PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Very well done, Max. A perfectly executed sprint by you, a game of cat and mouse throughout. Just how much satisfaction does a win like that give you?
MV: Yeah, I’m just happy that I was able to hang on to it. I knew, of course, in the start there were possibilities up to Turn 5. We took it. And then, from there onwards, I knew also they had new Mediums. I knew that it was going to be even more difficult. Just trying to hang in there with the top speed that we had. I knew the middle sector was going to be the weaker area for us and just trying not to make any mistakes there, basically. And it worked very well. The only thing that I had was one time the braking into the last chicane. But it’s also, you know, you’re driving a bit over your own kind of management, so it’s easy to just overheat the tyres a bit too much. But we hung in there and kept the two McLarens behind. Of course, very pleased to win here. I mean, it’s my favourite track, home crowd, home feeling. So, yeah, just very nice always to be here.
Q: Max, just talk us through the move going into Turn 5 on Oscar on lap one. Were you surprised by your straight-line speed advantage?
MV: No. I knew that we had a little bit of a pace advantage on the straight. So, as soon as we got out of Turn 1, I knew that I would have a run to Turn 5.
Q: The setup worked well today. Do you see any reason to change it for the rest of the weekend?
MV: Need to have a look. Silverstone wasn’t particularly fantastic for us on Sunday. So just need to have a double check, yeah, double check the weather basically, and we’ll have a look what we’ll do.
Q: Oscar, congratulations on P2. Although it was a slightly frustrating race for you staring at Max’s gearbox for so long. Just how close did you get to making a move on him?
OP: Realistically, not that close. I think there was one or two times where I got within a car length but the problem is I didn’t have enough. And Turn 5 is not really a corner where you can make a lunge on someone. Once they defend the inside, it’s difficult to do anything. So I think realistically I was going to have to try and get past on the straight, which we were no chance of doing. A little bit frustrating, but we knew that was a possibility going into the Sprint and I was prepared for maybe not to be within eight tenths the whole race and not be able to do anything, but for this kind of result.
Q: And when you saw how easy it was for him to get past you up to Turn 5 on lap one, did you know at that moment that it was going to be very difficult for the rest of the race?
OP: Not necessarily. I was hoping we would be super quick in the middle sector and be able to hang on, but I think I could for the first part of the race. But spending that much time right behind someone, you overheat the tyres very quickly. Especially around here, they deg as well. It’s not just getting hot. I think the back end of the race I lost some of the advantage in the middle sector that I had and obviously you don’t gain anything more on the straight. So realistically I don’t think we had quite enough to even get close enough, but we’ll see what we can do for qualifying.
Q: What about tomorrow? The weather forecast looks like it’s going to be rainy in the afternoon. What’s the balance? Do you think you need more straight-line speed or are you going to play on the conservative side?
OP: I don’t know yet. We’ll wait and see. If it is wet, then naturally you want a bit more downforce, but if it’s not wet, then I don’t really want a repeat of the sprint race we’ve just had. So we’ll have a look for sure, but it’ll be interesting to see if anyone changes and which way we go.
Q: Lando, very well done on the P3. Just how much confidence does that sprint give you for the rest of the weekend?
LN: The same as what I had before. Like Oscar said, I think we knew we would find it tough to pass Max if he got ahead at the beginning. I got past Charles and from then it was just kind of a bit of a waiting game to see if anything happened, but nothing did. So I had confidence before that we would be quick. But here, you still need to be a bit quicker in this race than what we were today. Difficult. I think we probably have a quicker car altogether, but just not enough to overtake.
Q: Lando, what did we learn in that sprint that can help us for the rest of the weekend in terms of tyre wear? Franco Colapinto set his fastest lap on the soft tyre on the last lap. Just give us your thoughts on that.
LN: I don’t know. Impressive. I don’t know. The tyres are nowhere near good enough at the end, so I don’t know if he just had some clearer air or something. I don’t think that means anything. We’ll see. We’ve just got qualifying ahead now, and then we’ll wait and see what the weather makes us do tomorrow.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) A question for Max. Obviously, the first weekend for Laurent. Do you already see any changes in how the team operates? And also, how was the experience working with Simon Rennie again this weekend?
MV: It’s very difficult to, within two weeks, suddenly say a lot of things need to change out of the blue. It’s about starting the relationship and just understanding how everyone is operating. And then at one point, you come to conclusions and maybe you want to change something, and this is something that will happen over the coming weeks, months. So, it’s really early days, but so far, he’s very keen and very motivated, and that’s exactly what you want also. I got on very well with him. So, yeah, it’s been a very good start. And also with Simon, he has a lot of racing experience already. He’s been part of the team for a very long time. The last few years, not anymore in a race engineer role, but he steps in and he’s immediately on it. So again, very enjoyable to work with Simon.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) A question for Max and one for Oscar, please. Max, what’s your first impression of the upgrade package so far and does it make you feel any more comfortable in the car? And Oscar, were you surprised by their race pace, not just the straight-line speed, but also the tyres holding on towards the end of the Sprint?
MV: Yeah. I think it’s been good. We just tried to optimize the car. We tried to put performance on it like everyone else, and I think we are doing that. So that’s for sure a positive. We just need to keep doing that.
OP: I think it was probably a little bit better than I expected, but I wasn’t expecting Max to be slow, that’s for sure. I knew it was going to be a challenge, maybe not quite as difficult as it was, but I think, like I said before, after following so closely for so long, the tyres just naturally get to a point where they can’t do much anymore, and it’s a bit of an equaliser. So, it wasn’t a big surprise for me.
Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365.com) Max, any thoughts for the fact that you’ve actually given Laurent a winning start to his new job as Red Bull team principal? And also for the team as well. It’s not a Grand Prix victory, but at least something to celebrate after all the turbulence of the past few weeks.
MV: The team can always count on me. They will always get my very best, whoever is in charge. They know that. I’m never holding back or anything. I’m always trying to give them the best possible result, and that’s also what they pay me for. For sure, it’s positive. We need, of course, positive energy, and that’s a great start for us.
Q: (Josh Suttill – The Race) A question for Oscar. How much were you experimenting into La Source with the different lines? Because I think your race engineer said to be a bit more conservative at one point. And how much were you experimenting with the battery deployment as well to try and get past Max?
OP: I was trying. I was definitely trying. It’s difficult because you want to save the battery at some points, you want to use it at some points, but you also don’t want to drop too far back and give yourself too much of a gap to actually close up to because it wasn’t as simple as just getting DRS and then letting DRS do the rest. You had to be even closer than that. That was tricky, but I certainly tried in those 15 laps, but to no avail.
Q: (Diletta Colombo – AutoMoto.it) A question for Max. You said before that you basically did 15 qualifying laps during the race. Do you think it could help you build the momentum to fight for the pole this afternoon?
MV: From what I’ve seen so far this weekend, I think that will be quite tough. But we’ll try to improve the car a bit more. I think I got a bit more of an idea what I want with the car. Now is it always possible to do that with the car? I’m not sure. But we’ll give it a go, and hopefully I can be close in qualifying.
Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it) Question for Max. You mentioned on the radio the good work with the battery management. How much in this case is up to you and how much do you need the instructions by the team?
MV: I think it’s always something that you decide together. Of course already before the race, but even during the race, they have to update you as quickly as possible with these things. I think everyone does that. But it was good. It was very nice today.