Today's press conference with Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.

Both world titles are up for grabs this weekend and that's the Constructors' trophy sitting between you. We can all feel the tension in the paddock, but what's the mood in your respective garages?
Christian Horner: I think the mood is one of excitement. Who would have thought coming into this season that we would be here with an outside shot of going for this trophy. But to be tied on points with Lewis, it's been an amazing journey. It has been an amazing championship. We have won 10 races. The nine Max has won has matched all the previous victories in the previous seasons he has been involved in the sport. I think the way we have fought, the way we have pushed in this campaign, nobody has come close to challenging this team [Mercedes] in the last eight years. Here we are at the final race and we're in with a shot. A long shot in the Constructors' and an equal opportunity in the Drivers', so I think there is a real feeling of excitement. I think there is a real feeling of enjoyment. It's been intense, it's been frustrating on occasions. You know, we have pushed the limits, we have pushed each other and we have pushed our competitors and here we are at the final race for the showdown, and it almost feels a bit like Squid Game that we've finished up here with everybody on equal points. But I think it is going to make compelling viewing on Sunday. Just as a team we are incredibly proud of what we have done this year. We are proud of the way we have raced. And we are particularly proud of Max. As a 24-year-old young man to drive under scrutiny, the pressure, the intensity that he has had has been quite simply outstanding. To go up against a 36-year-old seven-time world champion, the mental strength that he has demonstrated this in a sport, in a world where we see the scrutiny that there is has been outstanding and we are incredibly proud of everything he has done and that he is standing here at this race tied with statistically the best driver of all time, so it's been an amazing journey and everybody in our team is certainly embracing this challenge, embracing this fight and win or lose or Sunday it's been an amazing journey.

Toto Wolff: Yeah, also for us it's exciting because both teams had their fair share of luck and bad luck and from where we sit is that team and driver both merit to win. The journey so far, like Christian said, very happy at times, exuberant, and very frustrating in different moments and to find each other here competing with equal points in the Drivers' Championship is not only good for the spectators but also for us. It has pushed us to new limits. They have done a formidable job this year and that's why it's all in for this Sunday and whoever wins deserves to win.

Staying with you Toto, the gap in the Constructors' table is now 28 points. How confident are you of picking up that trophy on your left next week?
TW: Statistically that is a very strong advantage we have, but you can see how quickly it goes. We were just five points ahead and then Checo was involved in that crash and scored no points and suddenly it swings massively. So there still can be events on Sunday when that could swing in the other direction. I just hope we are all in for this fight, the four drivers and that we can maintain the gap and even increase it, because that would mean maybe that if it's down to Lewis that we have won the championship.

Christian can we get your thoughts on the challenge ahead with regard to the Constructors' Championship?
CH: The Constructors' is a long shot. I think the DNF for Sergio last week was brutal for that championship. Something would have to go significantly wrong for Mercedes not to pick up that championship but you know, it's the last race. There's so much at stake and anything can happen. Anything can happen. You can never give up. We learned that back in 2010 when we came here fighting for our first world championship, that Sebastian Vettel came here with an outside chance and came away with the Drivers' trophy. It just demonstrates that if you never give up, you keep pushing, anything can happen.

Christian, if the Constructors' title seems a tall order, you're still technically in the lead of the Drivers' on countback. What have you been saying to Max?
CH: We've obviously talked about the weekend and the most important thing is for him to enjoy this weekend. For him to give his best, to drive exactly as he has in the previous 21 races, to attack the weekend in the way that he has, that has given him those nine victories, that has taken him to this point of being tied on points with Lewis. I think he has to enjoy it. I think that he has driven phenomenally well. I think since the summer break we haven't had the strongest car and I think it is Max who has kept us in this championship. It's the way he has extracted performances. You only have to think of the first turn in Mexico, the Austin Grand Prix as two recent examples of where he has driven out of his skin to keep us in this fight. I think the biggest thing for him to just go for it, just enjoy it. Obviously for us the target is that we have to beat Lewis. And to beat Lewis we have to win the race, because on normal statistics I can't see anybody else being in that position, so the only chance we have to win this championship is to beat Lewis on the track. We want to do that as we have done on at least nine previous occasions with Max so far this year.

Toto, same question to you really, what have you been saying to Lewis?
TW: I think there was an overall discussion on where we are as a team and after Brazil the easiness that we have rediscovered in the team and we all agreed that this is why we are here: close competition, fierce fighting for bot championships. And Lewis is one of the protagonists in the team to install and instil this kind of mindset. I see him and Valtteri in a way as a kind of pillar, playing their role, concentrating on their job, not being distracted by any noise and that's why he is a leader with the great support of everybody and of course Valtteri.

It has been a totally enthralling and occasionally explosive season and you two have had your moments when emotions have run high. What do you have to say to each other now that is down to the wire?
TW: Good luck, and may the best man and the best team win.

CH: Exactly. Exactly that. It's been an intense competition. It's been intense between the two of us. It will be intense next year and the year after. But we have got two great teams. We are separated about 15 miles back in the UK and I think that the commitment that has gone in has been phenomenal. I can't speak for Toto's team but our team has been outstanding this year, through the whole pandemic, through all the challenges, the triple-headers, everything that we have had thrown at us, they have been outstanding. So, yeah, if you would slow down a bit, it would certainly help!

Questions From The Floor

(Jerome Pugmire - AP) Toto, how does this compare to the last race in 2016 in terms of tension, because obviously the tension was very high then between Nico and Lewis. How does that compare, for you, and also do you sense that Lewis is more tense now or less tense than in 2016 for the last race?
TW: Your place looks pretty cold! It's very different. I would say that the intensity of the situation was maybe more in 2016 because if you have a rivalry and a fight within the team, trying to manage the two sides of the garage and obviously not being one-sided but keeping everything transparent was very, very difficult. Also, for me, I was still very much in my junior year, so I don't want to go back to the difficulties of that relationship or that situation there. There are many things I would do differently today and this one is just a fierce fight between teams and drivers that have done a really great job, but sometimes in the races the two or three drivers in the lead we were 45 seconds up the road, like being almost the whole field and this shouldn't sound arrogant in any way but it shows the push all of us have done in order to win this. It's probably a level that certainly in my years at Mercedes is unprecedented.

(Abhishek Takle - Midday) To both, you have obviously shaken hands now but during the season the war of words between the two of you was very barbed and at times even ugly. Why do you think that? Do you think somewhere a little bit of respect went out of it in the intensity of the situation?
CH: I think we are competing for two of the biggest trophies in sport and of course the competition is intense. I think as characters we are obviously quite different but we share the same intensity, the same competitiveness. I will defend my team, I will defend my driver, both drivers, to the hilt. That's what you do. That's who you represent. That's who you look to protect and you know yes, there has been competition on track, off track, and it has been pushing the boundaries. Tot has done the same from his side and yeah, it has got heated and I think that's sport. It would be for me very artificial to sit here or throughout the season and be all smiles with your biggest competitor. For me, I can't do that, because that wouldn't be being true or being honest. So, of course emotions boil over. We are in a competitive sport. That's Formula 1. It shows the intensity of the competition, the intensity between the teams. It's given you guys something to write about. I think it has just been honest more than anything and for me it would be totally fake for me to sit here and say how much we love each other and that we are going to go on holiday after this weekend. Because, I'm not going on holiday with you after this weekend by the way!

TW: I don't know if it would be so much fun. I would agree with Christian. I think there is mutual respect for the job that the other team has done. They wouldn't be where they are, competing for these championships all along, but it is just too intense. I stand for the team and the interests of the team and that can be fierce at times because it's not only the derivers battling on track. It's a fight for an advantage in the regulations and obviously we have also certain bias that comes from different perspectives and different perceptions. I can understand that rationally but if things go against the team or against the two drivers I can get quite emotional in the moment and Christian has his own way of dealing with it. As he said, very different personalities. But it is just the fight for this trophy, one of the most important prizes in sport. It's a world championship and that's why you cannot expect a lot of schmoozing between drivers, team principals and all the teams.

Check out our Friday gallery from Yas Marina, here.