Part 1: Kevin Magnussen, George Russell and Esteban Ocon.

Esteban, let's start with you, and good to see you. Let's reflect back just a few weeks, first of all. Sensational result, both for you and the team at Interlagos. Would you say that is one of your best races in Formula 1?
Esteban Ocon: Thank you. Yeah, it's been a fun race, definitely. An unexpected one, that's for sure. Looking at our dry pace, that's not where we were at all. But when the rain came, it definitely opened up opportunities. Yeah, I mean, I felt good in those conditions. It reminded me a little bit of 2016, you know, at the time where I was fighting for a point with the Manor. And yeah, we were leading the race for a while, which felt good, definitely. And yeah, I think it's been a very nice one because it spiced things up for our end of season. Now that we can be, you know, fighting near the other teams. teams, you know, in the Constructors' Championship. So it's going to be a big fight, which is a lot more entertaining for us. And yeah, it brings up, you know, fun and joy for all the people around the factory.

It probably won't be wet here in Las Vegas this weekend, but it will be cold. Does the performance in Brazil give you some hope coming into the weekend?
EO: Well, I think we need to keep the foot to the ground. That's going to be very important. I don't think we are going to be able to fight for podiums and almost wins like in Brazil. But last year here, we finished fourth, which was also a very strong race. But yeah, this year would be much more difficult with the car pace we have in the dry. So, yeah, we need to do the best we can, take all the opportunities that there is, and hopefully it will be a positive one for us.

Now, you alluded to the battle in the Constructors' Championship. You're sitting in sixth at the moment. The battle for the rest of the season is partly with the team you're moving to next year. What's the mood in the camp? How confident is the team of retaining sixth?
EO: I can only talk for myself here. I'm not very confident, to be fair, at the moment. Looking at you know our dry pace, we've improved recently, getting some updates to the car. It's been getting better, but as I said it can flip completely from one side to another, having a decent result and these races are usually when the opportunities arrive. So we need to be on top of that if something happens to be able to score some points and close the season that way.

Esteban, thank you very much. Kevin, can I come to you now and start by talking about that battle in the Constructors' Championship? What's the mood at Haas? How confident are you guys?
Kevin Magnussen: Well, you can't be confident at all. You know, we were not even thinking about Alpine, really, in that battle, and then suddenly they're ahead of us. So I think we feel like we're in a good place with the car. And recently we've kind of consistently been in the run for points. Now that Aston Martin are struggling, there's actually some points available at each race. So, it's exciting. I mean, we're now three teams for that P6, which, for the teams mean a lot. You know, whether you finish eighth or sixth, it's a big thing. And yeah, for a driver, of course, it's not like something you put on your CV, but it just means so much for everyone that it's worth fighting for.

Can we talk about the performance of the car? Because the upgrade that the team brought to Austin seems to have transformed your season. What's changed?
KM: I just think the upgrades that we've had this year have been good in all areas. It's just made the car slightly faster over one lap, a little bit easier to drive, and better on the tyres. It's just kind of given the car a bit of a broader window every time we put something on. So that's been a really good job from the team. It's been kind of the headline for this year, I think. If you look at what we've improved the most it's how we've been able to develop the car through the season, whereas most other years or basically all other years, we've not been able to do that. We've, I think, had a good car to begin with because when the whole team is kind of available over the winter. They've been doing a good job, but over the season, not so much. So that's really a big step forward to see the improvements we've been able to make.

You say the car is easier to drive, but where has it come alive for you specifically?
KM: I think it's... Obviously you put more downforce, you go quicker, but also I think when you make the car more predictable, that gives a lot of lap time too, and especially on the tyres, it helps a lot when, you know, you're not, it's not as easy to overdrive the car when the window and, you know, the balance is more consistent. So that's just been a help and something that's been nice to see.

And Kevin, how hungry are you to get back in the car this weekend after missing Interlagos, your second miss in only five races?
KM: You make it sound like that's not a lot! It's a lot. I mean, yeah, it's been strange to... I've watched Formula 1 on television too much recently, and yeah, it's going to be nice to be back, hopefully, in the race.

Well, good luck this weekend. Thank you, Kevin. George, let's come to you now. Brazil last time out seemed like a missed opportunity for you and Mercedes. What lessons were learned?
George Russell: Yeah, it definitely felt like a missed opportunity. I think having reviewed the race, you recognise how quickly things can change. We made the pit stop, which with the perfect benefit of hindsight, that was incorrect. But had that Virtual Safety Car stayed for 10 seconds longer or 15 seconds longer, it would have been absolutely the right thing to do. So it just shows how quickly an external decision can change your race and how you need to be very quick to adapt to that. And we kind of were a little bit too focused on that pit stop and not actually seeing that a car that was beached on the road was being pushed off and the VSC was ending.

And how much encouragement do you take from the pace of the car in Brazil, the front-row start? I mean, you've had a stack of points finishes since the summer break, but how close are you to having a race-winning car again?
GR: Brazil was definitely a bit of a one-off, I think. When it rains, it presents opportunities. And for ourself, it was an opportunity. For everyone at Alpine, it was a huge opportunity, which they capitalised. And I think we need to look back to the Sprint qualifying and the Sprint race for a bit of a fairer picture of where we are. And that was behind the front four teams.

George, final one. When you look at this season as a whole, look at the races you've won, but look at also the frustrations as well. How will you review the season?
GR: I think now we've done almost a full season, we totally understand why the car is so up and down. It has just such a narrow window and when we can set the car up in a way that we exploit that window, we have a race-winning car. But when you go to different circuits and you have to change where you position the set-up, we totally fall outside of our working window. So It's obviously frustrating when you know the car has that potential. But I think for everyone, you have these fluctuations in performance. We've done a good job to capitalise on races that we did, had the pole positions when the car was capable of pole positions. And ultimately, we just need to make a more consistent car over the course of 24 races.

Questions From The Floor

(David Croft - Sky Sports F1) George, to you and with your GPDA hat on, please. In between the last race and this, the FIA have dispensed with the services of Niels Wittich, the Race Director. Is this something that the GPDA were aware of before it happened? Are you concerned that there are three races to go and we now have a new Race Director, especially coming in to a street race like Las Vegas, which we saw last year, can have a whole load of unforeseen problems?
GR: Yeah, we definitely weren't aware. It was a bit of a surprise, I think, for everybody. And, you know, it's a hell of a lot of pressure now onto the new race director. Just three races left. So I think for us... Often as drivers, we probably feel like we're the last to find out this sort of information. And when it involves us kind of directly, it would be nice to be kept in the loop and just have an understanding of what decisions are being made. So, yeah, time will tell. I'm sure the new guy will handle the position just fine, but definitely not an easy race for a new race director.

(Nelson Valkenburg - Viaplay) Also for George, but I'd love for you both to chime in as well. Last week, a pointed statement from the GPDA towards the FIA and especially towards the President. The tone seemed stronger than I expected. Does that reflect the mood in the field of drivers as well?
GR: I mean, talking as a fellow driver as opposed to sort of my role with the GPDA, I think everybody felt with certain things that have happened over the course of this year that we wanted to sort of stand united. At the end of the day, we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue that is happening, and I think the departure of Niels is also a prime example of not being a part of these conversations. And ultimately, we only we want to work with the FIA to make the best for the sport that we all love. So, I think it's kind of us now putting the pressure back on them to work with us and work with everyone, including F1 as well, just to maximise this opportunity, which Formula 1 is in at the moment, which is, you know, an amazing time to be a part of.

(Roldan Rodriguez - DAZN Spain) A question to Kevin. This year is arriving to the end and most probably you're not going to be next season in Formula 1. Are you having special feelings at this moment of the year?
KM: No, I don't think so. I mean, for myself, I've been in this situation twice before, so it's kind of the third time that I feel like this is going to be the last race. So I just know that you never know. So, it's kind of fine in a way. I don't really think about it. Next year I'm not going to be in Formula 1, that's pretty clear, but I've learned over the years and with my experiences from one that every race you do, you just have to enjoy it. And, you know, yeah, well, as long as it lasts, enjoy it. So that's my plan.

Kevin, you and the team have been quoted as saying, you know what you want to happen for 2025. Can you shed any light on what you might be doing with regards to Haas?
KM: I don't know. I can't remember saying exactly that, but I think we have been clear that we want to work together in some capacity and I think that's... We are talking about how we could do that, of course. A little bit it's come from Ayao and I'm open to hear what he is thinking and see if I can be helpful in any way.