Part One: Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso.

Q: Charles, perhaps we could start with you. Very good to see you. Now, you cut a frustrated figure after the race in Las Vegas at the weekend. What were your main frustrations?
Charles Leclerc: I don't want to go back to what happened in Vegas. Yeah, I mean, last two races of the season and we need to do absolutely everything in order to get that Constructors' Championship. That's all that matters. And whatever happened in Vegas, we discussed about it and we are all good, which is the most important thing. I had no doubts about that because we've always had a really good relationship with Carlos and we've had races where sometimes things don't go exactly the way we want, but the most important thing is that we discuss about it and we go forward. It's very clear for both of us that we just want to win the Constructors' and it's by working as a team that we'll achieve that. And I'm sure that there won't be any problems with it.

Q: Just to clarify, so you and Carlos have cleared the air since then?
CL: Exactly.

Q: Alright. Well, let's talk a little bit more about this battle in the Constructors' Championship. You are 24 points behind McLaren. There are 103 still on the table. How do you see these next two races in terms of competitiveness from your point of view?
CL: I think that realistically here, it's going to be a bit more of a difficult weekend. However, it's a Sprint weekend as well. And if we do things really right from the first few laps and the car is in the right place from the first laps in FP1, it can make a big difference and much bigger than any of the car characteristics we may have seen or anticipate for the weekend. So I think that on paper it doesn't seem like it's going to be our strongest track. However, things can still turn our way and we are super motivated to prove us wrong.

Q: Irrespective of what happens in the Constructors' Championship or indeed the Drivers' Championship, because you can still finish P2, how will you look back on the 2024 season?
CL: I think if we compare this one to the previous years, we've done a good job in maximising the points and minimising the loss in races where we have struggled as a team. And that's a really positive thing, which I think in the past wasn't necessarily the case. I think, as a team, we were a lot more vulnerable to what was happening around the team and it was making us going a bit up and down, emotionally speaking, and now we are a lot more solid. That doesn't mean that it's good enough yet because obviously, as a matter of fact, we've lost the Drivers' Championship last weekend, or even before, but we are a more solid team and we are going in the right direction. So I think it's been a positive season and we are going into the right direction.

Q: Alright. Charles, thank you for that. Pierre, let's come to you now. Disappointing end in Vegas, but let's look at the positives, that brilliant P3 on the grid. Do you and the team understand where that performance came from now?
Pierre Gasly: Yeah, it was a pretty nice qualifying. I think, overall, the last few weekends have been... We've been in a better shape since Austin. We brought some new parts, we've managed to get to Q3 the last four weekends and it seems like we found quite a nice flow. I think in Vegas we just made the best out of the conditions. It was quite tricky, street track, very cold. Got in a nice place with the car. And when we got to Q3, we had a single lap, but we really managed to put everything to it. And yeah, it put us in a great place. So it was a great achievement, especially looking back at Bahrain, first race of the year, I lined up in 20th, you know. We were absolutely nowhere. So when you look at all the evolution and development, it definitely shows we're heading in the right direction and it's definitely positive.

Q: And what about this weekend? Because it's a quick track, it's a smooth track and you qualified very well here last year. Are you coming here with a lot of confidence?
PG: Yeah, I think we can be confident. We are in the fight for sixth in the championship. We know the target. We know who we're fighting. Haas and AlphaTauri (sic) are also competitive. They've shown to be in that top ten most of the last few races. And it's going to be a tight fight, but I expect an exciting one. So I'm sure we'll be in the mix. And I'm looking forward to these last two weekends.

Q: And Pierre, you made reference there to the improvements you've made to the car since Bahrain. But can we get your thoughts on 2024 as a whole from a team perspective? Because it's been one of transition, isn't it? There's been staff movements and you're changing teammates and all these things. How do you reflect on the last 12 months as a whole?
PG: I would say it was a very disappointing start of the season. We expected it. We had a rough winter, didn't manage to get the car in the place we wanted to start in Bahrain. But once you get the tools you have at the start of the year, you've got to work your best way with it. And I must have been very impressed with the team in the way they've managed to turn things around. The understanding, spotting where [are] the limitations of the car, finding solutions to it. And I must say I'm definitely more confident than ever into going to '25 with a clear idea of where we're heading, the changes we're going to make. I definitely believe the car is going to be in a much better place to start with. And yeah, it just brings confidence to all of us. So there have been a lot of changes. I think a lot of positive changes internally, which are not very obvious from the outside. But I think we're shaping up a much better team start of '25 compared to where we were a couple of months ago.

Q: So the foundations are now in place for you to move forward?
PG: Yeah, I mean, there's still big, big work ahead. You know, like looking at the top four, it still feels like they are in a different league, especially come race day. But yeah, it will be definitely starting, hoping, to close that gap and hopefully see us able to fight more consistently in the top ten and hopefully in the top five on some occasions.

Q: OK, Pierre, thank you for that. Fernando, let's come to you. Talking of building foundations, something you said before the summer break was that you wanted to use the second half of 2024 to put the foundations in place for a better '25. Do you feel you've done that?
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it goes up and down for everybody. Difficult to be sure of that, but I think we didn't manage to improve the car much throughout the season. So we started quite strong, but we are now in a position that we're struggling to be in Q3 on some occasions. But yeah, at the same time, all those difficulties, I think, probably are teaching us a lot of lessons, which we will apply into next year's car. And that will be probably the biggest positive aspect of the second part of the year, you know, that even if we didn't succeed in putting much performance on the car, I think it's well understood what we are struggling with at the moment. So that will be applying in 2025.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about the struggles? Because you've had a pretty rough ride of it since Singapore, haven't you?
FA: Yeah, I think even before that, I think Baku and Singapore were just good Sundays, thanks to a good qualifyings on Saturday, street circuits, we maximised, I think, the opportunities there. And some of our rivals, you know, maybe didn't perform to perfection there. So, yeah, I think after the summer break, we've been struggling a little bit, but the team is still working flat out to bring upgrades. And as I said, even if not all of them, you know, succeed to race in the following weekends, I think there is a clear understanding now of where the path is into next year's car. So yeah, that's the aim.

Q: You said after the race in Vegas that you were happier with the car on the Sunday. Does that give you a little bit of confidence coming into this track, a track where you've actually gone very well at?
FA: Yeah, definitely. I think Vegas was difficult to understand the car and the low temperatures and to get the grip, the confidence, high speed. The walls are very close. But then on Sunday, already in the laps to the grid, the car felt much more alive. And on the race itself, I think we gained some positions and we were happier. So yeah, I left Vegas thinking that I want to jump in the car again. and try. So yeah, tomorrow in FP1 I will be happy.

Questions From The Floor

Q: (Roldan Rodriguez - DAZN Spain) A question to Fernando. Last week, you mentioned that nobody has been able to beat Max Verstappen in the title fight. My question is, would you, if you have the car?
FA: Well, that will be a very nice thing to try, you know, to be in a position to fight for the World Championship. At the moment, we are not in that position, and next year probably is going to be difficult. But hopefully in '26, with the new rules, we'll have a better chance to try at least. And yeah, so far Max has proven, you know, not having weak points, basically, and he has been always delivering the job on Sundays and scoring, you know, so many points when the car was good, but so many points when the car was not good as well. And that's the strength, you know, to win a championship. And yeah, you always think that if you have a chance, maybe things could be more difficult for him.

Q: (David Croft - Sky Sports F1) Charles, to move forward to the last couple of races of the season and to work as a team probably requires trust and faith in your team and your team-mate. What has been said since Vegas to give you trust and faith in your team and your team-mate?
CL: Nothing special, but at the end, I don't even need that. As I said, we have a really good relationship with Carlos. And sometimes I have overstepped the lines, and sometimes he did. And then it only requires a discussion between us two. And we look ourselves in the eye, and we know each other since a very long time now. We understand each other very, very quickly. So I have no doubts. Sometimes we need these kind of things to reset a little bit and I have no doubts that going into the last race of the season there won't be any problems or whatsoever because at the end it's in the benefit for both of us to try and win that constrictors we know that an opportunity like that doesn't happen very often and we've got to do absolutely everything on both of our side in order to try and win that. And we need each other in order to win that because it's not going to be easy. This weekend is not going to be easy. And by working as a team, we can maybe achieve that.