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PART ONE - TEAM
REPRESENTATIVES
Laurent ROSSI (Alpine), Mike KRACK (Aston Martin), Christian HORNER (Red
Bull Racing)
Q: Mike, Sebastian Vettel, his last race weekend in Formula 1. What’s the
atmosphere like in the garage?
Mike KRACK: As you can expect, there’s a lot of people around trying to get
their last moment with Sebastian. It’s actually quite difficult to keep the
distraction away, trying to focus on our last race because there is still
something we could do in the Championship. So, it’s a fine balance, like
trying to keep everybody on it and allow them all to celebrate their moment
with Sebastian. I try to keep it away until the chequered flag and then we
can party.
Q: You’ve only worked with him this year, of course, but what’s been the
highlight for you?
MK: I think there were many. There were many highlights but I think the
highlights are maybe not what you expect – great moments – it’s the moments
you are going through difficult times and getting yourself out. Like when
you have good conversations about what to do with the car, what he needs.
These are more highlights for us than seeing it then happen on the track
when he gets better results out of it.
Q: What about car performance for this weekend. What can we expect from
Aston Martin here?
MK: Well, the car has not changed big time. So, I think we are in the
position where we are. We need to be realistic. It will be very tough to
have a chance against the Alfa Romeos because I think since their latest
update, they are a bit faster than us but we will try. Reliability is one
thing; strategy is another one and we will not give up until the flag drops.
Q: Last race of the year. Can we just get your thoughts on the season as a
whole?
MK: Well, all in all, I think, disappointing, because we didn't have the
start that we wanted. And then to work yourself out of where we started.,
it's very, very hard in the cost cap environment and with the intensity of
the racing. So, at the end of the day, I think it’s damage limitation, how
you could call it. But obviously finishing sixth and seventh was not what we
aim for when we started the year.
Q: But do you feel you've got a good platform for 2023 now?
MK: Yes, yes. But the feeling doesn't really matter there. You have to
deliver it. And we will see in March only.
Q: Well, we’re going to see a little bit of 2023 next week when Fernando
Alonso tests the car. But what are your first experiences of Fernando and
what's the programme for him next week?
MK: Well, obviously, first of all, getting him comfortable and familiar with
the team with the car and get his impressions. I mean, the car is not
exactly the same, because we run the different tyre generation, so we need
to be careful not to draw wrong conclusions. But yeah, it will be more about
getting up to speed with each other, get to know each other, get him
comfortable in the car in the first place. And then go through a small
programme to have any influence on the new race car.
Q: Christian, let's start with Sebastian Vettel. His last race. What's your
abiding memory of working with him?
Christian HORNER: Well he's just a consummate professional. He came to us as
a young kid with a brace and a funny haircut. And he just grew in that time
as a Red Bull Junior. He’s just got such an endearing personality, he’d turn
up with chocolates for the receptionist and the secretaries and he just
endeared himself to everybody, had the ability to mimic and impersonate so
many different accents from cockney slang to Nigel Mansell. his Jean Todt
was legendary. So, just a brilliant, brilliant character. And an even more
brilliant driver. I mean, what we achieved together, the four consecutive
World Championships, the way that he went into the final race here, in 2010,
and in Brazil, 2012, phenomenal, phenomenal memories. Obviously, the last
couple of years have been more challenging for him, but it shouldn't
diminish from anything that he's done and achieved as one of the greatest
drivers ever in Formula 1. And just beyond that, just a great guy. So many
memories away from the track with him. He used to spend quite a bit of time,
he’d come and stay at the house. I live in the countryside on a bit of a
farm and they were lambing, the lambs were being born in a shed and he
wanted to get involved and see, and I just remember the local farmer turning
up with Sebastian helping to pull a couple of lambs out. And he didn't have
a clue who he was, who this guy is, a four time World Champion, in a sheep
shed. Or, I remember, he took a couple of donkeys – we've got a couple of
miniature donkeys – he talked for a walk, and he's walking through the
village and somebody nearly drove off the road thinking ‘is that Sebastian
Vettel with the donkey from Shrek?’ So, just a lovely, lovely guy, and I
think we'll all miss him in Formula 1.
Q: Which was his best season for you?
CH: Well, he just got better and better. I mean, ’10, it went down to the
wire; ’11, he was truly dominant; ’12 he never gave up and came right; he
won four critical races in ’12. He'd won one race before we left Europe that
year. And then delivered incredibly after we left Europe in ’12. And then
‘13, he was just on a different level. And those nine consecutive victories
were insane, and the level of intensity that he had to deliver that was
outstanding.
Q: Let's bring it on to the here and now. The car performance looks better
here than it was in Brazil. Is that the reality?
CH: Yeah. We didn't get the car right in Brazil. I think just the one
session, I think, hurt us. We didn't adapt the car to its optimum and I
think that compromised us for the entire weekend, both in the Sprint and in
the Grand Prix itself. So, I think, with the benefit of hindsight, obviously
we would have changed quite a bit on the car in Brazil, we're here in Abu
Dhabi, we had a decent day yesterday, a good morning. I have to say Liam
Lawson did a strong job as a rookie in the morning, bit responsibility on
his shoulders in Max’s car – but both Max and Checo, they found a decent
balance in the evening session and hopefully that will carry over to today,
and most importantly, tomorrow evening.
Q: Christian, a lot has been said and written about Max refusing to give up
P6 for Checo in the closing stages of the São Paulo Grand Prix. Can you
explain the root cause of the problem there?
CH: Well, I think the root cause of the problem was, we had never envisaged
being in a situation, being in the final few laps, being in sixth and
seventh place in that grand prix. And I think it was something that, as we
hadn't envisaged it, we hadn't discussed it, before the race, and I think,
that was a mistake on our part, that we should have thought through, or
tried to think through every single scenario. And so, I think that that was
a mistake as a team that we didn't discuss it and come up with a very clear
plan. Obviously, it was unfortunate, what happened but it was quickly
discussed, openly and transparently. And both drivers were very clear, open
and honest with each other and from that, as a team, we move on and the
dynamic between the drivers is absolutely fine. The objective this weekend
is very clear, what we want to achieve as a team, something that we've never
done previously. To achieve a one-two in the Drivers’ Championship would
cap-off an unbelievable year for us but I think, we made some mistakes in
Brazil, we've learned from that and, as I say, we move on. We've done some
amazing things. These two drivers have performed incredibly well together.
They’re the reason that we are in the position that we are. Max's season has
been on another planet this year. So, we're not going to let the events of a
couple of laps in Brazil dictate the year for us, and we come fighting into
this race to do the best we can as a team, to get the best result we can.
Q: Helmut Marko mentioned on television yesterday that Daniel Ricardo is to
rejoin the team next year as third driver. Is the deal done and what role
will he perform?
CH: Well, we haven't signed anything yet but Helmut in his enthusiasm has
obviously announced it! So I guess that means that Daniel will be joining us
– unless, of course, he chooses not to sign it. Daniel is a big character,
it's been disappointing to see his performance this year. I think he would
have wanted a lot more out of the season, but he's still one of the biggest
names, one of the biggest characters in Formula 1. He obviously has a
history as being a Red Bull Junior, and just with the demands that are on
the race drivers these days, just from a marketing perspective alone, we're
very active as a team, we do many, many show runs and events and to have a
driver of Daniel's profile and history with the team, within the group is
only an asset for us. So, it means that he keeps in touch with Formula 1 and
we’ll obviously be using him on the simulator as well, he’ll be attending,
potentially some events, of course, if he does sign a contract, but I'm sure
that will all become clear in the event of him signing a contract.
Q: Laurent, thank you for waiting. We'll come to you now. On the evidence of
yesterday, the pace of the car looks promising here. What's the feeling
inside the team?
Laurent ROSSI: Similar. I think we are where we should be, which is like
usually seven- eight, hoping for the big guys to make a mistake. But it's
been like that throughout the entire, I would say, half-season now. So
finally, if we put a very clean race together, we should finish more or less
in this area, which is the hope.
Q: And if you do of course, you will see seal P4 in the Constructors’
Championship. How important is that for you?
LR: I mean, it's always better to finish P4 than P5, no doubt. At the
beginning of the season, the goal was to put a new structure in place, which
we did, that structure was supposed to deliver innovations, upgrades
throughout the entire season, to be more competitive, which we did, which
culminate, ultimately in a better position, which we are very close to be
doing. So it is important, not just financially but also for the momentum.
We said we would try and progress every year to catch up as much as we can
with the top teams. It's important not to miss the first step. Hopefully,
we're going to get there.
Q: And when you look back at the year as a whole, what pleases you the most?
What aspects of what you've achieved?
LR: It's a capacity of Enstone and Viry to deliver upgrades throughout the
season and stay competitive. We started the season in bad shape. I mean, we
arrived in Barcelona, in shambles, I could say, and then the idea was to
develop as late as we can, because it was a brand new car. And then from
there, to try and make our way up the grid. Nobody was seeing us anywhere
above eighth position, I remember back then. And McLaren had a very fast
car, so I'm quite pleased that we managed to catch up and then hopefully
overtake them to get where we are now.
Q: Now, it hasn't always been smooth between your drivers. Only last weekend
in Brazil it got a bit messy in the Sprint. How did you deal with that
situation?
LR: Well, I told the drivers, as long as they behave as adults, I'll treat
them as adults so they can race until the team is worse off, which happened
last weekend. So, I reminded them of our contract, and I reminded them of
the fact that I have plenty of drivers that are longing to race in their
place. And it would be a shame to finish the year with two other drivers,
even if it costs me a lot. They took their responsibility and they did a
brilliant job. So, it happens to everyone, I guess, this is what makes those
drivers incredible champions. They have this killer instinct and sometimes
it goes a bit too far. So, that’s my role as well, to bring them back into a
better space.
Q: Just to clarify. So, after what happened in the Sprint, did you impose
team orders on Sunday?
LR: Oh, no. We told them that, if we have to, they’ll have to follow the
orders – but there were no team orders. We had two different strategies, we
could not predict which one could yield the better outcome because it
depends on the race conditions. But based on the pace, and the
circumstances, we told them that, if we have to, we will impose swaps or
things like that and they would have to comply – which they did. Which is
perfect.
Q: Final one from me. First time we’ve had the opportunity in this forum to
ask you about Pierre Gasly who, of course, tests for you next week. What is
he going to bring to your team?
LR: Well, hopefully he’s going to bring what we need, which is to continue
developing the car, because at the moment, we are still pretty much in the
midfield and we need to take the car a notch up. And for that, you need
drivers that are not only capable only to go fast and score points with the
potential the car gives us but also to take it to the next level. And that
means that you need to, as of Friday morning, to be able to give feedback to
the team and take the whole team in the right direction so the car improves.
So that's what Pierre, we hope, is going to bring. I mean, he was the
technical leader in many ways, I guess at AlphaTauri. We want him to
continue doing that, grow the team, grow himself with us and take us to a
new level.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Adam Cooper – Motorsport.com) For all three of you. Carlos has called
for penalties for drivers who cause red ,or even yellow flags, in
qualifying. If you remember he crashed into Checo in Monaco, I understand it
was discussed in the Commission yesterday. What are your thoughts on it? Is
it practical? Could it be policed?
MK: I do not have a black and white opinion on this. I think we need to
really look case-by-case, going to sporting advisory and maybe have a look
at the last 10 years where we had situations, because it's quite quick to
pre-condemn someone, when it's was not good. So yeah, I think it would be
easy to say yeah, it has to be like that but I think it will be a tough call
to do it.
CH: I think that the rationale in the Commission meeting yesterday was it
goes back to the sporting directors and their forum to discuss the various
scenarios, and then it’ll come back to the Commission to be debated again.
So, there's no clear output from the Commission yesterday.
LR: I was not in the commission yesterday, I arrived only the last night.
But what I could say even personally is that they penalise themselves
anyways. So, I would imagine that you could perhaps extend the session by an
extra lap or two, to allow for the others to finish their hot lap for
instance, and the driver himself would not continue without any penalty. I
don't know, it could be an idea as well. But ,as Mike said, we need to have
an extensive review. We shouldn't be too quick at condemning a driver, or a
team.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – RacingNews365) And engine question to all three of you,
however, it's in two parts, so Christian and Laurent, the original entry
closing date for PU supplies was the 15th of October, at which stage only
one team had entered I believe, it was subsequently extended to 15 November,
I believe your two teams have now entered. Could you comment on that,
please? Whether you have, and also the reason for the delay. And then Mike
at the beginning of the year, you'd spoken about Aston Martin possibly
becoming a PU supplier? Is that completely dead now?
LR: Well, yeah, we had some points we wanted to discuss on the legal side,
to make sure that we fully covered as much as possible, which we did. We
just kept on discussing those points as far as we could. And at some point,
when we reach a level in discussions where we think we're all in a good
position, we sign – or we’re going to sign. I think it's imminent.
CH: The deadlines were extended but there's an awful lot of discussion about
governance and tidying up some of the technical regs and obviously financial
regs as well. So, as a newcomer for 2026, Red Bull Powertrains has entered.
And yeah, it's an exciting moment for the group, for the company, a new
challenge to take on, and a lot to do between now and 2026.
MK: Yeah, so it's a bit of a different question for us, but yeah, we have
evaluated really, all the resources needed, our situation for the years to
come, and we decided that we are very, very happy with our current supply of
power units with our partner, and then decided not to follow up.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to Mike please. Sebastian said
here on Thursday that racing in the pack with a team the last two years,
while not what he and you guys wanted, was teaching him new things – things
he could still improve on. I just wondered even after all this time as his
career winds up, did Aston see that too, that he was still making new
improvements? Thanks.
MK: I would have preferred, he could run in free air at the front. To be
honest, he didn't ever really make these kinds of comments in our debriefs.
We know that it is much more difficult to run in the pack. We have seen in
Texas, how it is if you don't, because we had the quick cars pass us fast
and then we were a bit by ourselves and life becomes so much easier if you
run in your own little league. So probably ,this is also what led him to
make these comments, because he had the direct comparison. But yeah, as I
said, I would prefer to be in that situation.
Q: (Abishek Takle – Midday) A question to Christian. Sorry, to go back to
Brazil for a bit. But Max was saying that what prompted his refusal to hand
the place back was something that happened earlier in the year? Can you
clarify what he might have been referring to? And also, why did it take
until after Brazil for the issue to be resolved? Thank you.
CH: Well, look, it was discussed in private between the drivers and the
team. And as I say, it was clear between the two drivers and it's very clear
what our objectives are coming into this race. You know, Checo has a chance
of finishing second in this world championship. That's our objective. It’s
going to be very tight with Ferrari. They've had a quick car all year and
it's going to be whoever finishes ahead. So as a team, we're going to be
doing everything that we possibly can to achieve that.
Q: (Tom Cary – The Daily Telegraph) Just following on from that one
Christian. There's been a lot of speculation that it may have been something
to do with Checo’s qualifying in Monaco. Regardless of whether it was or
not, can you confirm whether the team internally looked at that? And if not,
whether you've looked at it since and what your views are on that crash?
CH: Well, any crash, as my colleagues here will tell you, particularly in a
cost cap environment is disastrous. It’s expensive, it’s costly and
particularly at a street circuit. So from a team's perspective, it's way,
way from an ideal. So you know, there was a lot of frustration following
that. It could have obviously damaged the gearbox as well in an incident
like that, and of course, then incurred a lot of damage, of course with
Carlos Sainz. Now, thankfully, this year, that's probably been the biggest
accident that we've had from a cost basis, which has a one-on-one effect on
your performance to develop. Because you have to pick whether you're going
to make spare parts or development parts. Now, thankfully, the drivers have
done a great job, thereafter, of managing not to hit things. And so we
actually have probably the least amount of crash damage in the year compared
to any other team. But, yeah, look, a lot has been said, about Brazil. I
think there are things that that we as a team obviously could have done
better. We hadn't, as I said, envisaged being in that position. And, you
know, we shouldn't have obviously taken it for granted and I think, you
know, there are always lessons you're going to learn in this sport, and it's
a matter of how you how you apply them.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) A question to Christian. Max and Checo
are under contract beyond next season. You said it was if Daniel joined, so
if Daniel does join the roster, if you see evidence that he can be the
driver that you had in the past, does he become an option longer-term for
Red Bull as a race driver?
CH: No. Daniel's contract is very specific for a specific reason. We have a
contract with Checo for the next two years. What the partnership of Max and
Checo has produced has been phenomenal for us. And you know, the five 1-2
finishes so far this year, the Constructors’ Championship that we hadn't won
for eight (sic) years, is a phenomenal achievement and obviously the
combination of both drivers, the points contributions of the two drivers,
they do have a good relationship. They've raced well for the team and we've
got no reason to see that being any different tomorrow or for the duration
of their contractual commitment to the team thereafter. And for Checo,
obviously, we made that commitment for two years earlier in the year. And he
made a good step this year. His performances… I think he felt more
comfortable in the team at the beginning of the year after that first year,
joining during a COVID period. And hopefully, he can round off what's been a
very strong year for him with that runner-up position in the championship
this year, which is something as I said, we've never achieved before. So,
you know, between the two of them, I mean, Max's season has been truly,
truly outstanding. I mean, 14 Grand Prix victories, plus Checo’s too, I mean
16 grand prix victories is more than we've ever achieved in our history and
something that we're very proud of.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – Racefans.net) A question for all three, if possible.
Formula 1 yesterday announced an F1 Academy to get younger women into the
sport and hopefully into Formula 1. I just wondered if you thought that was
the right way of going, still having women slightly segregated at the
beginning? And if you would be interested as teams to maybe get involved in
it?
LR: Well, I guess any initiative is good. We have a, I wouldn't say a
different or opposite, but just an alternate path, where we want to bring
women in a more mixed environment. But it's always good. I mean, it's better
to have that Academy than nothing, for sure.
CH: I think it's a good thing for Formula 1 to be getting involved in. And
it's just great to see more and more women coming into the sport and at all
levels, as a driver, a designer, we see more women up and down the paddock
now, in technical functions, operational roles. And I think it's all about
inclusiveness. And I think it's great. I think that you know, there's such
interest from youngsters as well. And with such a young female content that
are following Formula 1 now, that's only going to see more and more people,
girls wanting to get involved at the grassroots level of karting, so there's
a bigger pool of drivers coming through, that there's more engineers, that
Formula 1 is exciting and open to embracing inclusion and diversity.
MK: I can only agree on what Christian and Laurent said. Clearly, any
initiative is a good one to promote female drivers, but also female
engineers and mechanics into our sport. So we're very supportive of that.
Now, the path chosen, I cannot really judge if this is now the right one or
not, to come back to your question, but we welcome the initiative, clearly.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Christian, incredibly boring question, but are
reserve drivers included in the cost cap. And does this create another
headache for you?
CH: Well, I'm pleased to report that they're not, and nor is what they eat,
included in the cap. So hopefully that should be alright.
Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Car Magazine Greece) A question for Mr Krack and
Mr Horner, who used to be a racing driver in the early days. Do you feel
that Sebastian has got what it takes in order to be a manager in the distant
future?
MK: I don't know if he wants to do that. But I think he has the personality
and all the skills – human and also, I think the ones that are needed to do
that. So I think he could be a good one, yeah.
CH: Yeah. I mean, he's a great people person. He's understands the value of
people and the contribution that they make to success. And I think he's
turned into somewhat of a driver counsellor in the last couple of years as
well. So it really depends what he wishes to apply himself to. He's one of
those guys that's annoyingly good at anything he chooses to do. So I'm sure
if he chose that path he would be very good at it.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) A question to Christian, basically to
reflect on the year a bit more. In Japan, Max said that his 2021 World title
was of course, more special, more emotional, but this one is way better.
First of all, do you agree and if so, in which aspect is it better, both
from a team point of view, but especially for Max as an individual?
CH: We look, I mean, 2021 was, was an epic year and I think it'll go down in
history, when we reflect on it in years to come as one of the all-time great
seasons of Formula 1. And I think that Max, having been through that and
triumphed at the end of that… And one forgets that he's still so young, you
know, 24 years of age, doing that last year coming into this year, I think
he just made another step. And I think the maturity that he's driven with, I
think that he's just taken it to another level this year. And you look at
the grands prix that he's won from, from earlier in the year. You know, the
double-header in Imola was spectacular. His race in Miami with Charles in
those early races, the racing that was wheel-to-wheel was stunning. And then
he's just kept going, like a metronome, he’s kept delivering. And the more
pressure there was, the more he delivered. Some incredible victories.
Hungary springs to mind, where he had to take a penalty and drive through
the field. Spa, was totally dominant. The pressure of Zandvoort. So the list
just goes on and on. And I think he has been truly outstanding this year.
It's been an incredible season for him. It's been an incredible season for
the team. And obviously, to win that in Japan, with four races to go, was
quite some achievement. Despite the confusion at the time, whether he had
actually won it or not, the thing that we're most grateful for is that,
thanks to the anomaly with the points and the fact that he was awarded full
points, which we didn't think when he crossed the line, Dietrich Mateschitz
got to see him retain that championship as the last race that he watched. So
that was very much the upside of doing it in Japan and being able to get it
done early. And very, very special for him for the team and I think he's
been truly outstanding this year.
PART TWO - TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Mattia BINOTTO (Ferrari), Zak BROWN (McLaren)
Q: Toto, I feel we should definitely start with you. Of all the races to
miss last weekend! How did you watch the Brazilian Grand Prix and were you
tempted to jump on a plane, when you saw the grid for Sunday?
Toto WOLFF: I went through some interesting emotions, because I had to go to
the Middle East because of a meeting and the team was great. I had this full
intercom being built up, like being on the pit wall. I had all the channels
that I could speak to, even the drivers, by pushing the button. And in a
way, I tried to step back a little bit. And then when the race was finished,
Susie said to me, ‘I bet you regret not being there’. And it was actually
quite the opposite. I felt so proud of the team, and I'm taking so much
spotlight in the media all the time and credit and not being there meant
that it was on the team. It was Shov, who is our trackside chief engineer,
and Bradley and James Vowles, and I was so proud that it was about the team
and the people that represent it and not always about me. So all the
feelings that I didn't expect.
Q: Of the 115 wins you've had with Mercedes, where does last weekend's rate,
given all the issues you've had this year?
TW: You know I forget so quickly about previous wins, because I try to… I
don't know if this is a mechanism that is actually bad, because it's
difficult for me to enjoy, because I'm looking forward. But this one… This
one was important, because it validated our development direction. And this
is good for confidence and for the engineers to see that it's going where we
want it to go. But then on the other side, you know, ticking that box, I
wouldn't have wanted everyone to say ‘well, in retrospect, Mercedes didn't
win a race in 2022’. We did that, we were on pole in the Sprint race. Yeah,
so I didn't think that it was important, but now that it's done, I think
that's positive for us.
Q: How competitive is the W13 now? Have you caught up and what kind of a
platform do you now have for 2023?
TW: I think we are back in the mix. That was important. If you ask me the
pecking order today, I would still say that Red Bull, overall, as a package
is the most competitive. I think Ferrari has a tremendously quick car on a
lap and on several of the weekends was also the quickest package. We have
been able to perform well on the tracks that were in the sweet spot of our
DNA of the car and that was mostly high downforce – Mexico and Brazil. We're
not very competitive when it's fast, straight line, we have a little bit of
a draggy car, and that did make us benefit. So the pecking order is still
third, I think I can say that, but we are very close and on our day, at the
right racetrack, we can win and that is most important.
Q: Is this the right racetrack? How do you rate your chances of catching and
even maybe passing Ferrari for P2?
TW: So, we have this internal table of doom, which kind of forecasts whether
we are good at a track or not, in terms of our simulations and Mexico was,
we thought, the best track in the season and we were performing well. Brazil
was right there, like with Austin, but it came in better than we thought.
And Abu Dhabi in the table of doom is pretty much in the middle. It's not
Spa and Monza. So in a way, if we correlate with the table of doom it means
we understand where we are going. If we outperform the table of doom, I'm
obviously happy, but also questioning if we are getting it right with our
forecast. So the truth is, I don't know where we're lacking straight line
speed, particularly against the Red Bulls, when it turns on the engine. But
I would never say that we are not in the mix. But let's see. Rationally,
probably not right there.
Q: Thank you Toto and best of luck this weekend. So Zak, do you have a table
of doom at McLaren? How do you rate your chances this weekend in Abu Dhabi?
Zak BROWN: It's going to be a pretty tall order. Nineteen points out and we
need our best results of the year with the competition not getting any
points, so I think we're pretty realistic as to where we sit, but we're
going to do what we do every weekend, which every grand prix team does,
which is give it all you got and see where you finish up.
Q: Now, this is Daniel Ricciardo’s last race for the team. What is the
feeling like inside McLaren?
ZB: I mean, Daniel has been great to work with. He's a great character. He's
great for Formula 1. He gave us our first win in almost a decade. It's
obviously unfortunate that it hasn't worked out to continue longer. We hope
he's in the paddock next year. It certainly sounds like he's going to be.
Hopefully we'll see him in a Formula 1 car because I think he's great for
the sport. And so we're going to wish him the best. But right now we've got
two more days of giving it all we've got to hopefully go out with a strong
finish.
Q: Well Zak, Helmut Marko pretty much confirmed yesterday that Daniel will
rejoin Red Bull next year as their third driver. What's your reaction to
that?
ZB: I think it's good to have Daniel in Formula 1, regardless of what team
it is. So I think it's a positive and most importantly, I hope we see him in
a Formula 1 car.
Q: Now, you're the only team outside the top three to have taken a podium
this year, just how do you view McLaren’s 2022?
ZB: Lots of learning. Lots of ups and downs. Not as competitive as we were
last year, but I think we're a better racing team this year. We’re
operationally more sound. Our pit stops are better. We've got our
investments that are nearing completion. So I think we've learned a lot. New
regulations, and excited for next year and to see Oscar in the car on
Tuesday. And you know, I think come Monday, we'll start thinking about 2023.
Q: You mentioned the new regulations. Do you think they've been a success?
Just to repeat what I said earlier, you're the only team to have scored a
top three.
ZB: Yeah, it certainly seems like the racing has been better. I think
everyone was concerned that cars were going to look the same. They certainly
don't. There's a lot of different concepts. So yeah, I think the new
regulations always need refining, but I think we got it pretty right. And
the racing has been very exciting this year. Given the dominance of Max, it
doesn't feel like it's been a boring season, even if the results on paper,
you would think it would be boring but I think all the races have been very
exciting.
Q: You mentioned Oscar Piastri. He's of course driving next week. Can you
tell us a little bit about his integration into the team over the past few
weeks and perhaps give us a little info as to what his programme is going to
be here in Abu Dhabi?
ZB: He is very mature for his age. I was very impressed with how he handled
the summer drama, if you like. He's obviously an immense talent. He's not
been racing for a year, so we need to get any of that race rustiness off
him, which I'm sure we will do in short order. Very focused individual, very
technical, and looking forward to seeing him and Lando on the grid next
year.
Q: Final one from me. Pato O’Ward said after his run in FP1 yesterday that
he's serious about pursuing a career in Formula 1. How can you help him with
that? And have you seen enough from him to think that he can cut it on the
Formula 1 grid?
ZB: Yeah, he’s certainly fast enough. He's got tons of enthusiasm. He's been
in our TPC car. Obviously, he did Free Practice 1 yesterday. He did a very
good job. Yeah, he's a huge talent and definitely worthy of being a Formula
1 driver. And, you know, for the time being he's our IndyCar driver. We have
him under a multi-year contract. He's winning races for us over there. So
giving him opportunities within our Formula 1 team, while remaining very
focused on IndyCar is our priority.
Q: Thank you. More questions for you in a minute, I'm sure. Mattia, thank
you for waiting. So can we start by talking about Sebastien Vettel? It's his
last race. How do you reflect on his time at Ferrari?
Mattia BINOTTO: First, Sebastian is a great, great driver and I don't think
it's myself telling it, it's really what he has achieved – fantastic,
outstanding, amazing. And somehow, as Ferrari, we have been lucky to have
him as part of the team and it has been six important years. He brought a
lot as a driver but more than that, I think he brought a lot as a person and
each single Ferrari fan still loves Sebastian. I think that's a matter of
fact. And as each single fan loves Ferrari still, I think we in Ferrari, all
the people in Ferrari, are still loving him and that's the way we are
feeling. They have been incredible years, I think. Difficult for myself,
coming to the end, somehow to announce to him that we will not renew. And
that maybe has been the most difficult task I've done myself through my
career. Because when you love such a person and you really enjoy working
with him, it's always difficult to come to the end and take a decision
somehow to announce it. So I think it has been an important moment as well
for my career itself, because from that… through difficulties you become
stronger. But it’s the one that we will remember as the most difficult one.
Q: He says he failed at Ferrari because he didn't win the World
Championship. Is that how you see it?
MB: I think he is somehow right because when he joined Ferrari, he was
ambitious, his objective was to win the title with Ferrari and I think
together with himself, it was our dream and our objective as well. So it has
been a failure for him but it has been a failure all together as a team. He
has been very closed, or at least the closest he has been was ‘17 and ’18 so
we had a few opportunities, but we didn't get it and I think somehow when
your final objective is to do that and if you do not achieve it, if it's a
failure.
Q: On to the here and now, there's been speculation this week concerning
your future at Ferrari. What's your reaction to everything that's been said
and written?
MB: I was not expecting that question, so let me think now but obviously
Ferrari is the most loved team. Seb said once that everyone is a Ferrari
fan, and if they are telling you it's not the case as matter of fact they
are. And when there is such a big passion around it there is always
certainly the passion but always as well a lot of criticism and rumours.
That has been true in the past. It’s the situation right now and it will be
in the future so obviously when these speculations were out I had a chat
with my chairman John Elkann, together we discuss openly what was the best
way to move forward and we decided to release a statement. That was maybe
the best way to close any speculations and clearly those are speculations,
totally, with no foundations. And I think for me right now, what's the most
important (is to) make sure to stay focused on the race weekend and the team
not to be distracted because certainly the rumours are always there. It's
about Ferrari, and as I said, more important not to be distracted by them.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Toto, in Brazil, both Lewis and George made
reference to a slimmer W13. Is that anything you can clarify, if there has
been a lighter upgrade, apart from the clarified aero tweaks? If so, when
did that come in? Where have you found the weight?
TW: Yeah, we have been… the weight was an issue, a recurring issue this
season, because obviously you're trimming it and you lose weight, but then
you're adding parts in order to recover downfalls and issues that we had so
we never got back to the weight. And the same as in Brazil. I think we've
been pretty stable over the last few races, not what we expect, where we
expect to be, but certainly some lap time that we should find for next year.
Q: (Claire Cottingham – Racefans.net) Formula 1 yesterday announced they
were doing an F1 Academy to get young girls and women into motorsport, and
hopefully also into Formula 1. I just wondered if you thought that was the
right way of going, having women starting out on their own and then
reintegrating with the men later in their career, and would it be something
that you guys, maybe your teams want to get involved in? Toto little side
one for you, obviously, I know that your partner Susie is big on getting
more women into motorsport; is it something that she might be interested in
being part of?
TW: Obviously I was with Susie for the end of her career in DTM and in
Formula 1, and I saw the stumbling blocks that were thrown in her way. She
was very competitive. At Williams, she was being put into FP1 and was very
close to the main driver but still, even with the female team principles,
she wasn't given the opportunity, although it would have been great for the
sport, and probably great commercially also for the team. So it was pretty…
a situation that we couldn't understand and then she decided well, clearly
there is no more obvious situation that shows that door is closed at the
moment. And she's been passionate about it, further on. She's the founder of
the Dare to be Different programme that was merged with the FIA’s Girls on
Track and still very much involved in how can we get young girls into
Formula 1, but it needs to start at grassroots. I think if you look at go
karting for a 100 drivers there’s three girls and we're talking about the 20
best drivers in the world. So clearly, this is where we need to start. So I
think the initiative that was started by Formula 1 is very good, an
important one: smaller cars, lots of testing, which is important and
hopefully Formula 1 can identify young female go-karters and junior drivers,
because there are some good ones in W also, that can participate there, can
get lots of track time and then eventually the best ones move up into
Formula 4 or Formula 3 and only if we strengthen the base, we can bring a
girl, a woman into Formula 1, but she needs to be competitive. I think this
is the most important. We can't just do it for the quota because that would…
a woman in Formula 1 would set back by a long time if she's not competitive.
Susie’s exploring avenues, she’s always been emotionally involved in
bringing drivers up. We have a young girl, Luna Fluxa, who's very young,
who’s in go karting, she makes it to the finals in the Europeans and in the
World Championships. And Susie's looking at that, and yeah, she's discussing
with Stefano whether there's interesting avenue to work together, but
nothing is decided she's still contemplating.
ZB: Yeah, I think anything that creates opportunity and encourages women and
diversity and youth into motor racing is a good thing. We entered Extreme E
this year, so McLaren racing has our first female driver in Emma Gilmour.
That's one of the main reasons why we entered the championship, was to
support our D&I, our gender equality, our sustainability agenda. And so I
think it's great to see a lot of what Liberty is doing, investing in the
sport. So a women's series we would definitely welcome and want to
understand it more to see where there are opportunities for us to possibly
participate.
MB: From my side as well it’s certainly a great opportunity. I think F1 more
is important in the direction, try to develop young female somehow drivers
to have at some stage one thing in the Formula 1 and we at Ferrari it's
something which we certainly believe very important. As you know, we've got
our own programme Girls on Track within our Ferrari Driver Academy, already
now for three seasons. We are doing big scouting activities, we are doing
camps, selections, maybe Maya [Weug] as a driver is our most let me say our
first ambassador of that programme. She's racing, she's training and you can
see her back at Maranello with engineers, at the gym so it's really
something on which we are pushing on. We believe that at some stage it's
something that has to happen to our female drivers in Formula 1 but it will
take time, because it's a long, long journey. But more important that we're
creating opportunities, and I'm pretty sure through the opportunities it is
going to happen.
Q: (Adam Cooper - Motorsport.com) The President said yesterday that he would
be happy to investigate the Pérez qualifying crash in Monaco, if any team
asked him to. Do any of you believe that that accident should be
investigated, whether it's you asking or not, but just on principle, the
fact that there's obviously potentially an issue there? And secondly, Carlos
has called for penalties for drivers who score cause red flags in
qualifying. Zak, I believe you've raised that in the commission yesterday.
What are your thoughts on that? Is it practical? Could it be policed?
ZB: Yeah, I think what Carlos said, I think it should be red flags or yellow
flags, effectively impeding a driver from completing their lap. They do that
in other forms of motorsports, the penalties, you just lose your fastest lap
from that session, and all the drivers tend to do one lap runs so that would
penalise the driver if it was intentional or unintentional, right. Because
you've messed up someone else's laps. I think that's an easy solution, it
can be implemented right away. You cause a driver to have to back out, you
lose your lap, you got to go again and maybe you won't have a chance. Maybe
you will or you have to use another set of tyres. I think that's the easiest
way to solve it. I think on the Pérez incident, it was quite some time ago
so I think we need to, as a sport, if we see something that needs to be
investigated, move more swiftly. I think Monaco was a long time ago and so
to be talking about Monaco in Abu Dhabi, I think that train’s left the
station.
MB: Yeah, what happened first in Monaco was for us very difficult to judge
from outside. I don't think we can judge and it's not down to us as well to
do it. It’s down to the FIA, they have the data, I’m pretty sure they looked
it at the time, and we need to move forward. I think that things that are
moving forward, as Zak said, maybe we may discuss what we should do in that
type of situations. But I don't think there is a clear answer right now. We
had the point yesterday at the F1 Commission, Zak raised it. Let's maybe
start the discussion. But more important for us now, I think is really
looking forward. I don't think there is any need to review what happened in
Monaco today.
TW: Yeah, I agree with Zak also that this is a good idea. I think it exists
in Formula E, I'm not mistaken, that your quickest lap is deleted. So that's
something that we can implement. As for the Monaco incident, we haven't got
the data. Monaco is always pretty bad in GPS. And the second thing is I
would… I know Sergio for a long time. Would a driver really put his car in a
wall and risk his gearbox in the way it was done? You could be going all the
way to the back of the grid with such an incident. For me, if you want to
park your car, you do it in a different way. And as Mattia and Zak said,
we’ve had enough PR crises in the last couple of weeks around that team and
I think we don't need another one.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Toto, we've heard about Daniel Ricciardo going
back to Red Bull as a reserve. Another driver on the market is Mick
Schumacher and he's been linked with the reserve role at Mercedes. Will he
be your reserve next year? And a separate one to Mattia? Have you decided on
Mick’s position in the FDA?
TW: I'm really proud that that Nyck made it back into a real Formula 1 seat,
even though he's changing family. He deserves to be in Formula 1 and it
shows also that him winning the World Championship in Formula E for us and
being our reserve was right for him and was right for us. And Stoffel the
same way. So they’ve flown away to be with someone else and Mick is someone
that has always been close to our heart because of Michael or the whole
Schumacher family. Ralf was in a DTM for a long time for us, he son races
Mercedes in GTs, and he's an intelligent, well-mannered young man. He’s been
very successful in junior formulas. We believe that we can look after him if
the situation were to happen and with someone that just fits the team, but
we haven't really put pen to paper, we haven't really come anywhere close to
any terms. I'm seeing it that openly because I think he just fits and now we
need to make it happen, if he wants to, Sabine wants to and then we see we
see where that goes to.
MB: Mick, first, is a great driver. I think he has always progressed through
his career and I think he has as well progressed during the current season.
If you look back how he started, where he is ending, I think he has shown
that he's capable of progressing. And we as Ferrari and Ferrari Driver
Academy we believe he is a great driver now. After Haas has somehow decided
for a different choice for the next season we will need to sit down with
Mick really, trying to decide what's the best for the future. And I think
the decision is really what would be best for him. We do not have any seat
to offer him right now and I think what's most important when you're so
young in your career is to make sure that you get the best opportunity for
you, you get it so we'll be fully open to different choices but something
that obviously now we need to sit down with him and to conclude.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing News 365) A two-part 2026 PU question: Toto
first of all to you. The entries closed on the 15th of October. I believe
your company hadn't entered as a PU supplier. I believe it still hasn't
happened yet so if you could explain the delay, please. And then Zak, given
Mohammed ben Sulayem said the other day that Porsche was still talking to
some teams and given your history with Porsche, given the fact that you
don't have a PU unless you're a customer or partner have you been talking to
Porsche at all, please?
TW: So there was no formal deadline. I think there is nothing in the
regulations that said it needs to be the 15th of October, it was
discretionary for the FIA to decide when that is. And we have entered, that
has happened. And now it's about the FIA to talk to everyone else and these
discussions are progressing as far as I understand, so we are on course for
2026.
ZB: We’re very happy with Mercedes. I'm a believer that you can win a World
Championship with a customer engine. I think the engine in our car is no
different than the engine in Lewis’s car. There's obviously benefits to
being a works team with some kind of the advanced knowledge that you get.
And I think the engines are absolutely the same. We have a long term
contract with Mercedes, very happy with the collaboration, and aren't really
spending too much time yet thinking about 2026 and beyond.
Q: (Thomas Maher – PlanetF1.com) Mattia, regarding the rumours about your
future, are you able to categorically say you'll still be team boss in 2023?
MB: Obviously, it's not down to me to decide but I'm pretty relaxed. The
reason why I'm relaxed is that I have always open, frank and constructive
discussions with my bosses and my chairman, not only on the short term, but
the medium and the long term. More than that, I think if I look back at the
season, yes, we had few up and downs, we are not the best yet, the fastest
car on track but I think we achieved our main objective which was to be back
to be competitive in that new year of the 2022 cars. And if I look at the
way we started the season, I think no one in that room, not only in that
room, would ever have imagined Ferrari to be so fast at the start of the
season, that is proving that the team has worked very well through difficult
moments as the 2020, 2021. We remain united. I think it's a team which is
not only working well but has proved to be capable. Yes, there are still a
lot of things that we need to progress. Weaknesses have been shown. But I'm
pretty sure that as we did in the past, we will review, we will try to
address them. The team back at the factory is fully focused on the 2023, try
to improve. Furthermore, I think this season has been outstanding in terms
of pole positions, so qualifying pace, not as good in terms of race pace. We
know that we need somehow to improve furthermore the race pace because then
strategy or whatever is around it, is a lot easier if you've got a strong
car in the race itself. So yes, I'm relaxed. I'm more than that and I'm
really focused on what we need to do and concentrated with the team. |
