Part One: Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

Carlos, why don't we start with you? You have an excellent record here at COTA, including that Sprint podium last year for Williams, of course. Can you give us your thoughts on the track and what kind of performance you're expecting this weekend from Williams?
Carlos Sainz: I think it's one of my favourite tracks for sure, one of those tracks where I've always felt comfortable driving. I always say COTA is, out of all the new-generation tracks, by far the most exciting that has been designed, I think, and the most different. And I think it's a track that a lot of circuits could take as a good example of, with the kind of design it has for overtaking, the kind of ups and downs, the roller coaster feeling. I think normally we tend to always like good old-school tracks, but Austin, even if it's not an old-school track, it feels like one. And I think that's why many drivers like it and enjoy it. And on top of that, it produces some great racing. So, yes, not expecting a podium this year, but definitely going to try and still enjoy what is a great track.

But is the upgraded FW48 that arrived in Baku good enough to at least challenge for points?
CS: No, it's not. It is a car that is good enough to get into Q2 with a very good lap in Q1 and race from there. And if the others make mistakes and get things very wrong, then maybe you can get a point like we got in Baku. But the reality is that our position is not to score points. The lightweight chassis has worked, and it's given us the opportunity to get into Q2 three consecutive times since Baku. But as soon as the race settles and everyone gets into their pace, it's right now, in a normal race better than the top 15, top 14 is very difficult.

So, what do the last six races look like for you and the team? Is it all about laying the foundations for a better 2027?
CS: Yes, I think it's exactly that. We're going through some massive changes inside the team, and we are investing these last nine races of the year to challenge ourselves to change things in the middle of a Formula 1 season, which you would never wait until the break to change. But now the team has taken that direction, with clear leadership from the top management to say, even if we are in the middle of the season, change everything, change what needs to be changed. And it's quite uncomfortable because we're changing things that, even in the middle of an F1 weekend, you feel like you're leaving lap time on the table or that you're doing too many things. But it's with a target or an intention of getting things out of the way with a car that we know is very difficult to score points with and making sure we hit the ground running next year.

Okay, Carlos, thank you. Thank you for that. Oscar, let's come to you now. Your boss, Zak Brown, says you're back to being the driver he knows. Do you feel that driver ever left?
Oscar Piastri: Certainly, it was hard to find for a while, but I feel like the last triple header was definitely more back to where I wanted to be. Definitely not still at the level I aspire to be at, but back in the ballpark that I should be in. So, yes, I mean, it's been no secret that this year has been challenging in terms of getting a grip on this year's car. But I feel like over the last few weeks, it's started to click a little bit more. It's still very challenging, but we're finding a way. So, no, I feel like I'm slowly getting there and both improving this year and also identifying what I need more of or less of to go quicker from the car. So, yes, we're getting there. But this is not a level I want to be trying to get to. I want to be getting to a much higher level than where I'm at. But it's a clear sign of progress, which is what I'm after.

What have you changed on the car that's allowed you to make this progress, to allow it to click, to use your word?
OP: Not a lot. We've tried various things. I think what we're dealing with, what's been challenging this year, you can't quickly fix. I think even trying to fix it overall is not an easy thing at all. But we've been trying some things. There's been a lot of hard work in terms of how I adapt myself to the car, because the things that were working so well for me at points last year are kind of the things that are my downfall on a lot of weekends this year. So, when you can't rely on the things that you normally want to rely on, it is always challenging, both in terms of actually adapting but also when you've been used to something working for you for a long time, trying to move away from that. There's almost a mental challenge to that as well. So, yes, I feel like we're making progress and things are starting to feel a little bit more comfortable, but there's still room to go.

Do you think the layout here at COTA will suit the car better than, say, Singapore last time out?
OP: Difficult to say. I mean, I think in general the high-speed corners are where we've been stronger this year, and the low speeds are where we've struggled. I think here you've got a combination of both. You've got very high speed and pretty low speed as well, and very long low-speed corners in a lot of ways. So, it will challenge everything. We've got a few new bits on the car, which will hopefully help us a little bit. But, yes, I think at the moment we know that we're lacking a bit of performance compared to the teams around us in general, regardless of our strengths and weaknesses. But, yeah, hopefully at least we can exploit some strengths this weekend.

All right. Oscar, thank you for that. Good luck. And Isack, let's come to you now. You come to Austin on the back of a frustrating weekend in Singapore. What is your frame of mind ahead of the United States Grand Prix?
Isack Hadjar: Yeah, I mean, it's one of those weekends where you get a failure in each session. So, you learn from it and we just move on, and I'm happy to be here in Texas. I like the track, and the car has been working really well performance-wise over the last couple of weekends, so yes, we're confident as a team, but of course, we are aware of the upgrades in the other garages. So, still down to earth. We still know our weaknesses on the car. We're still working on it. So, yeah, I just want to go out there and have another clean one because the last two weekends have been very frustrating, considering the car I've been given.

You talk about the car's weaknesses, but do you think you come to this race with the fastest car in Formula 1?
IH: No. I don't think we have the fastest car.

Look, final one for me: can we get a word from you on Kimi Antonelli, whom you raced against in the junior formulas? He can win the world title on Sunday. Can you give us your thoughts on the season he's driven this year?
IH: Yeah, just, I think he's surprised everyone with the level he's been driving at, just because of how challenging a rookie season can be. And then you turn things around, and we know how good George is and he's been doing so well against him. So now he's even surprised me, impressed me. So, yeah, it's great.

Press Conference

(Craig Slater - Sky Sports) A question for Oscar. Oscar, we've had a little bit of time since Singapore. We obviously had the coming together there. Are you happy with the way the team handled that situation? I understand there aren't any racing repercussions. And I just wonder if you think in any way what did happen is kind of symptomatic of where McLaren are at the moment, in a little bit of a frustrating position, trying to make things happen when it's not really happening for you?
OP: Yeah, I've been happy with how things have been dealt with. Yeah, I think the team, Zak and Andrea have handled things the way they should have been, so that's been fine. Yes, I mean, it's been a challenging year for us, definitely. I think in the middle of the season we felt like we'd gained some momentum and potentially we were back to being able to fight for wins and regular podiums. But, yes, that's often the way in Formula 1. You think you're there again and you've got a few teams around you to pull you down a few pegs. So, yes, hopefully we can find a bit more performance in the rest of the season. But, yes, I think in terms of going back to Singapore, I think it was dealt with appropriately and we're ready to go racing.

(David Croft - Sky Sports F1) Isack, a question for you. I understand your frustration completely from Singapore. It wasn't the straightforward weekend you were looking for. Your team-mate won from pole. Why don't you think your car is the fastest car on the grid when your team-mate's car was the fastest car on the grid? And are the cars different, or was it just a case of the power unit?
IH: Because I think the car is still very hard to drive. In Malaysia, it was dominant, but I don't think in Singapore it was the fastest car. That's what I believe. I think if you put Max in the Ferrari, he would have won the race with more margin. So that's my opinion. In Singapore, I think it was the fastest car.

(Tom Slafer - DAZN Spain) Carlos, we are starting yet another triple header this weekend. It should be nine races in 11 weekends. There's a lot of debate among the fans to see whether they like it or whether they are at least used to having so many races in a row. Being now in the middle of this long stint of races, what's your opinion, or the opinion of the drivers, if you can speak on behalf of the GPDA, on whether you like it or whether it changes anything mentally or physically having so many races in a row?
CS: Well, I think if I were a fan, I would love it because the more F1 I can watch on TV, the better. Like, I remember when I was a kid and there were only 16 races in the calendar, or 18. I used to miss Formula 1 for a lot of weekends. We also need to consider as a sport if that's something that maybe is also counterproductive. Sometimes you need to miss the sport to get people engaged. When maybe you get so many races in a row, people or the sport can maybe feel a bit like a league, like the Premier League rather than the Champions League. So maybe you pay a bit less attention to the matches or to the races in this case. So, it's more a philosophy for the sport to consider whether you want to keep having so many races in a row. But more important than that, I think as the GPDA, we've been told more or less that 24 races, 25 races is the limit of the championship that they're willing to go for. I don't know if that will be the case, the more offers there are to keep increasing venues. But I think that is the limit. And I think it's more about the members of the team that are going to spend only three or four days at home, or five days at home every month. And it's the people in the teams that get the tougher end rather than the drivers. I think we are in a more privileged position in that sense. So, let's see. I have the motivation to do however many races we need to do. I have the will to race. I love racing. But it is true that this end of the triple header, with three triple headers in a row, is going to be tough for the body, tough for the people, tough for the mind.