Q: Welcome Adrian, perhaps we could start with you, please. Contrasting performances for the team at the last couple of races: a great race at Sepang was followed by a more frustrating weekend in Singapore. How do you reflect on those two weekends?
Adrian NEWEY: Yeah, Singapore was certainly not one of our finest. We never really got the PU and the chassis working properly, so it’s just one of those weekends which will be a great experience to learn from. Lots of things to take away from that, but over the weekend itself, it never came together.
 
Q: So, what about here? It looks like you’ve hit the ground running here in Austin. Do you see this as more of a weekend akin to what you achieved in Sepang? 
AN: Tell you on Sunday afternoon.
 
Q: Now, look, last time, Adrian, you were in the press conference in Hungary, you said you wanted to get everybody in the team working together and you wanted to change the team’s culture. How much progress have you made with those since then?
AN: I think we’re making huge amounts of progress. It really feels now like the team’s coming together. The team spirit within the engineering offices, in particular, I think is very strong now. I see a lot of ideas being generated, lots of people chatting with each other, working late in the evening. So, very impressed with how the individuals are really kind of… You can just feek… I’m putting it poorly: you can feel the buzz in the factory now.
 
Q: And where are Honda on that curve?
AN: Honda obviously are working hard. They’re a great company, as we all know, capable of great things, as they’ve proved many times in the past. We are working closely with them and so hopeful of the future.
 
Q: Talking of Honda, does what you’re going through now with them remind you of the journey you had with them at Red Bull, starting in 2019?
AN: I would say, at the moment, in all truth, Honda are a little bit behind where Red Bull, as the works team, RBR, picked up Honda in ’19. But that obviously was four seasons after they first came back in ’15. So, this is the first year back in. Repeating myself, they are a great company. I have every confidence that they will accelerate quickly and understand the problems of these particular PU regulations.
 
Q: Okay, Adrian, thank you very much for that. Alan, why don’t we come to you now? A very strong weekend in Singapore for Nico at Marina Bay is a very particular venue. Just how hopeful are you of continuing that run of form here in Austin?
Allan McNISH: Yeah, you’re right. It was a very good weekend for us, the first time we scored points in a Sprint race, also backing that up with points again in the feature race. So, it was a good haul. It was also a confidence boost, I think, after the two races in Baku and Sepang, where we had tenth place taken away on the last lap, which was frustrating, to say the least. However, it was a good bounce back, and what we’ve seen from Gabby this morning, admittedly only FP1, the momentum is definitely keeping going right now. So, yep, as we look into this weekend, then we’re pretty hopeful to be able to have a good one.
 
Q: You talk about momentum. You’ve got a few new parts on the car this weekend. How are they performing? How was it in FP1?
AMcN: Yeah, so we had the two cars separated. Gabriel was on the new package, which admittedly is a small package in comparison to what we brought to Baku, but he was on the new one. Then Nico was on the previous spec that we had in the last few races. I think it was quite clear on the data and also on the lap time that there was a benefit there. So, we’re converting both cars to the new spec for FP2.
 
Q: Is there more coming on this car or back at the factory? Is it all 2027?
AMcN: No, I think everybody now is focused—I would say all teams are focused more on what’s happening for ’27 than necessarily anything else. There’ll be details, but nothing serious in reality.
 
Q: Okay, I asked Adrian about the culture at Aston Martin, and you’ve been racing director of Audi now for six months. How would you describe the culture of the team?
AMcN:Definitely one that has evolved a lot. There’s no question about it. I’ve known the team previously in a different guise, and there was an element that the people were very good; however, they didn’t necessarily have the resource or, I would say, the clarity of direction. With that, in the last year, when it became Audi, one part of it, but also I think since scoring points, since being able to compete, since being able to consistently fight in and around the last part of qualifying, getting into the top ten, that’s definitely lifted the spirits. And also, I just said, felt taking the weight of the workload and things over the race weekend, and that’s at the circuit. Back at the factory, it’s quite clear that they’ve got a clear focus, not just necessarily short term but also long term, ’27, ’28 and beyond. So, the culture, I would just say, is going to be one of the key points for us. But right now, you need a positive culture because there’s no question, I think all three teams sitting here, you know, we have got our good parts and our strengths and our weaknesses as well. But to make sure, you need to have that clarity.
 
Q: Now, Freddie Slater, you’ve announced that he’s doing a couple of FP1 sessions. Huge moment for him. Why now, and what do you want him to achieve in those sessions?
AMcN:Well, first thing, I think Freddie deserves it. If I look at his career, and we’ve been involved with him now for nearly three years, it’s pretty clear he’s got talent. It’s pretty clear that he’s got the attitude and the work ethic to do it. He’s integrated extremely well into everything that we’re doing, and you talk about culture and things, he’s really focused on that. So, without doubt, he’s in a position where he can get the opportunity, and at the same time, he’s part of our Audi Driver Development Programme, and that is giving opportunities. So, we’re very pleased to be able to do it, coming to Mexico and then also following it up in Brazil. Obviously, he needs to get his feeling for the car, he needs to understand how these cars work, and at the same time, I expect him to be doing a very sensible job because, at the end of the day, he’s just in the first part of what I would say, and hopefully is for him, a long-term Formula 1 career.
 
Q: Allan, thank you very much for that. Marcin, let’s come to you now. A home race for Cadillac. You’re running a special livery, you have activations going on across Austin. Just how special is this race for the team?
Marcin BUDKOWSKI: I mean, special for the team is a home race, as you said. It’s the second home race of the season for the team. It’s the first home race with the team for me, especially. It’s very busy as well. We have a lot of activations, a lot of media attention. We’re also doing a few special things with the livery you mentioned. We have a big event this evening. So yes, it makes it even more busy. But, you know, from a race team point of view, we just treat it as another weekend and just trying to do our best.
 
Q: Let’s talk about performance. Just how much progress do you feel you’ve made with this car in recent weeks?
MB: It’s a tough one because, as the others mentioned, we stopped developing this year’s car. We brought some parts here that are actually more of an experiment for next year’s car that we’re running on Colton’s car, and then doing some set-up work on Valtteri again, exploratory, not directly intended at this race, but just to scan the field of the set-up possibilities of the car, gain some valuable knowledge. And this is the kind of thing we’re doing for us as a new team. Every lap, every session, every race is a learning opportunity, and we’re trying to maximise that. Obviously, with races, we want to do the best possible result at every race, but we’re also conscious that we’re not competing for much as of today, and the biggest leverage, best usage of the time we have on the track, is to increase the team’s collective knowledge and experience and bring that into next year.
 
Q: Let’s expand on that, if we could. You’ve been in the job a couple of months. You’ve got your feet under the table. Has that been enough time for you to identify the areas where you need to improve to take the next step?
MB: Yes, definitely. I mean, there are two aspects to it. There’s we need to improve everywhere. We are a new team where there’s a bunch of people that either came from different F1 teams but have never built a car together. They’ve never been able to iterate from a previous version of a car or take something that existed and make it better. We also have, I’m pretty sure, the highest proportion of people working in the team that do not have any prior F1 experience. And as we all know, it’s a very specialised sport. You need to bring these people up to speed. So, all that team is kind of blending together still at this stage. But on top of that, yes, there are a few things and to be honest, it didn’t take me two months; it took me two weeks to see clearly that there are a few areas that deserve more focus. And I’m not saying they’ve been neglected. We’re talking about a team that put a car design and built a car on the track in a record amount of time while at the same time building a team, recruiting people. But for me, one of the first things is reprioritising what we’re doing and putting the right amount of focus in the right areas. And not only focus, but when we talk about focus, we talk also about resources, human and financial, and making sure we spend our resources in the projects that matter and in the areas that matter. I think that was the biggest thing I did since I arrived.
 
Q: You used the word projects, and you announced recently that the PU department is going to be opening just before Christmas. What’s the plan thereafter? What’s the first project that’s going to take place there?
MB: The PU facility? I was actually there on my way here. I stopped for a couple of days in Charlotte coming here. I was at GM Motorsports. I was at the power unit facility, the existing one, which is a provisional one, and the new one that’s coming off the ground. It’s there or thereabouts. It’s going to be inaugurated just before Christmas. A very, very impressive facility and, again, a statement of ambition from the Cadillac F1 Team and from General Motors in terms of being a fully works team by the end of the decade. That calendar is subject to a decision from the FIA and from us as an F1 community of teams and power unit manufacturers. We know there’s uncertainty on the calendar, and we are actually very proactively collaborating with the FIA and F1 on the next regulation cycle because, obviously, we are an interested party. We will be building an engine and running a works team, but also, we are passionate about the fact that it needs to be the right power unit for Formula 1.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky Sports UK) Adrian, we understand that following the Singapore Grand Prix, Lawrence Stroll flew to Japan for meetings with Honda. Did he get any assurances that the power unit will be significantly improved for next year? And regarding the deficit that you have, what percentage would you say is chassis-side, and what percentage of your deficit currently to the top is power-unit-side? 
AN: Well, first of all, that was a scheduled meeting, so between Honda and Aston Martin there are what’s called senior executive meetings, which are scheduled once every two or three months, so that was one of them. The rest of us, such as myself, joined online. I think, well, the current deficit is fairly clear. It’s seen in the ADUO. The ADUO, of course, is only a power measurement, and as we all know, there are lots of other factors that combine to make the overall performance of the PU installed in the chassis. So, there’s no point in dwelling on that. Your other question, so I think relative deficit between chassis and engine, I think, again, it’s probably not for me to say. I think if people look at the GPS, then you can start to get a much better picture from that. And then moving forward for 2027, then that’s really, as we discussed earlier. Honda – there’s a lot of energy and projects on the way now that perhaps are in their early stages of development, but we see a lot of promise from those. Too early to comment on exactly where the PU will be at the start of the season and whether then, assuming it’s allowed under the PUAC, there will be further development for what will be race eight at the end of the first period.
 
Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) Another one for Adrian. Christian Horner has his memoir out. Adrian, I’m sure you probably haven’t read it yet. He pays great tribute to your place within the sport and all the achievements you accumulated together. There is criticism, though. He talks about you wanting to abandon ship at the first sign of adversity in 2014. He talks about being blindsided by your move to Aston Martin. I just want to know: did he brief you that these kinds of remarks would come out in the book? What kind of relationship do you have now, and do you feel let down at all by criticisms like that?
AN: Well, you’re quite right in saying that, no, I haven’t read any of it yet. I think 2014, then, as a chassis designer, if the PU manufacturer has a bad year, that happens, and you accept it. If the PU manufacturer has a bad year and doesn’t appear to have any intention of trying to address the problem, that’s altogether a different matter, and that’s quite bleak at that point. And that’s the situation that unfortunately we faced in 2014. And as it turned out, that situation didn’t really change with that supplier until we changed to Honda in 2019. So, you can imagine my pain and frustration at that. I don’t think Christian fully understood that, perhaps, but I was in conversation. The rest of it I really can’t comment, but Christian and I remain friends. As many of you know, I am his godfather to his daughter Olivia, so yeah.
 
Q: (Aldona Marciniak – Eleven Sports) This one’s for Marcin. I want to ask you about Checo as he’s approaching his 300th start in F1. How difficult is it to evaluate a driver who’s fighting at the back of the grid, at the same time as the impression is that he’s having a better season than his teammate? And quickly on drivers, would you be interested in having any conversation with Esteban regarding maybe a reserve role? 
MB: Look, for a driver like Checo, who, as you said, has a huge amount of experience and a number of races, I can tell you he doesn’t behave or drive like a driver who is anywhere close to retirement. He’s pushing very hard behind the wheel. He’s pushing us very hard also behind the scenes, in the debrief rooms and outside, and regularly texting me and other members of the team to push us to improve. He’s hungry, he’s motivated, and that’s actually really good to see. He does it in his own style. We have two drivers: one is more hot and one is probably more cold, if we could say, from there. And they both push the team in their own particular ways, but Checo is, yes, pushing us very hard. And just looking at the way his body language on the grid, when he gets his helmet on and he gets in the car, he’s getting ready for a fight. There’s a lot of fire, there’s a lot of motivation there, so it’s really impressive for a driver of this experience. And at the same time, we’re getting his feedback and his input in terms of, as an experienced driver. So yes, he’s a very good combination. And sorry, the second question was about Esteban Ocon? Well, look, as a team principal, and I’m sure it’s the same with my colleagues, you’re getting calls and contacts from every driver or driver manager that is on the market. So, there are a number of drivers and managers who have contacted me. I’m not going to say who it is or who it isn’t, but pretty much all of them that are on the market have been in touch, as you’d expect. But yes, I think it’s the last place here, as you can imagine, where I would communicate anything on driver line-up. My marketing and communications department would kill me if I did that.
 
Q: Marcin, just to be clear, both Valtteri and Checo have contracts for 2027?
MB: Again, this is the last place I would comment on driver contracts, and in general, I think it’s not something that is done in the press. It’s something which will be done by official releases from the team when the time is right.
 
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) This is for Adrian. Adrian, I’m over here. After your first season of working with Fernando, what are your impressions of him in the context of other drivers you’ve worked with and the level he’s still performing at?
AN: Fernando’s without doubt one of the all-time greats. And I think, like all the greats that I’ve been lucky enough to work with, probably one of the things that singles them out is just the processing power that they have left over. Sorry, I’m putting it poorly. Obviously, you need a degree of brainpower to drive the car in the first place, and with the really great drivers, you get the impression that’s all kind of in the subconscious brain, leaving the conscious brain free to process everything, understand how the tyres are behaving, how the race is unfolding, how they can modify their driving style to suit the balance of the car at that particular point, etcetera, etcetera. And Fernando, as the other greats, is absolutely in that category.
 
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Another one for Adrian. Christian also recently said that, from the outside perspective, it feels a lot like history repeating itself. He said that when you came into Red Bull the first time, the team and the tools and the people around you, but they probably were not ready for some of the most ambitious ideas. Did you feel the same when you first went into Aston Martin, or was the experience very different from what you experienced at the starting point with Red Bull?
AN: No, I think there are actually a lot of parallels between when I started at Red Bull and when I started at Aston Martin. Both teams, through their history, had had quite a lot of turmoil with changes of owners, changes of senior managers, etcetera. And it’s then really trying to, as we’ve spoken before, get everybody working together, try to break down silos, improve the culture. And that’s been exactly the same again. I’m sure it’s the same for Allan, he’s nodding to my right, and the same for other teams.
 
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) A question for all three of you. James Vowles has been quite vocal recently about Formula One’s cost cap and potential changes for the future. He said it’s created a bit of a two-tier championship. Is that a feeling that you would agree with, and what do you think about a sliding-scale mechanism related to championship points or position, as he’s suggesting? Alan, what do we say?
AMcN: I think that the cost cap, first of all, is a very important part of the sustainability of Formula 1. It is something that’s evolved, and I think will continue to evolve as we go through. Obviously, the FIA is the entity that is controlling that, and I think we need to have, if we look at it, something that is sustainable for the long term for everybody, not necessarily for one or the other. But we’ve got full trust in the FIA to be able to put these things into place and to take it forward from there.
 
AN: Yeah, I think I echo Allan’s comments in many ways. If you look at things like wind tunnel testing, then that – and also the engines with the ADUO – then those are both examples where teams that are behind are granted more wind tunnel time or dyno time or whatever it might be than the teams that sit at the front. So, it’s easy from that point of view to then extrapolate that to, okay, if teams are behind, then also give them a small extra allowance on the budget. 
MB: Yeah, completely agree on that. It needs to be done in the right way. We are absolutely not in favour of any balance-of-performance mechanism. It’s really not what Formula 1 is about. But we did it successfully with the aero regulations. ADUO, whether it’s successful or not, time will tell, but it’s an attempt at implementing something similar. I think there’s no reason not to do it on the cost cap. But to the people who ask the question, how do we get there? The reality is there’s a reason why the top teams accepted the cost cap in the first place: because it baked in a certain advantage they had, and at the time, it was absolutely fine. As Allan said, the cost cap is crucial to Formula 1 now, to its survival, to the fact that teams are actually operations that make a profit and generate value. Before that, it wasn’t the case, and we were talking about teams disappearing from the grid every year. So it’s really important to preserve the cost cap, but maybe it’s time to make it even a little bit better and create a more competitive championship, which, at the end of the day, is one where the best team and the best drivers still win, but we see maybe a little bit more competition on the track and chances that are a little bit fairer than they are today.
 
Q: (Christian Menath – MotorsportMagazin.com) A question for Adrian. I think you touched on it a bit earlier when you talked about the ADUO, that it’s not as easy as just looking at the engine power at the crankshaft. Ferrari made it very clear this year that their KPI is lap time and not only horsepower, and they made sacrifices on the engine side for the whole package. Is there anything you can do to help Honda for next season in terms of packaging and so on?
AN: Yes, well, as you can imagine, completely in agreement with Ferrari’s comment that, yes, it’s not just about crankshaft horsepower. It’s about the whole package. It’s what makes the car fastest. So, with Honda, we are always looking at that and always working on what will create the best package, the fastest package on lap time.
 
Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) A question for Adrian again. Based on what was mapped out at the start of the year, has the progress that Honda has been able to make met expectations? And is there a disconnect at all between what’s being seen on dynos and simulations versus how it then performs, or the characteristics you see when it runs on track in reality?
AN: That’s quite a complicated question to answer, and one in which I can’t go so far because of protection of IP of both Honda and ourselves. But I think it’s fair to say that Honda have probably been a little bit disappointed with how much progress they have managed to make this year. But as always, or as is so often the case in that situation, it only strengthens resolve to go forward in the future. I think the future is obviously the important bit for both companies. As I’ve mentioned before, they are very determined. These things don’t change overnight, but they have a lot of good people and a lot of good processes now in place.
 
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) A question to Adrian again. You started the season with a noticeably high-rake chassis concept and then have kind of backed out of that, particularly with the Hungary upgrade. Could you just sort of explain your thought processes in terms of setting out on that course in the first place, and then when the penny dropped, and how difficult it is to kind of back out of a concept like that?
AN: It’s a good observation. So, when I arrived, it was early March, then almost no aerodynamic research had been done at that point. When you then look at release dates for all the prime parts coming up before the August break, and then bodywork and so forth, wings, etcetera, coming up in, I don’t know, somewhere around November time, then we had a very short, condensed research period. I looked at the regulations and felt that it could suit a high-rake solution, which is what we pursued. In truth, I think it had some strengths, but it also had some weaknesses. We’ve now come back to what I would call a middle ground, which we feel is quite a good solution.
 
ENDS