🚨 | Lewis Hamilton: “What gives me confidence is, you know, coming into this weekend, the simulator said that we should start in a much different place with the setup."
"My engineers and I decided to stay in the direction that we would normally go. Charles started where the simulator said to go, but then ended up moving in my direction."
"Ultimately, my philosophy and the direction I was taking were the right ones, and it’s good to see that the direction I’ve been pushing for is paying off."
🎙️| Charles Leclerc: “Obviously there’s a lot of negativity around me in general, with narratives being created, and it’s never a nice environment to work in.” “But to keep our heads down, keep working very hard and get the result that we got today.”
🚨 | Fred Vasseur: "Above all, I'm happy for Charles because, as I've already said, he received a lot of criticism.” “He knew the team was behind him, and we knew he would keep pushing."
"We have enormous confidence in Charles, and today I'm more than happy to see him standing on the top step of the podium."
GHOST 👻 CAR The battle for pole between Charles and Kimi was very tight! 🤏
🚨 Lewis Hamilton: “I'm happy to be up here.” “Both these guys did a good job today, and yeah, we just didn't have the pace of the Mercedes but we are slowly closing the gap and to have both cars up here is good for the team.”
“To have both of us here, as hopefully we can play with the strategy and work as a team.”
🚨Charles Leclerc: “Today is probably the first time where I’ve had that feeling back.” “I’m happy with that P2. I wish I was on pole, but Kimi did an incredible lap and he deserves it.”
🚨 | Charles Leclerc: "I know I’m not at my maximum. I’m working a lot, and I think we’re heading in the right direction. I have an idea to change something that’s quite philosophical."
"It’s a pretty big change that I’m going to make for qualifying, but I’m quite confident that it can go in the right direction. If that’s the case, I think it’s something we can bring to all circuits. So I continue to work. It takes time, but I’m working flat out."
🚨 | Lewis Hamilton: “Yeah, a big thank you to everyone that is here, the crowd is crazy. Tough to keep the Mercedes behind, and with it being so windy today, he came flying past.” “I was pushing as hard as I could, I gave it absolutely everything.”
“Mercedes are particularly quick up to Turn 6, so I had to use the boost there. Once [Antonelli] got the Overtake Mode, I couldn't hold him back. I knew he was coming.”
🚨 | Lewis Hamilton: “Yesterday they almost scared me. They were telling me we’d lose 0.6 on the straights compared to everyone else. In the last race, in Austria, we were 0.4 slower on the straights, but today suddenly we were right there.”
“I kept wondering whether it was real or if the others would turn up the engine in qualifying, but we were genuinely fighting with them.”