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1 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
2 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by James Hinchcliffe)
Q: I'm down
here at the stadium with your top three. Let's start right here with
McLaren's Lando Norris. Sixth win of the season, winner from pole, led every
lap, and you are now the leader of the World Driver Championship. Just tell
us how you're feeling about the day.
Lando NORRIS: I didn't hear a thing
you said, but I love it. Thank you, guys. What a race, you know. I could
just keep my eyes forward and focus on what I was doing. A pretty
straightforward race for me, which is just what I was after. So, good start,
good launch, good first lap, and I could go from there.
Q: Let's talk
about that start, though. We talked so much about the start here being so
tough with that long run down to Turn 1. Just tell us how you managed it so
perfectly while there was complete chaos behind you.
LN: Just stayed
relaxed, you know? Yeah, just got a good launch. That was the best thing. I
think I got a much better launch than the guys around. But man, this is
awesome here. This is unbelievable. So yeah, my first win here in Mexico, a
beautiful one to win—especially here in the stadium. So yeah, a big thanks
to all the fans.
Q: Charles Leclerc, second podium on the trot for
you and Ferrari. Just talk about the crowd, the reception here, and
back-to-back podiums. P2 in the Constructors’ for you guys as well.
Charles LECLERC: Yeah, I mean, very happy with this weekend. The United
States was very positive for us, but we didn’t know what to expect from this
weekend. And to end up again on the podium is a great surprise. So yeah,
very happy to be on this amazing podium once again.
Q: A mammoth
second stint from you, trying to manage tyres and manage the gap to Max.
Just how tough was it trying to keep your tyres in the window and not let
him by? And how relieved were you for that Virtual Safety Car at the end?
CL: I was quite happy about the Safety Car at the end. My tyres were
completely gone and Max was coming back on the softer tyre, so it was tough.
But I think the Safety Car saved me at the end.
Q: Max, heck of a
drive from you. But I think you had one of the most exciting races of
anybody—off at the start, through the grass twice. Just walk us through
those first couple laps. Four-wide into Turn 1, then that little battle with
Lewis. How did you see it all?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was very hectic,
the beginning of the race for me. We had a very good start. And then, of
course, such a long run to Turn 1, and we were on the outside—yeah, three,
four-wide. So I had to be out of that kerb. It kept bottoming out all the
way, so I almost crashed into the grass. And then even after that, there was
a lot going on. Everyone around me was on Soft tyres, I was on the medium,
and it looked like that was a bit of a struggle. So surviving the first
stint, trying to go as long as we could on the tyres. Yeah, once we bolted
on the Softs, we were a little bit more competitive, a bit happier. I mean,
it’s been a difficult weekend for us, but to be fighting for P2 with
everything that happened in the first few laps, I think it’s still a very
strong result.
Q: Again, we talked to Charles about how happy he must
have been that that VSC came out. That must have been a bummer for you—10
seconds, you caught him in that mammoth final stint as well. Was that just a
bit of a letdown?
MV: I mean, you win some, you lose some, right?
Sometimes the Safety Car works for you, and sometimes it works against you.
Q: Real quick, we heard a conversation between you and GP on the radio
asking, “Hey, if we were on a one-stop or a two-stop?”
MV: No, I think it
was on the wrong button. It wasn’t meant for me.
Q: Was it ever going
to be a two-stop for you, or were you guys one-stop from the beginning?
MV: It’s depending on the deg, right? So I think at one point we were quite
committed to a one-stop.
Q: Okay. Well, congratulations on a great
run. And just Lando, finally, back to you. You’ve been on such a run, so
much momentum. How much does it help you now heading into Brazil in these
final four Grands Prix?
LN: I mean, it’s one weekend at a time. It’s one
weekend at a time. So, you know, I’m happy, I’m focused on myself. I keep my
head down, I ignore all of this and yeah, I keep to myself and it’s working
at the minute, so I’m happy.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lando, a
superb race in what was a superb weekend for you. First the pole yesterday,
then the race win by 30 seconds. Would you say this is one of your most
dominant weekends in Formula 1?
Lando NORRIS: I think it's the one where
I just performed the best. I don't know, dominant or not, but it's the one
where I think I've just performed best throughout, from FP2 all the way to
the end of the race. In a way, I think it's just my best performance through
a whole weekend. You know, all my laps in qualifying, all my practice, all
my race. So, yeah.
Q: Lando, what is it about the car this weekend
that has allowed you to perform like this?
LN: It's a good question. I
mean, the car is just quick, you know. It has been the whole season, but
clearly, it's still difficult to drive at times. But I think when you just
find that sweet spot, it can be down the road and make your life a bit
easier. So, I don't know. It's hard to say, like, what's better about mine
than the others, but I've just had a bit more grip, and that's normally
always the easiest answer.
Q: Well, for you, the main excitement came
on the run to Turn 1 after the start. You made a great getaway, then you
were four-wide into the braking zone. Just tell us about what happened next
from your point of view.
LN: I don't know. I've not seen the replay or
anything. I didn't know we were four-wide. I just went in first and I came
out third, I think. So that was the most I saw, but I don't know. I've not
actually seen a replay, so I need to go and rewatch it. But, you know,
Mexico, Turn 1 is always eventful every single season. I don't know if
having such a good start helped me or didn’t. It definitely gave me a good
length of time, with some breathing space and being able to position the car
a little bit more how I need and how I want. But I still had to attack into
one. I knew the others around me were going to attack, so it wasn't an easy
one. But, yeah, I kept to the head and was pretty straightforward from
there.
Q: Well, as you say, straightforward. You disappeared out
front. Were there any dramas? Were you tempted by a two-stop?
LN: I just
didn't need to. I was definitely tempted, but it wasn't needed. No point for
a fastest lap or anything anymore, so didn’t have to.
Q: So four
races to go. You're back in the lead of the World Championship by one point.
Zandvoort must feel like a long time ago now.
LN: Yep. But it's still
very clear in my head. So, yeah. I mean, you put that behind you. Right? You
forget about that as much as you can, and you just focus on every race
coming up. Yeah, you forget about every previous weekend. Of course, you try
and learn from every situation, but every weekend's new and you have a fresh
start to try new things and try and do better than before. And I feel like
that's what I've done very well this weekend. So, you know, the last few
have been decent. This has easily been my best performance. But still a long
way to go, so I just have to keep doing what I'm doing, keep trying to be
consistent against some very quick guys around me. And, yeah, I think
that'll be good. But it doesn't mean because I'm ahead or behind or whatever
that I have to drive or do anything differently. So, just keep doing what
I'm doing.
Q: Very well done today. Thank you, Lando. Charles, let's
come to you now. Congratulations to you. Your best result since Monaco. Just
how much satisfaction do you take, not only from today, but from the weekend
as a whole?
Charles LECLERC: Quite a bit. I mean, it's been a very
positive weekend. I think we did not expect to be replicating what we've
done in Austin. We knew that in Austin we had done the perfect execution,
but we also knew that on paper we maybe didn't have the pace that McLaren or
Red Bull had. And to be on the podium at that race was a surprise, but we
managed to do that again and one step higher on the podium as well. So it's
been a really strong weekend. I think, as we know already, in terms of pure
performance from the car, it's been quite long that we've been switching our
minds to 2026, and so that helped us a little bit more into this last part
of the season. But by doing perfect executed weekends, we managed to get two
podiums in a row, which is a really nice feeling.
Q: Max was gaining
rapidly at the end there. How relieved were you to see the VSC come out?
CL: Yeah. I was very happy to see the Safety Car coming out in the last two
laps. I think without it, there was more chance of Max getting past than me
staying in front. Especially with those Medium tyres, the feeling was just
not there from the beginning to the end. I was definitely tempted by the two
stops, but I don't know. At the end, I just stuck to what I was on, which
was the Medium tyre, and tried to make it work—and we did. It was close. We
got a little bit lucky, but I'm proud we made it stick.
Q: Can we get
your thoughts as well about the run to Turn 1? It all got very spicy for
you.
CL: Yeah. I didn't enjoy that at all. I normally quite like
fighting, but in this case, being in the middle of Lewis and Max it’s one of
those kinds of situations where, as a driver, you cannot do much. Just pray
that Max and Lewis will give me enough space just to make the corner. And I
touched a little bit with Lewis. And then there was very poor grip on the
outside, so I had to cut the corner. But luckily for the three of us, it had
no consequences.
Q: So Ferrari are now back in P2 in the
Constructors’ Championship by just the one point. Is the car fast enough to
stay in P2 through these last four events?
CL: It's going to be very,
very tough. If I look back at the last two weekends, yes. If I look before
these two weekends, not really. We just need to focus race by race and do
the perfect execution just like we've done in the last two races. That pays
off, obviously, as always, but it's very difficult to be performing at this
level all the time. But that is the standard that we need to target, and
hopefully that will be enough to give us second in the Constructors.
Q: Alright. Very well done to you. Thank you. And Max, we'll come to you
now. Well done on a great race. Just how good a recovery was this from you
and the team given where you were with the car a couple of days ago?
Max
VERSTAPPEN: Yeah. I mean, personally, I didn't expect to be on the podium.
And I think even in the first stint, it was not really looking like it. I
mean, at the time, I thought we were just slow and struggling on tyres. I do
think then, of course, when we swapped to the Soft and the others were on
Mediums, it all looked a bit more competitive. I think, I mean, still not to
the level of Lando if you take the average of the race, but the Soft
definitely was a better compound to race on, and it all felt a bit better.
So, yeah, I think overall to be P3 has been really good on, yeah, for us a
difficult weekend.
Q: You rolled the dice at the start. Given the
long run to Turn 1, I think some people were surprised to see you start on
the Medium and not the Soft.
MV: I was surprised everyone else was on the
Soft.
Q: How hard did you think about being on the Soft?
MV: Not
at all. Okay. So that's why I was very surprised. I had a very good start.
Then you just follow the slipstream—three-wide, four-wide. I mean, just
following, of course, what the car next to you is doing. So I had to move
left, left, left. And then at one point, of course, you're on the kerb and
then I started bottoming out on the kerb. So that was quite hectic. And then
a bit of rallying in between Turns 1 and 2. Yeah, that was quite fun. And
then, yeah, got back onto the track, found my position again, and then
actually, yeah, the first few laps were a bit hectic. But at the same time,
also very quickly I could see that the grip was just not there, and I was
really struggling actually to just follow the cars ahead of me.
Q:
Final one from me. You've gained on the leader of the World Championship
again. You're now just 36 points back. Just how bullish are you feeling with
four events to go?
MV: I mean, I lost 10 to Lando, if you look at it like
that. So, I said before the weekend, everything needs to go perfect to win.
And this weekend didn't go perfect. So that's your answer. I think it's
going to be tough, but let's see what we can do in other tracks. I hope, of
course, we won't experience a weekend like this again, but it still shows
that we're not quick in every scenario. And that's what we need to
understand, I think, a bit better.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q:
(Gabriel Martínez - TV AZTECA deportes) Lando, congratulations for your
first win in Mexico. The last McLaren driver to do it was Ayrton Senna. On
top of that, you are now the new championship leader. How does it feel to be
part of the history of a track with so much flavour, so much legacy? And,
secondly, do you consider that you are now the new favourite driver to win
the championship.
LN: I mean, first of all, I think to win anywhere is
pretty good. I mean, to win here is also very special. I mean, with the
stadium and everything, it's one of the coolest podiums of the season. Yeah,
probably along with Monaco, Monza, Silverstone, that kind of thing. So it's
pretty special. And, of course, for the first time, you know, since Senna
won here, it's nice to bring McLaren back to the winning ways here,
obviously, for such a long time. And to have my name anywhere close to
someone like that is pretty special. So, yeah, something that's always nice
to look at and I'm sure to look back on in ten, twenty years is pretty cool
too. So that's great. And for the championship, I mean, who knows? It's
still pretty tight between us. Max has still caught me over the last, what,
six, seven weekends. So, yeah, write what you want. It’s your decision. But,
you know, I've been keeping my head down, keeping focus, doing my own thing,
and that's all you can do. But every weekend's new, every weekend's
different, and still a long way to go.
Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN)
Question for Max. Max, that Soft tyre stint looked pretty impressive. But
when the VSC came out, what were you thinking? Was it frustrating to see it?
MV: No, not really. I mean, sometimes the safety car has been very nice to
me as well in my career. So sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's how
it goes in racing. Would have been fun, I think, to the end. Well, maybe a
bit more fun for me than for Charles defending, but it would have been a fun
ending, I think, for everyone to watch.
Q: (Tom Cary – The Telegraph)
Lando, quick one for you. Well done on the win. Just wondered about the
booing. Where's that come from, and did it sour the victory at all?
LN:
Oh, sour. I like sour sweets. I don't know why, to be honest. People can do
what they want, honestly. They have the right to do it if they want to do
it. So I think that's sport sometimes. I don't know why I can't stop
laughing when I get booed. I think it makes it more entertaining for me. So,
yeah, they can keep doing it if they want. Of course, you don't want it. I
prefer if people cheer for me. But I don't know. Who knows? Like I said, I
just concentrate on doing my things. It was the same in, what, Monza and a
few other places. So, yeah. I don't know why. I just can't stop laughing.
So, if they want to continue they can.
Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fast Mag)
Let me give you a little bit of background on why the booing. It seems that
the Mexican people think—we did a poll—that you are being given the
championship. That’s why the booing is coming. And we asked, “What should
Lando do?” and they said return the three points. That was the question that
got the highest percentage of the answers. So basically, that’s the
background of the booing in Mexico. So, would you be willing to return those
three points?
LN: From where?
Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fast Mag) From
the race that you stopped, they messed up your pit stop, and then you were
given the place back that got the three points—the extra points. So
basically, people feel that you're being given the championship.
LN:
Sure. If they want to think that, then they certainly have the right to—they
can think whatever they want. Yeah. I guess from us as a team, of course, we
try and do things fairly. That was the comments we made back then. The same
with, you know, two years ago in Budapest when I could have won the race and
had to let Oscar back through and let him win a race he deserved to win. It
was no different to that really. It was an incorrect decision that we made
as a team to box him first—and, or me first here. And, yeah, to be honest,
if you want to have the three points, they can. But they have the right to
think whatever they want. But, yeah, like Oscar deserved the win last year
in Budapest, I deserve to be ahead at Monza. Simple as that. |
