FIA post-Sprint press conference – 2024 United States Grand Prix

DRIVERS

1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), 2 – Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari, 3 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Guenther Steiner)

Q: Congratulations, Lando. It seemed like damage limitation. It’s still damage limitation. You started fourth, you finished third. But what happened in the beginning of the last lap? that you lost that position?

Lando NORRIS: Yeah, I mean, it was a good race. Honestly, I’m pretty happy with how things ended up. Yeah, it was a tough one. I thought I could maybe hang on to second, but Carlos did a good job, and my front tyres were completely finished. So there was not a lot I could do, whether I stayed straight or defended or not I’m pretty sure I would have lost the position to Carlos. So disappointing end, but I’m happy with the race results and a good amount of points.

Q: Your start was very good. Can you explain that a little bit? I mean, you made up two places, which was very good. I mean, because normally, you know, that is your…

LN: No, there’s a few races and starts were bad, but otherwise they’ve been good. And today was a good start again and a good first corner. So, yeah, I did the most I could. I don’t think we have the pace on Max or the Ferraris. Therefore, I’m happy to finish third.

Q: Congratulations again, Lando. Thank you. Congratulations, Carlos. You gave us a lot of entertainment, the first part of the race and the last part. Talk us through, Carlos. It was fantastic to watch you fighting with Charles and George.

Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, and honestly, they were very fun battles. Yeah, a good Sprint. I think if the Sprints are like this, you always enjoy them, that little bit of extra action. Yeah, we had a lot of battles, especially the first five laps, a lot going on. And yeah, towards the end, I was starting to struggle with the tyres, but I saw Lando also struggling and I thought that if I could get into the RS, I would have my chance to finish in P2. And yeah, we made it stick into Turn 1 and yeah, it was a fun one.

Q: Do you think if you’d have started in pole, you could have won this race? Because you were getting very strong at the end. I mean, you must have managed your tyres very well.

CS: Yeah, well, the reality is that we didn’t manage much the tyres because we were in so many battles the whole time that we couldn’t really actually focus on tyre management too much. And even though we did that, our pace was still quite decent, so it’s encouraging to see that maybe for tomorrow we have a good chance. I think anyway in qualifying, our car is still not in the best place, but we will try and qualify as far ahead as possible.

Q: Thank you very much and congratulations again, Carlos. Max, it looked like you were in control from outside. How was it inside the cockpit?

Max VERSTAPPEN: It was not too bad. Yeah, it feels a bit like old times. Yeah, I’m very happy with today. I think, of course, if you look at the whole race, Ferrari was also very quick. But I think for us, finally, we’re racing again. Normally in the race, we’re always looking back behind us. But now we could just do our own race. And yeah, we’re at good pace.

Q: Yeah, and you seem to be like a Sprint race specialist. You’ve won 11 out of 16. Where is that coming from?

MV: Probably because I don’t like it!

Q: So how would it be if you would like it? You know, how good would you be there then?

MV: I don’t know. I mean, it’s, of course, always a very hectic weekend like this, you know, to get the car in the right window. But luckily, the last few times that we had a Sprint, I think the car was in a good window. So, yeah, there’s a bit more pressure on delivering, but luckily it’s working out for us.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Max, very well done. Great race. It’s been a while since you last won. How happy are you with the performance today?

MV: Yeah, I’m happy. Yeah, it’s been, of course, quite a few races where it was more like just looking behind, never really being able to attack. And now, finally, the car definitely had just more performance. I could push a bit harder. So, yeah, very, very happy with today. I mean, looking at the whole race, I think Ferrari was also very quick. But for us, this was already much, much better.

Q: What is the overriding emotion, Max, for you? Is it one of relief? The car is back where it was earlier in the season?

MV: Well, I mean, back where it was in the beginning of the season is difficult to say because everyone is improving as well. It just feels a bit more together. And I think that is what we have been lacking. I mean, over one lap, you can mask a lot of issues. But then, of course, in the race, you need a balanced car, which was a bit of a struggle for us the last few races. And now, today, it was definitely a lot better.

Q: And were there any stresses for you in those 19 laps?

MV: No, it’s just, you know, the track with the new tarmac in places and compared to last year, you know, your references are a little bit different. And, of course, with the Sprint format, you don’t have a lot of information, so it’s like you’re getting better throughout the race, I think, as well, understanding what you have to do, and basically that was it.

Q: Alright. Very well done to you. Thank you for that. Carlos, let’s come to you now. Very racy from you, from fifth on the grid. First of all, how much did you enjoy that race? You were very busy from start to finish.

CS: I really enjoyed it. Obviously this year we have a car that allows us to move forward in the race. Last year it was a bit like Max was saying, looking in the mirrors, in the Sprints, in the races. And this year the car tends to come alive on the race and immediately after lap one I saw we had a good pace and I could keep up with the guys in front and we went racing. It was some exciting battles, first with Charles. I remember at some point thinking, ‘OK, we’re having fun even here’, because I was overtaking him on the inside. He was doing the switch back on the inside on the exits, and it was quite fun. Then we got George, and towards the end I thought Lando was going to be tricky to get, but we just made it two laps to the end, and on the last lap I could move into Turn 1.

Q: Did you and Charles slow each other down in those early laps? Without that, do you think you could have challenged Max Verstappen?

CS: I don’t know, but, you know, it’s impossible to say. We will see tomorrow. I knew that, obviously, the first few laps I was quite quick and I wanted to get to the front as soon as possible and that was the plan we did, probably the thing that we suffered the most with is obviously being in so much battle offline, online, the tyre degradation or the tyre management wasn’t ideal. But even without that tyre management towards the end of the race, we were still pretty competitive, so it gives me hope going into tomorrow.