Ayo, why don't we start with you this time? Let's talk about updates first of all. You put them on the car in Austin. Did they perform as you were expecting?

Ayo Komatsu: Yeah. As far as we can see, it was performing OK. It's not a huge difference, but in a midfield that is so tight. You know, Jonathan's doing too much of a good job, so it's very difficult to compete. So even if you find a tenth in the car, that can be the difference actually between out in Q1 and making it to Q3. There's really not much difference between P18 and then getting into Q3 in P8. So yeah. And then because it's so small, we really wanted to make sure it was a step forward. So we just put it on one car, in Austin FP1. We measured it, and it looked like it was going in the right direction.

What feedback were you getting from the drivers about car performance? Where were they feeling the difference?
AK: I think it's a balance between low speed to high speed. We always had a bit of instability in high speed and lots of understeer in low speed, which is the same for everyone. It's just a matter of degree of differences. I think we closed that up a little bit and then just a bit more overall grip. But, you know, every little step that can give confidence to the driver helps.

Can we talk drivers? And specifically, I wanted to ask you about Ollie Bearman because it seems it is so close, not just in the midfield, across the field this year. He's doing a tremendous job on Saturdays. Can you give us your thoughts on his qualifying and where you think he can still improve?
AK: I mean, he's naturally very, very quick. You can see that. You know, for us, it's a matter of building up his weekend. Because it's so tight, the margin of error is so small. Even if you put 90% of the weekend right, if you make one mistake somewhere, either in qualifying or race... like in Baku, great example. Ollie was amazingly quick FP1 to FP3 - amazing. Then Q2, he was just on the wrong side of that margin, and then he was out. And then it was very difficult to recover from that. So it's just about putting the weekend together. He's still a rookie. In terms of the speed, there's no question. It's just about nurturing that speed and peaking at the right moment - consistency. So that's what we've been working on. But then again, you know, Singapore he put it together. And then Austin had a couple of bumps, but overall, he qualified very well. And in the race, for the vast majority, it was a very strong performance. So really impressed about the progress he's making.

It's a bit of an anniversary for Ollie this weekend, isn't it? Because it's two years since he did his first ever FP1, for you here in Mexico. Just how different is the Ollie of today to the one that walked through the door two years ago?
AK: Well, he's not a teenager anymore. He was 18 when we first ran him. I remember, I just couldn't believe he was 18. You know, looking back when I was 18, I certainly couldn't behave like that.
He had such a mature head on his shoulders. He understood what the team needed, and his performance was very strong. He learned so quickly. And then for me, two years later, I think he's just hitting all the points. He's been making improvements everywhere, and he's very engaging. He's open to feedback - even the tough conversations. Again, he's a great team player as well. So yeah, in all aspects, he's making tremendous progress every race.

Final one from me. Can we talk about the Constructors' Championship? You're 11 points behind Sauber, who are in P8. Five races left. Is it realistic to think that you can overhaul these guys?
AK: I don't think I can look at five races remaining and 11 points gaps. I think everybody's been so competitive. Jonathan and his guys have done an amazing job. Nico has been super the last couple of races. And then, Bortoleto - impressive, impressive rookie. So I think it's amazing for the sport. For us, there's no point counting, "OK, five races, we need to get this point here, that point there." For us, it's really focusing on what's in front of us. Just at FP1, trying to get the best out of the drivers, best out of the car, put ourselves in the best position for FP2. Just focus on what's in front of you. The result will be the result. It will come. Whether it's good enough to move up in the Constructors' or not, we cannot control that. So we really just focus on: how can we get the best out of our drivers, best out of our cars, work as a team. So then, what will be, will be.

Good luck with that, Ayo. Thank you very much. Jonathan, can I bring you in on the Constructors' battle? How do you view the battle with Haas - or actually, are you looking further ahead? Do you think Racing Bulls in P6 are gettable?
Jonathan Wheatley: Yeah, I mean, we're taking it a race at a time, Tom. You know, Ayo taught us a lesson a few races ago. It's so close. The margins are so close. I feel like I'm always saying the same thing, but it's nip and tuck all the way down the line. And it'll come down to who makes the fewest mistakes, I think, at the end of the day. But honestly, I'm loving our racing at the moment. I'm loving coming into this competitive environment where the margins are so tight, and the calls are so close. And yeah, just enjoying the season.

Whatever happens in the Constructors' Championship, this is Sauber's most competitive season of the hybrid era in terms of points scored. Can you just reflect for a minute on your six months at the team? Where has the team improved in the time you've been there?
JW: Well, let's not forget Mattia Binotto just for a second. He's been at the team for nearly a year now, and he started putting in place what you can see appearing at the track now. Putting in the right technical management structures, transformation in the company. In many ways, my first six months, I've been playing catch up. There's a lot to do in a Formula 1 team. There's a lot to do as a team principal. But it was clear from the beginning there were some simple little things we could do in terms of changing communications, the way we arrive at some of our decision-making maybe as well. But now we're getting into the nitty gritty of how do we put the structure in place to be a truly competitive, top-flight Formula 1 team.

Looking at the evidence of FP1 here - and actually, if you look at the first practice session and the sprint quali in Austin last week as well - you're hitting the ground running at race tracks. How much confidence does that give you going forward, not only for this weekend but long-term?
JW: Well, first of all, what a tremendous job all those young drivers did this morning. No red flags, no yellow flags - or just one yellow flag. It was fantastic to see that new talent on the track today, which probably flattered our finishing position, ultimately, in that session. But we had a relatively clean session with Nico all the way through. He had a slight crash helmet issue, so we changed his crash helmet at one point. We were battling a few electronic issues. I think all the teams had some issues with some kind of information, especially the driver information on gaps on the track. But yeah, it was clean with Nico and with Gabriel. He didn't really get a clean lap in all session. His first time here again, like it is so many times for these young drivers, for him in particular. But he had a pretty solid performance. We need to understand all these tyres. We need to understand what we can race on Sunday.

Last one from me. Nico struggled a little bit in qualifying this year. What happened in Austin to allow him to unleash that performance?
JW: Well, everyone's talking about him never having a podium before this year - and he's done that now. And I never felt for a second it was anything to focus on. Nico's an incredibly talented driver, very fast. And I think from the moment he sat in the car in P1, he had his eye in. You know? But for a gust of wind, we'd have qualified higher up in qualifying. And without the incident at Turn 1, I think we'd probably have had some points maybe out of the sprint as well. So it's just great to see him absolutely in his element and just driving the car as naturally as he does.

Jonathan, thank you for that. Fred, let's come to you now. Let's continue the driver chat. Antonio Fuoco became the first Italian since 2009 to drive a Ferrari at a Grand Prix weekend. A huge moment for him. How was his session?
Fred Vasseur: Oh, he did a good job. It's always a tricky one for the young drivers because in F1 we are a bit schizophrenic, we are asking them to not make mistakes, to not crash the car and at the end, we're asking them to push also. But Antonio did a very good job. He's not a proper rookie. He's one of our reference drivers on the Hypercar, he won Le Mans, and he's spending a lot of time for us in the simulator. This is the best occasion to give him time on track.

You say this is the best occasion. Just how important is it for these young drivers to get time at a Grand Prix? How is this different to just TPC testing at an empty racetrack?
FV: About TPC, by definition, it's not the car of the season. If you want to drive the car of the season and to do simulator, FP1 is the only occasion. Probably Antonio is not exactly in the same position as some other drivers today on track. He has nothing to show. He has his own programme - he's leading the championship, winning Le Mans. He's on another path now, but he's doing very well with the team. He's close to everybody. He's coming from the Ferrari Driver Academy, and he's a good product of Ferrari.

Let's talk about performance. Back on the podium last time out in Austin, after what was, it has to be said, a bit of a barren patch for the team. What did you learn in Austin that will help you here in Mexico?
FV: In Austin, we learned once again that we had a big swing of performance between Friday and Saturday. It was true for us, for Red Bull, for McLaren, for Mercedes. Some teams lost six tenths. Some teams made a step forward of two or three tenths. I think it's true everywhere on the grid today, that from one session to the other, you have big swings - mainly coming from the tyres and tyre preparation. It means we have to be spot on because it's key for the performance today.