F1 – 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix – Thursday Press Conference Transcript
PART ONE – Lance STROLL (Aston Martin), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Franco COLAPINTO (Williams)
Q: Why don’t we start with the honorary citizen of Brazil. Lewis, you’re back in a country you love, at a circuit you love, where you’ve had a lot of success in the past. Just how excited are you ahead of this Grand Prix?
LEWIS HAMILTON: Good afternoon, everyone. I love coming here. I’ve been really excited about the trip and just getting back. Every opportunity I have to spend time here. You learn more about the culture. You are able to engage more. I know the Senna Foundation did an amazing event last night with all the great work that they’re doing. And it’s just the colours, it’s Ayrton, it’s the culture, the people. So you really vibe off that through the whole weekend.
Q: Lewis, you say it’s Ayrton. There’s a very special thing happening on Saturday evening here. You’re going to be driving his 1990 McLaren. How special is it for you to commemorate him here at Interlagos?
LH: Well, I mean, every time we come here is an opportunity to do that. And I think so many of the drivers also do that. But I never in a million years thought I’d ever get to drive Senna’s car here. I remember, someone contacted me, my manager told me about it, and I jumped at the opportunity. Back in the day, when I was at McLaren, I did get the chance to drive the MP4/4 around Silverstone, which was incredible. But just the thought of driving that car around here, if you look at the… I remember the races where he was, when he finally won here and held the flag and yeah, it will definitely be quite an emotional experience and I hope people are here to see it. I had a helmet made, his helmet, made for me, but I don’t know if we’re using that one tomorrow, but yeah, I think the initial hope was for it to be a surprise. So I had a whole white suit and his helmet and I’d go out and drive the lap and it would just look like it was him out there. But somehow it got out there. It’s impossible to keep things quiet.
Q: Lewis, it’s a manual gearbox. How’s your heel and toeing these days?
LH: I’m always heel and toeing. So it should be…! No, it used to be really good when I was younger, and when I did the MP4/4, I was able to do it back then. It’s something I miss. I wish we had that in Formula 1. I mean, the two-pedal thing is just not exciting, and they need to bring back the H-Box. It was awesome.
Q: Let’s bring it back to Mercedes now. What’s happening this weekend? A sprint weekend. It was the best combined performance for the team since the summer break last weekend in Mexico. Just how confident are you of getting a good performance here?
LH: Confident. I mean, it’s been a very turbulent year. I think we always arrive with confidence and with a positive mental attitude, but the car is just, I don’t know how, I’m sure it’s similar for the other drivers, but there’s glimpses of hope and then things it swing back and forth, whether it’s tyres, whether it’s the aero. So you never know what you’re going to get. I always feel like Forrest Gump when I say that! But then, yeah, I’m hoping the car… The last race was really positive for us in terms of the end result, but through the weekend it was definitely, with George’s crash during the weekend and then I started with a bad start of the race, but then got better towards the end, so there’s definitely potential within the car and we’re always just looking to fine tune it and hope that we can extract more from it. And I’m hoping, with the new surface track layout here maybe we can have a better race.
Q: Good luck. Enjoy it as well, Lewis. Thank you for that. Franco, coming to you now. Would you fancy a run in Senna’s old McLaren?
Franco COLAPINTO: I would. I’m not as good as Lewis in the heel and toe part, but I’ll try to do my best. It would be amazing, and I think it’s an incredible opportunity that any driver in this world would love to have. Of course, Lewis is the right person to get that chance and to do it here in Interlagos in such a special year for Ayrton, it’s, I think, a very unique moment for all the Brazilian fans, for Lewis, for all of us, the drivers, to enjoy the moment together, and keep doing this tribute to Ayrton that he really deserves it. He was my idol and hero since I was very, very young. That’s why I started to look at Formula 1 and, you know, watching the movie, reading all the books and the history. And I think him being from South America, it’s a little bit more of a relationship to me and how he got to Formula 1 and how he fought his pathway to where he arrived. And yeah, he’s definitely a big inspiration for me and it’s going to be great to see his car going around here.
Q: Well, Franco, we last had you in the press conference in Baku. You’ve now done five races in Formula 1, two points finishes. Just sum it all up. How do you feel it’s going?
FC: It’s going well. It’s going well. Of course, the start, in Baku, went very well. We scored a few points with both cars. It was a very positive start. We came from a weekend that was a little bit more tough for myself. It was a very low-grip track, very tricky with aero, the tyres. They were not really cooling down. and I just struggled a little bit to find the best performance in qualifying. The race was really positive and we had very good pace, so that was on point, but qualifying was a bit tricky for me, trying to find a bit better the balance of the car, it was very difficult to drive the car in quali and just struggling a bit. Confident to come here. Of course, on a track that I don’t know, another Sprint weekend , as Austin, and I think we carry good momentum. Austin was points, and here more opportunities for points. So looking forward to it. Of course, my first time racing in Brazil, and to be so close to my hometown, to Argentina, it’s very special. Closest race I’m going to be having since I started racing, so it’s going to be a very unique one and a track that has a lot of history and legacy in motorsports, so it’s going to be great.
Q: A lot of Argentine flags, I would have thought, in the grandstands as well. Thank you for that. Lance, let’s come to you now. If there’s a car from history that you’d like to drive, can you name one?
Lance STROLL: I mean, something from back in the day like that. You know, so much lighter than what we’re driving now. And yeah, I think that’s already huge. Just remove a couple hundred kilos from what we’re driving now and it’s a lot more fun. So yeah, something from back in that era.
Q: Alright. Well, look, what about this weekend? Both you and Fernando had a good run here last year, third and fifth in the Grand Prix. Does that give you some confidence coming into the weekend?
LS: I mean, not really, because we’re in a different situation to where we were last year. You know, we had a good car here last year, so when the car’s good, those results come. When the car’s less competitive, it naturally just becomes harder for those results to come. Let’s see, though. It’s a great track. I always enjoy coming here. It’s got a great rhythm and flow, and it’s a lot of fun to drive. And maybe a bit of weather to mix things up, which always makes it interesting and presents opportunity.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN Spain) A question to Franco. Franco, you’re doing an amazing, amazing job with Williams. My question is, if you have the chance to raise another team for next season, do you think Williams is going to favour this situation?
FC: Well, I think I shouldn’t be the person asked about that. Of course, I don’t know the answer, and I guess yes. I think if Williams cannot give me a race seat, I think the normal thing is that they allow me to go somewhere else and that they find the best opportunity for me for the future. But I’m not the right person to be asked. I should be the last one, you know. I’m here with Williams this weekend and I’m going to try to do my best here in Brazil. It’s a very exciting race, great atmosphere, and I cannot wait to be driving the Williams around Interlagos. So, look, I think for the future and it will be great that it happens. I thought I was not going to be racing in F1 next year, and that’s still my first view, so I don’t really get too excited about whatever they’re talking around. But yeah, let’s see.
Q: (Albert Fabrega – ESPN Latam) I’m also following that for Franco. There’s a lot of talk and rumours around your future in the paddock. How did you manage all these things? Does that affect yourself when you’re going on track? And which is your ideal situation? Where would you like to be next year?
FC: I would like to be in Formula 1. I came very late in the year, and I got an amazing opportunity by Williams, by James. Sven, everyone in the team gave me a lot of trust, confidence to put me in that race seat. And I got an amazing chance that I was not expecting to get this year. And I tried to do my best and have the best results possible to show that I deserve to sit here. And that’s what I’m trying to show and to achieve. And if it’s not next year, I hope that it’s in ‘26 or ‘27. And yeah, I’m not really having much pressure or anything like that. I’m trying to enjoy the moment, enjoy the opportunity that I’ve got. It was my dream since I was very little to drive a Formula 1 car. And now to be here doing these last nine races, it’s very special. So just enjoying.
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sport Italy) Lewis, you have, I think, the great honour to drive this weekend the Senna car. You were a McLaren driver. You won here your first title with them in 2008. Are you keeping an eye on the fight between McLaren and Ferrari for the Constructors’? And are you thinking that it’s a big shame not be in the game with your team this year?
LH: Of course that’s what we would have all loved, to have been in the fight for the championship. That’s what everyone works towards. We knew at the beginning of the year it was going to be tough as soon as we hit the ground and we didn’t expect to also have some of the success we had. Obviously, Silverstone, everyone worked so hard to get that result, which I’m so incredibly grateful to the team for. But yeah, I know this team so well, and I know that the results and the position we’re in this year will just only fuel them even more to work harder to have a better car next year. And no, I’m not really watching much up ahead, unless I’m in the battle or behind, like in the last race. I saw them for a second, and then they were gone. But yeah, I’m just focusing on trying to do the best job I can.
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sport Italy) You are interested in thinking about your future?
LH: I’m very interested in my future, of course. And so, in that respect, keeping an eye, yeah. Watching everything that happens.
Q: Have you been very encouraged by the performances of Ferrari recently?
LH: Of course. It’s been, you know, through the year, the beginning of the year, you know, if you look at somewhere like maybe China already, but the Red Bull was like a second ahead. And it’s been quite incredible to see the McLaren rise and then the Ferrari in the last few races, to see their progress and just trying to keep an eye on everyone’s car and what they’re changing and what they’re adding. You know, we all watch the video, all the drivers, we all watch the onboard laps and we’re always trying to see where we can gain time. And there’s some cars that just react differently and better or worse in certain areas. And you’re trying to figure out how you can find that within either your balance or get the team to develop the car in that direction.
Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports Mexico) A question to Lewis. You had the chance to battle Franco back in Baku. I just wanted to get your view on what he has done so far and what you think about his chances for next year. I mean, how tough would it be to not have him on the grid next year?
LH: Well, I think he’s done an incredible job, I think, to, last minute, be called upon and thrown into the deep end in this sport. The majority of us, if we’re lucky to get in the sport, we have a bit of a run-up, if you look at, for example, young Kimi, for example, he’s got a lot of test days before his first race. I think he will have over 20 days or something in the car, which is unprecedented. And as for this guy here, he didn’t have that. So he just jumped straight in and he did a fantastic job. And it was really great to, as I said in the race, it’s always great to see young people and young talented individuals get the opportunity to come through and shine. And I think he did that in the first race. We had a great little battle and it was super safe. It was hard but fair. And I think he’s earned his right to be here. There still is a seat available. And he’s saying it’s not for him to decide. My advice would be to make sure that it is. I’d be pushing on my side to make sure I was doing absolutely everything… and at the end of the day he’s got to just focus continue to focus on doing his job every weekend as he is. Hopefully he’s got good people behind him who are doing the right job to make sure that he’s here racing next year.
Q: (Margot Laffite – Canal+) Lewis, you’ve been battling for many world titles, strong from that experience. What are your thoughts about the battle between Lando and Max? Your opinion on their assets and their strengths, both of them?
LH: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely, I think it’s really exciting for the sport, firstly. The last couple of years, not necessarily so exciting, obviously, with Max just leading the way, and that sometimes happens. But I think it’s been really exciting for the fans to see that it can go right down to the wire at the end of the year. There’s still a possibility of Lando catching up. I read somewhere I think he’s got to get 11 points more or something in each race or something over these next races, which is definitely possible with the performance they have. And yeah, I mean, we all know Max and his strengths and can’t really say too many weaknesses, if any. And you’ve got, obviously, Lando, who’s really rose to the occasion and has been really leading the team. I haven’t really spent too much time looking at how they’re racing and how they’re positioning the cars. Obviously, everyone knows what happened in the last race or the last two races, but everyone will have an opinion on it. But at the end of the day, those two are the drivers. They know what they’re doing. I’m really excited to see what happens over these next races. I’m just hoping that I can at least have a good seat view to watch it all as they’ll be ahead.
Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) Lewis, we’ve had a lot of talk about driving standards and guidelines, and it seemed like in Mexico we had more and more people dive-bombing the apex because the guidelines seemed to allow it. Obviously, you were on the receiving end of that here in Turn 4 a few years ago, so are you expecting more of that this year?
LH: I mean we’re kind of… Performance wise, we’ve been a bit no man’s land, so we’re not really receiving too much from behind or we’re not really attacking too many at the front. So I mean the rules are still the same as they were back in 2021. So what we saw in 2021 with myself and Max is still happening today and will continue until perhaps they make a change. And also, the tracks, with all the run-off areas, don’t help. If it was gravel or grass, they wouldn’t be going all the way out there. So it’ll be interesting to see the development. Hopefully they’ll make some changes for next year.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) Question for Lewis. We’re going to Vegas in a couple of weeks. What did you make of it as an event last year? Did you enjoy all the showbiz stuff? Did any funny or unusual things happen to you that weekend?
LH: One of the cool things is I feel like I maybe play a tiny role in these races that appear. It was something I’d always said. They’d say, where you want to have a race and I always said Vegas. And all of a sudden some years later we had a race in Vegas. I think for our first race, naturally, there’s always going to be, at any new circuit, there’s always going to be learnings and things that don’t go perfectly well. So the weekend as a whole, I think what happened with the fans and I can’t remember exactly, but it wasn’t the smoothest of weekends, but the race was incredible. And so going back now, I think they would have made so many changes and it would be even better. But yeah, definitely dancing under the nightlights was just incredible. We didn’t have the car to be at the front, particularly that weekend, and so the car wasn’t the happiest on the track like that, but hopefully a bit better this year. And then also, I’ve been talking about Africa, and we’ve got, potentially, Rwanda on the cards, which is amazing. So I just hope it comes in time before I’m gone. That’s my biggest dream, is to make sure that I get to race there before I retire.
Q: (Gustavo Faldon – Estado de São Paulo) Franco, can you describe the difficulties that South American drivers have nowadays to join Formula 1? And do you think in the near future that maybe we can have two South American drivers, you and someone else?
FC: Yeah, it will be great. I think it shows that things are getting better. Lewis many times already spoke about the difficulties that came from his side. I had many. I really struggled to go away from my country to Europe when I was very young. You’re very far from your family, you struggle. It’s like, when you’re European you finish the race and you go back in a plane for an hour and you go back home and you’re with your family in the evening and it’s just normal, whilst for me it was completely the opposite. At 14, living alone, going back from a tough weekend needing a bit of a hug, and you don’t have that. You are completely alone, which makes it a bit more difficult. Of course, the budget part is the most difficult one, and that’s why we struggle so much. I think there is a lot of talent in South America, and we show it when one has got a chance, [he] performs. That is the most important part. I think nowadays it’s getting much better. Lewis already spoke about how for him it was very important to be very welcoming and to give a little bit of that back of what he felt that he didn’t receive at his time. And I have felt that nowadays, it’s getting much better. I have a lot of support. Everyone around me has been very supportive. And they have involved me in every little bit, which it’s very nice to see. And I think very exciting to see how we are progressing as a society. And yeah, also the drivers, everyone has been so welcoming. It’s been very nice. The respect from Lewis that he has been showing these last few races. And since I arrived, it has been something very special for me and very important, I think, for the sport. So look, I think it’s going to be great if someone else comes in the future, some nurse South American. And if I can stay to have two, it will be amazing. Let’s hope for it.
Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) Question for Lewis. Just going back to the racing, Lewis, we’ve seen over the last 17 years, or you’ve been in F1 for 17 years, sorry. Do you think the racing has kind of changed during that time? Has it perhaps become more aggressive over the last 10 years, do you think?
LH: I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve raced for a long, long time, so I’ve been karting, and I wouldn’t say that Formula 1’s got any more aggressive. I mean, when I first got to Formula 1, I was racing with Fernando, who was very firm and tough to beat on track, and it was no different to now, I would say. I think the only difference is that the tracks now have these run-off areas. I think when I joined, we didn’t have these big run-off areas, so when you first get in, you really had to build up to the limit. You couldn’t go beyond it, go off track and come back on. And that’s something I would say the thing I noticed the most when, so like for example, around maybe Max’s time or maybe just before, where they started having these big run-off areas, where the younger drivers were able to come in and really abuse those areas and not put the car on grass, for example. And I think that gave them a real good cushion of bedding themselves into the sport and finding the limit as where, let’s say, like from Fernando’s time and before that, it was, you couldn’t go beyond the limit. You’re in the gravel. Pouhon, for example, Turn 10 in Spa, for example, there used to be grass right beyond the kerb and gravel, which was definitely worrying when used to go into a corner like that. So I would say that’s been the biggest shift and It would be great to see the old school sort of way come back if possible. Gravel traps or something like that. Maybe not safe, but we’ll see.
Q: (Maria Clara Castro – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to Franco. Franco, could you name three Argentinian drivers that inspires you? Thank you.
FC: Of course, starting from Fangio, then for me it was also Lolé [Carlos Reutemann], that he was a bit closer to… He was, I think, the last Argentinian that was really strong in Formula 1, you know, that won races, that has been fighting for championships. And I am, again, having a tribute on my helmet. It’s very similar to the one that he had in the past, so it’s very exciting to… to be running that helmet and to get that opportunity. And then [Juan Maria] Traverso is, for me, the other one. Traverso, that he used to race in Argentina. He won many titles. And I grew up listening to his crazy interviews, watching his races. He won with a car on fire once, and another time with a car with three tyres. And I grew up with all that history. I think they are the three that marked really a big legacy in the sport in Argentina and for the country. It’s been a very long time, the three of them, which is not the best. We haven’t had an Argentinian driver for a long time and I haven’t grown since I was very little. I never had someone from my country to be cheering for in Formula 1. I never had that person. That one was maybe Checo, you know, when I was young and I was cheering for him being from Mexico. But I never had someone from Argentina. And I think it’s something that the kids of nowadays have with me. And it’s something very, very nice to see and just very positive.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) A question for Lewis and for anyone else to add to it. In Mexico, Lando described Max’s driving as dangerous, Lewis. And obviously, I know that’s not your battle, but you’ve been there in ‘21 with him. Is that something you thought at the time that his driving was dangerous? And do you think that’s still the same now, would you say he’s a bit of a dangerous driver?
LH: I know that’s where you would go. I mean, all you have to do is just go and look back and listen to some of my radio comments back in the day. It’s not really something I really want to tap into. It’s nothing to do with me at the moment, so… Obviously, if I was in the battle, it would be… I could lean in more into it, but these are the things you have to ask those two because they’re the ones that it’s affecting. But I don’t think you’re seeing much difference across the years from 2021 to now. It’s pretty much the same.
LS: What was the question? The battles? I think the problems, the tracks. You know, I think if we have these big run-off areas that, you know, cause drivers to just brake too late and deep and run off the track. If we had gravel traps and grass, I think that would just naturally sort those things out. And we’d see a cleaner, fairer racing. But also the guidelines, I think, have gotten very complex, where your front wing has to be next to the mirror of the outside car and vice versa if you’re on the outside. And in the past, it was just if there was a portion of the car next to you, you’d have to leave the cars with space. And we’re not seeing that as much anymore with these guidelines being more complex. So yeah, maybe something to think about for next year. But I think run-off areas are for sure a big issue.
FC: No, honestly, I got a penalty for something similar in the last race. And I thought it was very harsh. I thought the move was fair, and I didn’t really understand the penalty too much. Plus, two points on the license, 10 seconds. It was pretty harsh. But, you know, the stewards are the ones that put the penalties and we just drive the cars. It’s their job to judge it the best they can.