Today's press conference with Toto Wolff, Zak Brown, James Vowles and Ayao Komatsu.

Ayao, why don't we start with you? And let's start with yesterday's big news. Ollie Bearman, you said he's the perfect match for Haas in 2025. Why so?
Ayao Komatsu: We are still pretty much a growing team. We are a relatively new team. And then we are restarting, let's say, and improving our performance. And Ollie, obviously, is a very talented young driver with a very strong head on his shoulders. And he's very calm, but mature, got the speed, and very much a team player. So the things how we want to progress as a team, that's what I mean by a very perfect match.

Now, he was in the car for FP1 today. Did you see any change in his approach now that he knows he has a long-term future with the team?
AK: No, not really. Because, again, that's what was impressive before when we first put him in the car in Mexico, you know, very first time in a Formula 1 car, FP1 session. Of course, he was excited. But then again, he understood the objective of the team what this session means to the team, what we need to achieve. And then, of course, he's trying to drive as fast as possible. But within that bigger picture, he understands always the context very, very well. So that's what was impressive before. And then, of course, you know, it's not something he needed to change today. Of course, he was, I'm sure, very happy to drive in front of his home crowd after the announcement. So he was enjoying it. But fundamentally, the approach was exactly the same.

Now, how does Ollie's presence in the team next year influence your decision about who will be alongside him?
AK: Yeah, of course, especially for a team like us, we cannot have two rookies. So now that we've taken Ollie as a rookie, we will try to appoint somebody who's got decent F1 experience.

Well, let's bring it on to the on-track performance here at Silverstone. You come here on the back of a very strong race in Austria last Sunday. How confident are you of, well, maybe even repeating that here at the British Grand Prix?
AK: I'm not confident about repeating P6, P8. That requires somebody else's misfortune. But I'm confident that we can fight for points. If you look at all the 11 races so far this season, apart from the Monaco DNF, even the races we didn't score points, we finished in P11 five times, I think. Bahrain was P12. So we've always been there and thereabouts. And we've put some new parts on the car this weekend. But we've got to really assess if that's really a step forward or not. But as long as things doesn't go backwards, you know, we should be able to fight for points. You know, if we are there all the time and if we execute a good race, we've got a chance to be a P9, P10. So that's what we're aiming for.

Very quickly, what can you tell us after FP1 about the new parts?
AK: Not much yet. You know, we've done some data logging, data collection, but Nico drove the baseline car this morning. So we are updating Nico's car for the Silverstone spec this afternoon. So, you know, provided we can drive in a dry session, then we'll get pretty good data, I think, and also the feedback from Nico, then we can make a decision.

Alright, Ayao, thank you very much. Welcome to Zak and to Toto as well. Good to have you with us. Zak, can I jump to you now, actually? Because the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend came to an unfortunate end for Lando. First of all, what was your take on the battle between him and Max Verstappen?
Zak Brown: Oh, the battle was quite an epic battle between some of the best drivers in Formula 1. So, it was quite an epic battle. Exciting for the fans, exciting for everyone in Formula 1. I think it was a matter of time until we saw the two of them going head-to-head. Obviously, an unfortunate outcome at what was a very small touch. But I think as we reflect on the weekend, I think we need - and I think this is something that the FIA agrees with - we need to invest more in our stewarding to have greater consistency and enforcement of the regulations. I think having part-time Stewards, it's a very difficult job, it's quite complex, and so to kind of do it on a part-time basis for the level Formula 1 is at, I think, is difficult, because Max and Lando were just duking it out as you'd expect them to do, and until someone tells Max, 'hey, that's against the regulations', he's not going to know any different. And so I think there were missed opportunities for the Stewards to make note. Also disappointed that at such a great team like Red Bull that the leadership almost encourages it because you listen on the radio and what was said. We all have a responsibility on pit wall tell our drivers the do's and don'ts and what's going on in the race and so I think we need to have respect for regulations and we've seen there be lack of respect, whether it's financial regulations or you know sporting, on-track issues with fathers and things of that nature, and I just don't think that's how we need to go racing and we need to guide our drivers on what's right or wrong. And I think had it been addressed earlier maybe that incident wouldn't have taken place. So racing incident that I think could have been avoided if the pit wall and the Stewards had maybe been more on top of what the regulations say you can and can't do.

Zach, a couple of things to unpick there. First of all, on the stewarding front, are you suggesting that you'd like full-time Stewards, professional Stewards?
ZB: Yeah, I think given the level Formula 1 is at, how difficult the job is. I mean, hats off to the Stewards that are here every weekend. It's not to be disrespectful of what they're doing. I think it's hard to do on a part time basis and we're all racing full time. It's a big sport. I also think things need to be looked at the track limits. When Lando went off trying to pass Max. That was just a good, brave move. And I think we want to encourage drivers to have good racing. And for me, track limits are about cutting the track to get a better lap time. He gave the position back right away. It was clearly a slower sector. So I think there's some things that need to be reviewed and tightened up just so we have greater consistency. Because I think you hear the drivers say they're a little bit confused as what's on and what's off.

And on the penalty front, Max, of course, got a 10-second penalty. Lando even questioned yesterday in the press conference whether Max deserved a penalty at all. What do you think would have been the appropriate penalty if one was needed?
ZB: I think what they gave. You're supposed to give a driver a car's width, and he didn't. And it's unfortunate. It could have just been a small rub, and they both carried on. But I thought that was the right penalty, because that's what the rule book says. But again, I think Max is an awesome racing driver fighting for the lead. And it's our responsibility as teams to let the drivers know what the limits are. And if you don't, I wouldn't expect Max to do anything differently.

This battle, this incident in Austria has caught the headlines this week coming into the British Grand Prix. Have you been impressed by how Lando has dealt with the scrutiny this week?
ZB: Yeah, I think our conversations with Lando, we can't change anything from last week. We can try and make sure it doesn't occur again and address kind of having some full-time Stewards, things of that nature, but we can't unwind. And I think we're going to be very competitive this weekend. And so we just want them to be laser-focused on that. Of course, everyone loves a good battle. It wasn't long ago that Mercedes and Red Bull were having an epic battle. So I know it's exciting and entertaining for the fans. But at the end of the day, we want Lando and Oscar focusing on the job at hand. And that's exactly what they're doing.

Alright, Zak, thank you. I'm sure we'll have more questions for you in a minute. Toto, can I bring you in on this? Zak has just referred to the battle between Mercedes and Red Bull in the past. What was your take on what happened last Sunday between Max and Lando?
Toto Wolff: First of all, the drivers among themselves will know best. Lando and Max, they get on with each other very well. They will have discussed it. They're not going to trash each other in the media, but talk it through, and all the good guys will have a judgment on that, and we'll see what it means. I think that's number one. And number two is there's a set of regulations. And those regulations give the boundaries to the drivers, what's on, what's not. It's the same with track limits. You're either penalised or not. And in the same way, the way you race. And I think with the regulations maybe a little bit vague, or interpretations different from time to time, it's clear that the really good ones are going to push this as much as they can. And then we could end up in similar situations. It's not only among these two. I mean, we've seen it between the Alpines, et cetera, et cetera. So I agree with Zak on the regulations tell us what's on and what's off, number one. Number two. Yeah, I tend to agree with Zak, it's always amusing to see just one-dimensional comments of team principals where you think, let's be a little bit objective at least.

Toto, do you think Max has changed his defensive driving tactics since he was battling with Lewis those years ago?
TW: No, I think this is the way he drives. That's what I've seen in Formula 1 since he's come. And I don't want to be judgmental on that. I think you drive as much as you're being let off. And I'm not saying it's good or bad. But on a starting line, you go as much forward as you can without being penalised. On the track limits, you maximise the width that you can take. We, on technical regulations, we are maximising every area. So, the drivers will maximize every area from what's on and what's not. And that is as simple as it is. And that is on, there was a 10-second penalty. Maybe that's what. what the consequence is, but that's okay.

And of course, George was the beneficiary of what happened between Max and Lando. Do you think you can challenge for the win this weekend at Silverstone?
TW: I think Lando and Max are probably, at the moment, a little bit ahead of everybody else. And that's not only on a qualifying lap that can be very, very close - although it wasn't in Austria because it's a minute lap time and they were still a few tenths quicker - but on race pace, these two seem to still be a step ahead. But we are really pushing it hard to bring more tools and toys onto the car. So, we are going quicker and that is a relentless push from all of the engineering and operations in Brackley and in Brixworth to be able to catch up. And at the moment I think George winning the race has probably maximised it and we were 15 seconds off before the crash, considering they were fighting a bit, so probably a little bit more. That is two, two and a bit tenths per lap. And this is where I would judge the gap is. And as long as we are not able to close that gap, we are not going to fight these two.

Check out our Friday gallery from Silverstone here.