F1 | 70th Anniversary GP | Verstappen: “I'm not frustrated with the situation”
The second weekend in Great Britain is upon us. All the 10 teams seem ready to start off this weekend in the right foot. Mercedes will race with a tribute to Sir Stirling Moss.
The second weekend on the circuit of the Silverstone circuit officially opens today with the drivers' press conference. In addition, the event will be called the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to celebrate the 70 years of Formula 1.
For this 2020 season it has been decided to let all 20 drivers, divided into 10 teams, speak and each will have 20 minutes available.
George Russell and Nicholas Latifi opened the press conference. The two Williams drivers have made it clear that they are ready to fight and challenge the other drivers, also expecting that the softer compound can give them the opportunity to do so.
George Russell said: “I think it will be a different race this weekend. I think last week we were on the three hardest compounds, it was relatively cool, track temp was around 35 degrees or 30 degrees. You know this weekend we’re on a step softer, it’s going to be hot and I think it’ll be very exciting,
“We’ll have to change our approach. I think we’ll see a two-stop race for a lot of guys, especially for those who qualify in the top 10 on the soft compound, and they would definitely have to do a two-stop, which, I think, will give us the opportunity to maybe capitalise on that.
“I think it’s going to be a really interesting and exciting weekend and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pirelli bump up the pressures following last week’s blow-ups so I think we’ll be in for a good race for Sunday.” Russell concluded.
Speaking of the problems he had in the race, Latifi said: “For sure in the race having the whole range of tyres moved one step softer, it’s going to create more management just because it is a track that gives the tyres a hard time.
“I’m looking forward to it because it does give a little bit of a mix-up, it spices things up compared to last weekend.” Latifi concluded.
As for Alfa Romeo, Kimi Raikkonen believes that unlocking the set-up sweet spot of the C39 could help the team get back into the fight with the others.
“Obviously we know that the speed is not where we should be,” he said.
“But if we can maximise whatever the speed from the car is right now and get the best out of it without any issues in the race or on the first lap – so penalties from mistakes from our side – I think we still can put ourselves in the fight for top 10.
“But we need to extract all the speed and maximise everything to be there. I don't think we have done that so far, so I think that's one area for sure [where we can improve], just to try to get everything out of the car. But from the set-up side, it's a never ending story. We keep trying things and try to learn.”
Racing Point attended the press conference with Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg who took the place of Sergio Perez tested positive for COVID-19.The Mexican has finished the quarantine period and is waiting for the negative COVID-19 test result to come back into the paddock.
Meanwhile, Hulkenberg talked about his future in F1 by saying: “I've been in contact with quite a few people from the F1 industry, and team principals, because obviously we all know each other,
“Some is just casual chat, some is more about the future subject.
“But nothing to say concrete yet there. I guess it's still a matter of a couple of weeks before things will get a bit more concrete and firm.
“If not F1, to be honest, that is not so clear in my mind yet either. I think I'll take one step at a time and then see how things roll, and which way they're going in a couple of weeks' time.” the German concluded.
Daniel Ricciardo spoke about the car performance and the Renault position in the Constructor Standing: “It's great for us in the battle,” he said.
“You're not just fighting over one position better or one position worse in constructors' – I think third is still there. We need more weekends like we just had to get that, and I think capitalising on a weekend like we just had is important. We need to take every opportunity if we want to fight for third for sure.”
Max Verstappen talked about the current situation regarding the second place that he achieved after both Mercedes suffered punctures.
“I'm not frustrated with the situation. I've accepted the situation in the meantime. I also don't understand why people think I'm frustrated about the situation. I think a lot of people would like to be in my car. We will of course keep pushing to make the car better,
“Mercedes just produced a great car. We have to respect that. Even though I'm still going to do everything I can to get the most out of the races. Second place last weekend is already a big bonus, because without a flat tire from Bottas we would have 'just' finished third,” he said.
Charles Leclerc responded to the social attacks regarding a post published on social media considered a form of racism. During the press conference, Leclerc said: “I want to make sure that with the messaging of ending racism that I support that movement and not any sort of political organisation that I think the Black Lives Matter movement is,” he said.
“So I kind of just want to separate myself from that and then push on with the with ending racism and that messaging, which I think is great that Formula 1 is doing and that all of the drivers are supporting. So I’m just joining that. That’s what I said before the second Austrian Grand Prix and that’s the way I’ll continue to do.”
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