DRIVER GROUP 1 – Nico HÜLKENBERG (Hass), Pierre GASLY (Alpine), Alex ALBON (Williams), Esteban OCON (Alpine), Yuki TSUNODA (AlphaTauri)
Q: Nico, let’s start with you. It’s not your first rodeo, 200 races. It’s a hell of a milestone. Just talk us through it.
Nico HÜLKENBERG: Yeah! Yeah, it’s been good. It’s been fun. Obviously, nice achievement 200 races in the bank. This time last year, I was obviously not in a position where I saw that coming but that’s how things are, how quickly things can change in F1. So, end of next year, I’m going to be close to 230s. And, you know, nice, makes me happy. I do what I like, what I’m passionate about and… happy.
Q: Many celebrations this weekend? I know you’ve got a special helmet.
NH: Yeah, but it’s not the time to celebrate. It’s a time to work. You know, we’re still in the Championship. And, you know, none of the competition will give anything, so the usual grind really.
Q: Can you just reflect for a minute? Let’s talk about maybe your best race in the last 199?
NH: Tough one. I felt that drove really well last Sunday, but it was like a P12-13, so, you know! It didn’t really surface and show much. There’s been a lot of fun ones, good ones also. Likewise obviously some bad ones and some where I don’t like to remember so much back to them, but all-in-all, you know, it’s a great industry, F1, really cool environment, fun to be part of it again, especially now the second stint since the comeback this year. I’ve been really enjoying myself, enjoyed more, enjoyed a lot and happy to continue.
Q: Well, how much did you enjoy your car? Last weekend? You were running the much-anticipated upgrades? What were you feeling?
NH: Yeah, so obviously, Sprint weekend, so not an easy one for us. And then obviously, we decided to do some big set-up changes and opted for the pit-lane start which obviously, made life a bit harder for the race. But in hindsight, it was the right decision. We were more competitive on Sunday. And I think that was the first time and the first day where some positive signs and steps were seen. I think, in terms of tyre management, this was one of the best races in a while for us. So, still exploring, still finding out and learning more about the package. And I hope there’s more to come as we go. But it was it was positive, let’s say.
Q: What does it mean for this weekend in Mexico?
NH: What does it mean? Hopefully a better performance. I mean, it’s obviously a quite different circuit here, different circumstances, you know, the usual Mexico challenges here with cooling, for car, for brakes, the thin air. It’s always challenging, every year. But it’s just about, you know, maximising our package and putting the best car possible on the track.
Q: Pierre, let’s come to you, then. A really strong weekend for you in Austin, last time out. You were seventh in the Sprint, sixth in the Grand Prix on Sunday. What aspects of the whole weekend, pleased you the most?
Pierre GASLY: Well, I will say probably the whole weekend. As a whole. I think we’ve been executing, and getting the best out of that car every single session. So, whether it was the Qualifying on Friday, whether it was the Sprint on Saturday, or even the race, I feel like we we’ve left nothing on the table. And that’s definitely a satisfying feeling, when you come out of a weekend where you know, you’ve given everything and that’s pretty much the maximum you could get out of it. So, I think that’s going to be the target until the end of the year. Obviously we’re not fighting for anything in the Championship this season so I think it’s going to be the main focus will be to just execute weekend after weekend the highest level, whether it’s on the execution or getting everything out of our car.
Q: Pierre, it wasn’t just Austin, your form has skyrocketed since the Summer Break. I think it’s 36 points in the six races since the break, whereas it was only 22 points in the 13 races prior to that. What do you put this turnaround down to?
PG: I will say the first part of the season, I quite rarely got that feeling, which we just had in Austin for example, where it felt everything was optimised and we definitely didn’t leave anything on the table. I think there was a bit more unknown and getting to know each other with a team, and understanding what sort of car feedback, kind of building the relationship with the team, and everything seems to click a bit better since we got back from the Summer Break. So, I’m really happy with the progress we’re making, in terms of execution, the attitude, the self-reflection on what we do every single weekend, on all areas. And I think overall, we’re just making a step forward as a team, which is what we need to aim for before next season.
Q: And in terms of performance, what can we expect from you and Alpine this weekend?
PG: Well, I think pretty much the same we have seen last weekend. We seem to be not quite there with the guys ahead, the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. We are not too far from Aston and we can be right in front of them if they don’t get it quite right, like they did in Austin, so I think that’s going to be our main competition. If we can get in a fight with Fernando a couple of times until the end of the year, I think that will definitely be a good performance and, as I said, just maximise the opportunities. There might be a couple of good opportunities until Abu Dhabi and just need to make sure we’re there to grab them.
Q: Last question from me. Can we throw it back to last weekend and, off track, Rory McIlroy was one of the guests of the team. You’ve obviously got a big golf match coming up in just a couple of weeks now…
PG: … we were just talking about it and how stressed we are about it!
Q: …what advice did Rory give you. I’m sure you talked about it.
PG: I did manage to get a free golf lesson from Rory. We did a putt challenge and somehow managed to beat him. Okay, I had a hole which was pretty much double the size that he had. And yeah, that was the bet on the line: I told him okay, if I beat you, I want to free golf class from Rory and that’s going to happen. I’m not sure we’ll be able to do it before Vegas. But yeah, we got these big tournament coming up with Alex. I think we are in the in the worst seats at the minute compared to Lando and Carlos. So, we might get some practice together next week. We’ll see. But yeah, that’s definitely going to be a pretty cool experience to be on the golf course with these pro golfers. And just having Rory and Joshua last weekend in America was definitely an honour for us and great to have these guys’ support.
Q: Alex, unfair advantage, Rory McIlroy giving him a lesson. Who have you got teaching you?
PG: Girlfriend!
Alex ALBON: Pretty much! I think I have a full-time coach, which is my girlfriend, but I don’t listen to her… because she’s my girlfriend. So, it’s going to be tricky, I think. We’re trying to find some time. I don’t know how Pierre’s doing but obviously a triple-header. And then we’ve got a week off – but that week off is normally spent travelling and doing simulator work. I’m going to struggle to get the practice in. We’re going to embarrass ourselves quite badly on international television. So, it’s a lot of pressure. I think it’s becoming on my mind more than the races is coming up. Which is a problem.
Q: Can we talk about one of the races that’s just happened? After three point-less races for the team, you get a ninth and 10th in Austin. Just how welcome was that boost for everybody?
AA: Yeah, well, we score points in Qatar in the Sprint race, so we’ve been on, for us, what we call a bit of a run – two races in a row – the cars been feeling okay. Obviously we haven’t had many upgrades for a while now. But, as Pierre touched on, a lot of it, in the midfield, because it’s so tight, it’s more about execution than anything else. And we seem to have a decent car and obviously, a couple of low ride-heights seemed to help us.
Q: Now it was a big moment for Logan, of course, getting his first World Championship point. How vividly do you remember scoring your first points, in Bahrain 2019. And what difference did it make behind the wheel and the confidence that it gave you?
AA: It does make a big difference. I think when you can start off a season – I was quite lucky where I started off the season with points early on – it just settles the nerves. So, it’s always that thing, where your first goal is to score points, then it would be to score a podium, and then win races, and then win championships – but you want to get the points first. That’s kind-of your first checklist tick that you want to do. I’m sure it happened in a way which is not that normal, on the plane, on the way back, that you get the results given to you, but I’m sure Logan is enjoying it and can use that for some momentum for the rest of the year.
Q: Final one for me, just this weekend in Mexico, what can we expect from you and from Williams?
AA: Let’s see, let’s see. Should be an interesting weekend. Last year wasn’t that good for us: low speed corners don’t tend to too well for us, and this is predominantly third gear king of style, so let’s see how it goes. We’ve seen our car can be unexpected at times and I wouldn’t want to say that we can score points this weekend but I think we can be close, and hopefully rely on some drivers and teams not optimising their packages, and then we can take over. So, all to play for.
Q: Esteban, coming to you now. It was another frustrating one for you last time out in Austin. I think, officially, it’s your sixth DNF of the season but if we include races like Australia, I think you can almost make that number eight. It’s been a difficult run. How frustrated are you feeling right now?
Esteban OCON: Well, I think if you let the frustration get to you, you are not looking ahead, and obviously, that’s what I’m looking at, trying to get things back running like they were at the time in the year. And obviously, yes, we had quite a few DNF that cost us this this year. But, you know, it’s sometimes like this in motor sport. It happens. And, yeah, we’re going to be focusing on the right things this weekend, and hopefully get a good weekend under our belt.
Q: You made a great start in Austin. If you hadn’t had the contact with Oscar Piastri, what do you think might have been possible?
EO: Yeah, definitely good points. Obviously, there was a huge opportunity in that race to be scoring well, especially with the few disqualification that there was ahead. But yeah, I mean, that weekend, from the Friday to the Sunday wasn’t bad. It’s just that things didn’t turn out the right way for us. But things will turn around and come back to us.
Q: Well, let’s turn the page and focus on this weekend. Knowing the car as you do, do you think it’ll be a strong weekend for Alpine here?
EO: It was last year. We had points on my side. Obviously, we were performing quite well. Q3 in Quali and running strongly in the top 10 as well. I almost had a podium, couple years ago here in 2017. And, yeah, it’s a track that I really enjoy. So yeah, I look forward to be driving here around.
Q: And Pierre has touched on having the other sports stars join the team for a weekend. I know, you spent time with Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua. Do you find it inspiring, having stars from other sports, join you. Do you learn stuff off them?
EO: Yeah, massively! I mean, to be able to talk with these guys that have been so successful in their sports, that are joining what we want to achieve as a team. They’re basically joining us and yeah, you can talk to them and try to get good things for us as sportsmen and that’s what I try to do. I’m like a big sponge when I talk to them, it’s just awesome to be to be linked with these guys. And hopefully, there’s going to be some awesome stuff coming up with them as well.
Q: Yuki, thank you for waiting. So, such a strong weekend for you in Austin last weekend. You finished in the points, you get your first fastest lap in Formula 1. How sweet was that moment for you?
Yuki TSUNODA: Yeah, was a good moment for us. To be honest, obviously, we got slight luck from the cars ahead. But yeah, it’s big points for us, especially as we have only four races to go and we definitely close the gap to the cars in front, which is really good. And yeah, last fastest lap was… I enjoyed a lot with the you know, last fresh tyres on the Soft. Mostly in a race, you’re managing the tyres, and now you can go flat out. So yeah, it was a cool moment and I think we got a good motivation for now. Extra motivation from that point. And yeah, I think we ready for the rest of the races.
Q: And how did having Daniel Ricciardo back as your teammate help in terms of using his experience for what was a Sprint weekend.
YT: Yeah, I think that helps a lot. But at the same time, we kind of spread the strategy to try to maximise the race. We knew that it’s going to be difficult to the score points in US. Sprint Qualifying, turns out it’s actually quite good race pace – but like Alex and Nico says, it’s all about execution. So didn’t probably maximise that on Saturday, so that’s the only things that we have to improve for the future – but every details, every feedback from him, definitely gives us a step forward as a team.
Q: All to play for in the Constructors’ Championship, of course. You’re now just two points behind Haas, six points behind Alfa Romeo. How high are you aiming in these last four races? What can you achieve?
YT: Obviously it would be nice if we’re able to be top eight – but it won’t be easy. I think Alpine are consistently in recent races quite fast, so it won’t be easy – but anything can happen, like we saw at previous races. Two points sounds quite small but it’s not actually close. You need to maximise every race week – but we’re feeling optimistic. Looking forwards. I think our package is getting closer and closer towards P10, which is good. We just have to put it all together, every race.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Nico, question to you. And congratulations on the 200th, mate, it’s a brilliant milestone. You had a stellar junior career, sensational career before F1. Seems inconceivable that you go into a 200 race with no win and no podium, to your name. Why do you think that is? Is it just wrong time, wrong place in terms of the teams you’ve been with? Or is F1 that much harder? What do you put that down to?
NH: Yeah, F1 is that much harder! Yeah, I had a couple of opportunities where, podium would have been possible in a non-top car. But yeah, the things happened that stopped and prevented that. And, if you’re not in top cars, these opportunities don’t come around that often. So, I guess I just missed out there. That’s the way it is.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) A question to all the drivers, please. Just looking back to the controversy at the end of the Austin weekend, Alex touched on it earlier, finding out on the flight about the results being changed. Only four cars were checked as per the FIA’s long-standard rules – but 50 per cent of those were found to be illegal in terms of the plank-wear on the rules. Do you guys think that maybe those rules need to be changed, so that perhaps at specific events that are really bumpy, like Austin, with these cars that are so low-slung to the floor now, that perhaps every car needs to be checked at events like that? For example, Nico, you ended up 11th. You might have scored a point if there are illegal cars in those results ahead of you.
NH: Or I might have been illegal myself! You never know. Obviously these cars are incredibly sensitive to the ride height. The lower you get, the more downforce you get, that’s the constant fight we have, and we need to find the right balance. I think Austin is a bit specific with the bumpiness and also with a lot of apex and exit kerbs where you can run them quite aggressively – but you do use the plank and wear down those shims a lot, so maybe there is something to be to be looked at in a different way. Yeah.
PG: I think there’s a couple of things which we could do to improve what’s happened in Austin. I think starting with the Sprint weekend when we’ve got only the FP1 session on such a track. You’re doing 15 laps with quite a low amount of fuel in the car. So, to get a gauge of what you’re going to get for the next 70 laps, with two Qualifyings, a Sprint race, a complete Grand Prix of 59 laps, with a lot of fuel. You’re going pretty much blind after FP1 with very few informations on where to base yourself. So, I think it’s a tricky thing. Probably we can improve that process giving us more time to readjust if needed. I just remember my karting days, where you know, all top three cars were always checked. Whenever you finish on the podium, you should be checked every single time, and then on top of that, there could be random checks as well, running down the order. But yeah, I think it’s been always from the past, only in F1, where it’s not a standard to check all top three cars. But it was tricky, and I think the Sprint format made it even more even more tricky, considering we have a very short amount of time to set the car up.
AA: Same as Pierre and Nico. I don’t think there’s too much to add. I think, as Pierre touched on, what the teams have in terms of data and information to set the ride heights for the weekend is very marginal, there’s not even really enough time to fill the cars up in FP1, just to get a feel for where they need to be. But on the same side, I do think, maybe you don’t need to check every car, every race all the time. But, you know, if there’s one, one driver in one team illegal, there’s a very, very high chance that the other car, the teammate of that driver, is going to be illegal as well. So I don’t know how much it would take to check a couple more cars, but I don’t think that would be such an issue. But I don’t know, I’m not a scrutineer.
EO: Yeah, I’m joining these guys. I think it is an extremely difficult exercise. Just to be guessing, you know, what your ride height has to be. There is a risk and reward, obviously, in that, sort of, exercise – that if you get the car lower you get more performance, but you know, it’s at the risk of are you going to be illegal with your plank. Yeah, I mean, we’ve seen cars changing set-up throughout the weekends because of those things. And yeah, it is just too short in FP1 really to set your car up. So yeah, I’m sure it’s not the first time that there were cars illegal like that on such weekends or such a Sprint weekend. I think on normal format, it’s a lot less likely to happen. But yeah, I’m sure on the other races there was as well.
YT: Yeah, pretty much aligned to everyone. But we got a prize from the previous race. So, so far, I don’t have to change I think.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Motorsport.com) The promoter here is working with F1 to cut down on the number of people in the paddock compared to last year. Do you see that as a positive move in terms of being able to do your jobs properly? And have you noticed generally at other circuits? That paddocks are getting busier and harder to move around? I know Pierre has got quite strong views on this.
YT: Yeah, for me it is easier and I like it.
EO: I think it’s part of what we do, you know, to have fans, supporters and obviously more and more fans, looking at how the sport is going. I think it’s a great thing. I remember seeing images of Michael in the past, who couldn’t move in the paddock. I don’t know how many people there was back then. But you know, that’s how it’s always been in a way. So I think it’s just how it is as a show you know. We bring attention to the people and I think it’s just cool to see some atmosphere in the paddock. I mean, if we can’t move at all and get to the garage it becomes a problem but I’ve never seen it like that yet. So I don’t think it’s an issue.
AA: Yes, it’s a tricky one. I do think we do need to make our sport as accessible as possible, so I don’t see such a big issue with people being in the paddock, but I do know there’s obviously limitations to it. To be honest with you, I don’t think the paddock has been that bad. For me it’s more been kind of just getting out of the paddock. I don’t know how you guys feel, but sometimes you kind of leave the paddock and almost run over people’s feet because they’re kind of all coming up to your windows and everything. That stuff is maybe a little bit more touching go, but yeah, with the paddock I’m not too worried about it.
PG: It’s been good here and happy, like Yuki said, I’m happy with it.
NH: I wasn’t here last year, but I think it’s more to do with which end of the pit lane you are. And I think where Alex and I are it tends to be quieter so we don’t suffer the same issues.
Q: (Marijn Abbenhuijs – AD Sportwereld) A question to both Pierre and Alex. Here in Mexico, a lot of attention goes out to Sergio Pérez. There’s pressure on his shoulders being Max’s team-mate. Since you were both in his position, how do you think he’s dealing with that? And how hard is it actually to be Max’s team mate?
AA: I think it’s always tough. I think it’s tough to go against one of the best drivers on the grid and call it a generational talent to some extent, so it wasn’t easy my year and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Pierre in his year. But we’re drivers, you know, we go through tough times and it makes us stronger. And yeah, there’s not too much to say. I think he’s handling quite well, at least from what I see. So, like I said, I’m not looking over my shoulders too much and seeing see what goes on down the paddock.
PG: Yeah. I think I join Alex on that one. Never easy to go against probably the best driver at the moment, in combination with the best team, and a team that is fully around him. So it’s obviously a tough job. I mean, Checo did very well at the start of the season. Obviously, for some reasons, it’s not going as well now – reasons we don’t know. But, you know, I just wish him the best. Obviously, it’s an important weekend for him in front of his own crowd, and hopefully he can get the best out of it.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Alex, it’s a question for you. Las Vegas is pointed out as probably being the next big opportunity for Williams and you’ve spoken about the track playing to your favour. Can I just get an idea, a sense, of your preparations for that race? What are some of the factors you think will play to your advantage? And how things like the cold temperatures and potential tyre interests that could make it interesting that for you?
AA: What format is it in Vegas? It’s normal? OK. Let’s see. I’ve already driven it on the simulator. It’s hard to get proper data from there, because obviously, the track is still open to the public, so it’s not as accurate as it normally is. But it’s clear that it’s very high speed. It feels extremely quick when you’re driving on the simulator. And a lot of the corners are even flat still. So there’s not so many corners, which obviously favours us. Should be four degrees, five degrees I think, which will be interesting. I wonder if we’re doing three or four prep laps for qualifying, but it will be a tough one. And then again, is it going to be like Monza, where we do slipstream battles? I don’t think so. But no, it should suit our car, but I don’t want to put too much emphasis on it in case it doesn’t turn out to be that good.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Aame question to Esteban and Nico, please. Can you just explain what’s the key to nailing a lap around here – if there are any particular corners where you can really gain or lose a lot of time?
EO: Yeah, I think if you are confident on braking here, it’s usually a good weekend for you. You know, Turn 1 down, Turn 4 as well, there’s a lot of time to gain. And it’s very tricky, actually, because you are at such high speed with very low downforce that, yeah, that can make your lap gone in a second. So yeah, I think just nailing all the braking points and then not overheating your tyres too much on those braking points leaves you to good grip in the slow speed corners and good exits. So yeah, I think this is the key.
NH: Yeah, I feel it’s just a tricky, technical circuit. And you always feel like you have to under-drive a bit. You know, if you want to push too much, you very quickly pay a price and you lose more than you gain, with the sensation of low downforce that you have in the car and this low-grip feeling. So it’s just about getting a clean lap in really, and as close to the limit as possible, I guess.