“At the beginning of the race with Kevin, I think it was a mistake from both of us. It shouldn’t happen, so we need to work on that to ensure it doesn’t happen anymore. That obviously cost us a lot of positions on the first corner. After that, with Carlos (Sainz), I haven’t studied the footage, to be fair. It felt like he turned in quite hard on the corner and didn’t give me much room on the inside. I tried to go on the brake to avoid a contact, but there was not much room for me to go. It’s a shame.”

Silverstone is one of the fastest tracks in Formula One, but it’s not necessarily from long straights but rather from long, flowing corners. Can you describe the feeling of speed you experience at this power circuit? “It’s a really cool track, especially the fast part through Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel corners. When you have the grip in the car there, you really get the sensation of the g-forces. Everything’s pushing down. You really want to get the first part of the flowing corners right. If you don’t, you just lose a lot of time. When the car is very stable and has good balance, you can go flat-out and really push it to the limit.” With speed playing such a role at Silverstone, how difficult is it to overtake? And if the opportunity presents itself, where can you overtake? “There are a few spots. On the straights and through the high-speed corners, you have an opportunity if your car is much better balanced than the car in front of you. After turn three or turn four, there’s the long section after the slow-speed corners, and that’s a good opportunity, as well. But the thing about Silverstone is really the difference between a well-balanced car and an unbalanced car –that’s where the opportunity lies.” What do you need at Silverstone to have the proper balance in your racecar? “Silverstone is not an easy track. You’ve got all the high-speed sections, where you really want to carry some speed and get fast. Then you’ve got the twisty turns three and four, then the whole last corner, which is tricky on the throttle application. Generally, you need a good rear-end, and if you get that, you can then put some front-flap on and go faster.” Is Silverstone the track where you’re able to run at full throttle for the longest periods of time? “I think probably Baku is where we’re flat-out for longer periods of time, but Silverstone is a power track, as well. You need good power to get a good lap time there. There are a few straight lines and a few overtaking opportunities but, mainly, Silverstone is about the grip of the car through the high-speed corners.” How do you find that edge to determine when you can be flat-out and when you can’t? “Well, you find out quickly when you’re wrong, but you have to try. It’s as simple as that. You go step-by-step, but definitely the last step is going flat-out.” At most circuits, pole position is critical. But for some reason, not as much at Silverstone, where the pole winner has only gone on to win six times in the last 20 years. Is this happenstance or is there something about the track’s layout that provides more opportunity for those a little deeper on the starting grid? “Silverstone is in the UK, and the UK weather is known to be sometimes rainy, sometimes dry. That plays a part. It can change a lot between qualifying and the

“It’s a great day for all of us, the whole team. They deserve such a good result with the cars finishing fourth and fifth. It’s incredible for our 50th grand prix. I’m so, so happy for all the guys. We’ve done an amazing job all weekend. We had some luck in the race with the Mercedes cars not finishing, but it’s been a great weekend and we can really build on that. There are still a few things we can improve here and there, but I’m happy we managed to get that long stint on the tires. The last 20 laps were not fun – there were blisters on the rears – and I was afraid they were going to explode at any time. I am just so happy that we hung in there and finished fourth and fifth.”

Much is being made of this unprecedented three-race stretch of consecutive races. But for someone who makes his home in Geneva, does this slate of races actually work well for you since they’re all relatively close to home? “I think it doesn’t change much, to be fair. If you’re living in Europe, wherever we’re going, it’s the same.” You predicted that the pace you had in Canada would carry over to France. That seemed to be the case, and it seems to have given you a more real-world understanding of the updates the team brought to the Haas VF-18 in Canada. How has the car performed and what do you think that portends for the Austrian Grand Prix? “At the Austrian Grand Prix, we were fast last year, so I’m very much looking forward to going back there this year. It’s a cool circuit, nice location, and the car was working very well in France, so I’m very happy with that. Hopefully, that’s going to keep being the case in Austria, and at Silverstone, and some more, because I think we’ve got the potential to do that.” You come into Austria with back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Austrian Grand Prix, specifically, sixth last year and seventh in 2016. While past performances aren’t always indicative of how you’ll perform in this year’s car, does it at least provide a mental advantage in that you know what you need out of the car to be successful at the Red Bull Ring? “I think we always know what we need from the car. The last two years have been good in Austria. It’s a circuit I quite like, and it’s a nice place to be racing. Hopefully, it’s going to be the same case again, and we can really score some big points and come back and fight in the constructors’ championship.” How helpful is it to have back-to-back grands prix where the same tire compounds are being used? Or in this case, is there carryover in tire data between France and Austria since the tires used in France were thinner compared to the ones you’ll use in Austria? “The tires are going to be a bit different with the different tread size. We now have a much better understanding of the tires in general. It’s clearly a key to performance, and the guys are doing a great job helping us find what we need.” The Red Bull Ring is a relatively short circuit, but its layout covers a wide range of conditions. Is it akin to some other tracks in Formula One or is it unique? “It’s a funny place to race being in the middle of the mountains. The circuit is very short. The lap time is almost like Monaco. There are some overtaking opportunities. I like going there, and the surrounding area looks a lot like Switzerland.” Do you have any milestones or moments from your junior career that you enjoyed at the Red Bull Ring? “The first time I