MSC Cruises Grande Premio de Sao Paulo

Driver Quotes - Sunday 8 November

Oscar Piastri "A good result in the end today after a challenging weekend with tricky conditions, especially at the beginning when the conditions were slippery and it took me a while to get into a rhythm. Once I did, the pace was strong, particularly on the Soft tyres, and that's a real positive. I'm pleased with how competitive we were at points, although sixth feels a little lower than the performance deserved.

"The car felt like it took a step forward this weekend, but we still need to make it quicker and easier to drive and close the gap to Red Bull and Mercedes. Congratulations to Mercedes for their Constructors' Championship win, I'm looking forward to battling them at the front next season. Now our focus turns to the final three races, we'll return to the factory to keep working hard and try to carry this progress into the remaining races of the season."

Lando Norris "This was certainly up there with one of our best-ever performances in terms of operational execution, strategy, and pit stop timing. The conditions out there in Brazil were exceptionally tricky, transitioning from Intermediates to slicks on a damp track and back again. We had a difficult launch off the line with wheelspin and lost ground early on, but I stayed patient knowing the weather and potential Safety Cars would bring opportunities back to us. Through flawless communication from the pit wall and keeping the car completely error-free on slicks in the wet, we managed to close down an eight-second deficit, apply pressure on the leaders, and capitalise to take the win.

"The new front wing and upgrade package we introduced this weekend performed exactly as expected, and without them, we would have been further off the frontrunners' pace. However, we have to stay realistic, we were still a tenth or two adrift in outright performance during practice, and we know we are not yet at the level required to contend for a World Championship consistently. I am immensely proud of the entire team and everyone trackside and back at the factory for their relentless work, and we are fully aware that we still have a lot of work ahead of us to extract the ultimate performance from this car.

"Finally, congratulations to Mercedes on their Constructors' Championship, it's a very special achievement and they've done a fantastic job this year in both Championships. I hope they celebrate well and enjoy this moment. We'll be working hard to give them a bit more of a challenge next year."

George Russell: It was a pretty eventful race today. We had really strong pace at times, particularly on the Soft tyre, and that was a big positive for me. I made a mistake at the pit exit when I was perhaps taking too much risk; I saw an opportunity to fight for the win and wanted to go for it. Ultimately, I don't think it changed our finishing position too much. We struggled more on the Intermediate towards the end, so there are definitely things for us to understand, but overall, I'm leaving this weekend encouraged by my performance. I've been working hard to get back to that level consistently and I've felt much more like myself here.

Most importantly, we achieved what we came here to do and won the Constructors' Championship. We would have liked to have done it in a bit more style today, but it's an incredible achievement for everyone in the team. We've had four difficult years and the whole organisation put so much work into getting us back into this position. When I joined Mercedes in 2022, we hoped we'd be fighting for championships regularly, so to have gone through that journey and now get back to the top is something we should all be incredibly proud of.

Winning the Constructors' World Championship is always the ultimate reflection of a team effort. This sport isn't just about the two drivers who are in the car every weekend; it's about the thousands of decisions made back at the factories and the determination of every person who contributes to the performance of the team.

Kimi Antonelli: I'm disappointed with my race today because I really felt the win was there. We had a very strong start and the pace on the Intermediates was really good. Once we switched to the Soft tyre, I was getting into a good rhythm, but I started to feel something strange with the rear of the car. It was very unstable, particularly in some of the high-speed corners, and I then had the spin. That flat-spotted the tyres and compromised the rest of the race. When we put a new set on later, the pace was strong again, so it's frustrating and we need to understand exactly what happened.

We can put that disappointment aside though because today is a great day for the team. Everyone deserves this Constructors' Championship. It's not only the boys and girls here at the track, but everyone back at Brackley and Brixworth, the support of Mercedes-Benz, PETRONAS and all our partners. They have worked incredibly hard to give us this car and the opportunity to fight for both championships. They helped me achieve my dream last weekend and I'm incredibly happy that today we could achieve this together. I'm very grateful to be part of this team. We'll enjoy this moment, but we want to keep winning, so we'll keep pushing and try to finish the season on a high.

Max Verstappen: "Starting P21 and making our way up to P2 was a crazy result! We had a lot of fun in the first stint, with great pace and quite a few overtakes, so I was really happy with that. When we switched to slicks, we struggled with a lot of oversteer, which made the car difficult to drive, so I felt there was potentially more in it. Once we switched back to the intermediates, things improved again.

"To finish second here is fantastic. Hopefully next year we can start a bit further up the grid, but racing in the wet always gives you more opportunities, and that certainly helped us today. We scored some important points for the Team in the Constructors' Championship, so we need to keep pushing, learn from this weekend and carry that momentum into the remaining races."

Isack Hadjar: "It was such a demanding race, with incredibly challenging conditions, but I really enjoyed it. I've never faced so many challenges in a single race, but we handled them really well as a Team and I'm very happy we came away with a double podium. A big thank you to the pit crew, who did an amazing job today and helped us stay in the fight.

"I struggled a little during the middle of the stint on intermediates, but things started to improve and we were very competitive on the softs, even with the rain returning towards the end. I really enjoyed the battle with Kimi in the final laps. It was great racing him and even better to finish on the podium alongside two fantastic drivers.

"It's a really rewarding result for the whole Team. We're moving in the right direction with the car, and this gives us a lot of confidence heading into the remaining races".

Charles Leclerc: Our execution was good today, we just didn't have the pace in these conditions. At the start, it was not possible for me to get the tyres to the right temperature and I had no grip on the first stint. Later on, I had the pace, but little free air. At the end of the race, having been patient and made the right choice by staying out on just one set of Softs before switching to the Intermediate, we finished in seventh to bring a few points home, but that's not our target. There's a lot for us to learn from this weekend, and we will give it our all for the final three races of the season.

Lewis Hamilton: We had a strong start and the team did a great job but overall it wasn't the race I'd hoped for. The first stint was challenging, as we struggled with the rear and found it difficult to get the tyres into the right temperature window. We tried to recover from there and towards the end I felt I could keep pushing but, unfortunately, the rain intensified and I lost some ground as a result. We'll keep working as a team and do everything we can to deliver a strong result in the next few races.

Alex Albon: "We were hoping for more today, but unfortunately we needed the rain to be a bit more steady during the race to maximise our result. We had a good start, and I had some good battles throughout, with a lot of defending, but it was fun racing while it lasted. Ultimately, we didn't have the pace to fight for points today, and I don't think there was anything we could have done differently. The team made the right calls and we executed a good race in tricky conditions. We'll debrief as a team and see what we can do to come back stronger in Las Vegas."

Carlos Sainz: "Today was a difficult day. The first stint was tough on the inters and I experienced a lot of understeer and graining with the front tyres. By the time I switched to slicks, we had much better pace and were more competitive, but I gambled on staying out hoping for a Safety Car, so by that point it was too late to make a real difference, although the last stint on inters was much better than the first one.

Tough weekend overall but we now have a week off to reset and recharge batteries ahead of Vegas, where we could potentially be closer to the field. Thanks to everyone for all the effort during this long triple header. We'll keep pushing until the end of the season."

Arvid Lindblad: "It was an enjoyable race and I had a lot of fun out there coming through from the back. It's disappointing to not come away with any points, especially after showing good pace and genuinely feeling we were in contention for a points finish for most of the race. Unfortunately, things became more difficult over the final 20 laps. I lost quite a bit of time battling Franco and struggled with drivability issues in the wet conditions towards the end of the race. This made it particularly hard to fight Nico as I was trying to keep the car on track. We'll review everything with the team to understand what we could've done better. It's not the way I wanted to end this triple-header, as I feel I've made some positive steps forward in terms of driving, but things haven't always gone our way. We'll take the learnings from this weekend, shift our focus and look ahead to the next race in Las Vegas."

Liam Lawson: "Today was a really good day for us. We had a strong race and made the most of everything we had available. I had great grip on the opening lap and was able to fight with the top teams, but over a long stint we don't quite have the pace to match them, so I focused on not losing too much time. We've had a really decent triple-header with plenty of positives to take away, and I've genuinely enjoyed it. I'll take a few days to relax and recharge before the final few races of the season. I'm already looking forward to heading back to Las Vegas."

Lance Stroll: "We had to retire the car on Lap 38 due to a battery issue. It's been another challenging weekend at the end of a long triple header, but we know the areas we need to work on for next year. We now focus on the final push of the season and will use the time before we head to Las Vegas to see where we can make improvements on our current performance."

Fernando Alonso: "The car felt strong today, particularly in the corners, and we were having some good fights out on track. I think it was one of our most competitive races, but we were struggling for performance on the straights. We made a strong start in the wet conditions, but then I couldn't avoid contact with Ollie [Bearman] who lost some control of his car in Turn 3. There are positives to take from this weekend, and we need to keep working hard to close the gap for next year."

Rafael Camara: "It definitely wasn't an easy one, with all the conditions out there we experienced over the course of one race. In the beginning, it was about staying on track, and there were a couple of mistakes - it was a bit tricky. The positive is that there was no damage today and lots learned, but there's still a lot more to learn for the future. I think there are a lot of things to go through with the team and put in place for next time. On one side, I was trying to enjoy my first race in Formula 1, at home, so it was nice - but I think on my side, I wasn't fully satisfied with how we finished today. It was a weekend where I think I must've nearly experienced everything, so I've learned a lot for the future."

Oliver Bearman : "I had a bit of a moment at the start, but nothing major. I lost a few spots but I gained them back again, so it was net zero. After that, I had some very slow pit stops and couldn't fight back from there. I want to go home now and reset. It's been a disappointing three weeks where we've missed two opportunities to score points - we just need to move on and do better."

Nico Hulkenberg: "It's good to come away from such a tricky race with a point. It was an eventful one, as it always is here in São Paulo. There were plenty of curveballs and opportunities for mistakes, but we managed to navigate them well and it was ultimately a fun race. I made a nice move on Lindblad right at the end, managed to set him up on the entry to get a better exit, and used the undercut to gain the position, which felt great, especially after the penalty had put us behind him. To fight back and recover that position, is a satisfying result. Looking at our pace, that's probably the maximum we could achieve today."

Gabriel Borteleto: "Obviously, starting from the back didn't make things easy for me, especially in the wet, where overtaking was challenging with the power limitations. I spent quite a bit of time stuck behind other cars, but whenever I had some free air, our pace was quite positive, as it had been all weekend long - it is a shame we could not get more out of it. While my home race was not quite what I had hoped for, the support from the fans was incredible throughout the weekend, and I really appreciate it. Now, a week to recharge and we move on to the next one, still in the fight."

Pierre Gasly: "It was a challenging afternoon for us and it's disappointing not to score points again, especially considering the unpredictable conditions, which I usually really like. We have a lot to review especially with our performance in the wet this weekend as the grip was very poor on both the Intermediates and the Extreme Wets. After yesterday's frustration in Qualifying, we saw some odd things in the aerodynamic data with the car in the wet which I know we are going to take time to review and further understand. I was pretty happy on the Softs in the race today and we were amongst some of the fastest cars on track during the dry part of the race. It's a pity that the last few weeks have not gone to plan but I am looking forward to returning home, having a few days to reset, before fully focusing on Las Vegas where we have been quick in the past."

Franco Colapinto: "It has been a tricky race for us, especially with the weather conditions making things very challenging at the wheel. We started on Intermediate tyres and then it was about judging the crossover point to Soft tyres and that was not a straightforward call as the grip levels were quite low. I kept focusing to manage the race and the tyres but then, after struggling for performance, we had to pit again for Softs. The rain shortly came after that and we were back onto Intermediates. Our pace on the Intermediates was not great and that impacted us today and I know the team is looking into why we struggled so much both on Saturday and Sunday in the wet conditions. Still, it was a busy race, we had some good fights on track, which were fun. We will debrief as a team before heading to Las Vegas where hopefully the conditions will suit us better and we can be better placed to compete for points."

Sergio Perez: "I think it was a very difficult race, with mixed conditions between wet and dry. It was very close, so I think we managed to put together a good finish, fighting with the other cars.

"I made a good start and managed to pass him (Bortoleto) straight away. I was then fighting with him and Carlos, but unfortunately, we had a very slow pit stop. I think it's the same issue we experienced in Mexico, so it's definitely something we need to work on. We need to make sure we fix our tools and get everything right, so hopefully we can have a much stronger end to the season."

Valtteri Bottas: "It's sad that we were unable to start the race today. Before the lap to the grid, we tried to change the tire but couldn't get the right rear wheel nut off. We're not sure what caused it but we will learn from it and hopefully not face a similar issue again. At least yesterday we were able to demonstrate some decent pace at times. We'll regroup ahead of the final races and focus on ending the season on a positive note."