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Max Verstappen is in a no-nonsense mood - even more than usual.
The Red Bull driver is renowned for his straight talking but now, as he discusses his 2026 season so far in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, he is at his most uncompromising.
Perhaps it's the heat.
We're talking on the eve of last weekend's Italian Grand Prix. The temperature is into the mid-30Cs, Red Bull's hospitality unit is not coping well, and Verstappen's PR handler messages before the Dutchman turns up to suggest I find a table near a fan; the interview might be more positive that way.
Monza is the second race since the four-time world champion signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull.
In theory, this runs to the end of 2030. In reality, it changes little. It still has performance clauses. So Verstappen is earning a bit more money but, if Red Bull are still struggling for competitiveness next year, there will remain the prospect he could look for pastures new.
Verstappen arrives and briefly adjusts the fan blowing in our direction. "It's too hot in here," he says.
Does he need a breather before we start? "No, no," he says. "I'm good. It was just that it was super-hot in the corner when I was doing the print [media]."
OK, then. Let's go.
Verstappen is always a great interviewee. Direct, honest, uncompromising.
Now, for whatever reason, he is especially frank and open, as we discuss why he extended his contract, his discussions with McLaren, his stunning appearance at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, and the new Formula 1 engine rules, with which it is no secret he has a problem.
Where's your head at, Max, in terms of how the season has gone so far?
"Of course it's not where I want to be, but as a team we're trying to just learn and understand a lot of things for next year. We are not in a title fight. We are just trying to find more performance.
"Changes need to happen to the car for next year. We will not be able to change that for this year, but we just need to try and get a lot of learnings to do better next year."
What exactly is wrong with it?
"Overall we're just lacking a bit of performance. The car is not where I want it to be feeling-wise, and the through-corner balance is too hit and miss between entry, mid and exit.
"It's just fundamentally something in the car that we need to try and work on for the next year."
This has been a bit of a theme for longer than this year. How concerning is it that that's happening across a different set of regulations?
"That's exactly that. There's also things that we talk about within the team, like how can that happen, how can we fix it? That's basically what we are doing now and trying to do now.
"Some people have left, new people have come in. With the new people, we are discussing what we can do about it. Is that just some changes, a different philosophy? All these kind of things."
What made you sign a new contract?
"It comes down to also feeling well within a team. This is like a second family to me.
"The belief that you can turn things around, you can build towards hopefully a better future with other people, new people. And at the end of the day, it's not only Formula 1 for me. There are a lot of things that I'm doing next year that Red Bull is involved in as well.
"I feel good here. So this, for me, is the right place to be."
Did it take much for them to convince you to do it?
"I always said to them: 'Don't stress about it, just work on the car.' Because the faster the car goes, the easier the decision is anyway.
"I can understand, of course, maybe sometimes they were a little bit worried. But at the same time, for me, I was just worried about here, what was going on.
"At the same time, I was very busy with my stuff also outside of Formula 1. So I never really spent a lot of time talking or doing different things or trying to go somewhere else."
From the outside, it's hard to see what they could have done to convince you things will improve.
"I don't mind the challenge also. I don't have that desire or need to show in another car that I can win it, or whatever.
"It's easy to run to the fastest car and then do it all again. But it's not how I am. You cannot be the captain of the ship and as soon as there is something not working, you jump off the ship.
"It's been a bit downwards from the dominant years, but I don't mind also rebuilding it. It's another challenge as well."
You talked to Mercedes last year, McLaren this year. How serious was that?
"Of course, any kind of chat you take seriously. They're all very respectful chats. There's nothing wrong with that.
"I felt that staying was, for me, the right choice. You have to follow your heart. I could have run away very early on in my Red Bull career and gone somewhere else to try and win. If you have a little bit of patience, you do end up winning. I feel like that's my approach now as well."
What race have you enjoyed most this year?
"Probably the Nordschleife [Nurburgring 24 Hours]. It was super-cool to be able to do an endurance event with my team-mates, the guys that won with the car throughout the main season.
"We knew that we were going to be really strong. We peaked at the right time, but unfortunately the car retired. It was an incredible experience. And pure. Pure motorsport."
Your first stint, where you went from 10th to first, was so impressive.
"I was enjoying it. Not easy conditions. It started to drizzle. The track was slippery. Crashes. Code 60s [when a stretch of track is limited to 60km/h after an incident].
"Some people were like: 'Let's see how he will do in the race under pressure with all these kinds of scenarios that he has never done before.'
"But I have done them a million times on the simulator. I have done so many laps and 24-hour races on the simulator. I never felt out of depth or whatever. I was fully zoned in. I just had a great time.
"Once I was in the race, you switch to another level. I was just in a zone. It's really enjoyable."
You want to go back to Nurburgring to win that race. Is there anything else on your bucket list?
"All the endurance races. Eventually, of course also Hypercar [the world endurance championship]. I don't want to rush it. I want to do it in the right environment. On my terms. And competitive."
