1 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Isack HADJAR (Red Bull Racing)

PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by James Hinchcliffe)

Q: Isack, great lap out there. It's been a bit of a challenging weekend on your side of the garage, struggling to get the car balance the way you wanted it. Obviously, a big step up in qualifying. How was it out there?
Isack HADJAR: Well, I mean, I'm happy with P3 because it's been incredibly hard for me since the start of the weekend. Couldn't find the right balance, struggled so much this morning. I couldn't even set a lap on the Softs because the car was that hard to drive. So I'm just thankful for the hard work of the team throughout the weekend. I've been a bit tough with them, so I want to apologise. But yeah, I'm happy to be third, even though I think we had a better shot at pole. I had a massive, massive tailwind in Turns 13 and 15. I lost so much time on my lap, so I'm a bit gutted. But yeah, I'm happy to have fought back like that.

Q: All right, well, best of luck tomorrow. Congratulations on a strong qualifying result. Next up, his teammate will start second for the Grand Prix, Max Verstappen. Max, it's been a strong weekend for you. Listen to the crowd reaction. You absolutely love this racetrack. A little mistake, a little issue on that final lap. Did you have anything else in it, and what do you think you could do tomorrow?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, just Q3 was not good. I mean, Q1 and Q2 were nice, but then, for whatever reason, on both of the sets, just didn't have a good balance, there were no mistakes, but just no grip, and started to slide a lot. And then the final lap, you can see that it's not really happening with the tailwind in places. So, you try to push a bit more, you hit the bump wrong, and the car is like a kangaroo, so you just have a massive slide and you know the lap is over. But yeah, just not very happy with Q3, to be honest. Just not what I wanted, not what I expected. But if it's still a P2, I'll take it.

Q: Well, P2 has been a good starting spot in the past. You've been good here in the past. Congratulations on second on the grid. Best of luck tomorrow. Four-time winner here at Circuit of The Americas, Max Verstappen. And your pole-sitter, your championship leader, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. Kimi, what an incredible lap. We saw that second lap, a bit of a mistake. The first one was enough to get it done. You came here this weekend knowing that if you're going to take the title tomorrow, you've got to win the race. You've done everything right so far. Are you thinking about that yet? Are you thinking about Turn 1?
Kimi ANTONELLI: Yeah, I mean, we've got pole, so we'll try to win tomorrow. But Max has been very quick, and also, Isack did an incredible job in qualifying. Yes, it's not going to be easy, but we'll try to get a good start, and then hopefully we'll lead into Turn 1, and then we'll try to set the pace, even though it's going to be very tight. But very happy with the qualifying today. Q3 was very tough with the wind, very gusty, unpredictable, but happy that we stuck it on pole.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, many congratulations. A brilliant first lap in Q3. Talk us through it from the cockpit.
KA: Yes, it's been a good qualifying where we progressed throughout the session. But yes, it was not an easy session. The wind was picking up and was being quite gusty, and Q3 was a little bit tricky because the wind was a bit unpredictable. It picked up as well, especially on that last lap. It felt a bit worse, but overall, yeah, I'm happy. I'm happy because we've been working really hard on this package, and we're still trying to understand it fully. But since Singapore, we've taken a big step further, and now we've just got to keep working on it, keep understanding. But it's a good result for the team because they've done a tremendous job on bringing this package, and finally, we're seeing the results.

Q: Your race engineer, Bono, said over the radio that he wasn't expecting that. Just how much of a surprise is this pole?
KA: It was surprising, but also one of the biggest achievements for me today is that I didn't do track limits! That also made our life a little bit easier. You know, I didn't put myself in a difficult situation, and we were able to just progress throughout the session and build from there. But definitely, it was unexpected. We knew we'd be close, but yeah, it was a good surprise.

Q: Toto gave you the cushion that he was talking about last time out. Look, talk us through the lap in terms of where the car was strongest. Where did it feel most alive?
KA: Medium-speed corners, high-speed, medium-speed. It felt in a good place, the car. We still struggle a little bit in low speed, but overall, yeah, the car has been very good in Sector 1 and Sector 2, especially through Turns 8 and 9. So that's where we feel the most gain from the package. It's still the low speed that we're trying to understand.

Q: Okay, so Kimi, let's throw it forward to tomorrow, a race that could be such a significant one for you. Just give us your thoughts, 24 hours before.
KA: I'm just going to try to do the best race I can. I'm going to try to win, and then we'll see what happens. But, you know, it's good to finish the day like this. Of course, tomorrow is going to be a new day. Max has been very quick, Isack also has been very quick, so just need to get a good start, and then we'll see from there what we can do.

Q: Very well done to you. Max, let's come to you. Very well done as well. You didn't seem that happy after Q3 despite the P2. Just talk us through it. How was the car?
MV: Q1 and Q2, I felt really good. I mean, I did my fastest lap in Q2 on a used set, so when I went to Q3, I had high hopes. But unfortunately, it just felt bad. I just didn't really have the grip that I wanted, so I couldn't lean on the rear the way I wanted in the final sector, and that just cost me too much time. And then, of course, when you look at the sheets and you're starting P2, it's nice and it's a good result, but I was hoping for more, and this was just not it. But if it's, let's say, not a great feeling in qualifying and then that's a P2, I'll take it. But there's no need to then smile and be super happy about it.

Q: Was the track slower? Was it the wind? Can you put your finger on it?
MV: Wind for sure picked up, but even with that, it's not an excuse for why Q3 felt the way it felt for me in the first run. The second run, for sure, was influenced by the wind, but yes, it just didn't feel the same. Q2 felt great on a used set, and then you think, okay, you put a new set on, now it's time to really push, and it just didn't come alive. That was my feeling, but that can happen.

Q: Kimi has just said he thinks you guys, the Red Bull guys, are very quick. How is the car in its long-run pace?
MV: I think there was always a bit of room for improvement yesterday, understanding the tyres, probably also in general. But I think lately, yes, we have been happier in the long runs, and I hope that it will be the same tomorrow.

Q: Now, tomorrow is potentially a huge day for Kimi. You've been in his position many times before. Any advice for him?
MV: He doesn't need that. He knows what he's doing, so he just needs to try and win the race. If it doesn't happen here, it will happen next weekend. If it doesn't happen next weekend, it will happen the weekend after. So, I think it's just been an incredible season, so you have to also just try and enjoy this kind of ride of the last few months that you've been in. At one point, of course, it's official, and then you can celebrate probably a little bit.
KA: Yeah, we can celebrate.
MV: We will celebrate!

Q: Alright, Max, thank you very much for that. Isack, let's come to you now. Great job by you. Just how satisfying is this P3, given where you started the weekend?
IH: I mean, it's been a disaster of a weekend for me. I've had all my lap times deleted all the time. This morning, I could not complete a single lap on the Soft tyres. So, yeah, I knew there was something in the car because there were times where I could do half a lap and I felt comfortable, but I could never finish it. But in that qualifying, the car really came alive a bit more for me. We really dug deep on the set-up. We tried so many things this weekend, and it really paid off. So, on that note, it's really, really satisfying. But I'm a bit gutted, not too much about the last lap, but more about the first attempt in Q3, because yes, the track was worse on that final lap and it wasn’t a great lap, but it was the same for everyone. On that first lap, I really felt like I lost so much time with that massive tailwind I got, and I felt like there was a bit more today. But yeah, I'm happy with the comeback, let's say.

Q: You talk about the comeback. Do you think, from a performance point of view, the car has had pole position in it?
IH: Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I was also quite surprised in Q2 by Max's lap time on the used tyre. Even I felt happy, so I thought we had a shot at the front row. Yeah, Kimi did a fantastic job.

Q: Do you think you can challenge for the win tomorrow?
IH: Yeah, I mean, also, it's the two of us, so it's a bit of an advantage. So we'll try and use that.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to Kimi and Verstappen. Congratulations on the pole, Kimi. Do you see yourself having a lot of battles for wins and maybe titles with the guys sitting with you? Max, the same thing: how do you see this challenge of having Kimi already being close to the championship and fighting with him for wins and titles, etc?
KA: I think it will be amazing, of course. You know, Max is at an incredible level, and it's very tough to beat him, especially when he's got the momentum. But yeah, it will be a lot of fun to fight as well from already now and then for the future. Of course, it will be very tough, but a good challenge.
MV: Yeah, same for me, of course. We are depending a little bit, hopefully, on our cars. Hopefully, they're both competitive next year as well. But yeah, from the battles that we've had so far, it's been nice. And of course, this year, I think Kimi fully deserves all the success that he's having. He's very consistent, he's putting the performances in when it matters, and once it's finally official that he is World Champion, he's definitely a deserving winner.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) This is for you, Kimi. This is the first time you can win the championship. Does it feel any different this weekend? Do you feel any pressure at all?
KA: I mean, it does feel a little bit different, but the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job, and actually, I feel like I can enjoy the driving and everything more. But of course, we still have to do the race tomorrow, still have to try and win, and then, of course, we'll see what happens. But yeah, I feel like I can enjoy it a bit more because obviously I'm in a very good position. But still, the mindset is always the same.

Q: (Christian Menath – MotorsportMagazin.com) For Isack and for Max, you were both talking about Q2 with the used set. The feeling was pretty good. I guess it was about saving a set of tyres there. You only did six laps until Q3. How difficult is the build-up to Q3, going from a used set to a fresh one? Do you lose temperature in the system?
MV: Probably normally, but I've done that many times before. I've even qualified once with only two sets, so there is no explanation why in Q3 it just didn't come together, apart from the last lap, where I think everyone struggled for lap time. But it's something that we have to look at because it's very odd, of course, that you have, let's say, the best feeling on a used set.
IH: No, I think it's just that it's also a track where the used tyre works quite well in the end, so there's less of a penalty putting less new tyres in the car. But of course, if I had put, like, I believe if five sets of tyres back-to-back-to-back, it would have been maybe a bit better, but I don't think there's much in it.

Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) For Kimi as well, please. Kimi, you're saying you're approaching it as a normal weekend, which is the right thing to do, but it's not that easy to do. So how have you learned to do that, and are you leaning more on the people around you, on your father, for example, to stay grounded and just take it one race at a time?
KA: Yeah, for sure. I have a great group of people around me. I have a lot of friends here as well, so we enjoy the evenings together. We play cards in the evening, so we're just doing the fun stuff, and that all helps to relax a little bit and disconnect mentally. Then, once you go on track, you're back fully focused.