DRIVERS
 
1 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)
2 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes) 
3 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
 
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Karun Chandhok) 
 
Q: Oscar Piastri congratulations, your 50th Grand Prix victory tonight. What a way to celebrate!
Oscar PIASTRI: 50th victory?
 
Q: Well, 50th start!
OP: I hope it's my 50th victory! No, great to have this result out here. It's been an incredible weekend, starting off with qualifying yesterday and, yeah, to finish the job today in style was nice. So, yeah, can't thank the team enough for the car they've given us. It's pretty handy out there. So no, it's been a great weekend and, yeah, very proud of what I've done this weekend as well. Very proud to do it here in Bahrain as well. It's obviously a very important race for us, given our owners, and it's never been a track that's been kind to us. So it's nice to finally have that first win for the team.
 
Q: Well, you're absolutely right. McLaren have only led 8 laps here at the Bahrain circuit—an amazing achievement. Just talk to me about the race itself. Was it stressful around the Safety Car? Because you built up that gap of 7.2 seconds—what did you think when the safety car came out?
OP: I would have preferred to not have it, yes, but I was still pretty confident. I think the pace was good. I was pretty confident I could get a good restart. I also knew that Lando and I were the only ones with another Medium, and that was the tyre to be on, so from that side of things, it was relatively straightforward. Obviously, you try and get a good restart—you never quite know how it's going to go—but no, I was never going to let that one go.
 
Q: We saw that the city was turned papaya when you won the Constructors’ World Championship last year. How are you guys going to celebrate this first home win for Bahrain and for McLaren?
OP: I don't know. I'm sure there's going to be a hell of a party. I'm not going to get involved because I’ve got to race again next week. But no, it's been a great weekend for everybody. And yeah, it's a great, great place to do it. So I'm sure everybody will enjoy it—and as they should.
 
Q: Fastest lap, pole position, great victory—congratulations.
OP: Thank you very much. Cheers.
 
Q: George Russell, congratulations on second place—bit stressful at the end there.
George RUSSELL: Yeah, it felt all under control for a moment and then suddenly we had a brake-by-wire failure. So suddenly the pedal was going long, and then it was going short... I didn't know what was going on. The steering wheel wasn't working properly, so it was really hard fought to keep Lando behind. I think one more lap, he would have got me pretty comfortably. But nevertheless, really, really pleased with P2.
 
Q: And we saw you have a lunge around the outside of Oscar—a bit of a lock-up in that early part. After that, was it a case of just trying to protect second place?
GR: I mean, Oscar was in a league of his own. So congratulations to him and to McLaren. We knew they'd be pretty extraordinary around this circuit, and that was proven right. But for ourselves, you know, it's been four races, three podiums—all on different types of tracks—so it gives us confidence going into the future.
 
Q: We heard you say that the last stint—25 laps on a set of Softs—was going to be audacious. You made it work. 
GR: Yeah, I'm not too sure how that one worked as well. I saw, you know, Charles behind me on the Hard and I saw 24 laps to go. I thought, you know, “Jeez, how the hell are we going to make this work?” But we did. The team did a great job and it's been a great weekend.
 
Q: And we know you had some systems issues towards the end—DRS issues as well. Any concerns about that? Because I think there's a point where you're being looked at for using the DRS outside the zone.
GR: Yeah, we basically were having all sorts of failures and basically we did an override on the DRS. And on one lap, I clicked the radio button and the DRS opened, so I straightaway closed it again, backed off—nothing gained. I lost more than I gained, it was only open for a split second, so kind of goes to show you the amount of issues we were having. But, as I said, really pleased with P2. 
 
Q: Lando, it was a bit of a roller coaster there. Let's try and remember the start first. What happened there? We saw you creep forward in the grid box—can you tell us what happened there?
Lando NORRIS: I didn't think I was that far forward, I guess, nothing more than that. So, a tough race. Of course, I made too many mistakes with the overtakes, the out-of-position. It was a messy race for me and disappointed not to bring home a 1-2 for McLaren because it would have been lovely at home. So, a tough one—but still a few positives.
 
Q: We saw on the restart a great battle between you and the two Ferraris. Were you aware that you'd gone off and you had to give that place back to Lewis at that point?
LN: No. I just got told. It was close. I mean, it was good racing throughout, so no complaints. Just good fun. I mean, good overtakes—everyone hard and on the limit, as it should be. So, a good one.
 
Q: And good, fair racing with George there right at the end—someone you know and have raced together with for a very long time.
LN: No, he did a good job. So, yeah, I thought I'd be able to get him. I guess he was probably just saving a little bit for the end, which, yeah, he did well. So he did a good job. Oscar did a good job. So congrats to Oscar and the whole McLaren team. And I'll try step it up for next weekend.
 
PRESS CONFERENCE 
 
Q: Tremendous race by you, Oscar – fully in control throughout. Just how satisfying was this one?
OP: Very. It's been a great weekend – maybe not FP1, because that was pretty diabolical for everyone, but FP2 onwards has been very, very strong. I was happy after qualifying yesterday and I think that made quite a big difference today. So yeah, very, very pleased with how the weekend’s gone and happy to come away with another win.
 
Q: Strategically, the team was on point. Just talk us through the decision to start the race on the Soft tyre.
OP: I mean, we kind of thought most people would start on the Soft. You know, George only had one Medium and one Hard, and there were quite a lot of people around us that were in the same boat. So yeah, we felt starting on the Soft was going to be the best option, and I think it was the right choice in the end. So pleased with how we managed everything. I think we had the pace today to be able to manage things pretty well. But yeah, I think we made all the right calls.
 
Q: Seems the only drama you had in this race was the drinks bottle. What happened there? Did you get any use at all?
OP: No, it didn’t work. I don’t know what happened. It worked on the lap to grid and then when we plugged it in for the race it was still working a little bit, but I had to draw the water out pretty forcefully, let’s say. And then once the race got underway, I couldn’t get any water through the straw. So that wasn’t ideal, but you know, Bahrain is not the most physical race of the year. If it had happened next week, it would have been a much bigger drama, but we'll make sure it's fixed.
 
Q: And Oscar, you're the first repeat winner this season. Just how do you view the way the car’s performing and the way you’re driving?
OP: I think both have been good. I’ve been happy with how I’ve driven all season so far. Maybe not all the results have been exactly what I wanted, but I think this weekend has definitely been the result I wanted. So yeah, been proud of the job that I’ve been doing and very proud of the job the team’s done. Obviously the car is in a great place. Still has its moments where it bites, but for a lot of the time it’s an incredible car to drive and clearly very quick. So yeah, very proud of the work we’re doing. This has been a track that’s not been kind to us in the past, so to have a weekend like we have had this weekend is a really meaningful result – outside of the victory.
 
Q: Very well done to you. Thank you, Oscar. George, let’s come to you. Many congratulations. It was an exciting end with Lando just behind. How tough was it to keep him at bay?
GR: Yeah, it was exceptionally difficult towards the end. I had all sorts of problems with the car. The steering wheel, I was losing all my data and the brake pedal went into a failure mode, so I had to do all these resets. One minute the brakes were working properly, the next they weren’t. So I was pretty pleased when I saw the chequered flag, to be honest.
 
Q: And what about the DRS moment? Can you just talk us through that?
GR: Yeah, I don’t really know how that happened. It was something to do with all these failures we were having. As soon as I saw it opened, I backed off. I lost two tenths of a second. It never happened again throughout. I didn’t actually click the DRS button – I clicked another button and it opened. As I said, I lost a lot more than I gained – I don’t think I even gained anything because it was open for less than a second.
 
Q: So given all of these problems, is this one of the most satisfying P2s of your career?
GR: Yeah, I mean, I’ve not actually had that many P2s to be honest. I’ve had a few P3s, but we did not expect to be anywhere close to McLaren this weekend. Qualifying on the front row was a real surprise. And then seeing Lando right up there on lap one behind me, I thought, "He’s going to fly off into the distance here." Oscar did an amazing job to control the race, but to keep Lando at bay, I was really, really pleased about.
 
Q: So how much confidence does this whole weekend give you going forward?
GR: Yeah, a lot of confidence, to be honest. This was the real sort of test for us. We knew that our car likes the cold conditions, and the competitiveness we showed in China and Suzuka was no major surprise. But this was going to be the question mark – here in Bahrain. And we've had another strong weekend. So it bodes well for the season.
 
Q: Are you a genuine title contender this year?
GR: I’d love to say so, but I don’t think we are, to be honest. McLaren are just too dominant right now. I think this is probably going to be their peak performance – what we saw this week in Bahrain. And what we saw in China and Suzuka is probably their worst-case scenario and they still obviously got one victory from those two races. So we’ve got to keep on picking up the points, picking up the pieces. And this weekend we picked up the pieces to get a P2 – and we did it in Melbourne as well to get the P3. I don’t expect this to continue for many races to come, but who knows.
 
Q: George, very well done to you. Thank you for that. And Lando, let’s come to you. Congratulations on a great race. It was an eventful evening in terms of performance. How happy were you with the car today?
LN: I mean, the car's good. It won the race. So yeah, as happy as I can be.
 
Q: You didn’t seem happy after qualifying. Were you happier today?
LN: I mean, it’s a different situation. I qualified sixth yesterday which is pretty terrible, so how can I possibly be happy? That just doesn’t make sense. Of course, I’m a little bit happier today that I managed to get back to P3. I had a good start, all those things. But I think P2 was the best we could have achieved today – so we should have achieved it. But we didn’t – and I didn’t, because of some mistakes. So, mixed feelings. I think the pace is good – the car is obviously mega, as Oscar showed, but yeah, just too many mistakes there.
 
Q: Mixed feelings, you say? What are the positives that you take from the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend?
LN: That it’s finished, probably.
 
Q: Can we run through just some of the incidents that happened to you during that Grand Prix, starting with the grid box? We saw you have a couple of stabs at it. Just what was going on there and did you know immediately that you were in trouble?
LN: No. I think at the beginning I was too far back, so I tried to creep forward and crept forward and did the opposite. First time I’ve ever done this in my life. Shouldn’t happen, but it did – and I paid the price for it.
 
Q: You made a great start after that. You drove a great opening lap. What were you thinking at that point in the race?
LN: I mean, when I was in P3 I was pretty happy. I saw it was going to be tough to get past George. They’ve not been that bad this weekend. One and a half tenths off pole position – so they’re clearly not struggling. I didn’t expect to get past that easily, and I mean, I didn’t at all. I was happy – a good opening lap, aggressive and attacking, which I needed to be. But then I had the penalty and everything got a lot worse, you know? So I had the penalty, boxed earlier than everyone else, had to push more to try and make up five seconds – just about made it up. But then I’m on older tyres, much hotter tyres, and then kind of paid the price for that again. Just every time I did one thing good, I did two bad in a way. I just kept stopping myself from making as much progress as I should have done today. So I mean, I’m happy that the pace was there. Difficult to overtake – clearly the dirty air is just horrible. I’m happier with my pace today than I was yesterday, but still just not in the best feeling with the car at the moment.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) For Lando, please. Yesterday you said you needed a reset and you were really despondent. Was that made partly in the heat of the moment and the disappointment there, or do you genuinely feel like you need to go back to the drawing board? And if so, what can you do in the short term to gel a little bit better with the car?
LN: I wish I knew. I wish I knew the answer. I don’t have an answer, honestly. Even if I did, I would share it with you guys. I don’t know. You just know when you’re – I think when you’re an athlete, when you’re a driver, whatever it is – you just know when things click, when you feel confident, when you feel comfortable. I’m confident that I have everything I need and I’ve got what it takes. I have no doubt about that – that I’m good enough, and all of those things. But something’s just not clicking with me and the car. I’m not able to do any of the laps like I was doing last season. Then, I knew every single corner, everything that was going to happen with the car – how it was going to happen. I felt on top of the car. This year, I could not have felt more opposite so far. Even in Australia, whether or not I won the race, I never felt comfortable, never felt confident. The car was just mega and that’s helping me get out of a lot of problems at the minute. But I’m just nowhere near the capability that I have – which hurts, hurts to say. I spent a lot of time, even last night. I left late last night to look into everything and understand what I’m struggling with, what’s not clicking. Trying to figure out what’s changed from last year to this year. Is it me? Is it some of the car? It’s complicated. But I’m not doubting myself, even though sometimes it may seem like that. It’s just something’s not gelling, something’s not clicking, and therefore I just don’t feel comfortable when I’m in the car. I’m confident – like I know I’ve got what it takes – but just not confident. And when you’re not confident in the car, to know what the limit is, what to do in the slow speed, high speed, any corner – yeah, I’m never going to be as quick as I need to be. And especially when you’re fighting the best in the world. As soon as you’re not settled, then it’s going to be an issue – and that’s what happening now.
 
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic). Oscar, just to Lando's point – how are you gelling with this year’s car? Is everything clicking? Are you feeling that comfort? And have you felt a shift year-on-year in your ease with the car?
OP: I mean, this weekend I felt comfortable with it. I think there have been times where it’s been tricky, definitely. But I would say for the most part, I’ve been pretty happy with the car, to be honest. Clearly it’s got a lot of pace. We’ve kind of known from pre-season testing that there’s some things that we wanted to iron out, but I think we’ve done a very good job of doing that. And yeah, I think for myself, I’ve been comfortable – especially this weekend – in what the car’s been able to do. And I think the team’s been doing a great job.
 
Q: (Sonirita Mehta – Salaam Bahrain) We're ecstatic over your wins, obviously. For Oscar and for Lando, how special is it, the win that comes in Bahrain, because it means so much to us as fans? And now what does it mean to you? This is to both of you. And George, thank you for the lovely videos that you do for Bahrain. We see your feed, we love it, we copy it, we paste it, we keep it in our hearts.
OP: I think that's probably the most polite and nicest question I’ve ever been asked. Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously very, very special to have the first win for McLaren here in Bahrain.
LN: First podium.
OP: OK, first podium and win for the team here. (Looks at George) This guy... See, I lost my train of thought now. No, it’s fantastic to have the first win here for the team. It obviously means a lot for everybody involved. There’s been a lot of tough years for the team at McLaren, and obviously the owners have been at the head of trying to turn those problems around. So to now have... Obviously, we had success last season, but to now have success for the first time on home soil for the team is an incredible result and very deserved. So yeah, it’s great to have this success.
LN: The same. I mean, I’ve been obviously with McLaren for a little bit longer. For some reason Bahrain has always been one of our trickier circuits where things have always gone wrong or we've just struggled. Especially in the last few years together, Bahrain’s always been at the beginning – and the beginning of seasons have been our weakness. This year is the opposite. We’re proud to race for Bahrain and call this one of our home races. We know we have a lot of support here from everyone, from the whole Kingdom. So it's a pleasure. It’s nice to have His Highness here and everyone, to share this, because it’s a big moment for them. It’s a very small, cute little country, but it’s nice that they have the presence on behalf of McLaren, and that’s something I think we’re very proud to represent. I’m sure they’ll all have a little well-behaved party and celebrate as a big family.
 
Q: (Isabelle Barker – The Sun) Lando, I know in the past you’ve been very hard on yourself. Is it important to not spiral into that and obviously remind yourself how capable and talented you are as a driver?
LN: Yeah. The thing is, I think it would be even harder for me to not show any of these things. A lot of this is – when I do my interviews and whatever – a lot of it is probably just getting my frustration out. It’s just because of not achieving what I want to achieve. It’s because of my desire to do well and my ambition to win. When I know what I can do and what I’m capable of, and I’m not even close to reaching that – like yesterday – I’m very disappointed in myself. That’s just the way I am. I’m just so hungry to win and I work so hard to win. When it doesn’t go my way, and when I mess up myself, then I’m very disappointed in myself. But during the interviews and saying things I do, I don’t think necessarily have a bad impact on myself negatively. I’ve done it so much my whole life, I’ve learned how to block my own comments away from my thoughts. Maybe sometimes I lack a bit of self-belief, and I have done in the past. But this is just also me. It’s the way I do things, it’s the way I work, it’s what has made me as good as I am, and probably maybe at times has limited me from becoming a better driver. But, like I said, I know what I can do and I’m happy. I think what I can do and what I can achieve is good enough and easily up there with the best. So I just need to get back in that rhythm. And yes, maybe sometimes I’m too hard on myself – like yesterday. But I came back today after a nice sleep, re-energised, new day and good to go again and put up a good fight, which I felt like I kind of did. So, you know, this was one day. Today was a new day, and I have a few days off now to recover and go again.
 
Q: (Leila Dulay - Traveller BH) We would like to know how you guys, as young drivers, manage – you were just discussing, Lando, how frustrated you are or how you're not feeling good about it – so, how do you cope with these challenges? Like, it was really awesome how Russell and Oscar was dancing with the car at every turn, so they were sort of jiving with the car – and you said you're still finding out. So how do you treat these challenges? And aside from sleeping, as you just said – how do the three of you manage these challenges? And do you have any message for the young Bahrainis who want to follow in your footsteps?
LN: Well, one day I wish I could drive with my car and dance with it too, you know? I mean, it’s part of sports, it’s part of any athlete – goes through tough moments and bad moments, the worst and the best. That’s the way it is. So yes, remaining positive and optimistic about the future and working hard with your team is a big part of it. I definitely don’t think I lack in that part – the hard work and working with my team and trying to figure things out. But it’s life – sometimes things go your way, and sometimes things don’t, and sometimes it’s more easy, sometimes it’s not. You just have to keep pushing hard through these moments and working hard – which I shall do over the next few days and the next weeks and probably months. Yeah, it’s still good fun at the end of the day. It’s the sport that I love to do, and I want to go out and win. So I’ll keep fighting until that day comes and till the end. I mean, there’s a lot of young kids and young people here. Hopefully, just – I mean, McLaren winning here I think is a perfect opportunity to showcase that and try and get more drivers from Bahrain. You know, I remember karting here back in 2013 for the World Championships – one of the best tracks in the world, probably. It’s good fun. Bahrain is small – there’s not that many people – but the more we can get them into the racing spirit and hopefully have them part of our racing journey, then the better.
 
Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question for the three: Formula 1 is getting so competitive – the whole field is only one second apart in Q1. And of course, the teams have budgeted enough to hire the drivers – we don’t have more paid drivers. Do you think talent is 100% valued in Formula 1? And the three of you came from F1 academies so I would like you to comment on that.
GR: Yeah, I think this is probably the most complete grid we’ve ever seen in Formula 1. Everybody who’s here is here on merit. The sport is in the strongest place ever, so you don’t need that external resource that some drivers brought in the past. And I guess now it’s the duty of the sport and the FIA to help at grassroots level because – there’s no secret – it is extraordinarily expensive in go-karting and Formula 4, and we need to… Yeah, I posted that photo of you – I’m sorry! We need to ensure that the talent is coming through at that young age and it’s not only the ones who have the resources behind them from age seven to 17 that get the chance.
OP: (Laughs) Sorry, George has absolutely stitched Lando up on Instagram – that’s great. Yeah, I think I echo very much what George said. I think, compared to previous generations, now talent is definitely the biggest thing that you need. In the past, that’s not always been the case. I think there are still other factors involved. As George said, the way to F1 is still very… you know, you need to be in the right place at the right time going through the ranks. You need ultimately someone to replace on the grid. The grid is incredibly young now, so it’s as difficult as ever to kind of work your way through. But I think, yes, talent can get you to Formula 1 with almost nothing else now. And I think the support of the F1 teams is more than it’s ever been. I think the cost cap as well has been a good thing from this side of things because pretty much all the teams on the grid are able to find all the money they need for development, and they don’t rely on drivers to bring it anymore. So yeah, I think the sport’s in a great place.
 
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) For Lando and for Oscar. After the first three races we’ve seen sort of Max in the mix, but now it’s the two of you up there – one and two in the championship, three points apart. Is this the start of the real battle between the two of you? And is this how it's going to stay?
OP: I mean, I thought it started from Melbourne, to be honest. But yeah, it’s still so early. I think at the moment we’ve got a great car underneath us. I feel like for the most part we’ve been able to do a good job with it. I mean, I think we’re in the positions we should be in. I think it’s going to be a tight battle. I think there are going to be other contenders. What we’ve seen at the moment is… We’ve not had a consistent challenger week in, week out. It’s kind of been somebody different, which from the championship point of view makes life difficult for others. But yeah, I think it’s going to be a tight year, definitely. And I think as long as we have the best car, it’s going to be tight between Lando and I.
LN: Oscar’s put it very well, honestly. I think we knew coming into this season – us as a team knew it before the season – that we were going to have some close moments between us and some good fights. And I’m sure we’re going to have more later this year, which I think we’re both excited for. So we have to keep working hard as a team to keep ourselves ahead of the rest. Because I’m sure we both prefer if it’s just me and him – between us and no one else. As a team, we’d prefer that. It’d probably make our lives easier as a whole. So we’re not forgetting that the competition is close. Yes, we’ve got the best car on the grid and things like this, but one mistake – and I paid the price yesterday. One tenth and I would’ve been second on the grid today, so it’s frustrating. But it’s close and it’s competitive, and I think that’s a great thing for the sport. But we have to keep working hard as a team. I don’t think we’ve ever let that thought go – with how close some of the previous qualifying sessions have been. With Max on pole, with George only a tenth and a half off yesterday. It’s easy to not do a perfect lap and then not be on pole still. It’s not like we can just cruise around and everything’s groovy. So, we have to keep working hard, and I think we’re excited for the competition between us.
 
ENDS