FIA post-race press conference – 2024 Chinese Grand Prix

DRIVERS

1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), 2 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren), 3 – Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Nico Rosberg)

Q: Sergio, P3 today, but you got unlucky with the strategy there. Was that where you lost it?

Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, it really cost us quite a bit. Unfortunately, we got the Safety Car and we lost two places. And yeah, effectively that became the race… We did the most of the race on the Hard. And yeah, once you start fighting like that, in the early laps, the life of the tyre just goes off dramatically, but at least we managed to get to the podium, but it would have been good to be one and two.

Q: What about your pace there during the race? Were you satisfied with that or do you think it could have been better? Looking at Max, there was sometimes like five tenths, even more, per lap difference?

SP: Yeah, I think we were definitely lacking some pace, especially on the Medium compound. We did struggle quite happy with the balance. We changed a lot from yesterday to today. So I think, yeah, we didn’t read the conditions as perfectly as we could, but overall, I think it was a strong weekend. And we understand the reasons why today the race pace was a little bit down.

Q: You started the race today still pushing for the win. So you’re going to do that again for next weekend next race out, yeah?

SP: That would be the target.

Q: Lando, what an awesome drive that was there. You got driver of the day. Well deserved.

Lando NORRIS: Thank You.

Q: How did it feel out there?

LN: Good! Yeah. Surprised, I’m very happy. Very happy for the whole team. They deserved it. Good pit stops. Just today worked out. I don’t know why. I really wasn’t expecting it to be the kind of race we had today but got comfortable, could manage the tyres a lot, which was an easier task that what I had yesterday. And I could just push. The car felt great and I felt comfortable. So, good day, good points and another podium, so I’m very happy.

Q: The race pace was looking, I mean, strong at times. You were even quicker than the second Red Bull of Sergio. Are you surprised by that? It’s really cool to see.

LN: I was surprised by many things. The lack of pace from Ferrari today. Our good pace and, I guess, us comparing to the Red Bull, which was so surprising. I just wasn’t expecting today at all. I got everything ready to go home early and not be on the podium. So it’s a pleasant surprise but it shows the team have done a good job. We’re working hard and it’s paying off.

Q: Pre-race you were thinking the Ferraris were going to be all over your mirrors but that didn’t materialise?

LN: I made a bet how far behind the Ferrari we would finish today. I thought 35 seconds and I was very wrong with that. So yeah, happy to be wrong with myself, my own bets, but a good day for everyone.

Q: Thank you very much. We hope you can challenge those Red Bulls very, very soon. Max, congratulations again. What an unbelievable drive. How did it feel out there?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it felt amazing. I mean, all weekend, I think we were incredibly quick. And yeah, it was just enjoyable to drive, every single compound as well. The restarts I think we all survived that well, and you had a car was basically on rails. And yeah, I could do whatever I wanted to with it. And those kind of weekends are of course amazing to feel and of course then to achieve basically what we did this weekend is fantastic.

Q: You were worried there the end that you had run over some debris? Is that what happens, when you’re so far out front that you start to hear things and you start to get worried that the car will not make it?

MV: I mean, you hear always noises a little bit. Of course, I’ve had it in the past that I’ve retired quite close to the end. And then, yeah, there was a bit of debris, I think from a car. So I passed it with 300 and when the tyres are getting cold and old, it’s very easy to puncture them and I just wanted to double check.

Q: And the next race is Miami. Are you excited about that? You think you’re going to be equally strong there?

MV: It should normally be a good race for us. It’s normally a little bit more straightforward with the strategy, but it’s always quite a difficult track, you know, so I’m excited. You know, it’s always quite a crazy weekend there, so it’s going to be quite a busy one.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Max, very well done. A dominant performance by you again following your win in the Sprint yesterday. Just sum up the feeling you get from a weekend like this?

MV: Yeah, obviously, it’s a great feeling. Of course, you never know when you enter the weekend, how it’s going to go fully. Sprint weekend, normally always a bit more chaotic. So you always want it to go really well. But then it did go really well. So then you are very pleased, but also the performance I think now in the main race, the car was, I think, an improvement compared to the Sprint race even. So it just made my life a bit easier as well. Yeah, it could be a little bit more consistent while driving.

Q: Was it a complicated race from inside the cockpit with all the Safety Car restart?

MV: No, not complicated it was just a bit… Just took a long time, I found, to get the first car cleared. And then I felt like we drove one more lap behind the Safety Car for nothing. So I was like, come on, speed up a bit. Then, of course, we had another Safety Car and for me it felt, again, that they took a long time to clear, because you want to race, right? And actually then I thought that because of the two Safety Cars it made it a little bit less fun, because you would have seen probably more different strategies between the cars. And now everyone was just driving more or less to the end, except I think Fernando was on a Soft, Yeah, made it I guess a little bit more straightforward. So that was a bit of a shame, I guess.

Q: Max, you say your car was an improvement from the Sprint. Were there any dramas at all for you in that race?

MV: I locked up in the second restart into Turn 6, I think, a little bit. So that was not ideal. Then a threw a tear-off away, which I think I could hear on the intake. It was flapping around hitting my helmet. So I don’t know where it ended up. And with two laps ago, I think I drove over a little bit of debris before Turn 14. So that was a little bit scary, because with all the tyres it’s easy to have a puncture at high speed when you drive over carbon. That was it I think.

Q: Of all the wins you’ve had this year, from everything you’re saying, do you feel this was the most dominant?

MV: It was a good one, yeah. In terms of just also balance in the car, we did a good job as a team to make it even better than what it was at the start of the weekend.

Q: Any reason why it should be anything but the same in Miami in two weeks’ time?

MV: It’s a completely different track. You know, different tyres, different tarmac, so you never know. We need to be perfect. Need to try and be perfect. We need to always try and find the best set-up on the car, you know, to be able to show performances like we did today. So that’s what we’ll try to do but also on the other hand I don’t want to think about it too much now. First of all to go home, and then we will prepare like we always do and hopefully that’s good enough when we get there.

Q: Very well done Max, very impressive. Lando, let’s come to you next. Many congratulations, your best result of the year so far. Was this the best the car has felt?

LN: No, probably not. I mean, big improvement today compared to yesterday. So I think that’s why we were probably a bit surprised. I’m surprised to be sitting here today, but it’s a nice surprise of course. Difficult to say, you know, we’ve been struggling a little bit. I’m sure everyone does, with certain things throughout the whole season, which have always been limiting us. It probably felt similar-ish to Australia, Australia, I felt comfortable and the car felt pretty good as well. So just much better today, things came alive today, the conditions cooled down, the wind calmed down and both of these things, I think, played into our hands a little bit more. So, you know, that’s why yesterday, if you asked me, what do we expect for today, It definitely was nowhere near top three, or even maybe top five, you know. So a pleasant surprise. And yeah, the car felt much better. But obviously, not quick enough to match the Red Bulls.