DRIVERS
1 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes)
2 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren) 
3 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
 
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jolyon Palmer)
 
Q: F1’s first ever Sprint race in Montreal, Canada. What a race, guys. I’m joined here by the top three: George Russell, your winner. What battles all the way through. I mean, we’ve got all of you to talk to, but I want to pick out Kimi and George first because that was an amazing fight between you. I know Kimi spoke on the radio a little bit, wasn’t too happy, but I want to get both of your points of view on that.
Kimi ANTONELLI: Yeah, it was a tough battle, to be fair. We were all there in terms of pace. It was not easy. Yeah, I tried to make my move… I need to review on that because I was quite well alongside and I got pushed off, but it’s what it is. Then obviously I made a mistake into Turn 8 because I took a big bump and then locked up and then I kind of compromised my race there. But it was a good battle.
 
Q: OK, well done. You gave us a great bit of entertainment. If I can flip it over to you then, George. I mean, a race looking in your mirrors, you had to absorb so much the whole way through, but your thoughts on this guy attacking you in those early laps?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, it was a cool race. I was just talking with Lando, it was definitely very difficult to get a gap around here. It felt quite easy to follow. The slipstream was quite powerful with the overtake mode. And then yeah, it was a good battle with Kimi and glad we both are standing here after the race.
 
Q: Yeah, you managed to do the grounds staff a few favours, mowing the grass around here, Kimi. Lando, second place. You managed to be the interloper at this Mercedes party. You must be pretty pleased with that because the pace looked really good.
Lando NORRIS: Yeah, thanks. It was a good race. I mean, it was good just to watch them go at it for a little while. But of course, we were there to pick up the pieces when things happened. And they were quick. I mean, Kimi caught me back up pretty quickly and then I was pretty worried from behind, but also I wanted to try and attack George ahead. It was fun, always a tough track to kind of push on and easy to make mistakes. But today was a good result for us.
 
Q: George, you really needed this, I feel like. It’s been a difficult time in Miami. You’ve been great around this circuit and so, to stand here as a race winner again, do you feel like you’re back in your happy place?
GR: I was never really concerned, to be honest. It was just, I know Miami’s a bit of a bogey for me and, of course, there’s been this huge break in the calendar, so lots of people with a lot of things to say. But ultimately, just wanted to get back racing and it kind of feels like the season’s going to restart now with, I think, six races in eight weeks. So just looking forward to getting in that groove. Glad to be back in Montreal and amazing fans, as always, so thank you so much.
 
PRESS CONFERENCE 
 
Q: Very well done, George. A great result for you. Quite a lot to unpick from that one. Can we start with the battle with your team-mate? Talk us through lap six from your point of view.
GR: Yeah, it was just a good, hard battle and obviously I defended into Turn 1 and you never get overtaken around the outside of that corner, and so I knew it was, kind of, pretty safe. But kudos to Kimi for giving it a go and I respect that and obviously came out unscathed. And then went into Turn 8. This track is very dirty as well offline. We’ve seen it all weekend, so I was quite nervous to defend too tightly into Turn 8 because I knew that there was a chance of locking up if I went there. And that was about it really. So glad that we’re both sat here now. It could have been something different, but it wasn’t, and that’s how racing should be.
 
Q: Kimi said on the radio that you were very naughty. What’s your reply to that?
GR: I mean, I need to see it. I’ve not seen it. I don’t know if it was under investigation or not. I don’t think it was. So yeah, from my side… It’s as kids in karting we know overtaking on the outside, there’s a certain element of risk that comes with that. And there are amazing overtakes when they come off, but the chances are quite slim. So, there’s only one direction I was going and I was going to close the line because it’s my right to do so. So, as I said, respect to him for giving it a go. Emotions are always high for all of us in the cockpit, but I’m sure we’ll both talk about it after.
 
Q: OK, thanks for that. Lando, we’ll come to you in a minute, if you don’t mind. Kimi, can I bring you in on this? Just hard racing? Do you agree with George?
KA: Yeah, I need to check it as well, to be fair. I was quite well alongside and there was definitely contact, so I need to recheck that. But yeah, it was hard racing. And then in Turn 8, to be fair, I was definitely too optimistic. I also took a massive bump and I almost spun in a straight line, so also that induced the lock-up. But yeah, just need to recheck it and then we’ll talk about it later.
 
Q: You don’t overtake around the outside of Turn 1, according to George. Would you agree with him?
KA: I think if you are well alongside, you can overtake pretty much anywhere. I mean, obviously there are corners that are more difficult, but I don’t think there’s never been an overtake around the outside in Turn 1. But I agree that obviously he was defending his position, so it was hard racing. Of course, we’re both lucky not to crash. But yeah, at the end of the day, it was a very fun race.
 
Q: OK, Kimi, thank you. And Lando, just coming to you, you got the popcorn out. You were in a good seat.
LN: Yeah, I now know kind of how it felt for some of the others last year. So, it’s obviously a nicer position to be in. I think for us, even though the pace was actually pretty good, the guys both pulled away a good amount, to be honest, in the beginning, and I just couldn’t go with them. So, I think we’re clearly lacking a little bit of speed compared to them, but the pace was still decent, especially when I was a bit more behind George for the rest of the race. But yeah, I just wanted to get to the chequered flag, honestly. So, it was obviously helped out by the fact that they were racing each other hard, and it was good to watch, honestly. Sometimes it is good to watch the racing part of it. So that was a good watch and, of course, we capitalised on it, and that’s what we’re there to do.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (Jon Noble – The Race) To Kimi, on the radio afterwards you said, “If we need to race like this, good to know.” Has today changed perceptions on how you go racing with George? And George, are you surprised? Is there anything unusual in how you battled today?
KA: We do meetings before races and that’s what we say in the room. Then, of course, we race to win and we try to do our best to defend our position. So of course, probably, I understood the significance of that meeting a bit differently. But just obviously I need to recheck. Emotions were very high in the moment and obviously I was very annoyed, but I just need to recheck and for sure we’re going to talk about it and we’re going to clarify on that.
GR: The truth is I need to check it as well from my side. I didn’t think I did anything wrong and I wasn’t investigated, so I guess the Race Director and Stewards thought the same. But I need to check it. It is clear that between team-mates we race hard and fair and no contact, and that’s always the objective. I wasn’t racing Kimi any harder than I would have raced Lando in the same position. We’re both here fighting to win and always in the past, even last year when we battled, I always gave Kimi a bit more room compared to anyone else. So, as I said, I need to review it. There was nothing untoward with the driving and, as I said, I don’t think it was even investigated. I think that says enough.
 
Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) To George, please. Just in general, obviously Kimi won three races in a row and this is a circuit that you’ve always gone really well at. So, in a bigger picture, did you feel that, despite it being very early in the season, this is an important weekend just to reassert yourself?
GR: I think it was more important for you guys and for the overall perception. For me, it was never in doubt. The fact that there was a big break after Japan and then another two-week break after Miami, and Miami has always been a tough race for me. I know my weaknesses and they’ve been pretty consistent over the course of my whole F1 career. It’s just you guys have never really noticed it because I’ve never been fighting at the front. Now it’s a big talking point. I didn’t have any doubts that I could come here and just be back fighting at the front as I was in the first three races of the season. Miami was a blip, tough track for me. There’s one or two later in the season as well which I’m going to put a huge amount of focus on. But it wasn’t a big surprise to me seeing Kimi’s exceptional performance in Miami, the same as last year, and for me to be back in the fight again this weekend.
 
Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) We didn’t get the rain in Miami, but it looks like there’s a good chance we’ll get it tomorrow. What are your thoughts about a wet race here, given most people have had no running or just a little bit of testing? 
GR: I mean, from the drivers who have spoken, who have driven in the wet, they sound pretty concerned about it. Not because of the power or the downforce of the cars, because they don’t feel the tyres are good enough. The three of us here haven’t experienced the wet this year. Kimi and I both drove this wet tyre last year and it wasn’t a very good feeling, to be honest. Ended up a few times through the gravel and with damage to the car. Time will tell. I really hope that’s not the case. It shouldn’t be the case. We want to fight hard and fair, but the wet tyres haven’t been great at the best of times and unfortunately it sounds like it’s going to be a step worse.
LN: Tough. I mean, looking forward to it as an opportunity, not looking forward to it because the comments from the others, as George said, are not great. When you have a thousand horsepower and you have a street circuit, then you need good tyres to go with it. From what we’ve heard, that’s not exactly what we have going into tomorrow. We’ll wait and see. I’ve never driven in the rain with these tyres yet, so it’ll be a new situation for me. And I think it’s made even tougher by the fact that it is a street circuit and you’ve not got a lot of margin for error, and it’s a low-grip track. Excited, could be a lot of chaos, but honestly, at the same time, we don’t sign up to do the chaos. We want the best of everything and I know Pirelli are working on better at the time being, but let’s wait and see how it goes.
KA: Yeah, I mean, as George said, we tried the tyre last year and it was not the nicest. There were a few aquaplaning moments. So, it’s tricky. And then of course, this is already a track where it’s hard to put temperature on the tyres in the dry, so I think tomorrow is going to be cold and wet and it’s going to be hard to build temperature, which is the main thing for us, because once you get a temperature, it’s actually not too bad. But it’s those first few laps where you’re just sliding around and the tyre is not really working. So yes, it’s not easy, it’s going to be tricky, but let’s see first what the weather is going to be like, because also Miami was meant to rain and it didn’t. So, let’s see tomorrow.
 
Q: (Nicole Mulder – GPblog) Question to Lando. Last year, you and Oscar were battling each other quite hard at times and then Max almost managed to take it away from you almost at the end. Do you see a similar scenario developing at Mercedes, with now you maybe being the one able to take it away from them?
LN: I mean, we’re still just very early on in the season. At the minute, I’m just trying to maximise every result that we can. Today was certainly one of those days where, in a way, we didn’t deserve to be P2 but we were. Well, we deserved to be P2, we shouldn’t have been P2 but we were. Anyway, so we’ll see. I think it’s just what you get when you have two good drivers fighting for a championship with a good team. That’s kind of what you expect. Each individual has to fight for their own career. You don’t kind of just go out to prove your point every time, but you go because we signed up for it as an individual. You grow up alone wanting to be the best in the world and every driver wants to do it. So, they both have their own point to prove, they both want to go out and race, and at the minute they’re fighting more than anyone for the World Championship. So yeah, that’s what they need to do. So, we’ll be there. I think we’re still lacking a bit at the minute, probably similar to last year from Max’s position. So, we’ll see how much we can hang on for the time being. But yes, obviously a day like today, we maximised everything we could.
 
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It’s another one for Kimi. You just mentioned the pre-race meetings and that, in your opinion, it was maybe different from what we’ve seen on track. If the evaluation of this Sprint race shows that this is within the boundaries, will you then change your approach going forward in terms of the safety margin you leave when fighting your team-mate?
KA: For sure, I think probably we just need a bit of clarity and then once it’s clear, then it’s all going to be fine. I think definitely I need to probably ask again. But the main thing for the team is that there’s no contact, that we don’t crash into each other, which today at the end was very close. But yeah, I think that’s the most important for the team. Also, as a driver, you don’t want to crash into your own team-mate. We all want the best for, first of all, each other, but also for the team. So, for sure we will clarify and everything is going to be fine.
 
ENDS