FIA Thursday press conference – 2024 United States Grand Prix

PART TWO – Alex ALBON (Williams), Liam LAWSON (RB), Lando NORRIS (McLaren)

Q: Liam, let’s start with you. Welcome back to the FIA Press Conference. Good to see you again. Now, how has the past month been for you since it was announced that you were going to replace Daniel Ricciardo? Full of anticipation, I would imagine.

Liam LAWSON: Yeah, it’s just been busy, I would say. It was strange to have a gap at this point of the year, I think. Obviously, the gap for me was filled up with quite a lot of stuff. So yeah, it’s just preparing as much as possible. It’s a difficult time to come into the season. Obviously, Sprint weekend this weekend, new track, end of the season. So yeah, just trying to be as ready as possible.

Q: You talk about preparations. How useful was that Pirelli test at Mugello last week for you?

LL: It was useful. It was useful for my neck, honestly. We did just long runs, basically. So, yeah, it was good to do, honestly. As much as I would have rather go out and do some short runs and push, it was good to do longer runs and basically just get ready for the longer races in Formula 1.

Q: Liam, so how are you approaching these six races to end the season? What goals have you set yourself?

LL: I think it’s not as simple as like a position or, like, this is where I want to be. I think it’s scoring points mainly for myself because that’s what it’s going to be or what the team’s going to judge me on, how I perform. And the best way to do that is score points. Also for the team, fighting for P6 in the championship as well. So yeah, basically trying to get to the points as soon as possible for me is the goal.

Q: Alright. Well, very, very good luck with that. Thank you. Alex, why don’t we come to you next? The tonne is up. 100 races in Formula 1. Many congratulations. Lots of memories, I’m sure. Is there one race or two races that… stand out?

Alex ALBON: Not really. The first race. The first race is always a big moment. And then my first podium is always nice. But yeah, it’s strange. I feel like 100 races. when we do so many races a year now, it doesn’t actually take a lot. It’s four years now in Formula 1, four and a half. It’s gone by very quickly. I think somebody told me that I’ve overtaken Sir Jackie Stewart, which is a pretty strange feeling.

Q: He was 99 races. Well, let’s bring it on to the here and now. You finished in the points at Austin last year. How hopeful are you coming into this weekend?

AA: We’ve had a good run of races. I do feel like we’ve made a step since our upgrade. We’re still not totally happy with where the car is, and we know that there’s more understanding to happen and more to come with that. So we had a good amount of time to go through the data the last few weeks just to see where we can go quicker. I do think we’re going to need that bit more performance to score more points. But we’re on a good trend right now. I feel like the momentum is with us. So, yeah, I don’t see why we can’t score points in the next remaining races and especially this weekend.

Q: And where are the team’s goals in the Constructors’ Championship now? I mean, Liam’s talked about the need for him to get in the points. Do you think VCARB in P6 is a realistic goal for Williams?

AA: Anything’s possible, but I think if you look at where the top four teams are at right now, we are fighting for, the best case, P9, P10, and unfortunately the gap from, especially RB, at the beginning of the year, the gap they grew to us, if you’re only scoring one or two points a weekend, you’re never going to be able to catch up. So we need something to happen, you know, one of those crazy races, which, to be fair to you, Mexico, Brazil, the weather and the starts can always create something. It’s never out of the question, but we’re going to need a little bit more.

Q: That brings us on to my final question to you, which was going to be about Franco Colapinto. He was very generous about you when he was in the press conference in Baku. And I just wanted to ask you, he’s clearly very quick. And how useful is it for you and the team to have someone like him pushing both elements along?

AA: Definitely. It helps in many ways, obviously, for me to have a benchmark, but also in terms of strategy. We can do things. Especially in the midfield, where it’s so tight, you are actually quite reliant on strategy to score points. The midfield battle is split by pretty much a tenth and a half, two tenths across everyone. There’s a very big trend this year where one driver goes short and one driver goes long in the first stint. When you can have a driver who’s able to be there and to do maybe the opposite or try and pull another driver in front away from whatever situation we may need, it becomes really useful.

Q: Thank you very much for that. Good luck this weekend. Lando, I’ll bring it on to you now. Can I ask you about the break, first of all, the long break, the four weeks that we’ve had since Singapore? How did you use that time? Was it a frustrating time? You just wanted to keep the momentum going from the last race? Or did you use it for a time for reflection or improving the car? Just tell us a little bit about what you’ve been doing.

Lando NORRIS: A little bit of everything, honestly. I mean, after Singapore, I just wanted to keep going. We were in a good rhythm. I think we still are in a good rhythm and have been for quite a while. So a little bit of that. But everyone needs a break. And it’s not just for me, but for my whole team, the whole team around me, everyone back in the factory. It’s nice to kind of regroup and put our heads down again. Yeah, a mixture of things. Obviously, getting ready for the next few races and the end of the season, but also getting some time to relax and spending some time with my friends.

Q: Now, this is a very different racetrack to Singapore, obviously. Do you enter this weekend with the same level of confidence that you did Singapore?

LN: Yeah, I think so. Probably more, I would say. If you look at where we were last year here, relative with the car that we had, comparing to where we were in Singapore, I think this was a better weekend for us. We led the first half of the race. I know some things were mixed up because of different scenarios, It was a good weekend. And again, some of the things have changed again on this track, with the new surfaces and some of the layout has changed a little bit. So always questions for us to go and answer. But with how we performed last year, with how we’re performing over the last, you know, three, four, five races, I think we’re confident everywhere that we should be towards the top.

Q: I did want to ask just about the unknowns that you touched on there, the resurfacing, the new kerbs. We’ve got a Sprint weekend as well. Do you see all of that as an opportunity for you and McLaren or does it make you a little bit more wary?

LN: I mean, I have no idea if it’s going to be a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t think anyone does. So I think we probably all treat it as opportunities until we know something different. But it’s also a Sprint race where many things can happen and it’s difficult to sometimes hit the ground running. And we saw that last year with people not getting the set-ups right and certain things like that. So again, certain things have changed for what happened last year in that scenario. But no, I think everyone’s going to see these races as opportunities and we do too. So that’s a good thing.

Q: And how do you see this battle with Max Verstappen over these last six races? Fifty-two points the gap. They’ve got some upgrades on their car this weekend in Austin. Do you think you’re going to have a good read on your chances in the World Championship this weekend?

LN: I think we’ve seen it for the last five, six weekends. I know people ask every weekend if this is a weekend that’s going to change something. It can go my way. It can go Max’s way. So I keep focused on doing what I’m doing. I’ve been doing a good job. I’m happy with how things have gone. Like I said, I’ve not been happy with always the final result for different reasons. But I’m happy with what we’re doing as a team and how we’re working together. And I’m confident if we just keep our heads down and keep pushing, we can do it and we can close the gap. It’s not easy. I need more than just me first and Max second. But I can’t change that. So I just need to focus on myself and leave the rest to everyone else.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Question for Lando. We arrive in Austin and there’s nothing like a good technical skullduggery story and a team believed to have a device that can alter the ride height at the front of the car, and Red Bull have said, yes, we have got that device on our car. The fact that the FIA have found a way to make sure that a device like that could not be now used, does that give you an advantage in the title run between now and Abu Dhabi, the fact that Red Bull may be having their wings clipped technically, shall we say, to allow you and Max to then go and fight it out on the track?

LN: I mean, it’s one thing having it on your car. It’s another thing on how much you exploit it and use it, which we have no idea on. If it has been helping them, if they’ve been utilising it in the way people think they have, then maybe it will shift in our direction. But, I mean, when you talk about things like that, it’s not going to gain them… They’re not going to have got several pole positions or wins just because of such a device. I don’t think it really will change anything in the scheme of things. But when we look at maybe certain qualifyings and we look at the gap in certain races this year, when it’s been split by hundredths of a second in qualifying or even thousandths, then you might say, ‘OK, well, maybe this has helped in that direction or this direction’. But I think it’s good that the FIA are doing such a thing. There’s a difference between black and white stuff like this, and there’s a difference between Formula 1 and pushing the boundaries and creating new things and innovating within the space that you’re allowed to innovate. And I think that’s what we as McLaren have done a very good job in. But we’re sure not to go any further than that.

Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Antenna TV Greece) A question for Lando. The FIA changed the rules about the awarding one point to the fastest lap next season. If it comes down to losing the championship by that one point that Daniel took away from you from Singapore, Would that be bittersweet or something?

LN: No. I wouldn’t look at that as the reason. I’d probably put the blame down to other things this season that could have been better, rather than Daniel in his final race getting a fastest lap. It might come down to that in the end of the year. And if that’s the case, then so be it. But I don’t think that’s… People have done that for years. I know it’s just odd timing and people are quick to jump on things, but it depends if it’s… The circumstance of how it happened, I guess, is a unique one. Daniel knew it was his last race. And I wouldn’t say it’s a nice way to go out, because I don’t think any way to go out is a nice one. But yeah, if it wasn’t and it was just him going for fastest lap, then it’s a bit more of a question mark and something, I think, we probably would have questioned more as a team. And I know they’re changing the rules for next year and these kind of things. But if it was a repetitive thing, if it was to happen again this weekend or next weekend, then I think that’s where we would probably classify it or question it in a much deeper manner. But considering how things were and, I don’t know. I don’t want to just say I accept it because it was his final race because it’s got nothing to do for his championship or their championship. You know, it was something to take away from me, but I would never blame Daniel. I would never blame them. But if it’s done with intent to do such a thing, then it’s obviously not what we agree with. And I don’t think something that Formula 1 would agree with either. So the answer is no, I wouldn’t blame it on this. It would be down to other reasons.

Q: And Lando, just your thoughts on the removal of the fastest point for fastest lap next year?

LN: I have no idea. I don’t know why they’ve done it.

Q: Do you welcome it? Do you think it’s a good thing, bad thing?

LN: I kind of liked how it is now. I mean, you know, there’s an opportunity to go for something else. Sometimes you pay the price for risking such a thing, and it’s always been a risk in certain scenarios. if your pit stop goes wrong, you know, different reasons. The thing is, if it’s such a case, then it’s like we had in Singapore or something like that. that’s repetitive, then I think it’s the correct thing to do. But I don’t know. I don’t feel like they should change it just because of people questioning it after Singapore. So I don’t know. It’s got nothing to do with me. It was all a team manager thing. So yeah, it’s got nothing to do with us.

Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN Spain) A question to Lando. With the amazing performance that McLaren is having and you as a driver, but still 52 points to the world championship, do you feel in the team that if you don’t win this championship, it’s a failure? Or it’s just that the atmosphere has been a good year anyway?

LN: I think it’s still been a good year, like it’s still been a year I’ve enjoyed. It’s tough because you never know… There’s always things, no matter what year you’re in, that you think, you know, you could have done this a bit better, you could have done that better. And even with where I am now, there’s already things I go, ‘damn, if only I did this or that’, I’m not going to say where, but different scenarios. when if I lose a championship by a couple of points that I can easily look at and go, I made probably a wrong decision here and I could have lost it. If I win it by one point, I’m sure there’ll be things that Max says, which is like, ‘oh, I probably lost it here as well’. So it’s easy to come up with excuses and reasons for things. If I finish second, it’s because Red Bull and Max have done a better job. That’s my only answer for it. We started a very long way behind in the beginning of the year. I think everyone thought Max was going to have an easy win in the championship. Red Bull were going to have another easy win in the championship. For that not to be the case after the gap that they had after round one, and it not even to come from Ferrari as the main contender, but from us, a team that was probably fourth at the start of the year, I think it’s still a year to be proud of. But as the season goes on, you always re-evaluate where do we stand now and what are our new expectations. And our expectations now and actually for a while have been we’re a top team and we’re fighting for wins and we’re fighting for a Constructors’ Championship and we’re fighting for a Drivers’ Championship. Just as much as it can go wrong it can also go well like it has done for us and we’re fighting against the best of the best and it’s been a fun year. But I think no matter what it’s still been a successful season. But yeah, i’m sure I’ll be happier with a win than if it was for second.

Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Another question for Lando. You had said that you come into race weekends and you focus on yourself. But on the other side of that, how aware are you of what Max is doing throughout the race weekends? Is that something you really pay attention to or not at all?

LN: You pay attention to every driver. Yeah, I mean, that’s my job is to look at onboards and look at data, but it’s got nothing to do with me. You know, if Max qualifies first, fifth or 10th, it doesn’t change what I have to do. My job is still to try and win and get the most points I can for myself, whether that includes trying to get a fastest lap, I did that a few times this year and it could be that those few times I have got them can help me in the championship at the end of the year. Honestly, not a lot. I mean, he’s my contender. He’s the guy I need to beat. So when he’s just ahead of me, then I know, just like in Baku, that one position swing, me going one forward and him going one back, can make a big difference in a championship. And you just want that rhythm, you know, you want that rhythm of me gaining points on him and never kind of a hold. And that’s how things have gone the last few weeks. But, no, I just focus on myself, like I said before, and Max finishes wherever he finishes.

Q: (Albert Fabregas – ESPN) A question for Alex. Alex, are you surprised of how quick Franco has been performing on the last three races, and how he has adapted to the Formula 2, the car, and the team in only three races?

AA: I’m impressed. I wouldn’t say surprised. I think he was quick already in the test he did at Silverstone this year and he’s just taken it very comfortably. It looks like he’s not tense about it. He’s relaxed, which is the best thing you can be when you’re being put into a Formula 1 car in the middle of the season. So, yeah, not surprised, but pleasantly impressed.

Q: (Margot Laffite – Canal+) A question for Liam, and I would like to have an answer also from Lando, please. Liam, we’re doing a footage on the young drivers taking the power in Formula 1. We want to explain why young drivers, why rookies like you or like Ollie Bearman, Franco Colapinto, arrive in Formula 1 and are straightaway very performant. We want to explain that to people who might not know very well Formula 1 to avoid the fact that they might think that Formula 1 is easy. And for Lando to bounce behind, is it no longer a risk for a Formula 1 team to hire a young driver?

LL: I think we can’t really test much. I know many years ago that you could test pretty much whenever you liked, you know, had test cars and things like that. Although that would be very, very cool. Obviously that’s not the way the sport is right now. And that’s why simulator driving and the work we do behind the scenes with data and just preparing for an event, it’s mostly simulator work, I would say. And every team has their own simulator that they develop and that they try and work with. And it’s about basically trying to make it as obviously realistic as possible. So we spend a long time as a reserve driver, even going through Formula 3 and Formula 2, we get introduced to the Formula 1 work and preparing for a Formula 1 race. And I think that’s why the access we have now, it’s getting a lot closer every year. And I think that’s why it’s becoming, let’s say, easier or more closer for us to be able to step in. It’s still a challenge for sure. It’s still very different. But yeah, I think it’s just the work that we do behind the scenes. There’s a lot of it probably that maybe people don’t see.

LN: Is it a risk? I think it’s still a risk, for sure. I think what you’re seeing is very talented drivers come through. I feel like I’m older when I say it, but, you know, like Liam, like Oscar, like Franco, I think you’re going to see plenty of drivers come in and do a good job and perform and qualify well and things like that. I think that’s what comes more natural to drivers. But I think when you look at Formula 1, Formula 1 is not just about one weekend or two weekends or three weekends. It’s about 24 and it’s about a whole season and it’s about developing the car over seasons. And I think you’ll see, and I think there are plenty of drivers that can come in and drive a Formula 1 car quickly. And I think that’s the easier part of it, is coming in and just driving a car quickly. This is what we’re born to do, is what we live doing, is driving as quickly as we can. And I think the easier part of that is coming in and driving a car quickly. The tough part is the longer part of everything. It’s the 24 races. not crashing your car every weekend, not making those silly mistakes, helping your team, being a team leader, not just looking at this season, but looking ahead to next year and on knowing when to make sacrifices for following years. There’s plenty of things which make a driver a more complete driver rather than someone who can just come in and perform on one weekend. And I’m not taking anything away at all from those guys. Like when you see Franco come in and do the job he’s done in the middle of a season, it’s pretty impressive. And I think everyone acknowledges that, but it’s another job to do that every single weekend, not making mistakes, not crashing the car, especially now in a cost cap championship, it’s even trickier to push and find those limits. So you have those pros and cons, but being a Formula 1 driver is not about just driving a car quickly, which I think a lot of people can do, but it’s about doing that on top of doing that every single race, every single qualifying, working together as a team. I think that’s what makes a good driver in general, not just a quick driver. So you have those two sides, but I’m still impressed. And I think it’s still impressive to see the rates of how quick you can get these young drivers in now. And not talking as I’m old, but these young drivers like Franco come in and perform at the level that they have done so quickly. So it’s down to different reasons, but also simulators and things like that and preparation you can do nowadays is more advanced than what it was several years ago.

Q: (Dan Lawrence – Motorsport Week) A question to Alex. You’ll be joined by Carlos next year. If Franco doesn’t find a F1 drive anywhere else, he’ll be a reserve at Williams. You have Academy driver Luke Browning, who’s had a really strong F3 campaign and a strong debut in F2. With all the other work going on behind the scenes at Williams, it looks like you’ve got this really talented crop of drivers, yourself included. Is it exciting to have this talented crop of drivers to help lead the team forward?

AA: Yeah, I’d say so. I mean, in the end, we’re not really too focused on it as drivers. We just focus more on ourselves and our own performances. Where it’s useful is the feedback. It’s the work being done in the simulator, as Lando and Liam’s been talking about, you know, to have that experience, to have quick drivers, smart drivers who can lead some of the development of the car, that’s where it becomes really, really handy. We have a very strong line-up now, even in the simulator work that we do, including drivers like Zak (O’Sullivan). There’s a good path now, I think, especially if you look at where the Williams Academy is growing. It’s been done really well as well in terms of psychology, physicality, there’s a big process being done behind the scenes. And I think you’re seeing the benefits and the work that’s being done.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Liam, a question for you. I know you said there’s not any points targets or anything like that for you going into these final six races, but what indications have you got from, be it Helmut or anyone else at Red Bull, about what you can do in this final stint to look at maybe the senior Red Bull team next year?

LL: I mean, I think that’s very far ahead, honestly. The target or the goal that’s been set out is the same as it’s always been since I was 17 and joined the programme. It’s all performance-based and that’s basically how they’ll be looking at it. Obviously, Yuki’s done a very good job the last couple of years and especially this year and he’s the benchmark for them to compare me against. He’s the only one in the same car as me. So I’ll be directly compared with him. And I guess the goal or the expectation from them is for me to compete alongside him. So in terms of where that sets me out for next year or in the future, I have absolutely no idea. But that’s the target that’s been set out.

Q: (Dan Lawrence – Motorsport Week) Question for Lando. Are you relishing being the championship chaser? Is it bringing a renewed focus and renewed energy every Grand Prix weekend? And also, on top of that, I guess dreaming of being an F1 champion as a child to be in a situation in the present now after all these years in F1 where you’re fighting for a title, is that something that you sort of pinch yourself thinking about that every day?

LN: I mean, the second part first. I think I’m always going to find it odd. Maybe it takes a few more years to settle in, but I still feel like it wasn’t that long ago that I was watching it on TV and I was watching Fernando, Lewis, Jenson, all of these guys. And now that’s me in that position, so I still find that odd, but extremely cool at the same time and still lucky and honoured to be in the position that I’m in, especially with McLaren in Formula 1. And 100%, that fighting for a championship brings a lot more focus because… I think it switched a long time ago, honestly. I think it switched probably closer towards Miami time. I think that’s how early we kind of realised this could be a year that things can start to go quite well for us. It was obvious by then that more focus, more work needs to be done in every area possible. Some of it came after, you know. I think we’ve seen plenty of times, probably races we kind of regret not winning. Probably Silverstone being the main one that I think didn’t go our way it should have done. And I think we look back on that with a bit of regret that we didn’t end up in better positions than where we ended up in. I think almost since Silverstone, probably more so, there was quite a renewed focus from everyone. And not just including me, or not just me, but including mechanics, engineers, everyone back in the factory, because it became more and more real, a little bit with time, that we’re back in a position that we’ve worked very, very hard to be in, which is fighting for the championship and fighting for both the Constructors’ and for a Drivers’ championship. I’m loving it. It’s definitely more enjoyable. It’s always going to be more enjoyable when you’re fighting for wins and you’re fighting for a championship. But I’m still relaxed. There’s more pressure and a few more nerves, but I’m honestly still very relaxed and pretty chilled about the whole thing. I’m sure it’s going to get pretty more stressful and the later into the season you go, the trickier it gets, for sure. But I’m happy. I’m in a comfortable place. I’m focused on myself. And, yeah, I’m enjoying the whole moment.