Today's team representatives press conference with Oliver Oakes, Frederic Vasseur and Toto Wolff.

Ollie, we'll start with you. First time on track since that tremendous result in Brazil last time out. How has that changed your expectations for the remainder of the season?
Oliver Oakes: I think the expectations are the same. We want to keep progressing. But I think obviously now we're in a nice tight battle to keep P6.

And it is a tight battle. Three teams battling just five points between you. How confident are you of staying there?
OO: As confident as you can be. I think, as we know, Haas have been very fast all year long. And I think RB are also very close. There's only a few points in it, so we'll have to see.

And since the Austin upgrade, is it now a genuine top 10 car that you've got with you?
OO: Yes, I think you can see that. We've been in Q3 the last three weekends. I think, yeah, it is a genuine car.

And here, with the cold temperatures, the low grip, do you think that'll play to your strengths?
OO: I think so. I think you're going to see probably tomorrow afternoon, but we'll have to see.

Let's talk further ahead now. For 2026 you've announced since Brazil that you're going to be working with Mercedes on a power unit and a gearbox. Tell us about that decision. And was it only Mercedes or did you consider maybe a Ferrari power unit?
OO: Now I see why we're all together in here. Well, I have to say thanks to Toto first. He's giving me an engine, isn't he? Pardon? Oh, sell, sorry. Yeah, sell. We could renegotiate it, no?

Ollie, why were you so convinced that Mercedes was the way to go?
OO: I think it's quite obvious. I think, first, this era of regulations, they've been the benchmark. Also, it's quite clear to see customer teams using that power unit are competitive at the front of the field. And I think also for us as a team, it's an obvious chance for us to benchmark ourselves as well.

OK, thank you. Toto, can I come to you now? Just tell us about progress with the 2026 power unit. Are you meeting all your expectations so far?
Toto Wolff: Certain expectations we're meeting, that's good. Others, we're still pushing to achieve our targets. It's not trivial. But then the question is, have you set your expectations in the right way? So the answer is, we don't know where we are.

Talking of expectations, can we talk about this weekend in Las Vegas? You've started very strongly - first and second. But we've seen you do that before at Grand Prix in FP1 and then drop back. Does this feel any different this weekend?
TW: I think we are dirty track champions. FP1 is always great and then the moment the grip kicks in, we've seen that the performances deteriorate. Having said that, I think the gap was pretty big. It's the biggest that we've seen so far in FP1, so we've got to spray some dust for all the sessions tomorrow, in qualifying or something. But I don't believe this kind of advantage to the other teams is going to last. I would very much hope that we're not falling behind like we did in the past on some of the tracks, but remain competitive, fight in the front.

George said yesterday that you now understand the problems with the car. Is this a first indication that you're making progress and that you're getting back closer to those heady days of summer when you won three races out of four?
TW: Yeah, but before the summer we also understood and it was clear that this is the route we need to embark [upon]. We're putting updates on the car and again, it seemed that we're taking the wrong junction and it's super difficult to dial yourself out of it again and we're not the only team that has happened to. But on the other side, you can't go back to a Silverstone upgrade and put it on the car and expect to be in the front because since then everybody else has improved by a couple of tenths. So, yeah, the more you drive, the more you fail, the more you learn. But the competition doesn't sleep.

Now, Lewis is clearly driving very well so far this weekend, but after his comments on the slowdown lap in Brazil, when he said words to the effect of, if this is the last time, I'm sorry, it wasn't better. Did you ever doubt that he'd finish the season?
TW: Well, Lewis, as we all know for so many years, wears his heart on the sleeve. And I think it was such a bad experience for him that whole race weekend and particularly the Sunday that that's something that wasn't, in a way, unusual. Now, this time was maybe... I'll correct myself here, this time was probably particularly bad, but I think he and us as a team, we've been really... doing well and holding on to working together because obviously it's three more races to go, he's announced that he's going to Ferrari at the beginning of the year, and I'm quite proud of how we have achieved to maintain the professional relationships like they are. But we knew it's never going to be easy. And then if the car is bad on such a day and we have not given him a tool that is good enough to what he should have.

What about your quotes about cognitive sharpness, people having a shelf life in Formula 1? You've said they were taken out of context. What did you mean?
TW: Well, I've said it very often about this world particularly, it's taking a toll on all of us. We're doing more than 20 races a year. We fly around. And what I said is that everybody has a shelf life and you don't want to become from great to good. And that doesn't exclude the drivers. And it's still something that I stand by. I'm asking myself this question all the time. And so I do it for the organisation and for everybody around.

Did you feel the need to clear the air with Lewis when you arrived here?
TW: Lewis and I speak, and we've always done so, and a sentence that correlates or a sentence that then happens is being made public on the weekend, particularly where he hasn't been satisfied about his driving and about the car, then one plus one then makes it look bad. But one rule that we've established very early in our relationship is that we talk immediately and say 'why did you say that?' or 'what did you mean?' and that is what we have done. You know, that was one sentence in a book and there were 99 sentences in you know around the Brazil weekend and quotes in some interviews that I've given about Lewis where I clearly remark that he's the greatest driver of all time and that if we are able to give him a quick car he's going to be able to win, he's able to fight for a championship but we have failed in doing so.

Fred. while we're talking about Lewis Hamilton let's start with him. How are your plans coming along with regards to next year? Can you confirm when he's going to get a first run in a Ferrari Formula 1 car?
Frederic Vasseur: I think in 2025?

Were you disappointed that he wasn't available in the post-Abu Dhabi test? You've made Carlos Sainz available to Williams. Were you disappointed that Mercedes didn't make him available?
FV: This you have to ask to Toto. The story with Carlos is that I want to thank Carlos for the collaboration. And I don't want to block him or whatever. I think he did a very good job with us this season and a very professional one because it would have been easy to... not to give up, but not to have a so professional attitude. And for me, the best way to thank Carlos was also to give him the opportunity to do the test with Williams.

And are you disappointed that you can't run Lewis?
FV: No, no. They have a contract. They have a contract so I've not even asked Toto to do something.

TW: Fred didn't ask. I think it's a difference also if you're maybe going to Williams, but we have contractual agreements with sponsors. We're having a farewell for Lewis. We're having lots of activities that are planned. And him and I, we spoke about it shortly, and he said, I guess that's not going to work. And I said, yeah, I don't think it's going to work. And that was the whole thing. So I don't think Fred is particularly sad.

Are you sad? Are you sad, Fred?
FV: No, but there is a contract. There is a contract. We have to respect this. And it's not because we are doing something for Carlos that everybody has to do the same. And as Toto said, I didn't ask Toto.

OK, look, just a quick question about this weekend. Ferrari were extremely quick in Las Vegas last year. You seem to have hit the ground running this year. How confident are you coming into the weekend now?
FV: I think it's not a matter of confidence. It's a matter to start from scratch every single weekend. We know that the fight is mega tight this season and for nothing you can move from P1 to P5. We know also that the track is improving a lot and that if you compare, we were quick last year but at the end it was Verstappen who won the race and what I want to do is to win on Sunday not to be the fastest In FP1.

In the Constructors' Championship, you're 36 points behind McLaren. Who do you feel has the momentum, has the advantage?
FV: It's not a matter of momentum this season. If you have a look, I think Red Bull was dominating the first three or four races at the beginning of the season. Then we had a good sequence and then it was Mercedes during the summertime and then it was McLaren again and us again. It's so tight that it's moving from one weekend to another one. It's not the momentum or whatever that now we have the last three events in front of us with completely different characteristics for the track, for the temperature and so. And it's not a matter of one car dominating. I keep in mind the weekend of Spa when you had Verstappen FP1, and then the McLaren FP2, and then it was probably Mercedes FP3. Then we started from the pole, and then Mercedes won the race. And the four teams were dominating one session during the weekend. And I think it will be like this until the end of the season. It means that you have to be at the right moment at the right place. But it's not a matter that someone will dominate the next four or five events.

Check out our Thursday gallery from Las Vegas here.