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DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), George
RUSSELL (Williams), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Daniel RICCIARDO (Renault),
Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Welcome gentlemen. It was announced yesterday that Silverstone has a new
long-term deal to remain on the Formula 1 calendar. I’d like to get each of
your thoughts on that, starting with Lewis please?
Lewis HAMILTON: Well, good afternoon everyone. It was a good surprise to
hear that they had re-signed. It wasn’t necessarily a surprise. As I spoke
to you guys before I knew that it was going to happen. It’s clear the
Formula 1 can’t exist without the home of motorsport, which is the British
Grand Prix. Yeah, really, really happy. It’s great for the fan base and for
that to continuously grow over the next years to come.
Q: Thank you Lewis. Lando?
Lando NORRIS: It’s going to be my first race this weekend. I’ve race here in
the past. I love driving Silverstone. It would have been a shame to ever see
it go, especially if I only would have done this race, this year and not
done it again. Glad to see it still here and I look forward to coming back
every year.
Q: Thanks. George?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, obviously very pleased for it to be on the calendar
again. I think F1 couldn’t live without Silverstone. It’s the home of the
British Grand Prix. Formula 1 is a very British sport and overall it’s just
an amazing circuit to drive and there’s something special about Silverstone
when you come here. Like you said, I’m not surprised it’s continued.
Q: Daniel?
Daniel RICCIARDO: Very happy. It’s a cool track, cool atmosphere. It was
eight years ago this weekend, it was my F1 debut here, so it’s always been
pretty personal to me. But I’ve enjoyed it. I don’t know how it would feel
being somewhere else. It feels normal and right it have it here. It feels
like the home of British motorsport. I like that. There’s that real camping
atmosphere, that festival vibe. Yeah, the Brits love and we do too.
Q: And Antonio?
Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Yes, it’s a track with a lot of history, so it was
really nice to see that this circuit will be here for another five years.
With an F1 car I think it’s amazing to drive here, so I can’t wait to start
tomorrow and do my first grand prix at Silverstone.
Q: Antonio, if we can stay with you, you got your first world championship
point in Austria a couple of weeks ago. How did that feel and how confident
are you of maintaining that run of form here?
AG: Yeah, cost me a little bit of my hair! It was for a good reason I would
say. It was actually a different bet with Fred, because it all started at
Paul Ricard and he said: ‘if you score your first point I will cut your
hair’. And then it didn’t happen and then in Austria we said ‘so, if I don’t
score points you will my hair’, but I scored points, so it’s a bit of a
mess. Yeah, I’m really happy with this. It was a great weekend so far for me
and the team. We went to Q3 with both cars and also top 10 for me and Kimi.
So we just need to keep working like that. We had a really good car since
Paul Ricard and now here we have another upgrade so I hope again that we are
on a good direction and I hope we can stay there and keep fighting and take
a little bit of the gap from McLaren as they are still a little bit in front
of us, so we just need to keep working.
Q: You’ve not raced here before in Formula 1 yet, so just can you tell us a
little bit about your preparations. What have you ascertained from the
simulator, what are your engineers telling you?
AG: Luckily, I did one FP1, back in 2017 in F1. Of course it will be a
completely different story now. Of course I did some simulator, like every
driver, I watched some onboard from last year, working with the team. But
you know, when you are in the car it will be completely different things but
we have FP1, FP2 tomorrow, so we have a lot of time. It’s track I’ve already
raced in F3, Formula 2 so yeah, just looking forward to racing it in F1.
Q: Ok, good luck this weekend. Daniel, tricky race for you and the team in
Austria. What conclusions have you drawn since then?
DR: It was. It wasn’t a fun one for us really. We obviously got pretty deep
into it after and tried to figure out why we were off the pace all weekend.
Definitely feel we learned some things with set-up and I think we kind of
just started in a direction which we kept pursuing from Friday, thinking it
was the right way to go, but I think in hindsight it wasn’t. It’s probably
more just a set-up misdirection we went for as opposed to anything crazy we
found on the car. I was hoping to find a cracked chassis or something like
that! I think the car does have a little bit of a sweet spot and I think we
had worked towards that the last few weekends, getting those Q3s and
building that confidence within myself and that momentum, but we kind of
shifted a little bit away from that in Austria, for reasons that seemed to
make sense at the time from a set-up point of view and all that. I think we
kind of moved away from something we’d got to know but we’ll try to bring it
back this weekend for Silverstone and go back to what we know.
Q: You say the car has a sweet spot. Why is it so difficult to keep it in
that area?
DR: I wish I knew. I wish I knew. Sometimes I’m glad I’m not an
aerodynamicist or an engineer because it would rattle my brain. For,
personally, driving the car, I know where I’m comfortable with it and I know
where I like it and when we start going down a certain direction that’s
where we run into problems, under braking or whatever. There’s an area where
I certainly feel more comfortable and I believe the car is better in that
phase. I don’t know, it’s just race cars, mate! As I said, eight years I’ve
now been here and you still scratch your head. But I think that’s part of
the attraction as well, because when you do get it right and it all kind of
works in harmony it’s an amazing feeling.
Q: As you said, you made your F1 debut at Silverstone in 2011. How do you
sum up the last eight years of your life?
DR: It’s been fun. I remember vividly the press conference here eight years
ago. I actually get embarrassed looking back at photos, I looked like an
idiot – an idiot that needed a haircut. Same boat as Antonio! I don’t know,
it’s kind of a whirlwind, but it’s amazing how go through it and feel…
Obviously I feel much more comfortable here now than I did eight years ago.
I guess just that kind of sense of belonging. Eight years ago I was here
just like a deer in the headlights, is that the expression? You’re kind of
just overwhelmed by everything and it’s like ‘wow, I’m really here now in
F1’. You obviously have a lot of belief in yourself but until you really get
the results that you believe you can get, there’s always maybe that little
bit of doubt. Obviously that has built up well over the years. I don’t feel
like one of the older guys yet, I’m kind of getting there, but I still feel
young and sharp and good looking.
Q: Thanks Daniel. Lando, many congratulations on your new McLaren deal for
2020. How exciting is that news and what do you feel you and the team can
achieve over the next 18 months?
LN: Thank you very much. I’m very excited I guess. It’s just good news.
Things have been going reasonably well lately, so to have that news is just
a bonus. And of course knowing I’m going to be here next year makes it a bit
more comforting overall, but it doesn’t change too much in hindsight.
Looking ahead to the next two years let’s say, there’s a lot of progress
we’ve got to make. I want to be racing this guy on my right a bit more over
the next couple of years, not just myself but as a team that’s our goal.
That’s what we are trying to work towards, that’s what we are slowly
chipping away at but it’s going to take two years, it’s going to take even
more than probably. We’ll take it step by step and see how we go.
Q: As you say, you’re hoping to race Lewis over the next two years, but you
actually raced him at the start last time out in Austria, how was that?
LN: It was cool. I got past him in Turn 1, which was very nice of him. He
didn’t force me off or anything, it was a nice little bit we did in Turn 1.
And then he just had a better position down the straight, behind Valtteri,
in the slipstream. It wasn’t a proper fight I don’t think. It would have
been nice to hang on a little bit longer than I did, but that position is
the aim for us, we want to be in P3, we want to be fighting for the podium.
It was nice to be there, very momentarily, but it wasn’t to be. But it is
something I would love to look forward to.
Q: As with Antonio, I just wanted to ask you about your preparation for this
weekend, but looking slightly longer term, you’ve raced at Silverstone in
the FIA’s junior ranks – Formula 4, F3, F2. I just wanted to ask you how
different each of those categories is and how they helped prepare you for
this moment?
LN: Well, I actually started in 2014 racing Ginettas but that was on the
national circuit, so it has stepped up quite a bit since then. But they’ve
prepared me more and more I guess. Every lap you do you learn something very
small even, but you learn something and that always helps. But I guess the
biggest progression is Formula 3 – reasonably high downforce given the size
and weight of the car. So you have a very good feeling through Maggots,
Becketts, you get to really push the limits and see what it’s like. And it’s
kind of a similar feeling when you go to F1 – I think, I’ve not driven it
yet – feeling the G-Force, feeling the downforce, that’s something you
already start to get a bit of a feel of in Formula 3 and a little but in
Formula 2. Nothing in particular, but every step you take is a step forward
and it definitely helps.
Q: George, you finished ahead of Kevin Magnussen in Austria last time out,
so it seems the car is really starting to make progress now. How confident
are you of another strong showing this weekend ?
GR: Yeah, I think it’s a step-by-step process for us at the moment. The team
has two very difficult years… or a very difficult year last year, sorry.
They wanted to change a lot of the structure and it was almost that we had
to make two steps back before we made three steps forward. The groundworks
are kind of really in place at the moment to try to bring more performance
to the car as the season progresses and I’ve got confident we can do that.
But the fact is it’s going to be another difficult weekend for us and we’ve
just got to do our maximum week in, week out, but yes, it was nice to be
racing someone other than just Robert in Austria.
Q: It’s 40 years since Williams won its first ever race, here at
Silverstone, with Clay Regazzoni in 1979. Just how aware are you of your
team’s history and how does it make you feel to be lining up with Williams
on the grid this weekend?
GR: I’m very aware of the history. I’ve been around the museum a number of
times and it still amazes me every time I go there and even last week I was
showing my trainer around for the first time and we decided to jump in some
of the cars and it was just bonkers to think what these guys were doing back
then. I could barely get my feet in this thing and you’ve only got
fiberglass protecting you. But like I say, I’m very, very aware of what the
team is achieved, it is an honour to race for Williams and like I said, we
are almost getting the mickey taken out of us with our performance, but it’s
a longer-term project for the team and you could have done a number of
short-term things to be good in the moment but the team have bigger and
greater things in mind.
Q: Lewis, can you just describe how it feels to be Lewis Hamilton, coming
into the British Grand Prix?
Lewis HAMILTON: It feels pretty normal, I would say! It probably feels the
same as it is, I would say, for all the drivers here. It’s such a privilege
to be here up against the very few that can be a Formula One driver at the
pinnacle of the sport. The British Grand Prix is the most special grand prix
of the year, being that it’s… just the sheer magnitude of it and just how
many people come for the weekend and how many British flags you see around
here. It really is a spectacular weekend. I would say it probably just
feels… I don't know. There’s excitement, there’s the adrenaline going,
there’s pressures. My whole family’s coming this weekend. It is that one
weekend where… it’s probably the most special in a sense because you’ve got
your family, the closest support, surrounding you. I’ve been very privileged
over the years to obviously come here and have some spectacular races. I
don’t know what I’ve won here but obviously here to try to improve this
weekend. We are here to improve this weekend as a team. The last one was a
little bit difficult for us but hopefully this weekend. I think it’ll be
close but hopefully we’ll have a better shot.
Q: As you say, Austria was, in effect, the first time you guys tripped up
this year, with Valtteri finishing third, yourself fifth. Are you confident
that was a one off, or have you got concerns coming into this weekend?
LH: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily have concerns. I don’t weekends
necessarily with a negative connotation to start with but, no I think we’re
fully aware that the Ferraris and the Red Bulls have taken a step forward
and the pace that they had in the last race was great. I think it looked a
lot better than… I think it we didn’t have the issues that we had, I think
we would have been a lot closer, would have been more in the fight. I expect
this weekend it will be closer between us all. Last year Ferrari were
super-fast here as well – as were the Red Bulls. I think the Red Bulls were
a little bit down but now they’ve got the new engine I think they’ll be even
quicker. So, it’s definitely not going to be an easy weekend.
Q: And Lewis, you’ve got 79 wins to your name, five of which have come here
at Silverstone. On Sunday, you can be the first man ever to win six races at
this race track. How enticing is that record and what would it mean?
LH: Well, you know me. I’m not really one for records, so if it happens this
weekend it does; if it doesn’t, it’s no biggie for me as I’ll try to be here
for a little bit longer. Just the fact that that’s even a possibility is
quite unreal for me. Ultimately it’s just really important to put that stuff
out of your head, out of your mind and just focus on the job at hand. As I
said, it’s not going to be an easy weekend for us. It’s really just about
being diligent, making sure we leave no stone unturned. As Daniel mentioned,
these cars all have sweet spots and it’s trying to… all those sweet spots
don’t always work at each track – but this has been a strong track for us in
the past. Hopefully this weekend, it’ll be a sweet spot for us.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis and Daniel, last year Silverstone was
resurfaced. It was slightly controversial, not all of the drivers were happy
with it. It’s been resurfaced again for this year, and there’s also a little
bit more gravel around the place in a couple of areas. It’s always been
described as a drivers’ track. How interested are you to go out and see what
change the changes have made.
DR: Yeah, I was trying to get out there today, I will at some point,
probably just on a bike, bit quicker. Yeah, it was pretty bumpy last year
but at Red Bull we had one of the smoother-riding cars. A lot of others did
say it was pretty bad. So, yeah, I’ll definitely have a look. I don’t
normally do track walks or anything but if there is a change, it’s worth
seeing, have a browse.
LH: Same same but different.
DR: Different but the same.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – LivioOricchiof1.com) Daniel, when you see what Max did
in Spielberg and you see the performance of your team, do you have any
regrets of changing team. And also, concerning the asphalt, do you expect
any big impact in the performance of the car. I mean, any big changes in
comparison to what has been seen at the last few races?
DR: To answer the first part: no. Honestly no regrets. It was actually… part
of me was pretty happy for them, and for F1 to just have a good race. It
went through such… yeah… quite a lot of… I’m trying think of a better word.
You know the word I’m thinking of, it’s a word I can’t really say! It went
through a lot of scrutiny after France, so just for the sport to have a good
race was awesome. But no, honestly, if I look back, by that time last year,
Red Bull had three wins; that was the first. Obviously I’m further back at
the moment, absolutely, you’re right but I expected this and really, if I
stayed at Red Bull it was to win a title and sure, they got the win last
weekend but they’re still a fair way from the title. And that’s not having a
dig, that’s just the reality. So I don’t think I would necessarily have
achieved anything else than I was already achieving there, so for that,
yeah, no regrets. Obviously trying to build something here with Renault and
absolutely there’s still a lot of work to do – but equally it’s pretty
fulfilling when you do get a little bit of a result and Montreal was one of
those moments where, it kind of… even that result alone made the first seven
or so races worth it. The little bit of struggle and ups and downs. So yeah,
but for the sport, honestly, I’m very happy that the last race went the way
it did and hopefully there’s more like that. Hopefully I’m not running in
12th, or wherever I was, because that’s also not fun – but hopefully the
battle at the front gets close and says close.
And the asphalt?
DR: I’ll let the others answer. It’s dark, yeah, the asphalt. Conductor of
heat.
I think we want to hear from the other drivers. George?
GR: I won’t know until I’ve driving on it. Obviously raced F2 last year,
didn’t feel a huge issue. It adds a bit of character, I think, even when
it’s bumpy. It is how it is. It’s the same for everyone. You’ve got to adapt
to the situation. Sometimes, if it’s too perfect, then it’s almost easier to
drive – but obviously they had to do it more for the bikes than for us.
Lando, have you been out to look at the asphalt?
LN: Yeah, I scootered around earlier. Just looks darker than normal, I
guess. It depends. I don’t know what kind of tarmac is it. Obviously in Paul
Ricard we had the newer patches of tarmac and it was much slippier, or not
as grippy as the older bits. So, it depends. We’ll find out tomorrow.
Antonio?
AG: Yeah, I agree with George and Lando. It’s nothing. You need to adapt a
little bit.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) Question to George. George, timing is
everything in Formula One. When you see someone like Lando, who you’ve
beaten in Formula Two last year, getting strong results, enjoying strong
momentum at McLaren, are you not afraid you might miss out on bigger
opportunities? Because you could be driving the best race of your life at
the moment and no-one – or not a lot of people – would take notice.
GR: Yeah, thanks for that! No, not at all. At the end of the day, I know
there are only a small number of people that are going to make a difference
in my career and that’s Claire and the top people at Williams and Toto and
the top people at Mercedes. At the end of the day, those guys are fully
aware of the situation. They know exactly if I’ve had a good weekend or not.
And even in myself, I’ve come away from some races which I know I’ve
performed well, and I’ve come away satisfied, and other races I’ve come away
knowing I could have done a better job, even though I ended up in the exact
same position. So, but like I said, I’m also happy for Lando and Alex: the
younger generation sticking it to the experienced guys and showing that we
can do it. I think, y’know, I’m happy for them and if they’re doing a good
job, it also looks good for me.
Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Lewis, you’ve achieved remarkable things
in the sport, in what has been a very long career – but I was wondering if
you could try to think back to when you started in Formula One and remember
what your greatest hopes and aspirations were back then – what you thought
you might achieve when you began?
LH: I don’t really remember much back then. I think naturally you just want
to excel and succeed in everything you do, and just… every driver here has a
huge amount of belief in their own ability and we all have some sort of
platform and opportunity in front of us and it was just really about
maximising the opportunity that we do have, regardless of what team we’re
in, what position you’re in. And just like George was saying, that’s really
key. You know whether you’re doing the job and the lessons that you go
through are huge at the early stages. And these guys are all going a great
job, particularly in the early days. Me and Daniel were just saying, we’re
having to represent for the 30-crew. It was extremely special but it was a
huge learning process for me, as it is for all of us in the early stages.
There’s no substitute for experience. That just comes over time. Of course I
wanted to win world titles, I think in my first year I wanted to win the
world title, that was straight away. Super-ambitious – particularly up
against a two-time World Champion but there wasn’t a moment that I doubted
myself, that I could do it. I think that’s ultimately what we all have –
that confidence in ourselves.
Q: (Oliver Brown – The Telegraph) Lewis, Christian Horner raised a few
eyebrows earlier this week by suggesting that, if you and Max were in the
same machinery, at the moment he would back Max to prevail. Given you’ve won
six of nine races already this year, that seemed a fairly bold claim on his
part. I just wondered your response to that and, more broadly, on how you
and Max measure up as racers.
LH: Well, firstly I don’t compare myself to anybody. Don’t need to. I don’t
really have a response to his claims. Ultimately every now and again someone
needs certain attention and… yeah… I think Max has been doing a great job
and really, really exciting to watch. I think the last race was really
fantastic and it’ll be really interesting to see how they go moving
forwards.
Q: (Rob Harris – Associated Press) Lewis, the new Silverstone deal is
through to 2024; do you think you will still be driving then or what do you
think you’ll be doing in F1? And we could have England in a World Cup final
on Sunday, just as you’re racing. Do you think you’re going to have to
produce something special to grab the national attention? Not to jinx
anything for them today…
LH: What I don’t understand is why the organisers put the race on the same
day as all these other big events – Wimbledon – I really don’t understand
it. But I hope in future that they put this on a… this is such a special
weekend, it needs all the focus of the whole country and just not a small
amount. I think people will be switching between channels on Sunday, not
sure what to watch. But naturally I come here… there’s quite a few of us
Brits but we come here to raise the flag and do the country proud so I’m
just going to try and play my part.
2024? Jesus, it feels like a long way away. Who knows whether I will still
be here by then but if I’m not, if I’ve stopped racing, I won’t be here in
any other capacity.
Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday, Motorsport week.com) Lando, now that
you and Carlos have been confirmed next year at McLaren, what is that going
to do for you and possibly, speaking on behalf of your teammate, to know
that everything is settled, you don’t have to go through these endless
questions from us asking what you’re going to do next year? Does this give
you an advantage? How do you feel about it and do you think you’ve made the
right decision?
LN: Yeah, I think I’ve made the right decision. It wasn’t something I was
worried about or asking about so for me, I was pretty confident in the job I
had been doing so far this season and because I wasn’t necessarily worried
or asking about it in any way, for them to come forward to me with it and
the confirmation, then yeah, it made me a bit happier. With me not being
worried about it, it wasn’t something I don’t think… or it’s not going to be
something which changes how I think about it, it’s not going to make me
necessarily more confident or anything. I had all my confidence in the team.
I would like to say that they had all theirs in me as well. From all of
that, we will keep working hard, keep trying to progress and I’m sure Carlos
and myself are going to have a lot more battles and some times together.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, ’92, talk about Mansell mania and the crowds
coming in to see him. We’ve got a similar situation, Silverstone’s going to
be absolutely sold out on Sunday, partly to come and see you with all the
success you’re having. Now there’s no question about the support you have
with F1 fans, they all adore you and think you’re great for what you’re
doing, the titles you’re winning. You’ve also struggled sometimes to win
over some of the other British public, non-F1 fans. Can you put your finger
on that at all, any reason why you don’t have the same universal adulation
as Nigel Mansell had, say?
LH: I don’t really… I don’t know. I don’t really generally feel that but
people have the right to chose who they support and what I can say is that…
I remember growing up in Stevenage I never in a million years thought I’d
have a single supporter besides my Mum and my Dad. I feel really privileged
in just even having one but quite a lot of people come here and I’m so
grateful just for that, which is more than enough for me, so the more the
merrier. I guess the more and more time I spend here, I guess you have more
and more opportunity to turn people’s opinions. But ultimately, as I said,
I’m grateful for what I do have.
LN: Maybe it’s the moustache!
LH: The moustache? What, the fact that I can’t really grow much!
LN: Well, I can’t do much better either. Mansell’s one was alright.
LH: Mansell had a good moustache. It might be that, I’m not able to grow.
This is like as far as it goes. And he had good eyebrows as well. Maybe one
weekend I’ll try sticking them on and see if it makes a difference.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, the two chaps to the left of you have got a
combined age of 40, if my maths is right. I was just wondering if you have…
LN: (Having exploded with laughter) Don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with
your question.
GR: It’s definitely not suitable for you guys.
DR: I didn’t think it was that funny.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) The question was, anyway, it was whether Lewis had any
advice for the chaps sitting to his left and what he thought of the job
they’re doing?
LH: I don’t think I need to give them any advice. They’ve obviously come
through similar ranks to myself and they’re doing exceptional jobs. Both
have completely different challenges with George obviously in a team that’s
has struggled for some time but is part of helping them take steps to
improve and I really really hope… I’m a huge fan of Frank and that team and
what they’ve achieved in their history so I really really… I think that’s a
team that needs to be up at the top with the rest of them. It’s amazing to
see McLaren doing so well. They’ve had some really tough years as well. We
got to have a bit of a race in the last race and just watching Lando’s
progression is incredibly impressive, to be so young in such an early phase,
he’s coming in and keeping a level head and delivering on weekends, also up
against a driver who’s got more experience than him. I’m personally excited
to continue to watch these two grow and the trials and tribulations that
they’ll face and I do hope that we get to do some racing together, as I
said, representing the thirties.
Q: (Stephen Camp – Motorsport Monday, Motorsport week.com) Over the past few
weeks, if not months, there have been discussions about making life more
difficult for the drivers behind the wheel. I was just wondering if there
was anything in particular any one of you guys would like to see… perhaps
power steering taken away, reduction in downforce? Is there anything in
particular that you would like to see making your lives more difficult?
AG: Yeah, of course I think I want better racing but less downforce, better
to follow people but yeah, it really differs not from my side. We will see
what happens after 2021 but yeah, for now it’s not my decision. We need to
see what happens.
DR: Yeah, I guess the racing thing’s a big one, just to be able to…
obviously if it was all a bit closer that’s great as well but it’s just the
ability to follow. I guess it’s two-fold now. You get close to another car,
you lose a chunk of downforce but then also your tyres start to overheat so
that then loses you an additional amount of grip so you’re kind of fighting
against those two, let’s say, negative forces which don’t help. Power
steering? Honestly, with the load and the actual downforce we have now would
be literally impossible. I’ve had hydraulic failures; that’s when you lose
the power steering and you can’t turn. As brave as I’d like to say I am and
as shredded as I am, it wouldn’t suffice. Maybe one lap but not fifty.
LH: I agree. I think what’s really important right now is that the drivers
are unified for the first time since I’ve been in the sport. We’re all
together as kind of a union and sort of working together with the FIA and
hoping that we can have a positive impact on the rules in 2021. So we kind
of need to make sure we stay on top of that and stay a part of it. There are
definitely subtle changes we can do for sure to make the car a little bit
even more physical than it is. It’s by no means easy for us to drive and
definitely not taking power steering away would not be key but I think we
could probably reduce it if we needed to do. We currently have the option to
do that but there’s no need because it doesn’t really make a difference for
us really. But yeah, I think there’s a lot of other aspects and ultimately,
as Daniel mentioned, if the racing was closer it would really improve racing
so that’s key for us, I think.
LN: Nothing (inaudible). Nothing in particular. I think obviously the main
thing is the racing which is probably the most important thing for all of
us. The physical attributes, I don’t really mind, to be honest. I did suffer
a lot since karting, with my size and everything, not really having a clue
what to do when I started karting, so I suffered in every category: F4, F3,
F2 – not so much F2 but I’ve had to kind of play catch-up quite a bit and in
some ways, F1 was a bit nicer with power steering. F2’s much harder,
physically on the arms and almost on the whole body than F1 is. So it can
change but I don’t really mind, it’s how it is to be honest, I don’t think
that’s the priority of F1 right now.
GR: Yes, as the guys said, obviously to be able to race each other closer is
the number one priority but I think also allowing us to drive flat-out every
single lap, qualifying laps for 70 laps would be pretty cool and that would
make the physical demand greater. If you’re constantly lifting-coasting or
saving the tyres in high speed corners or doing whatever else, it’s
obviously not as a tough as it would be if you’re going flat-out. So those
two together would be my idea of what we want. |
