DRIVERS
1 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
 
TRACK INTERVIEWS 
(Conducted by James Hinchcliffe) 
 
Q: Lando, 12th career victory, back-to-back here in Hungary. It was a dominant day, but it didn’t start necessarily the way you were hoping. Walk us through what happened on that first lap with Oscar in Turn 2.
Lando NORRIS: I’m tired! What happened? I don’t know what happened, to be honest. I just kept losing the rear. I had three or four big snaps. It felt horrible and, of course, Oscar did a good job to get the cutback and get past. I think I was just a bit wide, in the dirt, and game over for the first lap. But, man, I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake or something. My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race. To get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good. I could always extend the stints and fresher tyres than anyone else in the race. I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.
 
Q: Number one in victory lane for the first time with you on this car as World Champion, back in the winner’s circle. The team did a lot of effort, a lot of work, to get the upgraded car here. It has obviously worked well this weekend. Are you confident, from what you’re feeling behind the wheel, that this kind of performance is going to carry forward?
LN: I want to believe so. Considering how good it felt today, I certainly want to believe that we can continue it. There are going to be moments when we struggle more, moments that might be even better, but we know this track is a good one for us. It’s probably one of my best-suited tracks of the year. This is maybe as good as it can look for now, but I certainly believe we can still win races. I knew it was coming and, like you said, the team have put so much work in to make it a car that can finally win again. It’s nice to be able to do it for them.
 
Q: Alright, we’ll come back to you in a second. Max Verstappen, it has been a difficult weekend for Red Bull. We’ve heard comments on the radio: balance issues, shifting issues, the car is aerodynamically broken. You’re standing here in P2. Is this beyond what you were expecting coming into today?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, for sure. I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it. I think the start was decent, to get through Turns 1 and 2. Then, after the first stop, to get back ahead of Lewis under braking into Turn 1. Then just trying to survive on the compounds, trying to make the right calls with the strategy as well. Very happy, considering, to be second here.
 
Q: You had some great battles on track there, especially with Lewis Hamilton. A great dive-bomb into Turn 1 there. Just walk us through some of those battles that you had on track.
MV: I saw the opportunity as my only one and I just went for it. We were good on the brakes, so that helped, but it was all under control.
 
Q: Very good, congratulations. Kimi, you look hot, you look tired. We’ve talked about how hot it is this weekend. What was it like inside the car physically?
Kimi ANTONELLI: It was a tough race. It was really hard to overtake, so we had to do something with the strategy. Initially, we tried to go for the one-stop. I tried to go for the one-stop, but they told me that the tyre was too much on the limit, so we stopped. Then, with the Virtual Safety Car, the two Ferraris boxed and I knew it would have been very hard because I was on Hard and they were on soft. Luckily, we managed to keep them behind.
 
Q: Kimi, we’re halfway through the season now. We head into the summer break. You’ve extended your lead in the championship. More than two full Grand Prix wins is the buffer. Could you ever have imagined being in this position halfway through the year?
KA: No, not really. Of course, I’m very happy and it’s the best way to go into the summer break. I think today was big damage limitation and we’ve got to keep pushing because the second half is going to be hard, but we’ll try our best.
 
Q: Great recovery today from P7. Congratulations on the podium. Lando, we talk about momentum in this sport a lot. You head into the summer break off the back of a great result. How important is it to keep the spirits of the team up going into a break like this?
LN: It helps, that’s for sure. It helps you get through it. The team are still working hard to bring even more to the car. We have tough competition. The Ferraris are quick. Kimi is the one who is always there every single session. He’s doing a good job. If we want to come back, we need a lot more of these and we need to keep putting pressure on our competition. Today, or this weekend, was a perfect weekend for us, but it’s going to be tough. We’ll keep pushing and working hard. I owe the team a lot. They’ve done an amazing job to even get back to winning races at this point, so I’m proud. We need to enjoy a good break. We’re all going to enjoy a nice break and some time off, and hopefully we come back even stronger.
 
Q: Got big plans for your time off?
LN: Just sleep, that’s all. Catch up.
 
PRESS CONFERENCE 
 
Q: Max, why don’t we start with you, please? A brilliant race. Earlier, you described it as “unbelievable”. Just tell us how hard it was to achieve this result.
MV: Yeah, I was still struggling with the same things as yesterday, so the car was just extremely oversteery, just degging quite hard at one point as well. But I do think that, you know, at the start, moving forward was, of course, making our first stint possible. Then, of course, we got undercut, but then I made the move on Lewis, which I think made my second stint a little bit more straightforward. Then the team also put me onto the Softs, which initially I was like, “that’s going to be a long run to the end,” but we made it work. So, yeah, overall, I still don’t really understand how we are second, but I think as a team we performed strongly. So, yeah, I see it as a bit of an overperformance compared to what we expected, so I guess that’s, of course, a good thing considering how everything felt. I also saw, when I jumped out of the car again, there was damage on the car for whatever reason. So, yeah, it was not made easy for us. 
 
Q: You say the same issues as yesterday, but are you happier with the car today?
MV: No. It was exactly the same. There’s nothing that you can change anyway after qualifying, so I knew that it was going to be tough, and it was very tough. Honestly, I think it was one of the hardest races of this year in terms of how I felt in the car, how I had to manage the balance as well, corner to corner. So, to be on the podium, I think, was an incredible result for us.
 
Q: You mentioned your overtake on Lewis Hamilton. Can you just walk us through that one? It looked very spectacular from the outside.
MV: Yeah, I mean, I knew that that was my only opportunity as well, because they were not too bad in terms of pace. So, when I saw the opportunity arise, I went for it and, yeah, it was a good move.
 
Q: Okay. Now, this is your third podium in four races. I get everything you’ve just said about this Grand Prix, but as we head into the summer break, how would you sum up this first half of 2026?
MV: Tough. In general, it’s been very tough. Some good moments, some bright, shining moments, I guess, but overall, tough. So, I think we need to try and be more solid, a bit more all-round, to have more straightforward weekends. Plus, we need to find more performance. I mean, it’s as simple as that at the end of the day. Then, besides finding more performance, just not having the issues as well with the current package, let’s say, that we have.
 
Q: Okay, Max, thank you for that. Kimi, if we could come to you now. P7 on the grid to P3 at the flag. Very well done. Just how satisfying is a race like that?
KA: Yeah, I think today we maximised the result. Obviously, we were a bit lucky with the VSC, I mean, with Oscar’s issue, but other than that, we did the best we could. Conditions were quite difficult today, struggling a little bit with oversteer, balance and then understeer. So, yeah, conditions were not easy today, but I’m happy with the result.
 
Q: You say you maximised the result. Had you started higher up, how consistent was your speed today? Do you think you could have challenged Lando Norris for the win if you’d been higher on the grid?
KA: I don’t know. I mean, if I’d started P3, then it would have been another thing. But I think Lando still had the upper hand this weekend, even on us. On pure pace, I don’t think I would have been able to challenge him, especially with how difficult it was to follow as well, with a lot of tyre overheating. So, I think it would have been very difficult. But other than that, it was a great team effort. Also, with strategy, we took a risk initially and then we kind of pulled back a little bit because we were a bit concerned about safety. But still, despite that, they put me in a position to fight for, eventually, the podium. So, it was a great team effort.
 
Q: And, Kimi, just a moment of reflection from you as well. Nine podiums in 11 races. We all knew you had a good car coming into the season, but have the results exceeded even your pre-season expectations?
KA: Well, for sure, I did not expect to find myself in this position. But, you know, the car has been extremely good, the team has done an incredible job and, on my side, I try to maximise every opportunity I have. Of course, there’s still lots of work to do, lots to learn, but it was a good first half of the season. Now I’m looking forward to the second half and we’re just going to keep pushing.
 
Q: All right, many thanks. And welcome to our winner, Lando Norris. Win number 12 in your Formula 1 career. Lando, look, you started this one on pole and won it by 15 seconds, but that doesn’t tell the full story, does it? Just what pleases you the most about what happened today?
LN: What pleases me the most? Just the fact we were so quick, the fact the car was, of course, very strong today. Yeah, I was just very happy with a lot of things. I mean, the car was still horrible to drive at times, but quick, and I’d rather have a horrible but quick car than anything else. So, yeah, just the pace. The pace I had the whole race, even behind Oscar at the beginning. Of course, it wasn’t my finest Turn 2, but after that, seeing what my pace was like and I was just better in every sense, in terms of degradation and pace. I was convinced I could still win the race, even after that, whether I would box or force him to box and I would go long, get fresh tyres and come back through. So, I was convinced I could win the race today, and we did. Of course, it was unfortunate for him and unlucky, because I think we could have had a one-two. But otherwise, just my pace. My pace to stay so close to him for so long. We were just on another level today, and I felt in a very good flow of things. When the car’s good and when I’m in a good flow, there’s no stopping.
 
Q: When you say force him to pit, just tell us, from a strategic point of view, were there some frustrations on your side of the garage today?
LN: I mean, I just want to win the race, you know? There are certain rules we have as a team, and we can’t harm each other’s race by being overly aggressive and wanting to win. But I want to win, and I certainly had much better pace than him. We had a much better chance of winning the race, let’s say. So, you know, when I was stuck behind Oscar, Max was three or four seconds behind, and at that point he’s still a threat. Ahead, there’s no threat, and we have a lot more of a guarantee that we’ll win as a team anyway. So, I wanted to box and undercut because my pace would have been so good, I could have pulled away a whole pit-stop window, I think, on him and boxed again if I needed to. Or I get him to box early. I think we were on the fine line between boxing too early and harming both of our races. So, it was just in the best interests of the team, which they rightly have to say back against me. But I want to do whatever I can to try and win a race, of course.
 
Q: Final one from me. Just how excited are you about the pace of the car?
LN: I mean, I’m just happy with today. It doesn’t mean if I’m quick here, we’re going to be quick everywhere. One thing I’ve learned for sure is just to have no expectations of the future and just to work in the present. I think that’s the way we’ve been doing everything as a team. That’s why we’re back on top today: just working hard on ourselves as individuals and also as a team. I just want to enjoy the break. Of course, I’m optimistic for the future and I think we can win more races, but we have good competition and there are still plenty of races I’m not confident in because the car is not to the standard that it needs to be in certain areas. But I have confidence in the team. I had confidence that we could win a race, and it came a bit sooner than I thought. I have confidence that we can improve in those areas that are not good enough at the time.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (Fred Ferret – L’Equipe) Did you think on Friday night that you had the car to win the race? Do you have an explanation for the difference in pace between you and Oscar?
LN: No, I don’t think so, especially after FP1, I didn’t. Actually, Andrea wanted to make a bet with me because I was pretty disappointed with the pace and how the car was handling in FP1. It got a little bit better in FP2, but still, the Ferraris were just on another level, and I really didn’t expect to get as close as we did in qualifying. But the wind changed from Friday to Saturday, and Saturday’s wind really suited our car a lot more. We had a lot more confidence in driving the car, so I could push more. Then I certainly felt like I could be on pole yesterday, and I felt like I could win the race today. I think today the race pace was much better than I was expecting. The degradation was much better than I was expecting too. But it was probably one of my best performances personally, in terms of driving the car. The fact I could keep up with Oscar on this kind of track, where it’s impossible to follow and impossible to overtake, I was within eight-tenths or something for, I don’t know, almost 40 laps. The fact I could do this is what gave me confidence that I’d win the race no matter what, whether he boxed early or late or whatever. The pace advantage I had was huge today. But I don’t know why. The cars are identical, and I’ve just been feeling very strong lately. I’ve worked on many areas from last year. I feel much more confident lately with how to extract performance, and I’ve worked a lot with my engineers to understand this car because it’s certainly not an easy car to understand and figure out how to drive on the limit consistently. So, why? Just hard work. Hard work from my engineers and from myself to improve me as a driver and improve my driving. That is the answer.
 
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lando, just to pick up on that, could you talk a bit more about those areas that you’ve been working on? Is it a similar experience to last year, when you really had to find certain points to level up your game? And do you feel you’re driving better than ever, and even better than in your World Championship year?
LN: It’s hard to say. Obviously, I drove a good race here in Budapest last year. At this point, I started to have some good races, you know, in Monaco, Silverstone, here. Right now, today, I would probably say it was up there with one of my best performances, in terms of extracting performance out of the car and being so close to the limit every single lap. So close that the team had to ask me to peg it back a little bit. So, honestly, although it kind of hurts me saying it because it doesn’t mean that you just win, I feel like I’m doing a better job this year than I was last year, and I have done for a little while. I’ve said that for a while. It just doesn’t mean you win the races, like I said before. So, today, when we had a car, I think the words when I said, “I think my performance is some of my best,” today proved exactly that: that I could go out and win very convincingly and be on pole in a good car. So, yeah, I’m doing a better job, and that’s because of working in many different areas, some away from the track with my team and some here at the track as well. So, just working in as many areas as possible. A lot of small differences add up, and you see the result today.
 
Q: (Gerard Bos – Formula 1 Magazine Netherlands) A question to all three of you. Looking ahead to Zandvoort, if I may, how special will that weekend be for you guys as drivers, considering it is most probably the last F1 race over there ever? 
MV: Yeah, I mean, of course, we’ve known this now for a while. It’s my home Grand Prix, so for sure I’m going to enjoy it a lot. I hope, driving-wise! Hopefully a bit more than I did this weekend, at least. But, yeah, it’s going to be great to see the fans. Okay, we won’t have a Formula 1 Grand Prix there, but there are a lot of other series that still race there, and if you want to have a track day, the track is not going to disappear. So, for me, I’ll still have my fun driving around there, just not in Formula 1, but that’s okay. I mean, I just want to enjoy it with the fans. It’s incredibly impressive what they have done to bring it back, and I think, at the time when they hosted the first one, it was a great example for a lot of other Grands Prix as well of how to host and entertain. So, yeah, it’s a shame, but on the other hand, the track’s still there and I’m sure I will do more laps around there. So, it is what it is.
LN: Yeah, like Max says, I mean, it’s a shame because it’s a fun race. It’s full of McLaren fans! It’s just a cool track. Since I’ve driven there in Formula 3, it was one of the most exciting, different layouts that you have on the calendar, and in Formula 1 it’s a pretty crazy track. So, it’s a shame. Like Max said, they set a good standard for what a Formula 1 race weekend should be. I mean, the Dutch fans are also just crazy, in a good way. They make a lot of noise, they want to have a fun weekend, and it just brings a great atmosphere to the race itself. So, yeah, it’s a shame. You never know, maybe one day it comes back and there’s another Dutch Grand Prix somewhere. But it’s one I enjoy a lot. I know the majority are there for Max, but there are always a lot of fans there for me as well, and a lot of them support me. So, it’s good fun. It’s a great atmosphere, especially when you’re driving through some of the corners, to see all the fans and the smoke and all of these things. It always puts a smile on your face. So, a shame, but, yeah, that’s what happens.
KA: Yeah, I mean, not so much more to add. It’s a great track, a lot of fun, even though I didn’t have a really good experience last year. But from a pure driving point of view, it’s an incredible track, especially in qualifying. It’s very exciting. So, of course, it’s a shame. Both of the fans are great, very passionate, make a lot of noise. It’s cool to see. So, of course, it’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
 
Q: (Daniel Majer – RallyCafé Magazin) A question also towards all three drivers. Of course, you are in a much better position to judge each other’s performances than journalists or other outside observers. So, my question is: in your opinion, who has managed to produce the best performance in the first half of the season, regarding, of course, the opportunities and machinery he had? Who would like to start with that? Lando, please.
LN: I think we’ll probably all just say ourselves. I feel like you can’t really compare in these things. You can’t really compare teams against teams. I think you have to say Kimi, as a complete package. They have a great car, and he’s done an incredible job, convincingly beating his teammate every single weekend. So, when you’re talking about a championship, you have to give credit to Kimi. But, you know, when I have a good car like today, I feel like no one’s going to beat me. So, we’ll probably all say each other, but it just depends on how good the car is and things like that. I think you probably have, in front of you, three of the best drivers in Formula 1. There are still plenty of others, but it’s impossible to really compare these things. I think everyone who’s sat here is doing an incredible job and probably getting the most out of the car, and that’s what you can really ask for.
MV: Yeah, I think I agree with most of what Lando has said. I think, if you look at the front, Kimi has done a really good job. Really strong, really solid, being the strongest in the team. I think, if he just keeps it going – of course, he’s also been very unlucky sometimes, so that’s been, I guess, a bit of a shame – but as a 19-year-old, so far, I think he’s been rock solid. So, that’s really impressive to see as an outsider, I guess. For me, it’s definitely been a bit of a jungle this year, but I’m just trying to enjoy it where I can. Of course, when the car is a bit nicer to drive, you can enjoy it a little bit more, even though, most of the time, you don’t really enjoy it. But that has more to do with other stuff, you know, when you’re a bit flat on battery. But, yeah, overall, a very strong performance. It’s nice to see. He’s, first of all, a nice guy and a very strong driver, so that’s a good combination.
KA: Well, I don’t really like judging, but I feel like I’ve done a good first half. But, as Lando and Max said, it’s really hard to compare car to car. I think there’s still a long way before I reach their level, the two drivers next to me. So, I feel like I’m doing a great job, but there’s still a long way to reach their level. So, still lots of work to do.
 
Q: (Vladimir Rogovets - SB Belarus Segodnya) To win a race, you have to start and you absolutely must finish this race. We know a lot of examples where drivers have stopped on the final lap. My question is for all drivers: what were you thinking today during the last lap, from the first corner to the chequered flag? Start with our winner, at least. What is it to win?
MV: What do they say? To win the race, you must finish first, right?
LN: Wise words.
KA: Just don’t crash it.
MV: I mean, nobody was right behind you, so what were you thinking on the last one?
LN: What was I thinking?
KA: Maybe he cannot really say what you were thinking.
MV: Race-related.
LN: Oh, okay. That’s easy. I was just thinking of – I mean, I was trying to avoid all the kerbs. Of course, we had the DNF with Oscar, with some failure on the car, so I was asked to stay off all the kerbs and the bumps and everything like that. But not a lot. I had a good gap. I could take it pretty steady. A little part of me wanted to go for the fastest lap at the end, but I know Will would shoot me if I did that, so I had to not do it. But I was just looking at the grandstands. That’s all I normally try and do, look up at the grandstands and see the fans, and try and take in the moment because, again, you never know how often they happen. It’s a nice moment when you’re just driving a Formula 1 car around a racetrack and you can take in the atmosphere and the feeling from the fans. So, that’s something I normally try and do on the last lap.
MV: I was just like, “How the hell did I end up here?” That was it for me. I was shocked. I’m actually still shocked.
KA: Me, I was just trying to bring it home. I pushed a little bit less on the last lap because I had a little bit of a gap to Lewis. But, yeah, I was just trying not to make any mistakes and trying to bring it home.
 
Q: (Attila Pék – Blick) Now the summer break is coming up, and my question to all three drivers is: how are you guys planning to recharge for the rest of the season?
LN: Oh, this has got nothing to do with anyone.
MV: Good answer. Plug in the battery.
LN: I’ll go plug the car in. I’ll just be with my friends, enjoy some time away with my friends and my family, play a bit of golf and padel, and try to lose a bit of weight. That’s it.
 
Q: (Iwona Holod – Powrotroberta.pl) A question for Lando. Lando, you mentioned before that wind is quite an important factor for your car. How did you feel today? Was it an important factor again?
LN: Yeah, I mean, the wind was pretty similar to yesterday. We’re still in a more favoured direction for us. I think we feel quite sensitive to wind in general. It’s a comment that we both have as drivers. I’m sure the others are as well, but it’s a thing we complain about a lot. We know that, when there are certain winds, we struggle a lot in certain conditions. So, I think it’s an area we need to work on within the car. But certainly, if the wind was like Friday, it would have been a much worse race for us. We probably still could have won, but we wouldn’t have had the pace we did. So, the wind was good today. It’s just the track was very difficult. It’s quite bumpy in places. The track surface was very difficult still to understand and figure out, with where it’s breaking up and different patches. But, yeah, wind makes such a big difference. Sometimes you go quicker and you don’t know why, and then the next lap you push more and you just go a lot slower and you don’t know why. So, normally the answer is wind.
 
Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1Vilag.hu) Max, you had a great run last year after the summer break. What are the main priorities with the car for the next few months, and how do you see Red Bull’s engine situation?
MV: We need to first find more overall performance. Then we need to fix our problems, where we sometimes just lose performance over a weekend, or even from the start of the race to the end. So, yeah, that is also actually a big priority. Then you mentioned the engine. Well, I would love to have some ADUO as well. Yeah, somehow. But that’s—I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll have another look after the break.
  
ENDS