Part 1: Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan

Q: Let's start with the champ. How are you and what sort of shape are Red Bull in as we embark on this new 24 race campaign?
Max Verstappen: Yeah, all good. What kind of shape? Positive shape I guess. I don't know. Guess we'll find out more this weekend and after it. Yeah, we'll try to do our best. I mean, there's not really much more that we can do, You know, testing isn't many days. So we found, already, a few areas that we can work on and that's what we'll continue to do so.

Q: What did you learn in testing, particularly that final day when you were in the car the whole time? Is the car a step forward over the car that finished last year?
MV: Yeah, I think naturally there is an improvement, but I think I've said it before: there are still things that we want to improve on and do better now. This is of course also a different track to Bahrain. So yeah, that already will feel a bit different to drive the car here. But yeah, step by step.

Q: Are you expecting a tighter season this year compared to last year?
MV: Impossible to know at the moment. I mean, I know that we are not the quickest at the moment, but again, it's a very long season. If you would have asked that question here last year and then at the end of the season again, you know it looked completely different. So a lot of things can always change quite quickly in Formula One.

Q: OK, thank you very much for. Good luck this weekend, Jack. Can we come to you now? Your first home race, a huge moment for you. A huge moment for your family. Describe your emotions sitting here now?
Jack Doohan: Yeah, to be honest, I'm super keen just to get on the track. Been so much build up. A long time since we finished in Abu Dhabi it feels now, so I'm excited to get to tomorrow, FP1 on the way, and enjoy actually driving these race cars.

Q: What goals have you set yourself for the weekend?
JD: To enjoy. Enjoy each time I'm on track, because number one, that's why I'm here, because I enjoy what I do. And to work hard with the team, ensure that we extracted everything we could from Bahrain pre-season testing and put that into play for this weekend and then deliver on track, whatever the car's potential.

Q: You mentioned the potential of the car. Tell us what you learned in Bahrain. Same question as I asked Max. What sort of shape are you in?
JD: I think it was positive. We got 55 laps more as a team than we did in the previous pre-season testing. The car was reliable. You know, I was comfy in the car, got to get a good grip. Obviously, Bahrain had strange conditions - not typical temperatures, high winds. So let's see. You know, it's going to be looking super hot, especially for Saturday here, but it's difficult to give you an answer. We're going to find out very soon, for sure.

Q: Good luck, enjoy it. Thank you. Oscar, coming to you now. No Australian has won the Australian Grand Prix. Could this be the year?
Oscar Piastri: I don't know. We'll see. I know what you want me to say, and everyone's headline can be that, but we'll see. I think, you know, obviously no one really knows what to expect. Testing went pretty well, but you don't know where everybody stands. I think we're pretty happy with how our test went, but as we've said, Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain. Weather is going to be different to Bahrain and different every hour, by the look of it. So it's going to be an interesting weekend for sure, but I think hopefully we're expecting to be somewhere up the front. Whether that's right at the pointy end, we'll wait until Saturday, I think.

Q: Not long to wait, and you come into the weekend with a new contract in your back pocket. Tell us why you decided to commit to McLaren long-term.
OP: I mean, it was from both sides, really. I was already signed up for this year and the next, but it felt like just a very natural progression to sign for an even longer term. Obviously, last year was an incredible year for the team. I think my two years at the team have been pretty incredible - starting from where we were when I joined to being Constructors' champions now. It made a lot of sense in my mind to try and continue that and build with the team. Obviously, myself and Lando are both there for a long time now. Andrea is on a long-term contract, Zak, the key technical staff as well. So yeah, for me, it seemed like a no-brainer, and I think it was reciprocated from the team as well.

Questions From The Floor

Q: (David Croft - Sky Sports F1) Jack, Oscar, Max, lovely to see you all again, and good luck for the weekend. Max, I'm going to turn to you. You can't predict this season, but you've had three successful title defences. What goes into a successful title defence? Where can it be won and lost? And once you've helped us with that answer, is this going to be your toughest title defence yet?
MV: Yeah, there's a lot of things that you make me think about that I actually don't think about. So it's actually way more relaxing to just go into it, trust the people around you, and go from there. You know, work hard on and off track, try to address things that you don't like in a car or whatever, and always try to do the best on track yourself. Try to minimize mistakes and keep scoring points.

Q: (David Croft - Sky Sports F1) And is this going to be your hardest one yet?
MV: I don't know. I don't think about it. There's no reason to think about that yet.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg - Viaplay) Oscar, congratulations on your new contract. You probably haven't binged Drive to Survive yet, but we heard Zak Brown saying this is the start of the age of Lando Norris. Did you make him swallow his words a bit when you signed that contract, or is that the goal for this?
OP: I haven't watched it, to be honest. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what happens, so I don't need to watch it again on TV. No, I mean, obviously there's a lot of things in Drive to Survive that, you know, we never quite know how it's been cut up. But no, I think for myself, I'm very confident in what I can do. We're going into the season starting from zero for both of us, and we're both obviously going to be trying to fight for a world championship. So yeah, I'm pretty confident in what I can do and aware that there are things that I need to do better from last season. But I'm confident that we've done a lot of hard work to try and improve that and go out and have a good year.

Q: (Craig Slater - Sky Sports) Another one for Max again. I think you spoke to the Dutch media and said you didn't think you could contend for victory. Is that circuit-specific, or are you particularly concerned about the pace you saw from McLaren?
MV: Exactly that. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you answered it for yourself.

Q: (Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sports Italy) Question to Oscar. Do you have the feeling that McLaren can open a Red Bull-style cycle of dominance like we've seen in recent years?
OP: No, I don't think so. Obviously, that would be ideal - to try and have that level of success and competitiveness. I think that's what every team dreams of and what every driver dreams of. But at this point in the regulations, with how last season went, expecting that is incredibly naive. I think this season is going to be just as tight, if not even tighter, than the second half of last year especially. So yeah, of course, that's what we want to aim for, but we have a new set of rules coming next year, and that's probably going to change the pecking order quite a bit - or at least the gaps quite a bit. So I don't think it's the same circumstances. But also, I think this year is going to be an incredibly competitive year of F1. As much as I would like to try and have that level of success, I think it's going to be very, very tough.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg - Viaplay) Next question for Jack. How important was it for you to get that Abu Dhabi race under your belt? And since you're part of a big group of rookie drivers this year, until when are you considered a rookie? Some drivers have done a couple more races and are still being called rookies. Where's the cut-off line there? But mainly, how important was Abu Dhabi for you?
JD: Yeah, Abu Dhabi was important, to be honest. Going into Abu Dhabi, you know, there were nerves. And to be honest, I was already thinking about this weekend back then. My feelings have changed quite a lot since then. With so much time to digest, that this weekend's going to happen. A lot of off period, and I've become very comfortable and relaxed with what's to come, and it's helped a lot. You know, the team has been amazing in helping with that. Abu Dhabi was great just to go through the motions and learn how the weekend goes actually being in the driver's seat and not from a third point of view. And about the rookie question - I don't really know. Technically, maybe I'm not a rookie after doing that race last year since it's not officially my debut, but I'm sure after a few races you can't really be called a rookie anymore. It's a difficult one. I think it depends on anyone's opinion.

Q: So Liam Lawson - not a rookie, right?
JD: I wouldn't say so, technically. I mean, he's raced in two different seasons now, right? And in quite a few races. I wouldn't officially say that.

Q: Oscar, when did you stop feeling like a rookie in Formula One?
OP: When I signed my contract again yesterday! No, I think you're constantly learning. Even now, two years in, there are still things you always learn and improve. I'm sure if you ask Lewis and Fernando, it's still the same, however many decades later. I think after the first race or the first couple of races, you start to feel a bit more comfortable. A home race is a tough circumstance for a second race, but once you get some of those big milestones out of the way and have a few good results on the board, that always helps with the nerves as well.

Q: (Aldona Marciniak - Eleven Sports) Oscar, obviously everyone sees McLaren as a favorite at the start of the season. If that's the case, what are the rules of engagement? Have you already talked about how you will handle things internally between yourself and Lando?
OP: Yeah. I mean, we're starting from a clean slate, and ultimately, whoever's going to be faster on track is going to be the one who wins and finishes higher. So yeah, we're very much clear on how we're going into the season, and that's racing each other and trying to hopefully fight for wins. It's all very clear. We've discussed a lot from last season and how we managed the back end of last year. And I think this year, starting from zero again, we're both going to be trying our best to win.