QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) It’s a question to all three of you. I know we’re in the final phases of trying to wrap up the last bits of changes to the 2026 rules. We’re starting to hear some more concerned remarks again from drivers who have tried the car in the sim and don’t find it particularly enjoyable at the moment. Where are you at with that? Have your drivers tried the ’26 car in the sim? What was their feedback? And how important do you think it is that the drivers do end up enjoying this new formula rather than the concerns that they’re speaking about at the moment?
TW: Yeah. I think the fans need to enjoy watching Formula 1, and Formula 1 needs to stay true to itself that it’s a high-performance sport. Best man and best machine wins. So, this is what we need to deliver: good racing. Some cars have been good fun for the drivers to drive. Some tyres have been good fun, others not. So, in a way, everybody will get used to it. Looking at simulations of today, it’s very difficult to exactly know how it’s going to be next year. It’s a super challenging new regulation in making those energy levels last throughout the lap on some of the tracks clearly at the moment it’s still challenging. But the pace of innovation is huge, and it’s always been the case in Formula 1. I believe that we are on the right trajectory. At the moment, yes, driving these cars, there will be outliers of tracks that are clearly very, very different to what it is today. But you ask a driver for a good car, give him the strongest, grippiest, less degrading tyres, 1000 horsepower, naturally aspirated V12, and that’s what they’re going love. We’re just in a different era now.
JW: Hard to add much more than Toto said, to be honest. What I would say is it’s important we put on a show. I think all of these concerns were raised at the start of this set of technical regulations, and the energy management was a big story back then as well. But then look where we are now with the closest championship in the history of the sport, I think. So, we have to look at the journey through this new set of technical regulations, and we have to make sure that at all times, we’ve got the best interests of the sport at heart.
LM: Our drivers haven’t tried yet, so I hope they’re not complaining already. No, seriously, I think it’s a bit early to be pessimistic. The challenge is huge, probably the biggest for the teams. I’m sure the teams will need their drivers to help them develop in the right direction to help them grasp these regulations. The guys will be jumping into that competitiveness, into that war of competitiveness, and I’m sure it will take precedence over whatever they feel when driving the car.
Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) Question for Toto. What do you remember about the times when you were a driving instructor here at Spielberg and now living on a farm nearby? Any farming experience?
TW: Well, you know, I had this moment in 2014 where we won the race here, and I drove the car back to Vienna. And I had to pinch myself because 20 years prior, I could barely make a living. I was working here for a racing school, and I was living in the farmhouse. There were lovely people, an egg and bread in the morning, a glass of milk. And then I was teaching people to drive Formula Ford cars around the old Österreichring here. The highlight of the day was shaking those cars down in the evening and making them ready for the next day. If you would have told me back in the day what would happen 20 years later, I would have been disappointed because I thought I was going to win championships driving these cars, not in running the team. But everything happens for a reason. It was a very, very tough part of my life, but I was still doing what I love the most, and that was racing cars.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Racing News 365) Question for you, Toto. I hear your comment earlier about Max and George. But just getting onto George’s comments about the discussions with Max, he has now put it out there in the public domain, whether you like it or not. Max was here yesterday in this forum in the press conference, he turned around and refused to nail his colours to the Red Bull mast for 2026. So, can you confirm: are discussions ongoing with Max, or have they taken place? Is he under serious consideration for a race seat with Mercedes for 2026?
TW: Ian, whether I like it or not, I like what George says, and I’m always supportive of the driver. There’s no such thing as saying things I wouldn’t want him to say. I think we are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we’ve been like that since I was put in charge. So that’s not the issue. At the moment, clearly, you need to explore what’s happening in the future, but it doesn’t change anything of what I said before about George or about Kimi, about the line-up that I’m extremely happy to have.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Copper F1) Question for Toto. How frustrating were the Red Bull protests in Canada, especially coming soon after Miami? And do you think to avoid frivolous protests, the fee should be 20, 30, 40,000 – something that would make people think and put a dent in the cost cap? Maybe the other guys can answer the second part as well.
TW: Well, I think it’s absolutely legitimate to protest. We are fighting for race wins and championships. And if you have the opinion that what you’ve seen is not right, then you should protest. But some of these actions are just really not real. You know, protesting something that you call unsportsmanlike behaviour, a long shot, or you’re protesting a car not leaving ten car lengths between himself and the Safety Car – well, he still needs to respect the delta. So, there are things that, from my perspective, are legit to protest and others that are just a little bit of a too long shot. And then you’re waiting two hours until you actually protest because you need to figure out on what to base it. You take one protest back suddenly, and then we’re all there five hours. Everybody misses planes going home, and we end up with a result that was a little bit predictable. That’s something that I thought was not necessary. Coming back to your question on higher fines, no one is a fan of higher fines. It’s a lot of money, and in Formula 1 we need to be careful that we are still being perceived as not over the top in relation to the normal world. But in that instance, absolutely put in a fine, and I think the President of the FIA is working on that. Put in a fine that, at least if you lose it, is a little bit of an embarrassment that you lost so much money, and you’re going to think twice whether you do it. I think this is along the lines the FIA are thinking.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Question for Toto. I’m just going back to George, Toto. Is there any way in which George and Max could drive together at Mercedes? Is that an option at all or not given their history? And secondly, in your eyes, is making George wait for his contract actually helping improve his performance?
TW: Well, I can imagine every lineup. I had Rosberg and Hamilton fighting for a world championship, so everything else afterwards is easy. There’s pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard. We’ve seen examples where that functioned and other examples where it didn’t. When it comes to the contract situation, our sport is pressure, constant pressure. Whether you’re in the car, outside of the car, you just need to cope with that, and George knows that, like any other driver knows it. I feel that when you’re being put in a comfort zone, sometimes that is actually more detrimental to performance than having a certain pressure point in the system.
Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it). Question for Jonathan Wheatley. Considering how many upgrades have you introduced since the start of the season, why does it make sense for the team to develop this year’s car considering your position in the standings and what’s coming for next year?
JW: I think there’s everything to play for. This championship isn’t over. We haven’t given up on it. We’re not here to mess around and just make up the numbers. We’re ambitious, and we’ve got targets we want to hit. We don’t feel at the moment it’s making any impact – well, Mattia tells me it’s not making any impact – on our 2026 car. Mattia and the team back at the factory, there’s an energy about the progressive development of the car and going in the right steps. I’m not saying it’s going to keep going until Abu Dhabi, but at the moment, it’s encouraging.
Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it) A question for Toto. You mentioned before Kimi’s podium in Canada being a relief from the stress of delivering a good result. But with that comes an increased interest, especially in his native Italy. How do you manage to protect him from the outside noise?
TW: That is a really important question because Italy has been starved of drivers that are in race or championship-winning cars. So, the enthusiasm is huge. Top media outlets writing headlines that Kimi is a legend aren’t helpful, because in a country so passionate, lifting an 18-year-old to the status of legend after a podium is dangerous. It’s dangerous in that respect that we need to increasingly shield him from everybody wanting something from him. It starts in a trivial environment with lots of fans wanting selfies, and it’s great – better this than the other way around. There have been many people that were involved in his racing career which expect something back. I believe that a young driver of 18, when there is too much pressure from every side, it can harm his development. There’s enough pressure being in the car, having George Russell as your teammate, driving a Mercedes car that can win races. If everything around it starts to continue to put pressure on him, I think it’s something we really need to protect him from. And that’s what we are trying.
Q: (Ludo van Denderen – GPBlog.com) Toto, I was wondering what is the deadline for you for Max to let you know if he’s going come to Mercedes? And if he says yes, is it then Antonelli or Russell that’s the number one to go further?
TW: Well, you make it sound like we have been asking when do you want to join and here are the terms. That’s not how it is and how it works. I come back to my previous answer. I just want to have the conversations behind closed doors, not town halls. We have two drivers that have been in our program since a long time, drivers that I’m perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it’s a bit different, the situation.
Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) Question for Toto. Earlier this year, Toto, you said, I think it was in March, that you were not going to flirt with the idea of signing Max. Has something changed in the last few months either from your side or Red Bull’s side?
TW: Define flirting. No, nothing’s changed. There is no ‘flirt’ in that sense. Depends how you act. You can flirt, or you have conversations.
Q: (Shanna Lutgert – F1Maximaal.nl). Now I have a question for Jonathan. Can I just get your thoughts on Toto’s comments about the Red Bull protest, and how you are looking back at it as a former Red Bull sporting director?
JW: I think I’m just looking at the situation. I’m not looking at the teams involved. I know that teams agonise over protests, but it’s so important that teams have a right to do that. I think if you take away that right or make it too prohibitive, you’ll end up with more problems. I like the transparency. I like the conversation that’s going on around it at the moment. I know people are talking about the amount of the fine and the amount of the protest fee and what have you. But in Formula 1, that would have to be quite significant. I think it’s a healthy conversation going on about it at the moment.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Another one for Toto. You’ve been through some of these sliding doors moments with drivers in the past when you decided between Valtteri and Esteban and Valtteri and George in previous years. Does this year feel similar at all, or is it a bit different given where the team is now and the fact you’ve got two drivers already very well established?
TW: You know, it is in the nature of the sport that you talk about people, whether they’re in the car, in the factory, or at the racetrack. Most important is to stay true to your values. For me, that is having integrity and being humble about the situation, respectful of the people, and that’s what I and what we are trying to do in the team. But as you say, yes, I’ve been in situations like this before. Also, before I was doing Formula 1. Some of the conversations are more difficult than others.
Q: (Martin Moravec – DPA) A question to Jonathan, please. Since you know Sebastian Vettel very well, he’s in talks with Helmut Marko about a possible future advisory role at Red Bull. Do you think such a role could suit him?
JW: Well, I think first of all trying to replace Helmut is quite a challenge in itself. I can’t quite imagine how any one individual could do that. I haven’t seen Sebastian for a while. He’s a seriously impressive person, as you all know. I believe the conversations have been confirmed between the two parties, but whether that comes to anything, I don’t know. But I’m hoping I see Helmut in that role for a much, much longer period of time.