FIA Team Principals press conference – Abu Dhabi

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES: Jonathan WHEATLEY (Kick Sauber), Zak BROWN (McLaren), Laurent MEKIES (Red Bull Racing)

Q: Now, Zak, perhaps we could start with you. It's a huge weekend for both of your drivers. Have you sensed the tension go up a notch inside the garage so far?

Zak BROWN: No. It's kind of business as usual. Of course, it's not business as usual. There's a lot riding on the weekend for both our guys, but they are very relaxed. I like the mindset in which they've come in. We're trying to obviously just be business as usual and not think about what the potential outcome can be and do what we've done the first 23 races — maybe if you leave a few out — and go racing again this weekend.

Q: Well, you said a few weeks ago that you'd rather lose the World Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen than issue team orders. Sitting here now on the eve of the title decider, do you feel the same way?

ZB: Yes. In the sense of team orders, as long as both drivers have a chance to win the World Championship — which they clearly do sitting here right now — then it's business as usual. They're free to race. Obviously, we'll be practical and realistic. If, as the weekend develops, as the race develops, it becomes clear that one has a significantly better chance than the other, then we're a team that wants to win the Drivers' Championship, and we will race accordingly, to do whatever we can to get that driver in front to try and win the race. So, you know, our team orders have been around giving equal opportunity to win the championship. But if, as the race plays out, it becomes clear that both can't, then we're going to do what's in the best interest of the team and try and win the Drivers' Championship.

Q: What do you say to people who might then accuse you of doing a U-turn on the way you've gone racing so far this year?

ZB: I don't think it's a U-turn. We're going to start the weekend like we have the other 23, which is going in, giving both drivers equal opportunity. I think last year, once it became clear that Lando had the best chance to catch Max and Oscar was almost statistically out of it — in Baku — we then asked Oscar to support Lando, and it ended up being Lando who supported Oscar in that particular race, and Oscar won the race. So, we're going to use common sense. We're not going to throw away a Drivers' Championship over a sixth and seventh place, a third and a fourth place, a fifth and a sixth place if one of our drivers doesn't have the opportunity. I think everything we do, we do with the drivers so they know what the game plan is for this weekend. And, you know, kind of outside of our racing team, you're a bit damned if you do, damned if you don't. And so we're going to just stay true to our racing principles. We want to win the Constructors' — which we've done — we want to win the Drivers', and so we'll see how the race plays out.

Q: If you ask Oscar to move over on Sunday evening, are you confident that he will?

ZB: Yes. Our drivers have always complied with team wishes, just as we comply with their wishes. So, I've got no doubt either of our drivers will continue to race as they've done brilliantly — in the best interest of the team.

Q: Final one from me. Win or lose on Sunday, how will you reflect on 2025?

ZB: Awesome season. Tied Red Bull for clinching the Constructors’. Really would have been nice to break the record, but they tag teamed me — 14 wins, both drivers have seven wins, celebrated our 200th win. It's been a spectacular year. It's been probably the best year McLaren's had in, I don't know, 25, 30 years. So, I don't think you can reflect on anything other than an awesome year. Obviously, if we don't win, we'll be disappointed, but we'll reflect back on the season and it was a hell of a season.

Q: Okay. Zak, thank you for that. I'm sure there'll be more questions for you in a minute. Laurent, can we come to you now? We had Max in the press conference yesterday. He came across as incredibly relaxed. Is that what you're seeing as well?

Laurent MEKIES: He is incredibly relaxed. There is no acting there. Honestly, he has been like that… For the little that I've seen of him in the second part of the year, he has been like that in the bad moment and the positive moment. He is very much embracing the approach we have. We take it race by race. We never quite looked at the championship points. We always felt that you go to a race, you try to get the car in the right window, which is difficult enough, and in the second part of the year, if we were doing that, it meant that you would have a chance to fight for the win. And then on Sunday night, you look each other in the eyes and you know if you're doing a good job or not. And the points are just the consequence. And I guess that approach has given both Max and the team the confidence of focusing on the right things and not to feel pressure but instead to feel a privilege to be in a historical fight, in a historical comeback?

Q: How are you approaching the weekend?

LM: Exactly in the same way, really. We try to get the car in the right window. We don't get that easily on any track. Qatar has been particularly difficult. Vegas was not easy either. If we do that, it doesn't mean that Max will be on pole, or that he will win the race, but it means he will be close enough to these guys to fight for it. And then at that moment, whatever happens behind him is not in our control. So, we don't think about it.

Q: If Max were to do it, has this been his best season?

LM: It's you guys that are here to judge how historical a season is compared to the others. I think whether or not Max will win, it's probably fair to say that the world discovered an even more extraordinary Max this season, after his fourth world title. A bit because of the magnitude of the comeback. A bit because, as you say, he has been so relaxed, so well seated in the team. Embracing so much that challenge with the right spirit. A bit also because we have seen him racing elsewhere. I think it has all taken a bit of a part of our heart when we have seen him spending his free weekends being a new dad, racing with GT cars around the world. And I don't know, it's up to you guys to say if in that case, that will become the best of his titles. But for sure, in terms of whatever happens next, the scale of the comeback is something that hopefully will go in a few history books.

Q: Final one for me. Can we change tack and talk about Isack Hadjar? You announced him as Max's teammate for 2026 a few days ago. What are your expectations from him?

LM: Isack has had an unbelievable first season. There is no doubt that in terms of starting point — so where he started in January — the starting point was outstanding. Then we are strong believers not only in the raw talent, but also the ability of the drivers to develop. We have seen so many champions developing through the years, doing things that they had not done in the car a few races before. We've seen that with Isack this year too. We’ve seen him making stuff in the car that he was not doing three races before. So, to answer your question, we expect — we would like him to continue onto that path. We don't see it as a landing point. We see it as another start for him to continue to develop, to continue to impress us, to continue to surprise us. And you will expect that in the second year. You will expect that in the third year, perhaps in the fourth year. So that's a little bit the journey for us together.

Q: Thank you. Jonathan, let's come to you now. Can we start by talking about Max Verstappen? You have insider knowledge of him from your time at Red Bull. What makes him such a potent force in a situation like this, in a title showdown?

Jonathan WHEATLEY: I think it's not his first rodeo. He's been here before. He has a coolness and a calm — which Laurent's talking about — and I think that permeates through the team. If everyone in the team seems calm, starting with the driver — I’m sure you've got the same situation as well, Zak, in your team — then the team gains confidence from it. To be in this situation is what we dream of. I'm loving the situation that two friends of mine are finding themselves in this year, because you can work your entire life to be in this situation. And the great thing with Max is he's been here before.

Q: Well, can we talk about when he was here before in 2021, against Lewis Hamilton? How did he deal with the pressure then?

JW: Yeah. I think it was a different Max then. There was a hunger about him. That whole season, there was a frisson of energy about the whole season. There was everything that you'd want in a Formula 1 championship — great rivalries, on-track clashes, and what have you. It came to a crescendo here, which I think… We’re looking at another crescendo on Sunday. So excited. I think for the sport, it’s such a great new story to have three great drivers in contention for a Drivers' World Championship, and I hope I can have a bit of time to enjoy that as well as our own race on Sunday.

Q: Well, let's talk about your own race. Let's bring this back to Sauber. Every team wants to end the season on a high. What does that look like for you this weekend?

JW: Well, there's a couple of things. First of all, I feel tremendously proud to be part of the Sauber journey. I was there the first time they ran a car in testing in Barcelona, and I was there for the first race in Kyalami, where they actually finished fifth in the first race. Since then, 617 races. We have Peter Sauber with us this weekend. Peter and I get on brilliantly. To be able to show our respect for Peter as a team — and, of course, what we want to do is sign off on this incredible journey in Formula 1 for the Sauber name by making him as proud as we can on Sunday and putting to bed, respectfully, the Sauber legacy as we move forward into becoming the Audi F1 Team.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes – RacingNews365.com) Question for you, Zak. You mentioned earlier that it has been an awesome season, and you detailed the many reasons why. But surely, if one of your drivers does not win the world title on Sunday, that part of it in isolation will be seen as failure, bearing in mind both have won seven Grands Prix this season, and one or the other has led the Drivers' Championship since the start of the season?

ZB: Yeah. Clearly, it'll be a disappointment, but Max is not an easy four-time World Champion to knock off his perch. He's won seven races, eight races? Seven races. So, it's not like he's won two. He's had equally as competitive a racing season. You've got three drivers fighting for the championship that have all had spectacular years.

Q: (Scott Mitchell-Malm – The Race) A question for Zak as well. The potential for distraction for the drivers or noise has obviously never been greater because it is the title showdown, and the allegations of bias or favouritism that you've had to deal with at times over the last few months in particular seem to be stronger and louder than ever. How do you feel about those? Have you seen what's been claimed this week, and what's your thought on how that's gone down?

ZB: All that's really important to us is how the team operates and works together and works with our drivers, so we block it all out. I have seen it. Some of the comments that you see are very uninformed but it's sport, it's emotional, people are entitled to their opinions, and I can't go around correcting everyone's views. But you do see some nonsense out there.

Q: (Jon Noble – The Race) Another one to Zak. The ‘Papaya Rules’ have obviously been a big talking point all season. It’s put you on the receiving end of some criticism. Has the pain been worth it? Are you comfortable with all the decisions, including Monza, that were made? And over the winter, is there something you need to talk and review and discuss going forward, or are you absolutely committed that this is the way McLaren runs F1, full stop?

ZB: Oh, we're definitely committed to giving both drivers equal opportunity to win the World Championship. I think you're always… Even when you win, on Monday, you talk about what you could have done differently or better. So we're constantly evolving as a racing team. But the fundamentals of having two drivers that would give equal opportunity to win, that won't change.

Do we look back and have lots of learnings? I remember when we finished first and second in Spain, our debrief on Monday was about eight things that were close calls that we could have done better. I think that’s the nature of a Formula 1 team — to always evaluate and go, “What could we have done differently, what could we have done better?” I think in sport you're going to win some, you're going to lose some. Of course, when you've made mistakes, you wish you hadn't, but that's just not realistic. I've yet to see any person or team in any sport have the perfect season. So, we're no different than that. But fundamentally, the way we go racing — that won’t change.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Laurent, just picking up on your comments about Max. So for him to go into this weekend — having worked his way back in — he's very relaxed. He said there's nothing to lose. But Zak likened him to a bad guy in a horror movie that just keeps coming back time after time. To have someone who's just so potent and won't miss a beat — is that a psychological edge you think that he's got going into this weekend? And if Jonathan wants to weigh in on that as well, then more than welcome.

LM: Not sure about the horror movie, but that was a cool…

ZB: He’s ‘Chucky’ now. I traded notes with him and called him Chucky. I like it!

LM: Look — this guy never gets it wrong, you know. Max just never does a mistake. I say that like, you know, he keeps surprising us every day. You throw him out there, sometimes the car is great, sometimes it's a touch less great, something like we would hope so, and he doesn't miss a start, he doesn't miss tyre management, he doesn't miss an overtaking. He is just the way he is. And as Jonathan touched on earlier, it is true that it gives a lot of confidence to the whole team. It is true that it fits so well with the general approach this team has on how you go racing — taking maximum risk, accepting the pain when the risk goes over the edge. If you think back to the 2,000 people in Milton Keynes that have been doing the magic in the shadows, trying to get that car back to life in the second part of the year — obviously, that creates a great connection, and yes, it gives great confidence.

JW: I mean, honestly, I don't think I can... Laurent summed it up very eloquently.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Zak, there's a bit of a narrative that perhaps McLaren are running scared of Max, that Lando's running a bit scared of Max, and that he's in your heads. Just your response to that — do you think that is the case?

ZB: No. Max is an awesome driver. Four-time World Champion. Arguably, definitely, one of the greatest ever. It's awesome racing against Max. It's awesome racing against Red Bull. It's one of the best teams ever. So, to be sitting here in the final race with two drivers — it's awesome. It's sport. We enjoy it. It’s kind of like our Game Seven – I'm a baseball guy, so forgive me for that. But this is what we dream of. As Jonathan said, to be sitting here racing against an awesome team like Red Bull, an awesome racing driver like Max, going down to the last race, it's mega exciting.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) First part of the question for you, Zak. Talking about team tactics — could this also include a situation where Oscar has to back up Max in the race? And then for you, following up, Laurent: is there any situation you can imagine where Yuki can play a part in the championship fight to help Max?

ZB: I mean, we're going to race cleanly. Obviously, strategy comes into play, but I like everyone on the Formula 1 grid, and I think we're here to race hard, race clean. So that's exactly what I expect — how the race will play out. We all have multiple cars, etcetera, so you'll be smart and strategic, but I think it'll be a very healthy battle to the finish.

LM: Completely agree with Zak. I think it's even quite refreshing to see that we're not even discussing whether we are going to race cleanly or not. It’s a given that the guys out there will race cleanly. Do we need a strong Yuki to put as many cars between Max and the rest of the group if we are strong enough to lead with Max? Yes. So, we need a strong Yuki. We need a strong Mercedes. We need a strong Ferrari. We need a strong everything. But as Zak said, it's going to be, I'm sure, a fantastic fight, and it will keep us all very awake until the last lap.

Q: (Maria Guidotti – GrainingF1.com) Question for Zak. The values and team spirit are highly valuable and also make you a difference in the whole lineup on the grid. But looking at the drivers' standings, is it not really realistic enough to support 100% the leader, so Lando?

ZB: You've got two drivers. I think we've seen many times over the years — three drivers coming into the final race, and the driver in third wins the championship. So, no. We're going to wait and see how the race plays out. Sitting here right now, I kind of view it as all three drivers have an equal opportunity to win the Grand Prix. So, until that changes, we're going to go racing as usual.

Q: (Jad Deaibes – Annahar) My question for you, Laurent. Just reflecting about the 2025 season — since you took over as Team Principal, Red Bull has been on a stronger resurgence, and Max is once again fighting for the title. In your view, what were the key elements missing before, and what has driven this noticeable uplift in performance?

LM: The credit for the turnaround — the spectacular turnaround of form — is very simple. It's down to 2,000 people that you never see back in Milton Keynes, who simply didn’t want to give up. It didn’t matter how hard the first part of the season was, how hard the changes that were made in the middle of the season were for them to digest — it didn’t matter. They just didn’t want to give up. That’s what they have managed to achieve – a historic turnaround. They are the guys and girls behind the fact that everything started to click together. They unlocked a little bit of performance, and a little bit more performance led to even more risk. We fell quite a few times. I’m sure you guys recall Budapest. I’m sure you recall Brazil qualifying. You don’t take risk for free. Nothing is for free. You take risk, you fall, you get back on your feet, and you love the way you're going racing altogether. And everybody is in the same boat. Max is in the same boat, 2,000 people are in the same boat, our shareholders are in the same boat. That’s where the secret is — a united group that just doesn’t want to give up.

Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Question for Laurent. You had mentioned a few times that Max is pretty relaxed coming into this weekend. Removing the experience side of this — where do you think that comes from, and why do you think that is?

LM: Difficult to talk for him, but let me put it this way. Whatever happens in these next three days, the turnaround has been sensational. I think the team should take pride in that. Max should take huge pride in that. So, I guess that's the first point. The second point is, as both Jonathan and Zak mentioned, we all work all our life — and that applies to drivers as well — to be involved in this sort of moment, where the intensity is sky-high, the pressure is sky-high. But that's what we're really here for – to be in that fight. So, I think if you combine that and the experience, and the fact that even now, even with a sensational turnaround, you're still coming to the last race with a 12-point deficit — winning is not enough. Your main competitor needs to be out of the podiums for you. So it's still very remote. The combination of all of that and the approach with which we go racing — concentrate on this race, get the car in the right window — makes that we are all trying to enjoy it more than to think about the pressure.

Q: (David Schneider – Hershey Shiga Global) Question for Laurent. It must have been a very difficult decision to let Yuki go. You have had a lot of praise for him this season, and you worked with him at VCARB where you also appreciated his work and contribution. What do you expect of him in 2026? What is his new mission? And do you think there's a pathway back into Formula 1 for him?

LM: So, at first — yes, you're right. It has been a very difficult decision to take. The second seat in Oracle Red Bull Racing is not an easy one. We have a tough car to drive. And of course, we have tried everything we could to support Yuki. At some stage, we had to make the difficult call between where we were seeing that going for the following years. I hope, and I think, that Yuki will get another chance. He will be reserve driver with us next year. You never know what's going to happen. We have been quite famous in making fairly swift driver decisions in the past. I recall one moment — at the end of the 2024 season, Yuki was driving very well. It was very difficult for him to digest. Liam was getting the promotion in Red Bull Racing. He went into the winter thinking, was he going to get the chance one day or not? He came back, and we set ourselves with the team at the time the objective to maximise everything — to shoot for the stars. Three races after, he was driving in that Oracle Red Bull Racing team. So you never know what the future holds. I'm sure everyone in this room and beyond has experienced setbacks — sometimes hard setbacks. That’s a setback for him. But I am confident that he has a lot in him that will allow him to have another opportunity.

Q: (Thomas Maher – PlanetF1.com) A question for Zak, please. Zak, assuming one of your drivers does win the title this weekend, you're going to have a pretty devastated driver alongside — surrounded by a jubilant team. Have you any mechanisms or plans in place on how to help that driver process the disappointment and move into the winter without feeling too devastated?

ZB: We'll tackle that when and if that happens. We've got two awesome guys. They've been great team players. They understand it. We understand the emotions of the sport and the highs and lows.

We've had plenty of highs and lows this year, and we'll just put our arm around him — if that's the situation — and come back and give it a go again next year. And hopefully, we're in the same position.

Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it) Question for Laurent. Red Bull was one of the teams that developed the most this season. Was it because you always believed in the possibility of catching McLaren, or were there other reasons behind that?

LM: I think it was a combination of factors. First, as we said earlier, it's not a team that likes to give up. The second aspect is that there was nowhere to hide. The 2025 car had not started at a level that was good enough to allow us to fight for the title. It would probably have been wishful thinking at that stage to just turn the page and hope for a better result in '26. So, we decided to continue developing — a bit because we don’t give up, a bit because we wanted some answers, because yes, regulations are changing drastically, but fundamentally you will have the same people using the same tools, the same analysis, the same KPIs for how to develop a fast car. So we wanted to get to the bottom of what had limited this year's project. Of course, in doing so, you lose 2026 development time, but we felt it was the right investment to make.

Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio Brazil) Question for Zak. If in the race you need Oscar to let Lando through or, indeed, hold up Max — how confident are you that Oscar will agree?

ZB: I think I already answered that — our drivers are great team players. They've demonstrated that they'll work on behalf of the team's interest — and of course, theirs as well — so I'm very confident.