F1 Bahrain Grand Prix - Every word from Hamilton and his rival drivers

"I have prepared myself for a championship battle. Whether or not we have the equipment for a championship battle? We will find out."

• Hamilton warns Verstappen: "I'm prepared for championship battle; no W14 Plan B”

“I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13. I had a difficult year last year and I’m still here."

• Hamilton insists “no hold up” over new Mercedes F1 contract despite rumours

“Frustrating” McLaren started on wrong path, admits Norris

Russell relishing battle with Hamilton: “He’s going to come back fighting"

Alonso promises Aston Martin F1 car will change “dramatically” in 2023

"He's just an animal, he keeps fighting, he never gives up, he will come back fighting..."

"If we achieved a race win last year, there's no reason we can't win more races..."

"Everybody is looking for more downforce. The tricky thing is to get the car as low as possible. Red Bull have been strong in their drag. We may have made a small improvement this weekend."

"Our development last year was spectacular. The upgrades we will bring this week will bring us closer.

"If we develop at the same rate as last year? We are starting from a higher point."

"Fred extracts the best out of people by putting them in the best conditions. He will discover more things tomorrow."

"The progress we have made is good, but we have to show it this weekend.

"Everywhere, is the aim [to improve the car]. It is well balanced. Every time lost performance with the floor but you try to gain it back.

"The teams close to us [are competitors], but also from ourselves because we have to stay on top. We cannot afford to make many mistakes."

"[The title] is the goal. It's hard to quanitify how far in front Max is.

"I'm not gonna say! We didn't show everything [in testing]. But nobody showed everything! We are a bit behind."

"The mood in the camp is good. Red Bull look strong but we can bring more pace after the learnings.

"It will be difficult to fight for victory this weekend.

"Testing is a good indication but, until qualifying and the race, we won't know. Some teams were surprising.

"Bahrain is an outlier so I don't think the picture from this weekend will be the picture for the whole season.

"The test wasn't the smoothest. The learnings we found will put us in better stead. But Red Bull are in a league of their own this weekend.

"It will be a fight for second-place between Ferrari and Aston Martin."

"I have no concerns about age. I will be the first to feel it if I miss something, feel something."

"Obviously the test wasn't the smoothest. We'll get a better understanding tomorrow. We're somewhere in the midfield..."

"We are hugging! We broke the ice here 12 months ago when I stepped in for Vettel.

"We were stood behind each other. I reached out with a hand and a smile.

"Ever since, we have been pretty good. I feel no tension, no friction."

"It's important in testing to connect with the car, to build a foundation, and that's what I've done. 

"The midfield is very competitive and tight. Small things can make a big difference.

"I believe we will be somewhere in the midfield."

"I don't know..."

"If you change team you need time to adapt to new things.

"Let's see after here, Jeddah and Australia, very different cicuits, you will see where everybody really is.

"Aston Martin want to succeed. Everybody is pushing, knowing how difficult the task is."

We have two press conferneces getting underway in half an hour's time. They will be split into the following two groups of five drivers. 

Group 1: Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries, Nico Hulkenberg and Logan Sargeant

Group 2: Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu.

Clocking in for 2023 pic.twitter.com/VRxCiF46NN

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 2, 2023

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— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 2, 2023