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1 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)
2 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jolyon Palmer)
Q: Max Verstappen, third place, again in
the top three in qualifying at your home race. The crowd love it. What a lap
at the end. You looked like you were really dragging the car towards the
front. Fastest middle sector. You’ve got to be happy with that.
Max
VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, for sure. I mean, this weekend so far was quite tricky for
us, but qualifying was basically the best I’ve felt all weekend. So that’s
exactly what you want. To be honest, to be P3 here, I’m very happy with
that. I mean, the energy of the crowd, of course, the whole weekend already
has been amazing, and to see so much orange on the grandstand, it’s always
very special.
Q: It's a difficult circuit as well. Talk to me about
the challenges. It’s windy, it’s fast as well, there’s not much runoff.
Really gets the adrenaline pumping.
MV: It’s all what I like. So, I’m
happy to be here.
Q: And the plan for tomorrow? You’ve got obviously
the two McLarens at the front. You’ve got Isaac Hadjar, rookie, alongside
you in fourth. All-out attack at the start or are you going to be happy with
the podium?
MV: Yeah, let’s see what we can do. I mean, the McLarens
have been very fast all weekend, so it’s also important to just focus on our
own race, see what we can do. But this has been a good step forward. I hope
that we can keep that up also going into the race tomorrow.
Q: Lando,
so close. Twelve thousandths at the end. You looked like you’ve been the
form man all the way through the weekend. I guess you’ve got to be
frustrated with that end result?
Lando NORRIS: Yes and no. I mean,
it’s close. It’s been close the whole weekend. So, easily could go one way
or the other. I guess a little bit disappointed I’m not on pole, but it’s
close. Still some decent laps, so not the end of the world either.
Q:
Do you think if you had hooked up the perfect lap, you might have been able
to find it? Looked like you were finding something on the final lap.
LN: No. I mean, with the wind like this, a lot of it’s down to luck as well,
you know – even with all the luck I’ve been having. It’s tough. I had a good
lap, like Q3 run one, but it’s a smaller headwind down the straight and I
lost like one hundredth. So, you could easily say it’s there. But I’m in a
good position. We’re in a good fight. Oscar’s been driving well, we’ve been
driving well all season, so we’ll have some fun tomorrow.
Q: You know
from last year as well, you can take the lead from second on the grid.
That’s going to be your chance tomorrow, and there’s some strategy in play
between you guys. The fight’s still very much on.
LN: Yeah. I mean,
we both had terrible starts last year, so we’ll see. I don’t think they the
inside’s a lot better, but it’s a long race, a lot of laps, and we’ll see
what the weather holds for us too.
Q: Oscar, another brilliant Q3
effort. Twelve thousandths at the end, but it’s in your favour and you’re on
pole position. What a lap. Looked like you found your best when it mattered.
Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah. That was the definition of peaking at the right
time. I think the whole weekend I’ve felt pretty good, but it’s just been a
couple of corners that I’ve not been able to go any faster. I didn’t really
go any faster in those corners, but I found some more elsewhere! So, yeah,
super happy to come out with the result. Obviously, you’ve still got all the
points tomorrow, but yeah, it was looking like a little bit of a tricky
weekend so far, so to come out with that, I’m pretty stoked.
Q: How
difficult is it every time you get in the garage, looking at what Lando’s
doing, I guess, trying to find that little bit more, tracks coming up,
you’ve got to find a bit more time to get the pole. How do you keep yourself
finding the time?
OP: You just keep chipping away and that’s one of
the nice things about having this much practice — you’ve got time to work on
it. Like I said, I think I just improved the parts where I was already not
bad and made up the difference that way. Still some things to try and
improve and work on, but overall, very happy.
Q: And obviously the
race and the points are going to be given out tomorrow. What’s it like in
McLaren now? You know your big rival is the other guy on the other side of
the garage. The strategy now — are you working insularly? Are you going to
be working against Lando with your side? How is the briefing for that? How
do you set yourself up?
OP: Let’s see what we get tomorrow.
Obviously, we’re both trying to beat each other every weekend. So, there’s a
few variables in there that you can mix up. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Oscar, very well done to you. That was a
stunningly quick pole lap. Just how did it feel in the cockpit, first of
all?
OP: It felt pretty good. You know, not perfect, but I think with
the wind being so strong, there are some places that are never going feel
perfect. So, it felt good and a good improvement from pretty much every
other lap I did this weekend. So, it was nice to be able to pull it out
then. But yeah, it took a lot of hard work, some patience in trying to find
the time, and eventually I got there.
Q: Tell us a little bit more
about that hard work and that patience. I mean, in practice, your teammate
has had the edge. What changes have you made to allow you to take the pole
today?
OP: You know, little tweaks here and there, but I think just
trying to — I think in qualifying when you get a few more goes at it, a few
more sets, naturally it’s a little bit easier to find a little bit more.
Obviously, the pressure is much higher than practice. But yeah, just felt
like this weekend took a lot of attempts to try and improve in some places
and eventually it was just enough attempts. So yeah, just trying to drive
faster, essentially.
Q: And did you know from the start of qualifying
that you now had a car that you could at least compete for pole position
with?
OP: Yeah, definitely. But I knew that from FP1. I think the
pace this weekend has been very strong. FP3 seemed very, very strong and I
knew that the car wasn’t the problem. It was just that it was taking me a
while to improve in some places. So, yeah, the team’s done a great job in
firstly putting the car in a good place for me and also helping me improve
myself.
Q: Well, Oscar, let’s throw it forward to the race. The tyre
compounds are softer than they were last year. Do you think this is going to
turn into a strategic battle at the front?
OP: I don’t know yet. The
tyre strategies from everyone are a bit different. I think us two are one of
the only teams to have two Hards and a Medium. I think pretty much everyone
else has just one Hard and one Medium. So, we’ve got that kind of up our
sleeve, but it also kind of tells you a little bit of what most people are
thinking, I guess. So, we’ll wait and see, but we’ve got some options
available.
Q: Lando, let’s come to you. Very, very close to the pole.
Just how was the lap — both laps, actually — how were the laps in Q3 for
you?
LN: I mean, both felt pretty good. It feels quick around here,
first of all, so I’ve been feeling pretty good the whole weekend, always in
a good flow around here, which is important. Both my laps were good. I don’t
think many people improved on their second runs, so I don’t know if the
track got a little bit trickier or slower in the second run, but both were
pretty close, I think. Again, within half a tenth or a tenth of pole
position. So, yeah, tricky also with the wind. It can easily just favour you
or not favour you. And yeah, one hundredth is pretty minimal. Even coming
out of the last corner, I’m a little bit up and I lose like two hundredths
by the time I get to the start-finish line and that’s pole position gone for
me. No, there’s not too much to complain about. I think there were a couple
of places where I wasn’t quite on a good enough limit and consistently
losing a little bit too much lap time today and this weekend. So, some
places and things I need to work on, but otherwise the laps were good, and I
was still pretty happy.
Q: You talk about it being fast around here,
and the lap times are much quicker this year compared to last year. In what
areas around the lap are you finding the time compared to last year?
LN: No idea, but it’s a softer tyre. I don’t know if the wind changes that.
The wind always changes some things. We also have a much quicker car. So, I
guess just everywhere.
Q: Let’s throw it forward then. You’ve
dominated the practice sessions so far this weekend. Just how much
confidence do you have going into this race tomorrow?
LN: I would
have loved to be on pole. I think that’s the thing that would have made me
the happiest. But it’s been close all weekend. You just look at the results
and I’ve been ahead. But I easily could have been behind by just losing half
a tenth or a tenth here and there. So, it’s not like I’ve dominated it. I’ve
just been ever so slightly ahead and it’s just switched the other way around
for quali. But I still am confident for the race pace. We know that’s one of
our strengths as a team. But I also know my main competitor is the guy ahead
of me. We’ll see tonight. Of course, we always put the plan together, but
with the other side and with Oscar and everything. So, it’s always a little
bit trickier to beat that one guy. But at the same time, it’s a long race.
We’ll see what we can do.
Q: You did it last year — you overtook Max
Verstappen to take the win. If you need to, do you think it’s going to be
possible to overtake tomorrow, to overtake your teammate?
LN: I mean,
yeah — no offence to Max — he was in a much slower car last year. So that
helps a lot. Oscar’s in a much quicker car this year and the hardest guy to
normally overtake is your team-mate, especially when in a quali like today
where we were split by one hundredth. So yeah, I mean, it’s going to take
some magic, some good strategy or incredible tyre saving or something. But
it’s normally pretty difficult to overtake in the first place. It’s even
harder to do that behind your team-mate. So, I’ll see what I can dream of
tonight.
Q: Max, let’s come to you now. Another great qualifying lap
from you today. Just tell us how it all came together for you.
MV:
Yeah, I mean, so far this weekend, we’ve been struggling for grip and
general balance. Luckily in qualifying it was the best that I’ve felt all
weekend. That’s, of course, what you like. It all just felt a bit more
normal, a bit more together. Still not on the level of McLaren, of course,
but at least to be P3 is very good for us. So, we did the right things in
terms of setup directions. I’m very happy with that. It just made it a bit
more fun — you had to push to the limit around here, which has some
incredible layouts.
Q: What did you change overnight? Because you
said after practice yesterday that it had been very difficult for you.
MV: Changed a lot. Even this morning it was still not good. So, then we
changed other bits again and that made it feel a bit better. But it’s still
quite tricky with the wind. It’s been very windy today and some corners
you’re a bit guided by what the wind is doing. So, the car is pushing or
sliding, and I guess we’re not the strongest at the moment, but still it was
not bad.
Q: And because of the issues yesterday, is the long-run pace
of the car a bit of an unknown?
MV: It’s a bit unknown, but I do
think that what we have on the car should be more stable. But this season in
general, our race pace has not been the best in terms of if you compare it
to a qualifying lap. But I just hope that at least we can keep the guys
behind us literally behind us in the race. What happens in front of me, I
have no control over. I’ll just try to do the best I can from my side.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Shanna Lutgert – F1Maximaal.nl)
Max, in the media pen, Gabi said some really nice words about you — that he
was hoping for you to get pole. But I think P3 is second best for you. Did
you speak with him about Zandvoort? Did you give any advice for him, or the
other way around?
MV: Yeah. I mean, I’ve said it before — we do some
driving on the simulator. I think I even shared with him the track model
that I use for Zandvoort. So, I’m sure that he did quite a lot of laps. And,
yeah, we naturally always speak about things and tricks and what to do in F1
because I don’t think he had driven here before in F1. So yeah, he’s a great
guy, and we get along very well. And I think, again today, he had a very
good qualifying himself. So, I guess what he’s doing is working well.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) Question for you, Oscar.
We were talking at the beginning of the weekend that last year this wasn’t
your best circuit. Yesterday, I think you struggled a little bit in the slow
right-hander at the end of the triple right-hander. Has it been similar to
last year, the struggles you had?
OP: Yes and no. It’s changed a
little bit through the weekend. Yesterday, I feel like I made progress in
FP2, but then FP3 not so much. Then the wind changed a little bit overnight.
So, some of the corners where I was stronger yesterday became a bit weaker
again, and it’s kind of moved around a little bit. Yeah, the middle sector’s
not been my favourite this weekend, but I think eventually I got there. Just
putting it all together in the same lap was not that easy. So, I feel like
I’ve improved generally from last year, but clearly, I think qualifying has
gone much better. And also, this is kind of the first normal Saturday we’ve
had in Zandvoort. The last two years we raced here, it’s been a wet FP3 or a
wet start of qualifying. Today I was able to get more into a rhythm, and I
think that helped as well.
Q: (René de Boer – Track Commentary)
Question to all three drivers. The pit lane speed has been increased prior
to the round here at Zandvoort from 60 to 80 kilometres per hour. We’ve seen
a couple of incidents in the practice sessions in the pit lane, especially
one involving Oscar. Can I have your opinion on that? How much of a safety
risk can that be, or does it actually enhance the possibility to apply
multi-stop strategies?
OP: I think it does slightly help mix up
strategies potentially. We’ll see tomorrow. But it does feel like a tight
pit lane here. I think for some reason it feels tighter than it is because
when we raised it with the FIA, actually in terms of numbers and the gaps
between boxes, it’s not the worst of the year. So, I think it’s fine. It’s
probably a little bit on the limit, but I think it will more mix up the
racing, and it’s fine from a safety standpoint. I think my incident with
George yesterday wasn’t to do with the speed limit, really. It was just some
confusion in our box. So, I think it’s fine.
LN: Oh, nothing to add.
MV: Yeah, I think it’s fine — speed limit. It’s always better if it can
spice up maybe a bit more the strategy. Otherwise, you want to stick to a
one-stop. Maybe this opens the opportunity for a two-stop for some drivers.
So, I guess that’s a good thing.
Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For the
McLaren guys. We had a pub quiz yesterday evening at your place, so I return
the favour. What do you remember of the 1985 race, just before Zandvoort was
cancelled for 35 years? Who won? Who was P2? Who started in P10? No Google.
No phones, please.
OP: I’ve got to take a wild guess. Was it Niki
Lauda that won the race? It was!
MV: Okay. Who was on pole?
OP: I don’t think it was Niki on pole.
MV: No. I know him
OP:
You know him? Okay, that makes it easy. Nelson Piquet. Fair. And you wanted
second and third?
Q: Come on, Lando. Chip in.
LN: I don’t
care.
Q: Max, do you know who P2 and P3 were in 1985?
MV: I
couldn’t care less. It’s not my problem.
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