Quotes of the Week
"Lewis was in another league. He was driving fast, consistent, and we couldn't even think of attacking him. What we said in our pre-race briefing was to try and attack Lewis above all at the beginning of the race, but we couldn't do it because he was so fast." Stefano Domenicali, Director, Ferrari Formula 1 team, commenting on Lewis Hamilton's win at the Chinese Grand Prix
10/19/08
"All weekend we've had God on our side as always and the team have done a phenomenal job really. We came here and the car felt fantastic all weekend – I owe so much to the guys, not just at the track but at home. The car is really a dream to drive. It was a fantastic team effort so a big thanks to them. I just had to keep it under control, it wasn't tough at all. When you are at the front and you've got a gap and you can push a bit more. It is quite comforting, about keeping your head and keeping calm." Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 driver, McLaren Mercedes, winner of Chinese GP and contender for the 2008 World Drivers Champion
"He [Fernando Alonso] was a double world champion who came to the team and got beaten by a rookie. That says it all. When someone has been winning, then another driver comes in and takes over, then they are not going to be happy about it." Denying he has been drawn in to a round of mind games, Hamilton said "I don't believe in them. There is no need to, because we can do the job. It [his unpopularity among his fellow drivers] is because I'm winning. When you are a winner, when you are doing well, that is the game." Lewis Hamilton
"You should tell him [Lewis Hamilton] that he is a Formula One driver, not a Martian. He is not Muhammad Ali. He is a good driver but you see good drivers also taking results home. There are good (football) forwards who always hit the post or the bar and the ball never goes in. Then there are those that score and he hasn't scored yet. Hamilton has learnt nothing. We saw that in Japan." Flavio Briatore, Managing Director, Renault
"This is a great result for the team, less so for me. Today's race was a difficult one. We were not quick enough to fight against Hamilton. Losing two points does not mean that I have lost hope. I will continue to fight right to the very end and I can't wait to race in Interlagos in front of my home crowd. I will try my luck there – it will be the first time for a Brazilian – which will be a further incentive. The team is united and has faith. That is very important and nice too." Felipe Massa, Formula 1 driver, Ferrari, contender for the World Drivers Championship, commenting on his 2nd place finish in the Chinese GP
"We know what we want as a team, and that's what we did – it's normal in this situation. I know what the team expects and what we wants for our results. I have nothing to lose or win, I'm driving for the team. Today I had a very good car all the time, no major issues and it was handling quite nicely, but unfortunately it wasn't fast enough in the moments when we needed to be. So unfortunately second and third today was the best we could do, but hopefully at the next race we can challenge them a bit more. We gave our best, but it didn't work out this time." Kimi Raikkonen, reigning World Drivers Champion, Ferrari, commenting on handing second place to his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa in the Chinese GP, despite outpacing the title-chasing Brazilian all weekend. He relinquished second to Felipe Massa after the final stops so Massa could stay within seven points of Hamilton going into the season finale in Brazil.
"The Japanese race demonstrated that Lewis is still very young, in only his second season, and although he comes across as very cool in interviews, he doesn't always have the same level of mind management when he's racing. Hamilton's approach in that first corner was slightly arrogant to other drivers. He braked far too late, ran deep into the run-off area, almost collided with Kimi Raikkonen, and was later punished by the stewards with a drive-through penalty. That was the 'make it happen' moment of the race. Lewis didn't make it happen for himself; he made it happen for everybody else by taking himself out of contention." Sir Jackie Stewart, 3-times World Drivers Champion
"There is a lot of sand on the track and it gives us a hard time. Not every lap is the same conditions. We see a lot of GT cars cutting the curbs and bringing the dirt on the track. With the prototype you have a lot of downforce and grip, and then it just goes away and you snap your rear and lose the car. It was kind of emotional for me to overtake EP [Emanuele Pirro] in his last race. I had the opportunity and I knew I had to take it but it was hard. I had a good time in traffic and pulled out with a good gap. It was a good race and great day." Marco Werner, ALMS driver, Audi Sport North America, co-driver with Lucas Luhr, commenting on their overall victory at the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
"When I retired from F1 at the age of 30, I believed that the best part of my career, if not all of it, was over and I could never have imagined (even being an "eternal optimistic") that I still had 15 wonderful years with Audi to come, full of personal and professional success. These 15 years with Audi are full of wonderful memories. But, even the best fairy tales come to an end! I would sincerely say a big THANK YOU to Audi Sport and my Audi Teams, ROC Competition, Audi Sport Italia, Team Joest and Champion Racing who made me feel at home and gave me much more than just very competitive race cars. Another big THANK YOU goes to all my teammates without whom I could not have achieved these results. I will miss Frank with his consistency and reliability, Tom with his professionalism, Marco with his natural talent, Dindo with his character, humor and sincerity, and Allan with his speed. Whatever happens I take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the great people I came across in my successful and, beyond imagination, long career that contributed and helped me to get to this point. Also I would like to wish Audi Sport and its drivers all the best." Emanuele Pirro, ALMS driver, raced an Audi Prototype for the last time this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
"I was actually thinking about that in the car. There's never been an American to win this. I'm not any more happy than now. This is just fantastic to win the event. I can't thank Jeremy Shaw and the Team USA Scholarship enough. I wouldn't even be over here without those guys and that scholarship program. The competition was great. It was aggressive and all around fun. I mean everyone drove clean which made it a good fun this weekend. Josef Newgarden, 2008 Team USA Scholarship driver, first American to win the Formula Ford Festival, Brands Hatch Circuit. Newgarden's teammate, Conor Daly, also played a starring role, rising from the back of the grid in his heat race to finish a sterling sixth in the 25-lap Final