Q: Max, what a race by you. There was so much going on, yet you seemed untouchable out front. Was it as straightforward as it looked?
MV: I mean, it’s never straightforward. I think in the first stint as well, you know, with Lando being there, honestly, I think the gap has been between 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, the whole stint, which you can’t afford to make a mistake. And he didn’t, I didn’t, and we were just pushing flat out at one point. And it was honestly really enjoyable to drive because, of course, most of the races that we do, the tyres deg and you have to manage a lot. It felt like here you could push a bit harder and the track as well, the layout, I enjoy a lot. The grip is very good on the track. So yeah, that was a great stint. Then, of course, the second stint was a bit more stop-start with the Safety Cars involved and then of course the temperature as well in the tyres was very tricky because my middle restart wasn’t particularly great. I tried something else but the grip was… The tyres basically were too cold, so I just kept on sliding and having no traction. So that was not ideal. Besides that, the pace was good. A dry race like this for us has been a long time, so I’m very happy with the improvements that we made compared to the start of the weekend.
Q: You said yesterday that you weren’t sure how the car would perform over a race distance. How much of a surprise was it over those 57 laps?
MV: Yeah, I mean, the last few races in the dry, we haven’t been particularly strong on managing the tyres. And that’s why I was a little bit careful after qualifying. But yeah, it’s been nice. I mean, it’s still not where I would like it to be in terms of the behaviour of the car compared to, let’s say, last year. But at least now, you know, we are back in a fight to win races. So if we can just learn from this year’s car, take the positives, of course, from also last year and try to build a better car, I’m sure that we can be again very competitive next year.
Q: Max, we’ve seen a huge swing in performance by you and Red Bull this weekend. In your experience in Formula 1, is this the biggest swing you’ve witnessed in a single weekend?
MV: It’s probably been one of the biggest, yeah, where you’re fighting Haas in the sprint to fighting for the win in the main race. So, yeah, it’s been quite a big swing in performance.
Q: And how much confidence… You touched on it a minute ago, but how much confidence does this weekend give you? Not only going into Abu Dhabi next weekend, but into 2025?
MV: It’s not about confidence. It’s just trying to understand this year’s car a little bit more, what it needs. Because we know what the limitations are on the car. And it’s about what we can do to make it better for next year. But of course, this was again a bit, maybe not an eye opener, but it did show us like, ‘oh, OK, well, that works on this car’ and it made it a lot more competitive.
Q: Alright, Max, very well done today. Thank you for that. Charles, let’s come to you. Very well done as well. P5 on the grid to P2 at the flag. Did you exceed your pre-race expectations?
CL: Yes, we did. Yes, we did, because to be honest, we knew that it would be very difficult pace-wise. We expected McLaren to be very strong in terms of race pace. We maybe did not expect Max to be that strong, but he was super strong today. However, finishing second after such a weekend, where the track characteristics are very far off from the optimal of the track characteristics we need for our car, is a surprise. We got a little bit lucky, obviously on my side. A bit unlucky with Carlos and his puncture. But as a team, it’s been a positive weekend. So yes, we exceeded our expectations because coming into the weekend, I kind of expected to lose a bit of points compared to McLaren here. However, we recovered some, so that’s good.
Q: You talk about the recovery. We’ve just heard from Max about Red Bull’s recovery this weekend. Just how much progress did you and Ferrari make over the course of the weekend?
CL: Not much. I felt like we optimised yesterday and today. We knew that it wasn’t going to be our strongest weekend, but we decided to just focus on ourselves and try to do what was the best possible result for us. And I think we achieved that very well. We should be happy. Then we of course need to look at what we can do in the future to be faster on those kind of tracks. But yeah, this weekend we did work very well as a team.
Q: Now, what was the situation with your drinks bottle? I thought we heard before the start there was an issue. Did you have to do the whole race without it?
CL: Yeah, I did not drink, but I honestly, I don’t think it was that much of an issue for this race. Last year it would have been a really, really big issue. I think I wouldn’t have finished the race without my drink, but this year it was actually pretty, pretty chill. So yeah, in terms of dehydration, it wasn’t bad, but it was quite physical in the corners just because we had no saving to do today. There was basically no saving. It was just flat out pushing from the first lap to the last lap, which is quite enjoyable as a driver. I don’t think any of us drivers had our heads straight in the fast corners at the end of the race. It was very physical.
Q: OK, look, final one, can we throw it forward to Abu Dhabi next weekend? There’s a lot at stake. The Constructors’ battle between Ferrari and McLaren, 21 points the gap there. You’re now only eight points behind Lando Norris as well. Can we just get a little preview from you as to how competitive you think Ferrari are going to be there?
CL: Well, it’s difficult to say. To be honest, I haven’t even seen the numbers yet. So we’ve got to wait and see. But I feel like on paper, it should be a bit more positive than Qatar was. Because on race pace… Again, today we’ve been quite lucky, but without what happened to Lando, we would have been very, very far off. And without the Safety Car, we would have been very far off. In terms of race pace, we weren’t fast. So I feel like… Yeah, Abu Dhabi should be better for us. So I hope so. But we’ll wait and see. But it’s not too many points between us. So we’ve just got to focus on ourselves and try to maximise everything. And hopefully we’ll bring back the title to Maranello.
Q: And what about the Drivers’ Championship? What would P2 in that mean to you?
CL: I mean, that would be cool. It’s better than P3, but it’s not the most exciting position to fight for. However, in a year like this, where it’s been very tricky for the team and we’ve went through very difficult times, it will be still a satisfaction to get that P2. So, yeah, I’ll still do absolutely everything to get it. But the Constructors’ is more important.
Q: Alright, Charles, thank you for that. Oscar, let’s come to you now. Very well done, your eighth podium of the season. But it seems like you pitted at the wrong time, just before the Safety Car. Is there a little bit of you thinking you should be sat where Charles is?
OP: I mean, yes, but that’s how racing goes sometimes, unfortunately. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. I feel like we’ve had that happen quite a few times this year, but we’ve had our fair share of luck as well. So I think the pace was decent, just not quite strong enough in the right places on the track, which made trying to get close pretty tough. Because I think once I had some clean air, the pace was strong. Yeah, I think, you know, fighting for the win, given where I started and how the first part of the race panned out was always going to be a challenge, but I’m pretty happy to end up on the podium.
Q: What is the mood in the camp about the pace of the car? Because coming into this weekend, tell me if I’m wrong, but there were feelings within McLaren that that you would be competitive. this is a track that would suit the car. Did you expect to have a little bit more pace relative to the opposition?
OP: Yes and no. I think the track this is very different to last year in terms of the grip level. I think our car in certain conditions is quite different to last year as well, and I feel like some of our strengths that we had last year are not really strengths anymore because everybody else has caught up to us and I feel like some of our weaknesses are not really our weaknesses either, and I feel like it’s a much more well-rounded car. But I think also maybe the grip level has taken away some of our strengths that we’ve had in the past here. I mean, I always expected it to be tight. I didn’t expect it to be necessarily as, you know… I think apart from Max last year, we were very competitive here. But I always thought it was going to be pretty tough between the top four teams.
Q: You say it’s a well-rounded car, so what does that mean for Abu Dhabi next week? How do you see the battle with Ferrari?
OP: Hopefully going well for us. I think it will be a track that’s stronger for Ferrari, I would say. I was maybe a little bit surprised at the pace they had today. But I don’t think we’ll be slow next week either. I think it will be a good battle. I think, you know, the top four teams at the moment are very, very close on their days. So, yeah, I’m expecting more of the same next week.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, congratulations on the victory. Just a question about that first stint, as you mentioned, very close with Lando. It looked like in the first couple of sectors you were taking a few tenths, he would take it back in the last sector. So how hard was it to gain time at different bits of the track to him and what exactly were you doing there?
MV: Most of the first stint, I felt quite good in the first two sectors. But then in the final sector, I think Lando already started pushing a bit more from the beginning of the race. And I was managing probably a little bit more. But then at one point, of course, he tried to close the gap and I had to push also harder in the last sector. But I think still he was being very quick also in the last corner, which has been a little bit of a weakness for us, even in qualifying. So, yeah, it just evened out around the lap, almost every single lap. So, yeah, it was nice. I enjoyed it. It’s just, you know, making sure that you don’t make any mistakes.
Q: (Erik van Haren – De Telegraaf) Question for Max, please. Max, what was your reaction when you got the penalty yesterday? Were you surprised? And what do you think about the role George played in the whole process?
MV: Honestly, I mean… I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way, I was also like, yeah, I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in. So, yeah. You’re not happy with it. But at one point or another, you have to just turn the page. But, yeah, it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen, because I think that’s the first time that in a slow lap someone has been penalised. While, actually, I just tried to be nice. So maybe I shouldn’t be nice. But the thing is that, you know, well, being nice, because at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, for me especially, I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, you know, being nice, basically you get a penalty. And that’s what I tried to explain as well. But I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall. So there’s not much that was possible for whatever reason. Well, I think I really spoke about valid reasons of what happened and it was clear cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff so they had to push anyway and I didn’t want to then cause a scene into a last corner. and then, you know, no one had a lap. So very, very surprising. And then the second part of the question. Yeah, I was quite surprised when sitting there in the Stewards’ room, what was all going on. Honestly, very disappointing because I think we’re all here, we respect each other a lot and of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life, in my career with people that have raced and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. And that for me… I lost all respect.
Q: (Erwin Jaeggi – Motorsport.com) A question for all three. Were you surprised that it took a couple of laps before the Safety Car came out when we had a mirror at the end of the straight? What do you think of the situation?
MV: It was a bit difficult to see, to be honest, what it was. I didn’t even know it was a mirror. Of course, I saw the debris, but we have done more races where there has been a bit of debris offline. So I guess it’s a bit of a tough call to make. But then I think at one point a car drove over it. And then, of course, there are like carbon bits flying everywhere. And of course, I don’t know what the reason is, of course, of the punctures, but it’s maybe something to analyse. But at the moment, it’s a bit difficult for me to give a clear cut opinion on that.
CL: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I don’t know how obvious it was on TV, but for us in the car, it wasn’t that obvious. I didn’t know where the mirror was. I don’t know what it was. Obviously, it was quite clear once someone picked up the mirror and there was debris everywhere. But before that, it wasn’t that bad. So, yeah, again, I don’t think it was that bad.
OP: I think the right thing to do would have been a VSC or a Safety Car pretty much straight away. I mean, I didn’t really know where the mirror was, but after seeing it on the big screen, being basically in the braking zone for Turn 1 when you’re trying to overtake, I don’t really know what we were going to do until someone hit it, because I think having it sit there for 30 laps of the race would have been not very smart. So I think, yes, probably should have been a bit earlier because, you know, at racing speeds, especially in that part of the track, you can’t have a marshal run on and just simply pick it up. So maybe we could have been a bit quicker with that. But yeah, I think the car that hit it, I don’t know if they got a puncture or not, but yeah, maybe something that could have been a bit speedier.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to Max, please. Max, you were aware very quickly that Lando didn’t lift. Thinking back to Brazil, you knew about the aborted start rule when a few of your rival drivers didn’t. I just wondered, you’re across all the little details. Do you work at things like that? What does that also say about you as a racing driver and a professional?
MV: Well, I mean, I knew that I lifted because I saw the double yellow. And I know that, of course, if I wouldn’t have lifted, it would have been investigated straight away. So you’re just on it. I mean, yeah, I asked if he lifted because he had a DRS, I think, from a backmarker at the same time as well. And then, of course, when we came out of Turn 1, I saw that he was a lot closer. So I just asked the team to check it. I mean, it was just a normal question. And I know, of course, with double yellows, they’re quite strict. By FIA.com
2024 Qatar Grand Prix – Victory for Max Verstappen
