Track Interviews – Conducted by Terry Crews and Jenson Button
Q: There’s no better place to celebrate a big win than Vegas. Any plans tonight?George Russell: You tell me! I’m sure where you’re going, it’s going to be a good party. So I was planning on flying in a couple of hours, but I’m definitely not getting on that flight. And I’m going to enjoy this evening with all my team. It’s been a dream of a weekend. I don’t know how we’ve been so quick, but I’m just riding this wave right now.
Q: Can you tell us what is special about a night race here in Las Vegas?GR: Vegas is just a crazy, crazy place. And when you’re driving, you see all of this in the background. I can’t even describe this place. So to get a victory here, pole position, dominant weekend, 1-2 with Lewis as well, we couldn’t have chosen a better place to make this happen.
Q: So George, from the time the lights went out, beautiful start. And we didn’t see you after that. That’s when you know you’ve put on a clinic.GR: I was just waiting for something to happen. You know, the two races I’ve been on pole before, it’s always been chaos, rain, dry and always something happening, last race in Brazil you know with the red flag. So, I’m like, I feel confident here, I’ve got a good gap but I’m just waiting for something to happen and it didn’t. So I guess luck has turned and yeah just so happy right now.
Q: Congratulations, George. Enjoy Vegas. Lewis, obviously yesterday, it was a tough one to swallow, I’m guessing. You’ve been quick all weekend. But then starting P10, chasing down George at the end, it was fun. We were biting our nails. There was some action out there.Lewis Hamilton: That was great. Well, firstly, I’ve got to say a big congratulations to Max, winning the championship, still with several races to go. And if I’d done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today. but it’s OK, I had fun coming from the back, coming from 10th and the team did a fantastic job. We don’t know why we were so quick this weekend but that’s the nice. That’s the best the car has ever felt, so I’m grateful to have been a part of getting it to that point.
Q: I do want to ask in regards to the climate in Las Vegas, did that make a difference in your preparation for what you were going to do here?LH: The climate, it’s just that the race is so late. So you’re going to bed at 5, 6am, waking up and starting your day much later, which is quite difficult. So you don’t get a lot of sun during the day, so that really messes with your rhythm. But otherwise, it’s cold, yeah. And maybe the reason that we did so well is because it’s cold. If we’re in a hot climate, that’s where we struggle the most.
Q: Qatar? Night race?LH: I mean if the car drives like that in the next couple races then I think we’ll be in a good a good spot to challenge the guys up front. And the championship’s done, so now it’s just all out, fight for the best positions possible.
Q: Enjoy your last two races. It was 10 years to the day yesterday that you won your first championship with Mercedes.LH: We both looked a lot younger then didn’t we?
Q: Carlos, congratulations. That looked like an interesting race. We didn’t really know what was going on with the tyres. I’m guessing it was just as difficult for you guys, graining on both sets of tyres. The unusual pit entry, not pit entry. How did it end up for you?Carlos Sainz: Yeah, it was a bit of a shock, you know, the Mediums. I was expecting to be quite strong on this tyre, but I think it lasted something like eight, nine laps on me. And then from there onwards, it was just a damage limitation race. You know, I was not comfortable with the car, not strong today. I wish I would have been a bit quicker and would have been fighting with George for the win, but we just simply didn’t have it in ourselves today. So we came back with a P3, a podium that is not enough for what we expected, but the maximum that we could do today.
Q: Well, you know, considering that manhole incident last year, did that make you a little nervous about what was going to happen this year for you guys? Are you superstitious?CS: No, I was hoping that maybe Vegas had something to offer to me after what happened last year. I’ll take a podium for this year as a bit of a vendetta (sic). But, you know, at the same time, yeah, I was looking at every manhole during that race, avoiding them this time. But, yeah, that’s things of the past, now focused on the future. I think this race has delivered, again, a pretty good show and looking forward to come back here in the future.
Q: So, Carlos, it’s great seeing you race with Charles. Obviously, you’re in the same car, you’re going to find the same bit of tarmac. It’s going to happen. But it’s really nice to see that you guys are allowed to fight, and there’s a real fight between you guys.CS: Yeah, and it’s been like that for four years. Charles and I have gone wheel to wheel pretty much every, not every race weekend, but every two or three races because we share the same piece of tarmac. We are both very competitive, very close on pace, and we find ourselves always fighting each other at the same time that we fight the Mercedes, the Red Bulls, and the McLarens. I don’t think we could have finished more than P3 and P4 today, yeah, it’s what it is. We will keep pushing and see if we can keep a good momentum up.
Q: Time for the world champion, Max Verstappen. Listen, first of all, you know, you were my introduction into F1 in Budapest, and I’m hooked forever. And how does this feel, man? I mean, this great accomplishment you’ve done today. Talk to us right now.Max Verstappen: Yeah, it’s been a long season. And of course, we started off amazing. It was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together. We kept working on improvements. And yeah, we pulled over the line. I mean, incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me. And to stand here as a four-time world champion is of course something that I never thought was possible. So yeah, at the moment, just feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud.
Q: Max, congratulations. You join an illustrious group of F1 drivers that have won four world championships. Is that what you expected at 17-years-old when you first jumped into an F1 car?MV: Definitely not. I was just happy to be there and dreaming of potential victories or standing on the podium, the normal things that are already very difficult to achieve. Then we just got on to that run after, of course, a tough few years that we kept trying and then we just hit the ground running with a new concept, and like I said, to be standing here as a four-time world champion is just incredible.
Q: It’s amazing to see, and four in a row as well. Mentally, we know how demanding this sport is on you, but you’ve been able to keep your head strong. And this year has not been the easiest either, has it? It seems like it’s been the most competitive year in Formula 1 we’ve seen for many years. How have you been able to keep your head there in the right place through this latter part of the season?MV: Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, it was a very challenging season. I think also as a person, at times it’s very challenging and I had to be calm. And I think in a way, of course, I still prefer last season. I enjoyed that a lot. But I think this season, definitely, again, taught me a lot of lessons that I’m very proud of. How we handled it also as a team. So in a way, of course, that makes it also a very, very special and beautiful season.
Q: Yeah, have you got any messages for all your fans around the world and your team? You know, they’ve been with you through thick and thin and supported you.MV: Yeah, of course, to the fans, you know, always it’s amazing to see them everywhere supporting me. I think they got a bit spoiled last year with all the wins, so they had to wait for it a long time in the middle of the season, but, yeah, incredible sport always, and great to see them again here as well. And, to the team? Yeah, what can I say? I mean, we have been through a lot together and all these highs that we are achieving right now are just very, very special. To do that with all the group of people that we have here at the track and back at the factory that they’re continuously pushing flat out to give me the car to fight for a title and to do that four times in a row is very special.
Q: I know we shouldn’t be thinking about the future, because we’ve got to be living in the moment, but does this keep you just still hungry for the future years in F1, to come back and fight for the fifth one in 2025?MV: Yeah, I mean, of course, if you look at it to next year right now, I think it’s going to be a proper battle between a lot of cars. But yeah, I’m hungry. Of course, I’m going to enjoy this, but there are still two more races that I want to do well at the same time. And then, of course, we take a little break, and then we try and go at it again next year.
Q: Congratulations, Max. I think it’s officially a dynasty. I hate those words, but I’m going to call it right now. You have set a dynasty right here. It’s amazing.MV: Thank you very much.
Q: It’s amazing seeing you clinch this fourth title here. And what better place to do it? You’re in Vegas.MV: Yes, I know. What time is it? I’m very thirsty, so…
Q: Well, Max Verstappen, you are the 2024 Formula One World Champion.MV: Thank you, guys.
Champion’s Press Conference
Q: Max Verstappen, four-time world champion. How does that sound?MV: Yeah, it sounds very good. Yeah, something that when you grow up racing and you see all these stats of some legendary drivers and you’re like, ‘that’s very impressive and I hope one day that I can even just be on the podium, win a race, maybe win a championship’. It’s already hard enough to win one. Of course, then you also need a bit of luck to be in the right team situation to maybe win more. But yeah, luckily we did that. But I think that was more like the first three championships. Now this year, we hit the ground running well, but then we had a lot of tough races. And that is something I’m very proud of, in those tough races where we were definitely not the fastest car, we kept it together as a team. We worked very hard back at the factory as well, remained calm, most of the times. And we barely made any mistakes. We really maximised or even over-performed in some places. Plus, our opposition also in a few places definitely didn’t grab the points that they should have. And all those things, of course, matter at the end of the day when you fight for a championship.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Las Vegas (link).
