F1: FIA Wednesday press conference – Las Vegas

PART ONE – Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), George RUSSELL (Mercedes), Esteban OCON (Alpine)

Q: Esteban, let’s start with you, and good to see you. Let’s reflect back just a few weeks, first of all. Sensational result, both for you and the team at Interlagos. Would you say that is one of your best races in Formula 1?

Esteban OCON: Thank you. Yeah, it’s been a fun race, definitely. An unexpected one, that’s for sure. Looking at our dry pace, that’s not where we were at all. But when the rain came, it definitely opened up opportunities. Yeah, I mean, I felt good in those conditions. It reminded me a little bit of 2016, you know, at the time where I was fighting for a point with the Manor. And yeah, we were leading the race for a while, which felt good, definitely. And yeah, I think it’s been a very nice one because it spiced things up for our end of season. Now that we can be, you know, fighting near the other teams. teams, you know, in the Constructors’ Championship. So it’s going to be a big fight, which is a lot more entertaining for us. And yeah, it brings up, you know, fun and joy for all the people around the factory.

Q: It probably won’t be wet here in Las Vegas this weekend, but it will be cold. Does the performance in Brazil give you some hope coming into the weekend?

EO: Well, I think we need to keep the foot to the ground. That’s going to be very important. I don’t think we are going to be able to fight for podiums and almost wins like in Brazil. But last year here, we finished fourth, which was also a very strong race. But yeah, this year would be much more difficult with the car pace we have in the dry. So, yeah, we need to do the best we can, take all the opportunities that there is, and hopefully it will be a positive one for us.

Q: Now, you alluded to the battle in the Constructors’ Championship. You’re sitting in sixth at the moment. The battle for the rest of the season is partly with the team you’re moving to next year. What’s the mood in the camp? How confident is the team of retaining sixth?

EO: I can only talk for myself here. I’m not very confident, to be fair, at the moment. Looking at you know our dry pace, we’ve improved recently, getting some updates to the car. It’s been getting better, but as I said it can flip completely from one side to another, having a decent result and these races are usually when the opportunities arrive. So we need to be on top of that if something happens to be able to score some points and close the season that way.

Q: Esteban, thank you very much. Kevin, can I come to you now and start by talking about that battle in the Constructors’ Championship? What’s the mood at Haas? How confident are you guys?

Kevin MAGNUSSEN: Well, you can’t be confident at all. You know, we were not even thinking about Alpine, really, in that battle, and then suddenly they’re ahead of us. So I think we feel like we’re in a good place with the car. And recently we’ve kind of consistently been in the run for points. Now that Aston Martin are struggling, there’s actually some points available at each race. So, it’s exciting. I mean, we’re now three teams for that P6, which, for the teams mean a lot. You know, whether you finish eighth or sixth, it’s a big thing. And yeah, for a driver, of course, it’s not like something you put on your CV, but it just means so much for everyone that it’s worth fighting for.

Q: Can we talk about the performance of the car? Because the upgrade that the team brought to Austin seems to have transformed your season. What’s changed?

KM: I just think the upgrades that we’ve had this year have been good in all areas. It’s just made the car slightly faster over one lap, a little bit easier to drive, and better on the tyres. It’s just kind of given the car a bit of a broader window every time we put something on. So that’s been a really good job from the team. It’s been kind of the headline for this year, I think. If you look at what we’ve improved the most it’s how we’ve been able to develop the car through the season, whereas most other years or basically all other years, we’ve not been able to do that. We’ve, I think, had a good car to begin with because when the whole team is kind of available over the winter. They’ve been doing a good job, but over the season, not so much. So that’s really a big step forward to see the improvements we’ve been able to make.

Q: You say the car is easier to drive, but where has it come alive for you specifically?

KM: I think it’s… Obviously you put more downforce, you go quicker, but also I think when you make the car more predictable, that gives a lot of lap time too, and especially on the tyres, it helps a lot when, you know, you’re not, it’s not as easy to overdrive the car when the window and, you know, the balance is more consistent. So that’s just been a help and something that’s been nice to see.

Q: And Kevin, how hungry are you to get back in the car this weekend after missing Interlagos, your second miss in only five races?

KM: You make it sound like that’s not a lot! It’s a lot. I mean, yeah, it’s been strange to… I’ve watched Formula 1 on television too much recently, and yeah, it’s going to be nice to be back, hopefully, in the race.

Q: Well, good luck this weekend. Thank you, Kevin. George, let’s come to you now. Brazil last time out seemed like a missed opportunity for you and Mercedes. What lessons were learned?

George RUSSELL: Yeah, it definitely felt like a missed opportunity. I think having reviewed the race, you recognise how quickly things can change. We made the pit stop, which with the perfect benefit of hindsight, that was incorrect. But had that Virtual Safety Car stayed for 10 seconds longer or 15 seconds longer, it would have been absolutely the right thing to do. So it just shows how quickly an external decision can change your race and how you need to be very quick to adapt to that. And we kind of were a little bit too focused on that pit stop and not actually seeing that a car that was beached on the road was being pushed off and the VSC was ending.

Q: And how much encouragement do you take from the pace of the car in Brazil, the front-row start? I mean, you’ve had a stack of points finishes since the summer break, but how close are you to having a race-winning car again?

GR: Brazil was definitely a bit of a one-off, I think. When it rains, it presents opportunities. And for ourself, it was an opportunity. For everyone at Alpine, it was a huge opportunity, which they capitalised. And I think we need to look back to the Sprint qualifying and the Sprint race for a bit of a fairer picture of where we are. And that was behind the front four teams.

Q: George, final one. When you look at this season as a whole, look at the races you’ve won, but look at also the frustrations as well. How will you review the season?

GR: I think now we’ve done almost a full season, we totally understand why the car is so up and down. It has just such a narrow window and when we can set the car up in a way that we exploit that window, we have a race-winning car. But when you go to different circuits and you have to change where you position the set-up, we totally fall outside of our working window. So It’s obviously frustrating when you know the car has that potential. But I think for everyone, you have these fluctuations in performance. We’ve done a good job to capitalise on races that we did, had the pole positions when the car was capable of pole positions. And ultimately, we just need to make a more consistent car over the course of 24 races.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) George, to you and with your GPDA hat on, please. In between the last race and this, the FIA have dispensed with the services of Niels Wittich, the Race Director. Is this something that the GPDA were aware of before it happened? Are you concerned that there are three races to go and we now have a new Race Director, especially coming in to a street race like Las Vegas, which we saw last year, can have a whole load of unforeseen problems?

GR: Yeah, we definitely weren’t aware. It was a bit of a surprise, I think, for everybody. And, you know, it’s a hell of a lot of pressure now onto the new race director. Just three races left. So I think for us… Often as drivers, we probably feel like we’re the last to find out this sort of information. And when it involves us kind of directly, it would be nice to be kept in the loop and just have an understanding of what decisions are being made. So, yeah, time will tell. I’m sure the new guy will handle the position just fine, but definitely not an easy race for a new race director.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) Also for George, but I’d love for you both to chime in as well. Last week, a pointed statement from the GPDA towards the FIA and especially towards the President. The tone seemed stronger than I expected. Does that reflect the mood in the field of drivers as well?

GR: I mean, talking as a fellow driver as opposed to sort of my role with the GPDA, I think everybody felt with certain things that have happened over the course of this year that we wanted to sort of stand united. At the end of the day, we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue that is happening, and I think the departure of Niels is also a prime example of not being a part of these conversations. And ultimately, we only we want to work with the FIA to make the best for the sport that we all love. So, I think it’s kind of us now putting the pressure back on them to work with us and work with everyone, including F1 as well, just to maximise this opportunity, which Formula 1 is in at the moment, which is, you know, an amazing time to be a part of.

Q: (Roldán Rodríguez – DAZN Spain) A question to Kevin. This year is arriving to the end and most probably you’re not going to be next season in Formula 1. Are you having special feelings at this moment of the year?

KM: No, I don’t think so. I mean, for myself, I’ve been in this situation twice before, so it’s kind of the third time that I feel like this is going to be the last race. So I just know that you never know. So, it’s kind of fine in a way. I don’t really think about it. Next year I’m not going to be in Formula 1, that’s pretty clear, but I’ve learned over the years and with my experiences from one that every race you do, you just have to enjoy it. And, you know, yeah, well, as long as it lasts, enjoy it. So that’s my plan.

Q: Kevin, you and the team have been quoted as saying, you know what you want to happen for 2025. Can you shed any light on what you might be doing with regards to Haas?

KM: I don’t know. I can’t remember saying exactly that, but I think we have been clear that we want to work together in some capacity and I think that’s… We are talking about how we could do that, of course. A little bit it’s come from Ayao and I’m open to hear what he is thinking and see if I can be helpful in any way.

Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) The Formula 1 launch party for next year has been announced. Max has been quite vocal about his feelings of having another event he has to attend to. Is anybody else calling in sick for next year in the O2?

EO: To be fair, as a fan of the sport, honestly, it’s a pain to be watching every day a new livery, and sometimes you are missing it because you are doing something else and you see it in different times. I think at least we have one day where we see all the cars, which as a fan of the sport, I’m excited for that. Of course, it’s one more event for us, which is not ideal in that period because it’s going to be very busy. We need to prepare. We need to be fully trained before we get into the season, etc. But I think it’s much better organised than how it was before, especially when, you know, two teams were having the launch at the same day and it wasn’t properly organised. So, yeah, I’m actually looking forward to it.

GR: Yeah, I agree with Esteban, to be fair.

Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports) Question to George. I think that the GPDA created an Instagram account to publish this letter. Is there going to be a different way of… Was there a need to make things more public now from the GPDA side when creating this more public forum?

GR: Yeah, well, I think times are changing and the fans are a huge part of this sport. And I think if we’re talking about openness and transparency and including everybody in this for the greater good, then having it on a social media platform makes perfect sense.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Sorry, George, GPDA public forum, this one. Did you and the GPDA think that the Race Director needed replacing?

GR: I mean, I can only talk on behalf of myself here as opposed to any of the other drivers, but I think there’s no secret that some were not happy with what was going on in terms of the decisions that were being made, but at the end of the day, I think if you worked together with us, that we could have helped improve the matter. And I think sometimes just hiring and firing is not the solution. You kind of need to work together to improve the problem. So, let’s see what this new era is going to bring, but every time there is a change, you have to take one step back before you make the two steps forwards.

Q: (Jenna Fryer – Associated Press) George, were you guys blindsided by this or have any idea that it was coming or under consideration, that a change in Race Director was coming?

GR: No, no idea whatsoever. So, yeah, as I said, it was a bit of a bit of surprise.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, has there been any response from the FIA or the FIA president to what the GPDA put out?

GR: No. Not at the moment, which I’m a little bit surprised about, to be fair. But maybe there’ll be something to come. Who knows?

Q: (Ben Hunt – Autosport) It’s obviously very disappointing to learn from you that there’s no transparency at all from the FIA. Was there any response about where the money’s going from for all these fines and all that sort of stuff? Because that’s another key element which we would quite like to know as well.

GR: No, I think ultimately for us, when we were hearing from the FIA a couple of years ago, when it came to the Presidential elections, they were talking about transparency, talking about where the money is going to be reinvested into grassroots racing, which we’re all in favour for. And of course, when it comes to some of these large fines, there’s a number of drivers on the grid who can comfortably afford these fines. There’s maybe some rookies on the grid that if they’re handed a $1 million fine, you know, they can’t afford this. But if we know where that’s being sort of reinvested and if it’s going into grassroots or into some training programs, then we get it. As I said, I think we just want the transparency and understanding of what was promised from the beginning.

Q: (Kevin Scheuren – Motorsport-total.com) A question to George as well on that topic. Isn’t it a bad sign that you need to open up a social media account to make your voices heard as a collective? Because it sometimes seems, looking from the outside, that the individual, if the individual has an opinion on stuff, he faces repercussions. Now you have to work as a collective. Are you more or less a pawn in this game? Do you drivers feel sometimes more or less as a pawn in this game, not taken serious?

GR: I think we’ve probably learned from the past that whenever we have spoken up, let’s say internally, it hasn’t gone anywhere. And as I said, as drivers, we only want the best for the sport. We want to improve it, especially on safety grounds, but whenever it comes to, you know, decisions in the race, we only want to help. And it’s been a couple of years now that not much has changed when we have sort of given some views forward. And I guess we all wanted to show that we are collectively united. And maybe that will show how seriously we feel as a whole on the subject.

Q: (Dan Lawrence – Motorsport Monday) Question for Esteban. Alpine Academy driver Abbi Pulling next week, she’s on the verge of winning the F1 Academy title. How impressed have you been with her season overall, her consistency and her performances?

EO: Yeah, super impressed about Abbi’s season. You know, especially how she’s improved over the time she’s been driving in single-seaters. She’s really been working super well. You know, she’s one of those drivers that trains super hard, stays with the team. She’s really involved into listening to us in Formula 1. We get feedback as well from their driving, when they drive before us at times. And it’s always very valid, the information we get. And, yeah, I mean, she’s been super impressive in what she’s done. And I hope that she can, you know, wrap up the title this year.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) George, it’s been seven years since the GPDA had put out a public statement of this kind about something they were concerned about. What level of confidence do the drivers have in the leadership of the FIA at the moment?

GR: I mean, I’m not too sure to be honest. We recognise everybody’s working as hard as they can to do the best job possible. There is obviously a huge amount of change within the FIA quite regularly, so it’s clearly not the most stable of places. And maybe that’s why it’s been a bit challenging to get some of the changes that we’ve wanted implemented. Of course, everyone has their own side to their own story. But as I said, I think if we feel that we’re being listened to and some of the changes that we are experiencing, requesting, are implemented, because ultimately we’re only doing it for the benefit of the sport, then maybe our confidence will increase. But yeah, I think there’s a number of drivers who feel probably a bit fed up with the whole situation. And it only seems to be going in, to a degree, the wrong direction.

Q: (Jordan Bianchi – The Athletic) For all three drivers: you returned to Vegas this year. A year ago, there was a lot of hype and excitement about this race. I’m curious, now that you come back here for a second time, what’s the atmosphere like that you guys have kind of experienced so far? Kevin, let’s start with you.

KM: Well, it’s Wednesday, so you know, usually the kind of atmosphere builds up over the weekend. But, yeah, it’s been obviously just a normal Thursday, but on a Wednesday.

GR: Yeah, I mean, it definitely feels strange, this Grand Prix, just living in the night. And like Kevin says, the atmosphere builds up during the course of the weekend. So, yeah, let’s see how it goes.

EO: Yeah, it’s a weekend that I’ve discovered, obviously, last year, like all of us, but I didn’t really know what to expect. But as a racing track, being able to race, overtake, I think it provides really interesting challenges and you have to race on it. I think it’s really fun. The atmosphere is a different part. We had some build up last year. to it. But yeah, I do enjoy the venue and I do enjoy racing around the street.

Q: (Anna Cordera – Momentum Racing) George, I’d like to ask you, you’ve been racing with Lewis for almost three years. What do you think is going to be different now you being the veteran of the team racing with Kimi, regarding the development of the car?

GR: Yeah, I mean, ultimately, for most F1 teams, you have near on 1,000 people who are working towards building these two cars, yet you only have two drivers driving it. So, I think, let’s say, in Lewis, in my case, it was never that Lewis had a stronger voice. The team listened to us both equally because both of our opinions were extremely important. And the same going into next year. You know, Kimi’s new. He’s fresh. And I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of great ideas to bring to the table. So, you know, I am the more experienced of the two, but we will both get equal voices the same way, and we will both equally contribute towards the development the same way as it was with Lewis and I.

Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Sorry, another question to you, George. George, is it that difficult to try and get a sit-down face-to-face meeting with the President of the FIA to discuss all these issues, that you have to go down the route that you did with that message?

GR: It’s definitely not difficult to get a sit down, but I think getting things to change or getting promises upheld seems slightly more challenging. So, it’s maybe the FIA or the president didn’t recognise how seriously we all felt. So I think that’s why over the course of 20 races this year and also even last year we spoke about a number of topics, all of the drivers, we all feel pretty similar. We all know what we want from the sport and the direction it’s been heading and we probably feel that we want to do a small U-turn on a number of topics and just want to work together with the FIA on this. And that’s just what we’ve felt has not been happening at all, at least directly from the President.

Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) If I can give George a break and ask Kevin and Esteban about Niels leaving. How concerned are you guys that you get a new race director with three races left to run? And as you all said, not everybody’s always happy with the decisions, but it is a difficult job. So how happy were you guys with how Neil’s got on with the job?

KM: I think it’s… I don’t know if it’s a big concern as such. I think it’s a tough job and you know it’s something… It’s a job that requires experience and to be honest I don’t know how experienced the new guy is. I know he’s come from F2 and F3, so he must have some experience. Hopefully he’s going to be fine. I think we all, certainly I do, tend to compare to the Charlie Whiting days that certainly for us drivers, he was someone that we felt really connected to and always felt like we were being listened to, whereas now it sort of seems like it’s a lot of us against them almost and it should definitely be more of a cooperation and a closer connection between us and them because we can help each other a lot. So hopefully the new guy will sort of help go in that direction.

EO: Yeah, I mean, as George said before, I think it’s definitely not an easy race to start in, around here, you know, as a street circuit. But I think Rui, he came from Macau just now, so it’s probably a tougher circuit than here, definitely. And yeah, looking forward to meet him and have good chats at the drivers meeting with him and seeing how he works. I’m sure we are going to be talking a lot on how he does things, what ideas he has on, very important topics to us like track limits, kerbs, etc. Everybody has his way of doing things. And yeah, we need to obviously communicate well in terms of what we feel is very important going forward.