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Sunday press releases - Australia |
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Australia Grand Prix - selected team & driver quotes |
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Ferrari Stefano Domenicali: "This was definitely not a start worthy of Ferrari, from any point of view. We were lacking on the reliability front, with two cars forced to retire. Our performance was not up to the potential we had expected after our winter testing: we struggled to manage the tyres. Furthermore, our strategy choices did not work out, especially in the case of Felipe. To sum up, it was a day to forget from the result point of view, but to remember well so as to try and analyse everything we failed in, in order to improve immediately. From that point of view, it's good we have a race coming up immediately next week in Malaysia. It will give us the opportunity to react as long as we draw the right conclusions, calmly but also decisively. Australia does not seem to have been a happy hunting ground for us these last few years: the circuit is a bit untypical where it could be that the pecking order is not so clear. It will be more evident in Sepang, but we are well aware that, apart from one team that was untouchable today, there are numerous other strong competitors." Felipe Massa: "We knew the Brawn GP cars would be unbeatable today, but all the same, we thought we could have a good race. The start was great, but after five or six laps, we ran into trouble with the soft tyres, to such an extent that we had to pit early. We then switched to a very aggressive strategy, which with hindsight turned out to be the wrong one, as shortly after the pit stop, the safety car came out on track. I found myself third, but after the restart, I had less than ten laps to try and make up ground on those who were behind me, but with more fuel. At the second stop, we filled it for the finish, but then I was very slow and finally, I had the problem which forced me to retire. In my opinion, apart from the Brawns, we are competitive, but we have to work perfectly to get to the front. Here, it is very difficult to get the tyres to work, partly because the track surface does not provide much grip. The solution for Malaysia? Work and work hard." Kimi Raikkonen: "When I ended up in the wall it was my mistake. A shame as, given what happened later, I could have finished second. We lost valuable points but we will try and make up for it starting right away in Malaysia. There, we will get a clearer picture of the situation because this circuit is not very indicative of performance. The KERS worked well at the start, but there was not much room to go anywhere. If we did not think it gave an advantage, we would not use it. Definitely the main problem was in managing the tyres, but we also need to improve our overall performance." Luca Baldisserri: "We opted to start on the softer tyres, a gamble that did not pay off today, because, given the huge degradation suffered by both drivers, we had to bring the first stops forward. We then went on two different strategies: with Felipe, in hindsight, we went the wrong way, especially as the safety car period did not help. Apart from this, we must admit that today, our performance was not up to that of many of our rivals. We must work out why and react quickly, starting in Malaysia." Toyota Jarno Trulli "I can't say how disappointed I am to finish third but have the result questioned. When the safety car came out towards the end of the race Lewis Hamilton passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. I thought he had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do. I would still like to say thank you to the team who have made a huge effort. The fact we were able to fight for the podium despite starting from the pit lane is down to them." Timo Glock "I am happy to finish fourth but obviously it is really disappointing for Jarno. For us to be fighting at the front like that after we started from the pit lane really shows the strong performance we have. This is proof that our car has real pace. It was a good race for me and I have to say thanks to the team for their hard work in achieving this. The race was pretty exciting but I was stuck behind the Renault of Alonso for quite a while and it was difficult to overtake. My car felt good but I couldn't find a way past, however when I was in clear air I was able to go about a second faster so the performance is definitely there. I said before the weekend that we looked strong judging by our winter performance and it's great to show that in race conditions." Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal "This is an extremely frustrating way to finish a challenging weekend. Already we were disappointed to be starting from the pit lane after we were informed yesterday about the problem with our rear wing. We responded to that in a fantastic way and we showed that our car has genuine performance. I would like to thank everyone who is part of our team, not just the guys at the track but also everyone at the factory, our partners and our fans. It's sad that this result has been questioned but we have filed an appeal to give us more time to study the data and the situation." Brawn GP JENSON BUTTON "What an amazing day! This is just a fairytale ending to the first race of our career together at Brawn GP. It may have looked like an easy victory but it really wasn't easy at all out there today but we brought the car home and that's all that matters. This win is for me, my family and my team. It's been a traumatic few months and I want to say a massive thank you to them all for being so strong and never losing belief. This weekend we have achieved everything that we deserve for all of our hard work over the past few months. And what's so exciting is that there is so much more to come from myself and from this team. I can't wait to get to Malaysia!" RUBENS BARRICHELLO "Well you could say that I had an eventful afternoon! I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race and honestly I am so delighted to have achieved second. It was really tough for me at the start as the anti-stall kicked in which cost me a few places off the line and then I was hit heavily from behind going into the first corner and thought my race was over. Thankfully the car survived and I was able to battle my way up to fourth and be in the position to take advantage of the accident between Vettel and Kubica. It just goes to show that you should never give up! Congratulations to Jenson for a fantastic win today and my heartfelt thanks to the team for providing us with such a good car. This is the start of a very exciting journey for us." ROSS BRAWN "We have worked incredibly hard for this victory today and to see the dedication, commitment and sheer hard work come to fruition with Jenson and Rubens bringing home a one-two finish for Brawn GP at the first race of the season is immensely rewarding. After everything that our team has been through over the past four months, this is quite simply a sensational result. It is just the beginning for us and it wasn't a perfect race by any means so we will learn from today and continue to improve. We have to keep developing the car throughout the season if we want to challenge for further wins and the championship. I would like to express our sincere thanks to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines who have been so supportive over the past few months and have worked closely with the team to ensure we were in a position to go racing this year. Thanks also to Virgin, Henri Lloyd and all our team partners for having the vision to see what the team could do before today and wanting to be a part of it. It's difficult to put into words what this win means to our team but I'm sure that I speak for every single one of them, here at the track and back at the factory in Brackley, when I say it has been a wonderful weekend." Renault Fernando Alonso P6 "6th place is not the best result, but in a way we have to be happy because we started the race in a difficult position and I was pushed wide at turn 1 onto the grass and so I dropped to the back of the pack. After that, it was difficult and so it's great to score points. With what happened during the race, the incidents and the safety car, we managed to finish 6th. In terms of the overall results and looking at our competitors, we have to be happy with the result. With the KERS I didn't feel a big difference and I was a little bit disappointed at how it worked. We also need to work on the tyres a bit more at the next race." Nelson Piquet DNF "I was really happy because we were lucky at the beginning of the race to gain some positions. The car was good and I was having a consistent drive. But when the safety car came out I started to have some problems with the brakes. I had a good restart and overtook Nico Rosberg, but when I touched the brakes again they were gone. I spun out and I was lucky I ended up in the gravel, so there was no damage to myself or the car. The car was not as competitive as we wanted it to be in the race but we were still running in the top 8. The Malaysian circuit should suit us better and I'm sure that we can get a good result there next week." Flavio Briatore, Managing Director ING Renault F1 Team "The three points scored by Fernando are not a great consolation for what has been a disappointing weekend for us. We were just not competitive enough and our qualifying performance penalised us for the race. Fernando lost several positions at the start because of the first corner incident which he could not avoid. That said, our two drivers were consistent and tried to make the most of the situation. Nelson made a good start and his race was very promising, but a technical problem unfortunately brought his race to an end. It's only the first Grand Prix and our intention is to work hard to fight back quickly, starting at the next Grand Prix in Malaysia. Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering "Nelson's accident appears to have been caused by a problem with the brake system, although as yet we don't know what that might be. It's a shame because he was in a reasonable position. We are clearly not as competitive as we need to be and there is a lot of work to be done to get to the front." Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations "A mixed result this afternoon with the retirement of Nelson and we will need to look into why he couldn't finish. We would have been able to do something good with Nelson who had a great start to the race. I think he could have been on the podium, so it's a shame. We finished 6th with Fernando and when you consider the level of competitiveness that we have shown this weekend, it's not a bad result. We know that we have to do better and so we will take these points and work hard to try and get a strong result at the next race." |
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McLaren Mercedes LEWIS HAMILTON Started: 18th, Finished: 3rd, Fastest lap: 1m29.020s on lap 39 (13th) Pitstops: two (O-P-P; lap 11, 12.0s; lap 43, 7.8s) A fantastic, storming race from Lewis to charge from 18th on the grid to third at the finish. Always on the attack, he profited from the opening-lap melee and an aggressive first stint on low fuel and option tyres to slot into the top 10 by lap five. He made his first stop on lap 11 (12.0s), where he was long-fuelled and switched to primes. A relentless middle stint saw him surge to fifth: evidence of his push was evident, with several opposite-locking moments clearly visible on successive laps out of Turn Nine. A second stop (7.8s) on lap 43 and an adjustment to the front-wing settings dropped him to 10th, allowing him to remain ahead of Buemi. Pitting cars pushed him back to seventh, after which he really got his head down, catching and passing Rosberg for sixth (into Turn Nine, on lap 54). The Vettel-Kubica shunt elevated him to fourth and a mistake by Trulli, when behind the Safety Car, vaulted him into the top three -- one of Lewis's greatest ever Formula 1 drives and truly worthy of a world champion. "We scored way more points than we could have realistically expected," said Lewis: "I was looking to try and get one point, so to get six is a great achievement. We've definitely not forgotten how to win: our strategy was perfect and the team did a fantastic job. Considering the package we've got, I wrung every last ounce of pace out of the car, drove one of my best ever races and absolutely raced my heart out -- I'm so satisfied. Also, my heartfelt congratulations to Jenson -- he's driven brilliantly all weekend and both he and his team really deserve this success." HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: Started: 12th Finished: ret Elevated from 14th to 12th by the Toyota grid penalties, Heikki got a good start but was an innocent victim in the first-corner accident, touching wheels with a spinning Mark Webber -- contact that punctured his left-front tyre and damaged his suspension. "Obviously, my race was very short," he said afterwards. "Webber had a moment at the first corner and his front wheel hit my left-front. It was a racing accident -- these things unfortunately happen." MARTIN WHITMARSH -- team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes "Today was one of those days on which Lewis demonstrated very clearly just what a fantastic racing driver he is. Throughout the race he showed great speed and tenacity, tempered when necessary by commendable patience. The car we supplied him wasn't as competitive as we'd have liked it to be -- we've made no secret of that -- but we're working flat-out, night and day, to improve it. The points Lewis scored today are of course very welcome -- and, as and when we regain our form, we hope they'll take on a greater significance still. As for Heikki, he started with a heavy fuel-load and could also have scored points today -- but, sadly, and blamelessly on his part, his race was ended early on when he happened upon an incident involving two other cars. Lastly, well done to all at Brawn GP -- and of course also to Mercedes-Benz, whose superb engines powered the first three cars." NORBERT HAUG -- vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport "Lewis finally in third place and the best car with KERS -- this is more than we had expected after starting 18th. He drove an excellent race under very difficult circumstances and proved his world-champion class. During the second Safety Car period, Trulli had an off and Lewis overtook him for third place, but he let Trulli past again. But the stewards' decision after the race gave him back third place. It's a shame for Heikki; without the first-corner multiple-car collision which was not his fault, he also could have scored a solid result in this turbulent race. Congratulations to Brawn GP, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello on their one-two victory -- three times Mercedes-powered cars in the top three makes us happy. Our customer team did a great job and we helped to 'Keep the Customer Satisfied'!" Red Bull MARK WEBBER, (Finish Position 13th Start Position: 8th) - Car 14 "That was frustrating at my home race. I was so disappointed to drive round with a damaged car. I wanted a good result for the fans today, but we'll do our best to recover from the next race on it would have been nice to have got a good result here. My start wasn't too bad. I got to Turn one and was making sure I got through there clean, but then Rubens (Barrichello) came in to the side of me pretty hard and that was it really. I lost a huge amount of down force; we had a lot of damage and I wasn't going to be a threat to anyone after that. It was a tough day for the team but we'll be back, I'm happy that Malaysia is in only a weeks' time." SEBASTIAN VETTEL, (Finish Position DNF, Start Position: 3rd) - Car 15 "We were in second and a strong position, but then, a couple of laps from the end, I had a stupid racing accident with Robert (Kubica). At the time I turned in I was ahead, but I couldn't keep up speed in the corner and Robert was on a harder tyre, so was much quicker. At the time we collided he was in front, but I had no where to go, I couldn't stop the car, or turn to the right and my tyres were gone. It's a shame as it meant the end of the race for both of us. Should I have let him go? You always want to fight. Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life. I tried to defend and, up to the mid-corner, I had reason, but then I had no grip to avoid a collision. I'm sorry to the team and also to Robert, as it didn't just mean the end of my race, but also his. The team did a good job, we were working very hard over the winter and the car seems to be very good. We had good pace today, so overall we have a reason to smile." CHRISTIAN HORNER: "A totally gutting finish to what had been a superb race for Sebastian. He had good pace throughout and was trying to take the fight to (Jenson) Button. He drove an immaculate race, but I guess a racing accident with Kubica at the end on the soft tyre was always going to be marginal and we came within two laps of a great finish. Looking on the positive side, the pace of the car was very good. It backed up our qualifying performance and we can take confidence into the next race in Malaysia in only a week's time. Mark was unfortunately involved in an incident on the first lap which effectively destroyed his home race. We elected to keep him running in order to put more mileage on the car. It was a great shame after such strong team work here and in Milton Keynes, the team didn't deserve the finish we had today, but we'll fight back next weekend." FABRICE LOM, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: "What a disappointment - we had been so quick! Mark had a shunt at the first corner and lost his race there. Sebastian did a fantastic race and was nearly as quick as the winner, but we had to take the soft tyre on the last stint and a shunt ended his race. So, a shame, but I have such hope for the season with this pace. We are down, but ready to bounce back." BMW Sauber Nick Heidfeld: 11th BMW Sauber F1.09-04 / BMW P86/9 (KERS) "Today's outcome to the race is extremely disappointing for me. I had such a good start and was able to make up positions straight away. My strategy was promising too. Then in the braking zone for the first corner I felt safe because when I looked there was no car next to me. I was in the middle of the track but suddenly I got a big bang. I had to pit for new tyres and a front wing, but the damage to the car was a lot more than that and driving with it was hopeless. I think at least the KERS helped me to defend my position with such a slow car. But in the end it didn't matter much because who cares if you finish 11th or 13th." Robert Kubica: accident BMW Sauber F1.09-03 / BMW P86/9 "What a disappointment! I had a chance to win this race because Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel were on soft tyres and struggling, while I was on the harder compound and was able to drive much quicker. Sebastian went wide in corner one and then he braked early. I was already in front, but he didn't want to let me by. Then he had a lot of understeer and touched me. My front wing was under the car, therefore I crashed in corner 5. I think Sebastian was a bit too optimistic. Had this been the last corner okay, but there were still three laps to go and he really had no realistic chance to defend his position because I was so much quicker. We both had a great weekend up to this point and we leave Melbourne with nothing. That's a real shame! My car was very good, particularly in the second stint when I set the best lap times. That's racing!" Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "As quite often happened in the past we had another race in Melbourne with a lot of drama. Nick's hopes had already gone in the first corner. After a collision, which wasn't his fault, he was not only a long way behind, but also his aerodynamics were ruined, which made it impossible for him to catch up. Robert drove an excellent race and got himself up with the leaders in the final laps of the race. He was on the harder tyre compound, and had every chance to catch the two cars in front of him to win the race. The collision three laps before the flag ended the race for him and also for Sebastian Vettel, so both drivers lost a podium and points. On the positive side, I can say that today we were very fast on the harder tyres." Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering): "This was a turbulent start to the season, particularly for our team. Nick lost his chances in the race immediately after the start following a crash, which was not his fault. Robert was even unluckier. First he was catching the leading cars. And then, just a few laps from the end, he was able to attack the frontrunners. Because of our tyre choice, Robert was on the harder compound on the last stint, unlike his competitors on the soft. At this stage our car was much quicker than the two leading ones. When Robert overtook Sebastian Vettel he was already in front when Sebastian touched him. This cost us second place or even the victory." Williams Nico Rosberg: It was a challenging race and we suffered with a few glitches here and there, firstly from my side when on lap one I left the door open at turn three and I lost some positions, and then we had a problem on my first pit stop. The restart after the first safety car on cold tyres was very difficult, I had no grip at all and again in the last part of the race, I had taken everything out of my tyres and they were dropping out, so it was impossible to keep anyone behind me. All said, I think two points is a good outcome because I believe we are faster than a couple of the cars who finished ahead of us today, so from a championship perspective, it's looks okay. It was an exciting race today thanks to the new rules. Kazuki Nakajima: I had a quite a big accident on lap 17 when I ran wide at turn four and I hit the kerb, which unsettled the car and then I lost the rear. It was quite a fast impact, but I had a precautionary check in the medical centre, everything is fine and physically I am okay, but of course the outcome - my retirement - hurts! The race was really enjoyable, we had a good pace, good fuel and good tyres, so I have to keep all the positives in mind and take these forward to Malaysia next weekend. Sam Michael, Technical Director: We showed encouraging pace in today's race and when the car was in clear traffic, we were as quick as anyone and Nico recorded the fastest lap of the race and did a good job. But we made too many mistakes as a team today and we will be looking to make a better job of what the car offers at the next race in Malaysia. Congratulations to Ross Brawn, Jenson and their team for an impressive result, we will try our best not to let them make a habit of it! Toro Rosso Sebastien Buemi (STR4-01) Pos.8th "First race first point, so I'm very happy. Maybe we had a bit of luck with the accidents, but even without that we were not too bad and our strategy worked well and I am very happy with the way my race went. I made a mistake when I was alongside Massa, hitting the limiter button, but when he put the KERS on you could really see the advantage it brings. I am pleased with what happened today because to get a point in the bag at the first race takes some pressure off. The team did a fantastic job considering that we have not had much testing time with the car before coming here. It's a dream really and not the result I expected on Friday. It shows we have a good potential." Sebastien Bourdais (STR4-02) Pos.9th "I had a very tough first part, as after just three laps, the Option tyres were graining. Several cars passed me so the team called me in and the second stint was not too bad. When the Safety Car came out, it was clear we had to fuel to finish. A few more Safety Cars would therefore have helped as I did a final stint of 36 laps and in the early part the car felt a bit like a caravan with all that fuel weight on board. I had a very big moment where I was lucky not to crash and then I had a seat belt come loose and I had to find a way of locking myself into position in the car. I think we should be a bit stronger in Malaysia next weekend." Franz Tost: "Buemi, first race one point: it's the start of a good career, as scoring a point on one's debut shows the driver is talented and it's thanks to Red Bull that he is in our driver pool. He qualified well and with a bit of luck he might have made it to Q2, so we'll be aiming for that in Malaysia. He was up to tenth after one lap and raced without making mistakes, defending his position, having an interesting fight with Rosberg. He is on the right path and I think we have a really good driver in our line up." Force India The Force India Formula One Team today achieved its early season objective of a double race finish, securing two top 12 finishes in the Australian Grand Prix. After a thrilling and unpredictable race Adrian Sutil finished in 10th position with Giancarlo Fisichella 12th, marking the team's best result since its 2008 debut. For the second consecutive year Albert Park's first corner yielded a chaotic start, this time to the misfortune of Adrian, who lost part of his front wing and was forced to pit. Dropped to the rear of the field, he nevertheless drove a measured, consistent race and kept clear of the numerous accidents to claim his best result in over a year. Giancarlo meanwhile demonstrated the much improved pace of the VJM02 and by lap 12 was in a points-scoring position. When the first safety car was deployed Giancarlo had graduated to fourth position, however an unfortunate mistake on entering the pitlane cost him crucial seconds and he rejoined in 14th position. Undeterred, the Italian pushed until the end and, like his team-mate, recorded very competitive lap times right to the finish of the race. The team will now travel directly to Malaysia for the second race of the championship in just one week's time. Adrian Sutil (car 20) 'As expected we got a very exciting race! I had a good start, but in the first corner I think Webber slowed down and there was nowhere I could go. I damaged my front wing and had to get the car back to the pits. I lost some time behind Heidfeld's BMW: I was faster but there was no way I could get through. After the first safety car everything was fine - we had a good strategy with a short stint on the soft tyres in the middle. On the restart I could get past a few cars and then on the hard tyre it went really well. I could finish in 10th position - I think we can be happy with this.' Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21) 'I'm very disappointed with the mistake I made in the pit stop. I was just confused with last year as we were always in the last slot in the pitlane, so I just overshot and had to be pulled back into the pits. I'm really sad about this as I think we could have got a good result. We can take some positives away from this race though - we were able to fight with the others and the car felt good over the race. I'm really looking forward to Malaysia now.' Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal 'I am absolutely delighted with the result we have achieved here today. Considering the relatively late debut of the VJM02 and the changes we have implemented over the winter, getting two cars to the finish is a fantastic achievement. Both drivers had overall excellent races and showed that we have made improvements to both the pace and the balance of the car this year. Given our objective was just to finish this race, to do so with both cars in the top 12 is well beyond our expectations. It's a good foundation for this year.' |
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1. Jenson Button (Brawn GP), 1h34m15.784s; 2. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP), 1h34m16.591s; 3. Jarno Trulli (Toyota), 1h34m17.388s Q: Jenson, mayhem in front of you perhaps and certainly the mayhem behind you showed how much things could have gone wrong for you today. But from where we sat it looked like a beautiful day at the races. Jenson Button: I think it always looks easier than it is. The first few laps of the race were great for me and I could settle into a pace, but then when the safety car came out I struggled massively to get heat into the tyres. The car was hitting the ground and just before the safety car pulled in I flat-spotted the tyre pretty severely. I was struggling quite a bit with vibration and with the poor light as well. Being in the front it should be easy, but it was not easy at all. I tell you that. But an amazing day. Some people might say it is a pity it finished under the safety car, but I don’t care. I won the race today and that is all I care about. I have got to say a massive thank you to everyone for this. It has been a traumatic few months for all of us, as I have said already, but I can’t put it out there how tough it has been, so I have got to say thank you to the whole team. But also to my family for being so strong as it has been difficult. Q: Rubens, backing up the team performance with a brilliant second place proving the car is not only quick but also incredibly strong. Rubens Barrichello: It is strong, very strong. I was hit from behind and I hit someone in front. It was a tough race and as Jenson just said, it wasn’t an easy race, but for me I never thought I could finish on the podium after the start. I hit anti-stall, so the car went into neutral. I recovered quite quickly but then I lost a lot of pace compared to people and I was hit from behind from a McLaren and that put me sideways and I hit someone really hard. I thought the car was done from that crash but I survived quite well, but on my first stint my nose was falling apart and I lost the braking stability when I hit Kimi as well. He closed the door and I couldn’t avoid him. I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race, but it was fantastic. I started second but could only hope for one better but after the start I am delighted to be here with the second place. Q: Jarno, in some respects starting from the pit lane was the best place to start, given what happened at the first corner. Jarno Trulli: Well, after yesterday’s disappointment this was a great day, especially for my team. I started from the pit and I was lucky enough to get away from the first corner accident. From that time on I was just pushing, pushing, pushing really hard because the car was good. This is a great result and especially I would like to thank my Panasonic Toyota team because they have made a lot of effort and this result is entirely down to them as they have done a god job over the winter time to give me a fantastic car, so after yesterday we bounced back today to show that we are doing things the right way. Q: Jenson, you said the light was getting bad and the temperature was dropping and after your second pit stop you are emerging on the softer of the two Bridgestone tyres and the pressure is on with Robert Kubica on the hard tyre. JB: You know, I really made a mistake in my pit stop and it was frustrating. I was in second gear when I came into the box and the neutral didn’t work. It only works in first gear but I was just confused with Massa in front and that lost us a hell of a lot of time, so they just about got the nozzle on after they had done the tyres. That cost me five or six seconds which was a mistake but the good thing was we came out on top anyway with that. There is something to come from me and something to come from the team as well. I made it difficult for us today but we got there. Q: What were the conditions like right at the end with the shade and the drop in temperatures? JB: It was really difficult. It is strange for such an open circuit, you could not see the exit of the corners at all. I used a visor that was slightly tinted and that was the correct thing to do. But with the glare from the sun and the change in light from the trees it was so difficult. It was so easy to put a wheel wrong and the problem was the bad light was always on the most difficult corners, so it made it tough and on the prime tyre also we were struggling for heat. I just couldn’t get any heat in the tyres in the second stint. Q: Rubens, you said that you started second. Explain what happened at the start. RB: Well, revs are on and my car moved and stopped and that’s when I hit anti-stall. Anti-stall is a protection from the engine that you have. You jump into neutral if you don’t have the right revs. I went on the inside but the McLaren, I don’t know who, I hit it really fast on my back and then I hit the other car which was a Red Bull or Toro Rosso. It was a fairly big hit and I thought my race was over, but one thing we can say is that with the crash if people think that our car is only good because of the diffuser, well, that big hit from behind broke the diffuser completely. The car was very strong after that. It didn’t have a fantastic pace as the temperature dropped but it had a pace, so still a good car after all. Q: Jarno, a brilliant race from the pit lane but your race really came alive in those closing stages when on lap 56 Robert Kubica attacked Sebastian Vettel with Vettel on the soft tyre and Robert on the harder tyre and I think you going through the debris after this. JT: Well, there have been a lot of things going on during this race. Mainly I was trying to push as hard as possible in order to catch up. I made a lot of overtaking during the whole race, at the beginning of the session as well as in the middle and in the end. I didn’t know what was going on as my only target was to push as hard as possible to finish as high as possible and somehow I was lucky but once again I have to thank the team as we had a fantastic car, so I could do it. Q: Jenson, at the 1954 French Grand Prix Juan Manuel Fangio led a one-two for Mercedes. That was the last time a team making its debut had a one-two finish. You did that today with a Mercedes engine behind you. Your emotions and your thoughts at the end of this momentous occasion? JB: It is not just for me, but for the whole team. This is a fairy tale ending really to the first race of our career together and I hope that we can continue this way and I know we are going to fight to keep this car competitive and with the limited resources we have to keep it at the front. The whole team has done a good job and this has got to continue as this is where I think we deserve to be and we have worked very hard for this. So thank you very much to the team and bring on Malaysia. PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Jenson, someone is going to pinch you in a moment and you are going to wake up. JB: I said on the radio to my engineer ‘can you please pinch me next time round.’ It was at the start of the race after five laps when I had a five second lead or something, but yes, a special moment. Q: Can you believe being on pole in a brand new car and now winning as well? JB: Yeah, I mean Rubens made it sort of easy for me on the first timed lap when I was able to pull out four or five seconds in the first couple of laps. That was nice and I just settled into a nice rhythm. I was keeping Vettel’s times in check, just knowing what he was doing and just trying to pace myself. It was all looking reasonably good and then we got the first safety car and I massively struggled to get heat into the tyres. That is something we have not had an issue with before, but I was really struggling with the car bottoming and when I braked to start again when the safety car came in I locked the front left up and had a massive flat spot. It made the next stint very difficult, especially with the poor light, as I couldn’t see any of the corner exits and we were able to plough on and still put reasonably good lap times in. On my last stop I overshot the box a little bit and they couldn’t get the hose on for about four or five seconds, so that lost us more time. It wasn’t my best race I must say but I still won, so I am chuffed to bits. I know there is more room for improvement from myself and from team which is the exciting thing. I think it is just being out of practice for so long and not doing that much testing over the winter. Q: What about that final stint and especially with Robert Kubica on the harder tyres? JB: I actually wasn’t worried. I knew when I came out in front of Vettel that I would be fine as I knew that we could look after the tyre. The thing with the last stint was not to push and try and see what was the best time I could do. I was purposely driving very slowly for what pace I think we could do to look after the tyres. I wasn’t turning in aggressively to any corners. I think I could have been in the mid 1.28‘s but we were taking an easy route to stop the graining because as soon as that graining starts you see what happens as Vettel lost a massive amount of time behind me and I was able to just plough on doing my mid 1.29’s when he was in the 1.30’s, so I wasn’t worried once I was out in front of Vettel and I knew we could bring it home from there. Q: And your thoughts about Ross Brawn and everything he has done? JB: You don’t find Ross speechless very often but the last 15 minutes I would be surprised if he said a word. When we saw him when we went up to the podium he had nothing to say. The big bear was just there speechless. It was good to see as it was a very emotional day for him as it is for us as well. Q: And in one week’s time Malaysia? JB: I’m all for it. I cannot wait. It is a circuit I really enjoy and hopefully we can iron out some of the problems we had here. It is going to be a good race I think. It is never as easy as you think it is going to be and today was reasonably tough and the pace of Vettel was pretty strong. And with the safety cars it does mix up everything. Fair play to Rubens and Jarno, they did a great job to finish second and third. Some of it I am sure was the safety car and it makes it tough. Even though I am on pole, in first position, it is still not an easy place to be. Q: Rubens, well done to you too. Again, I’m sure you couldn’t have imagined this result. RB: Well, after putting the car into second place yesterday I was hoping that we could finish first and second but right after the start, like a milli-second after the start, I never really thought we could have imagined to finish first and second. It was a tough afternoon but I had a lot of adventure there. There was a lot of overtaking. I think I kept some of the guys awake in Brazil. It was three o’ clock in the morning, so I think they had reasons to keep awake. I’m pleased. My afternoon was great in a difficult car, let’s put it that way, because some of the bits were broken. We could see a drop in performance in terms of aerodynamics, when I was hit from behind by the McLaren, and then I hit someone on the side because of that. I had to change the nose, I had a difficult pit stop as well. There was no one to blame. We had 1500 kilometers (testing) each, one day for the mechanics to get used to things. They didn’t have a lot of sleep before they came here, so it’s all a dream really, to say that we finished first and second for a new team. It was funny to see Ross that way, not even at Ferrari did I see him like that. It looked like it was his first win, so it was really amazing. Q: What about that very late second stop? It really was right at the end. RB: Yeah, I think the team was trying to capitalise on the problems that we went through and made it as long as possible. We knew that the softer of the two tyres could have some graining issues, so with the small problems that I had driving the car, I was very happy to keep the pace with the guys in front on three stops. And then I had a fantastic car when I put on the softer tyres, even though there were some bits missing it was a good car to drive. But I was looking after it and all of a sudden I heard on the radio ‘crash, crash, crash. Be careful.’ And then I saw the two cars going off the track and it gave me second position which was great. Q: Jarno, I get the feeling that you’re just a little frustrated. Maybe there’s the thought of what could have been if you hadn’t started from the pit lane? JT: Well, many things happened this weekend, plenty of emotion, some highs, some lows, so it’s difficult to say if you’re happy or not. At the moment, I’m not completely happy with myself because I could have done well, but on the other hand if you look at the result we have all done a great job after the big disappointment of yesterday, we proved that our car has nothing to do in terms of competitiveness regarding the little details which we have been disqualified for. On the other hand, qualifying yesterday went pretty badly. It was the only time when the car felt pretty bad and I don’t know why. On top of that I’ve been struggling all weekend with brakes, so all I had to do today was completely change the brakes to a different material, different things, something I never ran with this weekend. With all the experience I have, I didn’t think about it, I just went flat out, out of the pit lane. It was lacking at some stages of the race, at the beginning, because I gained a couple of positions because of crashes. On the other hand, I don’t know if the TV showed them but I did some great moves and overtaking at the beginning of the race, in the middle of the race as well as at the end of the race. So I was a little bit unlucky because at one stage I fell behind Fisichella who was massively slower than me, something like one and a half seconds and I spent a lot of time, a lot of laps behind him which cost me so much track time. So I don’t know if I could have finished higher but anyway, all I want to say is thanks to the team, because the Panasonic Toyota team has done a great job over the winter and especially after yesterday’s disappointment, it’s a great way to hit back. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) Jenson, two things. Firstly, now that you’ve finally got that second win, any chance of shaving off the beard? JB: I quite like it and my girlfriend likes it and that’s what matters to me, Fogarty! Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) On the strength of today’s performance, is it now a realistic prospect that the World Championship could be a two horse race between you and Rubens? Is this a modern version of Senna versus Prost in ’88? JB: I hope it is. I hope that we are quick all season and I hope that we have an advantage all season, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case. I think that you’re right, that we’re both going to be very competitive and pushing each other very hard if you look at the last few years that we’ve been team-mates. But I have a feeling that other teams are going to be on us very quickly, and when we get to a different type of circuit, maybe in Malaysia, some other cars which weren’t so competitive here will be. Vettel’s pace surprised me a little bit. I didn’t think they were quite as quick as they were today when we watched them in practice but their pace seemed to be good. So it’s not a walkaway victory for sure, and it’s never going to be easy for us over the next few races, but you’re right that we will be competitive together and we’re both in the same position here with a good car, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be fighting at the front. Q: (Michael Schmidt – Sport Auto) Rubens, what happened at the start? RB: I hit the anti-stall. I don’t know why. I have to go through the data-logging to see what happened but basically when the car first moved, it hit anti-stall and then it was into neutral and so I had to recover and get the clutch back on and go. When you do that, you use a lot of throttle and there was a lot of wheelspin, so I lost a lot. And then you saw that I got to the first corner and I went on the inside of someone - I could definitely manage to stop, I wasn’t going to hit anyone – and the McLaren came up far too fast behind me and threw me into the side of a Red Bull, and as I said before, I thought that that was it for the race. Fortunately the car is very strong and kept me going. Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Jenson, you’ve scored more points in one race today than you have in the past two years. Does that pretty much sum up how bad the past two years have been? JB: The past two years put together? Yes, it does really. It’s quite true. That’s pretty rubbish isn’t it? Wow! Yeah, it does. The last two years have been very tough, for both of us. To drive that car we had last season, it was a handful. Every corner we got to we didn’t know what was going to really happen. So it was a beast, but that’s what we had to deal with. We knew that there were some very talented people in the team. We just haven’t produced the car that I think we expected to last season, but we’ve put all our work into this car and you can see that we can produce a good car as we have in the past, and now the important thing is to just keep improving it and our updates throughout the season I hope are going to be enough to keep us strong. Q: (Ron Reed – Herald Sun) Jenson, what, if any, conversations have you had with Richard Branson in the last 24 hours or so? JB: I haven’t spoken to him really. We’ve obviously been doing our own thing, getting on with work, so we haven’t spoken. Q: Jarno, sure it’s very early, but did today’s performance show you that Toyota can fight for the championship? JT: It’s difficult to say because obviously I haven’t been close enough to these guys who at the moment look like they are the men to beat. All I can say is that since this winter time we were feeling pretty good, since the first time I tested the car I gave a positive comment straight away. This result is a lot down to the team but I’m proud of what is happening, because I think I’ve been giving a lot in terms of experience, in terms of direction and straight away the first time I tested the car we were on our own, so we didn’t have any reference point, but straight away I said that for me it was a very good baseline. Now we’ve proved that the first time I can tell when something is right or wrong and the direction to take and naturally this makes me feel very happy because it means that I’m not only good at driving but I’m also good at giving the direction and leading the team in one way. So I’m getting what I want and the team is doing a good job with both Timo and me, the atmosphere is great, so it’s a big thanks to everyone because we have seen that the machine has a major impact on the results, no matter who is driving it, but it’s important to have a good car. Today’s result is just a great way, a great day to thank everyone and to show that Toyota is on the right direction, on the right path. Now, from being third to saying that we can fight for the championship is a bit too early to say. Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) Jenson, two things: first of all, what was your feeling when the safety car came out, just at the end? Did you think that’s ruined the spectacular blaze over the line or did you know then that you’re going to win it? And secondly, is this a sort of poke in the eye for people who doubted your talent over the years? You always said you needed the right car? JB: First of all, when the safety car came out I wasn’t thinking ‘I’m going to cross the finish line with the safety car out.’ It was ‘oh dear, another safety car.’ But when I crossed the line I’d won the race, I crossed the line first, it doesn’t matter how it’s done. The safety car wasn’t on the track then anyway, it had already come in, but it’s the same emotion, exactly the same emotion because you’ve won the race and in spectacular fashion, I think even though we had the safety car out. What was the second question? This win is for me and for the team and that’s what I care about. I don’t need to poke anyone in the eye about what they’ve said about me in the past. There have been a lot of positive comments in the past and those are the ones that you obviously enjoy. If there are going to be negative comments, I have no reason to poke anyone in the eye for any reason. I’m just happy to be here and I’ve worked bloody hard to be here. Q: (Livio Orrichio – O Estado do Sao Paulo) To all of you, do you think the FIA can change the result of this race; what do you think about that? JB: That’s nothing that we can change as drivers. We’re here to put on a show and also to get the best out of the equipment on offer and that’s exactly what we’ve done this weekend, and we will continue to do so over the next few races or for the whole of the season, and we have to see what happens. At the moment, I’m enjoying this victory because it is a victory and I think it should stand for sure. RB: Obviously it’s in the hands of the FIA to decide what to do but the FIA already checked the cars and already said that the cars were legal, so I’m not expecting anything different. Q: (Paulo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) For Rubens and Jarno: do you think that now you’ve driven in a race, that the new rules are helping overtaking or does it not change much? RB: I don’t know if I can answer this question right now. I would like to wait for Malaysia to answer that a little bit more, because this race was a bit strange. We’ve raced at five o’ clock, difficult visibility and the tyre temperatures were dropping. Because of that, people had different sorts of balance in the race. At one point, I thought I could overtake, it didn’t matter if I had the wings to play with or anything, so it didn’t seem to be easier but I think people did have problems, some more than others, with tyres temperatures, so I would like to wait until Malaysia to fully answer the question. JT: Well, it helped make the race a little bit more fun, a bit more show and overtaking. The fact is that anyway, being late in the afternoon was really due to the shadows, so we had to be very careful where we were putting our wheels and on the other hand I don’t want to be pessimistic but I spent many laps behind Fisichella who was a second or a second and a half slower than me and I couldn’t overtake, and I really needed to overtake him, so I was really pushing and attacking but I couldn’t make it. Maybe it’s slightly better but definitely at the moment it didn’t change my race at all, but let’s wait and see. I would be more than happy if we had more chance to overtake, not just for us but the show for everyone. Q: (Richard Williams – The Guardian) Jenson, did you know at the first test that this kind of thing was going to be possible, and if you did, what are the qualities of the car that make it different and make you feel so comfortable? JB: When I drove it at Barcelona, after four laps I felt that the car was competitive, and also when I got out of the car and looked at the timing board, I realised that we were competitive. For me some of it is to do with the tyres which I think suit this car well. When I drove last year’s car with the slick tyres the car seemed to be reasonably good. We have made some massive steps forward with the car for sure. I would say that mechanically we have improved a lot since last season, so it’s better in the low speed corners, some of it again is helped by the slicks. Aerodynamically I think we are strong, I’m sure there is still room for improvement there and I think Mercedes have done a great job with the engine, the driveability of the engine has been good from the word go. There have obviously been some points which we needed to improve with the engine and the driveability but to be able to do that in six or seven days is impressive. So it’s not just one thing, it is the whole package which is good, but I still don’t think we’re getting the best out of it yet.
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