|
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES: Toto
WOLFF (Mercedes), Zak BROWN (McLaren), James VOWLES (Williams), Ayao KOMATSU
(Haas)
Q: Ayao, why don't we start with
you? And let's start with yesterday's big news. Ollie Bearman, you said he's
the perfect match for Haas in 2025. Why so?
Ayao KOMATSU: We are still pretty much a growing team. We are a relatively
new team. And then we are restarting, let's say, and improving our
performance. And Ollie, obviously, is a very talented young driver with a
very strong head on his shoulders. And he's very calm, but mature, got the
speed, and very much a team player. So the things how we want to progress as
a team, that's what I mean by a very perfect match.
Q: Now, he was in the car for FP1 today. Did you see any change in his
approach now that he knows he has a long-term future with the team?
AK: No, not really. Because, again, that's what was impressive before when
we first put him in the car in Mexico, you know, very first time in a
Formula 1 car, FP1 session. Of course, he was excited. But then again, he
understood the objective of the team what this session means to the team,
what we need to achieve. And then, of course, he's trying to drive as fast
as possible. But within that bigger picture, he understands always the
context very, very well. So that's what was impressive before. And then, of
course, you know, it's not something he needed to change today. Of course,
he was, I'm sure, very happy to drive in front of his home crowd after the
announcement. So he was enjoying it. But fundamentally, the approach was
exactly the same.
Q: Now, how does Ollie’s presence in the team next year influence your
decision about who will be alongside him?
AK: Yeah, of course, especially for a team like us, we cannot have two
rookies. So now that we've taken Ollie as a rookie, we will try to appoint
somebody who's got decent F1 experience.
Q: Well, let's bring it on to the on-track performance here at Silverstone.
You come here on the back of a very strong race in Austria last Sunday. How
confident are you of, well, maybe even repeating that here at the British
Grand Prix?
AK: I'm not confident about repeating P6, P8. That requires somebody else's
misfortune. But I'm confident that we can fight for points. If you look at
all the 11 races so far this season, apart from the Monaco DNF, even the
races we didn't score points, we finished in P11 five times, I think.
Bahrain was P12. So we've always been there and thereabouts. And we’ve put
some new parts on the car this weekend. But we've got to really assess if
that's really a step forward or not. But as long as things doesn't go
backwards, you know, we should be able to fight for points. You know, if we
are there all the time and if we execute a good race, we've got a chance to
be a P9, P10. So that's what we're aiming for.
Q: Very quickly, what can you tell us after FP1 about the new parts?
AK: Not much yet. You know, we've done some data logging, data collection,
but Nico drove the baseline car this morning. So we are updating Nico's car
for the Silverstone spec this afternoon. So, you know, provided we can drive
in a dry session, then we’ll get pretty good data, I think, and also the
feedback from Nico, then we can make a decision.
Q: Alright, Ayao, thank you very much. Welcome to Zak and to Toto as well.
Good to have you with us. Zak, can I jump to you now, actually? Because the
Austrian Grand Prix last weekend came to an unfortunate end for Lando. First
of all, what was your take on the battle between him and Max Verstappen?
Zak BROWN: Oh, the battle was quite an epic battle between some of the best
drivers in Formula 1. So, it was quite an epic battle. Exciting for the
fans, exciting for everyone in Formula 1. I think it was a matter of time
until we saw the two of them going head-to-head. Obviously, an unfortunate
outcome at what was a very small touch. But I think as we reflect on the
weekend, I think we need – and I think this is something that the FIA agrees
with – we need to invest more in our stewarding to have greater consistency
and enforcement of the regulations. I think having part-time Stewards, it's
a very difficult job, it's quite complex, and so to kind of do it on a
part-time basis for the level Formula 1 is at, I think, is difficult,
because Max and Lando were just duking it out as you'd expect them to do,
and until someone tells Max, ‘hey, that's against the regulations’, he's not
going to know any different. And so I think there were missed opportunities
for the Stewards to make note. Also disappointed that at such a great team
like Red Bull that the leadership almost encourages it because you listen on
the radio and what was said. We all have a responsibility on pit wall tell
our drivers the do's and don'ts and what's going on in the race and so I
think we need to have respect for regulations and we've seen there be lack
of respect, whether it's financial regulations or you know sporting,
on-track issues with fathers and things of that nature, and I just don't
think that's how we need to go racing and we need to guide our drivers on
what's right or wrong. And I think had it been addressed earlier maybe that
incident wouldn't have taken place. So racing incident that I think could
have been avoided if the pit wall and the Stewards had maybe been more on
top of what the regulations say you can and can't do.
Q: Zach, a couple of things to unpick there. First of all, on the stewarding
front, are you suggesting that you'd like full-time Stewards, professional
Stewards?
ZB: Yeah, I think given the level Formula 1 is at, how difficult the job is.
I mean, hats off to the Stewards that are here every weekend. It's not to be
disrespectful of what they're doing. I think it's hard to do on a part time
basis and we're all racing full time. It's a big sport. I also think things
need to be looked at the track limits. When Lando went off trying to pass
Max. That was just a good, brave move. And I think we want to encourage
drivers to have good racing. And for me, track limits are about cutting the
track to get a better lap time. He gave the position back right away. It was
clearly a slower sector. So I think there's some things that need to be
reviewed and tightened up just so we have greater consistency. Because I
think you hear the drivers say they're a little bit confused as what's on
and what's off.
Q: And on the penalty front, Max, of course, got a 10-second penalty. Lando
even questioned yesterday in the press conference whether Max deserved a
penalty at all. What do you think would have been the appropriate penalty if
one was needed?
ZB: I think what they gave. You're supposed to give a driver a car's width,
and he didn't. And it's unfortunate. It could have just been a small rub,
and they both carried on. But I thought that was the right penalty, because
that's what the rule book says. But again, I think Max is an awesome racing
driver fighting for the lead. And it's our responsibility as teams to let
the drivers know what the limits are. And if you don't, I wouldn't expect
Max to do anything differently.
Q: This battle, this incident in Austria has caught the headlines this week
coming into the British Grand Prix. Have you been impressed by how Lando has
dealt with the scrutiny this week?
ZB: Yeah, I think our conversations with Lando, we can't change anything
from last week. We can try and make sure it doesn't occur again and address
kind of having some full-time Stewards, things of that nature, but we can't
unwind. And I think we're going to be very competitive this weekend. And so
we just want them to be laser-focused on that. Of course, everyone loves a
good battle. It wasn't long ago that Mercedes and Red Bull were having an
epic battle. So I know it's exciting and entertaining for the fans. But at
the end of the day, we want Lando and Oscar focusing on the job at hand. And
that's exactly what they're doing.
Q: Alright, Zak, thank you. I'm sure we'll have more questions for you in a
minute. Toto, can I bring you in on this? Zak has just referred to the
battle between Mercedes and Red Bull in the past. What was your take on what
happened last Sunday between Max and Lando?
Toto WOLFF: First of all, the drivers among themselves will know best. Lando
and Max, they get on with each other very well. They will have discussed it.
They're not going to trash each other in the media, but talk it through, and
all the good guys will have a judgment on that, and we'll see what it means.
I think that's number one. And number two is there's a set of regulations.
And those regulations give the boundaries to the drivers, what's on, what's
not. It's the same with track limits. You're either penalised or not. And in
the same way, the way you race. And I think with the regulations maybe a
little bit vague, or interpretations different from time to time, it's clear
that the really good ones are going to push this as much as they can. And
then we could end up in similar situations. It's not only among these two. I
mean, we've seen it between the Alpines, et cetera, et cetera. So I agree
with Zak on the regulations tell us what's on and what's off, number one.
Number two. Yeah, I tend to agree with Zak, it's always amusing to see just
one-dimensional comments of team principals where you think, let's be a
little bit objective at least.
Q: Toto, do you think Max has changed his defensive driving tactics since he
was battling with Lewis those years ago?
TW: No, I think this is the way he drives. That's what I've seen in Formula
1 since he's come. And I don't want to be judgmental on that. I think you
drive as much as you're being let off. And I'm not saying it's good or bad.
But on a starting line, you go as much forward as you can without being
penalised. On the track limits, you maximise the width that you can take.
We, on technical regulations, we are maximising every area. So, the drivers
will maximize every area from what's on and what's not. And that is as
simple as it is. And that is on, there was a 10-second penalty. Maybe that's
what. what the consequence is, but that's okay.
Q: And of course, George was the beneficiary of what happened between Max
and Lando. Do you think you can challenge for the win this weekend at
Silverstone?
TW: I think Lando and Max are probably, at the moment, a little bit ahead of
everybody else. And that's not only on a qualifying lap that can be very,
very close – although it wasn't in Austria because it's a minute lap time
and they were still a few tenths quicker – but on race pace, these two seem
to still be a step ahead. But we are really pushing it hard to bring more
tools and toys onto the car. So, we are going quicker and that is a
relentless push from all of the engineering and operations in Brackley and
in Brixworth to be able to catch up. And at the moment I think George
winning the race has probably maximised it and we were 15 seconds off before
the crash, considering they were fighting a bit, so probably a little bit
more. That is two, two and a bit tenths per lap. And this is where I would
judge the gap is. And as long as we are not able to close that gap, we are
not going to fight these two.
Q: Alright, well, best of luck to you. And James, bringing it on to you now.
Toto said this week that Carlos Sainz is now in his sights again for a seat
at Mercedes next year. So the battle to sign Carlos remains fierce. How long
are you prepared to wait for him?
James VOWLES: I mean, I'll go back to, he's a world class driver. So the
decision isn't imminent. It's not today that we need to make it. But what
I've said all along is actually the timeline is less important to me. What's
more important is that whatever decision we come to or the driver comes to,
it's about forging a long-term relationship with each other – i.e. both see
the journey we're on and want that to be a part of their lives. I'm fairly
sure you'll see all this cleared up before we get to September. That's the
normal time. If you look at a normal routine, we're actually just now going
back into what is a normal schedule where August is spent doing contracts.
But I'm pretty sure you'll find it all cemented by then.
Q: And do you have a plan B ready to go? should Carlos choose to go
elsewhere?
JV: Fundamentally, yes. Simple answer to it.
TW: James has always a plan B and C, by the sheer nature of his previous job
and engineering mind.
JV: I think we're on about Y or Z by now, just to be clear. But no, there's
a lot of moving parts to it. More than the world will see, but it will all
make sense, I think, once it fans out.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Question to you, Zak. Lando was quite
forthright in his comments post-race, perhaps understandably so, given he’d
just got out of the car. He described Max as being ruthless, aggressive.
Yesterday, in the press conference here, he did a complete 180, pretty much.
Max was in the right, he didn't make a mistake, arguably didn't deserve the
penalty. Is there any concern that he has now perhaps conceded some
psychological ground to Max in future battles going forward?
ZB: No, I don't think so at all. I think show me a world champion, and I
think ruthless and aggressive will be two good descriptions of any world
champion or Grand Prix-winning driver. I think Lando wants to move on from
last weekend. Some people, drivers might enjoy a public spat. I think they
have a very strong relationship off the track. They spoke. What they spoke
about, I think, is between them, but I think Lando and from what I saw from
Max's comments, they both want to move on and get back to racing each other
real hard on track.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm –The Race) A question to Toto, Zach and James. Toto,
it's a bit of an open secret in the paddock that Renault is exploring or at
least wants to explore a Mercedes customer engine deal for the new regs. I
just wondered where you're at with that, what talks have taken place, how
long it would take to resolve. And then for Zak and James, obviously you've
been in this position. If you were only just exploring this kind of deal
now, how long would you be looking at to get everything in line for 2026?
TW: You know, I think that’s a complicated situation because we like the
thought of, you know, replacing Aston Martin with another team because of
the sheer learning you're doing. I think we're set up as an organisation
that the more power units, the better it is in terms of accelerating some of
the developments or the reliability. So this is where it is. I think it
didn't go beyond the point of exchanging opinions or having like, you know,
exploratory discussions. I think Alpine would take a decision, do they want
to continue with their Formula 1 engine programme or not? And only when they
have taken that strategic decision, we would dive into our agreements. But
we're open-minded, and that's what we have told them.
ZB: Yeah, from our standpoint, what's good for HPP is good for McLaren as
far as we're concerned. They've been an awesome partner to work with. So if
it adds value to their power unit proposition, then we're all for it. And as
far as decision timeframe, I think the sooner you can make a decision on any
decision that you make is just better time for preparations. I would imagine
they'll probably want to make a decision before the summer break to give
them as much lead time to learn about the power unit and ways of working.
Q: Toto, are you expecting an answer before the summer break?
TW: No, that's far too complicated and long-lasting, impactful decision for
Alpine to make.
Q: Okay. Sorry, James.
JV: I think Zak and Toto said it eloquently. The more power you have in
circulation, the more learning you have. There's no doubt about that in the
current season. But I think it's also fair to say I'm not sure where McLaren
and Mercedes are. But from our perspective, we have been working alongside
HPP in order to get the concept right for ‘26 already for many, many months.
And so whatever you do, you're going to be six to 12 months behind the three
other teams. That's quite penalising in the grand scheme of things. It
doesn't mean it's unachievable, but there's going to be areas where you're
going to be compromising on. There's a tremendous amount of work getting ‘26
right. And the smallest decision on layout can actually have quite a large
impact.
Q: (Diletta Colombo – AutoMoto) A question for James. Would you consider
changing your driver line-up before the end of the season?
JV: We're continually evaluating it. What we've said to Logan is it's a
meritocracy. You have to make sure you earn your place in the sport
continuously. That's been the same message that has been for 18 months
really for him. And we are open-minded to things. What I've said before and
I've maintained today, is that our car, and this is a responsibility on my
shoulders and the team, isn't quick enough. It's not a driver issue we
suffer from today. We've simply been out-developed and we have to make sure
we accelerate that process.
Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) Again for James on drivers. You've got
Alex signed up for the long term, and you've said you want a similar
long-term commitment from whoever's going to be his teammate. So you have
Franco in the car. Where does he fit into that, and what does he need to do
to be under consideration in the future?
JV: I think, first of all, today was sort of a reward for a very strong
Formula 2 season. I like recognising that we have a strong young driver
programme. We invested in Logan and we'll continue to invest in our young
driver programme, simple as that. It's expanding quite significantly in the
background. And today wasn't a showcase or demonstration or a test. It was
simply reward for a good progression. And we have to do two FP1s in the
season. It's sensible to do it here at Silverstone. I didn't expect it to be
wet then dry then wet but anyway, that's Silverstone as well for you. I
believe that you really can burn a driver if you put them in the car too
soon. And actually in modern day Formula 1, what you're seeing is rookies
are struggling as a result of things. So it's not just about excellent,
you've done a fairly good Formula 2, you got a podium. Actually our
investment, our commitment to them has to be an amount of time in a historic
car, an amount of time with preparation to make sure that if we choose them
to go forward, they're effectively in the strongest place they can be. And
we haven't provided that to Franco at this point.
Q: (Thomas Maher – PlanetF1.com) A lot of the drivers yesterday were not
supportive, but they were saying that the driving from Max last week wasn't
actually all that bad. They were kind of saying that the way Max was driving
last week wasn't actually all that bad, he didn't actually kind of progress
beyond what he should have done in his battle with Lando. But I'm just
wondering what aspects and what facets of Max's driving are you keen to see
cleaned up going forward?
ZB: I don't think it would be fair to characterise it as Max's driving. I
think, as Toto mentioned, you see battles all throughout the field. And so I
think we just need regulations that are black and white and enforced
accordingly. So I don't think it would be fair to say Max is driving. I
think all these drivers drive at the absolute limit as they should. But then
you have a set of regulations. I think if you look at Anthony Davidson's
review on Sky Sports, a driver, as he mentioned, who has driven the track
himself and driven Formula 1 cars. I thought he did a nice job of laying out
what exactly was going on there. So I think it's not about cleaning up the
drivers, it's about enforcing and having much clearer regulations on a
consistent basis, whatever those may be. But I think these are the 20 best
drivers in the world, so they can deal with about anything.
TW: Don't expect them trashing each other here, sitting on the sofa. I have
lots of bad things to say about Zach, but I would never do it even if he
sits next to me.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) I've got a question for you. I think the
suggestion from you a few weeks back was that Carlos Sainz wasn't an option.
You said that you were going to look at youth for the future. What has
changed in the past few weeks? And to James's point about burning up a
driver too quickly, are there any concerns about Kimi Antonelli? Obviously,
F2 this season has been a bit tricky, but I understand the private test has
been very, very good in Formula 1.
TW: Yeah, the season has been a bit tricky because overall the two have not
been on a level and I think the team recognises that. That wasn't great, but
last weekend was pretty good. The pace was there, there were mistakes in
getaways, so that's something a rookie needs to learn, that's clear. But he
has a lot of pressure. He's being talked a lot about. His junior formula and
go-karting track record is one of a kind. And that's clear that the pressure
ramps up. But it's like his father says, a champion needs to be thrown in
the cold water and needs to swim. So they are very clear about that. But the
driver market at the moment is quite a dynamic, interesting thing. I think
because some of the drivers have more options and some of the teams have
more options. So it's interesting. And you know, it's like Bernie said:
‘last week I had an opinion, this week I have a different one’.
Q: (Henry Clark – The Daily Mail) A question for Zak, just to pick up on
your answer to the first question. Obviously, every driver is different, got
different characteristics, but you named some of the characteristics that
you need to be a world champion. Based on what's happened with Lando
changing his opinion in the last 24 hours, is there any concern that Lando
is too nice? Is that something you need to work on with him? or are you
happy with the way he is currently?
ZB: Very happy with Lando. I think there's a difference between what a
racing driver's like when the helmet goes on and the visor goes down and
what they're like Monday through Thursday and how they communicate and carry
themselves and the relationships that they have. So I think if you look, a
lot of world champions, sweethearts outside of the race car, but pretty
fierce once the helmet goes on. And Lando's no different.
Q: (Keith Collantine – RaceFans.net) Zak, given the point situations in the
championship, is it fair to say you've got a strong and realistic chance of
fighting for the Constructors' Championship? But the Drivers' Championship
looks more difficult for Lando, and it might be worth telling him that more
accidents like that with Max in pursuit of the Drivers' Championship is
going to hurt your Constructors' Championship chances.
ZB: You know, we're just trying to do the best we can every weekend. I don't
know if I would describe our chance at winning the Constructors’ strong, but
I think there's clearly a chance there if we continue with the points we've
been picking up the last five, six races, then we would close that gap by
the end of the year. But you just got to do that one race at a time, as does
Lando. And I'm not going to give Lando any coaching on how to drive. It was
a very small touch that could have ended in nothing other than maybe a few
tyre marks and unfortunately cost the race. So when you're going for the win
and you're battling a world champion, these things happen.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Another question for you, Zak. Earlier, you spoke
about a lack of respect at Red Bull. Is that something you would like to
speak to Christian about, or is it perhaps something the FIA needs to speak
to perhaps him and Red Bull about?
ZB: That's the FIA's role. I don't really have any interest in speaking with
Christian.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to Toto, please. You just
spoke about Kimi Antonelli and the pressure that he's under. I just
wondered, can you share anything about how he's coping with that pressure?
It's been a rapid career progression to this point. How is he coping with
lots of people he's never met speaking his name and talking about him?
TW: What I like in terms of his attitude, generally his family, who has been
always close to him, is the objective assessment of a situation, and that is
good or not good enough. And I don't think that the pressure harms at all
the way he performs in the car and how he drives. You can clearly see it's a
good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman. They are pretty close. Ollie had an
obviously very good race in Austria and Kimi on the Sunday, had a clutch
release issue in the second race. So you've got to swim. That's clear. It
was a rapid career progression. He's 17. Hasn't got even a driving license
for a road car. And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the
amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it's going to get bigger. |
