Track Interviews - Conducted by Jolyon Palmer
Lando Norris, third position in qualifying. Not quite what you were aiming for, I'm sure. Looked tricky out there for you, this one?
Lando Norris: Yes. Yeah, not the position we were hoping for after yesterday and today, but the maximum we could do, for sure. My lap was pretty good. I was pretty happy with the lap. Just not quick enough comparing to the others. So happy with the lap, happy I got everything out of it. Not happy with the result.
And still thinking big picture for the Constructors' Championship on the line. You got yourself ahead of the Ferraris at the end. It's got to be a big target for beating them tomorrow?
LN: Yes. I mean, everyone saw how close it was between all of us for the whole of qualifying, so not a lot in it between all of us, which gives us hope that we can still go forward. um but there are some very quick cars behind us at the same time. I think we look forward to it. I think we showed good race pace today. I did have the benefit of being out front and being in clean air, which is a beautiful thing. But I expect a tougher race tomorrow, yeah.
You gave up a race win earlier. You're going to go fighting for another one tomorrow then?
LN: Of course. Yes, that was something completely separate. So, excited. I mean, I think we still have a good chance. I don't think we're as quick as the Mercedes. And I mean, Red Bull showed how much they improved from yesterday, you know. So, yes, plenty of opportunity for everyone.
All right, good luck tomorrow, Lando. Thank you. George Russell, another front row start. I sense you're frustrated there to miss the pole, though?
George Russell: Yeah, I mean, it's been a great run so far. The last four qualifyings we've been on the front row every one, which I don't think we could have dreamt of a few races ago, so feeling in such a groove at the moment, feeling really great. My first lap was one of the best I've ever done. And then, for whatever reason, just couldn't find that extra bit of time on the last lap, and Max pipped me. But just taking the positives, the car's been so great the last two weekends, and just enjoying it while we can.
We saw an incident where you were blocked by Max. Was there anything in that at the end there?
GR: You tell me. You're the expert. I mean, I ended up going through the gravel. all over the floor, through the floor. So it felt like the floor was scraping over that kerb and through the gravel. So I hope it didn't damage it. Maybe that's the reason why we didn't improve. I don't know. But it was a bit of a hairy one, two corners before we start the lap.
But on the positives, you led in Brazil, you won in Vegas. It looks like Mercedes are here to stay now at the front.
GR: Yeah, I mean, these have been three really great races for us. I think Brazil, a little bit circumstantial with the wet qualifying on the Sunday morning. But the pace last week in Vegas was true. The pace here this weekend is real as well, but it's so close out there. But it just is nice to be in the mix at the front once again.
Race pace looked good earlier. Big fight with Oscar. Can you take it to Max tomorrow?
GR: Yeah, I mean, just excited. Hopefully we can have a proper race rather than this team orders stuff. So, no, it's going to be a good race. I think we'll all be going for it. It's actually great that Max is in the mix as well. I was really surprised at their turnaround because they looked really off the pace yesterday, off the pace this morning. And obviously they were both in Q3 and Max on pole. So I think we've got a good race on our hands.
Indeed. Let's hope so. Well done, George. Max Verstappen already deep into the debrief there with Lando, but what a turnaround!
Max Verstappen: Yeah, crazy. I mean, honestly, I also didn't expect that. But yeah, well done to the team, you know, to give me a car that feels a bit more connected. And once the car is a bit more together, you can push harder and it felt a lot better out there in qualifying for me.
So what was the secret? Obviously, parc fermé rules were lifted. You had a chance to change the car. Did you turn it upside down?
MV: I mean, we did change a bit on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance. So that's promising. I hope, of course, it also lasts more in the race. I don't know that yet, but it just felt already a lot more stable over one lap, and that's exactly what we need. And, yeah, very happy to be on pole. It's been a while.
Yeah, first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix, incredibly. I'm sure you remember how to start from pole, but it's 57 laps tomorrow. It's a brutal track here, so many fast corners. Are you expecting a physical, tough race?
MV: Yeah, it's going to be a tough race, I think, physically, but I think also mainly on the tyres, just making sure that you're good on them. You know, the front left around here gets eaten up quite a lot, so it's all about managing that tomorrow, but I hope that with the setup that we have on the car now, it will be a bit better.
What do you see as the biggest challenge? Who's the biggest threat behind you on the grid?
MV: It's all very close behind, and you could see in the Sprint, well, I mean, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, they were all quick, and now it seems like we are in that mix, and I hope tomorrow as well.
Press Conference
Max, many congratulations. What a swing in performance by you and Red Bull. Just how different did the car feel in qualifying this evening compared to earlier in the weekend?
MV: Yeah, I mean, quite different. Just felt a bit more hooked up on entry, mid-corner, like everything that was bad before improved quite a lot. So I felt it straight away from lap one that, yeah, it all just felt a bit more consistent. And that's exactly what we needed to be a bit more competitive.
Did you know from the start of Q1 that you had a much better car underneath you or did it improve during the session?
MV: No, I think from the first lap in Q1, it felt a lot more promising, but then to get the tyres in the right window is very tough. So then it went away a little bit, then it came back again. And then, yeah, luckily for Q3, I think it was there. And yeah, very happy with how we turned it around.
Max, are you surprised by this turnaround, given where you were, particularly in Sprint qualifying?
MV: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I did think that maybe we could improve the car a little bit, but not like this. That's for sure.
OK, well, you weren't happy with the car in the Sprint race earlier today. Just how hopeful are you about the long run pace in the Grand Prix itself tomorrow?
MV: Yeah, it's still a bit of a question mark. I did feel that yesterday we were not too far off in qualifying, and then I felt like we were quite far off in the Sprint. So this is great, to be on pole, but I'm not sure yet if it's going to be enough to really be the outright fastest, but we'll find out tomorrow.
Good luck with that. Thank you very much, George, let's come to you now. Just 55 one thousandths of a second off Max's pole time. Can you picture where you lost that time on the lap?
GR: No, not really. To be honest, my first lap was really strong. I was really pleased with that. I think it was a couple of tenths clear. And then I just didn't improve on that last lap. Obviously, I had a really scrappy out lap with the near collision with Max, and I ended up going through the gravel two corners prior to opening my lap. So it was not a good start. So that was probably the 55 milliseconds. It's great to be in this groove at the moment, four front row starts in a row, which has been really pleasing considering where we were three or four races ago. And the race pace this morning looked great. So Max did a great job. Red Bull seemed to turn it around a little bit since yesterday, but let's see what tomorrow brings.
We're seeing a lot of consistency from you and Mercedes now. What do you put that down to? Because it's been an inconsistent season, hasn't it? But now we're seeing you guys up the front pretty much every weekend.
GR: Well, I think these last two races, the circuits have played in our favour. We know when we can get the car low and stiff on a smooth track, it works pretty well. Brazil, we didn't actually have the pace. You know, we were very slow in the Sprint, in the Sprint qualifying, but of course it was a wet qualifying on the Sunday morning, so that evened things out a little bit. So I think we flattered ourself a bit in Brazil, but these last two races, when we really, analyse it. I don't think it's a surprise. the car is performing as well as it has shown.
You had a lot of pace in the Sprint this morning. So how much hope does that give you going into the Grand Prix?
GR: Yeah, it's going to be exciting. I mean, those inside starting positions were really tricky. I think every driver on the right-hand side made a poor start and that ultimately cost me the chance to fight with Lando. Now, obviously, Max up front, I think it's going to be a really close fight between, I mean, all four teams. Ferrari looked on the same pace as Lando and myself this morning. So, I mean, I hope it's going to be a good one, but the tyres seem pretty resilient. Maybe we'll see another DRS train, I don't know.
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