Track Interviews - Conducted by Jacques Villeneuve.
Kimi, amazing win. I mean, you had pace all weekend, very strong. You were very cool with the battle with Max on the first lap, then the Virtual Safety Car. You had to fight back to the lead. Leclerc was super-fast, stayed in your mirrors, but you didn't crack. How does it feel to get back into the winner's circle after the tough races?
Kimi Antonelli: Yeah, it's great to be back on the top step after, obviously, a few difficult rounds. It was a hard-fought race. We lost, obviously, first place with the Virtual Safety Car, but then we managed to make our way back. It was a tough win because Charles was quick and we had to hold on.
Charles, an aggressive race today. We saw you being very aggressive in the race. You come from a win in Silverstone. Once again, you were giving Kimi a hard time and kept up with him. Do you have this car under control now? Can you fight for the rest of the season?
Charles Leclerc: Well, I believed in the win until the end. We had a little bit of luck, obviously, with the VSC at the right time for us, but the pace was relatively strong. There were five or six laps on the hard where I was struggling with the front axle, and then it came back a little bit. I feel better with the car. There's still some work to do, but surely it's a step forward.
Max, you tried everything this weekend. The tow in qualifying - you really wanted it. An interesting strategy at the start. You made everyone believe, "Okay, maybe you can get the lead," but then was it a question of surviving? Are you happy with your result?
Max Verstappen: Yeah, I think so. I tried everything I could in the race. The first stint wasn't too bad. The second stint was probably a little bit more difficult, but at the same time, I also think Kimi and I got a little bit unlucky with the VSC as well. So, I think for us to be on the podium is very good. I gave it everything I had, and I think P3 is good.
Kimi, over the last few races, you had a big lead in the points. It had been dropping through a little bit of bad luck, and now you've built a big gap again. Do you think you're back on the road and have the momentum going again?
KA: I think the momentum was always there. It was just about getting the result. Today, we were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship, but that's why you've got to try to take every opportunity, because we saw that the situation can really swing very easily. We've just got to keep performing, keep bringing the results, and then we'll see what happens at the end of the year.
Press Conference
Many congratulations, Kimi. Another very impressive victory for you. What aspects of this afternoon pleased you the most?
KA: I mean, it was a hard-fought race. The pace was a lot higher than in practice, and it was not easy because Max in the first stint was keeping up, and then obviously Charles had great pace as well on the Hards. So, it was not easy because there was also so much deployment difference between all the teams. As well, we were strong in certain parts of the track but then weak in others. So, it definitely was not straightforward, but I'm very happy with it.
And it's another race in which you missed out on the VSC. What were you thinking at that moment?
KA: Obviously, I was a bit annoyed, but you can't predict these things. Sometimes it goes your way; other times it doesn't. In Suzuka, I was very lucky with the Safety Car timing, and today it wasn't on my side. But it's how it goes, and that's why, despite everything, you just try to make the best out of it and maximise the result.
Can we discuss some pretty close battles you had today, starting on lap one with Max going down the hill to Eau Rouge? Could we get your side?
KA: It was crazy. To be fair, I was so confused about what was happening because Max came flying past me before Eau Rouge, and then I passed him back. But then I saw Charles almost come alongside me, and I was like: "What the heck is happening?" I had no clue. I was just trying to hold the position on track, and I was looking in my mirror the whole time because I just saw so many cars coming. But it was a crazy start. Luckily, we got away cleanly.
And what about that battle with Charles at the end? Were you surprised by Ferrari's pace today?
KA: I mean, they were good in FP as well. Their long run didn't look bad at all, so we knew they would be good. Today was just confirmation that they were there, and they were very strong in Turns 12 and 13 compared to us. We were struggling a little bit with the rear there, but then, on the other hand, we were very strong in the low-speed corners. So that's why it was not easy, especially to keep up in Sector 2. But we definitely expected them to be quick today.
Hungary is up next, a very different racetrack to Spa-Francorchamps. Just give us a little sneak preview as to how you think your car will perform there.
KA: Yes, I think all four top teams will be close because, obviously, you have no battery issues. The deployment is going to be very healthy, so it's going to be another track where it's maybe a bit more like Monaco, where you just try to drive as fast as you can. It's going to be interesting. I think it's going to be very tight between all of us, and that's why it's going to be important to try to put things together.
Very well done today. Thank you for that. Charles, let's come to you now. We've just had Kimi's analysis of Ferrari's pace. Just how close did you think you were to him today?
CL: Again, on Thursday, I think we kind of expected to be very far back, maybe to the extent of four or five tenths. In qualifying, that was true, but in the race we were a bit closer than we thought. So, it's been positive. I think on two tracks which, on paper, were quite bad for us, we won and we finished second, with a little bit of luck, but still, I think it was a good effort from the team. On two tracks that didn't fit our car particularly well, we've scored good points.
How much confidence do you take from these last two races? You said after the win at Silverstone, "I'm taking it one race at a time." Given what's happened here at Spa, do you think you've cracked it? Do you think you've now got the car where you want it and can be quick everywhere?
CL: I'm confident in saying that I made a step forward. Whether I'm at the level where I want to perform, not yet. There are still things in the car that I need to drive around. I cannot drive completely naturally, and that is slowing me down in some parts of the race. So, there are still things that I've got to work on in order to be better. But surely it was a step forward, and for that I'm happy. I'll continue with the one-race-at-a-time approach because, with these cars, it's very difficult to be confident that if one race weekend goes well, the other one will, because it relies on such small details. With what you do with your driving, it's never a given that you get the same deployment from one lap to the other, and that's maybe the frustrating bit about these cars.
There was a lot of good wheel-to-wheel racing today. Kimi talked about lap one. Can I ask you about lap eight? It got pretty close between you and Oscar Piastri. Just your version, please.
CL: Well, I would prefer to speak about lap one, to be honest, but lap eight was too close. Luckily, it didn't have any consequences for either my race or his race, so that's good.
A lot of people think Ferrari could be very strong in Hungary. What's your take?
CL: We could be, but we could also not be, and we'll never know until we go there. I think it's very difficult to predict the level of performance of every team. I recall very well what the overall feeling was before Monaco, and we arrived in Monaco and were underperforming compared to what everybody thought we would. So, I think we need to be cautious. We just need to do our homework, just like we do at every different track. I think what we did particularly well over these last two weekends was to really make sure that we maximised our package, and that's the mentality we should keep for Budapest, without thinking about expectations.
Okay, Charles, thank you very much for that. Max, if we could come to you now. Coming into this weekend, you weren't sure how quick the car would be here at Spa-Francorchamps. Was it better than expected today?
MV: Yeah, probably. I think overall the weekend for us was quite straightforward. The car was straight away in a decent window, so I think that just helps a lot. To be honest, today we got a little bit unlucky with the VSC, and I could have potentially fought with Charles, but the second stint was just a little bit worse than I hoped for. I guess the balance was not where I wanted it to be for a long time during that stint, so I lost too much time in the first half of it. But for us to be on the podium here has been a good result.
Can we ask you about lap one as well? We got Kimi's version of events. How was it for you going down to Eau Rouge?
MV: Clearly, too much deployment from Turn 1 to Turn 2! Then I went through Eau Rouge, looked at my battery status and thought, "Well, that's going to be a difficult run to Les Combes." I expected Kimi to come by, and then I looked in my mirror and just saw a red rocket coming. I was like, "Oh, I'll just hold my line because if I move here, we're going to have an airplane shunt." So, it was pretty incredible, the differences.
Final one for me, Max. Just your thoughts on Hungary as well. What have you learned this weekend? Do you think the car will be good there?
MV: I don't know. It's impossible to know at the moment. I just hope for a straightforward weekend. That will help a lot in terms of whether we are competitive or not.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa here.
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