FIA post-qualifying press conference – 2024 Australian Grand Prix ...

DRIVERS

1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), 2 – Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari), 3 – Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing)

TRACK INTERVIEWS(Conducted by Alex Brundle)

Q: Max, a hat-trick of poles to start the year. That must be a great feeling.

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was a bit unexpected, I think, today in qualifying, but very happy with Q3. I think both of those laps, they felt really, really nice, and that was very enjoyable. But, yeah, it was a bit of a tricky weekend so far, but, yeah, we managed to be there at the end, so I'm very happy with that.

Q: You've got a big challenge this weekend from Ferrari. Can you keep them behind in what's going to be a very strategic race tomorrow?

MV: Yeah, they seem very quick also in the long run. So a bit of a question mark for tomorrow, but I guess that makes it very exciting. So we'll find out tomorrow.

Q: Outstanding lap, brilliant pole, congratulations. Carlos, from missing the race in Jeddah to finding yourself in P2 in qualifying today, that is a journey!

Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, thanks a lot. It's been a tough couple of weeks, you know, a lot of days in bed, waiting for this moment, to see if I could be here today and, yeah, to make it to this weekend and then obviously to put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it, especially after how tough it's been. But very happy to be here, very happy to be challenging the Red Bulls this weekend. I was a bit rusty at the beginning yesterday, but then I got up to speed and I could finally find the pace and feeling good with the car.

Q: A long way to go in the race tomorrow. How are you feeling in the car? Are you feeling fully recovered or still a little bit of discomfort?

CS: I'm not going to lie. I'm not in my most comfortable state when I'm driving out there, but I can get it done. And as far as I can get it done without the pain... Obviously, a lot of discomfort and weird feelings, but no pain, so it allows me to push flat out.

Q: Brilliant lap, outstanding performance. Brave stuff. Thank you very much.

CS: Cheers.

Q: Sergio, great lap. Was there any more in the car? Do you think you could have challenged the Ferrari for second or even Max for pole?

Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, I think definitely there was a bit more in it. My first sector was not great, especially Turn 1. I think on my final attempt, I didn't hook up the whole combination, which straightaway is a tenth, a tenth-and-a-half. But I'm happy. I think given how we've been during the weekend, it's been a very nice progression. I think tomorrow we got to fight on our hands to the Ferrari and to the rest of the field because I think the degradation is going to be very high. So I think, yeah, starting position is not that relevant at the moment.

Q: You look like you have a little bit of straight line speed advantage against the Ferrari. Do you think that's going to help you out tomorrow in attacking and defending those positions?

SP: Yeah, we will find out tomorrow. I think we've changed a bit our strategy for tomorrow and let's see who can survive the most on the gradation side.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Max, many congratulations to you. What a performance in Q3. You said a moment ago it hasn't been easy this weekend. So how satisfying is this pole?

MV: Yeah, I'm very happy with that. I think so far this weekend it's been a bit tough to find a good balance in the car. And even throughout qualifying, Q1, Q2, I didn't really feel like fighting for pole. But then we made some little tickles on the car and that seemed to help me in Q3 to really push it to the limit. And both of my laps I felt quite happy with it. I mean, there are always things that you can improve, but overall, yeah, very satisfied with the performance.

Q: Both laps… Well, you got quicker and quicker in Q3. Do you think there was more to come or was the car bang on by the end of it?

MV: No, I mean more to come. I tried to do the best I could. I mean I think if you go corner after corner, yeah maybe there are a few things that you can do better but it is always you know when you're under pressure flat out around this track it's very hard to nail every single corner, like on any other track. But in general of course very pleased with the laps that we did

Q: And you had a bit of a disrupted practice leading up to qualifying. How's that going to play out in the race tomorrow? Do you feel a little bit underprepared?

MV: Not really. I mean, we did quite a bit, even this morning. So from that side, I don't think so. It's just that it was a bit harder to find a good balance in the car. So we'll find out tomorrow if it's going to be good enough in the race because it looks like Ferrari is also very fast and quite comfortable the whole weekend already. So, yeah, hopefully it will be an interesting race tomorrow.

Q: Do you feel Ferrari are closer to Red Bull this weekend than they have been at the previous two?

MV: Yeah, maybe it's because we were not on top of things, but they looked well dialled in, let's say, like that from the start. And probably from our side, it was a bit the opposite way. And yeah, we managed to improve it. But the race is going to be quite tough with the softer compounds that we have this year. So yeah, we'll find out tomorrow.

Q: Alright. Best of luck with that. Well done. Thank you. Carlos, what a comeback. I mean, first of all, how are you feeling in the car?

CS: Thank you. Yeah, it feels OK. I mean, as I said at the beginning of the weekend, I don't feel 100%. I think it's impossible to feel 100% after spending seven to 10 days in bed like I did just trying to recover. But the good thing, you know, is that I had no pain. I just have the discomfort, and obviously everything feels a bit weird inside, but I can push. Especially today, I could push flat out. Yesterday, I took it easy at the beginning, Had to do some tweaks to the seat, to the belts, to the brake pedal. But today, you know, when the adrenaline came up in quali and I could close the visor and go for it, I could go for it, which is a good thing. So yeah, hopefully tomorrow I still do another step of recovery, putting a lot of emphasis on physiotherapy and recovery, you know, these days. All of it is focused around it and hopefully tomorrow I can be OK.

Q: Good luck with that. Let's just talk about the qualifying session. You were fastest in Q1 and Q2. Are you a little bit disappointed not to be on pole?

CS: It's a bit of… I think you can see it both ways. I think if you would have told me two weeks ago when I got the appendix removed that I would be in Australia ready to go again and fighting for pole position, I would have 100% taken it. After being P1 in Q1, P1 in Q2, and knowing that I left some time on the table in Q3, it's obviously a bit disappointing, but it's normal also. I didn't do quali in Jeddah. I'm probably a bit out of shape also and I'm probably still learning this new car. I missed a qualifying session in Jeddah and a full race. So probably there were things there in Jeddah that I could have learned through quali that I could have applied today that I couldn't apply in Q3. And the car surprised me in a couple of corners once we started to crank in the flap. And yeah, it wasn't the cleanest of laps. But as I said, if you would have told me even five days ago that I travelled here still recovering, that I could be on the grid and fighting for pole, I would have taken it.