Lewis Hamilton

"Great names become legends around this circuit"

"It’s been a busy few weeks for me, both on track and away from it, but I’m pleased to be getting back to racing again next weekend. And what a place to get back to it! Monaco is just incredible to drive and any driver will tell you that’s the race they want to win. So many great names become legends around this circuit. It’s an honour to fight for your place amongst them and a real test of your skills behind the wheel. The last few races have been just incredible.

I honestly never expected I’d win four consecutive Grands Prix in my career and I’d love to continue that run here. I’ve had some work to do in terms of getting the car exactly as I want it after the weekend in Spain: it was so close between our cars at the end and I need to keep pushing to find any extra edge I can. The car has been strong at every race so far and I’m sure it’ll be the same in Monaco, so we should be set for an entertaining weekend."

Nico Rosberg

“Monaco is THE race to win!”

Nico, as the winner from pole here last year, what does victory around this race track mean to a Formula One driver?

For me personally it was a very, very special experience because it’s my home town. It’s where I’ve grown up and my whole life has been centred around Monaco, so to win here was great. Not only that, it’s THE race to win! It’s the most challenging and most prestigious event on the calendar, so really that was awesome.

After losing the initiative in the Championship battle to your team-mate, are you impatient to get that lead back again?

I’m not too focused on that. Of course I would prefer to be ahead than behind but it’s very, very close and there still a long way to go. So I’m just focused on this weekend here and I’m really looking forward to it. I know that I have a fantastic car at the moment and I expect it to be quick again here in Monaco. Our rivals might be a lot closer to us this weekend and we need to wait and see if we are the fastest but I hope to have a fantastic weekend again. 

Do you plan to change your approach to qualifying to gain that extra advantage?

Three of the five qualifying sessions so far have been in the wet but in the dry it’s 1-1 between me and Lewis so that’s something I need to work on. It’s supposed to be dry on Saturday here so I’m confident I can make it happen. I’m not planning on changing my approach. 

Are we going to see a tougher battle between you and Lewis as the season progresses? 

It’s been a tough battle up until now and I expect it to continue like that. Of course, Lewis has had the rhythm in terms of results at the last few races but it’s been very close. I just need a tiny bit to turn it around. I’ll start with trying to do that here in Monaco.

Follow all the action from Monaco on Sunday, May 25th from 12 noon.