FIA Thursday press conference – 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix

PART TWO – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Zhou GUANYU (Kick Sauber), Felipe DRUGOVICH (Aston Martin)

Q: Felipe, why don’t we start with you, because for a long time now, you’ve been scheduled to drive Fernando’s car in FP1 here tomorrow. How excited are you by that? And what is the programme tomorrow?

Felipe DRUGOVICH: Yeah, so thank you very much, first of all. Very excited to be here. Yeah, I think the only thing that wasn’t planned to be is actually the press conference. So, yeah, my best wishes to Fernando. Let’s see how he gets on tomorrow. But, yeah, really excited. Tomorrow the plan is to, first of all, focus a little bit for the team. We’re going to have some development runs. I’m just trying to help the team. gather some data, I think I’ll be able to have some fun at the end, you know, pushing a little bit, but, you know, it’s normally quite tricky, especially as a new track for me, so I need to take care of the car, but, yeah, hopefully it’ll be a good session.

Q: Well, you’ve got a lot going on tomorrow, and you weren’t in Austin, but what are the teams saying about the upgrades that they introduced there, and what are you expecting it to feel like in the car tomorrow?

FD: So feeling wise, I can’t really say. I haven’t driven this car, actually. So this is going to be my first time driving the ‘24 car. But I mean, taking on from last weekend, I think the upgrades were not the best, from straight away. But as with any upgrade, I think you’d need a little bit of optimising. We’ll see how they behave on this track, which is very, very different from Austin. But yeah, anyway, I’m excited. It doesn’t matter how the car is going to feel for me. I’m just trying to have fun and do the job for the team.

Q: I’m sure you’re going to have a great time. Look, final one for me. Can we talk about Fernando Alonso? It’s his 400th Grand Prix, an incredible number. You’ve worked with him for the last couple of years. Just tell us what that experience has been like and how much you’ve learned from him?

FD: Yeah, it’s been really cool. Obviously, trying to understand what he does and everything he does on track every weekend that I’ve been as a reserve driver is pretty cool. I think he’s got some different approaches from what I was used to. And just seeing the way he approaches the things, I think the driving bit is actually probably the closest thing to what we do. The approach he has and the attention to detail is pretty impressive. So it’s been quite cool to work with him.

Q: Alright. Thank you, Felipe. Zhou, let’s come to you now. It was quite a tough weekend for you in Austin. The race didn’t quite pan out as you wanted. You didn’t have the upgrades on your car, Valtteri did. What was he saying about them? And what can you expect from them this weekend when you’ll have them as well?

ZHOU GUANYU: You know, firstly, I think, excited, of course, to try the new package. I think Austin, in general, we were still trying to extract everything we could. I think it wasn’t easy, just seeing how difficult, let’s say, the start of the weekend for us, but also with the short term of just FP1, then obviously not getting enough track time to try certain things, trying to extract them. So I think it’s working like we expected in terms of numbers. But I did definitely expect to be a little bit more ahead than the pace was. But one thing I think was good is that in qualifying, it was, I think, both of us under two tenths to Q2, which is the closest we’ve ever been the last four five races. In a way it shows how much struggle we’ve been in but one another side I think it shows we have managed to close the gap, which is something nice to do. Unfortunately my race, definitely not going to go too much into detail on that, with a mistake in Turn 1 and that cost quite a bit. But even then I think points weren’t possible that weekend. But I was just trying to give it always what I had. So this weekend is going to be completely different, which will be nice and jump in the car after let’s say P1, from P2 onwards, trying to figure out, you know, what we go forward and, you know, what set-up we make, adjustments.

Q: How confident are you for this weekend? Because this was actually one of the team’s strongest performances last year, both you and Valtteri in Q3. Do you think this is going to be an opportunity?

ZG: I mean I think this track layout in general for us it’s on the table to do well but yeah I wouldn’t really set let’s say the benchmark high for what’s happening this year just because we’ve been struggling quite a bit in places and some tracks even we’re struggling more than the previous years which is quite difficult to go through that. but In another way, I think last year was definitely one of the stronger races in terms of purely on Saturday performance. The car was really good. And also, let’s say, in general, the track is not so bumpy, like we’ve been struggling with a lot of stiffness of our car over the bumps and kerbs. So, yeah, hopefully we can have a car on the ground straight away that is working like we expected and we’re working on that. But, yeah, there’s plenty, let’s say, of catch-up to do as a team for us to try to back in the fight for points.

Q: Well, good luck with that. Just a final one from me, 2025. Second seat still available in the team. Have they given you any idea of a time scale when they’re going to make a decision? And have you been looking elsewhere as well? Have you been thinking about a third driver role in another team or indeed in this team?

ZG: Yeah, firstly, I think it’s quite clear that we went through a lot more conversation than we did at the last few race weekends, and we knew that nothing has been declared. Also, nothing has been signed for the second seat and we are still in contention for that, myself and then together, I think, Valtteri, it’s quite clear. And yeah, nothing has been done. So we’re just giving all every weekend showing what we can do to Mattia, and then of course end of the day is up to him and the Audi people to make a decision. But on the other side, you know, you are focused on the season, but you’re also thinking, you know, what to do after in case you don’t have a seat. Of course, we have a few options that is looking not too bad as well. But firstly, the race drive remains the priority for now to be focused on.

Q: Alright. Thank you for that. Charles, let’s come to you now. Tremendous weekend for Ferrari last time out. What chance a repeat here in Mexico?

Charles LECLERC: I mean, it’s very difficult to predict this season race by race. Last weekend went extremely well for us. We were particularly strong in races and in race pace. In qualifying, we struggled a little bit more. However, on paper, Mexico should be quite a good track for us. But that doesn’t mean we’ll reproduce the kind of performance we’ve done in Austin, we just need to focus on ourselves, focus obviously on FP2 for me, I won’t be doing FP1, Ollie will be in the car for FP1, and yeah, just try and maximise the result this weekend, and then we’ll see where it ends up, but it’s obviously a very important part of the season, only five races to go, and there’s the Constructors’ title, that is still possible, so we’ll give absolutely everything in order to try and take that one.

Q: Charles, you say it’s unpredictable this season, and for a large bulk of it that has been true, but you have won two of the last four races. Since the summer break you’ve scored 98 points, equal to Lando Norris, 21 more points than Max Verstappen. That’s actually getting quite predictable, you being able to get a performance every weekend.

CL: We’ve been very consistent and I think we’ve been maximising our own performance, which is the most important thing. I don’t think we’ve been necessarily the fastest out of those last few races. However, we were the most consistent and we’ve maximised most points against our competitors. We had the best car in Austin, though, which is a good thing, because especially coming to the last five races, that’s what we needed, and it’s the best possible way to start this triple header. But before that, I don’t think we had the strongest car, but we were doing the best job as a team in order to bring the maximum points home. So, yeah, that’s our goal until the end of the season, and I hope it will pay off at the end.

Q: And how would you describe the atmosphere in Ferrari at the moment? I gather there was a team dinner last night. You turned up dressed as a mariachi. You had the sombrero on. It feels that there’s a really good vibe in Ferrari, at least from the outside looking in. Is that the case?

CL: I mean, there’s always been a very good vibe in Ferrari. There’s a very good vibe in Mexico, especially. And yesterday was a cool team dinner that we did all together. And obviously, after the last weekend, it’s nice to regroup. Because on Sunday night, we did a small thing, but nothing for too long because we’re all flying the day after and we obviously on a triple header. you’ve got to keep the energy for the on-track action. so but it was good to regroup yesterday and there’s a lot of motivation within the team. we have done some steps forward in the last few races and we know that the Constructors’ is possible. so we’ve got to keep the focus at 100 in the next few races and hopefully come back to McLaren in the Constructors’.

Q: Final one from me, Charles. I wanted to say hello, Maverick, but maybe it’s call sign, Percival. Some footage has emerged in the last few days of you in a fighter jet. Can you just tell us a little bit more how much you enjoyed it?

CL: I absolutely loved it. It was a very, very special experience. First of all, I’m very lucky to have been given the chance by Canal+ to actually do that, and not only to go into it, but to be able to pilot it. Obviously, we were two in the plane, so it’s not like I was on my own. I wouldn’t be able to fly it even though I’m closer and closer to get my plane license, but it’s another beast. However, to be able to control it in a safe fly zone or whatever you call it, it was very, very special. I mean, the pilot actually let me go to the limit of the plane, which at first, the first day, I could not at all get close to because I was feeling dizzy and not super well. However, the second day we called go closer to it. And it’s just an incredible feeling. And to be able to compare it to what I do on a daily basis or nearly in Formula 1 was a very special experience. So it was really cool.

Q: Are there any comparisons between that and this?

CL: No, it’s very different because in a fighter jet, you don’t really have references around you that are super close. You’re obviously quite high, so the feeling of speed is not really there until you actually go to the limit of the plane and feel the G, and there you see, OK, that’s crazy! Whereas in Formula 1, with the walls super close, you really have the sensation of speed straight away. But, yeah, both are extremely unique in their own way.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN Spain) Charles, you are doing an amazing season this year, and most probably you’re going to beat your records in Ferrari in terms of wins and points. I would like to know, what are the two or three most important things you have learned from all this time as a driver in Ferrari?

CL: I think my main weakness when I got to Ferrari was being very impatient and sometimes it still bites me. I feel like I found the right balance because I cannot either be happy to be a tenth off and I will always do absolutely everything in order to get that tenth, even if that means that sometimes I go over the limit and crash. But this is probably where I’ve learned the most, it’s to try and find that balance. Yes, sometimes it will happen that I’ll go over the limits, but I know that over the course of the season it pays more often to have that approach than to just be happy being off for a weekend. But as I said, yeah, it’s just trying to find that right balance and at the end of the season having the most possible points. And I think that this year that approach was the right one.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Zhou, there can only be one winner every weekend. Someone else has to finish nearer down the back. But do you feel, with Sauber’s struggles this year, you’ve been given a fair chance to show your talents in Formula 1? Or are you always having to battle a car that just isn’t there for you?

ZG: For sure not. I mean, it’s been real tough, because I still remember… because it just felt a lot better the first few races of the season. Of course, we struggled with other things in the pit, but when the car was actually performed quite competitively together with the people around the midfield battle, you really felt you can show what you are gaining or what you learned, experience over the course of two and a half years, that you are getting better experience, better knowledge with everything, and also get more understanding about what you need to go quicker. But then, in that period right now, it’s quite difficult, of course, to accept as a driver. But in the same time, I think you do the best you can, you kind of, you know, you’re out in Q1 or you are just struggling to get through that. And sometimes you’re missing, like, half… Sometimes you’re missing like half a second to the cut-off, which sometimes is difficult to explain exactly, purely on driving. So it’s a tough season, but you only got what you have, so I’m still trying to give everything I’ve got for the remaining races. And like I said, I care about my future, I care about wanting to stay here as long as I could, so I’m fighting for that, and the opportunity is still there, so I’m just trying to head down.

Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Charles, how do you race against Max Verstappen? I mean, you have a lot of experience racing against him and looking at after Austin. I mean, he seems really excellent at just playing in the grey area.

CL: I mean, Max has always been on the limit of regulations, but that’s what makes racing Max so exciting. And that’s also why I really like having those fights with him, is that you know that he will never let any room to you, and it will be always at the limit of the regulations. And that’s what makes those fights very exciting. Having said that, I feel like there are a few things maybe in Austin that I have seen that we maybe have to discuss with the FIA because I feel like the penalties were sometimes a little bit too harsh and we’ve got to make sure that we are all aligned, the FIA and us drivers, in order to make sure that it’s clear what we can do and what we cannot do when I’m saying that it’s more about I think Oscar overtake on the Saturday which for me didn’t really deserve a penalty. But this is an ongoing process that we always try to optimise with the FIA and it’s a discussion that we’ll have I’m sure during this briefing. but to come back with Max it’s always at the limit of the regulations. Sometimes it goes a little bit over, but yeah, that’s what makes Formula 1 exciting. Those fights makes it exciting.

Q: (Emilio Pineres – El Heraldo de México) Charles, this year you won your local race in Monaco and Checo has tried it too for some years too. How can you describe the experience? and also how much do you want Checo or any other driver in the grid can live something like that in any point of his career?

CL: I mean, it was a very, very special moment for me. In Monaco, to be able to win my home race, it was a very special moment, and I’m sure it’s a very special moment for every driver that managed to achieve that. However, as a driver, as much as I like Mexico and I really like Checo as well, you’re always looking at yourself. And this weekend coming here, I’m super motivated to win again. So it’s a very, very special feeling. And I hope for Checo that one day he will manage to do so. But I will do absolutely everything in order for it to not happen because I want to win as many races as possible.

Q: (Erwin Jaeggi – Motorsport.com) A question for Zhou and Charles. Regarding the driving guidelines, do you think there’s currently too much incentive to brake late and to have your front axle at the apex first as that determines how much room the other driver should give you? And if so, how do you think this should be changed?

CL: It’s a very, very complex subject, to be completely honest. I don’t have the right answer here. I think common sense needs to be applied in certain situations. When a driver do that multiple times in the same way, at one point… Yeah, we’ve got to still create overtaking opportunities. And what I’ve seen in Austin maybe is a little bit extreme. So we’ve got to look into it. To give one only answer on that subject is difficult because, as I’ve always said, the rule book is done for a thing. However, there will never be enough rules for every specific situation there on track. And sometimes you just got to have someone that has done that since many, many years, look at the situation and be honest and deal with it, with the specific situation you have in front of your eyes, There will never be one rule that will define exactly the way we shall race, I think.

Q: Charles, just quickly, you say we have to look into it. Just how involved do the drivers get in the guidelines?

CL: On these kind of things we are and we are more and more involved. So during the Drivers’ Briefing with the FIA we try and always come up with suggestions and they’re always open to them for the racing side, so this is good.

Q: Zhou?

ZG: Yeah, I mean, I think Charles pretty much covered everything. I think the hardest part, you know, in terms of what’s happening on track, especially what I see in Austin, we always focus the rules saying you have to be, like, say the guy’s making a move on the outside, have to be ahead in the apex, but then the guy inside, of course, he’s going to release the brake, trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. But then if he can’t stop in the white line, you know, it’s really complicated. And to make a rule clear because at the moment I feel, yeah, situation by situation, sometimes we’re still lacking a bit of consistency, but it’s tough when you have a track like that, very much a wide run-off area with various, you know, people can be just making different approach and driving lines as well. So we already, you know, discussed after the weekend, I think there will be further talks together with the drivers also with the FIA to be more clear on that.

Q: Felipe, can I bring you in on this as well? You’ve been racing for many years. You’re a FIA Formula 2 champion. What’s your take on the guidelines and everything we’ve seen in Austin?

FD: Yeah, I think I can talk about a little bit of being the outsider guy, you know, just because I haven’t really raced with these rules on. I think it’s pretty difficult to understand from inside the car. It’s not easy when you’re in the heat of the moment and just trying to overtake or trying to defend and just think about, ‘am I ahead or not in the apex?’ I think whenever these situations come up, they probably add something to the rules and hopefully they simplified it as well. I think just having simpler rules that cover this is always better, but at the moment. I think it was a very specific situation that, as Charles said, there is not a real answer to anything like that. Obviously, as a driver, sometimes you just wish there was gravel or grass on the outside, but it is what it is. I think also for safety, you need to think about twice, not only what drivers want. Obviously, it’s a bit complicated, even for the people watching, but I think as these rules go forward, they will become simpler.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) for Charles and Zhou. We’re way above sea level here. Can you explain a little bit what happens in the car, how different the car behaves on a track like this?

CL: Well, that makes obviously a big difference for the downforce and for the cooling. So in terms of downforce, you have a lot less downforce compared to a normal track at sea level altitude, which means that you slide a lot more. And then for the cooling, it’s a lot more difficult to actually cool the brakes, the engine. It’s very difficult. And for us as well, the heart rate goes a little bit higher compared to other races, but it’s not the most tiring and physical racetrack on that side. It’s not that much of a problem. However, for the car, it’s a very tough race. race for the car most especially for the cooling. So this will be a obviously the main topic for this weekend. And then the very low grip but that is I will say similar to maybe a track like Monza. However, we are driving with probably the maximum downforce that we can put on the car but that results in having the same grip as on a track like Monza where we run minimum downforce. So it’s a bit strange, as a driver, the first time you drive here because it’s not something that you expect to feel that much. However, it’s cool. It makes it a little bit different and it’s different challenges and as a team you’ve got to adapt quickly.

ZG: Yeah, I think, you know, the biggest thing I felt was that probably from the first year I was driving here, from FP1 to qualifying, the grip, actually you’re gaining a little bit, but compared to most of the tracks, for example, you actually doesn’t really feel the track evolution that extreme. And then, like Charles mentioned, firstly, with the cooling in the race, it’s a big issue for the engine, for the gearbox, for the brakes, that’s very easy to be overheating. And then on the other side, with the massive straight, DRS detection, you’re actually not getting that much tow effect and slipstream like you expected at normal tracks. So that’s probably the biggest difference. And yeah, the rest is all quite similar, to be honest.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Felipe, a question for you. Since Franco’s joined the grid, there’s been this massive swell in Argentinian interest in Formula One, a lot of sponsors joining and things like that. It shows the fervent South American fan base. For Brazil, be it you, be it Gabriel Bortoleto, when a Brazilian driver does get back on the Formula One grid, do you think it’s going to have a similar effect in Brazil and just really electrify that passionate fan base?

FD: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think even the little sessions that I do, FP1 sessions and every appearance that I had, there was a big effect already in Brazil. I think everyone is very excited to have one day a driver there. And hopefully we’re going to be able to represent the country there one day. But it’s really cool to see what’s happening to Franco as well. I think they were a long, long time without an Argentinian driver in Formula 1. And you can see how much they were missing someone like that. So I think it’s the same thing in Brazil, if not bigger, because there’s a lot of people in Brazil. Obviously because of Senna there is a lot of people you know missing someone driving there and obviously doing well.

Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) The feeling that you had with the car in terms of the balance and how it handled, is that the best feeling that you’ve had for this year?

CL: Obviously, we are getting better and better. I think last year was a very difficult year. Two years ago, we were in a better place in terms of balance. But now we are getting back to this kind of balance. But the balance doesn’t mean much. I mean, you can have a very competitive car and a very difficult car to drive. And at the end, what matters is the lap time. It’s not how good I feel in the car. Sometimes the two goes together, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes a car feels very, very difficult to drive. However, if it feels better than others and that you are faster, then it’s good enough. The balance is so much better than a year ago. I think we’ve been struggling in 2023 with the balance of the car. We’ve done quite a lot of work on that, and it definitely feels like a big step forward compared to last year. But we are slowly going in the right direction and trying to keep improving, obviously.

Q: (Nate Saunders – ESPN) There’s been a lot of talk about Ferrari and the Constructors’ Championship since last week. I think whenever a Ferrari driver mentions the word championship, it comes with a certain amount of hype, especially back in Italy. You probably experienced a lot of that in 2022. How difficult is that to manage, and have you got a bit more used to that kind of cycle of expectation since you’ve joined, having driven the team for so long?

CL: Yes, I think I’ve learned to deal with it. Because when you drive for a team like Ferrari, I’ve always said that I think one of the best things of a team like Ferrari is the passion. And people at the factory won’t count the extra hours they’ve got to put in. However, sometimes this exact same passion can be difficult to manage, because passion means also emotions, and it means that in good times you go super high with the emotions, but in the difficult times you take it a lot more, it’s a lot more difficult to deal with it. However, now it’s since 2019, I’m with the team, and we’ve been working a lot on that, and I think we are much more prepared to face those kind of ups and downs. And I don’t think we are as influenced by the outside noise around the team than we were maybe two, three, four years ago. So on that, I don’t think that it has any influence. And actually, we don’t really realize that inside the team. We are just motivated and happy about the actual situation because we are in a good place and we are working in the right direction, but we don’t really pay attention to what’s being said outside.