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1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red
Bull)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari)
3 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Nico Rosberg)
Q: Kimi, you did
it! You are the 2026 Formula 1 World Champion and the youngest ever in the
history of Formula 1. Take us through your feelings.
Kimi ANTONELLI:
Yeah, we did it! We did it! And, you know, without them, I wouldn't be here,
without Mercedes, without my family. So I'm very grateful for this moment.
It's one that will live forever, and I just am speechless. I'm trying to
process what has just happened.
Q: You're sharing the podium today
with the other two drivers who are two of the greatest of all time. How does
that make it even more special to have beaten them this season?
KA: Of
course, of course. And, you know, it's been an incredible season, and to
share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And, yeah, looking
forward to some more battles in the future.
Q: Now, can you say, did
you ever feel a little bit of nerves? Because from the outside, it looked so
solid all year long.
KA: Yeah, I mean, this weekend I did feel a bit more
tense, but, yeah, I'm just so happy and happy that we got it done, and now
we can enjoy the rest of the season.
Q: Well, enjoy this moment. You
deserve it so much.
KA: Thank you so much.
Q: Max, what a
fantastic weekend. After that qualifying setback, you were like, "This is
going to be difficult," but you absolutely nailed it today.
Max
VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was very hectic out there today, I think. But, yeah,
the first start already, I think, made the race for me. I just had a very
good first lap, let's say like that. And after that, yeah, we had a bit of a
different strategy. I do think we lacked a little bit of pace, but we just
hung in there, made the right calls at the right time. And then, of course,
you know, the penalty for Charles put us into the lead, and then you could
see they were always staying with me. So, yeah, it was tough. I was sweating
at the end to try and, of course, keep Lewis behind.
Q: A big key to
your win today was that Turn 1, and also defending against Lewis. That was
proper, awesome, on the limit.
MV: No, I mean, as you know, it's such a
long run to Turn 1, and then to pick your braking point there, with a big
bump in the middle of the track as well, I had to be quite careful. And,
yeah, that is always a tradition in Turn 1, that there are two cars fighting
for the lead.
Q: Max, I have to ask you also a word on Kimi. He's
your friend, he just became World Champion. Please say a word for him.
MV: Yeah, it's incredible, of course. What a season he had, and, you know,
to do that also at such an age, I think it's just really, really impressive.
And, I mean, it's amazing to see the whole team, of course, celebrating with
him. His family is here as well, so I'm sure this is a very emotional day
for him, and I'm very proud of him.
Q: We look forward to your
battles with him starting next year for the next championship. It's going to
be big. Lewis, you had a brilliant qualifying yesterday. That lap was
magical, and now it just went away from you today. To not quite get that win
in P2, is that really disappointing?
Lewis HAMILTON: I mean, firstly,
look at this crowd. We have to acknowledge them, and a huge congratulations
to Kimi and the Mercedes team. It's great to see them all up here
celebrating their success. Youngest World Champion ever is pretty
phenomenal, and I'm so grateful to be in the race to witness it. Yeah,
tough, tough day. I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn't meant
to be. And, you know, we'll take it offline and figure out what we can do in
the background.
Q: I have to ask, unfortunately, because, of course,
the win went away from you in that battle with your teammate that kind of
decided it. Take us through that. Do you think the five seconds was fair on
Charles, or should he have given the position back?
LH: I mean, in the
drivers' briefing, we discussed that as soon as you go off in Turn 1, you
have to give the position back. But obviously, last year I got a ten-second
penalty for that same move that he did. Ultimately, it was that that lost us
the win today, and, yeah, I think we have to have some serious talks behind
the scenes, for sure. But the good thing is the team are working really
hard. We've really improved our car. It's great to be here. We're on the old
engine this weekend as well, so good result, good points. Shame we didn't
get a win, but, you know, some wins, some losses.
Q: Yeah, I think
that's a positive. With that car, you can do some more winning towards the
end of this year, and who knows next year?
LH: Yeah, give Kimi a run for
his money. Yeah, I'm hoping next year we have an engine to be able to
actually compete with them. I mean, this year they were just flying past us
on most of the straights throughout the year. So if we can fix that and keep
this car, the base of it, I think we can do really great. So I'm relying on
the team. I have 100% faith in them.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: A
brilliant race by you, Max. Very well done. After some frustration
yesterday, just how sweet was it to get the win from P5 on the grid?
MV: Yes, something that I didn't expect, I think, heading into today. But I
think the first start already made my race a bit better, getting into Turn
1, and then, of course, the battle that I saw unfold in Turn 4 put me in a
quite nice spot. And then, yeah, it was a bit tough, to be honest. I think
Charles just pulled away. I could not really stay with him. I did not have
the pace to follow him, but at the same time, I was still within that around
five-second window. So, then the team, I think, did a really good job to
follow him in, and it's always very tough when you have a five-second
penalty to actually make it exactly five seconds. So, I jumped him, and
honestly, after that, it was quite tough. Kimi was flying, still, out there
on the first set of tyres, and I just did not really have the grip for
whatever reason. So, yeah, Charles was very close, but at the same time,
it's very hard to follow around here because everything overheats, and that
probably helped me as well because I think at one point Charles had to back
off just for cooling, and that was quite nice for me. But at the same time,
when I saw the Safety Car come out just out of the last corner and I
couldn't box, I was like, "There's no way this is happening now," because
that was then probably game over for me. Then, of course, it ended up being
a red flag, so then it reset everything. I was a bit worried because our
starts this year have not been amazing, but luckily today, twice, they have
actually been good, and that then made my way till the end. But it was not
made easy. I mean, Lewis was in my gearbox, pushing hard. It was basically a
qualifying lap till the end. Yeah, it was tough out there. It was a tough
race to the end, just to not make any mistakes. But, of course, happy to win
today.
Q: There was so much frustration in your voice after the race
last weekend. Was today a race where you and Red Bull just got everything
right again?
MV: Yeah, what I said also last time, most of the time we
get it right. Just a few times you don't get it right, but that's life.
That's part of it. That can happen. As long as you learn from it, you come
back stronger, and that's what we did.
Q: And finally, Max, just a
word on Kimi's achievement today. What stood out about the way he's driven
this year?
MV: Well, I think to achieve this in your second year in
Formula 1 is always very impressive. Because, of course, at his age as well,
to be so solid, not make big mistakes, and, of course, also beat your
experienced teammate, he's just driven incredible. And I'm very proud of
him, how he has handled himself this whole season. It's not always easy to
deliver every single weekend, but he has done that, and he's the deserved
champion this year.
Q: Max, thank you very much for that. Lewis, if
we could come to you now. You gave it everything out there in what proved to
be a very eventful race. Just how do you sum up everything that happened?
LH: I mean, it was beautiful to be up there with these two and to be up
there with Kimi for his first World Championship. I think it was a very
special moment, one of the most special moments that I remember having here.
Q: And just to sum up, if you could, your race. It was very eventful.
LH: Yeah, it was very eventful. Had a good start, and I think we had the car
to win today. Unfortunately, we had the car to easily have first and second,
but due to the first two corners, that kind of went away. And then after
that, we just gave it basically to Max, and then all they had to do was just
stay ahead of us, which he did a good job of doing.
It's a shame
because we lost good points for the team. It's something we have to take
offline.
Q: Lewis, you've had some pretty intense battles with your
teammate this year. You've had many teammates in your long career. How
different is racing Charles, not much different, I would say, to any of the
others that have been alongside you?
LH: You know, I think the core thing
to remember, which maybe comes with age, is that every decision you make in
the car impacts all the people that work in the background for the whole
team. So, working as a team is a part of our job and a part of our contract.
We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So, it's a
shame to see us lose this, as we did. That will just continue unless action
is taken, if a real deep, serious conversation is had. So, it shouldn't
happen moving forward. Of course, I've had close battles with teammates in
the past, and you can't always get it right, but nine times out of ten we
should be able to. So, I think we'll take it offline and we'll have some
good conversations, hopefully. For sure, it won't be easy, but it must be
done.
Q: Lewis, thank you very much for that. And, well, Kimi, we'll
come to you. Brilliant race by you. Just how did it unfold from where you
were sitting?
KA: Yeah, it was a fun race. I think we had a strong pace,
especially in that first stint, when we went for 40-plus laps on the soft,
and we were still very quick. We were able to create a big offset on tyres,
and when I came out of the pit, I was like, "We have a good chance to fight
and to catch the leaders back." But then, of course, with the red flag,
everything went back to zero, and everyone then put fresh tyres on, and we
were back to base. But then it was good. I think the move on Charles was
critical into Turn 1, and then, yeah, I tried to... We were all pushing, the
three of us. It was a very high pace, but, of course, it was a bit hard to
follow, mainly for temperatures. We had to manage brake temperatures a lot
during the race, so couldn't push as much. But it was still very fun, and,
yeah, well deserved to Mike St Louis.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Victor Alvarado – Animal.mx) Max, how do you feel about being
practically the Mexico Grand Prix king after getting your sixth win in the
history of this Grand Prix?
MV: Yeah, they should actually call it the ‘Maxico’
Grand Prix. That would be great. I honestly love being here. I love the
city, I love the environment, I love the fans, but I have no idea why. You
know, you win six here and maybe only one... You know, it just happens.
Sometimes your car just comes alive, and you've had good races and not a lot
of bad luck sometimes as well. So, yeah, it's just always come together for
me here, and, of course, I happily take that.
Q: (Luke Smith – The
Athletic) Lewis, just on the first lap with Charles, was that something that
you guys had discussed before the race about giving a place back? No? How
surprised were you in that moment to not see him pull back and give the
place back to you?
LH: How surprised was I? At that point, it didn't even
matter. We had let Max past, and the race was done from there. You can't
overtake here. I think it's something the FIA need to do, and it's just
quite bad. I'm sure these guys would agree. We have this clip at the end of
the straight where you can't go past a certain speed, so everyone just
follows. It's the silliest thing when you are behind and you have a little
bit more power in the slipstream. You should be able to go past that to have
a chance to overtake. The engine can go faster. It's just they have these
silly clips. I mean, it's the worst engine profile setting that I think
they've probably ever had in this sport, and it doesn't provide great
racing. So today you probably didn't see much overtaking, unfortunately,
because of that. Obviously, the starts were fun, but it's a very hard track
to follow with the thin air and low downforce. I gave it everything to try
and get close to Max, but maybe they needed... I don't know if they need to
change the last corner because it's so quick. I don't know. There could be a
change to the track, maybe, to enable us to have a little bit better racing.
But everyone having this this year just diminishes any opportunity of that.
Q: (Scott Hunt – Press Association) Lewis, after Monza, you called for a
written rule of engagement from the team. Are you disappointed to be here
again asking for similar talks? Should those talks have happened already,
and is that what you need to happen now?
LH: I don't know what needs to
happen now, how we discuss things when we go back. I'm not quite sure how I
want to engage in that. Of course, the frustrations are today. I'm happy
because this guy just won the championship, so I'm really torn because, on
one side, I'm happy, and on the other side, I'm really p***ed. We lost
valuable points, and we, as a team, worked so hard. We could have easily had
a one-two today. Really, we had the pace to do so. We're going into Turn 4
first and second. If we just hold position, I think anything can happen in
the race. But when your teammate works against you and then you lose
positions like that, it's definitely tough. So, we'll just talk about it
offline, and it's not really worth saying too much more. We don't have rules
of engagement, and whether or not that will change anything from Charles'
side, I don't know. We've just got to figure it out, but something needs to
change for sure.
Q: (Carolina Figueroa – Por esto!) My question is
for Kimi Antonelli. Congratulations on the championship. What feelings does
this weekend leave you with compared to your initial expectations?
KA:
Well, I knew I was very close. However, I still needed to get the job done,
and, of course, you still want to do a good race. You want to do a good
performance, so that was the goal. But, of course, it hasn't been the
easiest weekend either. Physically, I haven't been in the best shape, but
also yesterday we had a bad qualifying execution, and, you know, emotions
were a bit high overall. But I'm really happy that today we did a strong
race and really happy that we managed to finish the job. And then now we've
got a few races to go, and we're just going to enjoy all the way and try to
finish on a high.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It's another
one for Kimi to share the podium with these two greats. It's probably one of
the best possible ways to clinch this championship. But, as you said, you
felt a bit tense throughout the weekend. How did that affect your
decision-making throughout the race? Because you didn't want to risk
anything, but at the same time, I think you were quite eager to get on the
podium here.
KA: Yes, so at the start I was very cautious, and I gave a
lot of room. So I was probably playing it very much on the safe side. But
then, you know, I saw I had the pace, and especially that first stint, I
knew we would be in the fight because the pace was very good on used tyres.
But then, obviously, with the red flag, it kind of all went back to zero.
And in that moment I was like, "You know what? I'm just going to take more
risks." I had the opportunity to gain a few places, and that move on Charles
was crucial to get on the podium. And then I tried until the end to stay
close, and it was very fun, the last stint, because we were all, I think,
the three of us within two seconds, and we were all pushing. It was just
difficult, of course, to overtake, but it was high intensity, and it was
fun. And then, of course, on the last lap I just backed off because I just
couldn't see the track. I was getting emotional, and I said, "I'm just going
to back off because otherwise I crash here." So it was just good to bring it
home.
Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Question for Max. Max, I heard you on
the radio about the engine braking. I just wondered where did that come
from, and how did it affect your race?
MV: It happens randomly. Yeah, I
don't know. The engine just decides by itself what to do, to be honest. So,
I don't know. Maybe I need to have a conversation with the engine before
going into the race. Maybe it has to behave better. Yeah, we don't know.
Sometimes it just happens. It's not very consistent. I think, honestly,
everything is running so hot here, and also for the turbocharger and
everything, it's tough to make everything spot on.
Q: (Jack Smith –
Motorsport Monday) Question for you, Lewis. You've raced hard with a lot of
teammates before, back in your McLaren days and, of course, with Nico at
Mercedes, which led to a lot of difficult conversations with Toto. Do you
feel that these conversations you've had in those days differ from the ones
you're having with the team now? Do you feel that they're a little bit
tougher? Are you maybe struggling to get the resolutions that you want?
LH: I mean, I've had way worse times at Mercedes. There were some really bad
moments, but no, I don't really see there being huge differences. I think it
was managed well at Mercedes, and I think Fred's doing his best. I think
Fred came and spoke to me before the race, and I think he was nervous. I
think he just wanted us... Of course, he wants these two drivers to do well.
Yeah, I mean, I think from my side, if I'm coming from behind and I'm taking
all the risk and it ends up that we lose as a team, then I think I have some
answering to do, because it impacts a lot of people. But the other way
around, I'm in the lead, and it was just unnecessary. I think we could have
easily, as I said, had that one-two today, which would have been huge for
the team and for everyone back at the factory who's worked so hard to bring
us these upgrades. I don't really know what will be done because up until
now nothing really has been done. So, yeah, we'll see.
Q: (Sam
Johnston – Sky Sports) One more for Lewis. You mentioned before that you
thought inexperience may have been a factor for Charles in making the
decision he did. Do you think that was an element, that he hasn't been in a
championship team before and isn't used to fighting for victories with a
teammate? Maybe when you're fighting for fifth or sixth it's slightly
different, but when a one-two is on the line, maybe a different approach is
required?
LH: I mean, before I joined this team, when I was at Mercedes,
I watched and witnessed the back and forth between Charles and Carlos
several races, where they were battling so much that the person ahead just
pulled away, and they had the pace to actually win. But it is one thing when
that's happening in fourth and fifth, as opposed to first and second, and
you lose the win. That's significant. The guy is 28 years old, so I don't
think it's an age thing. I think it's a mentality thing. It's like, "Do or
die. Either I win or none of us do," and it shouldn't be that. It should be
us having, getting that one-two. As I said, it's still a good feeling. You
know, Silverstone, I could have gone all kamikaze on him and taken him off
and lost us the win, but instead the one-two was there. I think we got the
one-two. Was it one-three, first and third, one-two? Whatever. For me, I'm
happy for the team to have experienced that, but I'm hopeful we'll work
towards a better place, a better working place, in the future. |
