Today's team representatives press conference with James Vowles, Peter Bayer and Ayao Komatsu.

Q: James, if we could start with you, and can we start by talking about drivers? Both have re-signed. Just how important is that stability for you and the team?
James Vowles: Yeah, it's vitally important. When you're going through what we're doing at the moment, which is large transformations, large swathes of big changes, the stability that Carlos and Alex provide is huge. Alex has obviously been there since '22. He wants this project to be successful, but having Carlos there by our side as we go through that is vitally important. It shows everyone in the outside world. We give them, obviously, an inside scoop as to what we're doing, what was going wrong, how we fix it, but I think it clearly demonstrates to the world that their belief in the project is still there. It's been a difficult year, but it's good in the long term.

Q: Now, to quote Niki Lauda, "You learn more when you lose than when you win." What have you learned about those two drivers during this difficult '26?
JV: If I start with Carlos, he is immensely good. His attitude and approach doesn't change irrespective of whether he's fighting for 18th or a podium, and that's quite unique. Normally, you'll see a change in persona from individuals. The more frustrated they are, the more emotion kicks into it, and Carlos doesn't have that at all. He's just driven by constant performance improvements. Fundamentally, that is what you need to be driving yourselves forward with. Alex, he's obviously been here for a long time. What he's able to bring is he's able to see how the team was three years ago, for example, and actually paints a really good colour and light as to, even when everyone's mood is a little bit more downbeat, it becomes harder to become more upbeat as you drop down the grid, he's able to demonstrate how those changes have a material impact. So, they bring different aspects to it, but both are a strength.

Q: Okay, so both drivers re-signed. You've done a lot of hires as well, and can we talk about Piers Thynne, because he's just started at the team. How is he settling in? What kind of an impact are you expecting him to have?
JV: Yeah, Piers is fantastic. I mean, he knows what a championship looks like. He's won two championships in the last few years and he understands everything from whether we're talking from the very start of a concept all the way through to the delivery of products. So, whilst he's here effectively acting as our in F1 terms, COO, looking after the production, he's in a far bigger role than that, allowing us to really start accelerating our processes. We're behind, there's no doubt about it. The cost cap is a great thing, but it's also locked in 20 years' worth of underinvestment. What Piers is able to do is to give us areas where we can definitely move forward at a much higher pace than we were before.

Q: And in terms of 2026 versus 2027, where are you in the factory at the moment?
JV: The main element we're working on is some new chassis that will come in this year, which will carry over into next year, so effectively a transition point. But what's really important in that is not the chassis themselves. The challenge of the business was innovation. It should be done in a completely different way that's never been done before, that has material output, which can be cost, time and weight. In fact, it's all three in this circumstance, and it's sort of a class-leading project to demonstrate that whilst we are where we are on the grid, and it's not where we want to be, we will still keep pushing these innovation boundaries throughout. So that work is ongoing. It will come in this year, as a result of it, we've still got a little bit more performance to add, but it won't make a material impact. When we look at where the grid is right now, we are too far away. So a lot of our focus is really going into next year, especially since there is a power unit change and an aerodynamic regulation change, in order to sort of get back onto, let's say, a solid foundation.

Q: James, thank you very much for that. Peter, if we could come to you now, and we will start with drivers as well. Can you give us a chronology, first of all? When were you first informed of Isack Hadjar's wrist injury and the changes that needed to happen as a result?
Peter Bayer: Yes, good afternoon, everyone. Look, it was late last week when I learned about the injury. Then, obviously, the phone started ringing, a couple of phone calls, and then Tuesday the decision was taken on how we will go into this weekend. In terms of changes, honestly, I think as much as we do not like these things to happen, once it happens, we know what to do. You follow sort of the 'check book', I guess. The biggest change really was for Yuki's travel plans, to get him back from Greece and into the simulator, to give him the biggest support we can.

Q: It's a big ask for Yuki, isn't it, because he hasn't driven a 2026 car. What advice have you guys given him coming into the weekend?
PB: Yeah, that's true. On the other hand, Yuki, for him, it was a bit of a homecoming. He knows the team, he knows the mechanics, he knew his way around the garage, and he's been keeping himself fit. Honestly, physically, mentally, he's very well prepared. He has done a couple of TPCs. And so, in terms of advice, I guess what I said to him last night is, "Look, I know a Sprint weekend usually is very busy and hectic, but for you it could actually be an advantage because, you know, focus on the Saturday, Sunday sessions. You have a free practice, you have a qualifying simulation and you have a couple of race laps. That will help you to get into the right mindset and get used to the car." And he's done a very solid job in FP1.

Q: And was Liam very keen to get back in the Red Bull, show what he could do?
PB: Yeah, all the boys are Red Bull drivers, and so in the end for them to get into a car that's faster, that's made to fight with the other top teams, is always an interesting opportunity. I guess it's part of our job as Racing Bulls. We're the biggest talent incubator on the grid. We've developed more than 20 drivers over the years, and so they're ready. I think he will enjoy that as much as Yuki does to be back in the car.

Q: Were there any conversations about Arvid replacing Isack at Red Bull?
PB: No. Look, he's still in his rookie season. He's never driven around here and we really want him to focus on his career performance. So no, that was not a discussion.

Q: And just looking further ahead, well, we heard about Max Verstappen's renewal yesterday. When have you got news for us about your 2027 line-up?
PB: Yes, great news on Max, honestly, because that's obviously calming the whole system down. And at the same time, we are very happy with both Liam and Arvid and the job they're doing. So we're not in a rush. We have a good pool of drivers coming up through the junior programme. So I guess Alan really wants to keep everyone calm, everyone focused, and he will decide when the perfect moment is to inform the drivers and everyone here.

Q: Okay, Peter, thank you very much for that. Ayao, if we could come to you. We'll come to drivers a little bit later. Let's start, if we could, with the car, because let's talk about pre-summer break. It was a frustrating run for you guys. Can you just clarify what the issues were/are with the car?
Ayao Komatsu: Yes. Before coming into this season, this is the biggest regulation change ever, right? So us being the smallest team, we expect that we're going to really be struggling to keep up with the other big boys on the development race. So we started the season extremely well, much better than anyone can think of, and then from that moment I think that's the reality. You know, with our constraints, we're trying to develop the car as fast as possible, but the other guys are putting performance on the car faster than us. That's the reality. Then, to be fair, honestly, it's nothing against the guys in the team. They're doing a fantastic job, they're working together, and then for us to have a chance to keep up with the other guys, everything has to be perfect, right? Everything. In life, that's not something you can ask for all the time. So I really do think I need to provide them with better environment, facilitate it, so that they can show what they're capable of. I'm sure of that. But the good thing is those tough times show the character, right? And then there's no blame culture. We looked at the problem: what's the issue, where are we lacking downforce, why the drivability is not great, what are the drivers struggling with? So, we're all on the same page, trying to fix the issue, trying to put performance on the car. But of course, again, that takes time. Like James said, lots of things we're putting in place will take time for it to materialise. But we've just got to believe in ourselves, the teamwork, support each other, and we'll get through it like we did the last two years.

Q: So you say it takes time to put the developments on the car. What have you got in the pipeline, and can you give us a race when we can expect to see it?
AK: Yeah, we have some upgrades in our next race in Monza to start off with.

Q: You had a phenomenal run at the end of last year. With those upgrades on the car, is there any chance that we could see you guys getting on a bit of a run like you did late last year?
AK: Look, again, like James said, this year is the first year of a big regulation change, so gaps are much bigger than last year. Last year, I can't remember how many cars were within one tenth, right? That was great. But this year, that's not the case. We're talking about, you know, from our side it's like two seconds, right? So, it's huge. It's not going to be suddenly leaping from where we are to suddenly challenging in a top-eight position, but it's incremental changes. We've got to prove to ourselves that we can solve these issues together, that we can identify and solve it, because that gives us the confidence to go into next year. I believe you've got to face what's in front of you. You cannot just say, "Okay, this year we can't do it anymore, let's focus on next year." Then you haven't solved anything, you haven't proved yourself anything. So that's what we're focused on.

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