Team Principal Mike Krack talks about updates, performances and the mighty Ayrton Senna da Silva.
There isn't a great deal of time to dwell at the moment. The instant the chequered flag fell at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the forklifts moved in to begin packing up the garages, dropping everything into flight cases, and beginning the long haul to Brazil.
As we build up to racing in São Paulo, Team Principal Mike Krack has got a few thoughts on another good showing for our go-to Brazilian Test and Reserve Driver, Felipe Drugovich, a really good race for Lance in Mexico, the state of progress with our latest update, and what we might expect to see going forwards.
This is Mike on...
Arrival
"I flew to Brazil early on Monday morning. There's a few hours' time difference between Mexico City and São Paulo, and the earlier you go, the sooner you get used to it. It's a passionate place that buzzes for F1, and that helps you wake up too. For us, that's embodied by Adriano, our local fixer. It's always useful to have the benefit of local knowledge, but the enthusiasm for the sport really makes you feel good being here."
Looking back to Mexico
"The flight down gave me plenty of time to think about our weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The bottom line is that we didn't score any points, but I came away relatively optimistic because Lance drove a great race and our pace was slightly better than expected. I would not have expected that after Friday, which was a difficult day.
"On Saturday, however, we took a step forward. We decided to use all three sets of new Soft tyres in Q1. and then took a risk in Q2 to use every millimetre of track evolution by going out on a used set at the very end of the session. It was bad luck that Tsunoda's red flag halted the session with both Lance and Fernando on timed laps. Best case, both would have slipped through into Q3, but that's the nature of risk.
"Fernando unfortunately had a DNF on Sunday, but Lance drove a strong race. He got everything out of the tyres but a really well-handled race went unrewarded with P11. I think he drove more than the car was capable of delivering."
Felipe
"We had Felipe Drugovich in the car for FP1. As I mentioned in last week's column, he just gets on with the job and delivers. He's now completed more than 8,000km of testing for us. To put that into context, that's about the distance from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal to Interlagos. Very impressive!
"I thought his approach last week was clever: he was concerned about the high-speed sections of track so built up his pace very carefully there, while being quick from the start in the low-speed. He missed out with traffic on the chance to set a fast lap at the end of the session, but that's for outsiders – within the team, he doesn't need that headline time to convince us.
"As I've said before, it's a shame that this home race weekend is always a Sprint. It'd be great to put him in at Interlagos for FP1. He'll be pretty busy regardless, he's got a lot of partner and fan engagements throughout his home Grand Prix weekend and it's great to see the support he gets."
Updates
"We were able to understand a little bit more about our latest update package in Mexico by doing some comparison runs. The outcome is a little mixed: there are components from the upgrade that we will retain but other components that won't reappear this year.
"It's the time of year when you make the best of what you have because the focus has shifted onto next year's car. It's been a very useful learning exercise and I think we're in a good place. It sounds odd to say that, given the car isn't currently performing that well but, going forward, we've got a lot of data to inform the direction we take. That might seem counter-intuitive given we're now in year three of these regulations, and at the 21st Grand Prix of this season – but this generation of car is difficult and the learning is constant."
Going forward
"The car is what it is now and, on pure pace, it's going to be difficult to score points, but Brazil presents a different challenge: the circuit has been resurfaced; the weather always plays a role; and it's a Sprint weekend. A lot can happen.
"To be honest, having a nice, smooth new surface doesn't really suit us. We were good on the rough, old track and handled it well. Actually, the circuit has always treated us well, and Brazil has always had a positive vibe. Finishing on the podium last year shows you what can happen."
Senna
"We're in the hometown of Ayrton Senna this week and, in the 30th year since his death, F1 is celebrating his life. Ayrton's presence is embedded so deeply here that I don't think an anniversary makes that much of a difference in terms of awareness. Half of the merchandise sold here is Senna-related, with the current teams and drivers sharing the other half.
"You drive from the airport along the Ayrton Senna highway, and the Senna logo is everywhere. I have one on my karting helmet; my son has a Nacional Senna cap, despite being born long after Senna's time. There's no one like Ayrton and his impact on the sport was so profound that it's part of what makes this race so special."
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