FIA post-race press conference – Belgium

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 2. Lando Norris (McLaren), 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jolyon Palmer)

Q: Charles, fantastic drive to get Ferrari back to a podium. I'm guessing with the car that you had today, you were thinking the rain might not suit you and you had to really work in that first stint. How was it with Max behind on the Inters?

Charles LECLERC: Max was behind the whole race within two seconds, so it's never easy. But I knew that the first part of the race was the trickiest one for us because we maybe didn't have the downforce that McLaren or Max had, as they compromised a little bit in qualifying to be better in the rain today. But luckily, it dried up pretty quickly and then the pace was good. But still, Max was right behind the whole race, so I'm pretty happy that we managed to keep that third place.

Q: You pitted the same lap, and the crew did a great job to get you back out ahead of Max again, and then the fight continued. We did see it close up. We have Bryan on the radio telling you it's 1.2 seconds suddenly and you wanted to be left alone in that moment. How is it when you've got Max chasing you even in the dry there knowing that a podium here is a great result for Ferrari?

CL: I mean, obviously the pressure is high, especially in those conditions because as soon as you are ten, 15 centimetres out of the right line, then it's wet or greasy and you can lose the line and make a very big mistake. So, at one point I just told Bryan to leave me alone, but obviously he's trying to give me the most information. Sometimes I need them, today I didn’t and I let him know.

Q: And upgrades on the car, Budapest next week, not a Sprint race, hoping for a little bit more?

CL: I hope so. Honestly, we've had what we expected with this upgrade and that's really positive. We need to keep learning about how to maximise this new upgrade. It's still pretty new, but it's a good first weekend and I'm happy that we are on the podium to thank the whole team back in Maranello. We keep pushing and hopefully we'll put soon a bit more pressure on the McLarens.

Q: Lando, second place today. Really tricky conditions out there. We’ve got to start with the start. Intermediate tyres and just a difficulty to find that grip and in an instant the lead was gone.

Lando NORRIS: Yeah. I mean Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge and had a slipstream and got the run. Nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top but Oscar deserved it today.

Q: Very evenly matched in terms of pace but you changed the tyre to the Hard. Seemed like a really last-minute question that you were asked and then a sensible choice to take the Hard tyre and then just a flat out push to see what you could do. You had a good chase. Was it possible if you kept it perfectly clean? I mean, we saw a big moment at Pouhon, La Source.

LN: It’s ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’, so I’m not going to… Oscar deserved it. I’m sure he made a couple mistakes. So if he drove a perfect race… I couldn’t have won today. I’ll review my things, but I’m so happy for the team. Another one-two. I think our first one-two here for many, many years. Nice to bring that back to the team. A well-deserved result for them and for Oscar too.

Q: Still a great result and a good push. And you've got Budapest next week, which is a circuit I know you love as well. Pole position there last year. You must be looking forward to getting back to it straight away.

LN: Yes. Budapest is one of the best ones for me in terms of what I've done there in the past years and it's where I started my Formula 1 career. Always good memories. Normally one that suits me a bit better than Spa. Happy with today. Slightly disappointed but looking forward to next week.

Q: Oscar, what a win. Second on the grid, converted immediately to the race lead. That was commitment on the first lap. How was it behind the wheel?

Oscar PIASTRI: Lively. Very lively. I knew that lap one was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge and that was enough. The rest of the race we managed really well. Struggling a little bit at the end, maybe the Medium wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control, which is what I wanted. I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday but turns out starting second at Spa is not too bad after all.

Q: It’s worked out well. Eau Rouge in damp conditions, the reward is huge but the risk is also huge. How much had you pre-decided you were going to risk it all to try and take that race lead before the lights went out?

OP: Once I knew I was close… To be honest I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start because I thought that was going to take away some opportunity. But I got a good exit out of Turn 1, was able to stay close. When I was that close, I knew that I was just going to lift a little bit less than Lando did and try and keep it on the track. A bit lively up over the hill but managed to make it stick. From there, the tow helped me out. Proud of my first lap.

Q: Thereafter, Medium tyres. Were you happy with that decision when you were told that Lando would switch to the hard?

OP: I kind of had the same plan if I was going to be second. I knew that was going to be a likely decision for him. For me, the Medium was the safest tyre to be on at that point. You never know if someone's going to crash and there's a Safety Car, and then you want a Medium for the restart. Also, the Medium seemed pretty good in the Sprint yesterday. I think it didn’t make too much difference, but when you're fighting like that one-two, you're always going to try and get an advantage in one way or another. I think we did the safest thing.

Q: Budapest, I know it's a good track for Lando, but it was your first win last year. So happy memories to return to very soon.

OP: Definitely. It's going to be exciting to go back. It's a track I enjoy. Yeah, scene of my first win last year, I’m looking forward to getting back and hopefully we can continue the momentum because this weekend the pace has been incredibly strong.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Oscar, it was a beautifully judged win. Very well done. Just take us into the cockpit. How tricky was the race, and how hard was it to make those medium compound tyres last?

OP: It was a tough race. Difficult conditions at the start and then just trying to manage the Inters firstly because it was drying relatively quickly, but you can kill the Inters in a lap or two if you really want around here. So that was a bit tricky. And then I felt good on the Mediums for about five laps, and then when I could see that the Hard on Lando's car was not worse than the Medium, I was a bit nervous considering we had nearly 25 laps to go at that point. So, I had to be a bit careful, but it held on in the end much better than I feared. I had to manage a bit, but nothing special.

Q: Did you consider putting the Hard tyre on at the stop?

OP: We'd spoken about it before the race. It was quite a late decision to pit on the lap we did, but there's risks either way. If I was in Lando's position, I probably would have done the same thing. At that point, it seemed like the safest thing to do was go on the Medium, because the Hard is two steps harder here. You don't know how it's going to react in those conditions. If there's a Safety Car, which often there is in those conditions, then you probably want a Medium, not a Hard. There are risks both ways, but ultimately I'm happy with what we did.

Q: The overtake on the opening lap just proved so crucial. Did you know that you had to get it done then in order to win the race?

OP: I knew it was going to help me pretty significantly if I did. I had a good run out of Turn 1 and then tried to be as brave as I could through Eau Rouge and was able to stay pretty close. After that, the slipstream did the rest for me. I knew that was going to be pretty important for trying to win the race today.

Q: And let's throw it forward to Hungary, Oscar. Just how much are you looking forward to getting out there in the MCL39, the scene of your first win last year?

OP: I'm really excited to go back. It's always a fun weekend. It's a great city, a cool track as well. I'm sure Thursday will be nice to go back to where I had my first win. But as soon as we get on track, you forget about that immediately. It'll be cool, but I'll enjoy today for a bit first.

Q: Very well done to you, Oscar. Thank you very much for that. Lando, very well done to you as well. Both races this weekend have been won from second on the grid. And having started from pole today, does that fact sum up your afternoon?

Lando NORRIS: I don't know. It's hard. I didn't have the best Turn 1, so hard to know how much that played a part. At the same time, Oscar came past me pretty easily. So even if I had a better Turn 1, his run and the slipstream probably still would have got me. Not too disappointed. Of course disappointed to finish second. When you saw Saturday and you saw today, then P1 didn't look the best place to begin with. I also didn't get the best Turn 1, so I need to look at what I could have done better.

Q: You say you didn't get the best Turn 1, but you also talked about battery issues as well at the start. Was that a factor?

LN: I need to look at it with the team. I don't know.

Q: Talk us through the decision to go to the Hard tyre, something we were just talking about with Oscar. How much were you rolling the dice?

LN: I wasn't. Will said, do I want the Hard tyre? And I said yes. That was about it. I didn't even know Oscar was on the Medium, to be honest with you. That didn't influence my decision. I thought the Hard tyre would be a slightly better tyre to the end, a bit trickier to get warmed up and the opening laps maybe would be a little bit more of a struggle, which I think it was. The last few laps, I had the advantage in terms of grip, but it was not a great pit stop, I was the second one to stop. I think I lost eight, nine seconds just by being the second car to box. To catch Oscar from that gap is quite an achievement. I gave it a good shot, but just not close enough.

Q: You boxed a lap later than Oscar. Did you consider double stacking and just waiting in the pit lane?

LN: I need to ask the team. It's tough because you're going to lose quite a good chunk of time doing that as well. Considering the slick tyre was so much better by that point… like Oscar said, it was a late call for us to box on that lap. I think if we review it, we probably would have kicked ourselves a little bit for staying out as long as we did. I think there was enough evidence that we should have boxed early, but no one boxed that early. It was just Lewis that boxed one lap earlier than us. It was just more painful for me that Oscar got the good lap. I had to go one lap longer. That's life.

Q: Lando, thank you very much for that. Charles, let's come to you. Great job by you as well. A high-pressure race, and you came out on top in that battle with Max Verstappen. Just how satisfying is this result for you?

Charles LECLERC: It's nice. I don't think we expected it, especially after the Sprint Qualifying when I saw the gap with the top three. I was like, okay, it's going to be probably the best we can do this weekend. Yesterday, we did a really good lap. We did take a little bit of a gamble with the lower downforce compared to people around us, and then the rain today was tricky. The first part of the race was very difficult and Max definitely was faster than me. I had to keep him behind there, which we did. Once we went on the slicks, things came a bit more towards me. I just knew I had to do the job and P3 could be ours, which at the end it is, and I'm very happy.

Q: The gap between the two of you seemed pretty static throughout the race. Did he try a move on you at any point, particularly in the wet part?

CL: In the wet, probably. He was very, very close to me, but he never actually made it, which is great. The gap was always exactly the same. Sometimes I was doing a really good lap, and then I would look at the gap and he would do exactly the same lap. I was like, fuck, okay, so I just need to keep that pace now. Until the very end, he was very close to me.

Q: Charles, talk to us about the performance of the car over a race distance. You had the updates on it. Are you pleased with how it went?

CL: I'm pleased with the steps forward we are doing, and I think we should all be proud about that because I know that behind that, there's a lot of work behind the scenes from the people back at home for us to have this upgrade here. It definitely helped us to get the podium when you see how close it was with Max today. However, we are all aware that this is not enough, and we need to keep pushing in order to be closer to the McLaren. This is very clear for the whole team. It doesn't change that we shall be satisfied with what we've done this weekend.

Q: And do you think Hungary will be a track that is more to your liking than Spa?

CL: I'm not sure. I will rather wait before exposing myself.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Tom Geurde – Pole Position) Question to Oscar. First of all, congratulations for your win. You dedicated it to your grandfather. Was there a particular significance with Spa to that?

OP: It's the first race outside of Australia that he's come to. One of my sisters, in Spain, that was her first race outside of Australia, and that was a good weekend. Now my grandfather the same, so maybe I need to get my family members one by one for the rest of the races. I didn't know. It seemed like the best person to dedicate it to. It's a nice thing to do.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Oscar, you talked about that move at Eau Rouge, and I think you called it ‘a bit lively’ in the parc fermé interview. What was the ‘penny-drop’ moment when you realised, ‘Oh, this could be on’? Was it as you were coming out of Turn 1? And how do you go about planning such a committed move?

OP: I had a good restart in general. I was close into the last chicane, had an okay run out of the last chicane and then a good exit out of Turn 1. The move through Eau Rouge, I knew it was going to be by far my best opportunity to try and win the race. I'd been thinking about it for a while, put it that way. Obviously, in those conditions, it's a little bit more difficult than if it's dry. I knew that I had to try and do that. When I watched the onboard back, it didn't look quite as scary as it felt in the car. I knew that I had to be very committed to pull that off.

Q: (Tom Geurde – Pole Position) Charles, you told us yesterday that the car didn't respond well to the rain. Today, the track got drier and drier. Did it feel better than when it rained, or did you still feel some difficulties with it?

CL: At the beginning of the race, I think it would have been very unlikely that we would stand on the podium if it was a full wet race, especially with the amount of downforce we had. It was very difficult to actually make those tyres work. Luckily for us, it dried up pretty quickly, and then the car became nice again to drive. Before that, it was difficult. I also had that in mind yesterday in qualifying and probably didn't go as extreme as I normally used to in terms of setup for the dry, which also probably helped for the first part of the race today.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) For all three of you, it's quite a long wait until we got racing, but then we got the full distance. Were you guys satisfied? Do you think we could have maybe resolved it a little bit earlier?

CL: I think it's always fine-tuning. On a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it. For that reason, I'd rather be safe than too early. It's a constant discussion, and we'll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything.

OP: I think the past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything. I think that's what we did today. If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No. Also, us three are the worst people to ask because we have the least amount of cars in front of us. For someone at the back, the first time we tried to start the race, even for myself with just Lando ahead, I couldn't see a thing. You can only imagine what it's like for the guys at the back. That's always a tough thing to balance because the guys at the front have an easier time than the guys at the back.

Q: Lando, your thoughts?

LN: Same.