Friday Team Quotes

McLaren Formula 1 Team

Lando Norris (2nd, 1:11.608): "We came into this Qualifying session expecting a tight battle, and that's exactly what we got. To be so close to Pole shows how competitive we are, but of course, it's a little disappointing to end up second when first was clearly within reach. The car is performing well, continuing the strong form we showed in Budapest, and that gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend. We've started on a strong footing, and I'm happy with the overall package. We'll do our best to fight for the win tomorrow, it's always tricky starting from the dirty side of the grid, but we'll see what we can do."

Oscar Piastri (4th, 1:11.666): "P4 today, a bittersweet result because we made positive progress from this morning and the pace was right there during Sprint Qualifying. It was so close at the top that with a cleaner lap I might have had Pole. There are still plenty of positives to take away. Today is all good learning and we're improving every weekend which is crucial because we want to be firmly in the mix. The performance is encouraging, and it shows we're moving in the right direction, but we know that it's going to be tight with Ferrari and Mercedes, and the difference will come down to the fine margins. Our job now is to tidy up those last little details and close the small gaps that still remain. If we execute well, we'll give ourselves a real shot in the remaining sessions throughout the weekend."

Neil Houldey, Technical Director - Applied Engineering:: "We've brought some upgrades to the car this weekend, including the rear wing and a number of smaller components, which have worked as expected and delivered the performance we were looking for. Lando was able to hook the car up very quickly in Practice 1 and put in some strong lap times, while we had a little more to work through on Oscar's side. The team did an excellent job during the break between Practice 1 and Qualifying to understand where the performance was, and it was really pleasing to see that translate immediately when qualifying began. Across Q1 and Q2 we looked like we were right in the mix, and being fastest in Q2 showed the underlying pace in the car. Of course, the perfect lap could have delivered Pole, but having four cars covered by one tenth shows just how fine the margins are. Overall, we are in a strong position for the Sprint and for the rest of the weekend. It is encouraging to carry the level of performance we showed in Hungary into this event, and with upgrades continuing to come, we will keep pushing to build on that momentum."

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

George Russell (1st, 1:11.567): "It's been a while since I've been at the top of the timesheets in any session, so it's nice to remind myself that I can still do it and that I've still got it! The summer break came at a good time and gave me the opportunity to reset and come into this weekend with a fresh mindset. I arrived here with an open mind because my confidence wasn't at its highest level, so I've tried to approach this weekend as though it's the first race of the season, not overthink things and focus on the basics. So far that seems to be working well. Of course, this is only Sprint Qualifying though and the main Qualifying session tomorrow is the one that really matters. McLaren look very quick and Ferrari also seem strong from what we saw in FP1, so we know there's plenty of competition around us. Overtaking is always a challenge around this circuit, so a clean start will be important if we're going to maximise the result in the Sprint. For now, it's an encouraging opening to the weekend, but there's still a lot of work to do."

Kimi Antonelli (5th, 1:11.794): "On my first lap in SQ1, I carried a little bit too much speed into the final corner and picked up some damage. That cost us some performance and, even though the team did what they could to repair it, I was struggling quite a lot in the low-speed corners. Once you've had a moment like that, it can be difficult to rebuild the confidence and put everything together. Even so, the gaps were very small, so there are still positives to take from the session. We'll focus now on doing the best race we can in the Sprint. It's going to be difficult because the field is so close at the front and overtaking won't be easy, but we'll look to maximise every opportunity and make up as much ground as possible. Most importantly, we'll use it to gather information and put ourselves in the strongest position for Qualifying later in the day."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: "Well done to George and the team. It's good to come back from the break and kick off with a Sprint pole and hopefully we can carry that form into the rest of the weekend. FP1 was straightforward. We had expected more rain than arrived, so our plan ended up being a bit compromised. Broadly speaking though, we managed to cover most of our work across both the long run and single lap. The car seemed to be in a good window, so we didn't make too many changes going into Sprint Qualifying. Kimi went off at turn 13 with a gust of tailwind and did a bit of damage to the floor of his car in SQ1. We did what we could to repair it in session but ultimately it put him on the back foot. George had a more straightforward time off it, but we didn't really look like we were contenders for pole until his final effort. It was an impressive effort and a well-deserved P1 after such a good lap. We've got a few things to investigate in terms of performance. We don't look strong in the faster corners, so we need to understand what's causing that ahead of Qualifying. Equally, our long run looked a bit off the pace to Ferrari in FP1. We will find out tomorrow morning whether that's real but certainly we can see it's very tight, and we will need to get everything out of the W17 if we want to win on Sunday."

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen (6th, 1:12.094): "For now, we need to look into what we can do with the balance of the car for tomorrow. Today it was just a bit tricky to find the grip and the balance in the car. We had already made a step forward from FP1 but, of course, are still lacking a little bit to find the performance to get us a bit further up the field. It's something that we need to understand and something that we will assess overnight. For now, we need to look into what we can do with the balance of the car for tomorrow and work to find a bit more traction to close the gap a bit. For the rest of the weekend, it is difficult to tell how we will perform, but let's see."

Liam Lawson (11th, 1:13.136): "We started SQ1 quite strong, but then we didn't quite make the same step that everyone did in SQ2. There's been a lot to learn from today. We started SQ1 quite strong, but then we didn't quite make the same step that everyone did in SQ2. It's a shame as I felt we had the potential to get through to SQ3. We'll look into it and keep learning tomorrow. Hopefully we can put it together ahead of Sprint and Quali."

Scuderia Ferrari HP

Charles Leclerc (3rd, 1:11.622): "I was quite comfortable with the car since this morning. It's always good to come back from a long break with such a feeling, and it means we have taken good steps in the right direction. I'm satisfied with my lap, it was a good effort for the team and we are in the mix at the start of tomorrow's Sprint. We will see about the race pace, as the tricky conditions this morning were a bit of a limitation in terms of understanding where everyone truly stands. So far, it's a positive start to the weekend."

Lewis Hamilton (7th, 1:12.191): "I felt good in free practice and we were happy with the adjustments we were making throughout the day. Unfortunately, the car felt different during Sprint Qualifying, which made the session more challenging, so we'll carefully review the data overnight to understand the reasons behind this and identify where we need to improve. We'll be working hard to be as competitive as possible in the Sprint tomorrow and to have a strong qualifying session ahead of the race on Sunday."

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: "Today Charles delivered a good performance, qualifying just a few hundredths off pole. It was a very good lap in which he was able to to put everything together. The session proved more difficult for Lewis after a very strong start in free practice this morning. He didn't manage to put a good lap together in SQ3 and we need to work on the balance of the car to do better tomorrow."

Atlassian Williams F1 Team

Alexander Albon (16th, 1:14.294): "Overall, it wasn't a bad Friday, especially considering where our pace was in FP1. There's still a lot of lap time to find and areas for us to improve. We know we won't be fighting in the top eight tomorrow, but that's not really our focus right now. It's more about making sure we're getting the absolute best out of the car we've got this weekend, until the upgrades arrive. The weather looks like it could mix things up too, potentially being wet tomorrow and dry on Sunday. For us that creates a bit of chaos, and chaos is where we can find opportunities to fight for points."

Carlos Sainz (18th, 1:14.738): "Tough day. In FP1 I struggled with balance and sustained damage to the floor running through the gravel at turn 13. I couldn't learn much from that session from there on and had to change some parts ahead of Sprint qualifying. The session was very tight, and I didn't really find the right feeling with the car, which ultimately meant not progressing into SQ2. Now the focus is on what we can achieve tomorrow."

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team

Arvid Lindblad (10th, 1:12.737): "It's been a positive Friday. It's my first time driving at Zandvoort, so it hasn't been easy, especially on a Sprint weekend. The team have done a good job, and we've already made a few steps forward compared to this morning. I'm really happy with my lap in SQ2, but not so satisfied with SQ3. Looking ahead to tomorrow, both Gabi and Pierre look quite fast this weekend and we know overtaking is particularly difficult around this track. There's also some uncertainty around the weather, with the possibility of a wet Sprint tomorrow morning. There are a few things we'll review with the team overnight, and hopefully we can make another step forward for tomorrow."

Yuki Tsunoda (12th, 1:13.145): "The rain made things a little more challenging today, especially while I'm still getting up to speed. The car is very different compared to previous years, particularly through the high-speed sections, so it was tricky at times, but I'm happy with my result in Sprint Qualifying. There are still a few areas where I can improve and continue learning, but I'm enjoying the format. The main objective now is tomorrow's qualifying, so I'll keep building with every session and hopefully we can put it all together when it matters."

Alan Permane, Team Principal: "It's been a decent day here in Zandvoort – not perfect, but pretty good. Yuki has done a superb job today given the circumstances, which is fantastic. Arvid has never driven here before, so to put the car into the top ten after just one hour of practice is impressive. Both drivers were reasonably happy with the car; we were certainly missing a little bit of pace in the first session, but we made some progress between FP1 and Sprint Qualifying. We'll look at how we can extract a little more from the car and optimise our energy management overnight. If we can do that, I think we have a good shot at getting both cars into Q3 tomorrow."

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

Lance Stroll (19th, 1:15.391): "I think there was more there today. We were struggling with the driveability, and there were a few other things that weren't quite right, so we need to understand why. It's really windy out there, but it's the same for everyone. We'll go through everything tonight, look at the data, and try to make some improvements for tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso (22nd, 1:16.014): "Things seemed to go okay for us in Free Practice, but then we experienced some driveability issues in Sprint Qualifying and it was difficult to stop the car sometimes. The rear wing didn't open for us either, so we lost lap time with that. It's very early days with Honda's upgrade package, so we'll try to understand more in the Sprint."

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer: “Today we introduced our spec 2 engine and we have seen an improvement between the old iteration and the update. In both sessions we were able to complete full distance running without any reliability issues and we’ve confirmed how the power unit integrates with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team chassis. In Sprint qualifying, we found some areas to improve in, particularly with data settings for driveability. HRC Sakura will analyse the data overnight and perform dyno tests to optimise these parameters for the rest of the weekend.”

TGR Haas F1 Team

Esteban Ocon (15th, 1:13.893): "I think that's the most we could've done today, continuing from Budapest, getting the maximum out of the car. The car has felt decent, and there have been no particular issues. We're still looking into why we sometimes have issues, but it's good when we don't have them because we can extract the maximum. The first lap was very good, in front of the Audis, but we had more degradation than the others on the second lap, so that's what we need to look into. It will be more straightforward in qualifying tomorrow when we only have one timed lap."

Oliver Bearman (17th, 1:14.728): "It's been another tough Friday, to be honest. We didn't really have a productive FP1 at all, and we encountered a lot of issues on the front wing, so going into Sprint quali, we were a little bit in the dark. I was actually quite happy with the lap but just left a bit of time out there, particularly in Turn 11. The target is still the race on Sunday as that's our biggest chance of scoring points, so the Sprint doesn't matter as much in terms of position, but it does in terms of learning for the main qualifying."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It was the first day back at school after the summer break, and I think we got the most out of it. It was tricky conditions with tire preparation, but all in all, the team operated very well. There's room to improve for sure with things like the tire prep as they're so sensitive, but I think we've done a decent job – especially Esteban. It was impressive how he put the laps together. It was a solid start. It'll be slightly warmer tomorrow – but everything we've learned we'll apply so we can do a better job."

BWT Alpine Formula One Team

Pierre Gasly (8th, 1:12.578): "I'm happy to be back trackside and I am even more pleased that we are back in a much more competitive position compared to recent events. The early signs of the upgrade package are positive and I've definitely felt good in the car across both sessions today. It feels much stronger, more grip, and the car is reacting well to what I want. We know there are a number of factors to these things and it's never as simple as what we see on the timesheets so we will work hard to continue improving our level of understanding in making the overall package better and better. It's a tight fight in the midfield as usual so I am sure we will need to make another step forwards tomorrow. We start P8 for the Sprint Race and that's our immediate focus with a target of scoring points inside the top eight. After that we have another important job to do in Qualifying where reaching Q3 has to be our aim. It's a good start to the weekend but we won't get carried away and our hard work will continue."

Franco Colapinto (13th, 1:13.439): "Firstly, it's definitely positive for the team to see our upgrade package has worked well. Of course, for me, it's a little more difficult but I felt I did a very good lap today for P13 and it gives the team some useful comparisons going forwards. So, in that sense, it's bittersweet for me but it is a team game and we are all working very hard together to make our overall situation the best it can be. We have the usual limitations at the wheel from before the summer break so it will probably be challenging tomorrow on my side. We have the Sprint Race, which gives us another opportunity to find improvements and make the car a little bit quicker. The midfield is tight, opportunities might come our way, especially with an eye on the weather. A good day for the team, a positive start to the weekend so let's keep pushing."

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director: "It's great to be on track here in Zandvoort and racing again after the summer break. The team has done an excellent job in recent months and weeks to fast track an upgrade package for this event, which is running on Pierre's car here with an aim to have it ready for Franco in Monza next time out. Clearly, it is an impactful and meaningful upgrade with Pierre finishing P8 in Sprint Qualifying and his feedback has been very complimentary on the overall feel at the wheel, which bodes well for the rest of the weekend and for Franco when we are able to deliver it to his car. Both of them really did a great job today in quite contrasting circumstances and we have plenty to assess across both cars as we continue to find improvements to our car. We are in the mix for points in the Sprint Race and the aim after that will be to replicate our performance from today in Qualifying tomorrow afternoon in order to have both cars in contention to score points in Sunday's race."

Audi Revolut F1 Team

Gabriel Bortoleto (9th, 1:12.583): "It's good to come back after the summer break with a strong result, but we're mindful it's only the beginning of the weekend. FP1 was already encouraging, and after some fine-tuning we took another step forward in Sprint Qualifying. There are still some areas where to improve, and our direct competitors will keep progressing as well; on top of it, the weather here can change quite fast. Starting from P9 in tomorrow's Sprint, the goal is to fight our way into the points. It'll be a battle but I'm feeling positive about what we can achieve from there on."

Nico Hulkenberg (14th, 1:13.616): "It was a day of two quite different sessions. FP1 felt positive – I had a good feeling with the car and we seemed to be in a good place. In Sprint Qualifying, though, the feeling was different and I didn't have the same level of grip, which made it more difficult to find the same sweet spot as in the morning. We'll have a look at what changed between the two sessions."

Allan McNish, Racing Director: "We found that the car was competitive straight away in free practice, all the way through the session and on both tyres we used. Ultimately, Gabi was able to get into Q3 and qualify ninth, which is a good start to the weekend. On the other side of the garage, Nico was very quick in free practice but didn't quite have the same feeling and connection with the car in the second part of qualifying, and eventually qualified 14th. Still, the Sprint offers us an opportunity to understand what happened and address it for tomorrow, and I am confident we can get back in contention with both cars."

Cadillac Formula 1 Team

Valtteri Bottas (20th, 1:15.472): "We decided to go for three laps with a single cool and with hindsight, maybe lost a bit at the end with the tires overheating, but apart from that it was quite a straightforward session. Heading into tomorrow we should be okay with the brake issues we've been experiencing. It's a lot cooler here and as we saw from the running today, everything is as it should be, so let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Sergio Perez (21st, 1:15.545): "There's still a long weekend ahead of us, but hopefully we can make some improvements tomorrow and see what we can do. It was a challenging qualifying session, particularly because of the steering issue we've been experiencing since FP1, which made the car feel asymmetric. We understand what's happening, so hopefully we can resolve it tomorrow and take a step forward."

Marc Hynes, Chief Racing Officer: "A clean SQ session in Zandvoort. We elected to prioritize the hard tires for Sunday's race and ran a couple of different strategies with Valtteri and Checo, both of which produced similar results. We are in close proximity to Williams and Aston Martin and will continue to push. With more mixed conditions forecast for tomorrow, we're looking forward to learning more on track during the Sprint."