Q: Andrea, perhaps we could start with you. Potentially a huge weekend for McLaren. Now, you've enjoyed a lot of success in your career - 14 world titles so far - and potentially another Constructors' Championship this weekend. Are the emotions different this weekend to 2024?
Andrea Stella: Well, first of all, let's go and win it. Like, it's not ours yet. In terms of the feeling we have at the moment in this quest for the 2025 title, yeah, they are different to last year.
Last year, the championship came as a surprise, much earlier than expected in terms of the trajectory of the team. Only in Miami we could take the first victory. Actually, it was here in Baku that we took the lead in the championship. And at the end, it was a great surprise and a great joy.
This year, we realized relatively soon that the car was very competitive, that we were in condition to win races. So it was more about keeping the concentration, keeping the focus, maximising the potential available. And also this year, we have one more dimension, which is the fact that we have also the drivers in contention for the Drivers' Championship.
Q: Where do you think the team has raised the bar in particular this year?
AS: Many aspects. Obviously, in Formula 1, you try and improve in every possible area of going racing. But I would say if I had to pick one, that is from a technical point of view. I think the car itself is just a much better car. It's very innovative compared to last year. We decided to go for development in pretty much every single part of the car. We required some bravery in some areas of the car, for instance in the front suspension and some other parts that are less visible. So for me, that's where the biggest step forward has happened. And obviously, like I said, the race team and the drivers themselves - we are all developed.
Q: Twelve wins from 16 races. You're on 617 points so far. Can you beat Red Bull's points record from 2023 - 860?
AS: Well, the record that Jonathan here and his previous team have been able to set as a benchmark is just incredible. It's remarkable. For us, this is a reference, but this is not what we think about. What we think about is one race at a time. Like we saw in Monza, things cannot be taken for granted. Red Bull was faster than us in Monza in qualifying and in the race. We had the DNF in Zandvoort on Lando's car. So before we think about the final destination, we have to make sure that we maximise at every single stage.
Q: Final one from me. Can we throw it back to Monza now? A lot has been said and written about you swapping your drivers in the closing stages. First of all, have you been surprised by the amount of noise since then?
AS: No. No surprise, really. I think noise around racing situations is natural. Formula 1 is a very popular sport. What's important for us is that comments are respectful. And when they are respectful, we welcome them, we listen, we take them into account - even if ultimately what counts for us is not the external noise, but what we make of it internally and how we set ourselves to keep going racing.
Q: And once the Constructors' Championship is in the bag, will your approach to the Drivers' title change?
AS: No. The approach to the Drivers' title will not change. This is not dependent on the Constructors'. The way we go racing is dependent on the racing principles, on the values that we embody as McLaren Racing, and also is a reflection of the fact that we want to protect the unity of the team, which is a foundational condition for the future.
Q: Jonathan, can we come to you now and throw it back to Monza to start with - just to Nico's problem that prevented him making the start? What was it, and are you confident that there won't be a repeat here in Baku?
Jonathan Wheatley: Yeah. I mean, it's always painful when you let one of your drivers down as a team. You can imagine we've looked at forensic detail at what happened. We understood very clearly the problem - very quickly, actually - and the team responded very well in terms of rectifying that. Even so, the last parts actually arrived here last night and were fitted to the car this morning. So that particular issue, I think we're on top of. And of course, core reliability is something that we're all trying to achieve. It's an ongoing journey. It's not always straightforward. These cars are incredibly complicated. The tiniest detail can make the difference.
Q: What about performance then? I mean, the car was quick in Gabi's hands in Monza - inside Q3, obviously. Does that translate then to here? Do you expect to be competitive here?
JW: I think the car's more competitive, full stop. The upgrades have been hugely positive.
And I've said before that the drivers are enjoying driving the car now. They can really push the car and get a time out of it - and consistently do that. We still have our Achilles heel from time to time. Zandvoort wasn't a great showing from us. I mean, fortunately, we got a result out of it. Monza, the car was very competitive. And here, it's such a tricky circuit. Watch the cars going through Turns 9, 10, 11, 12 and what have you. I don't think anyone's having an easy run through there. And we'll see. I think we just have a more competitive platform. Of course, our target is to try to score points at every race.
Q: Now, qualifying, specifically can we talk about Nico Hülkenberg? Because you have to go back to Canada to the last time he outqualified Bortoleto. And Nico, throughout his career, has been recognized as a one-lap specialist. Is he having a particular issue with this car, or is it just a reflection of the job that Bortoleto is doing?
JW: No. I think we have to put it in perspective. Nico's a super-fast driver over one lap and race pace - I mean, he's extraordinary. He turns up every weekend in top form. And if you actually analyse, as the team does, every single element of qualifying performance, he's had a run of a few things - self-inflicted, a few things where the car has been a bit tricky in some conditions as well. I don't think there's an underlying problem here that we need to be concerned about at all. And as with all of these things, it can turn itself around in a heartbeat. When we talk about how close it is in the midfield pack and the fight that we're in, we're often talking about a thousandth of a second or two hundredths of a second - the difference between getting through to the next period of qualifying.
And I think that's just what we're seeing. I mean, if I look across the grid, if you're fortunate to be a consistent top-10 qualifier, there's bigger gaps between the drivers there.
Q: Final one for me. Can we throw it forward now to 2026? Only six months until Melbourne next year for the first race. Can you just give us a little insight into what's going on in Hinwil and at Neuburg? And have you introduced any new processes to deal with the new regulations?
JW: Well, it's a hugely busy time for every Formula 1 team, and everyone's focus naturally turns to 2026. We are on schedule with our dyno program. The engine's been on the dyno for a while now. The focus now is on reliability because, as you say, we'll be running the car in an incredibly short period of time. It's an exciting period in the Audi F1 project, obviously mating chassis and powertrain together for the first time in December. Our simulator programme naturally starts to lean towards 2026 as well. But I think in both of those programmes, it's a little bit too early to talk about performance - which might be your next question. And of course, we won't really know any of this until the first qualifying session and the first race in Melbourne.
Q: Thank you, Jonathan. And Alan, coming to you now. Let's talk about performance with you. The car raced well in Monza last time out. How confident are you coming to Baku as a result?
Alan Permane: Very confident. We've managed to put both cars into Q3 the three races before Monza. Of course, Monza is a bit of an outlier in terms of setup and downforce level, but we had a messy Saturday. We've had a good morning this morning - both our cars in the top 10. We're fully aligned with our target of getting both into Q3 this weekend.
Q: You say you had a messy Saturday in Italy. Are you going to change anything for qualifying here in Baku?
AP: One of the things I always ask myself after every weekend is: what would you do if you went back again? And I think if we went to Monza next weekend, we definitely would do a different quali - certainly a different Q1 programme. I think here, it's a bit easier to plan your qualifying.
It's a bit of a Monaco with low downforce, so track time is invaluable. So, undoubtedly, it won't be two single push laps in Q1 - there will be multiple laps and multiple sets of tyres. So I think the circuit itself lends itself to a different plan anyway.
Check out our Friday gallery from Baku here.
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