DRIVER GROUP 1 – Nico HÜLKENBERG (Haas), Zhou GUANYU (Alfa Romeo), Fernando ALONSO (Aston Martin), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari)
Q: Carlos, let’s start with you. What a build up to this Grand Prix weekend, That fabulous opening ceremony a minute ago and then that follows on from the inaugural Netflix Cup yesterday, which you won with your teammate, Justin Thomas, how much did you enjoy yesterday?
Carlos SAINZ: I enjoyed it a lot. It’s been a fun week, so far. Especially yesterday. Everyone, I guess, knows by now that I’m a big golf fan, golf freak, golf addict, however you want to call it and yeah, to get to play golf with the pros and to get to do it in a live event for Netflix in such a cool setting like the Wynn Hotel and with all the fans there, a proper set-up like they always do here and to get to win it was a great feeling. Great, great way to start the week. Not so much obviously breaking the trophy but good to actually get the chequered flag jacket, that I actually found even cooler than the trophy and yeah, good way to start winning the week.
Q: What about the racetrack here in Vegas? What are you expecting from it?
CS: Honestly, I haven’t done the track walk, because the timings are just weird this weekend. And I don’t know when the track is fully free. We kindof missed it a bit. But I’ve done plenty of laps on the simulator. And yeah, also looking forward to see a bit the Safety Car going around later this evening to see how much dust there is on track. The bumps. Sometimes when you see a Safety Car, you can actually get a bit of a feeling of how a slippery is going to be out there.
Q: How much hope do you have for Ferrari this weekend?
CS: Better hopes than recently, mainly because the track looks probably a bit more suited to us than recent tracks. Long straights, like in Monza. Tight corners, like in Monza or Singapore. Yeah, maybe there’s the combination of Turns 1 and 2 where we will not be very quick but then the rest of the track, I think our cars should be better suited than recent events. And hopefully that gives us a better opportunity.
Q: Lando, coming to you now. So that Netflix Cup yesterday, beaten by Carlos. Fair result?
Lando NORRIS: Oh, yeah. Yeah, was just, it was a good day out, to be honest. Yeah, nice to meet some of the guys. Obviously, I had Ricky and Ricky was… it was nice to meet him for the first time. You know, I’ve watched a lot of these guys on a lot of weekends over the last couple years. So, it’s always cool to meet someone of all their talent and ability from another sport. So, a nice day out for everyone.
Q: And can you give us your thoughts about racing here in Las Vegas? How different does it feel for the drivers?
LN: I don’t know. I guess it feels a little bit different just night race and a lot of glamour and all of this stuff. But inside it’s just another race weekend. So yeah, concentrated and focussed for the weekend ahead. Opportunities for everyone because it’s so different and a lot of question marks for everyone. So yeah, plenty of things to try and prepare for and be ready for – but also, with FP1, FP2 and FP3 a bit more time than what we’ve had the last few weekends with the Sprint races, to get our heads on things and making sure we’re prepared before Qualifying.
Q: Opportunities and question marks, as you say. Just how confident are you for McLaren?
LN: I don’t like this question anymore. Like, I’m always wrong, whatever I say so…
Q: But four podiums in the last five races, you’ve got some form…
LN: No, absolutely. I think… I’m extremely pleased with how we’ve done the last few weeks, especially Mexico and Brazil were a big a big chunk better than we were expecting. Especially Brazil, you know? To be so far ahead of the majority and close to the Red Bull through a lot of the race was definitely not something we were expecting so it’s a tough one. You know, this will remind you a little bit more of Baku and Monza-type races which weren’t our best, definitely towards the weaker side. You know there’s the long straights and low downforce is not where our priority has been this season with developments and all of those things, because there’s so few races like it. So, maybe not as confident as we have been the last few weekends, but no idea at the same time.
Q: Personal goals for you. You’re just three points behind Fernando in P4 in the Drivers’ Championship…
LN: Yeah…
Q: Can you overhaul him? How much confidence have you got in beating Fernando?
LN: Again, no idea. It depends how we do this weekend. Depends how they do.
Q: How much do you want to?
LN: I don’t know how to answer it. It’s not something I think about, trying to go out and beat one driver. You just go out and do the best job you can, you get the most points you can. Simple as that in my eyes, but if we can race against each other, I think it’ll be something fun, something enjoyable. Obviously he had a good weekend, last time out in Brazil and was our next closest challengers, so always going to be good fight against him. But there’s plenty of other guys who are in the fight. Carlos is there and someone else… who else we racing against? Was it just us three? I don’t know, to be honest, We’ll just go out and have some fun.
Q: Fernando, as Lando says, you had a tremendous last race in São Paulo. How do you reflect on that battle now with Checo Pérez?
Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, same as I did in Brazil after the race. I think it was a good weekend for us. But, I think inside the car, felt a little bit different than outside. It was a little bit calmer inside. And yeah, I didn’t feel the pressure that maybe you can see on television. So yeah, it was more spectacular from the outside probably.
Q: Let’s bring it onto this weekend. You’ve been to Las Vegas before. Just how different an experience is it proving so far?
FA: Yeah, I mean, it is different. Because I mean, every time we came here in the past, I think for everybody, was on holidays, and just to enjoy the city. And now we are here for racing. And things become a little bit more professional and serious tomorrow. But, at the same time, we want to have some fun this weekend. Obviously both championships, drivers’ and constructors’, they finished a few races ago with Max and Red Bull winning. So now it’s up to everybody to enjoy this final part of the season. After the three consecutive races, Austin, Mexico and Brazil, it’s good to have, as Lando said, a few free practice to build a little bit, the momentum into the weekend and the confidence, especially needed here in a street circuit. And yeah, looking forward but not too much pressure, let’s say.
Q: Is that third place in São Paulo evidence that you’ve unlocked the pace in the car again?
FA: I think we have to wait and see a few races. I think here and Abu Dhabi will be as important as São Paulo for us in terms of understanding the car. I think Austin and Mexico were very painful but they were also very useful for the team in terms of understanding for next year’s car as well. So yeah, let’s see how it goes here. I think it’s going to be a tough weekend. Maybe for us, with these long straights and so on. But yeah, I think here and Abu Dhabi, we’ll hopefully see better performance.
Q: Zhou, let’s come to you. Fernando has been to Vegas before. Have you or is this your first experience?
Zhou GUANYU: No, actually I’ve been a good boy so haven’t been to Vegas before. First time here. It’s great to see. I feel like the people here, everyday they’re just living the nights.
Q: Are you being a bad boy now you’re here?
ZG: Not yet! I’m here obviously for racing. Try to be concentrated. Maybe you can invite me to something. No, it’s a cool city. Just to explore a little bit. Was here two days ago. My family’s here as well. So, it’s been good to catch up.
Q: Let’s talk about performance because the triple header was a frustrating one for Alfa Romeo. What does that mean coming here?
ZG: It means we have to continue to be working hard. To develop, mainly. All this lack of performance in general, and as we said for next year, we have some other, let’s say, concept of designing of the car and with current year’s car it’s a little bit more suffering – but we do see some highlights as well. You know, the car – especially in one lap pace – what we had in Mexico was quite strong. Austin wasn’t so bad, but then, the race pace I think is where the long distance was overheating, we’ve been struggling a little bit, but we definitely went through a lot of information over the last week, making sure we can you know, finish the season on a high, and we use the next two races to be understanding fully for the future development for next season, so we still can, you know, be fighting with all the guys close up, and I don’t see no reason why we can’t take. But it was definitely a frustrating three races. Especially, looking back to São Paulo, after the drama at the start, we was running well enough, at least one car, both cars in the points in that race but then we had a double-DNF due to some issues.
Q: Tell us more about the battling you’re going to do out there because Alfa Romeo is the meat in an AlphaTauri and Haas sandwich in the Constructors’ Championship. You’re P9. How do you view that? Are you looking ahead? Do you think you can beat AlphaTauri or is a Haas in the rear view mirror?
ZG: If I’m honest – why are you laughing? – I think Nico has some answers as well, he can answer the question after but from my side, I think AlphaTauri has been extremely fast recently and has been racing with the Mercedes, Ferrari the last few race weekends. We are not far – but it’s a difficult one to reach. And then, I don’t want to say we’re looking behind, so we just want to focus on our job and try to grab the opportunities if they’re on the table for us, and see what happens. Being focussed on having a clean weekend, which we haven’t had for many races.
Q: Nico, coming to you now, it seems like you’ve been enjoying yourself in Las Vegas. A bit of Top Golf, I think you’ve been to the Grand Canyon as well. Tell us how much fun you’ve been having.
Nico HÜLKENBERG: Yeah, little bit of fun. I’m a first-timer here, so yeah, exciting. New venues are always exciting, let alone Las Vegas, and to get to know the place a little bit, it’s cool and fun to see the nature around too. Obviously, that’s been fascinating, the Grand Canyon. So yeah. Happy and excited to be here.
Q: And what about car performance this weekend because we’re seeing two different cars in the Haas garage. You, we’re told, are sticking with the old-spec car, the pre-Austin spec – whereas your team-mate is using the new one. Tell us a little bit about why you’ve opted for the old one.
NH: It just comes down to personal preference. We’ve had three races with the new package and whilst there were maybe some small benefits, there were also some not so good aspects with it and it was not the step forward that we needed from a big update, and I think I just felt a little bit more comfortable and confident on the old package. And I think with the two circuits that we have here now, it favours that slightly more, hence that call.
Q: Nico, what does this mean for car development, specifically to do with 2024. If you like one direction and Kevin Magnussen likes the other, where does the team go from here?
NH: It just means we have to reconsider. Both of them aren’t good enough. We need to do a better job. We need to find performance elsewhere and yeah, just reconsider, look harder and deeper.
Q: Final word on the Constructors’ Championship. How do you view the battle with Alfa Romeo in particular?
NH: Yeah, Zhou’s going to get to feel the heat, for sure.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Sam Johnston – Sky Sports) Question for Fernando and Lando. Does the track this weekend and kind-of all the unknowns, do you think, make Max particularly vulnerable. And obviously both of you are looking to kind of… Lando’s looking for his first win and Fernando, you’re looking for your first win in a long time. Would it be particularly special to do it at the first race in Las Vegas, or could, kind of, unforeseen circumstances make it feel less special?
LN: I would just like to win. I don’t really… It doesn’t matter where. But you don’t do anything different, because it’s Vegas, to try and win. I guess I’ve been doing my best, since I started Formula 1. Your time comes eventually but that’s about it. What was the first part of the question? Max. Yeah, maybe. If you look back to Monza he was way quicker than everyone, pretty much so… Could be another Singapore-style type thing but unlikely. So, there’s just a lot of guessing and there’s no point guessing. I know you just want to get us to say things but… could be. There’s always a chance. Some possibilities. Small chances of rain. Things like that maybe always play into your hands at certain points – but it can go any way.
FA: Yeah, not much to add. I mean… it will be nice to win a race and especially the first race in a place like this one, but I think it’s unlikely that happens. I don’t think that this track really is one of our favourites on our package, so yeah, I guess it’s going to be difficult.
Q: Do you think Max is looking more vulnerable here?
FA: Don’t think so.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) The same question to Fernando and to Carlos, please. I just wondered, based on your preparations for this race, are there any particular parts of the track or any particular corners that you think could be particularly important to gain time or maybe even risk losing time? Thank you.
CS: I think Turns 1-2-3, I think it’s a good combination. I think it’s long corners. And there’s two corners that stand out a bit to the rest of the track, that is more like 90° angles, or shorter apex corners. And I think there’s a very long combined braking. I think it’s Turns Six, Seven, that is, in the simulator was actually quite tricky to get right with the braking. And yeah, apart from that, obviously, it’s all going to be about the long straights, the big braking zones, being confident, getting close to the walls. Also, on the exit of the corners. But apart from that, yeah, looks like though, just getting confidence with a low downforce car on such long straights. With high peak braking getting confidence is going to be the key.
FA: Yep. Same thing, a street circuit, very low downforce, just getting that confidence into the car, the braking areas. That will be, I think, very important. And I think with the condition on the track and not having any support races, I think the amount of track evolution during the weekend, it’s going to be bigger than normal. So that, you know, will challenge everyone, I guess we will not have two laps the same on the weekend. Every lap of the track will be a little bit better than the lap before. From P1 to the last lap on the race. So, we will have to adapt to that changeable grip, so it’s going be a challenge for everyone.
Q: Are you concerned about the temperatures, now that we’re here?
FA: I think we have to run first and then see how the car behaves and the tyre behaves. I think it could be that with this long straight, the tyres, they lose a little bit of temperature. So, we’ve been facing a little bit of tyre overheating on the last three events. And maybe here it’s a little bit the opposite. So, maybe some cars that they’re struggling on long run pace, here they are good because they can keep the tyres in the window and things like that. So, I think tomorrow we will have some answers.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) This is for Carlos, Lando and Fernando. What do you feel about the balance between sport and the show this weekend? How different do you think it is from normal, and how do you feel about the disruptions to your normal schedule during today, some of the requests that have been made of your time?
CS: Let’s say there are some things that you are looking forward to more than others. That is always the case. I do believe, looking forward and looking into the future, sure we’re going to need to reconsider, a bit, the way we go racing at the weekends, because our schedules are getting busier and busier every year that goes by. The weekend are almost starting earlier, rather than starting later. We are adding races to the calendar and it’s getting to a point where I think, sometimes, everything feels a bit repetitive and everything feels a bit overpacked and we’re trying maybe to overdo it a bit. So yeah, being constructive or trying to be critically constructive. There are things that I actually think they do a lot for the sport and it’s good to put on a show and to make the sport better. Then, on the other hand, there are other things that feel very repetitive and almost they don’t add any more for the weekend. And we need to reconsider the way we just shape the whole weekend. Because yeah, we are at the risk of being too repetitive and too out there, also. I’ll keep the details obviously to myself and my team and F1, but I think that’s my overall opinion.
LN: I don’t have a lot more to add, to be honest. I think Carlos said it pretty well. I mean, it’s definitely more of a show now than what it was a few years ago. To be honest, I just want to come here and drive and come here and race. Never been the biggest fan of doing these types of things like we did earlier. It’s not what I enjoy doing. I know a lot of this stuff is just part of it and I’m not saying anything against it, but yeah, I do this job because I want to come and drive and race cars and things like that. And I don’t simply enjoy… I’ve never been the biggest fan of doing these types of big events and shows and things like that. So yeah, but I guess it’s part of the job and it’s a business and all those things. And that’s how it has to run in the end of the day. So yeah, that’s it.
FA: Yeah, more or less the same thing. I have to say that I think places like this one and with the investment that has been done and the place that we are racing, I think it deserves a little bit different treatment and a little bit of extra show of what we did today. The weekend is going to be I think… I’m OK to do extra for these type of events. But maybe yeah, it could be balanced somehow and reduced maybe, our schedule, somewhere else. We’ve been saying that, yeah especially the media commitments that we have – and it’s nothing against you guys – but it seems like they will repetitive what we have to go through especially on Thursdays. I think you are all very curious to see how the track is and what is our feeling tomorrow when we go in the car. And you will not get that. You will get, today, a lot of hours and interviews and one-to-ones and TV sessions and TV pen and things like that of something that we don’t know what to answer, because we’ve never run on this track. Maybe tomorrow after the free practice we don’t have any time with you guys. And so maybe on Thursday, we can use the time a little bit more wisely and try to help the promoters or whatever in a different way and maybe give you something extra on Fridays after we run.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Carlos, picking up on your point about possible changes and maybe a different way to do things in the future. Do you think from a wellbeing point of view, not only for you guys, but for your team members, the guys working these really long hours, has F1 hit a limit now with the number of races we’ve got, with the commitment, the way we do weekends? Is that also something that we need to consider changing in the future?
CS: Again, I’m not I’m not sure if this is the right place right time to discuss the detail of a weekend and what everyone has to be involved with. I do consider the drivers, we are the privileged ones. We get to travel business or first class or private. We get to go to the best hotels. We get to arrive on Tuesday, Wednesdays rather than on Mondays. We get to leave on Sunday night, rather than on Monday morning. I don’t like speaking from the privileged position that I think drivers are in. Yes, it’s true that then we are under pressure more than ever, then we have a lot of media commitments. But I do feel like inside our teams, or within the 100 people that travel to the races in Ferrari, we are a bit of more in a privileged position. And I don’t like complaining because of that. But I do believe that moving forward, 24 races, I think is the limit with the kind of schedules that we have now. I think a lot of teams are going now into rotational programmes with mechanics, engineers, and just speaking to a lot of teams in the paddock, everyone is channelling themselves to do rotational programmes. Obviously, I don’t think you can rotate drivers. But yeah, let’s see. Let’s see where the sport goes. I’m curious to see what are the ideas for the future, because I do strongly believe that moving forward there needs to be changes for the weekend format or the way we go around media events and commitments because 24 races I think it’s going to be the limit or on the limit and to keep everyone’s health, not only the drivers, but mechanics and people that travel around is going to be important.
Q: (Kevin Scheuren – Motorsport-total.com) A question to all drivers. Max just ranted about the extreme times zone hopping you have to do for the last double-header of the season. Kevin Magnussen said he has a 24-hour day today, because of the jetlag he couldn’t sleep. Do you think that if not this weekend, then next weekend in Abu Dhabi could jetlag pose a problem for you driving the cars?
NH: I mean, yeah, it’s a fact. It is going to be big time difference, and we’ll probably face jetlag. Some suffer more than others. It’s going to be a challenge, you know, and maybe you’re not going to feel super sharp on Friday or Saturday, but I think it’s same for all of us and we have to manage and cope the best we can.
ZG: Yeah, I mean, not much to add on Nico, to be honest. I think. Definitely. Jet lag is there, especially after you’ve just been through a triple-header, you go home for a week, going back in the factory for the simulator and you’re back here again. I tried to be as early as possible, but it’s the same for everyone. But that’s the whole thing with the busy schedule. I think everybody has to live this way at the moment.
Q: Fernando, jet lag OK?
FA: No, it’s not OK, it’s not OK. But it’s the way it is. It’s a tough sport. This is not football.
Q: Lando?
LN: I think it’s always been in f1. Of course, it’s a big shift and stuff like that. But I’m alright. I’m still young, thankfully. I’m a bit older now but compared to this guy right here (Fernando)…. Maybe he struggles a little bit more than I do with not getting eight hours in. But yeah, we all have to do the same things.
CS: Yeah, I think once comes Friday, Saturday, Sunday, caffeine shots, espressos or adrenaline that is needed to drive an F1 car normally removes the jetlag. I struggle more these days, on long Thursdays. This is where I start to struggle a bit more,
Q: (Niharika Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) A question for all drivers or whoever wants to answer this one. Not being stakeholders, do you feel at any point limited or handicapped, that you don’t have a say in the sport on the sporting side, or even things that you would want to improve when it comes to race weekends like this?
NH: Yeah, I mean, you know, in the history of the sport drivers have never had a say or weight on making the rules and stuff. But I think going forward, it would be good sometimes to involve the drivers or get our opinions and feedback on stuff because obviously, you have thew Commercial Rights Holders’ view and how they see things, how things are for us. So, I think sometimes it would be quite beneficial for everyone to involve us perhaps a bit more. And going forward in the future, obviously right now we have no seat at the table, no power and it would be a nice thing to be part of it and a stakeholder but yeah, that’s probably a bit unrealistic.
CS: I don’t think we have any power but I think keeping the drivers happy and taking their opinions is important because if then the drivers are going to face the media and we’re not going to be happy about our sport or the way we go, it’s fundamental that the driver agrees and has some kind of opinion going forward. And yes, we might not have a vote but we have a very important voice and we all want to be aligned and in unison with F1 also. I felt a lot of coordination with F1 and FIA recently, a better job on that side. So hopefully moving forward it’s the same case.