Track Interviews - Conducted by David Coulthard and Sam Worthington.
DC: We're going start with Verstappen in Vegas. Congratulations, Max. Your second victory here and in the end, that was - I won't say dominant, but it looked comfortable.
Max Verstappen: Yeah, it was good. I mean, of course like in practice, not really knowing what the tyres were going to do. Even in the race, I think you could see everyone just trying to find a rhythm, seeing how much you could push, especially in the first stint because you're on the more fragile tyre. And yeah, it worked really well. I mean, normally the race is always a tough one for us. We are normally not that great on tyres. But today it seemed like we had that a bit more under control and I could push a little bit more. And that just unlocked a bit more pace. I could stay out a bit longer and split, basically, the race in half. And yeah, that definitely helped a lot. The car was working pretty well, much more to my liking. And yeah, then it was, at the end, quite a decent gap. But yeah, it was just every lap feeling comfortable and not taking too much out of the tyre.
SW: I thought making Avatar was exciting. What you guys do is unbelievable. That was a great race. And you're exactly right. My question is: Lando, when he hit that first turn - when he just went for it - how did that make you feel?
Lando Norris: No, he didn't go for it. I went for it and no one else.
SW: They said you ran out of road.
LN: Yeah. Actually, I let Max win. I let him go. Let him have a nice race! No, I just braked too late. It was my f-up. I don't know - I wanted to put on a show, right? So that's why we're in Vegas, I guess. No, it was not my best performance out there. But when the guy wins by 20 seconds, it's because he's just done a better job and they're a bit quicker. So, fun race out there. Difficult as always, but we were fine.
DC: So George, just bringing you into it. It looked like you were putting the pressure early doors on Max, and then we heard you say there was an issue with the steering again, like you had. Did that manifest itself all the way to the end, or did you mean your pace dropped?
George Russell: It was there throughout, but it was the tyres. When Max came out the pits, I thought I had a chance here with the cold tyres and I really, really pushed hard and I just damaged the tyres. From there on in, I was on the radio saying I'm not sure this tyre is going to make it to the end. And it was really difficult. So again, it wasn't a great race outside, but standing here on the podium is, yeah, probably the maximum we could have achieved.
SW: So Max, they told me that's your 69th win. So since we're in Vegas, I'm thinking I'm going to be having to put the numbers six and nine on the roulette wheel. What do you think?
MV: I mean, I'd either stay at 69 or I have to go to 169, because it's actually quite a cool number.
DC: That's awesome. Look, Max, absolutely brilliant. One of the things I love as well is the racing respect between you guys. It was nice to see the little jokes there from Lando saying that you gave Max the opportunity to get the win here. But Lando, just very briefly
LN: I said I f***ed it up.
DC: Well, you can't say that. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen. But if we just bring it to the fact that this championship is still moving along. We've got two more Grands Prix, one more sprint. It's going to keep going.
LN: Yeah. You know, I've honestly had a good run. I think the pace was still good today. Max just drove a good race and he was quick. I made the mistake into Turn 1. You know, you've got to be punchy into Turn 1. I was just a bit too punchy, and that cost me. So that's the way it is sometimes. Still a good result - second - and still good points. You know? So it's not like I'm too disappointed. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull. They drove a good race. So onto the next one.
DC: So Max, just finally for you then. Where's your mind at here? You've won this Grand Prix. Brilliant drive. Are you thinking a little bit about the championship still, or are you just taking these - two races, one Sprint - just one by one?
MV: Yeah, I think that's the better approach. I mean, it's still a big gap. But, you know, we always try to just maximise everything that we've got. And this weekend, that was first. And yeah, the upcoming weekends we'll again try to win the race. And at the end of Abu Dhabi, we'll see where we end up. But I'm very proud of everyone. You know, we've had a really up and down season and tough times, but also really beautiful moments. And we learned a lot throughout the whole season, and that's also very valuable for the upcoming years. So that's something that we just have to cling on to and [we'll] just try to improve even more to come back stronger for next year, to put up a fight from the start of the year in the championship. But we're enjoying it now, and then we'll see next week what we can do again.
Press Conference
Max, great drive and fastest lap on the last lap as well. It seems once in front, you had everything under control. Is that the reality of it?
MV: Yeah. Well, I mean, it helped, of course, to get into the lead in Turn 1. I do think in the first stint, we were all finding our feet a bit with how much to push or not, how much we had to manage, because I do think we were all quite close up until the pit stops. So we were just trying to get a good balance, because we didn't really get to have a good understanding on Thursday. But yeah, it felt better than expected, I would say, already on that compound. And then, when we got onto the hard compound, I think already because we did quite a decent first stint, it made the second stint a little bit easier. But even there, you have to also make sure that you don't overcook it with the tyre. But yeah, we did well. Good communication with the pit wall as well. So yeah, actually very enjoyable, very nice, relaxed. So it was great.
You referenced the start there. It was close between you and Lando. Just talk us through the opening 10 seconds or so.
MV: Yeah. I mean, that's what you should do to cover off the inside. But I think it's very easy to get caught out with where you have to brake also, because normally in the start, you leave the grid and then you look in the mirror. But here, it's almost like you don't have a lot of time to look in the mirror because you immediately have to brake again. And it's quite slippery anyway. So yeah, I guess that's what happened.
You found some consistency with this car after the frustrations early on at Interlagos two weeks ago. Are you confident now that you can challenge for the win at the last two races as well as you have done here?
MV: Well, we have been more consistent on the podium, let's say like that. Some races we've not been in contention for the win, but from, I would say, the middle of '24 until the middle of '25, we were more probably off the podium than on. And now, at least, we are always fighting for a second or a third place, but at least on the podium, and that's already, for us, I think a very good step forward. I think that should have been the case from the start, of course, if you want to really fight for a title. But yeah, unfortunately, we didn't get it right in the beginning, but at least now it's more consistent and sometimes, yeah, it's good enough then to win.
What about fighting for the title? You said coming into this race that it wasn't on your mind. Is that still the case?
MV: Yeah. Just trying to enjoy, have a good time, and when you can win, you try to win.
Alright. Well, you've done that. Max, thank you very much. Very well done to you. Lando, let's come to you. Great race as well. Although you were haemorrhaging time on those last couple of laps, just talk us through what was happening on laps 49 and 50.
LN: I think there was just some issues with the car, the team were telling me on the radio. So, yeah. Just had to back off a bit.
Alright. Well, apart from that, Lando, just sum up your race. This was your 18th podium of the season, in just 22 races. Satisfied? Happy?
LN: Not really. We just weren't quick enough today. We didn't have the pace. I messed up Turn 1 - it was pretty poor from me. I just braked too late. So yeah, it was all on me, pretty poor from myself. But even if I came out in P1 out of Turn 1, we were not quick enough today. Same as Brazil. Max has done a very good job and the Red Bull is very quick. They deserve the win today. They were in another league compared to us. So a bit of a shame that we didn't have more pace, but we've got to try and improve a bit more.
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