Parc Ferme Interviews - Conducted by Naomi Schiff.
Max, huge congratulations. You've been looking quick all weekend so far, but to take pole position here for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, how good does that feel?
Max Verstappen: It's fantastic. I mean, we've been trying many Grands Prix, you know, to get pole, sometimes a bit closer than others, but to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible.
We know that there's been a lot of talk about degradation around this track, but you guys have looked consistent both in single-lap pace as well as long-run data. I know you're still hunting for your first Grand Prix victory of the season. Do you think this will be the place you'll get it done?
MV: I mean, I'm happy with today and for sure I'm going to try to win tomorrow. I mean, when you start first, that's the target.
Fantastic. Well, we'll look forward to seeing that tomorrow. Max. Lewis, congratulations. A P2 after what didn't look like a very straightforward weekend, but you're one of the few, well, one of the ten drivers to come back to the circuit. How good is it to be back here?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, I mean, listen to this crowd, guys. This is, I think, the biggest crowd we've ever seen here, at least in my time of driving. But yeah, I love this energy. Big, big thank you to Malaysia for welcoming us. It's so hot here, I keep saying it, but that's made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage. And I'm really, really thankful to my team. We've made so many changes through all these practice sessions and because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating, it was really, really hard to find a good balance. And we made one last change going into qualifying and I think we hit the sweet spot. So, to be able to close the gap to, you know, two or three tenths to Max, who's been so quick all weekend, is great. And yeah, I'm so, so grateful.
So, as you say, the heat is brutal out here at the moment. I can't imagine what it's like for the fans, but for you drivers as well in the cockpit, there's a lot to juggle, with tyre temperatures and degradation on an abrasive surface like here. How much is that going to be a focus tomorrow, and are you happy with where your car is at going into tomorrow's race?
LH: Much happier with where the car is but tomorrow is a completely different ball game. Making these tyres last around this track, I mean, they're overheating from the get-go. So, every little bit of wheelspin you have, every little snap you have, depending on the wind, makes a difference of how far you're going to go. But I like to think we've got a good balance. These guys, you know, Max was really quick on his long runs, so we'll just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow.
Fantastic. We'll look forward to seeing that tomorrow. Isack, congratulations. I think a lot of people were concerned about you spending some time out of the car. It looks like you may have had an upgrade to your wrist because you've been quick ever since your comeback. How good was it today?
Isack Hadjar: Yeah, I mean, the car has been very good since last week, so, you know, it's good to come back at such a time. And yeah, I'm enjoying it. You know, like fighting for a top three, even though it wasn't my finest qualifying session, it's a good feeling.
Well, you say it wasn't your finest qualifying session. It was enough for P3, but tomorrow, unfortunately, you have some penalties for a good start. So, are you going to be fighting through the field? Are you confident that you have a car that's going to have some raceability tomorrow?
IH: Yeah, it's very unfortunate that we take the penalty on the track where we're that fast, but, you know, from eighth I'm confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result.
Press Conference
Max Verstappen, pole today. Fantastic result, your first pole of 2026 and the first pole without a Mercedes engine. Does that feel like a huge result for the team?
MV: I think, in general, it's been an incredible result for us. Looking at the season, how it started for us and the progression that we have made. At some tracks we were kind of close, but now I think this weekend it was very positive for us. I think from FP1 we started quite well and from then onwards we've just been trying to improve the car further. It's incredible, honestly. I'm very happy to be on pole here.
So, last time you were here, you won. What's going to stop you from winning tomorrow? Is it the heat, the tyre deg, the Ferraris? Are you expecting a challenge from anywhere else? The rain, maybe?
MV: It's tough always around here. It's very hot, for ourselves, but also for the cars, for the brakes, for the tyres. So, yeah, the race is definitely going to be a tough one. You have to manage a lot and it's impossible to know at the moment, of course, who can do that the best. But at the same time, also, there is a start, where a lot of things can happen. So, we just need to be aware, ready, and then we'll see how competitive we are in the race. But so far this weekend, yes, I've felt good, I felt confident, and I hope we can show that again tomorrow.
Lewis, if I can come to you. A fantastic lap. Is it a surprise to be on the front row?
LH: Yes, definitely. Firstly, congrats to Max. He's been so quick all weekend. We were kind of looking at fifth or sixth, throughout the weekend, in the ultimate pace compared to the rest. And we saw Mercedes come with a big upgrade and, considering they've been winning every race, thought the upgrade would really propel them even further forwards. But it's just interesting to find ourselves here. The car felt great. We've made lots of changes. I think they've got a great package. Red Bull have obviously been making some great progress. I mean, the only place we lose is down the straights to them. I think we're losing three or four tenths on the straights to them, which we know of, and so we just work as hard as we can to try and maximise in the corners. But I think we were able to do that today. So, this is really down to the mechanics and the engineers. We all did a really great job together, and then also execution was really on point. So, if we could keep this up, hopefully we can get better results moving forwards.
Last time you were on the front row, in Barcelona, you won. Is that possible tomorrow? And how much of a boost is it that the changes you made worked and that the work that you've been doing has resulted in a great result today?
LH: Yeah, I mean, the thing is that these cars are so sensitive. You make the smallest change and it's ridiculous the difference it can make from one run, one session, to the other. One click of front wing, or one millimetre ride height, a quarter of a degree of camber, or 0.1 of toe, or something like that. These little things make such a big difference to balance, and it's literally a moving target that you're trying to work around with set-up and then also controls that we have. Even then, understanding throttle application. If you get to full throttle too early, you [inaudible] and you lose time down the straight. These kind of things that I don't think many of us like, but mastering all that together is a massive challenge and obviously makes it even harder for us because I think we're so on the edge, because we are losing so much on the straights. So, I'm just hoping that we continue to work hard. If we get to a point where we have base power with these guys, I think we're going to have an even better fight in future.
Great, thank you, Lewis. Isack, if I can come to you. You sounded frustrated on the radio with P3. Did you feel there was more out there for you today?
IH: Second, I would say. You know, anything I can take to limit tomorrow's penalty. Yeah, I just feel like it's the first weekend that, after three free practice sessions, I feel like I need a bit more mileage because the laps are so limited here with the big tyre degradation. So basically, each compound, you get one lap of learning, each set of tyres, basically. I just feel like I worked quite well the whole weekend, but I feel like I wish there was another qualifying so I can keep improving the balance of the car, because I was not really satisfied with how we ended the session. And, yeah, had a few issues on that deployment on that last lap. So, all in all, nothing really aligned, and to come out in third with all these issues, on a normal weekend I would be P8 and now I'm third. So, we should be happy about the performance, but I'm not really.
You mentioned on the radio a lot of understeer. That's in order to protect the rears in the race tomorrow. So what have you learned from the long runs that gives you some confidence you'll be able to get up and join these two pretty quickly from P8?
IH: No, I mean, I don't think I'm going to see them tomorrow because it's quite dictated by your starting position. You may be super quick, then when you sit behind a car that's still competitive... Tomorrow I'll be fighting Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, so they are fast cars and it's not like I'm going to run through them at all. So, in the end, I'm going to have to look after the tyres, make the most of the free air I get and try and climb.
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