Sunday Team Quotes

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Sergio Perez (5th): "It wasn't a nice balance out there, it was a bit of surviving mode with the degradation we had I don't think it was an ideal weekend for us, since Friday we had struggled quite a bit with the long run and we tried different solutions and compromises for Saturday but we couldn't get a total handle on it. In the first stint the balance was super neutral, I didn't have any rear grip and we completely destroyed the rear tyres and then the second stint I completely destroyed the front tyres. It wasn't a nice balance out there, it was a bit of surviving mode with the degradation we had, and we didn't match up to Ferrari or McLaren. The grid penalty also harmed us because without that we could have ended up a lot further up. I think today was track dependent, so hopefully when we go to Japan we are back on top."

Max Verstappen (DNF, Brakes): "It's a shame as the car felt really good in the laps to the grid, but you cannot control these issues and these things happen. It is unfortunate about what happened today, but we can see so far in the data that as soon as the lights went off the right rear brake just stuck on and locked. It was basically like driving with the hand brake on so, of course, the temperature just kept on increasing and then I could see smoke appear as it had caught fire. This at the time was very confusing as the car was really weird to drive in some corners. At turn three, I braked and lost the rear end of the car; it felt weird on the rear axel, then on turn six and seven it snapped on me. The Team will investigate and we will see if there are any answers but there are some things you can't control. It's a shame as the car felt really good in the laps to the grid, but you cannot control these issues and these things happen. Of course, I am disappointed we didn't finish the race as we had a good shot at winning and the car has been improving throughout the weekend. We knew a day like could come at some point so we need to be proud that we have had a great run with nine races in a row and we can come back stronger for Suzuka."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "Really frustrating to get our first DNF in two years, a lot to understand from that race but disappointing to be leaving here with just a bit less than usual. Our first DNF since 2022 which coincidently was also here in Melbourne. It was not the race we were looking to run. Firstly with Max's car it was obviously really disappointing to have that brake issue. I think actually from the start of the Grand Prix, it felt like the brakes were locked on which obviously created an issue as it is effectively like having the handbrake on throughout the race. And then with Checo, we picked up some floor damage, he lost quite a lot of downforce from the underside of the car and we just became hard on the tyre which is very unusual for us. So yeah, really frustrating to get our first DNF in two years, a lot to understand from that race but disappointing to be leaving here with just a bit less than usual. Huge respect for Carlos though, coming back from surgery and putting in a drive like that is remarkable. It was a great performance from him and Ferrari, they took their opportunity and got the result they deserved."

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

George Russell (17th, Accident): "I'm OK after the accident fortunately. I don't really know how to explain what happened. I was half-a-second behind Fernando (Alonso) 100 metres before the corner and then suddenly he came back towards me extremely quickly. It was clear that he braked earlier than he had done on previous laps and then got back on the throttle. I wasn't expecting that, and it caught me by surprise. I hit the wall and had a dramatic few seconds after that. It was a disappointing end to a difficult race. Our pace wasn't where we wanted it to be. We showed spells of good lap times but ultimately we've got work to do to catch those ahead. We will be focused on how we can make improvements ahead of Japan in two weeks' time."

Lewis Hamilton (DNF, Engine): "My race was going OK up until the point we suffered the Power Unit failure. It's quite tough to overtake here but we had gained some positions early on with the Soft tyre. It was unfortunate that we had to retire as there was still a long way to go. I was beginning to press on, but the Power Unit just stopped. These things happen and I know we will bounce back. We will also improve the car as the season goes on. We have done so in previous years, and I am confident we will do so again. It is tough that we are not as competitive as we would like at the moment, but we will keep working hard. I am focused on doing that with the team. In the short term, I expect we will still find it difficult to challenge further up but we will see what we can do in the medium term."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal: "That was a disappointing race to end a difficult weekend. After taking a brave decision to start on the Soft tyre, Lewis had made good progress initially. Unfortunately his race came to an end shortly after. We will send the Power Unit back to Brixworth and investigate what caused the failure. For George, it was clear that Alonso braked earlier than he had on previous laps. It is now with the stewards to determine what caused that. Nobody feels positive about where we find ourselves right now, but we are focused on turning this around. It is tough to take but we will remain calm and composed. We have seen others who have shown that when you get it right, things can turn around quickly. That is what we are aiming to do."

Andrew Shovlin: "That was a very disappointing end to a tough weekend, with a significant amount of accident damage to remedy ahead of Japan in two weeks' time. We went into the race hoping to make progress forward from our grid positions: with Lewis, that involved starting on the Soft, which helped him gain positions on the opening lap, and George on the Medium. Lewis's race was cut short by a sudden and unexpected Power Unit failure; we had no warning of it and will need to investigate further when the PU returns to Brixworth. For George, he knew he had to complete two long stints on the Hard and find the right balance between pushing the tyre and stretching out its life. It was clear that we were unable to fight with the three teams in front, and he was racing for P6 after Alonso had pitted under the VSC for Lewis's retirement and gained track position. George had an opportunity to get the place back on the final stint and was clearly caught by surprise by the unexpected deceleration in front on the penultimate lap. It has been a bruising weekend for us, during which we were unable to compete on a single lap or the long runs, and we will be continuing to trawl through the data in the coming days, to see what isn't working and why we are only currently able to deliver flashes of performance from the car. It's clear that we have much to work on, to give both drivers a better tool to work with at the race weekends. We now need to get our heads down, work through the challenges one by one, and aim to deliver a stronger showing next time in Suzuka."

Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz (1st): "What a rollercoaster! I'm extremely happy! I felt good in the car right from lap 1 and after overtaking Max (Verstappen), when I was in free air, I started setting a strong pace that took me all the way to the finish line, bringing home the first win of the season. I'm also happy that George is OK after the heavy crash. The team deserves this one-two, we did a fantastic job all weekend, from FP1 to the last lap. We executed a perfect race, nailed the strategy and the mechanics were incredible delivering precise and quick pit stops every single time. Congratulations to everyone! Let's carry this momentum to Japan! Vamos!"

Charles Leclerc (2nd): "It was a really good weekend for the team. We maximised our points and left nothing on the table, bringing home a 1-2 finish and the fastest lap. Carlos did a solid job today. On my side, I had a good first stint and we managed to get ahead of Lando (Norris) during the pit stop. I struggled a bit with graining on my first set of Hards and had a stronger pace on the last stint on the second set of Hards, managing the gap to Lando. We've started out the season with three weekends in which we have made the most of our potential, which feels really good and is a testimony to all the hard work that our team has put in over the past months."

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: "Today, I want to congratulate the whole team, because everyone did a perfect job and this one-two is the reward for the amazing work which began last season and is now ongoing both at the track and back in Maranello. Of course, Carlos deserves a special mention because a little over two weeks ago he was undergoing surgery. Now it's as if that never happened and he managed to stay focussed throughout, to round off a sensational weekend. Charles also produced a solid performance because, after a less than perfect qualifying, he had to manage the tyres, but he was able to fight back thanks to the performance he got from the car. He did really well in the first and last stints and the fastest race lap he picked up right at the end confirms the progress we have made in terms of tyre management. We have been quick all weekend right from the first free practice and I think we have made a good step forward compared to where we were one year ago, when we left Melbourne having failed to score points. We were not disappointed with our results in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, nor are we getting carried away because of this one-two finish. We must continue with this approach in the coming races because that's the only way we are going to get the results we want."

McLaren Formula 1 Team

Lando Norris (3rd): "Our first podium of the season! It was a very good day for us. P3, P4 and lots of points in the championship. I think our pace was strong today, but Ferrari and Carlos did a very good job, so hats off to them. They've been fast all weekend. The car felt good, and I could manage the tyres very well today, and that was a good step. It's clear that this circuit suits us a little bit more, so we've been able to push and unlock a little bit of speed. But Ferrari and Red Bull are still one or two steps ahead of us, so we need to catch up. A big thanks to everyone in McLaren, they've been working incredibly hard. We're getting closer to our target. I wasn't expecting to be on the podium but it's nice to be back, I'm very happy and proud of our team. Hopefully, we can have many more."

Oscar Piastri (4th): "P4. A good result for us. I think the pace was good the whole way through. I struggled a little bit on the first set of Hards, I just grained them a little bit and then had a little bit of a moment. I think it was a very good day in terms of points for the team. I don't think there was too much we could have done on my side, so yeah, I'm pretty happy. So close to a podium but it will come. Lando did a great job today getting the P3. All in all, a successful week at home."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "Our first podium of the season has come with a very strong performance here in Australia. Albert Park definitely seemed to suit the MCL38 but finishing P3 and P4 also required the team to do an amazing job delivering performance and reliability, while the drivers were excellent today in how they coped with the tyres. It is a big team effort, on both sides of the world. I would like to thank all the men and women at McLaren and HPP who have worked very hard so far to consolidate and continue the positive journey that we started in 2023. I hope the team at home, and our partners, enjoy this podium as much as the trackside team. We now look ahead to our next double header starting in Japan."

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

Lance Stroll (6th): "It was a solid race today and I'm pleased to pick up a few points. I had a strong start, gaining a couple of places on the first lap, and then settled into a good rhythm. As expected, managing the tyres was the biggest challenge due to the high degradation, but I looked after them well and the team did a good job with the race strategy. We still have some more pace to find in the car, but I think we leave Australia knowing we made the most of the package we have."

Fernando Alonso (8th): "We were a little lucky with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car when Lewis [Hamilton] retired. Then I was pretty happy sat behind Checo [Perez] because I could use the DRS to pull a gap. I lost a lot of time when Charles [Leclerc] came out from the pits – but those seconds we gained proved to be gold dust at the end. In the closing laps, George caught me quickly. I knew that he was coming, then he was in DRS range for five or six laps, so I was just doing qualifying laps to stay ahead. I wanted to maximise my exit speed from Turn Six to defend against him. That's what any racing driver would do, and I didn't feel it was dangerous. It's disappointing to get a penalty from the stewards for what was hard but fair racing. Still, I'm glad that George is okay. It was not nice to see his car in the middle of the track. This wasn't the best weekend for us in terms of pace, but our race was well executed: good strategy, incredible pit-stops, great reliability. I think we probably scored more points today than our pace merited – but we'll take that."

Mike Krack, Chief Operating Officer: "A strong race in Albert Park today and we have scored 12 championship points. Full credit to both drivers, who converted our grid positions into points, making use of two very different tyre strategies. Lance has driven well all weekend and carried that form through to the chequered flag. Fernando's race benefited from the Virtual Safety Car – it was surprising to see him drop to P8 with the post-race penalty, but we have to accept the decision. This will not distract from a positive day. The calls from the pit wall were spot on and operationally the whole team has been excellent."

BWT Alpine F1 Team

Pierre Gasly (13th): "There is no satisfaction to take from today's result as finishing outside of the points is never where we intend to finish races. We made some progress, though, and we tried to maximise what we had and I'd say we did that today. I tried my best inside the car, it was a difficult race at times, but we stuck with it right to the end. We will all continue our collective hard work. We have some parts coming soon as we keep closing the gap to those ahead of us. It's been a busy week in Australia and I already look forward to racing in Suzuka, one of my favourites on the Formula 1 calendar."

Esteban Ocon (16th): "It was an unfortunate race today, as we had to make an extra stop to remove a tear-off stuck in the rear brake duct. Before the pit-stop I was running in a group with Alex [Albon] and Kevin [Magnussen], and in front of Nico [Hülkenberg]. Without that extra stop, we were probably in with a chance of scoring points looking at how the race unfolded. Today, and this weekend in general, the car felt a bit better and shows that we're making some progress. We need to take it step-by-step and keep pushing ahead of Japan, which is a race I'm really looking forward to, as it's one of my favourite tracks and the fans there make it extra special."

Bruno Famin, Team Principal: "While we did not score points in today's race, we are making progressive steps forwards. There are many areas we must improve – and will improve – as it was far from a clean race for both cars today. That said, we probably maximised the result with what we could control. We must keep closing the gap to our rivals by chipping away in improving across all areas. Both drivers continue to work collaboratively with the team, so credit to them again for their very good efforts. The next race is Japan where we intend to continue showing progress."

Williams Racing

Alexander Albon (11th): "Our early pit stops were disguising our lack of race pace today; we tried to stay in the race by pitting early and getting back track position but ultimately the pace of our competitors was too strong. Every time I tried to match the pace with the cars around me, I would grain and when I could do my own race, I was three and a half tenths off the pace. We had a lot of graining and were fighting the car everywhere, so we need to have a good look at why. With three of the top teams retiring, it's frustrating that we couldn't capitalise on this and our rivals did, but it shows our pace wasn't quick enough to still be sitting outside the points. It's been a tough weekend for us at Williams but we've pulled through quite well and really come together as a team. Everyone at the track has really dug deep so I can only thank them for their hard work and dedication and of course to Logan for being a true team player. Truthfully, I'm quite happy with my performance considering the circumstances but we're going to continue to rally as a team and hopefully come back fighting in Japan."

Logan Sargeant (Withdrawn):

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: "Having not done any meaningful high fuel running until today, we started the race on the backfoot. We knew that graining would be an issue, especially after the mandated tyre pressures were increased on Friday night, however, we didn't do enough to mitigate the issue and this left Alex stuck between front graining and rear tyre degradation. The car wasn't quick enough in race trim this weekend, which left Alex having to find the laptime by pushing the tyres, which accelerated the degradation and left us unable to fight with the cars that we should be able to race with. For this to coincide with a race with so many fast cars retiring is even more frustrating as there is no reason why, with more experience from Friday, we couldn't have been fighting Yuki for P8. It has been a difficult weekend for obvious reasons and whilst the attitude throughout the team has been very impressive, we all leave Melbourne disappointed by today's result. We will be in Japan in two weeks' time, and we look forward to tackling the very different demands of the great track in Suzuka."

Visa Cash App RB Formula One

Yuki Tsunoda (7th): "Finally, a top ten finish, the team definitely deserves it, and I'm very happy! We were very consistent throughout this weekend and the car felt good straight away, so we just had to put it all together and have a clean race to score points in this tight midfield, and we were able to achieve that today. We didn't make any mistakes and it's important for the team and me to have that confidence going into the next races. To have a clean race sounds easy, but the last two races have been frustrating for us, so finishing P8 today, after a productive restructuring, was definitely deserved. The team did a fantastic job, and I can see the team is significantly improving every race. The difference in the car between the same time in Melbourne last year and this year is impressive. The amount of work we put into that car was massive and the work definitely paid off. To be honest, the race wasn't so easy because other teams actually picked up their pace quite a bit, but I'm very happy we were able to maximise our performance and opportunity, and glad to hear that George is okay in the end. The whole weekend is a great way to go into Japan, especially with this result under the belt, and at least, I'm able to give some hope to the Japanese fans. I haven't scored any F1 points at my home Grand Prix, but the car looks good, so let's try again this year. I've been resetting myself every week and our car has been very consistent which is different compared to last year, so that's a strength. For myself, I just learn from previous races and focus on what I can do better to help the team. Now it's time for us to analyse, reset and push again in Japan!"

Daniel Ricciardo (12th): "After last night, I let go of the frustration and put it aside coming into the race. I tried to get the most out of today and there were some good stints in there. A lot of drivers pitted early like me, but starting from the back of the grid, we had to try something. I think in the first stint on the hard compound I lost a little bit of time as the graining came up pretty soon with the VSC, but the second one was definitely more competitive. I was able to drive on a low 1:21 as a lap time before we got some blue flags, so there were certainly some good and encouraging moments throughout the race. Nevertheless, I think we're still missing some things as sometimes I feel like and I'm not carrying enough speed in some corners. During the race, I marked some points that are good for gathering data and will help us continue understanding our car. Obviously, I would have loved to have a better weekend and start to the season, especially after the preparation I had coming into it. However, there's no panic, we continue keeping our eyes on the prize and working together. I feel like the car itself has not really changed from last year, it's an update but the characteristics are very similar. There's some confidence in that and I don't think we have to change everything, so we'll find something in one of the next weekends to continue the positive performance trend."

Jody Egginton, Technical Director: "After some frustrations in the first two GP's, where we showed some positive signs but did not manage to put it all together, it's very satisfying to have delivered a solid event here at Albert Park, with all of the hard work trackside, in Bicester and Faenza being rewarded with points today. Yuki has been strong all weekend here, finishing the job off with a very mature and confident drive in the race, which is very satisfying to see and something I am sure he is very happy about! Daniel's weekend has been less straightforward, but credit to him. He has got his head down and worked very hard together with his engineers to get the car more towards his liking. Although the result does not show it, there are some good signs of progress, which I expect we can start to capitalise on in the next events, with the target of getting him into the fight at the sharp end of the mid-field battle as soon as possible. Looking at the first three events, overall, I feel we are building a solid understanding of our car and are looking forward to the next phase of the season. However, with the midfield being very tight, we will be focused on making each update count and executing weekends like this one to build on this solid result."

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Valtteri Bottas (14th): "It's never great to see a good race come to nothing: it's frustrating as, until the pit stop, things were going really well. We had a good start, most importantly we had strong pace and we should have got points. It's obvious that we still have to work to solve the issues affecting us: what we have done so far has reduced the incidence a lot, but the risk is still there – as we have seen today. There's an element of bad luck there, and there's nothing the pit crew could have done differently, it's a technical issue that needs to be solved. We can still find some positives – our performance is improving, we have made a step forward with the upgrades the team has brought and we should have been in the points. We were fighting with Fernando in the opening stages, and I believe P8 or P9 would have been within reach. We keep working hard: there will be more upgrades coming soon and I think we can make an even bigger step in Japan."

Guanyu Zhou (15th): "This weekend was a difficult one. Starting from the pit lane is always tricky, and being stuck in a DRS train made it difficult for me to overtake. There were some points up for grabs for the team today, but, unfortunately, we did not manage to be up there, fighting for them. During my second pit stop, I experienced an issue, outside of my control, related to my gearbox – when I called for the gear, the car stalled which cost me plenty of time. Overall, our race pace continued to look quite strong and competitive with the teams around us. It's been a lost opportunity, but as a team, we'll continue our work to bounce back in Suzuka."

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "First of all, we need to apologise to our drivers, especially to Valtteri, who in the first part of the race showed he could match the top ten drivers and was clearly fighting for a points finish, thanks to a good start and strong pace. As we said before the race, we had implemented mitigation measures for our pit stop issue, something that has improved the situation but, as we have seen, not completely solved the problem: what happened to Valtteri is a slightly different, but linked, issue compared to what happened in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, but one for which we paid a really high price and that completely ruined Valtteri's race. We clearly lost a big opportunity to score points, as he would have been there or thereabout with Tsunoda by the end of the race. Zhou, starting from the pit lane, had a different issue as we saw problems with his gearbox throughout the race: when he came to the pits, he was unable to select the gear, before the car finally stalled. It was not the driver's fault but another frustrating circumstance that damaged our race. As a team, we need to take our responsibilities when these things happen: it's the only way we can improve. It's really tough not to score points when we had the potential to do it, as we saw we had the performance to be ahead of Haas, RB and our other direct competitors. We need to keep working hard, even harder to fix these problems. We regroup, we stay united with our drivers and our team back home in Hinwil and trackside, and together we do all we can to come back stronger in the next race."

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team

Nico Hulkenberg (9th): "The first VSC helped me and I overtook a car at each of my stops at the pit exit and that really made my race today, that together with the VSC and our teamwork – so I'm really happy. Getting P9 and P10 with one top car crashing out and Verstappen having to retire, it's still the case where if the top five teams finish, there's not much left. I feel more encouraged today that the car felt better than in qualifying yesterday, which is different from last year, but it's practical to have it this way around."

Kevin Magnussen (10th): "We got both cars in the points with great teamwork once again. The VSC didn't help me, but on the flipside, it helped Nico so we could get him back into the battle and it's fantastic to get three points here. It's very encouraging and it's a different way to go racing; last year we woke up on race day knowing it's not going to be good. Today, I woke up knowing we would have a chance to fight, and it was true. We were stronger with our race pace than qualifying, and we just need to keep working in this direction."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It was a great day with a double points finish, the first time since Austria 2022. Especially after yesterday's qualifying, I said we expected to have better race pace – but to be able to get double points is better than expected – so it just goes to show that you need to be there. You need to do everything perfect to be able to pick up those last available positions. It wasn't perfect today, so there's some things that we need to improve, but overall, I'm so happy for the team. Both drivers drove a brilliant race, and the pit stop crew, when it was critical, they delivered, they got our drivers out in front of the competition. What a great team effort, I'm very happy."