Part 1: Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and George Russell

Liam, please, why don't we start with you? Different colours for you this weekend. What's your overriding feeling about the swap with Yuki, and where do you go from here?
Liam Lawson: Yeah, I think obviously an opportunity this weekend and maybe something I wasn't expecting so early, but something that obviously is not my decision. And for me it's about making the most of this opportunity now. And obviously still being in Formula 1, I still have that. So yeah, it's been a good week of preparations, so I'm excited to get going.

Tell us about the preps. Have you been on the simulator? Have you driven the Racing Bulls car on the simulator?
LL: Yes, we've done simulator and it's all been OK. Obviously, you don't truly know until you drive the car. So going out tomorrow will be the first proper test and for sure it'll probably take a session or two to adjust again. But you know, we have three practice sessions here, so yeah, I'll be making the most of that.

How much difference does it make that this is a track you've raced at before in Formula 1 for the first time this year?
LL: That was what I was obviously looking forward to from the start, to be honest - to go to a track that I've been to before just to have a proper sort of preparation. And I now have that. So yeah, it's exciting to be here. It's a track that, I mean, I think we all like as drivers. It's one of my favourite tracks to drive on, so yeah, I'm very excited.

And you had a nice warm-up yesterday in Tokyo, the show car run. Just tell us about that.
LL: Yeah, that was cool. I think it was the first time they actually had both VCARB and Red Bull drivers together. So it was nice to see the fans all come out for that. It was very cold and rainy and they all still stood out there. So that was cool to see. And yeah, driving one of the older cars as well, with the V8, was pretty cool.

Alright, good luck this weekend. Thank you, Liam. Pierre, can I bring you in on this? Can we just start by talking about 2019? You made the mid-season swap from Red Bull to Toro Rosso. What are your observations on what's happened at Red Bull with Yuki and Liam this week?
Pierre Gasly: I don't remember 2019. I mean, yeah, I wish Liam all the best. I can obviously relate to some things. I wish Yuki all the best. I think it's very difficult to judge anything from the outside. I think only Liam can know his situation and know all the details from it and you just got to respect that. We're all trying our best with the tools we have. I've got no doubts both of them are going to do really well. But yeah, it's not really for me to comment because you never really know what's going on.

So let's bring it on to the here and now with you and Alpine. You said after China that you were going to have a big debrief, look at what had gone well at the opening two races, and where you also thought there was work to do. What conclusions have you reached?
PG: I think China, objectively as a team, we slightly underperformed. We realised after the weekend that there were obviously a few things we would have done differently with hindsight. That's why I'm still confident. We've got a good package, we've got the performance to fight in the top 10. And it's really about... We're still early stage in the season, we're still learning about the car and how to extract everything from it. So it's good we've got three races coming up at different tracks and I'm excited to go racing.

You say you're still learning about the car. How much of a step forward is it compared to last year?
PG: It is a step forward. Now, everyone made a step forward. If you look at the entire grid, it's extremely tight. So I think it comes down to fine tuning the car to every track. Within two-tenths, you probably have six or seven positions at the moment. Unfortunately, we didn't do good enough in China, but we know the reasons why. That's why I'm fully confident we'll be in the mix for the coming three races.

Alright, good luck to you as well. Thank you. George, let's come on to you now. A really impressive start for you and Mercedes so far this year - podiums, you had the front-row start last time out as well. What is possible with this year's car, do you think? How much is possible?
George Russell: Yeah, I mean obviously the first two races have been great - two podiums - and we couldn't really have hoped for much more. I think we also have to be realistic. We are only two races into a long season and I don't think probably Ferrari and maybe Red Bull have maximised their potential as yet. So we don't want to get carried away thinking this is possible week in, week out. But we definitely know that if we do the best job to our own abilities, we'll be there in the mix.

Has the pace of the car surprised you so far?
GR: Yeah, I think it has. We know in qualifying we've always been pretty strong. But I think it was quite refreshing in China to see that our race pace was also pretty decent and we were the second fastest team in China. There were a lot of positives to take away. We go to Japan, which was probably one of our worst races last year, so it'll be quite an interesting test to see if we've improved the car compared to this time 12 months ago.

Just final one from me, Toto was very positive about your performance in China. How much of a shot in the arm is it for you to know that the boss has got your back?
GR: Yeah, I mean, I know he's always got my back to be honest. People like to say things publicly. I don't read what is said in the press or on social media. So for me, I only found out about this this morning when somebody told me. Of course, it's good to hear, but I know that he's always supported me, had my back and believes in me. And that's the most important - what is happening internally rather than what is shown to the world. I know that I've got everybody's support. We're in this all together. We're all fighting for the same common goal and it's an exciting moment for us.

Questions From The Floor

(Craig Slater - Sky Sports F1) A question for George - clearly, obviously, there are some contract negotiations you need to embark on at some point. If the season turns out as you'd wish, with maybe a title challenge, would it be a good idea to try and get that done sooner rather than later so it doesn't get in the way?
GR: From my side, there's no stress whatsoever regarding a contract. Ultimately, contracts are in place in Formula 1 and things change very quickly. I believe in myself. You have to perform and it's pretty much as simple as that. And when it comes down to contract discussions, I think with us in the past, with Toto, it's taken no more than 24 hours to have the conversation, and then it goes to the lawyers and we get something in place. So, there is no rush from my side, there's no concerns, there's no pressure. I'm enjoying where I'm at in the sport right now and enjoying my performance and just enjoying going racing. That's the main priority right now.

(Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sports, Italy) Liam, do you expect you will immediately find the same good feeling you had already with the Racing Bulls car?
LL: I won't truly know until I drive. I think we all feel good. I feel confident. And I don't think too much has changed since last year. So yeah, I think the ingredients are there. And obviously the main thing is coming here at a track that I've driven as well. Hopefully, I slot right in and feel comfortable, but I think we'll find out tomorrow.

(Tomas Slafer - DAZN, Spain). Question for Liam as well. You mentioned that you were not expecting the call all this so soon. Was it actually a call? Did you know this decision in China already, or was it something in between races?
LL: No, I had no idea in China. It was something that was decided, I guess, the Monday or Tuesday afterwards. I found out after China basically. So yeah, it was, I think for all of us, probably more unexpected. But it was after the weekend.

(Mariana Becker - TV Bandeirantes) Liam, things have been twisted and turned so many times here, and sometimes completely unexpected. Like a year ago, probably Yuki was feeling this way - like "I was not the chosen one" - and then things turned around. For the future, do you think you can expect maybe, if you have a very good year, to have this change again? Like going back to Red Bull or turning the table?
LL: I think we know how Formula One is and how quickly things change. I mean, if I look back a year ago, I had no seat. I was here a year ago watching and wishing I was racing. Then I had the opportunity to race at the end of last year and the opportunity then to go to VCARB. So a lot has happened in 12 months. For me, the main thing is being in a car. I have the opportunity to prove why I belong here and that's what I'll try and do, and that's what I do every single time I get in the car. That's what I'll be doing this weekend. I think things change very, very quickly and where my future is, I don't know. The only way I can control that is by driving fast.

(Margot Laffite - Canal+) Question for Liam. Can you talk us through the way the situation was presented to you? Was it like a done deal, or was it explained, justified?
LL: It was more of a done deal, I would say. I left China, started preparations for Japan, and basically I had a phone call saying that this was what was going to happen. So, yeah.

(Mara Sangiorgio - Sky Sports, Italia) Question to George. When people talk about the title, your name is often not there. Do you feel like you are not taken into consideration as you should be?
GR: Ultimately, from my side, I'm just going in every single weekend trying to perform to the maximum. These last three years as well, alongside Lewis - his name was always there with championships because he's the GOAT. But the last three years, neither of our names were there because we weren't in the position to fight. Look, this season it's been a great start to the year. I don't think we could have achieved a better result than we expected, and I hope we can continue this sort of run of consistency. But we know realistically the McLarens are exceptionally strong, and I think it's going to be challenging for anybody else to compete with them. But you know, we saw last year how dominant Red Bull were, and suddenly they weren't at the end of the season. So yeah, things change quickly.