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1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull
Racing)
2 – Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Charles LECLERC
(Ferrari)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Charles,
congratulations. Your first podium of the year – it's only the second race –
but after a great qualifying yesterday the pace of the Red Bulls just too
strong for you.
Charles LECLERC: Yeah, we had quite a good pace because
we had the fastest lap at the end. I got a bit held by a DRS, but overall
the feeling was pretty good. It was a bit of a boring race because Red Bull
were a bit too quick and behind we had a bit of a gap, but we took the
maximum points we could today and that was the target, so that's great.
Q: Congratulations on that point for fastest lap. This is a tough race
circuit. The pace of this race, I can see you're visibly sweating more than
in some Grands Prix. How did it compare to last year?
CL: From last year,
it's actually a step better. I don't know why exactly. Maybe because I was a
bit more on my own, so you have a bit less adrenaline in the car, but all in
all, it's definitely one of the most physical race tracks of the season.
It's warm, but most of all, I think it's more for the neck. There are so
many high speeds. Very, very difficult, but also very, very fun to drive.
Q: Excellent. Well, look, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask about your
team-mate for this weekend. He was voted Driver of the Day. Oliver Bearman
brought points home. How impressed have you been with him getting thrown in
the deep end?
CL: I mean, he completely deserves it. He's done an
incredible job already from FP3. He was straight on the pace in qualifying.
He did a great job and missed Q3 by so little and I think today he's been
incredible. I mean seventh in your first race in Formula 1, having done only
in FP3 In a new car is just hugely impressive. So I'm sure he's extremely
proud but everybody has noticed how talented he is and I guess it's just a
matter of time before he comes here in Formula 1.
Q: And now we have
Checo Pérez, the winner here last year, second this time. But I have the
impression this was a stronger race this weekend than in Bahrain. Tell us
about it.
Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, we definitely made some good progress. I
think it was a shame that we just qualified out of the front row because we
had a great start. Unfortunately, Charles really kept it together and we
couldn't get through. It was a nice fight then later on. And it was quite a
compromised race, I'll say, with the Safety car there so early. It was a
very long stint on the Hard. And it was tricky at times, especially in the
beginning. We had no warm-up at all. We were sliding a lot. It took us a
long time to get through Lewis and Lando. But I think overall, it's a great
day for the team. You know, very different track to Bahrain, and we keep
being strong. So, yeah, we just have to keep this momentum going. I think
we've taken a step forward from Bahrain. We've done good improvements from
yesterday, so we still have some bits to tidy up, and our time will come.
Q: You mentioned there about the Safety Car. We just saw on the screen
behind you, very tight with Fernando and the Aston. That's always going to
be the case in those sort of double-stacking situations?
SP: Yeah, it was
a shame that we got that penalty. Luckily, it didn't hurt our race but yeah
I think in this scenario you know I was quite close to Max and everyone was
coming in at the same time, we just need a wider pit lane!
Q: Enjoy
the podium and congratulations on second place. And now for our winner. Max
your 56thvictory in Formula 1 and your first century of podiums. You must be
feeling good.
MV: Yeah, I think overall, of course, a fantastic weekend
for the whole team, but also for myself. I felt really good with the car.
And, yeah, also basically it was the same in the race. Of course, the last
stint was a bit longer than we would have liked, but with the Safety Car,
you had to go for it. So the last few laps also with those back markers,
with the cold tyres was a little bit slippery, but we had good pace all
around. We could manage it quite well with the gap also. So, yeah, overall,
very, very pleased.
Q: You mentioned yesterday in qualifying that the
car was on rails. Sounds like it was a bit more challenging on this circuit,
especially with the long stint.
MV: Yeah, exactly. I think ideally you
don't want to do such a long stint on that tyre, but we had to. And that, of
course, around here with all these high-speed corners, if the tyre falls out
of the window a little bit, it makes it all a bit more tricky.
Q: We
heard Charles mentioning that this is a tough one on the neck. Do you have
any feeling of that when you were doing your Grand Prix?
MV: Yeah, this
is always… Early in the season as well, anti-clockwise, a lot of Gs
constantly throughout the whole lap, so it's definitely always one of the
more physical ones.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Max, very well done.
That looked like the perfect race for you. Is that how it felt in the
cockpit?
MV: Yeah, I think it was a very good race. Of course, after that
first stint with the Safety Car, we had to box. And I knew that it was going
to be a very long stint to the end. But of course, it was the same for most
of us. And I think we just managed the pace very well to the end. And yeah,
I think the whole weekend, the car has been performing really well, probably
a little bit better than expected even. And yeah, overall, of course, very
pleased to win here.
Q: Are you more pleased with the performance
here than you were one week ago in Bahrain?
MV: Well, I mean, the race in
Bahrain, I think, was also very good. So it's a bit difficult. You know,
it's very different scenarios as well. So I mean, around here, you know, you
naturally have low tyre deg. So you probably also ask different things from
the car.
Q: Now, it seemed that Charles's best chance of challenging
you was at the start. So talk us through those early metres of the race. How
was your getaway, first of all?
MV: It was OK. Not very, very good, but
good enough, I guess. So, yeah, that's the most important.
Q: Well,
this is your 100th podium in Formula 1, achieved in just 188 starts. That's
a very impressive strike rate. Can we just get your reaction to that?
MV:
It's 88 missed podiums! No, of course, very happy with that. But I'm not
really a guy, you know, looking at the stats. So I'm just happy to hit 100.
But I want to, of course, continue and just focus race-by-race on achieving
the best possible result all the time.
Q: Well, let's go
race-by-race. Australia is next. Just how much of a different challenge is
Albert Park?
MV: Yeah, it's a very different track again, especially also
now with the new layout, the new tarmac. So, yeah, next week we'll go in the
simulator again, try to set it up as well as we can before we get there. And
then we'll just see throughout the weekend where we are. I mean, it's
impossible to know how competitive we are going to be.
Q: All right.
Very well done today. Thanks. Thank you, Max. Checo, let's come to you next.
A great second place for you. Just give us an overview of your race, first
of all.
SP: Yeah, it was quite a bit more chaotic. I had a great start.
Unfortunately, I couldn't keep ahead of Charles because he kept it there and
obviously I gave him the space into Turn 2 and it was his corner then in
Turn 4. So that was a nice start, good start once again. And from then on, I
was able to get through Charles, I think within two or three laps. And then
it was looking good, the race. I was within three seconds from Max, and I
think the degradation on that Medium stint was looking quite good. But
unfortunately, then we were compromised with such an early Safety Car, and
that meant that basically everyone just pitted. And when I was going out, it
was actually my mistake, because I was told by the team to hold it back. But
in hindsight, I looked on the right and there was nobody there when I
looked. But in hindsight, I think the penalty was correct and that pretty
much compromised our race.
Q: Tell us a little bit more about when
you're in the pits. How much can you see from the car?
SP: You are able
to have a bit of awareness of what's going on around you, definitely. And
when I looked at the mirror, there was no one. I saw that I didn't have the
proper release. But I didn't see anyone. So sometimes the team can be a
little bit slower than you in the car. But this time was the other way
around. So... Yeah, my bad in that one, but still happily didn't change a
race.
Q: But final one for me, you've said this weekend that you're
happier with the car here in Jeddah. Where is it better compared to last
weekend?
SP: I think things that we are doing with the car. I think last
weekend was really a poor race in terms of how we managed it, the amount of
degradation we had. But we understood the reasons behind it. The race was
quite strong today because we were able to make the progress from Friday to
the race. But I think qualifying, we just went a step backwards. And that's
the main key from our weekend, to understand why we actually went slower
than FP2 when you correct for everything. So it’s something we’ve got to
understand the reasons behind it and make sure that we are able to keep
progressing.
Q: Thank you for that. Charles, let's come to you next.
Let's get an overview of your race, first of all.
CL: We maximized
everything today. We were struggling all the time at the beginning of the
stints, whether it was at the beginning of the Medium or beginning of the
Hards, we struggled to switch the tyres on. Then towards the end of the
stint we were pretty good. With the Medium, we didn't really see that. With
the Hard, we saw that towards the end, but it was too late to actually
recover what we had lost at the beginning with the battles we had. All in
all, it's been a positive race. I think we are doing small steps in the
right direction. If I look back the last six, seven months, we are the team
that have improved the most and we are slowly closing the gap. So the gap is
still quite big. But if we keep working like that, I'm sure it's a matter of
time before we put the Red Bull under a bit more pressure.
Q: And
struggling to switch the tyres on at the start of a stint gives you more at
the end of the stint, is that right?
CL: Not always, but today was
probably the case, so that was good.
Q: Can we also get your view of
the battle with Checo, both at the start and then when he actually overtook
you at the start of lap four?
CL: I have a very bad memory when I
finished the races. I remember really well exit of Turn 2, where I was like,
‘oh, I hope Checo will leave the space’. And he did. So I kept my second
place there. And then I cannot remember. I think it was quite a clean
overtake. There wasn't much I could do. But we were struggling a little bit
to defend today and also to attack. I think we had a little bit less top
speed than the others, which was wanted. But we'll review that to see if it
was the right decision or not.
Q: And given the progress you've made
here in Jeddah, do you expect to make another step when we go to Melbourne
next week?
CL: I don't think we'll have many things new in Melbourne. So
without new things in Melbourne, I think we are doing a good job by
maximising our package at the moment. So that's where we are. I think we'll
probably have to wait and see whenever we have new parts to the car, what
kind of step we do forward. And hopefully that will bring us closer to Red
Bull.
Q: Final one from me. A word from you on your teammate, Ollie
Bearman. How difficult was his job today, given that he missed Friday
practice?
CL: Incredibly difficult. Thursday practice, by the way! But
yeah, he's been extremely impressive. Extremely impressive. I think
everybody has seen that. Obviously having him in the same garage, seeing how
he worked and how he approached this whole situation with so much calm was
very, very impressive. Obviously with so much excitement as well, but it was
really impressive. I think he has shown the whole paddock what he was
capable of. And I think after a performance like that, it's a matter of time
before we see him permanently in the Formula 1 paddock.
QUESTIONS
FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Nabih Bulos – Los Angeles Times) Hi, this is for
Mr Pérez. I wanted to ask you, the F1 season now has a lot of races in the
Gulf, like in Bahrain, in Saudi Arabia, in Qatar, in Abu Dhabi. And I
basically wanted to ask you about the importance of racing in the region, in
the Middle East and the Gulf, especially with all the criticisms that have
come with that, and what it means in terms of building new audiences, but
also bringing new drivers, potentially, and new people who will join F1.
SP: I think it's always nice to go to places where the sport is the priority
for the people. We've seen over the years that in this area it keeps growing
and we have to remember that at the end of the day Formula 1 is a worldwide
sport that we might race in Saudi but a lot of people around the world are
watching us. So I think it's good that it's expanding from Europe because I
feel like in the past, Formula 1 was very centralised in Europe, not just
with drivers, but the people working in the paddock. And now it's nice that
you see a lot more different nationalities within Formula 1, not just in the
drivers’ side. I would like to see more on the drivers’ side as well. But
just the people around, yeah, just having a lot more people working in
Formula 1 from other countries is nice to see.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas –
Autosport) A question to Max, please. Max, you were barely on the TV
coverage once you'd got past Lando and were back in the lead. I just
wondered, you know, it's such a high-speed track, a tricky layout. Were
there any really difficult moments, given how serene your progress looked
otherwise?
MV: Just I think with the back markers at the end, you know,
the tyres were getting a bit cold and yeah, it was a bit slippery getting
close to them. And of course, then also you don't want to take too much
risk. We had a good gap behind. So that was probably a little bit of a
difficult moment to pace yourself there. But yeah, in general, the car has
been already from yesterday, it's been working really, really well for me.
So I felt really good in the car.
Q: (Nate Saunders – ESPN) Another
one for you, Max. Just to follow up on what you said here yesterday, just
about Helmut and your loyalty to him. You've been massively dominant at two
races now. The suggestion seems to be that you'd be happy to walk away from
this success if he wasn't at the team. I just wondered if that is the case.
I mean, from the outside, it seems like if you did walk away from Red Bull
now or at the end of this season, you'd potentially be giving up at least
one world title, maybe more. I just wondered if you could clarify that.
Thank you.
MV: I always said that what is most important is that we work
together as a team and that everyone keeps the peace. And that's what we, I
think, all agree on within the team. So hopefully from now on, that is also
fully the case. Everyone is trying to focus in the same direction. And I
think the positive out of all this is that it didn't hurt our performances.
So it's a very strong team. I think also mentally, what you can see from not
only driver's side, but also mechanics, engineers, everyone is there to do
their job. And I think everyone, even when there is stuff going on or
whatever, they're just very focused on their job as they should be.
Q: (Rawan Hamdan – Saudi Press Agency) A question for Max. Lando Norris was
in the front quite a time, and I want to know what do you think about his
performance being the first one quite a time in the race, and how did you
overcome him?
MV: Yeah, I mean, he didn't stop, so naturally he was ahead
of me. And it took a few laps for me to warm up my Hard tyres. I also didn't
want to take too many risks as well, you know, because when you don't have a
lot of grip, it's easy to make a mistake around here. And, yeah, at one
point, once the tyres had a bit of grip, I could catch him and pass him. So,
yeah, it's pretty straightforward.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport)
Charles, you mentioned that maybe things were a bit difficult with top speed
here for Ferrari. I just wondered, with that in mind, where else do you
think you lacked to the Red Bulls this weekend? Was it a case that things
like their DRS is particularly potent in qualifying? Obviously, we know
about the tyre degradation, so where do you think the gap was?
CL: For
the DRS, I don't think that's where we are lacking at the moment, but of
course we'll have a further analysis after this weekend to understand
exactly what are still our weaknesses and try to update them since last
race. However, today I don't think tyre degradation was a thing. It was more
about tyre warm-up and we struggled a bit more to bring them to the right
temperature in order to push. which made it also a bit more difficult
because I had to overtake cars during my warm-up. And that was a bit
trickier for us than for them. And that's where they pulled the gap, which
then stayed more or less stable towards the end. But that was too late for
us to put them under any pressure.
Q: (Rawan Hamdan – Saudi Press
Agency) You are guys now like a role model to the people here who love motor
sport and to teenagers. I want to know what advice would you like to give to
new generations coming to Formula 1, maybe next year from Saudi?
MV:
Advice to race themselves. As a driver? Right. Yeah, I mean, you know, in
some countries, of course, around the world, naturally, there is more motor
sport history. So you probably grew up with it a little bit more. And I
think we are raising more and more awareness around here in Saudi with the
younger generations to get into driving and racing. And I think a lot comes
down to education and guidance. The more help and support that there will be
from people with a lot of experience, the more that you can grow it here and
the passion. So that takes time. It's not that it happens within five years
and suddenly there will be a Saudi driver suddenly coming through the ranks.
You need to really work on that. It's good to see that they're loving motor
sport and you can see the fans here. They're quite young in general, what
you see around here. That's a good start and yeah hopefully of course we try
to do this in in every country that we go to that is maybe a bit new to the
calendar and hopefully one day of course wherever we go you maybe have a
national hero driving in Formula 1.
SP: Well, I have a good experience
myself coming from Mexico. It's quite hard to make it into Formula 1 or into
the sport because Mexico, the motor sport is good, but it's never as good as
in Europe. You have to go to Europe at a very young age. That would be my
best advice. Try to grow up as soon as possible on the racing side. Start
fighting at a very young age with the best drivers in the world and they are
in Europe because naturally the best level is over there. As soon as
possible that they can get the opportunity to get to racing in the best
countries for them, the better it will be. And that's the only way we will
have a Saudi F1 driver.
CL: Yeah, I agree with both Max and Checo. I
think in Europe there's a very high level at the moment. I think Formula 1
is doing a lot in order to put the sport in countries where maybe motor
sport wasn't such a big thing a few years ago, like here in Saudi. And it's
great to see the new generation so passionate with motor sport. and I'm sure
that with the increased interest we'll soon have drivers from countries like
Saudi wanting to become a Formula 1 driver and then from that moment onwards
it's all about following your dream and enjoy the moment and the road. That
is quite a long road. Sometimes you believe that you cannot make it, but if
you always believe in your goal and you work properly with the right
references and the right people helping you then you will you'll make it.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to Charles, please. I
just wondered, given what you said, the context of the tyre warm-up being
the limitation today, can you talk us through that re-start fight with
Piastri, the pass on Lewis, and also was that why you took a little bit more
time than Checo to get past Lando after the restart? Thanks.
CL: No, for
Lando, I don't think that that was the thing that was making me struggle to
pass him. I think it was more about the straight-line speed. But yeah, the
re-starts obviously was quite tricky with the tires being a bit off the
window. But I think everybody was struggling more or less. On our side, it
was probably on the worst side. But then once they went into temperature,
which was the case when I was close to Lando, then it was more the top speed
that was making me struggle to get past.
Q: (Nate Saunders – ESPN)
Another one for you, Max. It's been picked up a bit on social media,
actually, this week, that you've been on Twitch quite a bit, just kind of
late night racing and stuff like that. I just wondered how many hours do you
think you've clocked up this week? And are you a bit of a night owl when it
comes to these races? Is it just easier to do that stuff? Is it easy to do
that and unwind? Because I think a lot of people are just impressed that I
think this morning you were racing and then you're here tonight. You're here
tonight racing in real life. Just talk a bit about that. Thanks.
MV:
Yeah, I mean, I just stayed a bit on European, or even UK, I would say,
schedule. So I would go to bed at like 4 a.m., wake up late.
SP: We’ll
have to get you a membership in Disney+.
MV: Yeah, I'm paying for that at
the moment, actually. Yeah, I mean, the thing is, of course, also, you know,
I have my own sim team, so naturally I'm just catching up with them a bit.
And yeah, it's a bit of just unwinding as well. I mean, I don't have a rig
here. I'm driving on my controller, you know, so it's just fun. Just not
having to think about Formula 1 and just be with people that, you know, are
friends. Whenever I can, I do it. Yeah, I woke up this morning and had an
hour spare, so I just logged in and had a bit of fun.
Q: (Nabih Bulos
– Los Angeles Times) Sorry, just one last one. This is for all three. I
mean, we have also heard sort of these allegations about sports washing and
greenwashing and all this stuff about the various, again, Gulf countries.
And I'm wondering, you know, what are the feelings? I'm wondering, you know,
just what are the feelings about that? And I guess, what are your response
or what would your response be to those kinds of complaints and criticisms
and allegations in terms of sports washing and greenwashing and things of
that nature?
CL: I think as a sport, and we've always said that, I think
we need to bring the values of the sport in those countries in order to open
the minds of people. Having said that, obviously we are in a very tricky
moment for our sport. And I think, yes, we should focus on sharing the good
values and there's a lot of work still for us to do on that, as we are
seeing at the moment. But I will stay on the line that I believe that we are
20 drivers showing good values, the respect, and we need to keep going to
those countries in order to hopefully open minds and for them to have a
better future and also to inspire young people in order to follow their
dream. And I still believe that this is a good thing anyway.
MV: I think
with sport in general, I think there are a lot of things that you can
achieve everywhere in the world. Of course, being competitive and performing
here and showing to a new young crowd what we're doing. Of course, we are
not into politics. That's a whole different story. And I think also it's
very important that sport is sport, politics are politics. Sometimes people
like to be in the middle of it. I prefer to just focus on sport. Otherwise,
I would have been a politician. But that's not my expertise and definitely
not where I want to end up as well. And at the end of the day, every single
country has their own flaws, but also positive sides. And we are not going
to change the world at the end of the day as a sport, but we try to share
positive values. And then, of course, it's also up to the country to make
positive changes. I do think that since we have been here already there have
been some really nice positive changes and you have to respect that and
sometimes you know it takes a bit longer in some countries but I think it's
very positive and yeah it's great to see and also great to meet a new
culture as well I think for everyone you know to get educated on that as
well, because everyone is a little bit different around the world wherever
you go, and you have to respect that as well. But then, of course, also,
wherever you're from, your country, there are always things that can be done
better, right? So it's a work in progress in general.
SP: I think Formula
1 itself, it's a great platform that gives an opportunity to new countries
to expose yourself and you know that the whole world is watching you once
you are in Formula One. So I think that's really, really good. It's a very
nice opportunity for all these new countries that are coming into the sport.
and I think as a product we are very unique. I think you have 20 drivers,
different nationalities, great sportsmen with great values and it's
something that I think just helps all those countries to be able to show
themselves and try to keep improving and keep evolving, as the world is, I
think. As always, every country can be better, but it's always important to
be able to give back to the people.
Q: (Rawan Hamdan – Saudi Press
Agency) Max, as you mentioned the cultural sharing, I want to know where are
the places in Saudi you would like to visit or see it and which is the most
part you like in our culture?
MV: I've only been in Jeddah. The country
is so big, when you fly over it, when you come from right or left. I think
there are a lot of places that I would like to visit. I have a lot of my
friends also that have been visiting, like the capital, Riyadh or even like
Al-Ula. The Dakar rally, of course, is happening here. So there are a lot of
beautiful shots that you see. So yeah, step by step, hopefully one day I can
see a little bit more of the country. Of course, they're building a new city
and there's so many, I think, exciting projects, of course, happening. So
yeah, it's great to see the country opening up, I think, a bit more to the
world. And, yeah, positive change. And that's the only thing that you can
wish for, really. So hopefully from all around the world, you know, we can
see more of Saudi Arabia.
Q: (Rawan Hamdan – Saudi Press Agency) And
have you tried many kinds of Saudi food?
MV: Not yet, actually. So I
need maybe an expert next time that I'm here to have something really local. |
