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DRIVER GROUP 1: Esteban OCON
(Alpine), Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Daniel
RICCIARDO (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
Q: Daniel, if we could start
with you, please. Good one-lap pace in Barcelona last weekend, but a tough
race. Have you got to the bottom of what the struggle was on Sunday?
Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, we do. Yes, we understood, let's say, some issues we
faced over the course of the race. And yeah, looking forward to getting out
on track here, it’s completely different. And, I was just speaking to Kevin,
it's been a while since he was here and I was kind of judging his
excitement. And obviously we were here last year, but it's always a track
you get pumped up for.
Q: You’re a previous winner here: is this the racetrack where you feel you
can turn things around?
DR: It's definitely a track you can have the power in your hands to do so.
It's one that, if you're at one with the car, and you have that confidence,
it can turn into something pretty special around here. So yeah, looking
forward to trying to exploit all my potential.
Q: Final one from me, I just want to ask you about a quote from your boss,
Zak Brown, made earlier in the week, in which he said that your time with
the team hasn't lived up to expectations. What's your reaction to that?
DR: Well, it's not false. It's pretty true. It's something that… well,
firstly, comments like that I don’t take personally. My skin is tanned,
beautiful, and also thick. But it's… yeah… no one's going to be harder on me
than myself. I know that I don’t want to be racing around in 10th, 12th
places. I still believe I can be at the front, and belong at the front. So,
it's been a little bit more, certainly testing at times, in terms of
obviously trying to get up and maximise myself in this car. But yeah, we’re
working together hard at it. And the team wants it, I want it and we’re just
working through it.
Q: Kevin, coming to you, you've discussed this already with Daniel – but how
much did you miss this race last year when you weren’t racing Formula 1?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: A lot. I mean, when I watched the race here last year, that
was when it hurt the first time, you know, not being in those cars at this
track. It's… yeah, it was a bummer. So, so cool to be back and I'm super
excited to be here, driving this track again. I think it's… I agree with
Daniel, this track, there’s a special buzz around it. I know, maybe the race
on Sunday often isn't as eventful as usual but for us drivers it’s just such
a pleasure to drive.
Q: Now, we never saw what you were capable of last Sunday, due to the clash
with Lewis on the opening lap but how good was the car in race trim in
Barcelona? Do you think it will translate to the streets of Monaco?
KM: The race pace was good on the car. We got damage, so in the race it
actually didn't show so much, but in practice, it looked very good. And the
feelings was also good. So, I think it was good, in qualifying, and good in
the race, so hopefully we can be good here as well. It's obviously a very
different track, but we were good in the slow bits in Barcelona – Sector 3 –
so hopefully that carries on to here.
Q: Charles, coming to you now, if there's such a thing as a home advantage,
it's about time you got to result here.
Charles LECLERC: Well, I hope so! It’s been quite a few years now that I
come here to race and I actually never finished a race at home. So yeah,
hopefully this year is the right one.
Q: Do you think the strengths of
the Ferrari lend themselves to this layout?
CL: I think overall, whatever tracks we have been at this year, we've been
competitive, so I think we have a very strong package overall. In the
corners has been our strength against the Red Bull – but as we've seen last
year, we didn’t have a very competitive car, but we arrived in Monaco and
were super quick. So, it could be that we have some good surprises and maybe
other the teams, that we don't expect to be fighting for pole, are actually
there at the top. So, I think it will be an exciting weekend and I hope that
for ourselves, we will be strong.
Q: It was a very disappointing end to the Spanish Grand Prix for you. What
reassurances have you've been given by the team regarding reliability?
CL: Well, they understood the issue, and that is the most important now:
whenever you have a problem, you just need to analyse and understand what
went wrong. We did understand what went wrong; we changed a few things and
I'm confident that it won’t happen again.
Q: Final one from me. Football on Tuesday evening: pleased with your
performance?
CL: Absolutely not! I'm rubbish, really. It's not getting any better with
years, so it's quite worrying – but luckily for me, I'm better in cars, so
it’s OK.
Q: Esteban, you scored points here last year; we've scored points in every
race bar one in 2022. So how confident are you of continuing the trend this
weekend?
Esteban OCON: It is the goal; it is definitely what we want to achieve
again. We need to turn around that qualifying that we had in Barcelona,
because you can't afford to make a comeback in the race in here. So yeah, it
was definitely a good one on Sunday in Barcelona, very pleased to have both
cars, back in the top 10. It was good points for us and good understanding
also. But we're going to need to focus more on qualifying this weekend.
Q: The 2022 cars are very different compared to last year. How is that going
to manifest itself on a lap of this track? Do you think it's going to be a
very different ride? How do you expect them to perform over the kerbs? Can
you give us any insight on that?
EO: Yeah, it will probably be more bumpy ride than before, that's for sure.
I think hitting the kerbs and the bumps on the street, even though it's a
very smooth tarmac, it’s going to be a little bit more physical in that
respect. Also visibility might be harder, to get closer to the walls,
because it hides quite a lot of the vision this week. And braking: that car
is quite heavy in general, compared to before. We’re working towards getting
the performance compared to last year back, but it is more difficult on a
tight circuit, to manoeuvre these big cars now.
Q: And how was the road trip, from Barcelona?
EO: It was good. Thank you. Nice to have a bit of sightseeing, with my crew.
And yeah, nice to get some cheap meals on Monday after a race weekend.
Q: How many hours?
EO: It was six hours and a half. So, nice.
Q: Lewis, Toto said, said after the race on Sunday that you could have
challenged for victory without the incident of lap one. Do you agree with
him?
Lewis HAMILTON: I have no idea. It’s all ifs and buts but we definitely had
the pace.
Q: Did your pace on Sunday surprise you and the team?
LH: Yep, we definitely weren't expecting it. I think we were expecting to
hopefully be closer to the Ferraris but I think Charles’ pace was probably
ahead of everyone’s but other than that. I mean, yeah, I definitely didn't
expect to come so far behind.
Q: So Lewis, what does this mean looking at the bigger picture? Do you have
a car with which you could fight for the world title now?
LH: I don't know. It's too early to say. I think honestly, we know that
there's potential in the car and I think we tapped into it in the last race.
So, I'm really hoping this… I mean, this is a completely different track, so
I'm hoping that is not up and down from weekend-in, weekend-out from now on.
But my guess is as good as yours.
Q: What was the car like through Sector 3 in Barcelona? The slow corners.
LH: It wasn't spectacular. It was good in the race. I don't really
understand why it was good race, but we seemed to be as good as others in a
race. But in the single lap, it wasn't that great.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ed Spencer – Motorlat) Question to Daniel. You've had a sluggish run of
form since Melbourne. Why do you think you are struggling to gel with this
car?
DR: I think it’s still more than I like to be getting out of it, which
sometimes I can see and sometimes it's less clear. I think we've also had a
few things that have not gone, let's say, our way interrupted some of the
sessions. So it's a combination of a few things, but I think, even putting
that aside, yeah, it's still been a little bit tricky for me to always like
gel 100% with the car and feel like I can pull out these… I’m trying to say
spectacular laps, but that sounds like I'm really bigging myself up! But
yeah, just to pull out those heaters. I guess. It has been more tricky. For
sure. There's been some races sometimes where it's been good, but we're
honestly still working on it. I'd love to say I'm going to be half a second
quicker and awesome every race from now. I mean, I’d love to, and I’m
working to get that but yes, it’s still a bit of a process.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) It’s a question to Kevin, please, given
that the Haas operation has changed, since you last raced for the team in
2020, and the base of the operation is now at Maranello, just wondering now
you've been back with the team for a few months, what do you think of that
arrangement? How's it working for the team? And are you, yourself working
any differently away from the races, compared to your previous time?
KM: Yeah, that's been a nice change in the team. And the year I’ve been
away, as you said, they've moved. It's a bigger group now in Maranello, I
think that helps communication between the different departments, just being
able to go and talk to each other. Our team for all those years have been
spread out over the world: in the US; and then two places in Italy and one
in England, so very spread out. And I think in terms of communication, it
makes it easier when you can just go to mate’s desk and have a chat. So,
it's better, and it's also grown, and we have more people and it feels
better. And, of course, the car shows that too. So it's in a good place Haas
are pointing.
Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Question for Lewis, please. We understand
the jewellery issue has been pushed back to the end of June. The drivers
are, we understand, talking to the Medical Commission. Just want to ask,
from your point of view, have you actually looked into getting your nose
stud taken out? We understand that it wasn't quite so straightforward. Will
you put your earrings back in for this weekend? And are you happy with the
direction of travel that the conversation is going in now that there's a
sort of more open dialogue?
LH: Honestly, I feel like there's just way too much time and energy being
given to this. So I've said everything I feel I need to say on the last
races. And that's not what my focus is this weekend. I’ve taken out my studs
for every time I’ve been in the car, and I will continue to do so. And yeah,
the nose ring is not a problem at the moment.
Q: (Sam De Voogt – NRC Handelsblad) Daniel, I read a quote from you, where
you said that you enjoy the race as much as the spectacle of Monaco. And I
was wondering, how much do you notice of all the festivities during this
weekend?
DR: Oh, yeah, you notice. Some mornings, we’ll come in on a boat, There’s
only one circuit that I’ve ever rocked up to the track on a boat, so it’s
unique – and you feel like you're certainly part of the event with little
activities like this, or little moments. And you see everything around you.
I mean, a lot happens on the water here in Monaco. So you pass one boat,
which is huge and then the next one's bigger and then bigger . It’s
literally surreal. And then in terms of ,like we'll have events through the
week and weekend and some evening events but it's not like… we're obviously
not… you guys will probably go out Saturday night but I doubt you'll see us
out with you Saturday night – but just to know that the whole kind of places
is getting into it, and enjoying the event, not only what happens on track
but the mornings the evenings, it's fun, it's special, it has a unique kind
of aura about it. And I mean the circuit itself is… it's really like no
other, So it's a lot of fun.
Let's get one more comment. Local hero, what do you think?
CL: Daniel said it all – but for me it is weird because it's the city which
I grew up in, and to see the city just changing completely for the Grand
Prix is very, very special. All of my friends, all of my family is here,
watching from balconies of apartments of my friends around the track. And
yeah, to me feels a bit like a village but obviously on an event like this,
it's a bit bigger than a village and a lot of people are coming to Monaco to
watch the race, so it feels special.
Q: (No Name, no publication) Question for Lewis. Last year Ferrari had a
difficult year, but performed really well here. Obviously the performance of
Mercedes last week worked very well. Do you think you can be the surprise of
the weekend with Mercedes, let's say?
LH: I mean, I hope so. But we've not been that quick in low-speed so far
this year. So I anticipate… they have a lot of downforce, they’re going to
be quick this weekend. I’m just hoping we’re not as far back as we have
been.
Q: (Jon Noble – motorsport.com) Daniel, we were always under the impression
that you have a firm three-year contract at McLaren. After the last race,
you said you need to speak to the team before the summer to discuss next
year. Are there some doubts or decisions to be made about you will take the
next season, or is everything pushing on as expected?
DR: Yeah, it’s clear, I’ve got a contract ‘til the end of ’23. COVID messed
me up. So I just get confused with the years.
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek) Charles, on such an intense weekend in your
home town, how do you find moments of peace, of calmness?
CL: I actually changed a little bit my programme this year, compared to the
others. Obviously now it's more normal weekend with the Friday, Saturday,
Sunday as we have during the rest of the year. Normally, we had the Thursday
for practice. And Friday was full of media for me. And so was the Wednesday
– so it was a very busy week. But yeah, this week actually had a bit of
media on Tuesday, quite a bit yesterday but nothing too different compared
to a normal race weekend, which will probably help for this year. But yeah,
the home race is always special. And there's always more things going on.
But it's up to me to do in the way that I just put myself in the zone, 30-40
minutes before the session and get into the rhythm, just as I do in other
races.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Question for Lewis. We’re a third of the way through
the season now. I just wondered if you could just give us a summary of how
you felt your relationship with George is getting along? Obviously, he's hit
the ground running and surprised many of us just how quickly it's taken to
that car. I just wondered if you could just sum up how you're working with
him?
LH: It's going great and not really much more to say what than what I've
said before, but he's doing a great job. He's very, very consistent, very
clear and concise with his feedback. He hasn't had to gel-in because he was
already part of the team. So, it's been very smooth.
Q: (Seitanidis Panagiottis – Car Magazine Greece) Question for Charles. The
football game was mentioned earlier. There is a talk of the Nazionale Piloti
coming to Mykonos in August. How do you feel about returned to Greece to
play football and how important is the summer break for all of you in such
hectic seasons?
CL: I think this can be quite difficult to manage with all of our different
holidays. I don't think we'll all go to Mykonos. Mykonos is a place I love
personally and always love to go there to disconnect a little bit off
racing. And obviously I know that the Nazionale Piloti has helped the
hospital in Athens for the children who had cancer which was great to play
for this cause. But yeah, the summer break is extremely important, and
especially on such a long season, seasons get longer and longer so we get
more tired every season and it's very important to just relax and recharge
the batteries during this time. I did it last year in Mykonos, this year.
I'm not sure whether I will have the time to go to Greece, but Greece is
always a good time. So yeah, I'll see.
Q: Esteban, summer break?
EO: No plans yet. I don't know. But for sure I need to visit Greece at some
point, because I've seen pictures of Charles, being there and all that. It
looks cool, so maybe.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – Racefans.net) Lewis, a question for you. Obviously,
Monaco is massively about confidence and coming away from Spain with the
confidence that you got, I just wondered when mentally you are coming into a
race like this, where literally anything can happen on the first lap?
LH: Pretty open-minded, really. But definitely excited. You know, this is
one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting race weekend of the year.
They changed the format a little bit but the weather has been great this
past days, and I know Sunday might be a little bit different but it's… just
the idea that in a couple of hours, we're going to be out on this track. And
there's only 20 of us that get to do it. It's such a privileged position to
be in. And such an awesome experience. It's… your emotions are up and down.
And then it's going to be fun out there today. I can't wait. And of course,
since we've just made some changes in the last race, it won't be I don't
think it'll be as bad as it had been in other races, but I won't hold my
breath.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Daniel, you’re a two-time pole winner here in
Monaco. This track obviously it's so difficult to race, but drivers talk
about the qualifying thrill. When you hook up a pole lap around here, is
that as good as it gets in Formula 1? And is Saturday in Monaco, one of the
highlights of the season – if not the highlight?
DR: It truly is, yeah. Saturday, Monaco, it's probably the biggest day in F1
over the year, and it's definitely the biggest day if you get it right. That
that feeling of putting it together. And it's just … like every circuit
requires full commitment, it's obvious, but this is this is another… there's
more variables, there's more factors, there's just something else. And you
also don't really have time to think: there's no real long straights;
there's no fresh air coming through because it's so tight and twisty through
the streets. So, it's all like you're just in it and you can't really get
out of it, if you know what I mean. So when you hook the lap up, it's… yeah,
you feed off each corner: every corner you do well, you link the next one
up, and it's a pretty beautiful feeling. Honestly, as Lewis just touched on,
it’s a privilege for us to race these cars around here. It's ridiculous. In
the best way possible.
Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for Lewis and any other drivers
who’d like to take part. We all know you as drivers like racing on this
circuit but realistically, with these current cars, with their width and
their weight, do you think you'll actually be able to race them at all
against one-another on Sunday?
LH: We all know what kind of race it is, the actual Sunday. It’s all about
qualifying. So Saturday is the day. And then Sunday, it's most often,
generally, unless you luck-in with a bit of strategy. Generally, I mean,
there's not many overtakes here, I think, ever, so… and now the cars are
bigger and heavier, and there probably won't be any more. It'll be the same.
EO: The emphasis is definitely going to be on qualifying again, as Lewis
said. I don't think the rule change is going to help a lot for this track.
Even if you look at the touring car races, it is tricky for them as well.
It's not necessarily the downforce issues or the weight. It's just that it's
very tight, the track, and if you cover the inside, you don't have much
chance to pass. So yeah, as usual, it's going to be a big fight on Saturday.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Lewis, I appreciate your comments earlier
that you've expended too much energy on this particular subject, but is it
at least a positive from the drivers perspective that the FIA and its
medical commissioner Dr Sean Petherbridge, in particular, has at least
listened to the comments of people like yourself and the other drivers and
they are happy to work with you on the jewellery subject? Thank you.
LH: It came in in 2005. I think we've all worn jewellery our whole careers
in Formula 1, it’s not been a problem in the past and there's no reason for
it to be a problem, necessarily, now. There are positives that we're working
with them. And I think they're accommodating a little bit at the moment. But
we shouldn't have to keep on revisiting this thing every weekend. We’ve
definitely got bigger fish to fry. Not literally obviously, but you know
what I mean!
Q: (Aaron Deckers – Racing News 365) To Daniel, just a short question to
clarify. Is it a three year contract or two-plus-one?
DR: It's a three-year. So, end of ’23. And then… yeah, there's, yeah… let's
say that.
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport). Quick question to Lewis. We're now, give or take,
a month out from the British Grand Prix, which is a sell-out crowd. But
given the narrative around yourself and Mercedes, perhaps a bit different
going into this one, I just wondered if you had a message to the fans that
will be going?
LH: I don't know if there's a different narrative. I'm hoping by then, we
are where we plan to be. I know everyone back at the factory is working as
hard as they can, to continue to make advances with the car and I have no
doubts that that we will. And yeah, I'm hoping by Silverstone we have the
car where we need it, at least by then, to be able to fight these guys for
the win. That's what I'm working every day for, is so that we can fight on
home turf, and give them the best race we can.
Q: (Matt Coch – Speedcafé) Daniel, Tom asked you earlier about the issues
you had in Spain. Just picking at that a little bit, can you elaborate? Is
it something that is likely to rear its head again? Was it set-up ? Driving
style, etc? Can you be more specific with what it was, and if it'll reoccur
elsewhere?
DR: Yeah, so we basically found an issue on the car. It's rectified. That's
the right word. Basically, it's been fixed, for people with more simple
English, like myself. And yeah, so coming into this weekend we're all
sorted. Fresh start, let's say.
DRIVER GROUP 2: Zhou GUANYU (Alfa Romeo), Yuki TSUNODA (AlphaTauri),
George RUSSELL (Mercedes), Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull), Nicholas LATIFI
(Williams)
Q: Checo, we’re starting with you. Can we start by talking about the
challenges of this race track? It's one of extremes, and you've experienced
every emotion going here. You've crashed, you finished on the podium. Just
can you explain the challenges of this Monaco track? And why those
challenges make the rewards that much sweeter?
Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, I think it's a track where it's full of challenges.
Until you finish the race, you know you finish it, you know, because at any
point you can make a small mistake where in a regular circuit it would not
impact at all your result, but here, it makes a huge difference, you know.
So, being committed, being patient, being precise, it always pays off here.
But you have to build up confidence to the weekend from FP1 already. So
track time here is very important. I look forward to it. I think Q3 we are
all very excited. We all feel like we can make the difference in Q3. That's
why the drivers love this place.
Q: What about car performance? I mean, is there any reason to think you
can't challenge for the win this weekend?
SP: We'll see. But we believe Ferrari is going to be particularly strong in
this place. They're very strong in the low speed. Their ride over the curves
is very good. So they were already last year and they didn't have a good
car, so I expect them to be very competitive here. But we'll see. I think
after today we will have a bit more of an idea if we are able to challenge
them tomorrow.
Q: You said after the race in Barcelona that you wanted to chat to the team
about its intra-team tactics, about team orders. Have you managed to do that
and what conclusions have been reached?
SP: Yes, we spoke after the race. I felt that during the race that we could
have given a very good shot at the two-stop strategy to see if it could work
or not, which the team took onboard. At the end of the day, it was clear
that the three-stop was the way to go. And yeah it was just we both agree on
the same page and we move on. And it's a great atmosphere here at Red Bull;
we have a great momentum. So, at the end of the day, it was a great team
result, and they made it clear that I have the full support of the team to
see me winning.
Q: Thank you Checo, best of luck this weekend. Yuki, Let's come to you now.
Your second visit to Monaco. How important will your experience from last
year be this time around?
Yuki TSUNODA: It's more, I think more in control, how to approach this track
and definitely last year’s experience helps for this year. Yeah. Can't wait
to hit on track. Last year wasn’t a good race, I would say. But still, I
showed a couple of good pace in the race. So it's going to be another race
week. So we'll see how it goes in this week.
Q: How do you approach Q1 with all the ‘traffic paradise’ that you'd like to
talk about? Just talk us through the discussions you have with your
engineers to ensure that you get a clean run?
YT: Yeah, I mean, I got a little bit too overexcited in Barcelona.
Definitely try to… For sure it's going to be… I’ll expect much worse in this
truck, in terms of traffic. So I mean, this kind of expectation or any
management, if you have a lot of traffic, I still can maybe control
hopefully. But we’ll see. I think I'm more focused on my job, I would say.
Also, the car pace here, or car behaviour, I can't expect anything, so just
try to aim to give the feedback as much as possible. It's definitely good
for the team as well to have a kind of new data, like kind of track is
really unusual. I’m just going to focus and stick on those places. And try
to have more control, to have more control on my side.
Q: Tell us a little bit more about car performance because you said last
weekend in Barcelona that you weren't happy with the car there. So do you
think the tight layout of Monaco will suit you better?
YT: Yeah, like I say I think this track is different. We need a specific
set-up for here. That will hopefully bring us a little bit of different
behaviour compared to Barcelona. Also, Barcelona was one of the tracks we
didn't expect [to be] that bad. Miami was really good with both cars in Q3,
we showed a good pace there. But oppositely in Barcelona, we didn't have
like that much of pace. So I can’t expect anything but yeah, this track is
very unusual. kind of bumpy, a lot of really slow-speed corners and that
will bring us a little bit of a different picture this week, and hopefully
that will help us to bring us both cars in the points.
Q: Thank you, best of luck to you. Zhou, let's come to you, you're first
Monaco Grand Prix. How are you feeling? Nervous, excited, just give us a
little insight?
Zhou GUANYU: I'm quite excited to be honest. Because in Jeddah obviously it
was my first time on the streets, I was pretty nervous that weekend. But
after you know, doing the whole weekend, kissing the walls, and feels like
this weekend is a bit more relaxed, and also for myself just doing the
normal, you know, progress throughout Friday into Saturday. It’s being a
good, let's say graph so far, just build up my confidence. And like Checo
said, the main key, as a rookie, especially for me, is to to to maximise the
track time and then just to build up the speed from there. But yeah, Monaco
has been quite nice to me in the past. So hopefully, we give away all this
bad luck in the last few races and bring it all from here and work onwards.
Q: As you say, Monaco has been good to you in the past, you won in Formula 2
of course. How different do you expect the tract to feel in a Formula 1 car
as opposed to a Formula 2 car?
ZG: I think there's going to be a massive difference, because just the speed
difference, going around the section is completely different and also
especially, I think, you know, the last section going through the Swimming
Pool section is very tough here, I think, with the speed you are travelling,
if you just kissing the wall, and you could be, you know, bouncing or
jumping on the kerbs and we have to see how this new car, this new
generation behaves. Because I think with the car bouncing, maybe let's say
if it's bouncing more than Formula 2, because Formula 2 is pretty stiff
around here, but I think this year Formula 1 will be completely different.
And it will be quite a big change for me. But I don't see, you know, big
surprises, because after all these races I feel like I was able to maybe get
up to speed a little bit quicker than the first few races that's for sure.
Q: You touched on your bad luck at the last couple of races: two
retirements, both in Miami and Barcelona. What has the team told you about
the situation with reliability? How confident do you feel, coming into this
one, that there won't be a recurrence of the problem?
ZG: Yeah, I mean, both were sort of cooling issues. With the reliability of
the car of course it's been quite frustrating for my site. But I mean, the
good thing is that what happened in Miami wasn't the same issue that
happened in Barcelona. So the issue in Miami was fixed. But then it
obviously surprised us with that different problems we were having. It
increased, a huge amount, the water temperature, and I had to retire, to try
to save the engine, especially for the coming season. And yeah, it was the
right call. But from my side, I think the team has been pushing very hard,
especially back the factory. I remember on Sunday night they were already
trying to figure it out, looking into it, and everything seems to be working
well. And the fingers crossed that we finally have fixed all the issues we
have. Apart from that, hopefully we'll have a clean weekend as that's the
key. And I feel like we always have the potential to fight for points and we
have to make sure everything goes into plan and we don't have all these
surprising issues.
Q: Nicholas, coming to you now. It was a pretty good weekend for you here
last year. Just tell us what you're expecting coming into this weekend?
Nicholas LATIFI: Yeah, it's always exciting to come here to Monaco and I
think specifically in qualifying, it's probably one of the most enjoyable
laps of the year for us as drivers, you know, and even in junior categories
that’s been the case. So yeah, with these new cars it’s going to be a step
trickier for everybody, not only the stiffness and riding the bumps and the
kerbs. Obviously, the visibility is slightly worse but I think most of us
are pretty used to that now. I think one of the areas that most of us
drivers have been pretty vocal about you know, really feeling the, let's
say, negative performance of these cars is the slowest speed relative to the
previous years and you know, and what is the track but a lot of very slow
speed corner! It'll definitely probably not feel as nice as last year.
Obviously I’ve only been here once in an F1 car. But I think that's kind of
going to be the same for everybody. And hopefully, you know, this track
always allows a little bit more for the driver to make a little bit of a
difference and it’s maybe not as much reliant on outright car performance.
It's, it's very likely that that will still be the case, but especially in
Q1, you know, we could see 20 cars on this track and it always presents a
big challenge, you know, people not getting their tyre prep right, yellow
flags, different strategies, traffic. So hopefully we get everything right
and we can maybe make a difference in that regard. But, nonetheless, very
much looking forward to the weekend.
Q: Let's talk about your current performance. What are the limitations of
the FW 44? And will the nature of Monaco help you to be more competitive
than you were last time out?
NL: I think prior to Barcelona, it was very clear. You know, besides just
overall downforce, that’s obviously a key thing, but it was clear to me and
to Alex, I think there's some balance issues we would like to improve that
are kind of just inherent with the car. But I think going to Barcelona, it
highlighted just the lack of downforce we do have compared to other cars. I
mean, it's a track where you normally put everything you have on it in terms
of load. And yeah, we were just missing a lot, a lot in the high-speed
corners, based on the GPS data still pretty healthy in a straight line. So
yeah, I think it gave us some good directions for the factory and for the
longer-term development of the car. Obviously, this is a track as well where
you want a lot of downforce on the car. A little bit different from
Barcelona, where you have really long, flowing corners, where you could
really use that downforce here, you still want it, but it's just been
different because of the nature of the track. So, I mean, I expect it to be
a tricky weekend, for sure. But, you know, hopefully we can optimise all the
little details, as good as they can be, and hopefully that can make a
difference for us.
Q: Okay, best of luck with that. George, coming to you. Thanks for waiting.
Tremendous race by you on Sunday. Has Mercedes now found a path in terms of
development with this car?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, I think so. I think we've definitely turned a corner.
And I think our season starts from Barcelona, really. The first five races
were problem-solving as such, and I think we've solved the problem now we
can now focus on development. So we are six races behind. Red Bull I think
are the main ones who didn't seem to have any porpoising issues from day one
and they seem to just seemed to get cracking with their development. But I
think we're excited. Because we think we've got performance in there that we
can unlock again, but it's pleasing to see we now have a stable race car
that we can build upon.
Q: What's the mood in the camp has a has a sense of optimism returned?
GR: I think there was always optimism, I don't think the morale was ever
lost, because we always believed that we'd be able to find this performance
sooner rather than later. And we knew we wasn't going to be able to achieve
it overnight. But I think being able to solve this issue in the space of
five races is still incredibly impressive. And, you know, from previous
experience, I know just how tough it is sometimes to overcome some inherent
difficulties within the car. So six races in we can get cracking now. I
think that's pretty inspiring and really thankful to everybody back at
Brackley and Brixworth who have been working relentlessly to find the
solutions and as I said, it all starts now.
Q: We all enjoyed your battle with Max Verstappen in the race and you said
afterwards that you first raced each other in karting back in 2011. How
different does it feel to go wheel-to-wheel with a rival in Formula 1
compared to karting? Same old tricks?
GR: I think all of the youngsters know each other pretty well. We know the
style we have, how aggressive each one is and how they like to race, how
they like to drive. Equally, I think there's even more respect as well
because we've known each other for longer and we've battled each other for
longer so yeah, definitely enjoyed it.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to George, please. We saw you
have been in the Mercedes simulator ahead of this weekend's and I wondered,
what can we expect with how the 2022 cars are going to perform around
Monaco? They're designed to be better in high-speed corners and they tend to
be worse in slow-speed corners, which pretty much all we have around here.
So how will it feel different for you as drivers? And how might it look
different to people watching from outside?
GR: Well, it still felt incredibly exhilarating, you know, my heart was
pumping, just from the simulator. Probably pumping faster than it is
compared to some of the racetracks in the race car itself, comparing to
Monaco in the simulator, to put it into perspective of how brutal this
circuit is. Clearly, these new cars don't… A circuit like Monaco doesn't
bring out the best of these new cars because they are heavier, it's a bit of
a slog around these low-speed corners. So you may see a greater variation
compared to what we've seen in previous years. But to the outside view, I
don't think it'll be any different.
Q: Checo, can we open this to you as well? You've driven so many different
iterations of Formula 1 car around this track. What are you expecting from
the 2022 cars?
SP: Yeah, I think George is quite right in that regard. I think with this
generation of cars, it's probably the worst track for it, you know, because
in the low speed is where we've lost the most, compared to last year, for
example. But it will be very interesting. I think also, the visibility with
these cars in streets courses is quite difficult. And so you might be
expecting to see drivers making more mistakes, due to visibility, due to
wider cars, wider tyres. Probably the race it will be a bit more difficult
to overtake. And through the years, I think that will be the main difference
and qualifying will be quite different in that regard.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Another question for you, George, about Alex
Albon. I know when you left Williams at the end of last year, you were
pushing quite hard for him to get that seat. What have you made of Alex’s
start to the season? It seems to have been a really strong start from him?
GR: Yeah, Alex has done an exceptional job. I think there was obviously no
secret he had a tough time that Red Bull, but I think all of us, even
probably Max included, just knew how talented Alex was. And, you know,
we've, as I said, we've all raced each other since 2011. Alex, was a few
years older than us. So he was sort of competing against de Vries at the
time, in KF one, I remember and he's always been there, you know. He's
always been one of the very best, so it's no surprise to me, and I think
happy to see that he's back in Formula 1, and that he has cemented his
position.
Q: Nicky, can I throw this to you? Similarities between Alex and George?
GR: Not the hair!
NL: Similarities? I think it goes without saying they're both very,
extremely quick drivers. And I mean, especially when Alex was announced as
the race driver that was going to be my teammate, I had no illusions that he
was he was not going to be on the pace straight away, despite him missing
out a year. Obviously, I raced against him in 2018, or I raced as his
teammate in 2018, and I know just how quick he was. So I think in many ways,
the similarities, there are obviously some little differences in driving
style here and there, which I kind of knew going into the season as well,
just from, again, having been teammates with Alex beforehand. I won’t say
the driving style secrets because maybe they don't want to disclose that.
But it's been great having both them as teammates.
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek). For George. With stiffer cars this year,
does that mean you have to tackle certain corners here in a different
fashion?
GR: I think potentially you need to maybe in FP1 leave even more margin
compared to normal because the cars are very stiff. We are very low to the
ground and it is bumpy around here, so I think you can be caught off guard
pretty quickly. We always knew that was going to be one of the challenges
with these 2022 cars so low to the ground. We've seen it with Mick’s crash
in Jeddah for example: uou run a bit wide onto the kerb and you bottom out
and you're off. So yeah, there's been obviously a lot of positives brought
with these new regulations but there have been some negatives as well.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – Racefans.net) Sergio, on the radio, you said during
Spain that you thought the move was unfair that Red Bull decided to do. I
just wondered if you still stood by that? Whether you've had conversations
since about it? And whether you were aware that that would have been a
tactic, maybe that Red Bull we're going to do coming into the season?
SP: Not really coming into the season. I think more about the race.
Obviously, when you're in the car, you have certain information. And you
know, the team has a wider picture. And in the car, at the time, it felt
like we could have done a better job, especially in the second stint, you
know, giving a better shot, a better opportunity to the two-stop strategy to
see if it could work or not. But it was clear that the three-stop was the
way forward. It was better to go the way. We spoke up to the race and it's
all clear. And we all agreed that we could have done a better job in that
stint to give a better shot to both strategies, to see which one worked. At
the end of the day, for the team it was a great team result. And it's a
great momentum behind Red Bull at the moment.
Q: (Ed Spencer – Motorlat) A question to both Yuki and Zhou. When you expect
to know your 2023 plans and how are contract talks going between your
particular teams?
ZG: Yeah, so basically, it's still the beginning of this season. So I have
no plans yet towards the future or what’s the plan yet. But I quite enjoy my
moments so far in Formula 1. Of course, it's been quite up and down, because
due to the last few races reasons. But overall, I feel very happy and very
nice to be here. And I feel like there's still plenty of races for me to
develop my ability in Formula 1 yet. So I'm not really too worried about the
future yet. And I think right now I’ll just try to try to focus on getting
myself up to speed and bring the team double points finishes. And then if
everything plays out as planned I see no reason what’s the future going to
be but I feel quite confident that we can still do the job this season and
I’m not too worried about what's coming up in next year's plan yet.
YT: I don't know. Well, I'm just focusing right now to the car, developing
the car as much as possible for the team. And we have a clear target for the
team championship. So just aiming for those things and other than that I
don’t know.
Q: (Carlo Platella – Formulapassion.it) George, any idea on why Lewis was
able to express a better race pace in Spain than you?
GR: Yeah, I think what Lewis achieved on Sunday was incredibly impressive.
And probably the first time we've all seen this season his true pace come
alive and unleashed. So, you know, I think nobody was probably surprised by
that. And we all know what Lewis is capable of, but I struggled a lot with
cooling issues from probably lap five onwards in the race and subsequently
got the tyres out of the window from probably doing too much management to
cool the engine, cool the brakes, cool the tyres. And it was a bit of a
survival race. So I think it gives us optimism as a team when we saw Lewis
in the position he was, just going for it and seeing what was possible.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Checo, during your talks with the team
following the Spanish Grand Prix, did you ask the question, or has it at
least been made clear to you. that you are free to race for wins and even
the title this season and that you will not just be Max's wingman?
SP: It's fairly clear. They didn’t need to say it, but it's clear, I think
on my side of the garage it's clear and inside the team. Otherwise I
wouldn't be here. So it's fairly clear.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Checo, on the topic of contracts and futures, in
Miami you said you started some loose talks with the team but you're in no
rush about anything and the team seems delighted with how you have been
performing so far this season. When do you have in mind about talking
properly with the team about next year and getting something set?
SP: Yeah, I think at the moment is not the not the highest priority. We are
in the middle of the season right now and as you know, it's never easy to
get a contract out of Helmut and Christian. But I think we both very happy
and we should see that coming soon.
Q: (Seitanidis Panagiottis – Car Magazine Greece) A question for George. You
have a great start to the season even though the car is not performing at
its best yet. How satisfied are you on a personal note with what you have
achieved so far and the performance you had so far?
GR: I think if you told me prior to the season that we'd be seven races in
and I wouldn't have a victory to my name, I would have definitely been a bit
disappointed with that. But I think given the pace of the car and given
where we've been as a team, I've been reasonably pleased with how I've
performed. I think the results have been maximised. I don’t see many races
where we could have achieved better results. But definitely got room to
improve. You are constantly striving for more when you understand the car
more, the tyres more. And you know, I want to fight for this championship.
And when we’ve got to go against the likes of Max at Red Bull and obviously
Charles is doing an extra extremely good job at the moment with Ferrari. But
as a team, we just need to keep on pushing, I need to keep on pushing
personally. So, more to come.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Checo, just following up on what you said
earlier about the lack of visibility with these new 2022 cars. Could you
expand on that? What is it you'll see less of this year? And why is that a
particular concern on a track like this?
SP: Well, I think we all struggle with the wider tyres. So, the reference we
used to have, and the one that we grew up with, it's different now. So just
having that reference, that sensitivity. And I always find like you’re not
able to look after what's after the tyre. You just look on top of the tyre
at the moment. It doesn't really matter how high or low you are. You just
get to a certain point and that's it. So I think we’ve got different
measurements this season on how we see the visibility from our perspective,
but I think by now we are all pretty used to it, but it's just quite
different.
DRIVER GROUP 3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Alfa Romeo), Lance STROLL (Aston
Martin), Sebastian VETTEL (Aston Martin), Alex ALBON (Williams)
Q: Let's start by talking updates. A lot was new last weekend in Barcelona
for you. What were your first impressions?
Sebastian VETTEL: Well, we knew it's going to be a big package. Obviously,
it was an incredible effort to get so many pieces out and onto the track for
both cars. And yeah, the car, obviously we didn't see a massive step in
performance just yet. But it did feel a bit different. I think we learned a
lot during the weekend. Quali we expected a little bit more, so we were
disappointed. But in the race, I think we were OK and just missed out on the
points. But obviously there's still a lot of work to do. And like I said, I
think the main thing was the laps and the running really helped us to
understand where the car now is and where we need to put it in the future.
Q: How much more potential does this car have now?
SV: Well, we think a lot more otherwise there was no point in changing so
much. So obviously, it's a completely different direction. And we believe,
we’re confident it’s the right one.
Q: How do you think it'll translate to Monaco? It’s such a unique circuit.
SV: This I don't know. I feel it's a bit difficult to know what to expect.
For sure the cars that are upfront, they will be upfront, but I think it
could mix things up a little bit. But not sure which way, because the cars
are just different this year. So we will see how everybody's getting on. I
think mostly the way everybody's running these cars, they’re so stiff, it
doesn't really suit Monaco, but it will be the same for all of us.
Q: Sebastian, you said earlier this week that you expect this to be a very
physical race, perhaps more physical than in the past?
SV: Did I?
Q: In your preview, yes. why do you think that?
SV: Well, I don't know why I said it. I think street circuits are always
tough on you, because the level of focus is quite high. Obviously, you don't
have high-speed corners and the load on the body is not that big. But yeah,
it's quite warm, not just in here, also in the car it can be. So we'll see.
But yeah, maybe it rains on Sunday, then it will be you know, mentally a
very, very tough race. We had some wet races in the past here I think in
2008 and 2016. Yeah. ’15 or ’16. So it can mix things up. And we will see.
Q: Final one for me, Sebastian. Inspector Seb, there was a story going
around earlier this week about you chasing a suitcase around Barcelona. What
happened there?
SV: Well, I was checking out in the morning from the hotel and had my bag in
the car. And when I just quickly went back in and came back out the bag was
gone. So after a while, I realised I had my headphones in the bag and I
could locate them. I found the headphones but didn't find the bag. So it was
not really a chase. But yeah, obviously a bit disappointed to lose the bag.
Q: Where were the headphones?
SV: They were in the bag, but then once I found them they were in a
flowerpot. So I guess the person who stole it, he or she knew exactly that
you can be tracked.
Q: All right. Thank you, Sebastian. Best of luck this weekend. Lance, let's
come to you and just get your thoughts on the changes that you've made to
the car. Andrew Green said last weekend that it provides more set-up
possibilities. How are you finding it? Do you feel that there are more
options?
Lance STROLL: Yeah, I definitely think that, you know, there's more
opportunity with this direction of development we've taken, but it's early
days. We're still learning a lot about our car. And yeah, I think in looking
back at Barcelona, there was a lot we could have done differently. So coming
here this weekend, completely different kind of track, but it's exciting to
go into this weekend learning from Barcelona with this new car and we'll see
how we go.
Q: You say you could have done a lot differently in Barcelona. Can you give
us any more insight into what you could have done differently and you may
apply here in Monaco?
LS: Just in a lot of… Without getting into too much detail just set-up, you
know, set-up work. I think there's always a lot to learn with a new package.
How to optimise it. In one weekend with such a new package it's very
difficult to get everything working as you want. So there was definitely a
lot we learned from Barcelona. But like I said, coming here, it's such a
different kind of track, that there will definitely be a whole different car
here. And hopefully, we're more competitive than we were last week in
Barcelona.
Q: And Lance, just tell us about the challenge of Monaco, you're in the
points last year? Do you enjoy it? Is there a particular section of the
track that you find the most enjoyable?
LS: Yeah, I do enjoy it. I mean, it's, you know, a big challenge for the
drivers mentally, physically as well. I think just the fact that you don't
really get a break, you know, during the lap here. The race is always really
long, it’s 80 laps, or whatever it is. It's always a long race here and
requires a lot of focus. So it's a place I always enjoy coming to, and it's
good to good test for the drivers, so I'm looking forward to it.
Q: Best of luck to you. Alex, coming to you bad news. First of all, George
Russell told us told us a moment ago that he's not going to be going red.
Alex ALBON: Very disappointing.
Q: Now, this is something of a home race for you. Just how does it feel
coming in?
AA: Yeah, I think a few of us we live quite close to here. It's a nice
place. The circuit itself is really special. I think it's one of the few
circuits that we go to where the focus is more on a Saturday than Sunday,
but at the same time, doing those laps on Saturday feels really special.
Q: And what is the secret to surviving 78 laps on Sunday?
AA: Not sure to be honest! I would say keep it away from the guardrails and
you're there. As Seb said, it's a different kind of circuit in the way that
it's maybe not so physical, but it's a lot more mental. So it's a lot more
about staying in the zone. And especially if it's going to be raining on
Sunday. I think there's going to be a real opportunity there for slip-ups to
happen. And hopefully, you know, if you keep it clean, you can be fighting
in the points.
Q: Okay, and what about car performance? It was disappointing last weekend
in Barcelona. You said you couldn't drive slowly enough. Do you understand
why you were suffering so much last weekend?
AA: Yeah, I think, firstly, we had damage, so that was the main thing. We
had a pretty hefty floor damage as well on top of it. So it does show that
you do need downforce to stop sliding. That's no secret. And in general, the
top teams are also sliding a bit less than the bottom teams, so you get this
expansion of pace in the race. Barcelona wasn't a good one for us, we will
have to look back at it. And we have and we know the areas that we’re weak
in. So yes, there is a there is a push of course. And we didn't have updates
in Barcelona, unlike most of the other people. They will be coming. And then
once they come obviously we will hopefully be fighting a bit more up at the
midfield you know, at least short term we're in Monaco and it's similar to
Miami, that's what I was trying to say. So hopefully we can get into that
rhythm and we were pretty good there. So you never know.
Q: And in the space of a week we've gone from Pirelli’s hardest compounds to
their softest compounds. What will that mean for Williams?
AA: Hard to say, but I think this year the tyres themselves have been a
little bit different to normal. I think we were running the C5s in Melbourne
and it wasn't necessarily a one-lap tyre, which especially around that
circuit you would you would say it would be, so I'm not sure how qualifying
will pan out if we ended up doing a few laps to get the tyres up to
temperature but it's going to be an interesting one and especially if the
race, tyre temps and everything like that is in the wet. It's going to be
challenging.
Q: All right, thank you, Alex. Best of luck to you, Valtteri, let's start
with the home race question. Must feel like a home race to you. Which part
of the racetrack do you use most? Just on a normal day in Monaco away from
the race weekend.
Valtteri BOTTAS: I think it's kind of a home race for many, many drivers on
the grid, including me and yeah, I would say the main street that's my most
common route to get to the apartment. So but yeah, obviously the whole track
most drivers know pretty well, all the bumps and corners.
Q: Now, you were mixing it at the front just last weekend in Spain, are you
confident of doing so again this week?
VB: Yes, I think that we have another good opportunity this weekend. It is
really a unique track and always coming here, like Seb said, it's quite hard
to know exactly what to expect, you know how the car is going to behave. But
I would say on paper it should be hopefully better than Barcelona, because
still the strength we have is the slow-speed corners. So if you look at it
that way, it could be good. But we need to wait and see. There are obviously
many variables on this track. The qualifying sessions are not necessarily
the smoothest and you know, everything just needs to needs to go right.
Q: We've seen all of the front-running teams deliver their first round of
upgrades and Alfa Romeo is still up there. How much confidence does that
give you going forward for the rest of the season?
VB: It is a great motivation for us as a team, you know, even to be able to
fight with, let's say, bigger teams at this point is really encouraging. And
I can feel and see the motivation in the team. And it's same for me. We want
to look at every single detail how we can fight more often with them, so
it's good.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek) This is for Sebastian. With an impaired
visibility in the 2022 cars, is that a special worry for such a tight track
as Monaco?
SV: What do you mean?
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek) That you see less in this year's cars, out
of the car, than in the past? Visibility is not as good.
SV: No, you got bigger the bigger wheels mostly are the bigger tyres. We
will see. In the other places we went to it wasn't that bad. I think most of
us we got used to it by now as well, but we will see. I think the critical
places are up the hill towards the Casino, then probably just getting close
to the armco or the edges of the track. So not much we can do. We don't have
much choice. You can play a little bit with how not really that much with
how high you sit. But other than that, you can’t fit smaller wheels or take
the fairings off!
Q: Sebastian, do you sit higher in the cockpit at this race than other Grand
Prix?
SV: Tiny bit, but there's very little room you can play with. So whatever
room you have, then some tracks you'd like to sit a little bit higher, but
we're talking literally like two or three millimetres so…
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) A question to Sebastian and to Lance as
well, please? I wondered what was your reaction to the reaction from some
quarters regarding the changes that were made to your car revealed of the
Spanish Grand Prix, people calling it a green Red Bull. Some might say
that's an overreaction given that throughout Formula 1’s history, cars have
changed to look similar to other cars. And in fact, lots of people over the
winter were saying that quite quickly car designs were going to converge and
look fairly similar based on what was quick.
LS: We designed the car, the FA said it was OK and legal. They let us
compete and yeah, we started designing this car many, many months ago. Parts
of it looks similar, I guess, to the Red Bull, but you know, it was it was
us back at the factory that designed it and I think the team did an
incredible job at getting you know all the bits out to Barcelona because it
was flat out for many weeks leading up to the race and very challenging to
get all the parts to Barcelona for both cars. So really well done to the
whole team and it was an extremely great effort from everyone to do that.
SV: Well, I think it was just at some point not fair, you know, especially
towards… First of all, all the effort that went in, like Lance described;
second, I think on a personal level to Dan Fallowes, I don't think it was
fair. Some things that were said I think we're not right. He's a very good
guy. I remember him from my time at Red Bull. And obviously, you know, he's
joined the team, when he's with us now, so I think some of the things that
were said are just not right, and I would like to hear, you know, not an
apology… Well you will never hear anything but what I mean is, I think some
of the things that were being said, were just not fair.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Sebastian, I'd like to ask you about your time
at Ferrari and driving classic cars. Charles has been driving quite a few
cars recently. I believe you drove Gerhard Berger’s car when you wer
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