Part One: Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto.

Fernando, can we start with you? A second race on home soil for you and a return to Madrid for F1 in 45 years. Just how excited are you about this first visit of the Spanish Grand Prix to the Madring?
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it's going to be a very nice weekend. As you said, we have this privilege to race two times in Spain this year and, yeah, for the very first time in Madrid. I think last time was in Jarama, you know, many, many years ago. So, yeah, it is special. Also a new track, so it adds this challenge, you know, for everyone to learn the track as quick as possible in free practice. And, yeah, these cars as well, with the new regulations, always tricky to fine-tune energy here and there, and especially if it is a new track. So, yeah, a lot of challenges ahead and, for me, yeah, double special because being in Spain.

Tell us a little bit more about the layout of the track, what you think of it. Have you driven it on the simulator yet?
FA: Yeah, I drove in the simulator, but maybe it's a better question for the Ferrari drivers.

They were here earlier in the year, of course, on a filming day. What about car performance then, Fernando? Do you expect to be more competitive here than you were at Monza last weekend?
FA: Expect to be more competitive than Monza, in any other circuit in the world, probably. But let's wait and see. I think, as I said, there are a couple of challenges to discover. I think there is a lot of kerb riding, as we saw in the simulator and on the layout, and the confirmation from Formula 3 as well that it was, yeah, not an easy track. And then, yeah, the grip level on the asphalt is a question mark. You know, is it going to be grippy or not? Track evo, you know, from FP1 to qualifying and race. Normally, in a street circuit, you know, there is a huge improvement, so you need to keep up with the pace. Every time you jump in the car, normally the track will be faster than your previous run and, yeah, you need to anticipate that from your driver input, but also in the set-up directions. So, yes, there are interesting things that will happen during the weekend and, yeah, looking forward, especially accumulating laps. I think in every street circuit you need to do as many laps as possible to get that confidence close to the walls and extract the lap time. And at the same time, you have yellow flags, red flags, all these different things happening and sometimes you are lucky, unlucky, if you are in the box or you are out on track. So, we hope for a good weekend, no issues on the car and good reliability, and accumulating laps. That will be the key.

Final one from me. When can we expect to hear news about your plans for the future, for 2027?
FA: Not soon.

Not soon? Okay. Why the delay?
FA: Because I think it's nice, no?

Fernando, thanks very much. Esteban, let's come to you now. Can we start with your thoughts on Madrid and racing here?
Esteban Ocon: I think it's awesome. Awesome to be here in Madrid and awesome to be learning a new track. I think it's been a while since I came to F1 where I'm learning a new circuit, coming to a new place. Obviously, it's a crazy circuit. There's a lot of risk-reward on when to go fast, getting close to the walls. Yes, that's going to reward the people that take the most risk. But, yes, as Fernando said, there's a lot of unknowns and that's very good because hopefully it will bring opportunities for the cars in the midfield. The unknowns in terms of strategy or red flag in the race or whatever is going to happen, hopefully we can take those.

You've had a few days to reflect on the chassis upgrades that the team brought to Monza. Where was the car better?
EO: I think that it was positive. Yes, definitely, it did deliver for the whole team to have these updates. It was not the best track, of course, to test them in Monza, but it was very good that we got them there. We are still working with the inconsistency across cars. That's what's hurting us at the moment. Yes, I mean, this is what we need to try and solve this weekend. But the upgrade has been very positive and we are looking forward to seeing what kind of gain it gives us here.

Okay, thank you for that. And Franco, let's come to you now. You used to live in Madrid, so this is about as close to a home race as you're going to get this season.
Franco Colapinto: Yes, this season hopefully only. No, really excited to be back here in Spain, in Madrid. The second race of the year in Spain, which is very exciting. Madrid does feel like the closest to home, I think, especially because of all my, you know, previous experiences and how I started in Europe and how I started in Formula racing. I started here in Madrid, so to be racing here in Formula 1, it's a dream come true. I think it's very good for the sport as well, you know, to have another big city like Madrid being back on the calendar and, you know, putting a very exciting track. It looks like a very good one to drive as well. It's going to be cool. So, yeah, looking forward to tomorrow and to the weekend.

Now, Monza was a great weekend for the team. Do you think it'll be a slightly tougher assignment here in Madrid?
FC: Hopefully not, but I think it's going to be a bit more difficult. Monza suited really well our car and the places where we were strong, especially straights, but also the low-speed corners, where we were quite good there. And then I think the upgrade did bring us a lot. That upgrade in Zandvoort was very positive for the car. It put the car in a much better window and, again, we could deliver a much better performance in Monza. So, I think still a lot of work to do, but hopefully we can translate it into a good weekend here in Madrid as well and have a quick car.

Questions From The Floor

(Craig Slater - Sky Sports UK) Fernando, you say you're not in a rush to decide your future. Is there any impatience from the Aston Martin side? They've perhaps seen one or two big-name drivers who might have replaced you commit to their teams. I don't know what options they think they have. Are they showing urgency in trying to get you re-signed for next year? The project does need to be carried on.
FA: Sure, sure. No, but those drivers, they were visiting Lawrence in summer. Yes, so no urgency.

(Craig Slater - Sky Sports UK) What about from your own perspective, carrying the project on, Fernando, and the enthusiasm?
FA: As I said, I think it's a matter of understanding what the rules from next year will have an impact or not on the racing and on the driving side of things. I think the current cars, as I said many times, are not the best cars to drive and to enjoy. But next year there is a step, I think, in the right direction, hopefully. But, yes, at the same time, I need to think what is the best programme for next year and sit with the team. Behind the wheel or in another role, where I will be helping the most, that will be the most important thing to decide together.

(David Croft - Sky Sports F1) A question for yourself, Esteban. "Inconsistency across the cars, that's what's hurting us at the moment." Can you expand on that a little bit? Where is the inconsistency and how is that affecting your season?
EO: Yes, I mean, this is something that we've faced so far this season. Myself and Ollie are very aware of that. When we've got the cars to a healthy state where they can perform, we perform as drivers, as a side of the garage. Ollie last week had a car that was delivering what we were expecting and, on my side, it wasn't. But that was very different in Budapest, for example, where he faced these difficulties. So, we are aware of these things and this is our full focus at this stage, to try and not have these issues, to start the weekend just working normally with the car. It gets difficult once you are running after a deficit, let's say, in terms of performance. And, yes, that's the situation we are in. But that doesn't take away all the good work that the team has done in the recent races. It's been three Q2s in a row. Of course, it's not Q3, but I feel like I've extracted the maximum out of the car that I could and, yes, I mean, there was nothing left on the table. So, it's not the result that we want. We, of course, need more performance to be fighting in the points, but it's still a satisfaction to say, "Okay, that was the car we had. We got the maximum out of what it could do. Now we need to work on this and that," and that's what we are doing. And I think we've been doing a pretty good job on our side recently, so we need to keep going.

(Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sports Italy) A question to Esteban. Esteban, knowing that your team is testing with other drivers and this week may be also important, what kind of discussion are you having with your team about your future, and are you speaking with other teams?
EO: Yes, we are having discussions, obviously, regarding the future in these recent weeks. I've been convinced to come for this project with Ayao since 2025 and, of course, the first discussion needs to happen with this team, and they are happening right now. But, yes, the team is allowed to test other drivers if they want. We have a TPC programme that's very important to us. It's also some kind of revenue for us. But it is clear that inside the team the drivers are not the problem. We are all pushing together in the same direction to try and get more out of the car. And myself and Ollie, when we have the car to perform, we do. And at the moment, that's all I'm focused about, is to get the maximum of what we can do, fix the issues of the car, learn this new track and hopefully have good results.