Drivers Look Ahead to the Weekend | 2026 Italian Grand Prix

Kimi, I feel we should start with you. You come to your home race here at Monza, leading the World Championship. What a moment for you. Just how special does it feel? Yeah, it feels very special. Definitely, definitely a lot different compared to last year. And I'm very much looking forward to this weekend despite starting from the back. But yeah, it's also a big opportunity ahead. And yeah, very much looking forward to it. I think it's going to be very enjoyable. I will be able to enjoy it much more than what I did previously. And yeah, hopefully we can still do a great race. In terms of performance, you say you're starting at the back because of the grid penalty. How does that change your mindset coming into the weekend? I think in some ways it helps to release pressure, although I very much rather fight for pole and start there at the front. But in some ways I feel like it relaxes, it makes me a bit more relaxed going into the weekend. And I think also that's why I'm going to be able to enjoy more the driving and the weekend itself. And of course, as well, it's a different opportunity. It's an opportunity to try something different during the weekend, different work method as well, in free practice especially, because we have the chance to do so. So yeah, I think it's going to be a very interesting weekend. I think I'm feeling much better since the summer break. I'm hoping just to continue building on that momentum. Of course, we know we've got fierce competition at the moment with McLaren and Ferrari bringing upgrades. We're still on the back foot in terms of bringing these upgrades to the cars. And we know in that interim, it's not going to be as straightforward as it once was. But, you know, hoping to fight for pole and the winning. For me, I pushed for a lot of changes within the car, which last year we couldn't do. One, because of cap. Two, because it's what they've done all the time. And it's like, why should we change it? And so it took a lot of persuading to get some of those changes done. And then some of them were expensive and they took a longer process. So I worked in the sim and requested that they design it for the sim. And I tested in the sim last year and then they added it as options for the car that we use every weekend. And, yeah, so just kind of the whole goal was looking, coming from an outside perspective, looking at all the things they do well and nobody does everything perfect, highlighting the things that are maybe good or not as good and say, hey, we need to level up in all these areas. And that's what I tried to do. I think Freddie even said there was some things on the list that he just couldn't do because it's too expensive. And but I'm grateful for the ones that he has allowed to happen. And and I think that's I feel proud to see the progress that we made. Congratulations on announcing your racing team last night. It's already a pretty cool week for you. But how confident are you that you can win this weekend and complete the hat trick? Well, it's certainly the plan. It's so hard to know. I think we're still at a stage where it's hard to predict where we're going to be. I think we also don't want to waste time trying to predict these things. we're just focused where we're working on the stuff that we that's within our control. I'm doing the same. I'm clearly in a good place as a whole team at the minute. We know we have things we really have to try and and work on and improve and we'll see if we've been able to make any progress into this weekend. So I'm looking forward to it. It's another weekend where we want to be hopeful and we want to believe it's possible. We kind of have to just wait and see. I mean, on a track like this overtaking, I think would be a big thing on Sunday and probably a bit of yo-yo racing will be also a big thing on Sunday. So I think we've got to prepare for that. But it's not the kind of tracks I would expect with Sunday with not much overtaking. So if there's one track we can afford to maybe compromise a little bit, qualifying compared to the race is this one. However, as I've always said, our job is to make the car faster and that will be beneficial for qualifying in the race and on track like this, we expect to have a bit of a harder time because, again, it's lots of straight lines and we know that this is a bit of our weak point compared to our competitors so far. Yeah, let's see. I mean, of course, I'm not not doing FP1. So we'll see afterwards how the car will be trying to get it into a nice window. But at the same time, also, we need to be realistic. I think, you know, where we are at the moment as a team and how we are performing. So just try to have a good weekend. I mean, I know it's already going to be very complex with the energy around here. So just need to try and understand that first. And then we'll just see from there where we are in the pecking order. But yeah, just going off the last few races, I think we just need to be realistic. Hey, Oscar, this track's produced some good memories for you in the past. But what are your expectations for this weekend? I think it's going to be a pretty different Monza in a few ways, I think. Yeah, obviously with these cars, it's going to be a very different challenge. But I think the racing as well could be pretty interesting this weekend, so excited to see what that's going to be like. But hopefully we can continue the pace that the car's had. Obviously, on my side, we've got a few things that we're aiming to work on and improve, but yeah, we'll wait and see what we get. With Isaac, of course, we wish Isaac well with his recovery, but his absence this weekend gives you another opportunity with the big team. What's your mindset coming into the weekend? Just try and make the most of it again, I think. Yeah, obviously it's an interesting position for me to be in. And Zandvoort was, I mean, being a sprint weekend, obviously quite stressful at times, but overall it was a good weekend. And at least now I've had that, you know, it should be a bit easier to adjust. We also have three practice sessions here. It's a much more normal weekend. So yeah, it's another good opportunity. When did you find out that you'd be racing this weekend? Wednesday. So for the last week, it's been sort of just waiting to see, obviously trying to give Isaac the best chance as well for his recovery. But yeah, I think in the back of my mind, I knew that obviously there was still a, you know, a chance. So yeah, but obviously only being on Wednesday, it felt quite late, but we had enough time to still do a simulator session and sort of normal prep for the weekend. Normal prep, you say, but which set of engineers have you been talking to since Zandvoort? Both, honestly, been doing both. Just to try and stay ready for both, obviously, both teams, both cars to know. So yeah, they're very different to drive, so it's not the easiest thing going between the two, even just in the simulator. We've been talking to Luis Andoli about upgrades. The team brought a lot on your car last time out at Zandvoort. Just how hopeful are you this weekend? Yeah, it was a good step forward in Zandvoort, finishing eighth in the sprint and tenth on Sunday. I think it was tricky to really make the best of it being on the sprint weekend. But I think we've learned a lot and I'm feeling more comfortable in the car, more potential. I do feel before the summer, we were dropped behind the top ten and didn't have the full potential, I mean, didn't have the potential to fight for points. And now we're back up there. So, yeah, excited and looking forward to this weekend. I think we'll be good. I think, you know, we are efficient on the straights. I think we've we're relatively better on energy poor tracks. So, yeah, I mean, hopefully should be good. But we'll see. I think it's going to be a new challenge to what we're used to. And I imagine, Franco, you must be very good because you've come into this weekend with a seat for next year, all done and dusted. Must be really pleased. Yeah, yeah, very pleased, very happy, of course, with the news. Very excited for what's coming and to continue this journey with the team. I'm, of course, very, very grateful for the opportunity since last year. And we grew up a lot together and a big family now. And, you know, we did a lot of steps together as a team and improving the car in many areas, improving the performance of everyone in the team. So, yeah, happy and, of course, looking forward to keep it going in some way. We are very much hoping that we have a bit more performance this weekend. It's been a good few races now that we've kind of been left behind by our competition. You know, it's been a while that we've bought a big upgrade to the car. And so we have a lot of hopes set on this one. Yeah, it seems like a big one. And all of the team are quite confident. Of course, in Monza, it's maybe not the best place to bring upgrades necessarily because you don't see the full effect of the benefit, of course, with with this track, which is a much more drag sensitive one than maybe last week was. But, you know, nonetheless, it's been a long time coming. The team have worked incredibly hard and, you know, we have a lot of challenges that we face being a small team. One of them is the turnaround times of our upgrades. And you've seen that, you know, the last big one that we bought was in Canada, which is a long way back. So, yeah, hopefully hopefully it's going to be a good weekend for us. It's been a frustrating couple of weekends for you from the outside. But do you think Audi are getting ever closer to having both of you in the points? Well, it depends what you mean on frustrated weekends. I don't agree with that, if I'm very honest. I feel like we have done very good, for example, performances on qualifying. It has been a bit tough on the racing side, starting, for example, in Budapest a bit from from the back and having to recover everything. And then in the last race, I feel like what happened in lap one probably compromised a lot my race. Obviously, very different track here. We all know Monza has a high speed power track. On paper, probably not the best for us. But, you know, there's been surprises this year where things are quite different than what you expected. So approach it open minded, you know, try to keep this going, the good streak that we have. I think as a team, four times in a row now scoring points, twice Gabi, twice myself. And obviously, yeah, we'll try to keep that up. So Carlos, I was reading that you were talking about how the way Formula One is in the minute, you could go into your 40s and race that long when you can kind of look that far forward, does it help you kind of get through these more challenging times that you've got at the moment and kind of see a great light at the end of the tunnel? Yeah, I know for a fact that this sport can go this way, you know, in the end it's 20, 22 cars now and sometimes you manage to get yourself into one of the fast ones or sometimes you struggle with one of the slow ones. And I've been here long enough to realise that yeah, it goes and comes around now and then. And as long as you keep working hard and you keep performing on track, everything takes care of itself. And I just hope that we can become competitive again soon. It will be interesting because I think Mons is normally a circuit that goes well for us at the same time. We know we've got a good engine behind us as well. So hopefully that can make up for some of the lack of speed in some of the corners. But also interesting to see if anyone brings out any packages. I think I'm sure there will be. Hey Esteban, you've got some upgrades coming this weekend, I understand. Can you give us any details on them and what kind of step you're hoping to make? Yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously the team did a great job, you know, by producing all these parts for both cars. So, you know, my car is going to be updated on Aero's side. I'm not going to have the new engine because we only had one, so that will go on Olli's car with Adio too. But yeah, overall, very much looking forward to see what this car can do. Obviously, you know, we were not quite fast enough in the last couple of races to be scoring points. Yeah, I think it has been very positive for us to bring the upgrades on the car and confirming in a way that everything is working as expected. So that gives obviously extra confidence for the next set of upgrades and also for the direction to take into next year's car. So, yeah, I think they were important to fill them in a positive way. And obviously still more to come. We did only two races with the chassis update and only one with the engine upgrade and it has been a sprint weekend. So we didn't have the free practices maybe to fine tune everything that we wanted. So Monza will be important for us in that regard. Hey Yuki, you obviously made a really impressive return last time in Zambourg and now you get to do it all over again. Is there anything you're going to change in your approach now that you've got a bit more experience in these cars? No, I think that will I think we have a bit more time. I have a bit more time to get used to it, you know, especially to the energy deployment. I think previous Netherlands was one of the easiest for the energy deployments and here will be the most difficult one. So I think those things will really kick in with the current regulations challenging. So I think those things are the main focus. But at least I have three practices this time. So slowly build up. And yeah, I think just going to do the same. You know, just enjoy this F1 atmosphere and everything. So yeah, very looking forward to it. Aston has found close to three seconds at the last couple of races. How different does the car feel to drive now compared to before Hungary? Yeah, much better. We've improved a lot since Hungary, for sure. So it's been it's been good. Tell us a little more, though, where where is the car better? Just everywhere. More downforce, so more downforce. You're going around quicker, more downforce. Of course, Honda brought a new power unit to the last race. There's been quite a lot of chat about drivability since then. In what areas do you still need them to progress a little bit? We're still down on power. So, yeah, we need more power and we're just working on the drivability stuff. It's it's it's complex. So we'll just keep chipping away at that off throttle as much as on throttle, right? Yeah, just everywhere. Downshifting into the corners, engine braking, all that stuff. it's we've improved in Zandvoort throughout the weekend, but we have a lot of work to do. What's the motivation? What's the feeling heading into this weekend? I mean, motivation is always there. And again, I think from from the last event, we learned something new. We managed to fix a new issue that we had with the rear wing actuator. So we found a fix and we try again. Like we nearly finished the race, but hopefully it's more meant to be here. But it's a very different kind of track, very unique in terms of setup, in terms of the downforce level and everything. So kind of hard to predict where we are. But again, we'll try again. Well, Checo, I thought there were phases in the last race weekend where you guys look competitive. It feels like you're making steps forward. I know it's a very different racetrack, but you've had a week or so to make some more improvements. What can we expect around here? Yeah, that second stint, I think, was very, very promising and showed a lot of signs of progress. Unfortunately, we lost a little bit too much ground to the Williams and stuff. But overall, I think it was a solid progress and solid race weekend in very difficult conditions with the sprint event. And here it's going to be very, very tricky, depending on what we get in terms of wings. It's all going to be down to the drag. So, yeah, let's see what we are able to get here.