Original subtitles

Today on the sofa we've got Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Arvin Lindblad, Lance Stroll, Cheryl

Leclerc and Pierre Gasly. Lando, we'll start with you because you're the last one in. How's

testing gone so far for you? look pretty solid from the outside but a lot of learning done

I'm sure. Yes, no, she just got out of the car so good morning. I think we made some good

steps from last week to this week already. some little things on the car that arrived and we

were further testing. So, I mean, it's always hard to know, but from our own program, we

got through a lot of things. We did what we wanted to. We got a good understanding of tires

and balances and things like that, strengths, weaknesses. you know, for me, I've only got

now one more PM and tomorrow afternoon and then the next stop is Australia. So it's coming

quickly, but as far as tests go, I think... We got through a lot of our stuff. We know

where we're missing out and what we really need to focus on, but it's hard to kind of

improve as much as what you would like right now. I think, uh yeah, just as far as understanding

our own stuff, understanding the car, we've done a good job. The team are doing a good

job, and that's all we can ask for for now. Great stuff. Thanks, Lando. Carlos, coming

to you. mileage on the car last week, you and Alex, and you got another race distance worth

of laps on to you about yesterday. How encouraged are you with the way the team have recovered

after missing that run in Barcelona? Yeah, as far as testing goes, I think what we needed

over the last few days, which was recover the time lost in Barcelona by adding a lot of mileage

to the car, I think we've managed to do that well. And the car is running reliably from

the beginning. That's allowing us obviously to find out the limitations and the areas where

we have to improve, which unfortunately there are quite a few. yeah, as I said, the main

thing last week was mileage and then this week we are finally starting to try and find a bit

of lap time and performance out of it and try to put it in a better setup window. Great

stuff. Thanks, Carlos. Arvin, coming to you. Alan Perman, your boss was saying yesterday

that you're doing everything he expected of you through pre-season. How has it been, though,

kind of building up and getting ready for your first race in Australia? Yeah, it's been good.

mean, obviously it's a big change this year. there's a lot for me to get up to speed with

as well as the team. um But no, things are going well so far. We're getting through all the

program. So I think it's been positive and just looking forward to getting on track again

tomorrow to learn a bit more, to improve myself. And yeah, looking forward to Melbourne. Great

stuff. Thanks very much, Alvin. Lance, just coming to you. Huge project going on at Aston

Martin. Lots of new elements, Adrian Nury obviously coming on board. How have you found working

with him, Trackside, over here and obviously back at the factory? Yeah, it's been really

nice spending time with Adrian, talking about the car, the things we need to work on, improve

going forward. um So yeah, just we know we're still learning the car, working on many things

and just trying to find more performance. Great stuff, thanks Lance. Charles, coming to you,

Friro have looked good from the outside through testing, has it felt like that in the car?

I think it's very early to say, I think everybody is hiding their game and everybody is trying

to say that he's the other team who isn't the fastest. So yeah, not really sure where we

are standing. But we've had a relatively smooth test day so far, we've tested most of the things

we wanted. So I felt like it was a really good preparation for race one. Then for performance,

think we've got to wait and see in the first qualifying. Thanks, Jean-Pierre. Thanks very

much for waiting. All change really helping this year with the Mercedes-Benz Pallina at

the back. You've been working, I guess, a year or so on this car. So what have you made of

it? Is it as good as I guess you would have hoped it would be? Yeah, think generally, know,

it's a big change compared to the last few years that we were trying to figure out how to make

the best of it. Obviously, we had, as you mentioned, the engine change, which is a new way of working,

new feel for us. And yeah, quite a lot to get up to speed. But I think generally, yeah, pretty

pleased. It's just such a big change. It's going to take some time to figure everything out.

But same for everyone. And I think we're enjoying that challenge. Great stuff. Thanks Pierre.

Well, time to open it up to the floor. If you've got a question, please just raise your hand

and let us know your name and publication.

Ed Straw from the Rice, one for Carlos. You mentioned you wanted to get the car in a better

setup window. What are the problems you're battling? There are times when it looks a little bit

tricky on track. Is that how it feels from the cockpit? Yes, certainly. mean, probably

just what it means not being a bit behind schedule of missing testing. It means you probably

cannot find the first thing south on Barcelona where to put the car and then you're like a

bit of a step behind in terms of setup understanding. I mean, last week the conditions were really

tricky for everyone. I think it was really, really windy every day. This week, suddenly

the wind has come down and I think it's much more normal conditions and the cars, I think

for everyone, are a lot more predictable, a lot better to drive. we've also done some

setup adjustments to adapt the car setup a bit more to these regulations and it seems like

it's going in the right direction. Thanks, Carlos. Next question, please. Craig Slater

from Sky Sports. A question for Lando. Lando, the long run pace in the McLaren was a massive

strength last year. It maybe set the team apart a little bit. Are you still seeing the deficit

you've outlined to the likes of Mercedes to Ferrari? And are none of the concepts that

made it such a good long run car really transferable to these cars this year?

From what we see at the minute, Yeah, I mean, last year we also had just a pace advantage.

So going into the race, was always, you we could almost drive slower. Things worked better

and then we could drive quicker. um At the minute, we're a little bit off. So to match the race

pace of some of the others, we have to push a bit more and then we have more degradation.

So uh not entirely, but I'm sure there are some things, I know there are some things that...

our strengths last year that will continue to be our strengths this season. But you know,

there's a lot of work just to get the balance in a good window. The car worked very well

last year. was difficult to understand, but it worked well. And we're still just very,

very early days for this car at the minute. So we'll be continuing to look into that. Of

course, I would love that because even when we had a bad quality, we knew we would have

a good Sunday. um And that was always something to look forward to. So the team are working

hard on every area that includes race-based, tire calling, all of those things. So, um but

at the minute, um yeah, we just kind of got to improve in most areas. So. Thanks Lando.

Next question, please. Hello, Rui Chávez for the Zone Portugal for Lando as well. Lando,

now that you've been a world champion, do you feel the responsibility now of being a world

champion to keep that championship with you for the next season?

to honestly, I don't think there's a response like, I mean, there's a responsibility always

in life, but I'll do my best to defend it and continue it. m But it's a new season

with loads of new challenges. So it's, it's not as simple as just continuing from last

year and saying it's the same thing again. um You know, at the minute we have to, for

more PC improve the car quite a bit if we want to compete a bit more to, to, to be confident

for the first race, but m oh I feel confident. I feel better than I've ever done. Certainly

after last year and winning the championship last year, that's given me the confidence.

So it's reassuring to know that I've done it once and therefore I believe I can do it

again. that's good thing, but it's a long season and I'll make sure I do my part and

together as a team, we'll make sure we give ourselves the best opportunity to do it again.

Thanks Lando. Next one, please. Nicole Mulder, GPBlock. A question to Lando. So there's been

a lot of talk about uh some divisiveness between drivers about liking or not liking the car.

You said you like driving the car, Max obviously said he doesn't. And asked about the two

camps. He said that it's more like there's one tiny pop-up tent and uh then a really

large tent with the rest of the drivers. Do you agree with this or do you expect more

drivers to join you in the small tents? I mean, there's nothing wrong with a small tent,

you know. um No, honestly, I just wanted to say that. I didn't want to complain about anything.

um I just wanted to say that and see what the reaction was of everyone. So it's been quite

an amusing week seeing the reactions of everyone. And it certainly um made a lot of people come

in and say a of things, which has been pretty funny. But um no, I just wanted to see everyone's

reaction. So it's been amusing. You know, the cars are very different. Are they enjoyable

and as good to drive as last year? Absolutely not. m Is it still a challenge and good fun

out there? Yeah. um You know, I'm not going to, I'm certainly not going to change my job

for anything else. I still have fun and it's still the job that I love to do. But it's

certainly very different. Is it, you know, as pure, is it as beautiful to drive as last

year? Does it look as incredible? Yeah, definitely not. And I agree with Max on a lot of comments.

Probably most of the comments I agree with. it's not that I don't have fun out there, you

So there's two sides. I do agree with basically every other driver, because I think every other

driver's made their comments pretty clear. I just didn't want to come out into the media

and complain to everyone on the first weekend back. I want to still enjoy my time and just

say what I feel. But I had fun last week. I've still been having fun out there now. And I

think we know as a championship and with the FIA and with Formula One trying to improve

the car that we have now because it's certainly not the purest form of racing and that's what

Formula One should be. um A lot of the driving is focused on just trying to get the battery

to work properly and less focused on how can you as a driver get everything out of the

car. So, you know, I completely agree with a lot of the comments. uh I just wanted to

see everyone's reactions for me saying something opposite. Thanks Lando, next one please. David

Schneider, Shiga Sports Japan, question for Lance. Last week you mentioned that it's not

one single aspect that the whole team has to work on, but specifically on Honda. Where

does Honda still need to make improvements? We need more power. Simple as that. We're

lacking on power and then we also need to improve the cars. So combination of things. Thanks,

Lance. Next one.

Ronald, Ford and Motorsport.com. It's a question to Carlos and Lendo. In terms of the energy

management, lot of drivers have said that in terms of harvesting, this track is relatively

okay, but Melbourne is going to be a major challenge. So how much more challenging will

that one be behind the wheel and how well prepared or not do you feel for that after testing in

Barcelona and Bahrain, completely different circuits? Who fancies taking that one? Yeah.

I think Melbourne is going to be more challenging for sure, but I cannot tell you how much because

I haven't run the calibrations in the simulator of what we're going to find ourselves in Melbourne

with. I think in general, my message to FOM and FIA is I think the start of the year we

need to stay a bit open-minded in case the regulations that we've come up with are maybe

a bit exaggerated on them. oh on the amount of harvesting or deployment that we have to

do through a lab, which might make some circuits okay, like potentially here, even though I

still think here is not fully okay with what we're seeing so far. But um tracks like Melbourne

or potentially Jeddah, tracks that might be more energy demanding, yeah, I think we might

need to adjust a bit the regulations and fair play is not easy because It's such a big

change that I don't think anyone knew how to predict how much downforce drug the car was

going to have, what level of deployment the teams would come up with. But so far I would

say, I would only ask to stay open in case we need to fine tune or adjust to make the

category and make the show better. That's my only message. think that I think we should

start to stay flexible rather than committed to. uh certain level of energy management.

uh Juliane Serasoli was part of the question to all drivers. Have you tried to overtake

anyone during this test? How was it? Was it really hard? Is it something that is concerning

you for the start of the season, overtaking? Pierre, you want take it on first? Yeah. I

think we just need to be open-minded and see how it's going to be. think from testing at

the moment, mindset I haven't had, know, sort of like following other cars experience to

really tell much about it. I think it's just got to go there knowing it's going to feel

different. They might need to have a slightly different approach to racing, but I wouldn't

be able to tell now.

From the few situations I found myself in to try and overtake, it was very difficult. So

I expect it to be quite a challenge this year. Anyone else? Okay, next one please. Marino

Motori online, Ciao, Charles. Today, the first real problem with the car in this test, do

you know what happened and can you say anything? I think I'll let the team comment it. haven't

been on track actually, I was training with Pierre in the hotel, so I just arrived, I've

had a few updates, but the team will comment. Thanks, Charles. Next one. Direct to Colombo

Automoto, a question for Lance. Do you think that the issues with your car are growing pains

that can be solved in the short term or is it more related to the DNA of the car itself?

I think we can improve the car for sure. mean, we have a lot of ideas. So will all of our

problems be fixed for Melbourne? Probably not, but it's a long season, 24 races. So,

you know, we keep chipping away. We try and bring as much performance as we can every weekend.

And then on the engine side, you know, the same, just try and bring as much performance

as we can throughout the year. And, you know, we'll see how we go. Thanks very much Lance.

Next one. Tim Horeny, TSN. Question for Charles. It's about the starts. It looked like Lewis

had a good getaway during the practice starts here in the AM. Do you think this could be

an advantage for the team to start the season? I mean, the start is a very important moment

of the race and it's for sure something that we kept in our mind with this new regulation

in order to be ready for that. It's still tricky as it is for everybody. Maybe we are a bit

on the better side of things on that thing and I'm happy that it's that way because in

Australia it will be as it is in every start. It's a lot of place to be gained or lost if

you have a good one or a bad one and particularly this year is going to be very tricky. If anything

I think we should be on the better side of the grid. Thanks, Jo. Next one. Cyprien,

Julien, Roto Hebdo, question for Lando. uh Lando, after success, we often see in sport that athletes

can go through difficult times because it's hard to stay on the top. Is it something that

you've taken into account to maybe change your approach, settle new goals, and keep motivated

and stay on top?

No, because my motivation is not... I guess it's part of it. I love to win, I want to win.

I want to stand on the top step. But my motivation is not solely success. Every time I go out

and race, of course, I want to win. But my motivation to win is not success. And solely relying upon

holding the trophy or winning, whatever it may be. I don't. um Maybe for some people I'm

sure it's easy to have, it's easy to kind of rely so much upon the enjoyment of standing

up there and those kind of things, but I love it. I'm sure every single driver loves to stand

on a podium to win, to celebrate. But my motivation to work, to do well, to become better, um

of course, kind of starts with the vision of wanting to win. In the end of the day, it's

my team and the people that have around me. They're the people that I want to do well for.

So as long as I have them, then nothing changes for me. Thanks, Lando. Next one. Hello, Marcelo

Cohege from TV Globo. Off topic question about sprint races. Liberty's plans to have more

of it in the future and whether you guys like it or not and why. It could be for Charles

and Carlos. Carlos, do you want to go first? I'm open-minded about it. um think as long

as I think the sprint format still needs to be fine-tuned and improved, given the fact

that I think sometimes the sprint reveals too much of what's going to happen on Sunday.

If we can improve that and make the sprint a bit different to what we see on Sunday,

I would be opening to having more. more sprint races. Unfortunately, that will mean quite

a bit more workload for the driver with spring qualifiers and the Friday being busier, the

Saturday being a lot busier. I think FOM and F1 also need to adapt a bit their race weekend

format with the amount of media and the amount of PR commitments that we have to give us

also a bit of time to prepare for these races because nowadays the last few years have been...

extremely demanding for the driver in that sense. So no offense here at all, but you cannot

imagine with the amount of sponsors that one team have nowadays with the amount of interviews

we do, the amount of marketing commitments we have. I think we, I'm open-minded to produce

more time in session, more show on the track, but we need to fine tune things away from

the track because that 24 race calendar with... let's say 12, 24 sprints, imagine if we one

day end up there, will be very demanding for everyone in the paddock. Thanks, Carlos. Joao?

Well, I agree with everything that Carlos said, really. The only thing I'll add is that I

actually really like the sprint weekends, but I still believe that it should be a minority

of races and having it as a standardized weekend in the future, if that's the plan at any time,

I don't think is the right thing, or at least I... I wouldn't like it that way, but I'll

drive anyway and adapt to it. But I think six is probably the sweet spot. Great stuff, Joel.

Thanks very much. We've run out of time. So thanks very much for your time, guys. Enjoy

the rest of the test.