Group 1: Nico Hulkenberg, Zhou Guanyu, Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and George Russell.
Esteban, let’s begin with you, as a result of it is one thing of a house Grand Prix for you. Remind us of your Spanish heritage?
Esteban Ocon: Sure, I’ve quite a lot of household, clearly, that reside across the circuit and, sure, my grandparents, you already know, are Spanish, so for me it is virtually two weekends of dwelling races, or very shut. So yeah, it feels good to come back right here and able to assault the weekend. Clearly we’re coming from an excellent one. So yeah, I can not wait to assault this one.
Properly, let’s throw it again to Monaco rapidly. An amazing weekend by you and Alpine. First up, how wild did the celebrations get on Sunday night time?
EO: Thanks. Yeah, it has been fairly wild, for certain. Nice to rejoice with my group. We had been all out partying and, yeah, it has been superior to only… , everybody received an incredible reward after all of the onerous work and a troublesome begin of season. So yeah, we might be all happy with what we have achieved. Clearly, toes to the bottom coming to this weekend, it’ll be a great check to see the place the automobile is strictly after placing all these upgrades on it. And yeah, it is a monitor that everybody is aware of tremendous properly. So, trying ahead to check that.
Can we simply do a evaluate and distinction? Can we evaluate your Monaco weekend the place you completed third, along with your Hungary weekend, a few years in the past, the place you received. Which was the higher weekend by way of what you had been doing within the cockpit?
EO: I feel they each had quite a lot of similarities. I feel getting a really, excellent lap in Qualifying was clearly extra key in Monaco than in Budapest. However, you already know, I additionally had an excellent weekend in Budapest on the Saturday and we had been very aggressive. However I might say, you already know, it isn’t a win, so it would not style pretty much as good. However clearly, it has been some time since I have been on the rostrum, and getting it on pure benefit that point to have that podium, it is one thing particular.
Ultimate one from me. Was it a Monaco particular final weekend or are you able to reproduce that type right here in Spain?
EO: We will give all of it to have the ability to reproduce it right here, that is for certain. We’re not right here simply to take part. However as I mentioned, toes on the bottom. It’ll be a great check for us precisely, to guage the place we’re after placing these updates on the automobile. And I feel there is not any higher monitor to see the place the automobile is strictly than right here.
Alright. Better of luck with that. Thanks very a lot. Now, Zhou, let’s come to you. Belated Joyful Birthday. You turned 24 Simply a few days in the past. How had been these celebrations and have the group performed something particular this weekend?
Zhou Guanyu: Yeah, clearly not an enormous celebration as a result of it is a back-to-back and clearly I did not have the consequence like Esteban to have a great night time in Monaco. However yeah, on my aspect I simply stayed with household again dwelling after which to be prepared for this weekend. So truly, as lots of you most likely know, now we have the bundle already for Monaco however it’s not very clear for a circuit like that, as a result of it is a one-off particular monitor, so will probably be nice to be seeing the place we’re and turning as much as a monitor like right here, and particularly with the final sector altering, and we actually can see how this works for us and hopefully that it deliver us a bit of bit one step up, which I feel we really feel like we wanted because the very starting of the season.
You guys had a filming day earlier than the beginning of the season right here in Barcelona how a lot of a bonus is that for you?
ZG: I imply clearly it is good to be right here however then filming days there’s solely a [set] quantity of laps you possibly can attain and I feel you get one or two push laps and that is it. Yeah, normally it is a monitor that everyone did 100 laps or 1000 laps within the sim. I am certain everybody is aware of the monitor and it is extra in regards to the particulars and the way a lot confidence you’re feeling on the high-speed tracks however yeah, personally I do like extra excessive velocity tracks than the gradual technical, a bit extra like Monaco, tracks. So yeah, for me, hopefully that may play into the fingers of my driving type hopefully and obtain higher outcomes than for instance the earlier race.
Alright. Better of luck with that. Thanks very a lot. Nico coming to you now. Go on then, you have had an extended profession in Formulation 1, so what number of laps of Barcelona do you assume you have pushed in your life?
Nico Hulkenberg: Too many. Yeah, clearly we got here right here a lot again Within the day, winter testing, typically nonetheless I bear in mind from earlier than my F1 full-on years, testing round right here. So a good few, though I’ve by no means performed this new sector, two corners totally different, two fast proper handers, so we’ll discover them tomorrow, see what it is like. However I have not been right here since 2019…
Max Verstappen: Within the ’90s they’d that format. Again within the day!
NH: Had been you there?
MV: You sound prefer it! ‘Again within the day’!
NH: It has been 4 years although that I have been right here, so it seems like a contemporary new Grand Prix to me.
Look, can we throw it again to Monaco to study extra about how you are going to go this weekend? You had a brand new entrance wing there. What influence did which have on efficiency?
NH: Properly, Monaco did not fairly go so properly for us. It was a troublesome weekend as a group, so we put that behind us. I feel coming right here, you already know, contemporary weekend. I feel we’ll get extra of a clue how the replace is understanding. How the entrance wing is performing. Clearly additionally again to a traditional or, you already know, everlasting race monitor. It seems like you already know, fairly road circuit-dominated the previous few Grand Prix, so good to be at a traditional monitor for as soon as. I feel it ought to go well with us higher, extra flowing, extra excessive speeds. , for those who evaluate that with Melbourne and Jeddah, hopefully, we will probably be in a greater place right here.
Better of luck with that. Thanks, Nico. Max, let’s come to you now, earlier than we speak Formulation 1, inform us about your morning on the excessive seas. What have you ever been as much as as we speak?
MV: Yeah, I have been on the water a bit of bit. Yeah, simply attending to expertise a bit extra like in the direction of the America’s Cup, what is going on to occur proper? And simply getting a little bit of an perception as properly what they must do on the boat. Eight guys on there, which is a bit totally different, after all, to us, driving alone within the automobile, however it’s nonetheless all about communication and dealing collectively, which in a means we additionally do once we’re driving. So yeah, it was a great morning out on the water.
Had been you impressed by the tech?
MV: Yeah. It seemed nice. It was very nice to expertise all that.
EO: Had been you sick?
MV: No, fortunately not. It was good.
EO: You look a bit pale.
MV: That is most likely nonetheless from Sunday night time!
Properly, Max, let’s speak about Monaco. It was such an incredible weekend by you, each in qualifying and the race. How do you replicate on it? Was that your greatest weekend of 2023?
MV: I did not know. I imply, it was most likely a great one. We knew that coming into the weekend, it was most likely not going to be our strongest weekend on the calendar. However I feel we nonetheless managed properly. Qualifying was very shut. However Monaco is at all times fairly chaotic and hectic in Qualifying. However then within the race, I feel we needed to do after all, that very lengthy stint on the Medium, which wasn’t deliberate, however we needed to, so we simply needed to keep on the market and await what Fernando behind me would do. After which, after all, the rain began to come back down, it was all very chaotic, and it isn’t the nicest factor to occur to you while you’re within the lead, and it begins raining. You do not wish to take an excessive amount of threat, however you do not wish to lose an excessive amount of time, however yeah, general, it was a great race but additionally as soon as I crossed the road, I used to be like, ‘I am blissful the weekend is over’. It is very hectic and fairly traumatic. So I am additionally trying ahead to this weekend. It is a correct race monitor and that is the place a Formulation 1 automobile comes alive.
And Helmut Marko says that you will be working some upgrades right here and that you will do one thing totally different with the automobile right here. What are you able to inform us?
MV: I feel Helmut received a bit excited as properly. So I do not know. I imply, we’ll simply do our regular programme and nothing loopy.
Do you assume this monitor will go well with the automobile?
MV: It ought to do.
On paper it appears to be like fairly good.
MV: Usually, sure, however we nonetheless must discover a good steadiness, however I feel so long as now we have a great steadiness within the automobile we will have a great weekend.
