long.

Q: Esteban how many laps for you to get up to speed this afternoon?

EO: Hopefully not a lot, hopefully a couple of laps. Yeah, we've done the simulator, as I said. So yeah, hopefully one run and then we're up to speed. But yeah, as Kevin said, you always find lap time, the more you drive anyway but yeah, to find my way around, I think that's done already from the simulator. Now it's just a few last details in reality and just getting the car up to speed as well.

Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) For all five: this is an amazing event here in Miami it’s a really great spectacle. We've got Vegas coming next year as well. Monaco has always been seen as the jewel in the F1 crown. Do you think as we get more of these sort of big money and sort of impressive events, is that going to risk taking that title away from Monaco, perhaps?

MV: I don't think you can replace Monaco. Monaco has such a history of course it takes time to build that. And also, I mean, this is a completely different to Monaco, there’s a lot more space here and the whole atmosphere is different. Different kind of culture as well which is good that we have because it would be very boring to drive every time at the same culture. So yeah, you have to find a middle way between, you know, these kind of things, Monaco and of course, permanent race tracks.

YT: Yeah, exactly the same as Max.

EO: Yeah, I agree with Max, I think Monaco is extremely special. It has the history also behind it. And it's one way, you know, to race that you don't have anywhere else. You really need to qualify and the race is very difficult to overtake or you need to take a risk, you know, so for us it's completely different. But yeah, coming in the States, seeing how we are welcome here, it's great, it's fantastic and we've seen how much the sport has grown. And yeah, Miami, Las Vegas, all these towns... it's a dream, you know, for us to come here. So yeah, I can't wait to discover what the US has left for us.

VB: I think Esteban said exactly what I was thinking as well. It's so nice to come to these events and they're amazing events. And yeah, in the future as well, the more the better I think, but Monaco is still always gonna be in Monaco and that's because of the history and it's a different place anyway.

KM: Nothing more to add. I love Monaco.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Valtteri, one of the areas your team has invested quite heavily in over the past few years has been the driver and loop simulator? How does it compare to what you knew at Mercedes, not just in terms of driving sensation but its value as a set-up and development tool? And how much do you think you've been able to help accelerate that development of the simulator with the benchmarking you've been able to do compared to what you knew at Mercedes.

VB: Nowadays, of course, the simulators are hugely important with a lack of testing and as the technology improves, you can get more and more out of it. And the first time I tried the Alfa Sauber simulator, I could feel that there was quite a difference to the one at Mercedes because Mercedes started a long, long time ago and our team, we only started a few years ago. So of course there's catching up to do but from the first time I tried it versus what it is now it's already hugely improved and it has been already this year, especially the last couple of events, a really useful tool to kind of support the race weekend. So that's always a driver at the factory during the race weekend doing also similar setup tests and doing the correlation and it's been rapid progress on that and that keeps going and it is already really good tool. There are still improvements to be made and obviously I've given my part to it based on my experience and I'm sure it has helped as well and like, for example, this weekend it was really useful to get to know the track and actually try a few different set-ups or wing levels so you get a bit of an idea and before coming here.

Q: (Holly Kane – Gannett Newspapers/USA Today) Max this is for you, could you possibly expand a little bit about what it's like racing with Leclerc up front like that and kind of your history and your friendship and knowing him so well and how the season is kind of shaping up obviously with the two of you very much out front most of the time?

MV: It's nice and it just feels almost like you know back in the day like go karting. We just grew… personally, but also we just have more experience so I think in general that of course makes the racing even better. But it's good to see that the young guys are now slowly all moving into the top teams and they're all fighting for wins, I think. Of course this is a natural process but yeah, I really enjoy it. Also, you know, really a lot of drivers who are in Formula 1 at the moment, are the ones I used to race against in go karts. And I'm very, very happy that you know, everyone found their place in F1.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, you said after your win in Imola, that sometimes being on top of all the elements a team needs to be on a race weekend can be more important than adding new bits to the car. So I wondered, what is it that Red Bull needs to nail this weekend at a new circuit to make sure that you can try and replicate that result?

MV: Yeah, Imola specifically was a very hectic weekend with the sprint qualifying as well and then the changing conditions. So whatever you bring there with those difficult conditions, I think was more about just actually nailing a lap, making sure the tyres were working and not making a mistake on the braking or whatever, you know, hitting a curb wrong or braking on the white line, that actually finding whatever the performance upgrade is. And I do think now, of course, we'll go into the second weekend with that. It's a new track. We don't know the grip levels so… it's a street circuit and again, it's going to be about just trying to maximise the warm-up of the tyres, the degradation but of course, every single bit on the car now, which gives you more lap time, will of course actually help a bit as long as the conditions are not going to be like Imola.


DRIVER GROUP 3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Daniel RICCIARDO (McLaren), Mick SCHUMACHER (Haas), Nicholas LATIFI (Williams), Fernando ALONSO (Alpine)


Q: Let's go left to right, Charles, shall we start with you? Tell us a little bit about your week in Miami. I know you were at the Miami Marlins earlier, how's your throwing arm?

Charles LECLERC: The throwing was really good. Catching was much more difficult. But yeah, it was it was fun. It was my first experience watching baseball and I loved it. But apart from that, a very busy week here in Miami. I didn't have much time to go around. But yeah, really happy to be here and can't wait to try the track today.

Q: Now, it was a frustrating end for you last time out at Imola. How quickly were you able to turn the page and move on after that race?

CL: Well, very quickly, obviously, it's a mistake that cost some points. So instead of third, we finished sixth, which is never great and especially in the position we are in this year. So I just analyse what went wrong. And I was just too optimistic. So I just have to turn the page now and focus on the future.

Q: And how optimistic are you for this weekend?

CL: I mean, since the beginning of the season, we are always there, it's always extremely close with Red Bull. I don't know who will be on top this weekend. But for sure we'll have a shot to win here if we do everything perfect. So I'll just focus on ourselves and hopefully we can bring a win home.

Q: Best of luck with that. Thank you, Charles. Daniel, coming to you now. They say Miami looks great from the sea, you've been on the water this week. Is that true?

Daniel RICCIARDO: It looks great from the sea. And I have, yeah, so both are true. Both statements are accurate. It was beautiful out there.

Q: Tell us a little bit more about what you've been up to since you've been in the States?

DR: I've done a fair bit so yeah. It's yeah, no secret I really do enjoy it out here. I enjoy the States so yeah. I was in New York for a little bit before arriving in Miami so that was that was fun. It's also very different to Miami, so got the weekend there and then came out here and yeah we're on some Seadoos out in the water which was cool. It's funny the you get like a massive downpour of rain and then the sun and it's you can like literally see the rain cloud just moving around, they are so localised, some of the storms or the downpours here. And but it was a really nice day. And then yeah, we've just been pretty busy with events. We've been doing some stuff with James Corden as well, which has been really funny. So yeah, it's been it's been full on and everyone's getting involved. It's really cool. And hopefully the racing and I guess the on track stuff is it really lives up. I'm looking forward to getting on track today. But yeah, everything is kind of just intense right now in in a really cool way.

Q: And from a performance point of view, where a McLaren at coming into this weekend?

DR: I think we've obviously been pretty good the last few weekends, at least, you know, fighting for proper points. So I think yeah, we'll be alright. This circuit looks, I want to say it probably doesn't compare to anything we've done, at least so far this year, so it's hard to probably judge, you know, our level of competitiveness until we turn a lap. But it's going to be fun. I think three DRS zones. It's yeah, street track. So it's cool.



Q: All right. Best of luck to you. Thank you very much. Mick, your turn. What have you been up to this week?

Mick SCHUMACHER: Yeah, I spent some time in Texas. So that was those cool. I got to drive on my track, we just built the track, so we went out on the side by sides and just had a good time really.

Q: And a bit of basketball. Did I see basketball? Have you been playing any basketball?

MS: No, that was that was early this year? If you referring to the Instagram post. That was early this year.

Q: You said you don't have to be told to be tall to be a basketball player?

MS: I’m not very tall, right?

Q: The average height in the NBA was six foot five last season.

MS: Yeah.

Q: Let's talk on track, Mick. Imola didn't deliver the result you wanted. But you showed good pace all weekend. What positives did you take from last time?

MS: Yeah, exactly. I think the pace showed that, you know, we were probably in the wrong position in terms of just overall classification and for what our pace was like. And I think that the mistake was the cost, or the contact or close call in the first lap, definitely cost us the position or the points that they were in at the time. But yeah, there's a lot of positives, the speed is there and I'm sure that, you know, with a brand new track the advantages that some other teams might have might be a bit slimmer and help us out a bit more.

Q: Okay. Best of luck to you. Nicholas, tell us about Miami and what you've been up to?

Nicholas LATIFI: Yeah, so, I got out here Monday evening. And I mean, to be honest, yeah, just kind of doing some training and kind of acclimatising. Nothing too exciting for me so far yet. But I mean, I've spent a lot of time here in Miami over the years, probably outside of where I grew up in Toronto and where I live now in London, Miami is where I spent the most amount of time. It's not too far from Toronto, only a three-hour flight so many, many family holiday spent here over the Christmas and New Year's time. I probably did over 50% of my car racing here, not too far south from here in Homestead. So yeah, a lot of good memories here. And then a lot of training camps here as well, pre-season. So yeah, it feels very familiar to be back.


Q: Let's talk on track. It hasn't been an easy season for you, so far in 2022. Can you just give us a little resumé of how you feel things are going and what the issues are with the car if you feel there are issues with the car?

NL: Yeah, it's been clear that the performance has not been where I wanted it to be. I think after Imola I explained quite a lot in detail just the issues with the kind of the feeling of confidence and trust in the car, which is obviously very important to have with these, and it just hasn't been at the level it needs to be, for various reasons. So I think each time I drive the car, I'm making some progress in that area. But it's just been tricky from the start. It's clear as a team, we're not where we want to be. We're obviously lacking for sure some overall downforce, struggling with the balance as well. And yeah, I guess combined with some of the new characteristics of these cars compared to the previous years’ cars just yet not getting that feeling of gelling with the car the way the way you need to so yeah, that's the reasons really.

Q: All right. Well, best of luck this weekend. Thank you, Nicholas. Fernando, coming to you. Nicholas has done a lot of karting here. Just tell us about your own experiences of Miami over the years?

Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, you know, not much karting. But yeah, I raced in Daytona few times, and few tests as well. So not far from here. And yeah, I like the city as well, the weather. And yeah, let's see this weekend. I think it's a lot of excitement about this race and the whole city's embracing the event. And we are here looking forward to go in the car and discover this new circuit.

Q: What are your first impressions of the circuit?

FA: Obviously, we drove the simulator. And it looks good. It looks fast. With these very long straights, three of them, with the DRS, and that should provide some good action on Sunday. Then it remains to be seen now when we drive the section between 10, 11 and 16, it looks very narrow and quite slow. And maybe that's not, you know, so fun to drive with a Formula 1 car that normally we like the high-speed corners and to feel the downforce. So that probably the trickiest part of the circuit and let’s see.

Q: Fernando, you’ve been quick all year, but you only have two world championship points to show for your efforts. How tough is this period been for you?

FA: It has been. Obviously it feels a little bit strange to have two points in the championship after having probably my best start to the season in terms of competitiveness of the last 10 years, maybe from 2012. I was I was not as competitive as I felt in these first four races. So yeah, we've been, I think extremely unlucky with some of the events that happen. A very easy six in Saudi, obviously the problems in Melbourne with qualifying and then in the race, and then again, in lap one in Imola we were out of the race. So yeah, it's a matter of time that the result will come. I feel strong. I feel fast now. The car also feels good, so I'm really looking forward to each weekend.

Q: Do you believe in luck?

FA: Of course. Yeah.

Q: Good and bad.

FA: Yeah, good and bad, but over 23 races it compensates. So I think I get rid of all of the bad luck already.



QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mandy Curry – Motorlat) My question is Fernando Alonso. New track here in Miami and new regulations, do you think this race weekend will present new opportunities or help level out the playing field amongst you and other drivers?

FA: Obviously, it is always a challenge for everyone when you come to a new circuit and you have to get the confidence immediately into the circuit. Street circuits always they don't have any room to do mistakes, the walls are very close. So yeah, I think it's a matter of, you know, each of us adapting as quick as we can. Also the these type of tracks when they are new, there is a huge track evolution. So every time you jump in the car, you improve a couple of seconds. So your confidence has to keep that progression as well. So it's going to be a fun weekend. And we are all super happy to come here and see the excitement from the fans and from everyone. So I think it's going to be a good weekend.

Q: (Jordan Bianchi – The Athletic) This is for any driver who'd like to answer it. It looks like there was some repair work done in Turn 17 overnight. I’m wondering if there's any concern about that, with this being a new track about the track, you know, staying intact and not coming up?

CL: I'm not sure what the repairs are to be honest. So yeah, I cannot comment too much. Yesterday, I've been on track a little bit. The only thing that was a little bit strange is the tarmac. It feels like it's something different to what we are used to driving on during the year. But yeah, in terms of repair, I don't know what's going on. I was not aware.

DR: Yeah, I did a couple of hot laps, Wednesday, I think it was, and yeah, a little bit like Charles said, it feels like different for sure to maybe at least the last few surfaces we've raced on over the last few races. But yeah, I mean, I hope it stays intact. I hope everything's cool and obviously that we have a smooth fun weekend. But yeah, obviously time will tell. But obviously, for everyone's sake hopefully everything stays intact. And it's all good.

MS: I guess everybody's answered already. But hopefully everything stays well, I think that the in terms of micro and macro roughness the track looks to be offset to most other tracks and therefore will be quite a bit different I guess to what we've had up to this year.

Q: (Jeff Clark – The Athletic) For Charles. How does your mentality change when you come into a race weekend as the points leader or does it change?

CL: No, it doesn't. I mean, obviously, I feel better compared to last year where we were fighting for less exciting positions. So to know that whenever you go to race weekend, you've got the opportunity to win puts a big fat smile on my face. But yeah, on the other hand, the approach doesn't change. I think we just need to keep working like we did in the last four races. We've worked extremely well as a team. We've prepared ourselves well coming into a weekend. And if we keep doing that, I'm sure we can do great things. So yeah, I won't change my approach.

Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Daniel, you mentioned what you've been doing with James Corden over the past couple of days. The things you and Lando were wearing yesterday caused a bit of a stir on social media. You're doing that, you've done Trevor Noah last week as well. The fact you guys are getting on these late night US shows I mean, just how much does that show how much was flash and how mainstream F1 has now gone into us?

DR: Yeah, the so the outfit was certainly questionable…. if the mic didn't pick that up, Fernando said we need to see Zak in that outfit! Sorry, it was worth sharing. It was a good one. But yeah, we’ve obviously been having fun with it, but for sure the sport’s getting a massive push here in the States. I don't feel it's forced, you know, everyone's pushing it because everyone wants to see it and the interest is so high and it's been really cool just to like, I think ultimately for us it's not about being on TV more or whatever, it's about being able to share the sport with a bigger audience, you know. I keep relating, when I was at school there was me and one other kid who were watching F1, it was two of us in a school of hundreds of kids. So, now I feel it's so much more. It's just more people talk about it, it's cool for us to share it. And it's been a passion our whole lives. So to bring in a new audience and I'm sure there's people in the States probably didn't know what F1 was, you know, a few years ago, and now, it's one of their favourite sports. So that's, that's really cool to hear.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) A question for Fernando. You mentioned this is your most competitive start to the season in terms of your personal performance? How do you evaluate that? Is it just purely a feeling? Or is there a bit more science to it? And what are the factors that allow you to be starting the season strongly in terms of that performance level?

FA: Yeah, well, it was not only me, I mean, I refer to me on the team. You know, we've been quite competitive every session that we did so far this year. I think we are top six or top seven. And that didn't happen for sure in my McLaren years, or the last few seasons in Ferrari, or last year with Alpine. So that's the facts, you know, that I'm referring to, and that’s pure, competitive places that we achieve in free practice and qualifying so far. And on the races, I think for things that they were maybe out of our hands, just pure reliability problems we didn't finish the job. But you know, so far, the car feels fast. And you know, and I'm confident with the car. That is never a guarantee, you know, when you change the rules, and we have new tyres as well, the 18-inch tyre, etc. Sometimes you need to adapt yourself a little bit and get the confidence into the car, to be able to push 100% and I had that quite immediately from winter testing. So I feel good.

Q: (Stuart Codling – GP Racing) Question for Charles, you talked about turning the page earlier… Hello, I’m behind your little sound thing? I don't have an oblong head. Maybe I do. You talked about turning the page? How do you actually go about doing that? When you're in the position you're in, you know, you this is potentially your biggest shot so far at winning the Formula 1 World Championship. You’ve got a great car. Mistakes are therefore quite expensive. So how do you adjust your mindset to sort of dial out maybe moments over ambition and things like that, without actually losing that sort of adventure that makes you a really fast driver and an a potential championship winner?

CL: Yeah, I think it's a balance to find. Because whenever you take risks, and these risks are successful, nobody really notices. There's a good result at the end of the weekend but nobody knows exactly how many risks you took to arrive to that result. Whenever you do a mistake, then obviously everyone sees it. So it's a balance I need to find. On that particular lap, I saw an opportunity to finish second. I think, before that, it was very clear to me that we were going to finish third because we didn't have the performance to beat the Red Bull that weekend. And on that particular lap, I pushed too much. So then once I know that, once I've analysed the data and know exactly what I've done, then it's time to move on. I cannot do much more about it. The position I’m in in the championship doesn't change it. It doesn't make it any harder to move on. I just try to go through the same process all the time, whatever the position I'm in. And yeah, that's it.

Q: (Mike Baumann – The Ringer) This question is for Nicholas. In one of the earlier sessions, there was a lot of talk about where the next American F1 driver might come from and Checo and Lance both had comments about the commitment it takes to move across the world as a young North American driver to pursue racing career in Europe, and I was curious if you had anything to add to that in terms of your own experience about the gravity of the commitment that takes?

NL: Yeah, it's definitely a very big commitment. Not only for North Americans, I mean, obviously Daniel can relate to that quite a lot as well. And yeah, it's definitely a big commitment, a big sacrifice. I mean, you move away from your family and friends, and your home, from a very, very young age. Racing in Europe in the junior series, on the weekends most of the other drivers are able to take an hour or a two-hour flight home, see their family and friends in the off-time and that obviously was not a luxury for me and I'm sure for Checo or Lance or Daniel. So it is difficult, and it is something that comes with the territory. It's something that I was very happy to do, to pursue my passion. So yeah, I guess any driver that's not really European-based, whether they're in the junior series or already racing at a high level, it is a commitment. I'm sure if they want to make that step, it's something they'll be happy to do, because obviously this is the pinnacle and yeah, I'm sure most drivers would, would love to be in that position.

Q: (Nathan Brown – USA Today)

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