Formula 1 News: 2024 Austrian GP Friday Press Conference
Three F1 Team Representatives plus Pirelli Tire Supplier Boss Mario Isola met with the media Friday ahead of the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring.
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
- Mike KRACK (Aston Martin)
- Mario ISOLA (Pirelli)
- Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing)
- Peter BAYER (RB)
Q: Mike, can we start with you, please? Let’s talk about the big news from yesterday. You’ve confirmed Lance Stroll into the new era with the team, which keeps the same driver line up at Aston Martin for the third consecutive season. Explain your thinking behind that?
Mike KRACK: Well, I think for many weeks I said we want continuity, stability and continuity. I think it’s very important for a team, especially heading into a new regulation set. And we’re quite happy that we have quite a mature line-up on the track. We know who our main opponents are and they are certainly not the other green car. So that is something that we have seen over the past years. They work very well together, pushing in the same direction. So we always wanted to do it like that. And obviously, at this stage and throughout the season, I think the drivers were not our main problem. So we are quite happy that we have done this now and get some more calm into this situation.
Q: Mike, those are all valid points, but the driver market has been very fluid this year. There are a lot of race-winning drivers available. Just how seriously did you consider making a change?
MK: Well, I think, you know, you should not get pressurized yourself by the driver market. I think you need to formulate what you want, which we were quite clear about and we pursued these targets. So, of course, you always look at what is there and what is available. I think plans B and plan C, obviously, everybody’s having, but if you can manage to make your plan A happen, then you should do that.
Q: Now, you said a moment ago that your biggest issue isn’t the drivers. So let’s talk about the car and the issues you had in Spain. It was very tricky in Spain, wasn’t it? What were the issues? Were they greater than you were expecting?
MK: Well, I think they were not greater than we were expecting. We knew that Barcelona, Spielberg, Silverstone will be hard for us because we struggle in tracks where you have a large spread of corners and also where you have a lot of high-speed corners. So it was not a surprise. We raced the same car two weeks before in Montréal, where we came away with the highest points score that we had this year. So it shows you how the situations can change quickly. And also, I think in Montréal, you then run in free air, which helps everything. And in Barcelona, you’re not. We had a lot of degradation in Barcelona and then things get just worse and worse and worse over the course and there’s not much you can do other than bring it home. and that is what we did. At the end of the day, it’s always interesting how close are the margins in qualifying. We made it by fractions of hundredths in Canada. We made it in. We made it by fractions in Barcelona, not. This dictates then how you are in terms of position, how you are going into the race, if you’re running in free air or not. And that makes a big difference at the end of the day. But then all of that is just easier if you have a quicker car, and that’s what we have to work on now.
Q: Can we talk about the development of the car? Because while some of your rivals have made strides this year, it appears that your development has stalled, as it did last year. Do you understand why that is?
MK: I think you’re right. I would not say stalled, but I think clearly others do a better job than we do, and that is something that we have to seriously put under scrutiny. There is never one thing in Formula 1, obviously. You always have several factors contributing, but I think we have to have a close look at aerodynamics, because this is performance differentiator number one in F1 and also how we do how we do these things. So that’s something that is clearly being analyzed thoroughly not only now over the last month and I think we have understood some of our issues and trying to solve them as quick as possible. and But we still have a long way ahead.
Q: So the new wind tunnel is coming on stream later in the year. Are you confident that you have everything you need back at Silverstone or are you still searching for things?
MK: The wind tunnel will not be that quick. So next year’s car will not be in the new wind tunnel. I think we will eventually have everything we need, but we don’t have it yet. On the other hand, I think this does not count as an excuse. You have to do the best with the tools you have, and we feel that we have not done that.
Q: Alright, we’ll leave it there. Thank you, Mike. I’m sure there’ll be some more questions for you in a minute. Mario, let’s bring it to you now. Can we start by throwing it back to last weekend in Barcelona? We saw some impressive stint lengths, particularly on the soft tire. Did that surprise you?
Mario ISOLA: Yes and no, because we have the same tires that we had last year. so obviously teams know what they have, and they know how to use them and probably also the cars are treating the tire better than last year. so we didn’t see any particular issue and obviously with the pace management they can extend the stint length quite a lot. They know how to do that. It was good for me to see different strategies, two stops using the three compounds, so I’m happy with the final result.
Q: Given the stint lengths in Spain, would you consider going one step softer at that race next year?
MI: Not sure for the next race and we have to check how the range of compounds will be for next year because we are already planning to go softer for next year, to introduce a C6. So a softer compound especially for street circuits. So not sure for Barcelona, that is in any case a high-severity circuit. If we achieve the target to have a C2 compound that is closer to the C3, that was the Medium in Barcelona, and a C1 that is slightly softer, we can probably have the same selection with a better output.
Q: Tell us a little bit more about the C6 you’ve just mentioned for 2025. How much testing have you done with it? Do you foresee it as something of a qualifying tire?
MI: We did only one test in Paul Ricard because we need to test on low-severity circuit and the last couple of tests were one in Paul Ricard and one in Mugello. We have now Silverstone. that obviously is not the track for the C6 and we are planning to test it again in Monza or later in the year. Definitely we have this idea to introduce a softer compound and to move slightly also the range of the other compounds, as I told you before, and the development is going well. The 2025 construction has been defined 90%, so we know that we can now focus more on compounds development with the targets, to reduce overheating, and move a little bit of the compounds in order to have them better spaced.
Q: Mario, can we just throw it forward a little bit further, 2026, what can you tell us about the development plans for then?
MI: The sizes have been defined and we are happy with the decision to stay on the 18-inch tires. Sixteen was not the right way to go, because the loads that are predicted are still quite high and cars will be fast. So we need a tire with a proper size to sustain these loads. We started to work on a virtual model of the tire. We will have the first physical prototypes at the end of August, probably, and we are planning to test on track in September. The first test will be in Barcelona. I would say that everything is going as expected. It’s a bit early at the moment to draw any conclusion, but the direction is the right one.
Q: Mario, thank you for that. Christian, coming to you now, can we just start by dealing with FP1? What was Max’s brief issue?
Christian HORNER: It was a sensor issue. We were fortunate that the car actually came to a stop on the pit straight close to a junction in the pit wall to be able to recover the car. And then it was a question of resetting the sensor and getting going again. So, yeah, I was fortunate because it would have been disastrous to lose that track time, particularly on a Sprint weekend.
Q: Let’s stay with Max. He confirmed yesterday that he’s going to remain with the team in 2025. There has been a lot of speculation about that this year. I know you’ll say he’s got a contract until 2028, but is it reassuring for you that he’s actually come out and said that now?
CH: It only reaffirms everything that we already know. Max is an important part of our team. He’s had all of his victories and podiums in Red Bull Racing cars, his three world championships so far and he’s a crucial member of the team. He enjoys being part of the team. He’s got a tremendous group around him. And we know what the future looks like. And, you know, obviously a lot of noise has been made about him going elsewhere and sometimes one just thinks that that’s a distraction tactic that’s just thrown in because you have to question what are the motives obviously behind that and the driver that’s created all the movement in the market had all the information about the engines and 2026 regulations and so on and chose to leave and left a vacancy at Mercedes, which is why there has now been obviously a little bit of speculation as to who will fill that seat, but it won’t be Max Verstappen.
Q: Are we seeing the best version of Max that we’ve yet seen in Formula 1? I mean, some of his races recently have been outstanding.
CH: He’s been absolutely outstanding. I think what you’re seeing is a driver that just continues to evolve and continues to develop. And I think that you’re seeing drives of the caliber that the greats in the sport were capable of delivering, the Ayrton Sennas, the Jim Clarks. You’ve only got to look through the generation and I think that’s what we’re seeing with Max. Those key moments, the big moments, are what defines any outstanding sportsman or woman. And that’s what he’s delivering. And we’ve seen it under pressure delivering in recent races. And that’s also in combination with the team, because obviously the team is under pressure as well. We’ve managed to win, what, three of the last four races, and they’ve all been hard-won victories. And Max just continues to surprise us with the levels that he’s able to achieve and hit.
Q: One final question from me on Daniel Ricciardo, if I could. You gave him his comeback test at Silverstone almost a year ago. What’s your assessment of the job he’s doing at the minute? And do you think he deserves to at least see out the season at VCARB?
CH: Well, I think Daniel, he knew this was a lifeline for him. His test at Silverstone was outstanding last year, which was what provided the opportunity. It’s now for him to make use of that. And I’m sure by his own admission, the first part of the season didn’t go to plan, but he’s started to show signs of the old Daniel. We saw it in Miami. We saw it in the first part of the weekend there. We saw it in Montréal. And obviously that’s for Peter and Laurent. They’re working closely with him. But in Formula 1, there’s always pressure. He knows that better than anyone, and particularly in Red Bull when they’re all Red Bull racing drivers, there’s always pressure regarding any seat. But Daniel is more than aware of that.
Q: Well, Peter, perhaps we could bring you in on this. Can we get your take on the job that Daniel has done and whether you think he deserves to see out the season in your team?
Peter BAYER: Well, he certainly has helped us tremendously. Looking back last year when he joined the team, he brought a whole new energy and spirit into the team. And he has been extremely helpful in supporting Yuki. Yuki has just stated that very recently, actually, that he still keeps learning from Daniel. And it’s part of our job, also as a mission from the shareholders, to develop drivers. And that’s what we currently do. But certainly, as Christian said, this is about performance. We do luckily have a couple of options with the junior program, but we’re also not in a hurry to take a decision for next year’s line-up. We’ve confirmed Yuki, which was very important for us. And the focus currently, honestly, as you can tell, is on the car and to go into the summer break and have a quiet discussion.
Q: Look, I’m sure there’ll be more questions on this in a moment. You mentioned the car. Can we just talk about the upgrades you brought to Spain, why they didn’t work, and are you making progress with them here this weekend?
PB: We kept pushing at the factory to bring the upgrade again, a race early. Originally, the plan was to bring it here. But as we’ve taken the risk of bringing a big upgrade to Miami, we thought that it’s better to bring them to Barcelona. We were pushing the team very hard. We had perhaps not done all the analysis we should have or needed, in fact, to have all the bits and pieces ready. It was a bit of a belly flop, perhaps, but we’ve learned from it. We took it back to the factory. This morning, we’ve run very different packages on both cars to provoke data, and the guys are currently analyzing the data, and hopefully we’ll be back in the Sprint qualifying this afternoon.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsporttotal.com) Question is to Christian. I’m sure you’re aware of some reports in the Dutch media claiming that you vetoed Jos Verstappen being filmed during the Legends Parade and Jos’ reaction to it, which was, ‘this is kindergarten, childish, and I am completely done with him’. Now, there’s always two sides to every story. So what’s yours?
CH: Look, I’ve been made aware that… The Legends Parade is something that is organized by the circuit. There was no veto from my side or anything like that. And I’m sure the Legends will be in action later.
Q: (Jon Noble – Motorsport.com) Just following on from that, Christian, how is your relationship with Jos these days? Because this seems to be a kind of return to the flashpoints we had at the start of the season, with some comments being played out in the press. Is it a good relationship between you? and how’s the relationship with Max as well and beyond that?
CH: Well, the relationship with Max has always been very good, very strong. And he’s a key part of our team. And he’s our driver. He’s the one that is important, obviously, to have a strong relationship with. I’ve never had an issue with any of our drivers’ fathers in the past. And whatever Jos’s issues are, I’ve really got nothing to comment on.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) For Christian, for Peter, whichever of you wants to weigh in on it, with Daniel’s future as well, Helmut Marko made some comments about Liam Lawson potentially stepping into that seat shortly, reminding us that it is a team for young drivers. Is it possible that Daniel could be replaced mid-season, or are you looking to give him the fullness of time to the end of the year?
CH: I think anything regarding drivers is going to be dealt with in-house before we talk to the media about it. They’re all, as I say, Red Bull racing drivers and every Red Bull driver knows that there’s always a pressure, that there’s always a scrutiny. But, you know, Daniel is in the seat and it’s down to him to make the most of that. And then, it’s always, as we see in Formula 1, things are always fluid.
PB: Perhaps just to add on what Christian summarized perfectly, Liam is part of the team, he’s our test driver, he’s in the simulator. As most of you know, he’ll be in the TPC. We do our job to develop young drivers, but the decision on the second seat will be taken quietly and we’re not in a hurry.
Q: (Ben Hunt – Autosport) Question for Christian. Two questions, actually. Firstly, how did Max’s dad take the news that he’s obviously made yesterday, that he is staying put? And secondly, the Toto element still puzzles me. He keeps saying he’s interested in Max. And he’s even saying now, even with Max coming out and saying, I’m staying, and he’s like, well, is he? He’s not too sure. Why does he keep on saying that? Why do you think?
CH: I mean, that’s a question you’d have to ask Toto. I thought Max was pretty resolute in what he said in this conference yesterday. He’s always been absolutely consistent with that with the team. So, yeah, why Toto? I think it’s purely a tactic of distraction. Of course, if he does want a Verstappen for next year, then I guess Jos is potentially available.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) Another one for you, Christian. I think we all understand now that you have a pretty good relationship to Max, but not so much to Jos. But isn’t it important for you, as a team principal, to have a good relationship to the father of your driver as well? Because we all know how important racing driver dads are for the sons.
CH: My interest is in the performance of the team. We have a wonderful team. We’ve got great drivers. And in Max, we’ve got the best driver in the world. And he came to our team as a young man. And he’s grown and grown in stature. He’s grown as a driver and as a human being. And I think the way he conducts himself, the way he works with the team is outstanding. And that is my key interest, and it’s about the performance of the team. It’s about how the team works. And of course, we’ve enjoyed tremendous success. Despite the distractions of this year, we’ve still won 70% of the races, including two Sprint races and seven poles. We lead both World Championships. So yeah, you can’t control everything in life. I can’t control relationships with drivers’ fathers. But my focus is on the performance of our drivers, the performance of our team. And that’s where we’ll remain.
Q: (Bas Holtkamp – Formule 1 magazine) Christian. Another one for you. I’m aware of the fact you’re not willing to talk about your relation with Jos. What would you like to say to all the Dutch fans? Because there are loads of them here who are looking forward to see Jos driving in the RB8.
CH: Well, I mean the Dutch fans are some of the best in the world in the following that they have for Max is outstanding and the support and the passion that they have and how well equipped they come to the campsites. They’re phenomenal and it’s great to see tens of thousands of them here and we hope to put on a great display and hopefully Max will be able to do that.
Q: (Ben Hunt – Autosport). Question to Mike, please. Mike, after the Spanish Grand Prix, Fernando said, time for the team to talk less, deliver more. Who is he talking to there, please?
MK: Yeah, I could not follow it because I have contractually to come here, otherwise I would not have come and I prefer to continue working – joke. Obviously, when you develop your car over the year and also since the time he’s here, you have a close working relationship with the driver. I think that applies to all the senior figures. And when you bring upgrades to the car, you tell the drivers also what you expect from them. If you then do not deliver the performance that you promised, then obviously they are not happy. And this is, I think, what Fernando has referred to. I cannot agree more with him. It’s time to deliver and not to talk.
Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Another question for Mike, please. Mike, obviously, the team hasn’t sort of made the step forward that it wanted to this season. And Fernando’s perhaps been a little bit evasive about what has made the car kind of difficult to drive in the last few races. Could you kind of shed a little bit of light on that, please, and whether you’ve got sort of things in the pipeline this season that you think will take the step back towards the front four? Thank you.
MK: Both drivers clearly comment how difficult this car is to drive. It’s very unpredictable. Sometimes it has glimpses where you think, how could we have made this corner so fast? But then unfortunately the other 90% of the circuit. how can we go so slow? So it’s something that, you know, if the car surprises you, you take margin. You do not go to the maximum and there is no confidence. And I think confidence is one of the most important bits. So that’s something that it is quite easily explainable, that you amplify the problems that you’re having. Now, what are you going to do about it? It’s something that we have been really thoroughly looking at since we had the last two upgrades that was not delivering really what we expected it to do. Now we have six weeks with five races. We know what the lead times are for parts. Like Peter said, you push to bring parts early but you have to do it also diligently. They have to have the right quality because otherwise you fall back even further. So you need to really invest this time to have high quality parts and bring them as quickly as you can. So you need to know what you’re doing, but then you also need to produce them in the correct specification and quality and quantity.
Q: (Joost Nederpelt – NU.NL) A question to Christian. How did your relationship with Jos change over the years and where did it went wrong?
CH: I don’t think it’s really helpful to continue talking on the topic of Jos. I think our focus is very much on Max. He’s our driver. He’s who we have a contract with. And he’s who we’re focused on trying to win this Grand Prix with.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) I’d like to ask you about Ferrari and Fred Vasseur and the job he’s been doing. Obviously, the Piranha Club, particularly at the top of the grid, you, Toto and the Ferrari team principals. in the past, that’s always been quite an important political dynamic in F1. How have you found Fred to work with and be his competitor in the last couple of years? And what do you see Ferrari doing? Are they more of a rising force with him in charge, Lewis going there next year?
CH: Yeah, look, I’ve known Fred for several years, and he’s a racer, he’s a good competitor, and Ferrari are looking pretty together underneath him. And I think the pressures with Ferrari are always different to any other team. Every team has different pressures but with Ferrari, you have essentially a national team and the pressure that goes with that and the expectation that goes with that. But, look… You know, Fred’s an easy guy to deal with. He’s a racer. And he seems to have galvanized the team together pretty well. So, yeah, I think he seems to be doing a good job.
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) For the three team bosses, Mario talked about the ‘26 tire test program. Can you update us on that? Your team’s contribution in terms of mule cars, are you using ‘22, ‘23 cars? How much work do they need to replicate ‘26 downforce? And secondly, do you welcome the C6 as an interesting extra option for street tracks for next year?
MK: Yeah, so, we will be the first team to test these ‘26 tires. There was a selection process or a lottery process because there was a number of teams who wanted to be part of this test program. We were drawn first, so we are the first to do this, between Baku and Singapore, I think. So we’re exchanging with Pirelli obviously what the program will be and we’re trying to replicate the car that has been defined from the FIA according to a technical directive. I think it’s 54 something like that. So we try to replicate as close as possible the figures that are requested and required and work then with Pirelli on how we go about it. The second point on C6, we welcome that because I think it opens up additional strategic options. Now, whether it will be then C6, C5, C4 or C6, C4, C2 or stuff like that, that is obviously for Ferrari (sic) to choose. But I think with the cars, you know, staying in the same regulation or, you know, the final year of the regulation, I think adding some variation there, I think we welcome that.
MI: For Pirelli to choose!
MK: Did I not say that? Sorry.
MI: You said for Ferrari.
MK: Oh, sorry. My head is in Ferrari somehow. It’s for Pirelli to choose. Sorry, Mario.
Q: Thank you for clarifying, Mario. Christian, can we get your thoughts?
CH: I thought Mike summed it up beautifully.
Q: And your thoughts on the C6 then?
CH: Wonderful. It really depends. Where are we using the C6, do you think?
MI: I don’t know yet. We have to finalize it first.
CH: So yeah, it’s another masterful product from the Pirelli range.
Q: (Jon Noble – Motorsport.com) Christian, do you still think you’ve got the fastest car in Formula 1? And are you surprised that the level of dominance you had at the start of the season has been wiped away so quickly?
CH: I think I’ve still got the best team in Formula 1. And the car has to form part of that. The drivers have to form part of that. The engineers, the strategists, everybody behind the scenes. And it’s close. I mean, it’s moving around from race to race. In the last two races, we matched the pole time and we were two hundredths of a second behind you know, in Barcelona. And we’ve still managed to convert those races into victories. So it is very, very tight. And, you know, McLaren probably have looked the strongest over the last three or four races in terms of competitiveness. Ferrari, you know, made a bit of a step. Mercedes from the last races or certainly from Montréal. So that’s, you know, that’s just healthy competition and what you get in, regulations that there’s normal convergence. I mean, I think when you look back, you know, we got used to winning and it’s unnatural what we achieved last year. If you look back to 2012, I think we won seven races in total with Sebastian winning five to win the World Championship. So, you know, that’s Formula 1 and I think that we expect it to be very, very close. between now and the rest of the year.