TEAM REPRESENTATIVES 
Dario MARRAFUSCHI (Pirelli), Laurent MEKIES (Red Bull), James VOWLES (Williams)
 
Q: Laurent, can we start with you please? FP1 was a bit stop-start for you guys, given the aero upgrades that you’re running here. What did you actually get to learn?
Laurent MEKIES: It was not the ideal start, I’m not going to lie. We had an engine issue before the session started with Isack, so we had a late engine change. The guys have been fantastic and managed to turn that around and to give him the last part of the session, but he actually completed two fast laps, so we are not going to conclude much on that, but it’s part of the game. And also on Max, as you have seen, we’ve been struggling to get the car out of the garage this morning, so limited running. So, as we speak, everyone is diving into the data, but certainly early days for us to conclude. But we take it step by step. We have FP2, we have FP3 to understand what is working, what is not working, and get to the best configuration for the quali.
 
Q: So much is new. When you put it through the sim back in Milton Keynes, what are you hoping for in terms of a gain?
LM: I’m not going to lie, it is a large package. You can’t do that every race. The last time we’ve done something of that magnitude was probably in Miami. Then, in terms of lap time gain expectations, we tend to only look at what the racetrack does, because that’s the only thing that matters. Probably after a couple of more sessions we’ll be able to assess how much we feel we have gained.
 
Q: Now, Red Bull has a record of out-developing its rivals in recent seasons. So, are we in for a barnstorming finish from you guys?
LM: It’s probably fair to say that it will depend a lot on how this package works. We started with a large gap compared to competition, probably more than a second at the season start. If you look at the big picture, some of that is understandable. I think if you consider how late we pushed last year, and if you consider the new adventure of the PU, we probably halved that gap with the Miami update and hopefully we get much closer with this one as well. I think you will probably see quite a few teams slowing down in that rate of development in the second part of the year. So, let’s see where we land when the shutdowns come in, and we will know whether we have a fight or whether it will need another push.
 
Q: Can we talk ADUO? According to that, you have the best internal combustion engine on the grid. What are the ramifications of that for the Red Bull teams?
LM: Look, at first, yes, we have received preliminary information from the FIA, and yes, we were – and we are – very surprised about this preliminary information. We have been having very constructive discussions with the FIA ever since. They are doing a review, we are exchanging as many data as possible to make sure they get the right picture and the full picture, because, as you said, not only do we feel differently about this outcome, but also it has large implications for this year and for next year. So, it’s important, first and foremost for the sport, that we get that right, and obviously for Red Bull Racing, the impact of being on one side of the fence or on the other side of the fence will be large.
 
Q: Final one from me, Laurent. It’s almost a year since you took over as team principal of Red Bull Racing. What’s been the biggest challenge for you in that time?
LM: Look, I think if I have to pinpoint one thing, it’s not a challenge, it’s the outstanding aspect of having been there for a year, has been the amazing people we have. Every day you get into deep conversations with our people, chassis side, PU side, and just the quality of the team is so high and goes so deep into the ranks that it’s probably the standout feeling for me after a year. And challenges, we’ve got all sorts of challenges. We have been in the incredible position to be in a title fight last year, at the point where nobody expected us to be able to be in the title fight, and then we didn’t have the time to digest the fact that we were missing these final two points, that we had to start that other race to get our first PU with Red Bull Ford Powertrains over the line. So, it’s been pretty much an intense 12 months, but the dominating feeling is really what an amazing group of talents in Milton Keynes and what a privilege to be with them.
 
Q: Alright, Laurent, thank you for that. James, can we come to you now? Luke Browning first of all. He didn’t get an FP1 in Barcelona last time out, so how did today’s session work out for him?
James VOWLES: Yeah, I mean, it’s the first time he’s driven this car. This isn’t the easiest track. I know it looks sort of easy, but there’s quite some technique that goes into it. So, to put in a lap that’s within a couple of tenths of Alex is a good effort. He’s still got, across the remainder of the year, several more FP1 sessions. Let’s see how he progresses relative to it, but a positive start.
 
Q: Now in Miami, last time you were in the press conference, you spoke about developing the FW48 through to the summer break. How much progress have you made with the car?
JV: From the beginning of the year, where we were struggling to get out of Q1, to, save Barcelona, which I don’t have a great experience with that track recently, but we’re there, able to fight for points at most Grand Prix weekends since then. So, Miami, Montreal, Monaco, and I think you’ll see enormous progress resume on that one briefly. So that’s positive steps, but obviously that’s not where we want to be. I’m impressed by how competitive the field is now. If you go and look at the VCARB, the rate they’re developing, Audi, the rate they’re developing, it’s good to see we have a sport where you have strong entities that are moving forward. Our goal is simply, for the time being this year, to be ahead of all of that, and I think it’s realistic in the development rate we’ve got. But it will go past the summer break. To Laurent’s point, I don’t think many people will be adding the amount of performance we’re planning to towards that period.
 
Q: There are no upgrades listed for this race. Is there a major package planned?
JV: There are several things. Silverstone will be a nice little step. There’ll be little bits that come to most races and, as I sort of alluded to beforehand, towards Baku time you’ll see quite a major change.
Q: Thank you. Now, it hasn’t been, as we’ve just been discussing, the easiest campaign for your drivers. We’re heading into the silly season. What do you need to do to keep them settled?
JV: They are settled. That’s perhaps the difference. I can answer really the question you’re asking, which is, is there risk? I’m very comfortable with where we are with Alex and Carlos. Our job in all of this, irrespective of Alex and Carlos, but for the wider picture, is to develop this car and prove to ourselves that we have the capability to move significantly forward relative to the field. That’s it. That is the goal. And being transparent about it all, they’re looking for exactly the same output that we need to achieve on that point. Are we putting performance on the table, delivering it, moving on and keeping stepping that way? And have we demonstrated sufficiently that the troubles that we had during the winter are behind us? And on that one, I’m very confident it won’t ever happen again. So that’s why I sit here calm and comforted as a result of everything. And if you don’t know my language for it, Carlos spoke about it yesterday, Alex spoke about it, I think in the press conference last week. They’re comfortable with where they are. They want to be on this journey with us. We need to make a few steps, that’s it.
 
Q: OK, James, thank you for that. Dario, welcome to the FIA press conference. Now you’ve been in the job as Pirelli’s motorsport director for, what, six months now. Just how’s it going? How are you settling in?
Dario MARRAFSUCHI: Well, actually when I started this position I’m taking the heritage of 15 years in Formula 1, continuously 15 years in Formula 1 development. It started from the 13-inch back in 2011, then we went to wider tyres in 2016, 2017, if I’m not wrong, and then we moved to the 18 inches, and then again now we changed the size for this year with a bit narrower section of the tyres. So, this is the result of investment in technology, innovation and mostly people. So now, with the people, we made trust with all our stakeholders and also we’ll continue this experience until the end of 2028.
 
Q: Can we talk about tyre compounds now? In Barcelona, you went softer than you did last year. What’s your verdict on how that went?
DM: Yes, we are pretty satisfied with that. Last year, as you said, it was levels one, two and three. This year was two, three and four, and this is the result of a combination of the whole vehicle package, so aerodynamics, power units, and finally tyres as well. Because we have seen that since last year, with the development of the new car, and then confirmed this year with the real cars, there’s a different thermal balance for tyres in racing this year. So, this is allowing us to make a different choice. As I said, tyres are different from last year: new size, new design and new compounds. And to promote competition, we decided to go softer in Barcelona. It was the right choice, as a matter of fact, because the two-stop and the three-stop strategy were very close for that race, and this kept the audience a lot of attention, but also a lot of engineering behind the scenes to understand and adapt the strategy during the race itself. So, it was quite interesting.
 
Q: And will you go softer with the compounds later in the year as well? Is that the plan?
DM: Yes, we always make some assumptions at the beginning of the year, but of course then we analyse the data and we make a better choice during the year. Now, for example, we are looking at Madrid. For example, it’s a new track, and the decision is the sum of several factors like the circuit layouts and then, in Madrid, there is banking also, so we need to make some assumptions on the temperatures that we will find in that period of the year and finally, track roughness. So, we are collecting all this data to make the best choice and choose those compounds that permit multiple choices in terms of strategies.
 
Q: Final one for me, Dario. You’re doing a lot of testing at the moment. You were in Barcelona after the race, you’re going to be at Silverstone after the British Grand Prix and in Budapest after the Hungarian Grand Prix. What are you working on at this stage of the year?
DM: Yeah, well, we never work on tyres for the same year because the specifications are frozen for the whole year, but we work for the next year. So now we are in the phase of freezing the structure, so the construction of the tyre, and we will begin the tuning on the compound choices for next year. So, we almost completed this job in Barcelona, as you said, and now we’ll complete in Silverstone and then we have a couple of other private test events where we will finalise the compound choices.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italy) Laurent, there are a lot of rumours around your team after Gianpiero Lambiase, and now it seems that also Paul Monaghan is leaving the team. So the first question is, what’s the real situation about this? And then I know that Max has a long contract with your team, but isn’t he asking for reassurances on this matter?
LM: First, you’re right, there are a lot of rumours about the team and the team personnel. And as much as we have commented on GP, because obviously he’s very exposed, he’s one of our very exposed engineers and he’s going into an even more exposed role, I don’t think it will be right for me to comment on every single rumour that comes out. If I look at the names that have been circulating in the last few months, most of them are still in the garage. Some had never wanted to leave, some have changed their mind and are staying with us. So, I don’t think it will be fair for our people through the ranks that I start commenting about these guys. Paul is actually here today. He has been working very hard to get our cars out this morning. And as I said, we also made very clear, Mara, that there is nothing more important to us than making sure we are in a position to keep our talents and to attract the ones we need, and that remains the highest priority. As for Max, Max wants a fast car, always wanted a fast car, and he completely trusts us in making sure we are doing everything we can, short term and long term, to ensure return to success and continuous success. And it’s a bit like for Tom’s question earlier about the package: we look at the result on the track, that’s the only thing that matters, and hopefully those results will improve rapidly.
 
Q: (Nelson Valkenburg – Viaplay) Also for Laurent. You said you are trying to resolve things with the FIA, but in the meantime, we see with Ferrari, with Audi, ADUO tokens already being used. That muddies the water a little bit. And isn’t it a danger for Red Bull, if the ICE is the determining factor, that all the other manufacturers can upgrade everything but the ICE, and basically snooker you in a position that you cannot upgrade ever?
LM: You’re right. There is a large risk there for Red Bull, so you are completely right in exposing that risk. It is one of the reasons why it is vital for Red Bull, and more generally for the sport, that we get that picture right. And again, we are thankful to the FIA for the fact that they are taking the time to release their conclusion. And yes, you always would like to reach an earlier conclusion, but it’s more important that we reach the right one, even if it takes a bit more time.
 
Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky Sports UK) Also for Laurent. Kind of combining those two questions, again, the car showed that in Canada it was truly competitive, we know what happened in Monaco and I suppose in Barcelona as well. Are you concerned that the progress you’re showing and, with the ADUO, not being able to improve your engine, might make the timeframe too long to convince Max to stay with the team?
LM: So I think the picture you are describing is probably correct. We started very far away. We have done that step in Miami, four races ago, that left us, as you said, around four, five-tenths threshold, which on some tracks allows us to fight for podiums, on some tracks does not allow us to fight for podiums. Now, regardless of Max, that’s not what we are here to do. So, we completely know that we need more steps. This weekend is quite a crucial step to try to get much closer and to try to fight for bigger positions. It doesn’t mean that everything will be resolved this weekend. It means that we will need a bit of time to get that package to work. It’s very large. Now, whether that is influencing timing of discussions with Max, honestly, no. Max knows very well how much a Formula 1 team needs to absorb one second of deficit to competition. We hope we can get out of this weekend and be within the last two or three tenths from competition, which I think in the number of races is remarkable progression, and that’s what matters at that moment, that we are able to close that gap continuously. And I’m sure that’s the most important factor for all of us.
 
Q: (Aldona Marciniak – Eleven Sports) Another one for Laurent on ADUO, obviously you didn’t expect to be the benchmark. So now, in what way did you have to change your strategy in terms of upgrades because of that outcome?
LM: So, we didn’t expect that early result from the FIA, you’re right. At the moment, we are not changing any strategy, because these results are not a conclusion as it stands. So, we are spending our energy to engage with the FIA to make sure they reach the right conclusion. So, we have not changed any of our development strategy yet, but we try to get to the right answer. We try to take the time needed to get to the right answer. If it means our development needs to be moved by a few weeks, it is still a much lower consequence on the overall performance compared to getting the wrong answer and having heavy consequences both in ’26 and in ’27.
 
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Question for James. Yesterday, Alex alluded to a mysterious and kind of quasi-random chassis issue that’s plaguing both sides of the garage. Could you explain a little bit more about what your understanding of that is? Alex said his chassis from Barcelona is on the rig in the factory at the moment. How does that affect your development strategy? And did it have anything to do with breaking curfew overnight?
JV: Lots of questions. I’ll do it in inverse order because I remember it. Curfew overnight, no. We have new ESME packs, which I think Mercedes are pretty open about. We wanted to take that, but it only really appeared at 3pm on Thursday and we had a tremendous amount of work to do, so I wanted to make sure the cars are properly prepared. Going back a bit, the chassis change, there’s nothing wrong with the original chassis, but what we wanted to do after Barcelona is specifically capture that and do a series of tests back at the factory. As a result of that, basically changing chassis is one of the easiest ways of doing it from an operational perspective. It’s also something that I’m used to doing for a number of reasons. I mean, a long time ago there were ghosts in chassis. I don’t think I’ve heard that for a long, long time. The amount of force we put through it is a double-decker bus on top of it, so I assure you they don’t move anymore. In terms of what Alex is talking about, what we have seen several times this year is the balance isn’t where we need it to be and slightly differs between left and right corners. That’s the main thing he’s complaining about. It isn’t a large difference, but it is enough that when you’re really finely balanced and trying to get the most out of the tyres in a 50-something-degree track, it gets exposed more than you would do at other circuits. And that’s part of the reason for making sure we did rig work back at the factory. The good news is that was very positive and developed, and we made some changes here just in small details on setting up. So, I think that’s an item of the past.
 
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Just another one for you, Laurent, on Max’s situation. Has he given you his word that he’ll be at Red Bull in 2027? And are you aware of him speaking to any other teams?
LM: I think the last time I was in this press conference, I think I said that I’m not asking Max every week if he’s going to stay. Max has made clear to us that he wants to continue with the team. It’s equally clear that he needs a fast car for him to be happy with the team. You may recall also that he has been vocal about the progress that we needed to have on the regulations. We are in the fortunate situation for the sport where there have been very open sessions between FIA, F1 and the teams, and we have managed to tweak these regulations for 2027 and 2028. And I think it’s great not only for Max, it’s great for the fast drivers and it’s great for the sport. So, as I said a few weeks ago, we are not asking Max every week. He’s pushing with us, he’s helping us to find the right development path for the car, again this morning doing very large test scans through the sessions to try to turn all the stones possible. So, it’s not a topic for us. The topic for us is get the car back to where we want it to be. And as you may, I hope, agree, if the car is back where we want it to be, there will be no discussion.
 
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) A question for James and Laurent. How challenging is it to stay within the Cost Cap this year, given how fierce a development race it is and the fact that everything you do this year can apply to next year? I’m asking partly because yesterday Fernando and Carlos both said they’re surprised at how much stuff the big teams are bringing. And Laurent, you kind of addressed that, you said, you hinted that there might be a bit of a slowdown in a few weeks.
JV: It’s a good question. The Cost Cap is there for a good reason. We’re now a business and it’s one that we can run like a business. At the same time, the position I am in, particularly at Williams, is very different, I think, to others. There was a lack of investment for 20 years and a Cost Cap means that actually what I am doing underneath is investing a tremendous amount not on car parts, but on basic systems, processes, fundamentals. And it’s in that sense there are difficulties in the Cost Cap, and I feel the pain every day. So, it’s incredibly hard to stay in it, because we have a continuous fight between what we need to be investing and we have to invest to move up the grid long term through all of those systems. We’re not talking hundreds of thousands, millions and tens of millions relative to getting a car on track and then upgrading it. And it does limit what we can do. We have far more ideas, far, far more than we have capability to develop and bring it to the car. And one of the bits I commented on this year is we made mistakes over the winter, the car is heavy, all the engineering work was done in three weeks. That’s not the problem. You’ve got to time it with when the parts that you have time out fundamentally, otherwise you just end up with going way over the Cost Cap. So, it’s a good thing. I’m not for a second saying it’s not. What I am saying, though, is it puts incredible pressure on the team, especially if you want to translate towards the future. The other comment I would make is, don’t forget, you’ve got a multiple race winner in Dario on the sofa at the same time, whereas we haven’t won yet.
LM: Pretty much aligned with James. And yes, it is a massive constraint, Adam, and we think it’s there for the right reasons. Specifically, for us, we look at how difficult the start of the ’26 campaign has been. We’ve decided to make the big push as early as we could from an engineering and engineering resource perspective. So yes, we have invested a large amount of our development capabilities to try to diminish that gap as early as we could. We would like to hope that things will slow down for certainly most of the top teams in the second part, but we may have some surprises. We are very large organisations now, very different structures. James explained some of the aspects that may differ between the teams. So, let’s see who is investing early on next year, who is investing a bit more this year, and who has managed to somehow unlock a bit more capacity. And yes, it will be a player. You have seen how much the pecking order is anyhow changing with the timing of the updates. So, it’s still a moment where we all find a lot of performance and it’s quite difficult to say to yourself, "We leave it there because we are limited by the cap or by next year’s challenges." But that’s the same equation for all of us.
 
Q: (Thomas Maher – PlanetF1.com) A question for Laurent please. Another one on Max, sorry about that. In terms of giving him the confidence that Red Bull is the place for him to stay next year, what do you think is more important for this upgrade package to show? Is it outright lap time or is it about showing that the correlation is there, the understanding is there, that data that Red Bull is getting, that correlation is strong?
LM: I’m convinced that Max wants to see continuous progress. And again, he knows very well that you don’t go from one second to zero in no time, but he wants to see that path, I’m sure, to continue to improve. And I think it’s only about, to your question, overall lap time. So if we can close that gap to only a couple of tenths, it will mean that we still keep halving the gap to competition and hopefully be in striking range soon.
 
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It’s another one for Laurent. I respect you don’t want to comment on Paul or any individual names, but in more generic terms, after the changes Red Bull has gone through recently, how confident are you that there will remain enough strength in depth, especially in the technical team going forward, and maybe also with the younger generation that’s below all the people that fans read about in the headlines?
LM: On that, extremely confident. I don’t see you, but anyway, extremely confident. And I refer to the comment I made when Tom asked earlier what was the most striking aspect of the first 12 months. The most striking aspect is the strength in depth that we have. We have incredible talent at all levels and therefore will certainly not go and look for an excuse to tell you we are missing A, B or C in order to go back to ultimate competitiveness. We have everything in-house. If we need something to complete the equation, we will do it, but we are certainly not limited by the quality of the talents we have.
 
Q: (Alessandro Rigi – Vollgas) James, last time that Williams scored points in Austria is way back in 2017. Even though you seem a bit positive about the current, how Albon and Sainz are performing, how exactly are you planning on ending this points drought in Austria, especially what will you make different compared to last season here?
JV: I mean, last season we had some pretty major faults. I think one of them wasn’t actually getting off the grid from memory, unfortunately. Thank you for reminding me of that one. I think we’re pretty open and honest. We’ve got a car that is not where we want it to be in terms of an engineering spec at the moment. And when you come to a track where the track temperature is 50 degrees with just a small handful of corners, whilst the gaps may only be milliseconds, we’re not going to be at the sharp end of it. And unfortunately, I think that’s not going to change this year. That doesn’t mean we’re not coming in here with the prospect of fighting for points, but it’s more what I can see in our future in terms of getting rid of that and adding performance will make a more substantive difference. So what are we doing differently? Quite a different way of approaching the set-up, actually. It fell out of Barcelona more than anything else, that we didn’t get it all right there, and there’s some direction, especially in getting the tyres to work differently. Getting the tyres working is easy. Getting them to work too hard is very difficult. So it’s more focused on that in order to bring ourselves forward.
 
Q: (James Phillips – MotorsportMonday.com) Question for Laurent. You’ve already mentioned the upgrade package for this weekend. I’m just curious what your measure of success is for this particular weekend, and if you’re also confident that you’ve overcome the issues that ended you in FP1?
LM: Measure of success: we said we went from one second to 0.5 seconds with the previous package. If we keep halving it, I think it will be a good indication. So if we are anywhere between two tenths, three tenths at most, on a track with many high-speed corners, medium-speed corners, I think it will show that we keep progressing. Knew we could not go from 0.5 seconds to zero in one package. I think nobody is able to do that. But if we can keep halving the gap, hopefully we get into striking range. And then the second part of your question was, yes, the issues this morning. I don’t know why we are here, the guys are actually trying to solve them. But no, seriously, I think it should be behind us. Fundamentally cars finished FP1 in the right shape and being able to accumulate laps. So I am confident we’ll be able to have a more straightforward FP2.

ENDS