Vettel dominates in Valencia
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| Sebastian Vettel celebrates his win |
| Red Bull |
Red Bull ace Sebastian Vettel has won the European Grand Prix F1 race on the streets of Valencia, Spain in dominating fashion leading flag-to-flag. Meanwhile his teammate, Mark Webber had a massive shunt that saw his car flip upside down but the Australian walked away unhurt.
Lewis Hamilton was 2nd for McLaren, having nothing for Vettel all day long, but keeping him on top of the point standings. His teammate, Jenson Button grabbed third.
Webber was trying to pass the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen, and under braking for the Turn 17 hairpin he went flying over the back of the Lotus.
The Red Bull flew so high he took down an advertising board hanging over the track before landing upside down, rolling back onto its wheels and plowing into the tire barriers. Webber, by the good graces of God, climbed out unscathed.
Afterward Webber said, “I was going a lot faster than Heikki and then a long, long way before the braking point he braked – about 80m before – and at that point I’m a passenger. The car, thank God, was very safe. I am OK, I lost some points, but in the end when you're up there, you're not worried about points, I was worried that I was OK and ready for Silverstone. You cannot control where you are going and how hard the hits are going to be. Of course, the hits were pretty hard but it’s good that I am OK. It was my Monte Carlo and Barcelona winning chassis and one which has secured a lot of pole positions, so the chassis has been good to me, and it has been good to me today as it saved me from some injures. I remain incredibly positive, we go on, it’s half way through the Championship. Bloody hell, let’s get on with it."
Rubens Barrichello in his Williams-Cosworth finished in fourth, followed by Robert Kubica in the Renault in fifth, Adrian Sutil in the Force India-Mercedes in sixth, Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber-Ferrari in seventh, Sebastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso-Ferrari in eighth, Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari in ninth, and Pedro de la Rosa in the second Sauber in the final points paying position in tenth place.
Sebastian Vettel declared on the radio he is "back on track" after winning Sunday's European grand prix.
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| Sebastian Vettel had the measure of Lewis Hamilton all race long |
| Red Bull |
"Germany one, England nil," grinned third-placed Jenson Button, before leaving the FIA press conference to watch Germany score the first goal for real as the countries battle for World Cup survival in South Africa.
“It’s good to be back winning and on a circuit where we didn’t expect to be that strong. But we were quick enough at all times in the race to pull away, find the gap and then guide the car home, but it wasn’t as easy as expected. It’s good to get a lot of Championship points and the guys can be extremely proud, so a good weekend for them. Most important of all today is the fact that Mark had quite a big shunt but he’s fine – it shows that the cars get safer and safer but still there is a lot of risk so it’s good that he’s OK."
With his win, pole sitter Vettel snatches third place in the world championship – behind both McLarens – from his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, who escaped unhurt from a frightening backflip crash.
Caused by the Australian striking the rear of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus, the crash mirrored one during the earlier GP2 race, in which Josef Kral was hospitalized.
Some figures, including David Coulthard, slammed Kovalainen's decision to race Webber's much faster car, but Lotus technical boss Mike Gascoyne said on Twitter that the Finn was "pissed off with Webber".
"For all those saying we should not have defended from Webber, when it is for position on track we race," Gascoyne insisted. "Always."
The race was also controversial for other reasons. Hamilton finished second after a drive-through penalty for overtaking the safety car, while Fernando Alonso did not make the illegal pass and finished just ninth.
"It is really unfair, it is like no penalty," Alonso's race engineer Andrea Stella told the angry Spaniard by radio during the race.
"It's a shame, not for us because this is racing, but for all the fans who came here to watch a manipulated race," he told Spanish television after the race.
"We were running well, in third after a good start. Then the safety car came out, which wasn't too good for us, but Hamilton overtook the safety car, something that I had never seen, overtaking the medical car with yellow flags. We were a meter off each other, and he finished second and I finished ninth.
"This race was to finish second. Then with the safety car I would have finished where I finished in ninth, and Hamilton in eighth. But here, when you do the normal thing, which is respecting the rules, you finish ninth, and the one who doesn't respect them finishes second."
"It must have been very hard to know," said Alonso of the times it took the stewards to penalize Hamilton. "They must have taken a lot of laps to see the replay of how he overtook the medical car.
"But that's how it is. Unfortunately everything goes against us and it seems they are allowing everything."
And nine drivers – Button, both Williams, both Renaults, both Force Indias, Sebastien Buemi and Pedro de la Rosa – are under investigation by the stewards for driving too fast on their pitstop in-lap while the safety car was out.
If penalized, Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi – finishing behind four of the investigated drivers – could be the big winner, after finishing seventh with an unique race strategy that saw him make a very late single pitstop.
By performing impressive late-race passes on Fernando Alonso and Buemi, meanwhile, the Japanese also rekindled memories of his stirring late debut for Toyota last year.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Behind |
| 1. | Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | +0.000s |
| 2. | Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | +5.042s |
| 3. | Button | McLaren-Mercedes | +7.658s |
| 4. | Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | +20.627s |
| 5. | Kubica | Renault | +22.122s |
| 6. | Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | +25.168s |
| 7. | Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | +30.965s |
| 8. | Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | +31.299s |
| 9. | Alonso | Ferrari | +32.809s |
| 10. | De la Rosa | Sauber-Ferrari | +42.414s |
| 11. | Petrov | Renault | +43.287s |
| 12. | Rosberg | Mercedes | +44.382s |
| 13. | Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | +45.890s |
| 14. | Massa | Ferrari | +46.621s |
| 15. | Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | +48.239s |
| 16. | Schumacher | Mercedes | +48.826s |
| 17. | Di Grassi | Virgin-Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 18. | Chandhok | HRT-Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 19. | Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 20. | Senna | HRT-Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 21. | Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | +4 laps |
| 22. | Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | On Lap 50 |
| 23. | Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | On Lap 9 |
| 24. | Webber | Red Bull-Renault | On Lap 9 |
Fastest lap: Button, 1:38.766
Quotes
McLaren-Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (2nd): "Into Turn One, I was very close to Seb [Vettel], I went for the gap, I out-braked him and we went into the corner side-by-side. He gave me room, but we touched and the contact damaged my front wing. When the Safety Car came out, the team did a great job to change the nosebox and tires. After that my pace was much better and I was able to push Seb, but it's impossible to pass around here when the cars are so closely matched. Whenever a Safety Car comes out, it's difficult to compute all the information. There are all these beeps in your ear, and lights flashing on your dashboard too. There's got to be a certain time between the 'Safety Car 1' line and the 'Safety Car 2' line, and between those two lines you can go fast. So it's all a bit complicated. So I pushed past the last Safety Car line, and was obviously then trying to close the gap to Seb. But as I came out of the first corner, all of a sudden I saw the Safety Car coming out, so I backed off and went across the line as I did that, so I thought I was okay. When the team told me I had a drive-through penalty, I made time by pushing as hard as I could, and was able to increase the gap a bit to the guys behind. I took my penalty – it's quite a long time to spend at 60km/h in the pitlane – and I came out second. I don't see how that's unfair – it's racing, and those are the rules, and we all have to accept them."
Jenson Button (3rd): "The first lap was great – I loved it! I was alongside Robert [Kubica] for 10 corners, then we both went around Mark [Webber] in Turn Eight, one on the inside and one on the outside! We continued fighting until Turn 10, but I couldn't get around the outside of him there – it was just too tight. I was very close to the pit entry when the Safety Car was triggered. I was warned by the team beforehand, who said, 'There might be a Safety Car, in this lap,' so I dived into the pits. There was no room to lift off or hit the brakes, so to be honest I can't really see why I was called to the stewards. Later in the race, when I was behind Kamui [Kobayashi], I knew he'd have to pit again. His pace was reasonable, so I knew he wasn't going to pit early, but you just can't overtake around here. I was running pretty low downforce today, which gave me good straight-line speed, but I couldn't get out of the corners quick enough to get really tucked in behind him on the straights. As soon as he went into the pits, though, I had three or four laps when I could push and have some fun with the car. I got the fastest lap at that point, which was nice; the car was feeling very good, and I just wish I'd had more laps to play with!"
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "Speaking before the stewards have finished their deliberations, I suppose I have to say I'm reasonably pleased with this afternoon's events. Short of a win, second and third is pretty good – especially so when you bear in mind that we'd brought only a modest set of modifications here whereas some of the other top teams had introduced substantial upgrades. We've accepted Lewis's penalty, but in truth we reckon it was a pretty marginal call. Okay, it didn't deprive him of his second place on the road, but it did prevent him from being able to take the race to Seb, which had been our intention. And I think Lewis's strong pace in the last few laps showed that, having saved his fuel and tires early on in preparation for mounting an attack on Seb, he would probably have been in a position to have a fair old crack at it had he not been given a drive-through. So, yes, his penalty was frustrating for Lewis, frustrating for us, and ultimately I suppose you'd have to say it was frustrating for the spectators, at the track and in front of their TV screens, too. But, as I say, you have to accept these things and move on. Jenson drove a very solid race – although it was of course irritating for him to be stuck behind Kamui for so long. Having said that, in the chaos that always ensues with an early Safety Car, our engineers called the situation really well, with the result that we were able to change the nosebox on Lewis's car [following contact with Vettel's car on lap one] and send our cars back out in second place and fourth place. Actually, of course, Jenson's fourth place was in effect third place, because Kamui was always going to have to make a pitstop for new tires at some stage in the race. So it was a shame for Jenson to be stuck behind Kamui for so long too – but, again, racing can be frustrating and sometimes there's simply nothing you can do about it. Assuming Jenson retains his third place in today's race, he'll remain in second place in the drivers' world championship – not far behind Lewis, whose name still tops the list. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes leads the constructors' world championship too, which is particularly satisfying for all our employees who work so hard back at our HQ in Woking [Surrey, UK] as they prepare for our home grand prix, at Silverstone, the home of British motor sport, in two weeks' time."
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg (10th): "It wasn't a great race for me today and not much fun out there. I struggled for grip throughout and had to work really hard to save my brakes which completely took away the ability to challenge and try to make up positions. But we tried to look for the positives and learn something because you can always learn from any situation and use the experiences later. It's been a poor weekend from us all round and we have to try to resolve our issues and improve from here."
Michael Schumacher (15th): "What a race. We would like to have clarification about the safety car situation as the red light on the exit from my first pit stop destroyed a race which otherwise would have offered us very good possibilities. Our point of view is that as the safety car had passed the pits without having the cars lined up behind it, there should not have been a red light. There was a green light for a moment and then suddenly it went red again. We believe that this was not correct. Our strategy was right in that context as we took the opportunity which could have given us a finish even close to the podium."
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "Today's race was a disappointing outcome to our weekend in Valencia. The car was reasonable today but again we suffered from our qualifying performance which is an issue that we need to get on top of quickly. Nico got caught up at the start therefore we made an early pit stop which was unfortunately compromised when the safety car came out and we lost any benefit. From there, Nico's race was about consolidating his position as we had some concerns over brake wear which he did an excellent job to manage. With Michael, we were looking to benefit strongly from the safety car. As the leaders had not been picked up, Michael was waved through and that gave us a golden opportunity to make his pit stop as our predictions were that the option tire would hold up for the remainder of the race. However, when Michael came to exit the pits, the red light was showing which cost him a significant amount of time. In our view, the regulations are clear that the exit light should not go red until the line of cars has formed behind the safety car, and we would like the FIA to look into this. There was no line formed and over 18 seconds between Hamilton and Kobayashi when Michael came in. It was a good effort from Michael to try and recover from there but ultimately a very frustrating afternoon."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "Michael could have finished quite high today if the red light at the pit exit had not been switched on. This happened contrary to our understanding of the rules which say the pit exit remains open until a line has formed behind the safety car. That clearly was not the case as there was a gap of over 18 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton whilst Michael was in the pits. He would have fitted in this gap if the red light had not have made this impossible. So Michael's race was ruined even though he posted quick lap times throughout the afternoon. Despite three pit stops and a long wait at the pit exit, he finished 6.5 seconds outside of the points. Nico had to look after his brakes throughout and was therefore handicapped. It's been a weekend to forget for our team but we will be stronger soon."
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel (1st): "It's good to be back winning and on a circuit where we didn't expect to be that strong. But we were quick enough at all times in the race to pull away, find the gap and then guide the car home, but it wasn't as easy as expected. It's good to get a lot of Championship points and the guys can be extremely proud, so a good weekend for them. Most important of all today is the fact that Mark had quite a big shunt but he's fine – it shows that the cars get safer and safer but still there is a lot of risk so it's good that he's OK."
Mark Webber (DNF, Accident): "I was going a lot faster than Heikki and then a long, long way before the braking point he braked – about 80m before – and at that point I'm a passenger. The car, thank God, was very safe. I am OK, I lost some points, but in the end when you're up there, you're not worried about points, I was worried that I was OK and ready for Silverstone. You cannot control where you are going and how hard the hits are going to be. Of course, the hits were pretty hard but it's good that I am OK. It was my Monte Carlo and Barcelona winning chassis and one which has secured a lot of pole positions, so the chassis has been good to me, and it has been good to me today as it saved me from some injures. I remain incredibly positive, we go on, it's half way through the Championship. Bloody hell, let's get on with it."
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "The most important thing today is that Mark Webber is safe and OK. After a very nasty accident, he's fine. Sebastian drove a very mature race and controlled his pace perfectly. After some bad luck recently, this result will be a boost for his confidence. Finally, congratulations to all members of the team for the relentless hard work that is getting performance to the car at each race. We now look forward to Silverstone in two weeks time."
Fabrice Lom, Renault: "Very mixed feelings, we are very happy for Seb, he won the race, from the beginning to the end with no trouble and the engine worked very well – it was the perfect weekend for one side of the garage. Unfortunately we had a bit accident with Mark and we are very, very happy that he is safe, he is OK. Overall it was a good weekend for the car, the performance was very good. We lose some points against McLaren but not that much."
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (8th): "The race was ruined by the Safety Car and everything that followed on from that. I am disappointed most of all for the thousands of spectators who were here today and saw how the situation was handled. I am very bitter about what happened today. I was in third place, a meter behind Hamilton at the moment the Safety Car came out on track and, at the checkered flag, he was second and I was ninth, even though we had made the same choice of strategy. The penalty he was given came when it could no longer have any real influence on his finishing position. From then on, my race was compromised. I was always in traffic and I did not get the performance I had expected from the hard tires: this also explains the difficulty I had in passing first Sutil and then Buemi. This is definitely a bad result for us, but I still hang onto the idea that we will do the maths at the end, in Abu Dhabi: incidents we have no control over will be made up for. We must continue to work and push on the car development front to try and be the quickest on the track."
Felipe Massa (11th): "Another horrible race on the back of the one in Canada. We were lying third and fourth with cars capable of getting a great result and instead, everyone has seen how it ended. On the lap when the accident happened, we were coming into the final corner and there was nothing, then suddenly, the Safety Car came out on track and I saw in the mirrors that the cars behind us were pitting: our chance of fighting for the podium went up in smoke at that moment. The difference between us and Hamilton is that he committed an infraction and we did not, but his penalty had no effect on his result. I think that errors were made in the way this situation was managed. From then on, our race was practically one long procession in traffic with no chance of changing anything. A real shame because today we could have done really well."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "The outcome of this Grand Prix leaves us with a very bitter taste. We had everything we needed to clinch a good result and we have ended up with a handful of points which is even less than we brought home from our worst race, a month ago in Turkey. It is a real shame because over this weekend we have shown that we have made a good step forward in terms of performance and the opening stage of the race looked promising. Then came the unfortunate blow linked to the safety car period, which arrived at the very worst moment for us in that both our cars had just gone past the pit lane entry and therefore were forced to do a full lap behind the Safety Car. And that definitely compromised our race. I think that the incidents linked to the neutralization put some questions on the table regarding how to manage situations like this and the eventual penalties linked to them. We have to ensure that our sport remains credible in the eyes of those involved and those who follow it, at the track and in front of their TV screens."
Chris Dyer: "We are very disappointed with the outcome of this race. The arrival of the Safety Car on track ruined what should have been a very good race for us, given the potential at our disposal. It is very, very difficult to overtake at this track therefore our race was totally compromised by an innocuous occurrence like a Safety Car period. In performance terms, this weekend has shown that we have made a step forward, but at the same time, we still have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be."
Williams-Cosworth
Rubens Barrichello (4th): "It was great fun out there today and the car was behaving well throughout the race. We really seem to be heading in the right direction with the development of the car and I hope that this improved performance continues for the rest of the season."
Nico Hulkenberg (DNF, Exhaust): "It was going really well and points were definitely possible today. I was running in tenth before the safety car came out. It wasn't good timing for me because I had called in a flat spot on my tire half a lap earlier and wanted to pit but by then it was too late. Combined with having to stack, I really lost all my places there. When the safety car came in I couldn't keep Alonso behind me, but after that it was quite a processional race up until something caught fire on my car. That obviously ended it for me."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "That was a good performance today by both cars, and definitely a step forward. Unfortunately, an exhaust failure cost Nico a possible point today and we will be investigating the cause back at the factory. The team is now looking forward to its home race at Silverstone and consolidating the step in performance we've made with further upgrades for the FW32."
Renault
Robert Kubica (5th): "I got a pretty good start today and I managed to keep my position, then had a really nice clean fight with Jenson – I think we spent about half a lap side by side. In fact, we both managed to overtake Webber going into turn eight: I was on the inside, Jenson was on the outside and we both squeezed Mark to get past. And then, Jenson and I went through the next two corners side by side as well, so it was a pretty fun first lap and I came out on top of the battle. After that, we got lucky when the Safety Car came out: I was already braking for the last corner when the message came on the steering wheel, so I decided to head straight to the pits. Unfortunately, though, we didn't manage to take maximum advantage of the opportunity: I was the first car into the pits but the third car to leave. If everything had gone smoothly, we could have finished on the podium this afternoon, but unfortunately we didn't manage to do so."
Vitaly Petrov (14th): "I'm disappointed with my result today. When you start the race in tenth, the minimum you expect is to keep your position. My problems began at the start because I got big wheel spin and lost a lot of places. After that I tried to keep up good pace and tried to attack De la Rosa, but he had very good speed on the straight it's very difficult to overtake here so I couldn't get by. As a rookie it's good experience for me to finish the race and we know what we need to do for the coming races."
Eric Boullier, Team Principal: "To finish fifth with Robert is a good result and we've made up some ground on Mercedes in the championship. We managed to react quickly to the Safety Car and adapt the strategy, but I still feel we could have come away with a better result. It's disappointing to see Vitaly miss out on points, especially after his good performance in qualifying. When you are in P15 after the first lap it's very difficult to get back into the points, but at least he had pretty strong pace today."
Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "Robert's fifth place today is a reasonable result considering that we started sixth. We reacted very quickly to the Safety Car to stop Robert, but unfortunately we had already planned to stop Vitaly on that lap and the mechanics were waiting in the pit lane with his tires. So there was a dash into the garage to swap the tires over, which cost us some time and meant we lost a couple of places to Button and Barrichello. However, because we reacted so quickly, we managed get ahead of both Ferraris so we stayed fifth overall. Robert then spent the rest of the race behind Barrichello and, although we turned up the engine towards the end of the race, it's so difficult to overtake here and we had to settle for fifth. As for Vitaly, he lost places on the first lap which made for a tough race. He recovered a couple of places at the pit stop, but just missed out on points today."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "For this race Vitaly had a fresh engine, while Robert's V8 was on its second race. Despite it being a very hot afternoon, there were no issues with the engine and we were able to get the full performance from them for the whole race. In terms of the result today, the points we have scored over Mercedes are important and we have taken 10 points out of their lead. The only disappointment is that we could have come away with a better result because some of competitors did a better job during the pit stops under the Safety Car. Looking ahead, we will continue pushing hard to develop the car for the next race, as we have done all season."
Force India-Mercedes
Adrian Sutil (6th): "It was an interesting race for me and a very good result in the end: from 13th to sixth, it's pretty amazing for us, one of the best races so far this season. We made the call to come into the pits at the right time – when the safety car went out I was in the last sector and could go in the pits straight away and then moved up the order when the front guys came in. Then I could pass Buemi on track and in the end it was sixth position. I think we did everything right today and it's a very positive result for the team to keep the points coming in."
Vitantonio Liuzzi (16th): "It was a reasonable race considering we knew it would be difficult to score points because of the starting position and there aren't many overtaking spots. It was a shame we couldn't make more of the safety car as Adrian did but basically we came in at the same time and as he was ahead on the road he was stopped in front of me and I had to wait for him to finish and then I got blocked by Petrov in the pitlane. That basically compromised my race. It's quite disappointing as yesterday we had good pace and we just couldn't get the most out of it in qualifying. From this perspective we showed points were possible and we can look forward to getting some more in Silverstone."
Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal: "With street racing anything can happen and that's what we saw today. We took advantage of the safety car period for Adrian, which moved him up into the points and then he did a great job to bring the car home sixth. Tonio was unlucky not to be able to benefit in the same way, however he still drove a very gutsy race and again demonstrated that in race trim the car is very competitive. We've come away from the weekend with some more points and I think sixth is a good reflection on where we are right now in the field."
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Sebastien Buemi (9th): "This was not a very good race as I could have finished sixth, but I made two mistakes, which have cost us four points. I am happy to be in the points, but disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity to do better. As for losing seventh place, I knew Kobayashi was closing very quickly on new tires, and on the penultimate lap I was blocking my front tires a lot. But at the final corner, I did not think he could brake that late and so I am unhappy that I made the mistake and let him pass. The team did a good job of the pit stop, at just the right moment during the Safety Car period. But we are under investigation along with many other cars about this point of the race. I found it very hard to slow down, as required by the rules, because the Safety Car arrived very late as we approached the start finish line. Let's wait and see what the stewards will say."
Jaime Alguersuari (13th): "To be honest, I am not really disappointed, because at least the team got points again with Sebastien, so congratulations to him. This weekend I never had a hundred percent control of the car, never having quite the right feeling with the brakes and that was my main issue. The situation improved slightly during the race, but I never felt the car was mine to do as I wanted. I have to tell myself that better times will come, just like I had earlier in the season. There are still a lot of races to go and once I get back the feeling for the car and its handling, I am sure I can score points again."
Franz Tost, Team Principal: "We have often said we need to improve our qualifying performance if we want to score points on a regular basis and yesterday, Buemi did exactly that to start from eleventh on the grid. Today he got the benefit of that and picked up another eighth place to follow on from the same finishing position in Canada two weeks ago. For a long time, he ran in sixth position which was also down to an excellent strategy from the team, in terms of managing the pit stop during the Safety Car period. However, Buemi is one of nine drivers under investigation by the stewards regarding a possible infringement during that Safety Car time, so we need to wait and see. Unfortunately, at the very last corner of the race, he lost seventh place to Kobayashi who was running on a very new set of Soft tires. But we have scored points again, so well done to the team."
Lotus-Cosworth
Jarno Trulli (21st): "I don't know exactly what happened at the beginning as I managed to get away from the mess at the front but I was hit from the back and at the same time lost my front wing. It all happened during the first lap, so I thought it was the end of the race for me, but I managed to get back to the pits, and the mechanics did a great job to fix the car. I went out but had a gearbox problem, so more good work from the boys got me back out and I was then able to run to the end. I did the whole race with one set of tires, and I felt that the pace throughout was very good. The handling was great, so I'm happy about the performance and when I pushed I was able to put in some really good lap times."
Heikki Kovalainen (DNF, Accident): "First of all it's good news that both of us are ok. Mark had a hardcore flight, and it could have ended up much worse, so it's good we're both fine. It's such a shame the race ended that early – I was going really well, pulling away from the guys behind by about half a second a lap, and with Mark we were racing for position so I was always going to defend. I didn't do anything wrong and he just ran into me. I think he missed his braking point and he ran into me at a very bad angle – his front tire hit my right rear and he took off. I had to make a mandatory visit to the medical centre, and shook hands with Mark there, but I'm absolutely fine, and glad Mark is too."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Heikki's accident is part of racing. It's a shame as both cars are coming on really well, but there is some good to take out of this. Despite being hit, Jarno managed to finish the race, and at the end it was great to hear him say 'the car is bloody good!' Overall it's been a very positive weekend, with a good Qualifying session and lots of very positive meetings and good decisions made for next year. It's also been a pleasure having the Chapman family here, and now we're all looking forward to bringing Lotus Racing back to the UK and racing in front of the British fans."
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director: "Obviously it was a very disappointing end to our 500th race. Jarno got hit at the start, and we had to change the nose. He also took a hit at the back, and that caused a gearbox problem. We were able to fix that and send him out again, although he was three laps down. He was held up by some of the other slower cars, but at the end of the race he was able to push and really show the car's pace. Heikki had an accident with Webber – he was defending his line and racing for position, and that's what we will always do in that situation. It's just a great shame, and we're very glad that neither driver was hurt."
HRT-Cosworth
Karun Chandhok (18th): "It was a reasonable race for me. The pace early on was reasonably good but then I started to struggle with the option tires. We decided to pit under the safety car and switch to primes which was a good decision as I was able to then settle into a rhythm and pull away from Bruno. At the end though, having done 47 laps on one set of tires I didn’t quite have enough pace to fight against Timo and he managed to muscle past on the final lap. All in all, I am quite pleased with the job I did today and it’s good for the team to get two cars to the finish in front of their home supporters."
Bruno Senna (20th): "It was a frustrating race today. Unfortunately, there was the incident with Timo Glock when my front wing was damaged. This happened during the blue flag we both got for a lapping car. But it is good to finish the race again after not having finished the last three."
Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "We started on different strategies into the race. Bruno started on prime tires and Karun was on options. We decided to do Karun's pit stop during the safety car period and to win some positions thereby, as the Virgins were on a different strategy. Unfortunately, there were two incidents where both drivers' front wings were damaged."
BMW Sauber-Ferrari
Kamui Kobayashi (7th): "Before the race we had decided to use separate tire strategies for Pedro and me. I started on the harder ones and didn't pit when everybody else did. It was great racing there at the front, but it was not easy either because I had Jenson Button close behind me all the time, and also I had to look after my tires. I was careful not to overdrive them. After my pit stop I had only four laps to make use of my fresh tires. At this moment I had better grip than anybody else, and I felt I had to make the most out of it. Of course it was a risk to overtake Alonso and Buemi. If it hadn't worked out and I had crashed I would have been in trouble."
Pedro de la Rosa (12th): "It was a great race from the team. The strategy paid off and the car was really good under race conditions. For most of the race I was stuck in traffic. The last 12 laps were very difficult for me because I had a big flat spot on my front right tire, and the vibrations in the car were quite bad. I didn't say this over the radio to the team, as I wanted to save them from bad news during the race because we have had enough of that. I am very, very happy for the entire team that we scored these points today. It is a great team and they deserve to be happy."
Peter Sauber, Team Principal: "What a fantastic race, particularly considering where we were on the grid. The team and the drivers did everything right today. Pedro delivered a very solid performance and scored one point, and Kamui was absolutely amazing. The lap times which he put in while he was in third were stunning. They prove how much potential there is in this car. Congratulations to the whole team and the drivers!"
James Key, Technical Director: "It was a very good result for the team and an excellent race from both drivers who managed to bring the cars home in the points, which we needed and the team deserved. Given our qualifying performance yesterday, we decided to split our strategy, and the plan was to go as far as possible for Kamui on the harder compound. For Pedro we chose a more standard approach. He started on the option tires and stopped during the safety car period at exactly the right time. He was able to complete the race on the prime tires, which lasted very well. With Kamui we decided to leave him out and keep a very close eye on his lap times and also the traffic behind him. His performance in the race when he was holding third was absolutely outstanding. He was putting in some very quick lap times, and holding Button behind him without coming under much pressure. We should be very happy with this result. It was a great effort from the team and the drivers."
Virgin-Cosworth
Lucas di Grassi (17th): "I'm thrilled to finish as the lead driver of the new teams for the first time today and for us to get two cars home again is a fantastic result for our team. For me it feels a bit like a victory and it was definitely one of the best races of my career. The car was performing well – exactly as we had expected it to – and we had a great pitstop which was also well-timed to manage the traffic. We are making good progress as a team and with the car. We had good pace here and this has been a positive step forward for us. We have another one coming for Silverstone – which we hope will be a good one – and then we just need to keep them coming because we are moving in the right direction."
Timo Glock (19th): "I got a bad start to my Race and was sat behind Lucas for a long time. I couldn't pass him because every time I came close I destroyed the tires and so I had to just wait for a chance. Then I had a big lock-up and destroyed the front right tire and had to come into the pits to take the soft tire. The car was really good on the Option tire and we were able to do some big lap times but when I overtook Senna I touched his front wing and destroyed the rear tires in the process so I had to pit again. I was able to do good lap times and I was quite happy with the car at the end. I overtook Chandhok on the last lap and finished in front of the other new teams so it was a good race towards the end. It is also great for the team to secure another strong two-car finish so we head to Virgin Racing's home Grand Prix at Silverstone feeling positive."
John Booth, Team Principal: "A great effort from our team in the Race today and throughout the weekend. Both drivers have done a good job here and Lucas in particular deserves to feel happy with his Qualifying and Race results. Congratulations to the team on an excellent job in the pits where we secured the fourth fastest pit stop of the Race. With both drivers performing as well as they are and a clear demonstration of our car performance moving in the right direction, we have good reason to feel positive as we head towards the midpoint of the season and into our home race at Silverstone in two weeks' time."
Nick Wirth, Technical Director: "That was a clear step in the right direction for our team. Not only were both cars running strongly at the finish, but it's very clear from the driver feedback and our race pace that our performance developments are working, so I must congratulate everyone behind the scenes for this work. To finish only one lap down on the leader is a clear indication of our progress since Bahrain. The next step is to bring some more of our aero developments out of the digital domain and on to the race car, so we'll put that right at Silverstone, and the whole team can't wait to see what happens at our fantastic home Grand Prix."