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1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)
2 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
3 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: George Russell, third place and well appreciated by the crowd here. That
has made the difference, you have secured second in the Constructors’
Championship for the team and that means a lot.
George RUSSELL: It means a huge amount. There are so many people back at the
factory, in Brackley and Brixworth, who have worked so hard to achieve. It
has been a really challenging season. I've let the side down a couple of
times this year. So, pleased to bring it across the line today. It was tight
with Checo at the end. I thought Charles was going to back me up but respect
to him for keeping it clean…. and I can chill out now.
Q: Yeah, you’ve got to sweat on your brow. You had to really fight hard
there. You knew that Checo, very late in the race, got that five-second
penalty. Were you able to compute what was happening with Charles and the
gaps or were the team keeping you informed?
GR: I mean, I came out of the pits on a second set of Hards. I was managing
a bit and then Checo just came from nowhere. So, I don't know what happened
there. They had great pace. It was really tense at the end. The tyres were
dropping off. But just really pleased to have secured P2 for the team. And
I’m sure everyone will have a few drinks tonight.
Q: Well, you say that, but you also told me ahead of the Grand Prix that
you've not been feeling 100% for a couple of weeks.
GR: I was probably coughing four times a lap then, so it was pretty
miserable out there, which didn't help things. But, as I said, just a
massive relief to have brought the car home in P3. Can't believe it's only
the second podium of the year, but really happy to end the season this way.
Q: It's a very well deserved podium and congratulations. So we're just being
joined by Charles as he applies all his jewellery. Very nice. Would you like
to finish putting them on before the interview? Would you like to finish
putting your jewellery on? Or is it a gift?
Charles LECLERC: It's actually a sponsor.
Q: Ah, OK. I thought you were just being generous! Charles, great thinking
in the cockpit there at the end to allow Checo to overtake you. I wasn't
part of the final part of the commentary, I was coming here to do the
interviews. Was that something that you discussed with the team beforehand?
Or was it all in those last few moments?
CL: No, no, it was all in the last few minutes, because Checo had five
seconds penalty. So we had to help him, in a way, for him to finish in front
of George with the five seconds. I tried to give him the DRS and a
slipstream. But unfortunately that wasn't enough. So, on one hand, I'm
really happy because on a weekend like this, honestly, there wasn't one
thing we could have done better as a team. I think it was definitely not a
given that we were in the second fastest car this weekend. But we did an
incredible job, doing everything right – strategy, qualifying. It's just a
shame that we finished third in the Constructors’. That's all that mattered
to me in this end of season. And we didn't achieve that. But yeah, anyway, I
would like to thank the team for doing such incredible work and for working
so incredibly hard since the first race. We knew that it was going to be an
uphill season because we lacked performance compared to where we wanted. But
the team has done an incredible job, pushing until the last race.
Q: Just put us back in the race start. It looked like there were two
opportunities for you to go wheel-to-wheel with Max. Turn 1, of course, and
then down at the end of the back straight into Turn 6. What was happening
there? Because it looked like you've done enough to get the pass done.
CL: Yeah, I obviously wanted to try and get that first place. But we also
know that in the race, we lack some pace compared to them. So even if I
would have passed Max there, I probably would have gotten overtaken again,
three or four laps later. And at the end, my only target was to beat the
Mercedes. So I didn't want to lose too much tyre juice and also time with
Max. But yeah, it was fun.
Q: OK, Charles, Congratulations on finishing the season with a podium.
CL: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Q: And ladies and gentlemen, at the end of what's been an incredible season
for Max. An unbelievable 19th victory of the year. How are you feeling right
now?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, an incredible season. It was a bit emotional on the
in-lap. You know, it was the last time I was sitting in the car, which has
of course given me a lot. So yeah, I’m of course very proud to win here at
the last race. But I have to say a big thank you to everyone at Red Bull.
It's just been an incredible year. It will be hard to do something similar
again, but we definitely enjoyed this year.
Q: It looked like it and can I just compliment you on your donuts at the
end?
MV: You taught me how to do it!
Q: You did it beautifully, and positioned your car there. Now, how would you
reflect, beyond thanking your team here? This is where you won your first
world title. You wrapped up your third much earlier in the season. Difficult
to imagine it can get better than this.
MV: Yeah it'll be very hard to have another season like this, we know that.
Of course, you always want to do better, but sometimes doing better is not
only race wins and eventually winning the championship but we'll see, you
know. We are working hard for next year to have again a very competitive
car. For sure, all the other teams out there want to try and beat us next
year and we are ready for the battle. But in the meantime, we are going to
enjoy a little bit this year as well.
Q: Well, Max, as you are the champion, maybe the final words to the fans
that you've seen all around the world, not just here in Abu Dhabi, but it's
been an exceptional year for Formula 1.
MV: Yeah, it's been incredible you know, sold out in basically every place
we went to. Great fan support and again, also here. I hope you guys enjoyed
the race today as well and you saw all your favourite drivers do well. And,
of course, thank you very much for cheering us on.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Max, very well done to you. You've ended the season as you started in
Bahrain, nine months ago, with a dominant win. You looked untouchable out
there. How sweet was it?
MV: Yeah, it was, of course, a good race. I mean, the first stint, I didn't
really know what to expect, because I didn't do a long run. So I probably
took it a bit too easy in the beginning, but I guess that was better than
trying to push ahead and destroy the tyres. So I took a few laps. But then I
also think the Medium was just not as good as expected. So then we had to
pit, because I saw everyone around me also pitting and, you know, on the
Hard tyres, everything felt a bit more normal, a bit more easy to manage
with the temperatures and basically I could extend my lead lap after lap.
And yeah, it was pretty straightforward. I think for not having done a long
run, the car felt quite decent out there.
Q: You were taking it easy in the early laps. That wasn't the case when
Charles was right up next to you.
MV: No, of course, I mean, the first lap, you cannot take it easy.
Q: Tell us about that battle?
MV: It was good. I think. Yeah, we raced well. I didn't expect Charles to go
on the left into Turn 6 but it was a good move. But I think at the same
time, of course, Charles also had to think about the Championship, you know,
for the team. So yeah, it was good. I enjoyed that.
Q: And Max, your lights to flag win means you've passed 1,000 laps led in a
single season. Proof, of it when needed, of how untouchable you've been this
year. Does that stat impress you?
MV: Well, I knew it was on the cards, of course, going into the race. And
also, from the engineering side with the strategy, we wanted to, of course,
try and plan it in a way that I wouldn't pit too early. So, just wait for
others to pit. Of course, to try and achieve that it was maybe not always
the, let's say, the fastest strategy. But I wanted to stay in the lead, of
course to get the laps in.
Q: And so ends your record-breaking season. When you've retired from racing,
Max, many years down the road, what will you remember most about this year?
MV: I think the just the team spirit. Not so much the wins or the, whatever,
poles or laps led, just the enjoyment we had as a team. Because, yeah, the
wins are great, of course but I think it's also very important to have a
good atmosphere in the team and have a lot of fun. And just the people you
work with, there's a lot of smart people in the team. And I also know that
whatever you do in motor racing, I think it never will top that. So yeah,
just seeing everyone at work, trying to do the best they can every day, and
give it all out there for you. Yeah, that's really nice to see.
Q: Charles, let’s come to you. Great job by you to claim your sixth podium
of the season. Did the race pan out as you'd expected?
CL: Hmmm… well, yeah, more or less, I think we were a bit more competitive
than what we expected. I think we expect to be a bit on the backfoot
compared to Mercedes or McLaren, but I guess, apart from that, everything
was as expected. I mean, Max was stronger as expected but we had quite good
tyre management. We were expected to struggle mostly with overheating. That
is normally one of our weaknesses. But today we did quite a good job on
that.
Q: Talk us through that first lap battle with Max.
CL: Yeah, it was nice. On the other hand, obviously I had, in my mind, the
Constructors' Championship, so I couldn't take too many risks. But as I
said, I saw an opportunity, I saw that Max was looking in the mirrors where
I was expecting him to look in the mirror, so I made him think that I was
going to the right, then I went to the left and then I tried also in Turn 9
but I knew that it was important for me to take care of those tyres, and
even in the first lap, everything is so sensitive here that even if you push
too much in the first lap then this can have a huge consequence on the rest
of your run. So, at one point I just decided to settle for the second place,
which anyway if we will have got that first place, I don't think we'll have
kept that for long.
Q: Charles, you’ve just talked about the positives from a tyre-wear point of
view and how the pace was better than you were expecting. How much
confidence does that give you going into next season?
CL: I mean, depends for what. On one hand it is good to finish a season like
that. That gives me the confidence that, for next year, hopefully, we know
more where we need to set-up our car and where the development needs to be
done. On the other hand, there's still a long way to go before getting to
the Red Bull pace, especially in terms of race pace. So, on that we are all
aware in the team that there's still a lot of work to do.
Q: And in the Constructors' Championship, it was close, it was on a knife
edge, right until the chequered flag. Can we get your summary of finishing
P3 and how frustrating I guess that is – but also just the pace of the car?
Do you think you've had the third fastest car this year?
CL: Depends where? Because there was so much going on. Yeah, it depends
where we are. It's so much up and down. We've got races where we were
definitely the second fastest cars, other races where maybe we were the
fourth or fifth fastest car, so it was really up and down. But I believe
that since Japan, when we brought an upgrade to the car, it went in the
right direction, especially for my driving style. I always like to have a
strong front and I felt much more at ease and could be much more consistent.
So yeah, that's a positive. Then, of course, very disappointed with that
third place in the Constructors’ as that was my only target since two or
three races now. It was until the very last lap, I tried to give Checo the
DRS for him to try and pull away five seconds to George, but that didn't
quite work out.
Q: George coming to you. Can we start by talking about P2 in the
Constructors' Championship with Lewis coming home ninth, you were Mercedes
main man in that fight. How much pleasure does it give you to come home
ahead?
GR: Yeah, it was a great weekend. And I'm really pleased to finish on this
high because it's been a really challenging season. One, as a team, but on a
personal side, just not getting the results that we probably deserve. The
pace has been really strong on so many occasions, but just results kept on
slipping through our fingers. So, you know, lady luck maybe on our side
slightly today with Checo’s penalty but I think that more than made up for
the other races this year.
Q: And let's talk about the race. It looks tough for you both on track and
physically.
GR: Yeah, I’ve been really ill the last two weeks. Firstly, in Vegas with a
big fever, I couldn't sleep and just felt awful. And then I've had a
horrendous cough that stayed with me all week and in the car. I was coughing
every single lap but when you're strapped into the car, you can't breathe.
You can't take a deep breath in to get the cough out. So, it was just
constantly with me. It was pretty, pretty miserable. So, I was pleased to
bring it home when I saw that chequered flag.
Q: Final one for me. Are there any positives from the W14 that you'd like to
see taken into next year? Or do you want a fresh start? A completely clean
sheet with next year's car?
GR: Yeah, I think we're taking a clean slate into next year's car. I think
that the positive is we're not scratching our heads why we're so far behind
Red Bull. We see so many flaws with this car, which gives every single
person back at the factory so much motivation and fire to chase after those
problems and find those solutions, which we think will make a good step into
next year. But, of course, I expect Red Bull to make a step again. But I’ve
got no doubt, come Bahrain, we’ll be in a stronger position than we were in
Bahrain this year.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Charles, how was the car once you’d come
off the medium tyre at the first pit-stop? By that stage you weren't too far
behind Max; I think there was only a second and a half/two seconds but
things seem to be a little bit less competitive after the stop.
CL: I think Max was saving quite a bit on the medium because there were two
or three laps before he pitted where he started to push and then straight
away I understood: OK, they've got maybe much more margin than what I
initially thought. Then on the hard, it was mostly about managing the gap to
George behind. I was aware that we couldn't go and fight with Max, so I
didn't want to take too much out of the tyres in the first few laps to then
push. And I was also still thinking about a one stop at that time, so I had
to go to the end of the race. Maybe we didn’t optimise that stint because
then we went for another stop. So yeah, I think that's the reason why also
the pace didn't seem to be as good.
Q: (Luke Smith - The Athletic) Max, you've had five races where the
championships have all been sewn up so one could have maybe forgiven you for
taking your foot off the gas a little bit and easing off. Obviously, that's
not in your nature. What's kept you motivated through this final stretch of
races when everything's been settled? How do you keep just pushing and
pushing and finishing the season on such a high to take the momentum into
next year as well?
MV: I do think that that is just how I grew up. I can't just come into a
weekend not giving it all. I just get annoyed with myself and I know the
people around me get annoyed with me if I would be like that. It doesn't
really matter. My mindset also didn't change after winning the championship.
I come to the race weekends and I of course always try to do the best I can.
And it's nice. You know winning is great. Why would I not want to win when
you have the opportunity to win? When I see that there is of course the
opportunity to win, I will always try to do the best I can and also for the
team. When you have such a good car, you want to try and extend certain
records and do well.
Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Max, we heard you over the radio saying
that the team could give Checo priority on second pit stops; was that a case
of your tyres just felt good and you were happy to go a bit longer? Or were
you being kept up to date with his progress because he was coming up to
chase up George and Charles?
MV: No, it was to try and lead for 1,000 laps in the season. I knew that
that was on the cards. So I said to GP… he was also of course aware of that,
so just to make sure that they wouldn't pit me too early. The tyres still
felt OK. They were not fantastic but they felt OK at that point so we just
kept on extending a little bit.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport. com) Another one for Max to reflect on the
record-breaking season a little bit. Obviously, the car has been better than
last year's car but do you feel your personal performances are better than
last year as well, and if so, in which aspects?
MV: Well, in general the car has been better than last year and we were very
solid in terms of no retirements, no real issues on the car which of course
is also a big key to that. From my side, every single year I try to do
better but I think better - it's more about just general experience in F1
and trying to put the weekend together a bit more. Some weekends that works
better than others. And then yeah, besides that, just try not to make too
many mistakes. Try not to get too much damage on the car with the cost cap
and stuff, these kinds of things which I think worked quite well.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, did the gear shift issue we heard you
talking about with your engineer go away once they told you to shift
positions on the steering wheel? And why is that something we've heard you
talk about quite a bit this season?
MV: Oh, it's been that for a couple of years so it's nothing new. It's
something that we are constantly working on but it's not easy to solve,
let's say like that. It can be better but we try to do the best we can. It
was a little bit better, yeah.
Q: (Luke Smith - The Athletic) George, just on how you're feeling right now.
Esteban Ocon was ill earlier this weekend as well and he said yesterday that
the body's not really designed to do 23/24 races a season, particularly with
the calendar structured as it is, the trip from Vegas to here. How much do
you think F1 has got to really consider wellbeing for the drivers and
everyone in the paddock moving forward, for how we structure the calendar
and approach things because it's been a long and testing season for
everybody?
GR: I think the drivers, we have it best from every single person in this
paddock, the way we travel. We're in a very fortunate position. But
everybody up and down the paddock - I've got so many mechanics who are ill,
people in the engineers’ office, just really struggling with the constant
time zone shifts, the body not knowing where you are, eating at different
times, staying in different hotels, different environments, different
climates. The body's getting confused. I think there are talks for next year
about personnel being regulated that they can't do every single race. I
think that would be a good thing. I don't think it's sustainable to 4,000
people, I think it is, to do 24 races a season, especially when you see how
geographically it still doesn't make a huge amount of sense.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Charles, just a question to you on the
tactic to give Checo the position on the last lap. How are you following
that and when did it occur to you that that might be a faint possibility of
coming off and being able to thwart Mercedes in the Constructors’?
CL: Oh, quite a few laps before; as soon as I was aware about the five
seconds penalty, basically. Then I was asking constantly the gap between
George and Checo. Then they told me that Checo had passed George, so I knew
Checo was behind me and his best chance was obviously to get the DRS from me
and try and pull away as much as possible from George. So I knew that there
was quite a bit of discussion between my engineer and myself and I let him
know as well that this was my plan but it didn't work out. |
