Part 1: Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto.

Why don't we start with the honorary citizen of Brazil. Lewis, you're back in a country you love, at a circuit you love, where you've had a lot of success in the past. Just how excited are you ahead of this Grand Prix?
Lewis Hamilton: Good afternoon, everyone. I love coming here. I've been really excited about the trip and just getting back. Every opportunity I have to spend time here. You learn more about the culture. You are able to engage more. I know the Senna Foundation did an amazing event last night with all the great work that they're doing. And it's just the colours, it's Ayrton, it's the culture, the people. So you really vibe off that through the whole weekend.

Lewis, you say it's Ayrton. There's a very special thing happening on Saturday evening here. You're going to be driving his 1990 McLaren. How special is it for you to commemorate him here at Interlagos?
LH: Well, I mean, every time we come here is an opportunity to do that. And I think so many of the drivers also do that. But I never in a million years thought I'd ever get to drive Senna's car here. I remember, someone contacted me, my manager told me about it, and I jumped at the opportunity. Back in the day, when I was at McLaren, I did get the chance to drive the MP4/4 around Silverstone, which was incredible. But just the thought of driving that car around here, if you look at the... I remember the races where he was, when he finally won here and held the flag and yeah, it will definitely be quite an emotional experience and I hope people are here to see it. I had a helmet made, his helmet, made for me, but I don't know if we're using that one tomorrow, but yeah, I think the initial hope was for it to be a surprise. So I had a whole white suit and his helmet and I'd go out and drive the lap and it would just look like it was him out there. But somehow it got out there. It's impossible to keep things quiet.

Lewis, it's a manual gearbox. How's your heel and toeing these days?
LH: I'm always heel and toeing. So it should be...! No, it used to be really good when I was younger, and when I did the MP4/4, I was able to do it back then. It's something I miss. I wish we had that in Formula 1. I mean, the two-pedal thing is just not exciting, and they need to bring back the H-Box. It was awesome.

Let's bring it back to Mercedes now. What's happening this weekend? A sprint weekend. It was the best combined performance for the team since the summer break last weekend in Mexico. Just how confident are you of getting a good performance here?
LH: Confident. I mean, it's been a very turbulent year. I think we always arrive with confidence and with a positive mental attitude, but the car is just, I don't know how, I'm sure it's similar for the other drivers, but there's glimpses of hope and then things it swing back and forth, whether it's tyres, whether it's the aero. So you never know what you're going to get. I always feel like Forrest Gump when I say that! But then, yeah, I'm hoping the car... The last race was really positive for us in terms of the end result, but through the weekend it was definitely, with George's crash during the weekend and then I started with a bad start of the race, but then got better towards the end, so there's definitely potential within the car and we're always just looking to fine tune it and hope that we can extract more from it. And I'm hoping, with the new surface track layout here maybe we can have a better race.

Good luck. Enjoy it as well, Lewis. Thank you for that. Franco, coming to you now. Would you fancy a run in Senna's old McLaren?
Franco Colapinto: I would. I'm not as good as Lewis in the heel and toe part, but I'll try to do my best. It would be amazing, and I think it's an incredible opportunity that any driver in this world would love to have. Of course, Lewis is the right person to get that chance and to do it here in Interlagos in such a special year for Ayrton, it's, I think, a very unique moment for all the Brazilian fans, for Lewis, for all of us, the drivers, to enjoy the moment together, and keep doing this tribute to Ayrton that he really deserves it. He was my idol and hero since I was very, very young. That's why I started to look at Formula 1 and, you know, watching the movie, reading all the books and the history. And I think him being from South America, it's a little bit more of a relationship to me and how he got to Formula 1 and how he fought his pathway to where he arrived. And yeah, he's definitely a big inspiration for me and it's going to be great to see his car going around here.

Well, Franco, we last had you in the press conference in Baku. You've now done five races in Formula 1, two points finishes. Just sum it all up. How do you feel it's going?
FC: It's going well. It's going well. Of course, the start, in Baku, went very well. We scored a few points with both cars. It was a very positive start. We came from a weekend that was a little bit more tough for myself. It was a very low-grip track, very tricky with aero, the tyres. They were not really cooling down. and I just struggled a little bit to find the best performance in qualifying. The race was really positive and we had very good pace, so that was on point, but qualifying was a bit tricky for me, trying to find a bit better the balance of the car, it was very difficult to drive the car in quali and just struggling a bit. Confident to come here. Of course, on a track that I don't know, another Sprint weekend , as Austin, and I think we carry good momentum. Austin was points, and here more opportunities for points. So looking forward to it. Of course, my first time racing in Brazil, and to be so close to my hometown, to Argentina, it's very special. Closest race I'm going to be having since I started racing, so it's going to be a very unique one and a track that has a lot of history and legacy in motorsports, so it's going to be great.

A lot of Argentine flags, I would have thought, in the grandstands as well. Thank you for that. Lance, let's come to you now. If there's a car from history that you'd like to drive, can you name one?
Lance Stroll: I mean, something from back in the day like that. You know, so much lighter than what we're driving now. And yeah, I think that's already huge. Just remove a couple hundred kilos from what we're driving now and it's a lot more fun. So yeah, something from back in that era.

Alright. Well, look, what about this weekend? Both you and Fernando had a good run here last year, third and fifth in the Grand Prix. Does that give you some confidence coming into the weekend?
LS: I mean, not really, because we're in a different situation to where we were last year. You know, we had a good car here last year, so when the car's good, those results come. When the car's less competitive, it naturally just becomes harder for those results to come. Let's see, though. It's a great track. I always enjoy coming here. It's got a great rhythm and flow, and it's a lot of fun to drive. And maybe a bit of weather to mix things up, which always makes it interesting and presents opportunity.

Questions From The Floor

(Roldan Rodriguez - DAZN Spain) A question to Franco. Franco, you're doing an amazing, amazing job with Williams. My question is, if you have the chance to raise another team for next season, do you think Williams is going to favour this situation?
FC: Well, I think I shouldn't be the person asked about that. Of course, I don't know the answer, and I guess yes. I think if Williams cannot give me a race seat, I think the normal thing is that they allow me to go somewhere else and that they find the best opportunity for me for the future. But I'm not the right person to be asked. I should be the last one, you know. I'm here with Williams this weekend and I'm going to try to do my best here in Brazil. It's a very exciting race, great atmosphere, and I cannot wait to be driving the Williams around Interlagos. So, look, I think for the future and it will be great that it happens. I thought I was not going to be racing in F1 next year, and that's still my first view, so I don't really get too excited about whatever they're talking around. But yeah, let's see.

(Albert Fabrega - ESPN Latam) I'm also following that for Franco. There's a lot of talk and rumours around your future in the paddock. How did you manage all these things? Does that affect yourself when you're going on track? And which is your ideal situation? Where would you like to be next year?
FC: I would like to be in Formula 1. I came very late in the year, and I got an amazing opportunity by Williams, by James. Sven, everyone in the team gave me a lot of trust, confidence to put me in that race seat. And I got an amazing chance that I was not expecting to get this year. And I tried to do my best and have the best results possible to show that I deserve to sit here. And that's what I'm trying to show and to achieve. And if it's not next year, I hope that it's in '26 or '27. And yeah, I'm not really having much pressure or anything like that. I'm trying to enjoy the moment, enjoy the opportunity that I've got. It was my dream since I was very little to drive a Formula 1 car. And now to be here doing these last nine races, it's very special. So just enjoying.

(Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sport Italy) Lewis, you have, I think, the great honour to drive this weekend the Senna car. You were a McLaren driver. You won here your first title with them in 2008. Are you keeping an eye on the fight between McLaren and Ferrari for the Constructors'? And are you thinking that it's a big shame not be in the game with your team this year?
LH: Of course that's what we would have all loved, to have been in the fight for the championship. That's what everyone works towards. We knew at the beginning of the year it was going to be tough as soon as we hit the ground and we didn't expect to also have some of the success we had. Obviously, Silverstone, everyone worked so hard to get that result, which I'm so incredibly grateful to the team for. But yeah, I know this team so well, and I know that the results and the position we're in this year will just only fuel them even more to work harder to have a better car next year. And no, I'm not really watching much up ahead, unless I'm in the battle or behind, like in the last race. I saw them for a second, and then they were gone. But yeah, I'm just focusing on trying to do the best job I can.

(Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sport Italy) You are interested in thinking about your future?
LH: I'm very interested in my future, of course. And so, in that respect, keeping an eye, yeah. Watching everything that happens.

Have you been very encouraged by the performances of Ferrari recently?
LH: Of course. It's been, you know, through the year, the beginning of the year, you know, if you look at somewhere like maybe China already, but the Red Bull was like a second ahead. And it's been quite incredible to see the McLaren rise and then the Ferrari in the last few races, to see their progress and just trying to keep an eye on everyone's car and what they're changing and what they're adding. You know, we all watch the video, all the drivers, we all watch the onboard laps and we're always trying to see where we can gain time. And there's some cars that just react differently and better or worse in certain areas. And you're trying to figure out how you can find that within either your balance or get the team to develop the car in that direction.