Team Representatives: Alan Permane, Zak Brown and Toto Wolff.
Toto, if we could start with you, please. Let's begin with upgrades. They proved frustrating last time out at Sepang. Kimi is continuing to use them here. What did you learn? Did you learn any more about them in FP1?
Toto Wolff: Good afternoon, everyone. The complication is that we've brought a big upgrade to Baku, and Baku is so tricky and a little bit of an outlier in terms of the temperatures that we've seen on Friday and Saturday, and with the tarmac being broken, or the tarmac being quite open, that we kind of didn't know whether the upgrade wasn't working as we thought or whether it was influenced indeed by the track conditions. And that's why we decided to go to Singapore, have two different specs of cars and see what it's going to do, well knowing that Singapore is an outlier of a track too. So, we've done that exercise in FP1. There is a pattern, but most importantly is to really dissect what's working and what's not on the old and the new spec and then finding a way forward, picking the best bits and seeing where the development direction needs to get us in order to extract the optimum lap time. Now, having said that, obviously running two different cars is not always ideal, but it's a compromise we just need to take. So, we have two test pilots at the moment. We need to take it in order to assure that we're doing the right thing for next year as well.
You say there's a pattern. Is the pattern similar to what you were seeing at Sepang?
TW: Yeah, there is a similar pattern, that the new car seems to be a little more tricky to drive. Not saying it's necessarily slower, because there will be goodness in it, but maybe we haven't just found a way of putting it all together and tuning it. The older car is a bit more stable, grippy, but that is really just one data point. That is one free practice session, and it will be needing more time to really come to more conclusive information.
And with the 2027 car beginning to take shape back in the factory, how crucial is it to find a way forward with this upgrade?
TW: Very. I mean, we've put a few months of upgrades into the car, clearly pointing in a direction that we think is advantageous, and maybe we just need to calibrate it a little bit in order to find the right way forward for 2027.
OK, quick word on drivers now. There's been some speculation in the media about some of the decisions that have been made between your two drivers this year. What would you say to those people who feel that the team has favoured Kimi at times?
TW: They're brainless, whoever thinks that. I mean, it's completely nonsensical. We've had it in the past with Lewis fans. I mean, literally, I don't know what's going on. Do they think I have a button that says, "George engine failure now", or disadvantaging one driver against the other when we are fighting for a Constructors' Championship, when we have always had the mindset of providing everybody equal material? But I guess this is maybe where social media goes today. People hide behind their screens and then they lash out. There's a lot of polarisation going on, and sometimes I read what people write. I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself. I'm Satan, I've heard. So, yeah, overall funny.
Zak Brown: Silver Arrows rules will fix it. I've got a book I can share with you.
TW: Yeah. You obviously... You have the exclusive rights on fruits, Papaya Rules, so we need to come up with something better. But really zero understanding and respect for people who come up with these things. They should, rather than watching Formula 1, they should do Teletubbies or some Mickey Mouse.
All right, Toto, thank you for that. Zak, if we could come to you now. The last couple of races have been difficult for the team. With seven races to go, look, what's the target between now and the end of 2026?
ZB: The target is to come into every race weekend with a chance to win. We look better here in Free Practice 1. We feel more on top of things than we have the last couple of races, and then, of course, won a couple of races prior to that. So, I think it shows how competitive the sport is and how quickly the top four teams, and the whole grid for that matter, everyone's kind of moving around in levels of competitiveness. But our goal is to try and come to each race weekend and win, but that's easier said than done.
And when you look at the final standings, if, for example, you finish in the top three, how would you rate your season?
ZB: Difficult. A lot of progress, lots of learning. Again, I think if you go to Australia, everyone thought Merc's going to win 24 races on the trot, and they've had an unbelievable season. I'd be very surprised if they didn't win the championship. But knowing them as I do, that's not going to be the attitude any race team has, right? It's not over until it's over. But now you've got four teams that have won races. I think you have four teams that can come into this weekend and win. And so here we are again with an unbelievably competitive Formula 1. You've had Alpine with a pole, and when you look at the timing screens, whether it's a Racing Bulls or an Alpine, no one's far away. So, it's getting closer and closer. So, this has been a tough year, a learning year, but I want to finish on a high note so we can go into '27 fighting for the championship.
What about the drivers? In here yesterday, Lando was talking about the way he's driven, how pleased he is with some of the performances he's put in. How have you seen him kick on as a world champion?
ZB: He's just getting better and better. Very confident. You can see when we have a bad day at the office, his approach to the next session is like a world champion. He shrugs it off quickly. I think we've all seen at times he can be too critical of himself over the years, and now I think he's got that world champion confidence where it's like, "Well, let's get it next session." So I've not seen him ever drive this well, as is, but he's still the same Lando, which I think is great. So, he's changed on track in a world champion way, but he's still the Lando I think we all know and love off the track.
What about Oscar? He seems to have struggled more with the car, got better in the last couple of races. Is he back to the Oscar you know?
ZB: Yeah, I think he is. And I think we've seen with these cars, it's kind of mixed up the field a little bit, right? Lewis is getting the better out of the Ferrari right now. George got more out of the car last year than Kimi. That's moved around. I think these cars are so complex. I think some have kind of adapted a little bit quicker than others, but I'm liking everything I see out of Oscar. I think he's feeling much more confident, on top of things. I like where both our drivers are now.
OK, Zak, thank you for that. Alan, we'll come to you now. Can we start by talking about Arvid in FP1? First time he's been to this track in Singapore. Just how has he settled in with just that one practice session?
Alan Permane: Yeah, pretty well. I did the same trick with him here as I did in Montreal. New track, Sprint weekend. I just said to take the FP1, Sprint Qualifying and Sprint like FP1, FP2, FP3. So, no pressure. We don't expect you to be top 10 in FP1. And it seems to work, that approach. It definitely takes the pressure off him and just allows him to drive and get on with it. So, a very decent session. We didn't have the best car to start with this morning. Not this morning, is it? This evening, this afternoon, wherever we are. And had to make some changes to both cars in the middle of that session. So, we were running around quite close to the back for that first run on Hards. Made a decent change to both and figured out we had some issues. Much more comfortable then, and then onto the Mediums at the end, we looked to be in our normal sort of place.
While we're talking drivers, most teams have confirmed their line-ups for 2027. VCARB hasn't. When can we expect news?
AP: I don't want to give you a definite date. You know, no, that's not going to work. It's going to be in the coming weeks, let's say. I mean, we're in no rush. I think everyone knows we've got two fantastic drivers. We've got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment, and they're all there and ready to go. But three doesn't fit into two, of course, and we're just going to take a little bit more time and make sure we get the right pairing for next year.
What's the key criteria for you?
AP: There's many, many, many things. I guess top of the list is speed and pace and all that goes with that. But there's lots, of course, in the background because we're in a slightly unique situation, I guess. We want to bring on young drivers, we want to bring on young talent, and of course we have one eye on them progressing in the future. So, it's not just about the here and now, it's also about what they can do in the future.
Check out our Friday gallery from Singapore here.
sign in