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1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull
Racing)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Charles, that was a great comeback for you. The Safety Car obviously
brought you back into the race, but when you had some good battles out there
with the Red Bull, the pace just wasn't quite there to keep them behind. But
you must be satisfied overall?
Charles LECLERC: Yeah, satisfied in a way because we started P12, so a
podium is a good achievement. But looking at the race, it's obviously a
little bit disappointing. We had the pace, but then we had a little bit too
much deg towards the end of the race. And yeah, but we'll work and at the
end, P3, starting on P12, is not that bad.
Q: Yeah, we're seeing behind you on the screen that there was some good
overtaking, some good racing out there. You're quite red in the face. So
this is one of the tougher races, isn't it?
CL: Yeah, it is, definitely, especially the first sector with so much G
forces. And with the tyre deg you keep working with the steering wheel,
which makes it even more difficult, but it was quite a nice battle with
Checo and then later on with Max. But yeah, we need to keep working in order
to challenge them a bit more towards the end of the races.
Q: So we're still waiting for number two and number one to come out and join
us. So let's talk a little bit about Ferrari, racing for them in America.
You have a huge following here.
CL: Yeah, I'm extremely lucky to be a Ferrari driver and I know it's but we
need to keep pushing. It’s great to be here to see so many people and so
many red shirts. So yeah, we'll keep working and hopefully next year we'll
win.
Q: And you have a short turnaround now before the Mexican Grand Prix. Any
upgrades coming for that race? Any upgrades, any more performance coming?
CL: No. It's not planned that way. But yeah, we'll try to maximise our
package.
Q: Okay, Charles, thank you very much. Lewis, you have a great following
here. For a moment. It looked like the victory was on. You gave it
everything. We heard you complimenting the team on the strategy, but just
the underlying pace wasn't there.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, firstly, I want to give a huge thank you to the crowd
here. We've have such an amazing crowd. This is the biggest crowd we've had
here in the whole time we've been here, so a big, big thank you everybody.
Secondly, I want to give a big shout out to my team. We came here with
upgrades and we closed the gap a little bit. We were so, so close. I did
everything I could to try and stay ahead but they were just a little bit too
quick today. But great strategy. Great race by Red Bull. And again, my
condolences to the team.
Q: Beautiful words Lewis, great respect there. Put us in the cockpit, as you
can hear the crowd cheering for you there, this was a tough race. You love
this race circuit but how far did you have to dig deep to get yourself into
that lead?
LH: I’m shattered. The car was a handful today. It felt amazing, firstly, to
be in the lead. That's something we've been working so hard on as a team
through the year and I felt so much hope. But it's OK. We'll hold on to
that. We'll keep pushing, we’ll try and give it everything we can in these
next three [races]. It will come to us at some stage so…
Q: OK, well, enjoy the podium, enjoy the champagne and get a rest before
Mexico. Ladies and gentlemen, your race winner, Max Verstappen. Wow, you
worked hard for that one. It looked at a certain moment it was slipping
away, the pit stop. very uncharacteristic. There was an issue clearly with
the wheel gun. But then you got your head down. You had to fight harder with
Lewis. How does this victory feel?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was a tough one. I mean, it was all looking good.
But then of course the pit stop was a bit longer than we would have liked.
So I had to fight my way forward again. But yeah, we gave it everything out
there today. And of course it's a very difficult weekend for us. So this one
is definitely dedicated to Dietrich himself, what he has done for everyone.
The only thing we could do today was win and even though after the pit stop
it was not looking great, I gave it everything out there and I pushed to the
limit to come back.
Q: So we saw you embracing Helmut Marko as you got out of the car. He has
been instrumental obviously in so many drivers’ careers. A great moment on
reflection, on the life of Dietrich Mateschitz to win the Constructors’
Championship here as well. So along with Checo, a great team effort this
year.
MV: Yeah, of course, we had a big chance to win the Constructors’ here. And
of course, you want to do that in style. And I think we did that today.
Q: Yeah, we're seeing behind on the screen the battles that you had, first
of all with Charles and the Ferrari, and then of course, Lewis here on the
brakes. You had the DRS, you had to make it stick, and the battle continued
to the next corner.
MV: Yeah, it was a few corners, but this is a great track anyway for
battling, like if you pass one corner, you can come back in the next and
it's really enjoyable to drive here.
Q: Does this victory mean more to you, because of the emotion of the
weekend, because of the passing of Mr Mateschitz, than other victories?
MV: It definitely means a lot to me, to the team, because he was so
important for the whole team. He was so instrumental and, of course, it will
continue, but we really wanted to have a good result today and yeah, this is
of course amazing.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Max, what a way to honour Dietrich's memory. It was a thrilling Grand
Prix. And this win gives the team the Constructors' Championship. Just how
special is this moment for you and for the team?
MV: Yeah, I mean, obviously for us it's been a tough weekend and we really
wanted to win today. And I mean, everything was looking great, but with that
final stop, that 11-second pitstop that was not the best, after, of course…
The field was quite close because of the Safety Cars. So yeah, we had to
recover quite a bit . Initially I had a good battle with Charles and once I
got ahead I felt like I damaged my tyres a little bit too much in the
beginning of that new tyre set, so the first few laps I was not really
catching like I wanted to to Lewis. But then I think once I recovered with
the tyres then I could close in a bit, step by step. And then of course,
yeah, I went for the move into 12. And it was a tough few laps to get him
out of the DRS. In general, I think throughout the race, you could see it
also when I passed Charles, he could stay in the DRS for a few laps around
here. And it seemed like it was quite powerful. So it was not made easy for
us, but at the end, of course, extremely happy to win on this difficult
weekend for us. I think this was actually a race he would have loved to see.
So yeah, of course, I'm sad but I'm also incredibly proud of the whole team
and also the way they've operated all weekend. Of course apart from the pit
stop but that was a gun failure and these things unfortunately can happen.
But yeah, we kept it together and we won also the Constructors’. I'm very
proud of everyone also… You know, the people who don't even come to the
track, back at the factory, you know, the effort they have put into this car
as well this year has been enormous. And I'm very proud of everyone, you
know, to secure this.
Q: After that 11-second stop, what was going through your mind?
MV: A lot of swear words. I was very upset. But immediately when you press
the pit limiter off you have to keep your head down and go for it. But it
wasn't made easy. But luckily this track is amazing to race at as well. So
it's not like some other tracks where then your race is over. This is a
proper racetrack where you can pass. And also you see the first time I tried
on Charles, you know, this Turn 1 is so wide but then, you know, if he opens
up, there are different lines to come back at you. And it's quite tough
because the corner is so wide that when you go for the move, sometimes you
can't even really picture where the other car is going to be again. But that
makes great racing because it gives you so many like different
opportunities, pass on the inside or open it up, and then maybe have a cut
back. It's a good track.
Q: You put on the Medium tyre in the final stint. Was that a clear cut
decision for you, or with Lewis being on the Hard tyre did you think ‘oh,
have we got the right rubber on?’
MV: They kept asking me throughout the race what I thought between the
tyres? And yeah, I think through my feedback I guess they chose the Medium.
And I think it was right. I don't think at the end of the day, it would have
mattered a lot, because I think we were quick on the Medium and the Hard.
But the Medium just lasted long enough to the end.
Q: And Max, this is race win number 13 of the season for you, equalling the
record. How does that feel? Do you reckon number 14 is in your sights?
MV: I mean, I’ve said before that we are also doing more races a year. So
they are not always justifiable. I mean, I think, yeah, we are having an
amazing season, but of course when you have a great car, you can win a lot
of races. But of course I'm proud of winning a lot of races, but I don't
really look at these kinds of stats. I'm just happy winning races.
Q: Alright. Very well done to you. Many congratulations on the Constructors’
Championship as well. So Lewis, let's come to you next. So close to your
first win of the season. Just looking at the bigger picture, how good did it
feel to be back out front?
LH: It felt amazing. It felt amazing to even just be in shooting distance of
Max for some points of the race. We really didn't know what our pace was
going to be like today. I think in the first stint he was controlling the
pace and it was very difficult to hold on to him. But in that second phase
of the race, where after the safety car I was able to keep up with him and
we did such a great job with strategy today. We were aggressive. I really am
proud of the team. I think everyone worked so hard to bring upgrades here
this weekend. And yeah, for a second I thought maybe we might just be able
to hold on to it but I think that extra Medium tyre they had was just a
little bit too strong compared to us.
Q: So what about the upgrades? Do you feel that the car has taken a step
forward here? And what does it mean going forward for the remaining three
races?
LH: Honestly, it's really difficult to say whether or not… I'm sure the team
will know whether we've taken a step forward compared to others. It's
difficult to say whether it's compared to these guys, but I'm sure it
helped. Just because you go to different races, sometimes, you know, from
the last race of this race it’s difficult to really feel exactly. But I do
think we've taken a step in the right direction. They've been so fast on the
straight, I think, under DRS they're like 35km/h faster than us. If we're
behind them, we're like, 22k faster, I think it is, with DRS on the back
straight. So he came from a long, long way back. But even without the DRS, I
think they're still something like 8k up on us, so we've got a lot of time
being lost on the straight, probably four tenths at least a lap. And so
we've got some improvements to make for next year's car.
Q: Okay, so that's straight line speed. How was it through Sector 1, through
the first sweeps? And also, can you tell us a little bit about the brake
drama that was going on prior to the start of the race?
LH: Yeah, well, we've had problems with our brakes all year. Just with
separation, basically. When you hit the brake, instead of both fronts doing
the same amount of work. Either the left one does more, or the right one
does more, because one gains more temperature. And so we had a huge
temperature split, which was basically, the left one wasn't really working.
So they had to change the brakes. And it's something we've seen a lot
through the year with these new bigger drums. And so something we're working
on fixing that.
Q: Charles, 12th to third. You had a busy race. How much did you enjoy it?
CL: Yeah, I enjoyed the first part. The very first few laps, it was all
about being patient. I had a good start but then I found myself in an
unlucky place out of Turn 1, so I basically lost everything that I had
gained. And then it was all about being patient, try to keep those tyres to
then attack at the end of the first end, which as I did, and everything
looked good. We got a bit lucky with the Safety Car at the right time for
us, which put us back into the race. But then unfortunately, we suffered a
little bit too much tyre degradation to fight for higher. But yeah, it is it
is an improvement but we need to do all the steps.
Q: What were your expectations coming into the Grand Prix today?
CL: I was quite confident that a podium was possible if we were doing
everything perfect. Looking back, I think communication strategy has been
the right one. Tyre management, we still need to do a step as I said, but we
are working in the right direction.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the battle with Max, we saw a nice
switcheroo after Turn 1. After all the years of you two racing together, can
you almost predict what the other guy is going to do?
CL: Well, I think our target is just that: to surprise each other. It's part
of the game. So no, you cannot really predict but yeah, it was fun,
especially in Turn 1. From Turn 11 to Turn 12 it was less fun, because I
just saw Max passing on the left. I could wave at him. And that's it. And
then I had another fight with Checo, also into 2012, where I knew I could
take a bit more risk because we are fighting together for the second place
in the championship, so yeah, it was it was a fun race overall.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis, it is the second time since Zandvoort
that you can win. Are you confident that you can do that before the end of
the season? And which race would be the best for you and your car?
LH: I think we really need to be realistic. The Red Bull car has been the
fastest car by far all year. And it is still the fastest car. So today, we
were… you know we're in the position we're in through a lot of the races,
through reliability. You know if Charles was there, if Pérez was there, for
example, it would have been a different race, because they would have been
ahead of us, we would have been on the third row. And so, I think today it
was great to have started third and been in position to fight, but out of
true pace, they've been ahead of us all weekend. They were today and they
will be the next three races. So, unless something drastic happens to any
more of them, for example, then it's highly unlikely that we will have the
true pace to be able to compete with them. But we'll give it everything
we've got. We're working on making a car that can fight with them. But I
think today shows that our teamwork was fantastic. I think, as a team, we
operated amazing. I mean, he had an 11-second stop, and he was behind
Charles, that just shows how much pace they had in hand, to have got past
Charles, and to have caught up six seconds, and pulled three seconds ahead
of me at least, that shows some serious speed. So, you know… but there's
lots of positives, as I’ve said. Honestly, I think this was our best… this
one was probably one of our best. Yeah.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, you mentioned struggling initially
with the tyres in the final stint after you’d passed Charles, and then you
said you were able to recover that a little bit. I wondered, could you
explain how you did that? And also, can you talk us through your move on
Lewis? It looked like you were placing your car particularly cleverly, even
after you got by him? Thanks.
MV: Well, the tyres just run really hot. They’re also new, so they still
need to come up to temperature. Then being behind the car in high speed
corners, you have to turn always a bit more which is not great for the tyre.
So once you're in clean air, then automatically they cool down a bit. So
just took a few laps. And yeah, I think it was good. Like I said before, the
track really lets you do that as well, because it's quite wide. These kind
of corners, you can really brake deep into the corner, and then the other
car can come back at you in the exit, especially from 12 to 15. Like one car
can go really tight and defend the other one can really open it up. So, I
think it was good racing.
Q: (Jeff Gluck – The Athletic) I know you guys get treated like rock stars
everywhere you go now pretty much – but is there anything you can say about
the American fans and the reception that we got here? Still a record crowd
despite the Championship already being decided?
LH: Yeah, record crowd here. And we have two Grands Prix here in the States.
We have three next year. It's growing here. And it's amazing to… you know,
I've been racing here 15 years and I always wondered why it wasn't… people
hadn't quite caught on. In terms of… because it's such a great sport, this.
There's so much… it's so complex and so exciting. So, it's nice to finally
see that we've finally got that reach, we finally tapped into the country
and people here in the US are such huge sporting fans, and they bring in
such great energy. The show is fantastic. And you know, just going on the
drivers’ parade, you can see the crowd and the energy from them, super
excited. When we did the Fan Zone is the biggest crowd we've ever had. So
big, big Thank You to everyone that took the time to come here this weekend.
And, for COTA, for putting on such an amazing, amazing event. I can't wait
to come back. This is one of my favourite races. I won here in 2012, the
first race. So close again, to have that potentially today. But I look
forward to coming back next year.
MV: Yeah, I think Lewis explained that really well. I mean, I guess everyone
wondered a bit like, why is it not kickstarting a bit over here? But I think
the last few years also, together with Netflix, people had a bit more
insight. Because I think, up until a few years ago, the sport was very
closed. You couldn't really get close to the teams. I think everything is
opening up a little bit more. And then because of Netflix giving a bit more
insight, you start to understand a little bit more of what's going on. And
you don't just see the cars driving around. I think that's why people are a
lot more excited about Formula 1 now. You can clearly see… it's all over the
world but especially in the US, the popularity is growing a lot. So I enjoy
coming to the US and also, of course, we're going to have three Grands Prix
but the three races are completely different, in completely different
locations. So, I think that's also really important. And yeah, I'm just
looking forward to the coming years to see what's next. And yeah, what's
going to happen in the coming years.
CL: It's incredible to see the progression from the first year I've been
here, in 2018, to now, the sport has grown massively in the US, so much more
people, so much more people in Austin, much more difficult to go around the
city easily! But, but it's a good sign. And I think there's a culture in the
US also to make the sport a show. And this is really the way I see it now.
And there's a challenge of keeping the DNA of the sport, adding the show,
and I think this has been done extremely well. I can't wait to see what was
going to happen in Vegas next year, which will probably be crazy.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) For Lewis, please. If you'd won the race
today, it feels like it would have been a good reward for the work that's
been put in this season by the team but also yourself. It sometimes feels
like this season doesn't really reflect the job that that you've done.
Without that win, that headline result, where do you take pride in this
season? What is it? Is it the way you've led the team on-track, off-track?
What do you take away from this year?
LH: I think even though we've not had a win so far, I think it's been the
teamwork, I think it's been the team spirit that's stayed strong and intact.
I think it's the challenges, the tough conversations we've had. I think
we've really had to dig deep, pulling together more than ever, especially
after a difficult end of season last year. And with all the challenges that
we've faced this year,. I take a lot of pride in the stuff and the steps
that finally got Mission 44 up and running and the steps that we're now
starting to see and have real impact. I think that's something I'm really
proud of. And then just to be… I'm still here, the end of the season still
really, really proud of the performance today, collectively as a team. And,
you know, through the year, we've made all the mistakes we've needed to
make, I think, to build a stronger foundation for next year. So, I think if
we can get that car on par with these guys. I think we could have a really
exciting year next year.
Q: (Joshua Robinson – Wall Street Journal) Lewis, you in particular spend a
lot of time in the States. Following up on what was said before, how has
your experience of it in particular changed? And what do you feel made the
difference, maybe beyond Netflix?
LH: What made the difference?
Q: (Joshua Robinson – Wall Street Journal) In terms of the popularity here
and how the fans respond to the sport and the show that's been presented?
LH: It's a difficult one for me to really answer. I don't really know, apart
from the Netflix show, which really gave people a much more in depth insight
because if you switch on the TV and just start following, it's very, very
hard to understand what is going on. If you turn up for the first time, it's
hard if you don't know the details of what's happening within the teams. And
within a few shows, obviously, it really highlight open doors and then I
think once people have seen that, then they've just gone down a real
wormhole of learning more about the technology, that there's a lot of
mathematics in the background, there's a huge amount of data, it's the
highest technology that's around, that would help develop… that crosses over
into road cars. And then at the end of the day, there's 20 drivers that are
athletes, that are putting their life on the line, weekend in, weekend out.
And unlike the other sports which are also exciting there's a lot of
players… in terms of athletes, there's only 20 of us so it's a very, very
small group of us that get to drive these rockets basically around so we're
as close to NASA I guess, as we can be.
Q: (Joshua Robinson – Wall Street Journal) Have you given any thought to
what Vegas will be like?
LH: I don't know how we're going to move around Vegas already but I have no
doubt they're going to do such an amazing job. It's going to be absolutely
incredible. I think without doubt probably going to be one of the greatest,
if not the greatest race. The track’s not going to be as great as this race,
I can tell you that already. Street circuits aren't as good as the more open
circuits and especially the newer circuits generally aren't as great. This
is a fantastic circuit here. It’s a track on which you can race. It's nice
and wide but the city and the atmosphere is going to be unlike anything
probably. With all those night lights it's gonna be huge
Q: (Marijn Abbenhuijs – AD Sportwereld) Lewis and Charles, you were
experiencing battling with Max again today. Looking at his dominance this
year, how do you feel about that? Do you think we are in the beginning of a
Max Verstappen era or do you see opportunities to close the gap towards next
year?
CL: Well, I hope not. I will do everything for it to not happen and we are
working as a team for it to not happen obviously. I think it is very clear
for us where we need to improve. Over one lap, we are really strong and I
think we are on the same level as Red Bull; over the course of a race, then
we are struggling with tyres. So we are putting our effort into that and I
hope that we'll see the result as soon as next year. Looking back at the
season, there's been not only tyre degradation but there has been mistakes,
strategy, communication and tyre management is one of those things. And,
again, we are trying to use these last races in the best way possible in
order to challenge Max and Red Bull for the championship next year. But I'm
confident we can do that because I know how hard we are working and I'm
confident that we are working in the right direction.
LH: It is too early to say. If we get into next year and they're dominating
again, then yes, but the Ferraris have been quicker than them throughout
qualifying. I think they've every single lap probably had better performance
on the majority of a lot of the season. Now, all they need to do is pick up
their race pace, and they'll be right with them. I think we've got a much,
much bigger step and steeper hill to climb, but hopefully not impossible.
Q: (Stew Myrick – KTXX-FM 104.9 The Horn) Two questions: Max, you were
talking about the wind during the race, you talked for a bit about having to
fight the wind. And then all three of you 10 years: of F1 racing here in
Austin. That seems to be a significant chunk of time, when you look at the
history of Formula 1 in the United States. All three of you, but especially
you Lewis and Max, reflect on the success that this race has seen here in
the ATX?
MV: Yeah, today was a bit tricky with the wind. It makes the car just all a
bit more like less predictable and also with that, of course, the higher
degradation you have, because of course we were doing quite a few pit stops
around here. Yeah, sometimes you get in a nice rhythm and everything just
goes and there's not much really happening, just following the tyres around.
But around you have to be very focused and really [pay] attention to
details, it’s easy to have a lock up or lose the rear so you had to
definitely be more on it. But that's a challenge. It's the same for
everyone. I wasn't here, of course at the start in 2012 but it's an amazing
track. Most of the new tracks are… you lose a little bit of the DNA of an
old school circuit but I think this is really close to that because that
first sector is just insane. Of course there are a few low speed corners but
the track is great for racing and I think most of the drivers love coming
here. Also the city is growing a lot. A lot of people are coming over here;
big companies as well. I always enjoy coming here and really see the city
grow from the first time I was here in 2014 for an FP1 session to now; it's
pretty impressive. And yeah, I hope of course we can come here for many more
years to come.
LH: It's been an amazing journey coming out here. I've always spend a lot of
time in the States. Coming to Austin for the first time in 2012, I had an
amazing race here. It was very, very near to the city. Now going into the
city, seeing the growth through the city and new buildings, new hotels, just
seeing so much growth within it and more and more people here. Got to see a
lot more of the city over those years and feel very, very at home here. I
would say this has probably been my favourite stay of the time. I stayed a
little bit on the edge of the city, overlooking the city every day, and it's
definitely a place I think I could live. Whilst New York is my favourite
city still, but this is a very, very close second, I would say. Yeah. Ah,
awesome. Good to know.
Q: (Stew Myrick – KTXX-FM 104.9 The Horn) Would you like to live here?
LH: Yeah. Awesome. Good to know.
MV: Taxes are good, right?
CL: Yeah, not much to add, to be honest. I just love the track. Obviously,
it's such an exciting track. It's really, really good for racing but it's
also very, very exciting on the one lap in qualifying and as I was saying
before, I've only come here five times, but the five times I’ve come here it
is just getting bigger and bigger and more and more people are coming, which
is great to see.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, just before the second start we heard
you complaining about the drivability, things going wrong there, also it
sounded like the strat changes weren't helping things. Just explain what was
happening and how hard did that make things for you?
MV: Yeah, it was just a rotary change which then influenced a bit the
throttle pickup which can happen so we just went back to the other setting
and it was a bit better. But it's something… of course we always try to fine
tune anything, especially on a track like this where it's a bit bumpy, it
probably gets a bit worse so we have to be a bit more precise. But once I
went back to my other setting it was not too bad. |
