Part 1: Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Q: Ollie, can we start with you, because this race marks the anniversary of your Formula 1 debut with Ferrari. It's been a crazy ride for you since then. Just how do you reflect on the last 12 months?
Oliver Bearman: Yeah, that was a crazy weekend one year ago. I just hope that physically I'm a bit stronger than I was 12 months ago because it was a really tough race. But of course, to come back one year on is a very special feeling and, you know, I always love driving this track. It's my third time here and always had decent performances, actually. And then of course, to have my debut as well - it means the track will always be quite special to me, so I'm really happy to be back.

Q: Ollie, what is it about this track that ensures you go well?
OB: Well, I'm not speaking ahead of time, but in F2 it went pretty well for us. I think we had a really good car here. In F1 it wasn't as good, but still, it was a debut which was amazing. And the track is really cool. It's really high grip, which is always fun for us as drivers. And the walls are close, which is always interesting. It's a really high-speed, high-commitment track - just a fun one to drive. I think it's a highlight for a lot of us during the season.

Q: Now you've shown great consistency: three points finishes in the last three races. Just give us an overview of how you feel it's going this year for you.
OB: Yeah, I'm quite happy with how it's going. Of course, the race in Bahrain was a mixed bag. Qualifying was very poor, but we got a bit of fortune in the race with the safety car to maximise and score a point, which was great. The other two races, we really deserved to be up there and scored some good points. And we've had two races now with both cars in the points, which is pretty good. Australia was really difficult, but we turned it around quickly and brought a small upgrade to the car, which allowed us to run it more in the window we want to. Now we're able to extract a lot of performance out of it, which is nice.

Q: A lot of performance. So what is possible this weekend?
OB: Who knows? We came to Suzuka not expecting much because of the nature of the track and we were in Q3 and scored points. Bahrain - I wasn't really sure what we could achieve because we hadn't done much low fuel there. But without Esteban's problem, I think he could have been in Q3. I'm still thinking of Australia a little bit in the back of my mind, but I know that we can have a good weekend. So let's see how it goes - yeah, no predictions.

Q: Thank you, Ollie. Let's come to Alex. Big picture stuff, first of all. Haas have snuck ahead of Williams in the Constructors' Championship. Just how do you see the lay of the land in the midfield at the moment?
Alex Albon: Yeah, it was interesting. I don't think after Melbourne we would have ever said that Haas were going to be in the mix and then they came back very strongly. So it seems like they've obviously designed their car and focused on their race car quite a lot, and it seems to be paying off for them. I think in many ways last week we got a little bit unlucky with the Safety Car. I think we were on for a good points finish. But that's it - it's so close now. As a team, we can reflect on the first four races: we've been very consistent. The gap to P1 has always been very similar. I think the other midfield teams are a little bit peakier. They can score good points, but not every time. I think for us, realistically, we should have had four points finishes in four races. So let's see. We're just going to keep doing our job and hoping that we can just do everything a little bit better than the rest.

Q: Alex, how much personal satisfaction are you taking from this season? As you say, 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' - but four points finishes in a row was possible. It feels very different to any of your previous seasons in Formula 1.
AA: Honestly, yeah, it's been a really strong start to the season for us. We felt good in the car from the first lap we drove in the shakedown at Silverstone. It's given us a good feeling. It's much more enjoyable to drive and honestly I'm just enjoying the racing up there. I feel like that midfield pack has become so tight. In Bahrain, in Q1, we just didn't get things optimal and that's it - you're out straight away. There's a lot of pressure on every lap that you do in the midfield right now and that's exciting. It feels like every race you go in not knowing where you're going to come out. It's been the most enjoyable season of Formula 1 for me so far.

Q: There's another variable this year. Pirelli have gone one step softer on the compounds. Do you expect that to cause any issues?
AA: It will be interesting. I think they are soft and we've seen in the past that sometimes the very soft tyres are a little bit different in the way that they feel in high-speed corners. This weekend is definitely a high-speed track, so it will be interesting to know how we can get the C5s working. I think, as has been every weekend so far, the tyres are very sensitive. If you can get them in the right window, it's the difference-maker. All the cars in the midfield are so close together that if you're in that right window, that's Q3.

Q: Thank you very much, Alex. Gabriel, let's come to you now. First of all, what are your predictions as to how it's going to feel to drive this racetrack? You're going to be going 14 seconds a lap faster than you were in F2. What does it feel like on the sim at least?
Gabriel Bortoleto: Well, it feels absolutely crazy fast. So, yeah, definitely very different approaches as well on driving technique compared to F2. Probably one of the tracks where you're going to have the most difference on the way you drive compared to Formula 2 - especially in the first sector with the high speeds. So, very interesting. I'm looking forward to trying it. If there's something fun about this Formula 1, it's the high speed that we go. So yeah, looking forward to it.

Q: You come here on the back of a slightly difficult weekend in Bahrain. What were the take-home messages for you from the last race?
GB: Yeah, it was a tough weekend, definitely in the race. I got a bit stuck behind Stroll in the last stint after the Safety Car and couldn't get past, even if I felt that I had more pace. Just super difficult. But yeah, just another race weekend. It's just the beginning of my season. There's a lot of things we took as learning from my side and from the team side as well. Now we try to apply everything here.

Q: Both you and Nico Hülkenberg have spoken about the difficulties of passing cars, even if you feel you have more pace. Just describe what happens when you're driving in dirty air.
GB: Well, again, I've never driven any other Formula 1 car that is not a Sauber in a race. Definitely dirty air is for everyone, but we seem to struggle quite a lot to overtake. When we get too close to people, it just feels like you lose a lot of aerodynamics and downforce. It's tough. Sometimes we feel we have the pace - maybe not to score points yet - but at least better than the guys we are around. Then as soon as we get close, we just lose quite a lot of grip. It's been quite tough to overtake, to even get to a position where you can dive on someone. Last weekend, I was not even in that situation. Just a shame, because I want to be fighting for overtakes and positions and so far this year it's been very tough not being able to do that. Most of the time it's an undercut during the pit stop or trying to stay out a bit longer to try something different - but not really an overtake on track.

Questions From The Floor

Q: (David Croft - Sky Sports F1) Question for Gabrielle. Last in the championship, average starting position 17.3 I think it is - but you're a better driver than that, and your previous two seasons have proved it. How are you coping with having a season that is so different to your last couple of seasons? And what experience have you got to help you cope with differing positions on track to what you've been used to?
GB: Well, I hope in FP1 I'm like you in the question - flat out! It's not easy, if I'm honest. It's not easy. You come from two championships - you're used to being in this room but actually after a race, because you win or you are on the podium. Now for us it's already a mega job if you're going to Q2 or fighting for Q3. But there's always going to be someone paying this price at the beginning. If you see George Russell at the beginning of his Formula 1 career, I don't think he scored a point in his first season, or something like this. And now he's one of the best drivers on the grid and doing such a great job. I wouldn't say fighting for the championship right now, but he's constantly on the podium or fighting for things. So it's all about having patience. There's nothing much I can do right now - just learn, try to grow as a driver in these tough moments and do a better job every race weekend. Get better, because I'm not fighting for points right now - that's the realistic situation. Not me, not Nico. Nico did a very good job in Australia with a messy race and managed to score points, but realistically in the last three or four rounds we have not been able to be there by pure pace. What we need to do now is try to point the team in the right direction with the development of the car. We saw last year with Sauber as well - they were last through the whole year basically, and I think with one or two upgrades they brought, they were back to fighting for Q3. So in this world I've learned something: everything can happen. So we cannot give up.

Q: (Mariana Becker - TV Bandeirantes) Gabriel, you just explained how tough it is for you mentally to keep on wanting and fighting even with the limitations of your car. Is there someone who gives you those tips, because you haven't been in a situation like that before, and several more experienced drivers have. Is there someone who talks to you, or even if it's not a driver, someone who tells you that you have to be patient? And the second question is: do you have any differences on the car here that would give you hope to have a better position or understanding of the car?
GB: Well, answering your first question, I don't speak with anyone outside of motorsport - just my family. And with some drivers I do speak, and some of them have been through what I'm going through right now - tough seasons, not scoring points or struggling to do that. You just need to have patience. But it's not news for me. It's not that I came to this season expecting to be fighting for podiums or points every race. I knew what I was going to go through, and I just needed to be strong and keep it up. The team has been very clear with me since the beginning that that was our situation and we just fight for it. I know it's not nice to be in the situation we are, but it is what it is. That's life, I think. Answering your second one - no, not that I know of. No differences. Just normal. Still, we need to try to bring some good upgrades on the car, but not for this race.