Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad says he never had a plan B because he always believed he would become a Formula 1 driver. Lindblad said: "No. Never. Because in my mind, plan A was always going to work. Even when I was five or six years old, I simply couldn't picture a future where I wasn't a Formula 1 driver. It wasn't even a possibility in my head. Maybe that's also why I never felt intimidated by expectations. A lot of people are frightened by such a huge ambition. I honestly never was."

Kimi Antonelli says he let the pressure “destroy” him during a difficult spell in the European leg of his 2025 rookie season at Mercedes. Antonelli said: "I think mostly last year I felt this, because obviously I've had a good start of the season, then I've had a difficult period, the European season, where I really struggle. And in that moment I felt… I let the pressure kind of destroy me as well during that period, because I felt like I was letting down so many people who had believed in me – especially Toto [Wolff], because he was the main one who took the decision."

Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta says the team will focus on a “sizeable” upgrade package for its 2026 Formula 1 car after the summer break. Resta said: "We always try to keep bringing little steps here and there at every race. Of course, we have seen teams bringing more stuff than us, which is great for them, and we are still trying to bring some items at every race. Probably, after the shutdown, we will try to focus on having something more sizeable on the car. So, we are clearly focused on trying to develop the car at every event, but also trying to think bigger by bringing another step to the car."

Pierre Gasly says Alpine's planned Dutch Grand Prix upgrade package is "critical" if the team wants to keep hope of holding on to fifth place in the championship after being outdeveloped by midfield rivals. Gasly said: "Standard of Formula 1, I think if you bring upgrades you expect it to definitely get better. On my side, I'm not doubting that it's going to do what the team expect, but as you say it's important because Aston Martin improved by two seconds this weekend, they have another engine coming [in Zandvoort], Racing Bulls improved by seconds in the start of the year, Audi as well. We just didn't do much steps, so I think it's critical for us if we want to keep the hope for that fifth place in the championship."


FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis says the FIA anticipated many of the issues drivers raised after the Belgian Grand Prix about the 2026 cars, but could not make pre-season rule tweaks because manufacturers would not back the changes under F1’s governance process. Tombazis said: "I think drivers are, by definition, quite demanding clients. So I don't think we expect them to have a sugar coat or to not speak their mind. We did anticipate a lot of these things they have complained about in the two years before the launch of the season, and we did try to make some adjustments. But we failed with the governance that was in place."


Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the “most important thing” in the team’s push to mount a constructors’ championship challenge is sustaining its development rate through the second half of the season. Vasseur said: "We have a different approach, trying to bring parts every single race, and we have to keep this momentum because it's still 11 or 12 races to go... and we have room for improvement on the chassis everywhere, and we have to keep this pace. The most important thing would be to be able to keep the pace on the development."


Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says changes to the ‘tea tray’ area at the front of the floor are the key aerodynamic challenge for teams under Formula 1’s tweaked 2027 rules. Newey said: "On the chassis side, the changes are fewer but still significant. The biggest is to what's often called the 'bib' or 'tea tray' at the front of the floor. The leading edge has been moved by about 300 millimetres, which allows you to run the front of the car lower. That brings a different set of aerodynamic characteristics. The key one for us is that front‑of‑floor change. It gives everyone a different aero challenge to solve."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché said “mechanical gremlins” in the RB22’s steering meant the drivers could not properly feel the car through the wheel in the opening rounds of the 2026 season. Waché said: "Regarding the issue with the car at the beginning, clearly we were missing some load compared to some others. We also had some mechanical gremlins on the car, which meant the driver didn't feel the car through the steering, and we corrected that at the beginning. It took a little bit of time, but it was on top of the overall performance and potential of the car. We had some issues with driver feeling there. It's not a secret."

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