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1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull
Racing)
2 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)
3 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Lando
Norris, you are a world champion! The world champion!
Lando NORRIS: The
world champion. Oh, God. I've not cried in a while. I didn't think I would
cry, but I did. It's a long journey. First of all, I want to say a big
thanks to my guys, everyone in McLaren, my parents. I'm not crying. My mom,
my dad, you know, they're the ones who supported me since the beginning. Oh,
I look like a loser!
Q: You look like a winner to me. You're only the
35th man to win a Formula 1 world championship. This is the biggest prize in
motor sport.
LN: I mean it feels amazing, you know. Yeah. I now know what
Max feels like a little bit and I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two
biggest competitors the whole season. It's been a pleasure to race against
both of them. It's been an honour. I've learned a lot from both of them as
well, so I've enjoyed it. It's been a long year. But we did it. We did it.
And I'm so proud of everyone.
Q: Look, it's been an incredible
season. It was so tight between you all. You were feisty in that race as
well. We were curious to know, would you sit back and not take any risks,
but you pulled off some good passes, did what you had to do. How much of
that world championship was in your mind when you were running in third and
how much is it just in the moment?
LN: It's a bit of both. I mean, you
can't not think of it. But anyway, it's a long race to the very end. You
know, we've seen many times anything in Formula 1 can happen, and I just
kept pushing until the last two or three laps, [then] I could ease it off a
bit, but I was still wanting to fight to the end and that's what we did.
That's what we had to do this season, you know, with Max chasing us the
whole way, with Oscar catching up again at the end. They certainly didn't
make my life easy this year. But yeah, I don't know. I'm happy.
Q:
Understandably so. And, you know, this is a beautiful moment of winning your
first world championship. I don't know if you were aware of a moment — we
were — you were under investigation with the overtake on Tsunoda where you
went beyond the white lines, and of course nothing came of that. But were
you aware of it? Did your team tell you? Because we were all on the edge of
our seats.
LN: I had no idea. I had no idea. I didn't care. I mean, I
knew what I did was fine so I had nothing to worry about. Yeah. I was just
trying to enjoy the moment. You know, there's not many people in the world,
not many people in Formula 1 ever get to experience what I've experienced
this season and this year. So, I'm happy for everyone. I'm happy for
everyone more than me, but yeah, I'm just crazy happy.
Q: That's
wonderful to see. We're looking across, we see Zak Brown, we see your
parents, your brother, your family, everyone here who's been on this journey
with you. So just once again, are you able to compartmentalise — you are the
world champion?
LN: I mean, look, it's been a long journey with me and
McLaren. I've been with them for like nine years and we've been through
plenty of crazy difficult times and plenty of good times, you know. So, for
me to feel like I can bring something back to them — it's their first
Drivers' in many, many years — so I feel like I did my part for the team
this year and I'm very proud of myself for that, but I'm even more proud for
everyone that I've hopefully made cry.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q:
Max, look, very well done. What a race. What a season. How do you reflect on
the race and the weekend as a whole? Let's start with that.
Max
VERSTAPPEN: Well, honestly, we maximised everything that we could. We put it
on pole, and we won the race. And I think also in the race, we had very
strong pace. So, there’s really not much that I could have done different. I
think what complicated it a bit was that Oscar was on a different strategy.
So, you never know, of course, when he then pits, how much pace he has in
hand to catch up again. That also complicates a bit trying to keep the pack
together or whatever. But, yeah, overall, just very proud again of the
weekend that we had. We put it all out there, and, yeah, the car was
actually enjoyable to drive.
Q: And what about the season as a whole?
I mean, think back to Hungary where you finished more than a minute behind
the winner, and here you are within two points of the world champion.
MV: Yeah. Massive rollercoaster for us. Of course, the first half had
some nice moments, but mainly tough moments — some really tough races and
feelings. But I’m also very proud of how we never gave up. And, again,
that’s also a lesson for the future, for everyone, that even when it looks
like you’re out of it, you never give up. You keep working hard to try and
understand your issues, and then you never know what can happen.
Q:
Final one. A few words from you on our new world champion, Lando Norris.
MV: Winning your first title is something that I think we all dreamt of
when you get into the sport. You work for that since you're a little kid.
It’s what you dream of. So, when you win your first title, this is very
emotional. And, yeah, I hope for Lando as well. You know, I saw a lot of his
family is here, so it’s important to enjoy this a lot as well tonight. Also,
with his team. I think, again, that’s another story where it showed that
even when you have tough years, when you keep working hard, you keep adding
good people to the team, you can overcome all of those things, and you can
become very successful again. And, yeah, they had an incredible season
together, so it’s important that they enjoy it.
Q: Oscar, many
congratulations on your 16th podium of 2025. You raced hard and fast this
evening. How do you reflect on the race and the weekend?
Oscar
PIASTRI: I think, honestly, pretty good. There wasn’t anything left out
there. Obviously, we tried a bit of a gamble on the strategy to give
ourselves some different options and hope that the stars aligned to give
ourselves the best chance. But ultimately, in the end, that didn’t happen.
So, yeah, I think given as well I missed a practice session, it took a
little bit to find my feet. I think that was the maximum we could have
achieved today. We didn’t have an answer for Max’s pace. So pretty happy
with the weekend. Not much more we could have done.
Q: And the season
as a whole, how do you reflect on that? You led the title longer than any
other driver this year.
OP: Yeah. I mean, I think, obviously, I would
have wished for a slightly different ending, but I think this year I’ve
learned a hell of a lot about myself as a race car driver, myself as a
person. I think if you had presented this season at the start of the year
with the pole positions and the wins and the podiums, I definitely would
have been pretty happy with that. And I think even in the tough moments,
I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I can be stronger in the future. So,
I think, ultimately, there’s a little bit of disappointment, obviously, but
I think I can be very proud of the season I’ve had and plenty of lessons to
take to the future.
Q: And can we get your thoughts on Lando and the
job he’s done this year to be world champion?
OP: I think a very
deserving winner. I know that every weekend I go on track, it’s going to be
tough. And I think we’ve pushed each other through the last three years. I
think especially this season has been tighter than ever. So, yeah, I think
he’s had a great season. Probably all three of us, but obviously, myself and
Lando in the same team, in the same car, have had our ups and downs at
different moments. Ultimately, I think he’s had a good season and a
deserving champion.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott
Mitchell-Malm – The Race). Max, you hinted a little bit at the complication
with Oscar’s strategy and how you ran your race. Did you give much thought
pre-race or during the race about backing up or trying to impact the flow of
the race that way? Or was it more just focus on getting the job done out
front?
MV: I had a lot of scenarios in my head, but then, of course,
I knew once the tyres Oscar had on the car, that would be quite difficult. I
think we were probably a bit too quick up front. The others couldn’t really
follow that well. I think Charles drove his heart out today to try and get
onto that podium, so that was also impressive to see. But, of course, they
went for a two-stop. I think even that made it more complicated because if
you stay on a one-stop, backing the whole thing up is tough. And I think
this new layout around here makes it even harder to do that compared to 2016
or whatever.
Q: (Ben Waterworth – Speedcafe) Oscar, you obviously
touched on the disappointment of the season and ultimately not achieving
what you were hoping. But do you think, in reflection, you’ll look back at
this year as a success? Not to take away from the careers of your other two
rivals but neither of them was fighting for a world championship in their
third season. You’ve come away with the most ever wins by an Australian in a
single season. Can you take that hunger for the title into next year?
OP: Definitely. I mean, comparing different parts of different people’s
careers is always difficult with different cars and stuff. But I think
definitely I can be very proud of the season I’ve had. When I look at this
season compared to my first two years in F1, this year has been head and
shoulders above the first two. Ultimately, whilst the end result is not
quite what I wanted, there’s a lot of optimism and a lot of strength that
I’ve gained from proving to myself what I can achieve through this season.
Those are the kinds of things that are not necessarily tied to results. So I
think for me, I can definitely take that forward into the future. It’s only
my third attempt at this in F1. Hopefully, I’ve got plenty more to go, but
there are definitely lessons from this year that will only make me stronger.
Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Max, congratulations on the race win. We heard
you on the radio to GP. What has he meant to you over your career, in
particular this season with all the ups and downs?
MV: It’s been an
emotional year. Forget about the results this year. I also don’t want to go
too much into detail, but it’s been tough. But I’m very happy to be able to
work with someone that passionate. Of course, he is my race engineer, but I
see him as my friend. We have lived through so many emotional things
together and fantastic achievements. I’m sure he was a bit emotional after
the flag. So, I’m really looking forward to leaving here and catching up
with him because it’s not been easy at times for him. I’m just very proud to
be able to work with someone that good. A proper example of someone that
never gave up this season, even through the difficult times.
Q:
(Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Oscar, you mentioned a couple of times
that you’ve learned a lot of lessons this year. What have been the most
valuable lessons? Is that related to Austin, Mexico, or does it go further?
OP: Ultimately both, I think. There’ve definitely been lessons directly
to do with how I drive the car, how I can be better in different conditions,
and just become a better all-round driver. There have also been lessons
outside the car — dealing with adversity, dealing with difficult moments.
I’ve learned a lot about myself in those kinds of things. So, there have
been lessons both in and out of the car that will definitely help me for the
future.
Q: (Julian Linden – Herald Sun) Oscar, 91 days till
Melbourne. I’m sure you’re not thinking about it now. What will you do over
the summer break to prepare for it? How will you rest and recuperate?
OP: Yeah, it’s nice having another summer break. I’m going back to
Australia for a little bit, see my family and friends, give my annual hellos
and goodbyes. I’m looking forward to some time away from racing, to be
honest. It’s been a long, demanding season. As enjoyable as driving the
fastest cars in the world is, a break now and again is always a nice thing.
So, I’m just looking forward to not thinking about race cars and spending
time with people around me. Then obviously, the new season is not far away,
so it’s going to be important to enjoy that time off and then come back
refreshed with the new challenges for next year.
Q: (Mat Coch –
PlanetF1.com) Max, result and championship outcome aside, is this the best
that you feel you've ever driven in Formula 1?
MV: Yeah, I think so.
I mean, I have no regrets about my season. I think the performance has been
strong. I've hated this car at times, but I've also loved it at times. And I
always tried to extract the most from it, even in the difficult weekends
that we’ve had. But, yeah, it's been, like I said before, a proper
rollercoaster with the car. Luckily, the last, I would say, eight, nine
rounds in general have been a lot more enjoyable. And also, in the team, we
have a great atmosphere at the moment. We’re really on a roll — positive
energy, belief, confidence — and that’s exactly what you want heading into
next year.
Q: (Vincent Sondermeijer - NRC Netherlands) Max, was there
a point during the race where you sort of resigned and thought, “Okay, I’m
not going to win the title,” or did you keep believing that there might be
something happening until the final lap?
MV: I just kept looking on
the screen to see if something would pop up. Yeah, I mean, the race itself
went really well, and I was just enjoying sitting in the car and driving it.
And every straight you keep looking if something happens, but at the same
time, that's part of racing. So I was not really too fussed about it.
Q: (Tom Cary – The Telegraph) Oscar, you mentioned taking some time. Are
you going to get to any of the cricket this winter? Don’t know if you were
aware of the result earlier today in the Ashes...
OP: Oh yes, I am.
Q: (Tom Cary – The Telegraph) Did you think maybe luck was on your side
— Australia gave England an absolute walloping there — and in time for the
race as well?
OP: Yeah, it was nice that the boys could wrap it up
before the race started. Hopefully, I will get to some cricket — ideally
Boxing Day, given it’s in Melbourne. I mean, there’s part of me that kind of
wants the series to still be alive by that point, and part of me that really
doesn’t. So I’ll take whatever we can get. It’s been enjoyable to watch for
the last couple of weeks.
Q: (Tom Cary - The Telegraph) Oscar, you’ve
been in quite a few championship battles since your career began. Is
fighting for an F1 title anything comparable to other championship fights
you’ve had?
OP: I think there are similarities, yes. The emotions you
feel are more or less the same. I think what’s different in F1, when I
compare it to the junior championships, is the length. The longest junior
championship I had was ten rounds. This one has been two and a half times
that. The duration you have to live through is much more. My F2 season, for
example, was eight rounds., So I think that part is quite different. And I
think just the stakes are a little bit different as well. In the junior
categories, you obviously want to win the championship, but you’re trying to
make your case for why you should be in F1. I think we’ve seen through the
years — Max is probably the perfect example — you don’t need to win
championships to demonstrate your capabilities for F1. Whereas when you get
to F1, there’s nothing more than becoming champion. So that aspect is a bit
different, but, yeah, there are also some similarities.
Q: (Leonid
Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) Oscar, how do you think the dynamics will
change next year in the team between yourself and Lando? Will it be harder
to fight with him now that he’s a reigning world champion?
OP: No, I
don’t think so. I don’t think that will change anything. For me, he’s
obviously had a great season this year and a deserving champion, but he’s
still Lando Norris. It’s not like he’s become Superman. So, I don’t think
things will change with that. I’m expecting full fairness from the team and
equality going forward. I don’t have any concerns that that will change at
all. Clearly, Lando’s had a very strong season this year, and ultimately did
a better job.
Q: (Jack Smith (Motorsport Monday / MotorsportWeek.com)
Max, to follow up on Matt’s question. Given how well you did drive this year
and how much ground you made up to take it all the way to this race, can you
take as much pride from this season compared to the pride you took from the
last four years when you did win the championship?
MV: I mean, at the
end of the day, of course, it’s always nicer to win it. But, honestly, I’m
sitting here now with probably a better feeling than what I had last year at
this time because the second half of last year was pretty tricky at times as
well. So, we have been struggling for, I would say, a year — the second half
of last year and the first half of this year. But I actually feel a lot
better now. Of course, shame to miss out on the title, but at the same time,
for a long period of time I was not even thinking about the title. I never
felt like I was in it until a few rounds ago. That’s pretty crazy. But,
yeah, you take your pride in different ways. I’m happy with myself and going
into next year I’m not in a state of having to worry about my skills or
whatever. So, yeah, I feel good.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic)
Oscar, just picking up on your point about fairness. McLaren’s got quite a
bit of flack at points this year for the papaya rules and the equality
between you and Lando. But we’ve got through this season without any major
bust-ups and the team achieved the ultimate goal of a McLaren driver winning
the title. How much is that testament to the team’s approach and culture?
OP: I think it is a testament to the way we go racing. Obviously, it’s
not easy fighting for both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’
Championship with two very evenly matched drivers. But ultimately, that’s a
problem we knew we were going to have. At the end of the day, I think
there’s a lot of good things that come from that. Yes, there’s difficult
moments and tension at times, but I think both Lando and I have become
better drivers from pushing each other to the limit. Sometimes that’s been
uncomfortable for everyone, but ultimately, yeah, it’s been a good thing.
We’ve had a lot of discussions through the year, and I’m sure we’ll have
discussions in the off-season about anything we want to do slightly
differently for next year. But I think at the end of the day, they gave us
both as good a chance as the team could have to fairly fight for a world
championship, and that’s all you can ask for.
Q: (Giles Richards –
The Guardian) Max, you lost out to Lando by just two points. What do you
think now about the incident with George Russell in Spain? Do you regret
that looking back in hindsight?
MV: You forget all the other stuff
that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew
that would come. You’re giving me a stupid grin now. I don’t know. Yeah,
it’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one
of 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in
the second half, so you can also question that.
CHAMPION’S
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: A very warm welcome to the FIA Formula One World
Champion Lando Norris. Can you begin to describe how this feels for us?
LN: I just laugh. It's tough to describe. It's tough to put in words. I
mean, I just want to go and spend some time with my team, my engineers, my
mom and my dad. I don't know what I'm going to say. So much goes into
achieving what we've achieved today. You know, from all those years ago when
I saw Formula 1 on the TV, when I saw a go-kart for the first time – my
memories the last couple laps were really just that. They took me back to
where it all started because I wouldn't be here without my parents and the
sacrifice they've done. My brother and my sisters, the amount of times they
text me and I don't get back to them. You know, just everything. Everything
that leads into achieving what we all achieved today. And this is not my
world championship. This is ours. This is one where I get to say, "Thank
you, mom," and "Thank you, dad." They're the ones who sacrificed so much to
let me be the lucky boy that I am today – to live my dream, to do what I
have loved doing since I was a kid, driving that go-kart for the first time
at home. The best memories ever, you know. And so much goes into it every
year. And for the first time, I really get to say thank you to them, to my
parents, to my family. And I get to really make them feel like everything
they did was worth it. They might have felt like it was worth it after
getting to Formula 1 or getting the first win in Miami. But, you know, the
thing that makes me smile every day is making my parents proud, making my
friends proud, the people who support me so much through the plenty of tough
times I've had this year, celebrate the good times that I've had this year.
But I feel like I finally get something to say thank you – not just in
words, but in terms of the volume of a championship – that they are just as
much a part of as I feel like I go out on track and perform. They're with me
through every step of the way. And today, I just get to say thank you to all
of them. I get to make them smile. And that’s all I really want in my life
is all of them to be happy and to get to celebrate. And that’s what I
managed to do for them all today.
Q: Lando, you were pretty
convincing earlier in the weekend when you said you felt relaxed. Was that
the reality? Just how tough has this weekend been for you emotionally?
LN: I've had a lot of tough moments in the beginning of the season. I
had great moments – winning the first race in Australia certainly gave me a
big boost. But quite quickly, I had not the best run of results, and Oscar
did an incredible job, was consistently ahead of me. It got tricky at times.
I think at the end of the day, it shows that consistency over a year is what
helps achieve what we've achieved today. But those tricky moments, like
everyone says, you’ve got to learn from them, acknowledge them, understand
them. I've had to go above and beyond in terms of expanding my group, the
people I work with on the track, and more so off the track. The amount of
people that I have in my corner – not from McLaren but externally: my
friends, my family, my coaches, people that help me think in better ways and
perform in better ways. So many people allowed me to go out and be more calm
and almost try and not acknowledge the pressure or just perform under
pressure and have the second half of the season that I had. If I look back
on it, my first half of the season – not the most impressive. Certainly,
times I made some mistakes, made some bad judgments. I made my errors, as
I'm sure every driver would admit to. But how I managed to turn all of that
and have the second half of the season that I had is what makes me very
proud – that I've been able to prove myself wrong.
There were doubts
I had in the beginning of the year, and I proved myself wrong. And that's
something that makes me very happy. Like I said, this was a moment that I
got to thank them all for that – all their hard work, all the stuff that
other people do for me. This is my way of saying thank you. But I did feel
calm. I felt calm until three corners to go. I started to shake a little
bit. I got to think of all those incredible memories very quickly, and then
I got to see the team when I went over the line. And this is a moment that
I'll never forget.
Q: Final one from me. Just how do you think you're
going to grow as a driver as a result of this championship?
LN: That
I'll find out. You know, I feel proud but not because I'm gonna wake up
tomorrow and go, "I beat everyone." I'm not proud because I get to just say
I'm a world champion. I'm proud because I feel like I made a lot of other
people happy. I made my engineer Will, Jarv as well – they don’t get to see
their family much. They've seen me grow up more than they've seen their own
kids grow up. I feel bad about that. But the fact that they put so much
effort into making me perform and helping us... I'm shaking. Helping us all
perform. The fact I get to make them feel like their time has been,
hopefully, a little bit worth it—that's what makes me so happy. I hope it
doesn’t change anything I do, the way I think, the way I do things. I
believe I won the championship this year my way – by being a fair driver, by
trying to be an honest driver. At times, could I have been more aggressive
and got off the brakes and had a few people over? I certainly could have
done, and maybe I would need to do more of that in the future. But did I
need to do it this year? Is that the way I want to go racing? Is that me?
It's not. And I'm sure if you compare me, if that’s what you wanna do, to
all the champions: have I been as aggressive as them at times? No. Have I
been as daring as them at times? No. But did I do just what I needed to do
to win the world championship? Did I perform consistently? Did I perform
when I needed to under the most pressure? Post-Zandvoort, did I come back in
the way I had to? Did I have three, four weekends of great results? I did.
And I performed when I needed to perform to win the World Championship this
season. And in the end, that’s what I needed to do. That’s all I needed to
do. Of course, I’ll learn from everything. Like I said, moments I wish I
could go back on and I feel bad for, like Montreal and things like that, I
embarrassed myself. But I wish I could go back and change some things.
Plenty of moments to learn from. I feel like I'm a better driver now,
certainly, than I was at the beginning of the season. But everyone’s going
to do it. And when I’m racing against Max, a four-time world champion, when
I’m racing against Oscar, a guy who at some point in the future will
probably beat me and be a world champion, I’m performing. And I’m having to
perform against the best in the world. And I look forward to plenty more
times like that. And I need to understand what I can do better, how can I do
better, how can I perform more consistently against them and learn from
them? And I feel like I did that this year, and I've got to do that even
more next year if I want to retain what we've been able to achieve this
year.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Laurence Edmondson
– ESPN) Congratulations, Lando. Well done. Fantastic. Just on the Zandvoort
thing you mentioned there. Obviously, there you were 34 points behind all of
a sudden. Did that actually release some of the pressure and allow you to
get more of your true performance from yourself for that period afterwards?
LN: I honestly would just want to say no. It didn’t allow me to relax.
Like, when I see 34 points against a guy who's in the same car, who's doing
an incredible job, who I know is incredibly quick, that didn’t fill me with
confidence. And it wasn’t like, "I got nothing to lose now, I can just go."
I felt like I was trying to do everything I could before, and I continued to
try and do everything I could after. But I just had to step up what I was
doing away from the track. Like I said before, the people I was working
with, I added more people to that group. I had to work harder both on the
simulator and here at track. I had to change my approaches. I had to change
my... yeah, like a lot of people do. I had to dig deep and try and
understand more things quicker and in a more advanced way than I ever have
before. That’s what gave me the advantage I had – not, "Oh, the pressure’s
off, I can go and do what I’d like to do." It was really the opposite. I was
like, "Oh, shoot. I’m quite a long way behind against a pretty freaking fast
driver, and I’ve got to step it up." And I got to be more myself because of
external factors—working with more professionals in different areas to
unlock more of my ability. And I think when you saw that, I had that run of
great results, which is ultimately what got me the championship in the end.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Congrats, Lando, on getting the job done. You've
often described Max this year as, you know, the best that there's ever been,
you know, almost the GOAT. What does it feel to you to be able to have
actually beaten him to win the first world title? And now you've got that
one out of the way, do you think more world championships can follow?
LN: Look. I hate ever having to try and compare myself to other people.
This is all for you guys to decide whether someone’s better than someone
else or not. All I try and do every weekend is the best of what I can. But
then you decide he’s better than him, or he’s got a worse car and he’s doing
better – write what you like, decide what you like. I certainly feel like at
moments I've driven better than I feel like other people can. And I feel
like I drove at a level I don't think other people can match. But have I
also made my mistakes? Have I made more mistakes than other people at times?
Yes. Is there stuff Max could do better at times than me? Yes. Do I believe
he's unbeatable? No. But you also don’t know, do you? It’s hard to know.
Like, they also struggled with the car in the mid part of the season.
They’ve had an incredible second half of the season. They took advantage of
the fact we had two of us fighting for a world championship. He really made
the most of that and Max drove like he is a four-time world champion. And
I’m very happy that I got to race against him and try to prove myself
against him. Whether then you want to write whatever you want to write,
against him, against me, or whatever it is, feel free. But I’m not
here—honestly, like I said at the beginning—my motivation is not here to
prove I’m better than someone else. That’s not what makes me happy. I’m not
goping to wake up tomorrow and go, "I’m so happy because I beat Max." I
honestly, deep down, don’t care about that. I don’t care if every article
is, "Do you think he’s better than me?" or "Oscar’s better," or whatever it
is. Doesn’t matter. I have no interest in that. I’ve just done what I’ve
needed to do to win the world championship. That’s it. And I made my people
happy. That’s all I really care about at the end of the day. I’m not going
to wake up happy tomorrow because I can just go and say to myself, "I’m
world champion." It might make me smile, but it’s not gonna be the truth.
It’s gonna be, "My mom’s happy. My dad’s happy. My sisters are happy. My
brother’s happy. My friends are happy." And that’s all I need in my life.
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) Congratulations, Lando. You
mentioned the difficulties in the first part of the year. Just wondered
around sort of the first third of the season—did you start to feel like the
chance was slipping away at all? And at what point did you start to change
things around you? You mentioned additions and who you worked with and
whatnot. Did that come later, or were you starting to do things already
earlier in the season?
LN: Honestly, I can’t remember the exact time
things started. Certainly levelled up a lot more through the halfway point –
around Zandvoort time – but it definitely started prior to that.
It
started after I had that kind of bad run in race two, three, four, five,
six, that kind of area. Or certainly when it was like, "Alright, my way is
not working. I’ve got to understand things differently. I’ve got to speak to
more people. I've got to understand what I'm thinking, why I’m thinking it.
Why am I doing this? Why am I getting tense in qualifying? Why am I making
the decisions that I’m making?" Whatever it may be. Certainly, the bad run
of results and lack of performance—not speed, because I think the speed’s
always there—but lack of putting things together when I had the capability
of putting things together, allowed or opened up the doors to go and
understand: "Okay, I need to do more than just try again next weekend. I
need to try and understand things on a deeper level." Mentally. That opened
up understanding myself more, understanding things more at a championship
level. That’s the level I’ve got to be at. They are world champions. And
yes, certainly the struggles turned into strength. So I would say, if I
didn’t have those struggles at the beginning and then had the weakness at
the end, would I have caught on to those things as quickly? Probably not. So
I was thankful that I had some of the tough moments early on and managed to
turn them around. When I got in that kind of good rhythm in the last three
months, almost when there’s been more pressure than ever, was almost when I
felt most comfortable and most confident into qualifying, you know, I could
go from chatting to my engineers and having a fun time with my mechanics to
going out and getting pole a few minutes later. So, yeah, the struggle was
at the beginning really allowed me to unlock my potential later on.
Q: (Molly Hudson – The Times) Huge congratulations, Lando. How proud are you
not just of in the car, but outside of the car you’ve stayed the same Lando,
you’ve still been critical on yourself, you’ve still worn your heart on your
sleeve. There’s been a lot of people that have written or said, "you can’t
win a championship like that," and you have.
LN: Thank you. End of.
Look, again, that’s one of the things that makes me most proud. I feel like
I have just managed to win it the way I wanted to win it, which was not by
being someone I’m not. Not trying to be as aggressive as Max or as forceful
as other champions might have been in the past – whatever it may be. I’m
happy. I just won it my way. I’m happy I could go out and be myself and win
it Lando’s way, as Andrea would tell me. That certainly makes me happy. Like
I said at the beginning, could I have gone out and been more of that person
you probably want me to be at times? I could have done. I would have been
less proud about it in some ways. So, that’s why I’m very happy with myself.
I kept my cool, I kept to myself, I kept the focus on myself, and I got the
most out of how I am. And I know at times I say some stupid things, and I
say some things about Max, or I might have said some things at times in the
past that everyone talks about, about Lewis. Some things I regret and I wish
I could take back and never have come out my mouth. But I honestly believe I
give more respect to anyone else than anyone else. I give more respect to
Oscar. I give more respect to Max. I try and give as much respect as I can
to Lewis—he’s seven-time world champion. He’s the best driver—you compare
him to Schumacher—the best driver that’s ever been in Formula 1. I’m not
even close to that. I might never be. I dream of those kind of things. I
dreamed of today, and I’ve managed to achieve one of seven, comparing to
him. And do I regret some of the comments I might have said in cooldown
rooms or whatever it is? Yes. But a lot of those are in the heat of the
moment. And by the time I’ve said it, I’ve gone, "Why the hell did I just
say that?" So, I try and be as genuine as I can. I try and always speak the
truth. I never try and give you guys false understandings of things. If I
think we’re going to win, I’m going say, "I think we’re gonna win." If I
think Red Bull are going be fast or probably going to be fast, I’m going to
say it. I’m trying to honestly always—I have no gain by trying to hide
things from you guys. And, you know, deep down, do I really hate when you
write crap about me? I do. It’s also life, and I’ve learned to live with
some of those things more. And I also value that everyone has their own
opinions—whether they like me or not or think someone else is better or
not—like we just spoke about. What I’m happy is that I did things my way
this season. I won it in my way, my style of just trying to be a good person
and a good team member. And I’m proud about that. No matter what other
people want to write about and say about it, no one really knows the truth
apart from the people on the inside, in terms of what’s going on.
And
I don’t need to listen to those things. So, as long as I know I’ve done a
good job, which I have now proven to myself I have, then that’s the only
thing I really need to listen to. Is now myself and my team. And that’s all
I need.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lando, massive
congratulations. In the race itself, how stressful were those moments?
Obviously, quite a few, bits of traffic, you had to fight your way through
and things like that. What’s your plan to celebrate tonight? Is it just
Monster in that glass or anything stronger?
LN: Hell no! It’s way
more! This might be my only time—I really hope it’s not, and I am confident
it’s not going be my only time of sitting here alone. It’s quite lonely
here. No one else sat by my side.
But I want to enjoy this moment
because not many people ever will get to experience what I’ve managed to
experience today. The effect, the feeling it’s had on other people, that
makes me so happy. So I’m going to celebrate. Well. My friends, I really
hope they’ve all had many drinks already because I want to go and party with
them, because this is more about them than it is about me.
My
mechanics, my engineers, I mean, crap, we got a test on Tuesday morning, but
yeah. I know certainly moments through the race today where I was like,
"Okay, Tsunoda’s up next." And we knew from before that Tsunoda might try
and do it—try and hold me up and make my life difficult like Perez did to
Lewis just a few seasons ago. So a lot of that was in our script and
estimations already. But I managed to get through pretty quickly. And it was
a bit close. It got pretty close. And it’s crazy thinking about it, because
they do think about it straight away. You're like, "Damn, if that was five
centimetres closer—it’s over." And that’s when you get to the end of the
race—three laps to go, four laps to go—I stopped taking any kerbs because
I’m like, if that just makes one piece of the car undo itself, it’s over.
That kind of thing. So, I’m like, "Should I go for fastest lap on the last
lap? Maybe." It’s not worth it. A lot of those things go through your head.
I had to make some fairly decisive overtakes and commit to a few things. But
again, the championship was not won today. It was won by my consistency this
year, by my great races over the last four months or so. It could have been
an easier race. It also could have been a harder race. But sometimes,
yeah—it was just another race on the calendar for me. It was a fun race, but
I tried to really treat it as, "Okay, it’s just another race today," like I
said, and tried to stay calm through it, which I feel like I did, and tried
to just maximise my result. |
