Today's team representatives press conference with Mattia Binotto, Toto Wolff and Ayao Komatsu.

If we could start with a question to all of you. From what we hear, all three of your teams will get some additional development and upgrade opportunities. Just how valuable will that be? Mattia, perhaps we could start with you.
Mattia Binotto: For Audi it will be a significant benefit. I think it's what we were expecting. Since the very start of the season, we knew that most of our gap to the top teams was on the power unit side. Not a surprise to us. Hard work will be required. We've got plans, but it will be beneficial, but not in the short term. Often maybe people may believe that once you've got ADUO, maybe the race after you may introduce 10 kilowatts. That's not what will happen. In our case, we are looking for a big development, but more on the medium and long term. We are focusing our efforts more on the medium and the long term again, and the ADUO will be beneficial in that respect. So ADU means more budget cap, means more dyno hours, more freedom on development. But again, not everything sometimes is in the short term. Our journey is a long journey. We have set an objective by 2030. So as well, when it comes to car development, power unit development, especially the power units, it takes time to develop, longer than maybe some chassis parts. Again, our plans are set. We will not see immediate benefits from the ADUO, but then it will be certainly beneficial for us.

Thank you. Toto, Mercedes?
Toto Wolff: Well, the first thing, I had Flavio calling me and saying the deal was that he's buying the strongest engine, and he's found out that it's not the strongest engine. So, what can I say? Like Mattia said, obviously we're in a different situation than Audi, but a new homologation is definitely something that is helpful, because if you don't get that, there is quite a possibility of being leapfrogged by somebody else who is able to do this. We have come with various ideas in the past, but, you know, we shall see how this pans out over the next term, because we must not forget this is not a frozen situation, but it's going to be looked at every few races and then being judged upon.

Thank you. Ayao, please.
Ayao Komatsu: Yeah, obviously our situation, not being a PUM, is different to Mattia and Toto, but of course, as a Ferrari PU user, we are very happy that we got those two stages of ADUO. That will of course help us significantly. Of course, regardless of that, we're pushing every day trying to find more performance on the chassis side, and we work very closely with Ferrari in a very collaborative manner. As and when we get those upgrades, we are just keen, just trying to get on top of it and then make best use of it as soon as possible.

OK, thank you for that. And Mattia, let's come back to you. We're back at the racetrack where you ran the car for the first time back in January. Can you just tell us about the development curve you've been on with this car since then and the learnings that you've made?
MB: Yeah, you're right. We shook down the car here in Barcelona. It was the 9th of January, and that has been the very first day that somehow Audi F1 has hit the track, very early to any other competitors. Winter testing would have started by the end of the month of January. And the reason why we have been so early on track is because, being a new team, somehow brand-new power unit manufacturer, we knew that a lot of the operations, we would have at least the learning curve on the operation, would have been significant. And I think that has been, as a matter of fact, what has happened at the start of the season. The car has developed, the car has improved, but more of that is exploiting the car at the racetrack, making sure that we can have smooth sessions, running properly, finishing the sessions, no reliability issues, no operational issues. And there is so much to gain in that respect as well, in terms of drivers' confidence, because they can somehow run and learn from the car itself. So, if I look at the start of the season, I think the most we have learned is by us in terms of operations, having improved significantly since that 9th of January. And then, yes, on the car you are trying to develop whatever you can from the aero perspective, from some brand-new regulations, energy management. I think especially on the software calibrations, if I look at our drivability, that's where I think when the drivers, the first time they drove the car, the most they were shocked about was the drivability, how the car was difficult to drive. The engine was undrivable and the gear change as well. But again, that's not a surprise for us, for where we were. And today, after now a few months, it's where maybe we have improved the most, because again it's all the settings you need, calibrations to make those animals [which are] so difficult to drive as smooth as possible. It's something for us, it's a lot to learn and to develop, and I think we are on the right path.

You talk about driver confidence. Just a quick word on Paul Aron this morning in FP1. How impressed were you?
MB: At first, I'm very happy that he could have a smooth session. Last year, whenever he had FP1 with us, it has never been without any problem. So today at least he's got a good session, and again he has proved that he's a capable driver. He's a fast driver. He never tested that car on track. Immediately fast since the very first lap, the very first run. So well deserved from him. Happy that somehow he could show up what he's capable of, because at the end he's a great driver and so the rookies need to have an opportunity to show how capable they are.

OK, Mattia, thank you very much for that. Toto, let's come back to you. Can we throw it back to Monaco? News today that Pierre Gasly's P3 has been reinstated. Given what happened to George, how has that news been received at Mercedes?
TW: Well, it was a very unfortunate situation, and clearly we can all learn from that because that wasn't something that just came up on Sunday, that suddenly 10 cars were in breach of pit lane speeding. It's something that was flagged before. For us as a team, and especially for George, massive implications. He had a difficult qualifying session, but he moved all the way back up there, and clearly without the penalty, without us not serving it correctly, it would have been a totally different outcome for his race. Whether he would have made the podium or just not is a different question, but a different outcome would have had an impact on his championship situation. And that's why it's unfortunate. Now we are assessing, as we speak, what the Gasly situation does for George. Obviously there are certain timing restraints. We wouldn't appeal the Gasly result, certainly, but we would like the FIA to look at what could be the remedies for George's race. And I don't think that there is... I think we are having some timing limitations and some other legal constraints, but definitely something to... You know, we have a reason to be annoyed for. And I wish we could have had those conversations before the race on Sunday.

It's been a frustrating few races for George. How do you assess his recent problems? And as the gap to Kimi grows in the championship, do you worry that he's starting to tighten up, maybe overthink the problems?
TW: No, I think George is very good in showing resilience. Every racing driver goes through the ups and downs, and particularly when you look at the last handful of races, he could have scored much better results. We wouldn't talk about George's difficult campaign if he would have won Montréal or finished second. But the DNF that was caused by the team robbed him of those 25 or 18 points, whatever it would have been, and then we wouldn't have had this discussion in Monaco. Without the Monaco incidents, he would have scored solid points, and so this list continues and has been somehow the signature of this campaign so far. And on paper, he would have maybe been 50 points further up. He isn't, and he copes well with that. He's absolutely on it. This morning's session at FP1 debrief was very upbeat. He's come a little bit more back to how he likes the car, and I'm sure he will rebound. I mean, there's nobody else I would wish to have in the team than the two we have.

OK, thank you for that, Toto. Ayao, let's come back to you now. Mattia had told us about the journey they've been on at Audi since the start of the year. At Haas, you've scored top 10s in five of the six races so far. So, tell us about the progress you've made with the VF-26.
AK: Yeah, I think we started off the season very well, but again, just focusing on the basics. Like Mattia, we really focused on hitting the ground running on day one with reliability, because every time we run the car, we're learning how to get the most out of the car. Then, of course, with it being the first year of the brand-new regulations, then focus quickly changes to the development championship. And then, of course, we are still the smallest team, but I think our guys are working really well together. When we put the upgrade on in Montréal, we wanted to put it a bit earlier but we couldn't, so that's one limitation. But when we put it in Montréal, I think the circuit characteristics and ambient condition, etcetera, that meant that we had a very different challenge, which actually uncovered some of the weakness of the car. Nothing to do with upgrade, actually the fundamental weakness. But again, I think I'm really happy with the reaction we're seeing from everyone in the team. Whenever we see a new problem, new issues, we really work as a team, stick together, and then the only thing that matters is how to improve from there. So, from the very limited timing between Montréal and Monaco, we made some progress. In Monaco, we were a bit unlucky in qualifying not to get a car up in Q2, then I think we had a chance to get into Q3 at least with one car. But again, I think the Monaco race shows that you should never give up. Starting from P17, we just focused on what we needed to do, then anything can happen. And then as it unfolded, these penalties aside, we managed to finish P9, in the top 10. So that was a great reward for everyone. And here it's a totally different challenge, so again, we've got to adapt very quickly. FP1, we did some test items based on what we learned in Montreal and Monaco, and we just need to keep getting answers, keep running, and then put improvements in place as quickly as possible. So yeah, we started well but there's no time to relax at all. We really need to be completely on top of our game, produce our best performance, every time we go out there.

You talk about progress, and in the past, quite recently, you've spoken about the simulator that is being built in Banbury. What's the latest on that and how will that accelerate things for you?
AK: Yeah, I think to start off with, it's a bit funny to talk about simulator being installed in year 11 of a Formula 1 team. If I had the choice, I would have done it much sooner, especially preparing for this regulation, brand new power unit, brand new chassis. Simulator is key, not pre-season but during the race weekend as well. So, I really can't wait for that to be operational. We should have it just before or around summer shutdown time. Again, that will really transform how we prepare the weekend and through the weekend, and then post-event as well. Again, just as a team, we are just tackling, let's say if there's 10 problems we want to tackle, we can't tackle all of them, so really prioritising and then looking at what is the most efficient thing to tackle. And the simulator is very high on the list. Yeah, I think we are really looking forward to it, and hopefully we should be able to see the benefit of it later in the season.

Check out our Friday gallery from Barcelona here.