George Russell:
That was another tough race. We lost lots of positions off the line and that ruined our chances of fighting for the podium. We're not sure exactly what happened just yet. We did all the procedures as we normally do but it didn't behave as we expected. The anti-stall then kicked in, and we dropped to the back of the field. The positive is that our pace across the rest of the race was strong and we were able to fight back to P7. That is not where we want to be finishing but is still points.
It has not been a smooth first half of the season. I am looking forward to this break so we can reset and come back stronger after the summer shutdown. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster on my side so far and I am hoping the second half of the year can be much better.
Kimi Antonelli:
It was not an easy race today. It was very difficult to overtake, even when we had significantly more pace than the cars ahead. We knew it might be like that today and so it proved. We did well to build a decent tyre offset to those ahead though throughout the race and that enabled us to get up into the podium positions.
I initially wanted to target a one-stop race. It seemed like it might be possible in the opening stint but then we started to suffer with the rears. We made the call to go onto the two-stop and in the final stint, had really good pace. The Virtual Safety Car made our lives a little more difficult with Lewis (Hamilton) getting fresh tyres and being right behind us, but we were able to bring home P3.
We have had a much better first half of the season than we perhaps expected at the very start. This is where we are at now though and we need to keep going, keep pushing on and doing the best job we can. It is going to be an intense second half of the year, but we are ready for it.
Max Verstappen:
"It was a really strong day and positive for us to finish in P2 today, although I'm quite surprised with the result given the problems we had this weekend. We really hung in there, made some good calls and brought it home in the second half of the race, especially with our older tyres. We were trying to make the best of what we had, and it was quite tough for a long period of the race, but everyone contributed to securing this podium.
"I think the start and the first stop to gain the position were really crucial, keeping the others behind for a while. Then, of course, we got undercut because the others were on the Soft tyres. We managed to jump ahead of Lewis again, which I think was very critical in that stint too. We were still struggling with the same things we had in Qualifying and there were some bright shining moments, but we need to be a bit more solid all-round in the second half of the season. Despite this, I think we performed well today and made all the right calls. The Team are all looking forward to a break so we can come back rested and refreshed for the second half of the season."
Isack Hadjar:
"It was a bit of a lonely and tough race today. I enjoyed a decent start, which we've definitely tidied up over the last two races, but after the first few laps the guys ahead just pulled away. The opening stint on the Medium probably cost us getting anything more out of today. We just didn't have the performance in that tyre, which we have to take a closer look at. Once we switched onto the Hard, the pace really came back and I was able to find consistency that we lacked earlier on. We definitely maximised what was available this afternoon; another P6 is a decent return on what was a challenging weekend. We can be proud of this run we're on heading into the summer break, seven top-six finishes in a row is a solid reflection of the work we've put in to get here."
Charles Leclerc:
We lost a few positions at the start, and on a track like this, where overtaking is so difficult, we just couldn't come back from that. The main challenge of my race was the grip. These new cars are extremely sensitive to the smallest changes and the same tyre compound can feel different across stints.
We looked strong on Friday but our competitors were conservative and we realised after qualifying that we would struggle a bit more than it first seemed. We have performed very well on tracks we did not expect to do so well on and not reached our goals on tracks we expected to be strong.
The whole team back home in Maranello and at the track has done an amazing job in bringing upgrades to our package, which has allowed us to make solid progress and be competitive, including winning two races. Now we will take some time to recharge and come back stronger, analysing our season so far and continuing on this positive trajectory after the summer break.
Lewis Hamilton:
I'm really grateful to everyone in the team for the work they've put in over the first half of the season. We've made some genuine progress, and the car was good again this weekend, which is very positive.
It's obviously frustrating to come away with so little when the potential was there. Everyone back at the factory and here at the track has worked incredibly hard to keep moving us forward, so it's disappointing not to convert that into the result we were capable of.
The last few races have been costly on my side, with too many points left on the table. But I'm still second in the championship, there's a long way to go, and there are plenty of opportunities ahead.
The summer break is a chance to reset, recharge and come back with the same determination. We'll keep pushing, keep improving, and I'm confident we can come back strong for the second part of the season.
Alex Albon:
"This has been a tough weekend for us - it was a real battle out there. We knew the track wouldn't suit us, and that it would expose our weaknesses. We've had balance issues all weekend, and we were very wind-affected today, with understeer and a lack of consistency throughout. I struggled to find a rhythm with the wind changing and the gusts. We know what we need to fix, and I think the work that's being done back at the factory is the biggest team effort I've seen to fight these issues. I believe we're doing the right things to get back on track - it's just a shame to be in this position in the first place. Hopefully we can take a good rest as a team and come back stronger post summer break."
Carlos Sainz:
"I was having a strong race today, racing with the Haas cars which were half a second quicker yesterday. There was an issue all race receiving information about blue flags and, during my battle with Fernando, Oscar appeared in my blind spot and unfortunately we made contact. The subsequent penalty and then double stacking during the VSC meant I lost some positions towards the last laps, but overall there wasn't much more in it for us.
"Reflecting on this first half of the season, I'm happy with the consistency and pace I'm extracting from the car every weekend despite our struggles and, ultimately, we have a lot of homework for the second half of the year. The most important thing is to keep pushing together as a team like we are doing. We will reset during the summer break and come back stronger!"
Arvid Lindblad:
"It's a great result for the team to come away with another double points finish today and move up to P5 in the Constructors' Championship, so there's a lot to be happy about. The team has done an incredible job developing the car, and it's great to see all of that hard work being rewarded. It wasn't an easy race for anyone in the midfield, it was mentally and physically demanding, and we had a tough battle with the Audi's. I wasn't able to maximise the start as well as I would have liked, but those are the kinds of lessons I'll take into the second half of the season. Overall, it's been a really positive first half of the year, and we head into the summer break with great momentum. I'm looking forward to coming back refreshed and building on what we've achieved so far."
Liam Lawson:
"It was a good race for us today. The first corner and lap one was obviously very important for me given I had a challenging Qualifying yesterday. Following a strong start, we knew we had a long race ahead, but the car just felt super strong throughout. A huge thanks to the team who made the right call on the two-stop strategy. To have two cars in the points is a great way to round off the first half of the season. To be heading into summer break fifth in the Constructors' Championship is a reflection of all the hard work the team has put in so far this year. While I'm looking forward to recharging over the next few weeks, I'm excited to carry this momentum forward into Zandvoort."
Lance Stroll:
"I felt good in the car today, and it was nice to feel like we were racing again. We're not where we want to be yet so there's more work to do, but we're in the mix now. The more laps we get with the package, the more performance we'll unlock. It's the most encouraging upgrade we've had in a long time and we've got more coming for Zandvoort, so it's positive to see we're moving in the right direction."
Fernando Alonso:
"It was a good step forward for us this weekend, so it's a solid baseline for us to build on when we return after the summer break. The car was performing well in the race, and we were able to fight with those around us, which was great after some difficult weekends. We'll keep pushing, and we'll see how things come together in Zandvoort, especially with Honda's update."
Esteban Ocon:
"We had a good start once again, we were almost in the points positions, which was very good, but we can't keep the cars behind. We are in fact not quick enough unfortunately to keep them behind. The tires degraded quite a lot as well, so we need to look at putting more performance on the car. We need to look at the next upgrades and hope that they'll make a difference - the team will be on it. There's a lot of positives to take away from this weekend on my side, I'm quite happy we were able to extract the maximum out of the car and that we got the consistency from Friday through to Sunday, now we just need more performance."
Oliver Bearman :
"It was a very long day, as we were anticipating. The lack of qualifying pace was exacerbated in race trim as there was so much sliding and degradation. Apart from that, I just couldn't overtake so I got stuck and didn't have any pace anyways. We need to understand why Spa was so good and this weekend was so bad, because the feeling has been the complete opposite and I've lost all confidence in the car. I haven't done a lap in the car this weekend and felt good, so we need to understand why and take a long and hard look at things."
Nico Hulkenberg:
"It's a great feeling to finally get those first points of the season. There have been a few races this year where we had the pace to score but, for different reasons, things just didn't come together. We always knew the potential was there, so it's really satisfying to finally put everything together across the weekend and come away with the reward.
"We maximised what we had in qualifying yesterday and followed it up with a strong race today. Everyone executed well all weekend and it's rewarding to head into the summer break with points on the board. We'll take the opportunity to reset, look through everything we've learned over the opening part of the season, and come back ready to build on this in Zandvoort."
Gabriel Borteleto:
"I gave it everything today, and it was definitely not an easy race. We tried to make the one-stop strategy work, and with the hard tyre being quite a difficult compound compared to the soft, I had to manage a lot throughout the race. But in the end, I finished less than a second behind Arvid Lindblad, so to come that close to the points feels like a good result for the race we had.
"These are very positive signs heading into the summer break. The team has been doing an incredible job, and I'm very happy with what we've achieved so far this season. Hopefully we can keep building on this momentum in the second half of the year."
Pierre Gasly:
"Looking at the end result, as a team, we weren't close enough to be in the fight for points and we lacked the pace to compete with the Racing Bulls or either Audi cars. We tried something different and had some fresh sets of tyres available, but even with that it didn't make much difference to our race. We pushed and tried our best but it's the reality of where we are at the moment, there's no hiding from it and we can only fix it ourselves by bringing more performance to the car. Sometimes the car doesn't feel the best and you still have pace and can get a result, but the feeling currently isn't good in the car and the performance is also reflective of that. Thankfully the summer break falls at a good time, meaning less races where points are up for grabs and gaps can be built. We know we have new parts coming and we hope the upgrades bring the performance we're hoping for. Other teams have shown it, and we need to follow suit. It's important we make the improvements, and quickly, otherwise it will make our lives difficult if we're to retake fifth in the championship."
Franco Colapinto:
"It was a very challenging afternoon and, in general, we lacked a lot of pace. After the first three laps, I started to struggle with the car and unfortunately, never really recovered. Even with new tyres, we were still far off the pace and were slow, so we need to understand why, maybe we had some damage because both the balance and the grip were not the best. We will go through it with the team. We go into the break knowing we need to keep working hard. In the last couple of races before today we scored points, but we need to improve. Aston Martin have showed that it is possible to make a big step and hopefully we can do the same soon when we bring upgrades. I'm staying in Hungary for a few more days to take part in the Pirelli test but then I will go on my summer break and get some rest so we can head to Zandvoort ready to go again."
Sergio Perez:
"It was a challenging race. In the first stint I was struggling a lot with the balance and sliding around, but I was able to adapt my driving, and the second stint was much stronger. I still felt there was something not quite right with the car, so it's important that we understand exactly what was happening. As a new team, we expect to face some challenges, but it's frustrating that we've had a few issues recently. We'll use next week before the shutdown period to work hard across all areas and make sure we come back stronger for the second half of the season."
Valtteri Bottas:
"Unfortunately, my race came to end due to the brakes overheating. It's a shame as we had upgrades to address the brake cooling, but it wasn't enough due to the extreme conditions and the nature of this circuit. It's another learning for us as a team and we'll be using the week before the summer break to try to get on top of the issue, so it doesn't happen again. There are still positives to take away from the weekend as we've been closer to Williams than before. It's been a challenging start to the season as expected being a new team, but we have many moments to be proud of and more to look forward to in the second half of the year."
