Brazilian GP - Interlagos - Sunday
Brawn GP
Brawn GP secured the 2009 FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos today with Jenson Button driving a superb race from 14th position on the grid to a fifth place finish to wrap up the Drivers’ Championship with one race of the season to go.
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello started his home race from pole position after an excellent performance in Saturday’s rain-delayed qualifying session but finished in eighth position after a late puncture forced an unscheduled trip to the pits and dropped him back to eighth place.
Brawn GP secured the Constructors’ Championship with 161 points with Jenson winning the Drivers’ Championship with 89 points and Rubens in third position with 72 points with the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi to take place on 1 November.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P5 01:14.353
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P8 01:13.950
Weather Dry and warm
Temperatures Air: 24-28°C Track: 30-42°C
JENSON BUTTON
“Today was the best race that I’ve driven in my career and I’m really going to enjoy this moment. For the team to win the Constructors’ and the Drivers Championships here is just fantastic and they deserve it so very much after all the difficult times that we all went through over the winter. This season has been a rollercoaster ride from the elation of the wins at the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season which has seen us grind out the results needed to take the titles. We have to say a huge thank you to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines for all of the support that they have given us over the year. Without their commitment and faith in the team, and the fantastic engine that they have provided, we would not have been able to achieve the success that we have today. The list of people that I have to thank personally is too long to mention but they all know who they are and how much their support has meant to me over the years. To everyone back at the factory in Brackley, thank you for all of your hard work and for producing such a fantastic car. It’s going to take a while to sink in but for now I’m just reveling in the achievement of a lifelong dream. It’s going to be one hell of a party tonight!”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Whilst I am obviously disappointed with the result today, I have to be pleased with our year at Brawn GP. We really have a great car and a great team and it has truly been an amazing year when you consider the situation that we were in just before the start of the season. I’m truly pleased for Jenson as a friend and he is a great champion. We have a fantastic relationship working together and that has really shown through this year. Well done to him. It was a true fight and I fought really hard but he really won it in the first half of the season. The team have been superb this year and they thoroughly deserve to win both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships today. We’re going to have a great night together and I’m pleased to have played my part in securing the Constructors’ title for the team.”
ROSS BRAWN
“What a day! I am so incredibly proud of the team and our drivers and it’s so very special to have won the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championships in our first year as Brawn GP. The second half of the year has been tough after such a successful start but getting the results in the difficult times is what counts in a Championship season. It’s really going to take a while for what we have achieved today to sink in. Jenson is a fantastic racer and he had a great race today, particularly after such a difficult qualifying yesterday. He knew what he had to do and did just that and is a very deserving World Champion. Rubens has made a fantastic contribution to this season without which we could not have won the Constructors’ Championship today. The spirit in which our two drivers have fought for the Championship makes me very proud. They have been a credit to the team and our sport. The work and the commitment that the team showed over the winter and throughout this season really has been sensational. We would like to take this opportunity to say our thanks to Mercedes-Benz who have been a fantastic partner for our team and have integrated incredibly well this season. Their contribution to our success, and the support of McLaren gave us over the winter and at beginning of season, has enabled us to be in the position that we are in today. I hope that everyone at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brackley, is very proud of what we have achieved today. I also want to thank everyone who has worked with the team over the years that couldn’t be with us this season as we had to resize the team at the start of the season. My sincere thanks go out to them because they worked so hard and should feel a part of our success.”
POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE – October 18, 2009
1. Mark WEBBER (Red Bull), 1h32m23.081s
2. Robert KUBICA (BMW Sauber), 1h32m30.707s
3. Lewis HAMILTON (McLaren Mercedes), 1h32m42.025s
TV UNILATERALS
Q: Mark, you took the lead after that first pit stop, set fastest lap, it looked like a walk in the park for you.
Mark WEBBER: You never know in the first stint. I knew Rubens (Barrichello) was a bit shorter, I knew Robert was a bit shorter. I was impressed with Robert’s pace to start with and then when they pitted, I knew I had a nice clear run to get a good gap starting the second stint. I just cleared JB on the out lap which is always nice as well. And then also just making sure the tyres were nice and comfortable for the whole stint, doing enough. A little bit panicky with Robert in the second stint because he started closing and I thought my pace is not too bad, but he’s closing but the guys said he was quite short in that middle stint, so that sort of confirmed that for me. And then I was just asking a few questions: who was option, if anyone was on the option in the middle stint, how did it look, what do I need to do maybe for the first part of the last stint, because the option wasn’t too great for us on Friday, to be honest. And then starting the last start it was nice to have a bit of a buffer, so just controlled that to start with. Obviously the tyres are very good straightaway but you can’t go bananas on them. And just control the gap to Robert at about five-odd seconds and then it looks like it was going to be a stalemate and then backed off a bit earlier towards the end. So that gave me a nice run home. It’s been a fantastic day for the team, to win again. We’ve had quite a few victories this year off the back of some tough seasons at Red Bull, totally confirming second for us in the Constructors. Obviously we weren’t good enough over the whole season to win any championships but we’ve done ourselves very proud as a team, as a unit. I would like to thank Renault as well, the engines have been very good. It’s not an easy environment for them, so yeah, very, very good. It’s a special weekend for Australians because Jason Crump won the World Speedway Championship last night, a very close friend of mine, under very difficult conditions, very badly injured, and Casey (Stoner) won the motorbikes yesterday, so it’s a good weekend for the Australians.
Q: Mark, a tumultuous first lap, a lot going on. Can you talk about the conditions there? Obviously it was wet yesterday going onto a dry track surface, and what the debris was like later on. We saw a lot of debris on the back straight.
MW: Yeah, always coming off the back of a green track overnight you had to get a bit of a feel for it early on. Fuel is back in the car and last time I drove like that was obviously Friday. The track wasn’t too bad, to be honest. It could have been a lot worse, the balance was not too bad as well, but as you say, a bit of debris, safety car early on, making sure we weren’t picking up any punctures or anything stupid like that, because there was some carbon around, and then also towards the end of the race it looked like maybe Heidfeld had a moment down to turn four and put a lot of mud on the track. I was happy they didn’t put the safety car out because it would have undone all my hard work and I don’t think it needed a safety car for a bit of dirt anyway. Yeah, the track cleaned up and then I was just hoping it didn’t rain, which it didn’t, so He looked after me upstairs again today.
Q: And what was the run like on the back straight on the opening lap? It was pretty crowded, a lot of people going for that first corner.
MW: The thing that really surprised me&ldots; it’s always the same with the KERS cars, the speed difference is absolutely enormous. Come out of three, to start with, and then I saw Kimi (Räikkönen) massively late. He had a massive speed advantage. I was firm, Kimi would have done the same to me, so it had to be done.
Q: Robert, what a day for you too: first podium for the team since Malaysia, way back at the start of the season. It’s been a difficult year for the team, but for you personally a great drive from eighth place.
Robert KUBICA: Difficult season, as you say, for our team, but I think yesterday we did a big part of the job. We knew it might be a dry race today so we decided to keep our low downforce configuration car like we were running on Friday. It was extremely difficult when there was a lot of water. Nick was out in Q1, I managed to put in a good lap in difficult conditions, it wasn’t an easy car to drive in the wet. I managed to qualify eighth. I think some people were disappointed in this qualifying, I don’t know why because maybe they wondered if miracles could happen every session, like in Q1, but when the track was drying, I had no chance against the quicker cars. And then today I had good pace, consistent. I think I was a bit surprised about the slow pace from Rubens and Mark initially. I was able to keep up with them. We had a problem with the water temperature straightaway. I already had to reduce rpm on lap ten of the race, so for most of the race I drove with lower rpm because our engine was overheating. Yeah, I had to pull out of slipstream every time on the straight. I was just trying to cool down the temperature and bring the car home.
Q: Mark just mentioned the second stint of the race when he was a bit worried about you. How did you feel at that point in terms of what you could do?
RK: I was very unlucky after the first pit stop. I just got behind four cars which I think were Kobayashi, Nakajima, Jenson and Sebastian. They were overtaking, I was heavy, they were light and I had no chance to overtake them. I had to take care about the temperature, about the engine, so I was not pulling and Mark pulled out a nice gap there. I was assuming I was shorter but not as short&ldots; We discussed our strategy but not as short as we were, so I had to pit with 28 laps to go and put on option tyres, I was a bit worried because after five laps on Friday, the tyres were finished. I just tried not to over-drive them, to keep them nice and steady but also to look at the gap to Rubens and it paid off. I had some problems with tyre degradation in the last ten laps, but the gaps were quite easy and I brought the car home.
Q: Lewis, on the day that you passed the title of World Champion to your compatriot, Jenson Button, you were on the podium in the Brazilian Grand Prix: a heavy fuel load, a very early stop to get the soft option tyre out of the way and a great run to third place.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, today’s been an extremely tough day, tough weekend, and today was a huge surprise to me. I had no idea that we would even be able to get into the points. The team did a great job with the strategy but I was on a knife edge the whole way. I feel great, the car felt great. I think there are still some improvements we need to make but to fight all the way up to third from 18th I think is a great job from all the team, so hugely thankful to them for the hard work, the good job they did. I had an incredible battle with Rubens. I must say congratulations to Jenson: a great job from him, a great season.
Q: In the early pit stop there was a drama in your pit crew with Heikki Kovalainen, your team-mate. I guess you were not aware of that and it didn’t play any part in your race?
LH: No, I thought I saw a Ferrari behind me as I was pulling out and I thought it would be close but I didn’t really see that Heikki was actually behind. I didn’t see any dramas that he had but I hope everyone in the pit crew is OK and we will probably have to work on that to find out what went wrong.
Q: And third place in the Constructors’ Championship is still very much alive for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
LH: Yeah, I’ve got the bosses breathing down my neck to get the job done, so today would have definitely made them happy and we really needed it, considering we were both right at the back and weren’t really looking to get points, so this would go very well. I’m sure the lads in the team are very happy and bosses are too.
Q: Mark, returning to you for some closing thoughts: it’s been a year of domination by one team and then another, Brawn Mercedes and Red Bull particularly. Your second win now, Jenson is the World Champion though. Your thoughts on how the season’s gone and some comments about Jenson.
MW: Well, it’s been a very interesting season in many ways. We started off with double diffusers, some teams with KERS. Then we, as Red Bull, were phenomenal in the middle of the year, the first part of the European races. Then off to the street circuits, back in July and early August and we had a bit of a tough time. The McLaren came back, especially Lewis, and Kimi also had a good run. So there have been many, many teams&ldots; six different winners this year, I think, and quite a few different people on the podium. So it’s been a mixed season in terms of performance for people. Jenson, I think, deserves the championship, no question about it. He drove very, very well in the early part. It’s not easy to have error-free weekends, with the exception of Spa, when he had problems at the top of Les Combes when it’s easy to happen when you start in the middle of the pack. He’s driven pretty well, particularly in first stints, when he’s been on the back foot and coming through, doing a pretty good job here and there. Every car has its strengths and weaknesses and Brawn, obviously, have some strengths and a few weaknesses here and there. JB’s done a good job, so I’d like to congratulate him and Brawn as well. I think he will sleep better now, because he’s been incredibly nervous, there’s no question about that. He’s been absolutely bricking himself the last few weeks, so he can sleep better now, and all of us can go to Abu Dhabi and just enjoy the new race there. I don’t think it’s going to be like Suzuka but anyway, it’s another street track.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Mark, you probably don’t want to be reminded of this, but your two previous best results here were two ninth places.
MW: I didn’t know it was that, but I had a reasonable idea that I’ve had a pretty rough run here. There have been lots of firsts this year and this is another one, in terms of getting a good result. It was an interesting first lap as usual. There was quite a bit at stake, all the guys know that. KERS cars always liven it up and once we got through all that, we then settled down, and I knew that Rubens and Robert were quite a bit shorter than me in the first stint, so I just managed all that as best as I could. They pitted and then I got a big gap after that first stop. The stop went well, the guys did a good job there. Then I had a long stint on the prime, same for everyone because we knew everyone was probably going to do a little bit of protection against the option. So we just controlled that second stint to a limit. It wasn’t absolutely bananas but it was pushing reasonably hard. Robert was obviously a bit quicker because he was pretty short and then in the last stint I looked after the tyres, got it home and it’s nice when it’s like that. I hoped that it was going to be very boring and it was. It’s good.
Q: How unexpected was the win?
MW: After Friday, I was quite confident that we could go for a victory. Our pace was pretty good, I was a little bit worried about this guy here (Hamilton) because the McLaren, we knew, would do pretty well here with the KERS and he’s also a pretty good driver. We knew he would be a force. Fortunately it was mixed up yesterday and that’s where the foundations were laid, particularly for me and Robert, delivering in those difficult conditions. Again, some cars were different to others, it was not easy to get through, but that’s where the foundations were laid for that type of day today. It didn’t come as a surprise that I had a chance to go for the victory, but it’s always nice with five laps to go that you realise it.
Q: How dry was your car in terms of settings?
MW: Hundred percent. We struggled in Q1, I think, because we all knew that we shouldn’t have run in those conditions. I was lucky to get a lap in which put me through. That was one of the toughest qualifying laps for a long time to get through that session, because I couldn’t believe the pace on my pit board that other people were doing. I thought I’m risking so much here to get through. Thankfully I did, but then when the aquaplaning got lower in Q2, it was a different ballgame and then the car came alive on intermediates in Q3.
Q: Robert, same question: how dry was your car?
RK: Well, we kept 99 percent of Friday’s set-up. Actually we were not really running proper downforce. We were lacking downforce, we didn’t have the proper wings here, so we were already lacking downforce in the dry and especially when it rained, we took a gamble. We hoped for a dry race, we hoped some people would adjust their set-up to the wet conditions, so yesterday I think it was a very good job, especially when Q1 was full of water, I was extremely quick, surprisingly quick. Unfortunately, when the track dried, our pace was not as good. Some people in our team were disappointed about row four, because they thought miracles might happen in every qualifying, like in Q1 when I was third and running very quickly but in changing conditions drivers adapt their driving, the tyres, the pressures, so all in all fourth row was good for me. Today I had a good race.
Q: I understand this result was pretty unexpected, so what will it mean for the team?
RK: I don’t know. I hope they will be on the grid next year. Of course it’s a good result after such a difficult season, which is still not finished. Here we were surprised about which downforce level we should use. We didn’t have it. We had a mixed car: Singapore upgrade with an old front wing. It was very, very tricky and we were just really covering the problems, so I’m very surprised with second place. I was very surprised by the quite slow pace of the top guys in the first stint and yeah, additionally we had water temperature problems after lap eight of the race, so we had to reduce engine revs and it was not easy. I ran most of the race with low revs and tried to keep the car as cool as possible, pulling out of the tow, so all in all I was surprised to be able to keep to Mark and Rubens’s pace.
Q: Lewis, how important was KERS here, particularly for overtaking?
LH: That was probably one of the toughest races I’ve had, not as tough as last year, clearly, but it was good. I think we qualified 18th. We were quite unlucky in qualifying and very fortunate with it being dry today. We had a very good pace, we just stayed out of trouble. KERS definitely helped at the start. If we had the fastest car or as fast a car as maybe Mark here and we had KERS on top we would be light years ahead but KERS, for us, just recovers what we lose in a straight-line because the efficiency of our car is not good at all. But generally today we did a great job, we’ve done a tremendous job to catch up throughout the year and we’re stuck with the car we have. We know it wasn’t the best car, we stuck with it and just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and we’re doing the best we can and I tell you, there’s not much more if any more we can get out of this car. It’s been a really good learning experience and today was great. I just have to say a big congratulations to Jenson and the Brawn team, great job by them for the whole season. I definitely look forward to having a better car to challenge them next year.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Tom Clarkson – Tom Clarkson & Associates) Mark, how does this win compare to the Nürburgring?
MW: I think the first one was pretty nice, there’s no question about it. It’s nice to get another one, but probably Nürburgring was a little bit better, because it was a big relief more than anything. This one was more of a controlled fashion, I suppose, and although not too dissimilar to the Nürburgring, but I suppose I could only lose this one. I put myself in a very, very good position after yesterday in the first stint to win the race and then I had about 45 laps of getting it home. I went a little bit on the kerbs in a few places here and there and just had to give myself a bit of an uppercut and say ‘mate, just bring it together’ and remind myself that I’m not in tenth, I’m in the lead, so you just control it. It was a pretty good day. Also I just want to add to all the press guys who haven’t come in here but it was a good weekend for a good friend of mine, Jason Crump who won the World Speedway Championship. He’s very, very injured and I’m very happy for him that he’s won the World title and Casey (Stoner) won the motorbikes, so it was a good day for us guys.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, it’s the first time in 40 years that Britain has had back-to-back World Champions. I wonder if you could offer your thoughts on what this means over the past two years for British motor sport.
LH: I don’t think I have a clue if I’m honest. I think it’s fantastic for our country to have – I think in the last couple of years – such great athletes coming through. It’s been a good couple of years for us, with the Olympics and some seriously good talent coming through. It’s been great for the sport, great for all the fans. I’m sure the fans back home are extremely happy to have two World Champions two years in a row. I can only assume that they are very, very proud, that’s all I can say.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, would it be fair to suggest to Jenson that he’s only got it on loan for a year?
LH: I don’t know. That’s the plan, for sure. I’m not going to take anything away from his championship. He did an incredible job this year. He kept up the pressure, the pressure was extremely immense for him these last few races and I saw him today and whilst he was trying to keep a cool exterior, I know exactly what he’s going through. I just said to him ‘you don’t have to do it in this race but just keep your cool’ and clearly he did, so I’m very, very happy for him and his family. But I definitely plan on taking it back from him at some stage.
Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) took his second race win of the season in a thrilling and exciting Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos where Jenson Button clinched this year’s FIA Formula One drivers’ championship.
Webber used a medium-medium-super soft tyre strategy in a dry race to finish ahead of Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber F1 Team) and Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes). Pole-sitter Rubens Barrichello finished eighth.
Button’s fifth position gives him an unassailable lead in the drivers’ championship while the Brawn GP Formula 1 Team sealed the 2009 constructors’ championship.
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Well done to Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing for Mark’s second win today and many congratulations to Jenson and Ross and all of the team for winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in such fantastic fashion. The story of Brawn GP is an amazing one and many millions of people around the world have seen such an exciting race that definitely added something fascinating to the sport. These were tremendous achievements. We always see exciting races here and enjoy the fabulous atmosphere created by the Brazilian fans. It’s been a long and hard fought season and we are proud to be the Official Tyre Supplier to this great sport.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“Once again Interlagos gave us some surprises, and a thrilling race. Most people expected more rain today, but the race was dry. Many people thought that the super soft Bridgestone would not be durable, but it worked better than predicted. Heidfeld used it at the start and Raikkonen used it twice without major issue. After so much rain yesterday the track was very green so we saw a lot of surface improvement through the race. Lap times were quite slow as the surface was still not at its best, especially in sector two. Well done to Webber, who drove a very controlled race for Red Bull, Kubica and BMW Sauber who used a good strategy for second, and Hamilton and McLaren who showed good patience for third. We are investigating Barrichello’s tyre, as it appears that a puncture caused air loss. It was sad to see Barrichello and Vettel’s championship hopes dashed but well done to winners Jenson Button and Brawn Grand Prix for such well deserved wins.”
Car 14 MARK WEBBER, Finish Position: WINNER, Start Position: 2nd
“I’m happy with that! You never know in the first stint of a race what’s going to happen, although I knew Rubens (Barrichello) and Robert (Kubica) were a bit shorter than me. I was matching Robert’s pace to start with and when they made their pit stops, I knew I had a clear run to make a gap to start my second stint. I just cleared Jenson (Button) on my outlap, which was good too. I was just making sure the tyres were comfortable for the whole stint. I was a little bit panicky in the second stint as Robert started closing, although my pace was not too bad and I knew he was quite short in the middle stint. I was then able to control the gap to Robert and he backed off towards the end, which gave me a nice run home. It’s fantastic feeling to win again. As a team we’ve had quite a few victories this year off the back of some tough seasons, but today has confirmed second place for us in the Constructors’ Championship. We’re very proud of what we have achieved this year as a team – I want to thank Renault as well, the engines have been very good and they’re not easy environments for them to work in. Congratulations to Jenson and also to Brawn on clinching the Championships today after a good fight. It was a good weekend for the Australians, as Jason Crump won the World Speedway Championship last night. He’s a close friend of mine and he won it under difficult conditions, so a good weekend.”
Car 15 SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Finish Position: 4th, Start Position: 15th
“I think there is a guy at Brawn who is happier than me today. All in all it was a good race – starting from the back and finishing fourth. We were helped by some people crashing, but I think fourth was the maximum we could do today. Without the problems in yesterday’s qualifying, we could have won the race, but we didn’t so there’s not much more to say. The pressure wasn’t too much during the race, I was just focusing on each lap. I knew that Jenson was just ahead or behind me and would score points for the Championship – but you don’t really think about it until the last couple of laps. Before that you never know what can still happen. At one point I was praying for rain, there was the smell of rain, but it didn’t come.
Congratulations to Jenson and Brawn, I think they did the best job this year.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “A brilliant drive from Mark today; he was faultless from start to finish. We knew he had a good overlap of fuel and he used it to brilliant effect, so a dominant win and a very strong weekend for him. For Sebastian, it was an excellent recovery from a lowly grid position. After the difficulties of yesterday, he drove a stunning race and fourth is a great result considering where he started. It was a very good team performance today, with great pit work.
Congratulations to Jenson on becoming World Champion, he’s been a great competitor this year and also to the Brawn team on winning the Constructors’ Championship. We can reflect on an outstanding season and we’ll go to Abu Dhabi determined to finish with the momentum that we’ve had at the last few races.”
FABRICE LOM, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “On one side we lost both Championships today, so I have a sad feeling for that. The fight was hard and very fair with Brawn, so congratulations to them. I won’t let anyone say that the engine is the only aspect that cost us the title, we won as a team and we lost as a team. Renault is part of this team and we are proud to be so. Putting the negatives aside, we are second in the Constructors’ Championship, which is a great achievement and I am very, very happy for Mark today. The second win is perhaps the one that confirms the talent of the driver and Mark has gained his second win with Renault, so congratulations to him and well done.”
K. Raikkonen: 6th 1:32.56.421 + 33.340, 71 laps, chassis 279
G. Fisichella: 11th 1:33.33.746 + 70.665, 71 laps Chassis 280
Weather: air temperature 27 °C, track temperature 33/37°C, partially cloudy.
Just three points on the scorecard for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, thanks to a sixth place from Kimi Raikkonen. Giancarlo Fisichella finished eleventh. After this race, the Scuderia now finds itself in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, just one point behind the third placed team.
Stefano Domenicali: “First and foremost, on behalf of the entire team, I want to congratulate Jenson Button and Brawn GP for winning both world championships today. I am particularly pleased for an old friend like Ross. As for us, obviously we are very disappointed, because today we had the chance to extend our advantage in the Constructors’ classification, but we have ended up one point down. What happened on the opening lap penalized Kimi heavily, as he had to restart from the back of the pack. It’s a shame, because today, our driver could match the pace of the best and could certainly have been fighting for a place on the podium: once again he delivered a great drive. After yesterday’s qualifying, Giancarlo started from the back row and faced a difficult race: he tried his best, but he could not get into the points. Now, we look forward to the final Grand Prix of the season at the new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. There, we will have to do all we can to bring home a third place finish in the championship, which we are very keen to do and I am sure that all of us, drivers and team, will do all in our power to try and reach this target.”
Giancarlo Fisichella: “Obviously, starting from the back row, my race was already compromised. Then there was also the incident with Kovalainen, who spun in front of me, forcing me onto the grass, which prevented me from trying to make up a few places in the fight on the opening lap. We had opted for a one-stop strategy and it was a good one, but in the final part of the race, the soft tyres began to develop a bit of graining and I was not able to match the pace of those ahead of me and I even lost a place. On top of that, the KERS worked in fits and starts. Looking at my experience with Ferrari so far, I don’t want to hide that I feel a bit upset, as there has not been a single weekend in which everything went to plan. Now we go to Abu Dhabi which will be a new venue for everyone: I will do my very best to help the team retake this third place which slipped away from us today.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “What happened on the first lap ruined my race. First I was hit at the first corner, then when trying to pass Webber, I was hit and lost the front wing. At the pit stop, I ended up with some drops of petrol in my eye, from the fuel line stuck on Kovalainen’s car and then I was engulfed in flames and blinded: I was going to stop, but luckily the flames soon went out. Even now, my eyes are still burning, but I’m alright. After the restart, I could only try and use the strategy to move up the order and at least I brought home a few points. I am disappointed because today I’m sure we could have made it to the podium. There is one race to go: let’s see what we can do in Abu Dhabi to get back that third place.”
Chris Dyer: “A very disappointing race for us. Yesterday already, Kimi had done a fantastic job, obtaining a good grid position and today, he did it again, climbing up from the back of the pack, all the way up to sixth place after the accident with Webber, which meant he had to pit to change the front wing. At this moment, his race was compromised, which is a real shame. With Kimi, we chose to use the soft tyre first and given how things went, it was the right decision, but then we had to use the hards, as the first part of the race would be very long. Giancarlo was stuck in traffic in the first stint and then, when he had a clear track, his lap times were reasonable. At the start of his second stint, when he was on the soft tyres, his pace was better, but then towards the end, he suffered with graining. Now we will do all we can in Abu Dhabi, to recover the third place that slipped from our grasp today.”
Adrian Sutil - DNF: The start was fine, I lost one position as Kimi overtook me on the outside. It was fine for the next corner but then Kimi hit Webber and lost his front wing. I was following him through the corner but then suddenly I got hit in the rear and lost control of the car. Trulli was there on the outside trying to go round. It was a really stupid maneouvre as there was no space and I couldn't see him at all. At that point it wasn't worth it and it ended my race far too early on as I went over into the gravel. Jarno was furious and said it was my mistake but I just told him what had happened to me. But it's over and now he's just got to deal with it.
Tonio Liuzzi - 12th: It was a long race, starting from last on the grid after the gearbox change yesterday. We made a change to the soft tyres in the safety car period, using them for just one lap to get them out of the way as we felt we couldn't do longer stints with them. On the harder compound in the first stint I had a good pace but we struggled a lot with oversteer on the second so I couldn't get past Giancarlo. Then at the end I had a brake problem, which compromised the race but at least we finished this difficult Grand Prix, which was important. We had hoped for rain as we seemed to be very competitive in those conditions but that's how it is - now we can just look forward to Abu Dhabi.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: Firstly congratulations to Jenson Button and Brawn GP for winning their first-ever world titles. Their performance this season has been quite staggering and they thoroughly deserve this success. For Force India, for sure we had expected much more from this race. Adrian did an amazing job in qualifying and we were confident we could have picked up another few points, but unfortunately he was just a victim of the accident. He deserved much more. Tonio's race was always going to be tough after yesterday's crash but he picked up another race finish - again by tailing home a Ferrari! We are all now really looking forward to Abu Dhabi. The car's working well, the drivers are confident and hopefully the track should suit us pretty well.
Robert Kubica - 2nd: "The basis for today's result was laid yesterday when we decided to take a gamble and drive the wet qualifying with a low-downforce set-up. This went well in Q1, but was difficult in Q3. Although some people were disappointed with eighth place yesterday, I was quite pleased. Today we had a good and consistent pace. I was surprised at the beginning that it was quite easy to follow Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber. But I had to reduce the engine revs after about 15 laps because the water temperature was too high, and I had to avoid the tow of the guys in front of me. After my first pit stop I was unlucky because I got stuck behind four cars. At that stage Mark was able to increase the gap. This is a great result in a difficult season, and I really hope that I will see this team on the grid next year."
Nick Heidfeld - DNF: "My start wasn't perfect but I saw there were very tight fights and decided it was better to stay clear of trouble. Then straight away there were crashes in turn two and at the exit of turn five. I was able to overtake a couple of cars, and among them was Romain Grosjean who didn't really play fair. I was worried I could lose my front wing then. After I had left him behind me I closed the gap to Sebastian Vettel but could not overtake him. Then I was due for my first pit stop. I wondered how quick the car was and soon I received the call to save fuel and to save more fuel, but it was too late. I ran dry in turn 8. At least it is good that the team has something to be happy about today."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "First of all congratulations to Jenson Button and Brawn GP for having won both the Drivers' and the Constructors' World Championships. But today we also have some reason to be happy. Robert put in a strong performance without the slightest mistake. He was the only one on track who could keep up with the speed of the front runner over the entire race distance. His second place is a well deserved reward for the intensive work and the efforts of the last weeks. For the entire team it is important to achieve a top result at the end of that difficult season. I want to thank every single team member for that. Unfortunately the fuel rig didn't work at Nick's pit stop. Up to then he also drove a strong race. Our second podium finish this season saw us move up one position in the Constructors' Championship. We want to keep that momentum for the final race in Abu Dhabi."
Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering): "That was a first class performance from Robert. He was consistently fast and without any mistakes. A great compliment and thank you to him and the entire team. We really earned this second place on the podium in our penultimate race. The risk to set the car up for dry race conditions during the wet qualifying session on Saturday paid off. Unfortunately Nick had a problem with the fuel rig, which did not work and was responsible for his early exit. Congratulations to Jenson Button and BrawnGP for winning two World Championships."
Lewis Hamilton - 3rd: "It was an incredible race for me and I'm so happy. Starting at the back was a completely different feeling from last year. This time, I wasn't involved in the championship outcome, but I'm incredibly happy for Jenson. I've been down to congratulate him, his team and his family.
"As for my race, I was so far behind on the grid that I didn't expect to finish on the podium, but I fought so hard and kept pushing like crazy throughout the whole race. It feels like a win when you come through fighting for positions all the time with good overtaking manoeuvres at the end.
"I just kept pushing and did one qualifying lap after another, which was very hard. The team kept telling me to keep going at that speed and our strategy was excellent. This was a great team effort."
Heikki Kovalainen - 9th: "While the results don't show it, I had a good race out there today," said Heikki. "I lost about six or seven laps' worth of fuel with the incident with the fuel-hose. And, without that problem, my first stint would have been longer and would have allowed me to get ahead of some of the cars ahead of me.
"I chased Kobayashi for a long time, and, even though I had the pace, I couldn't launch an attack on him because my rear tyres had degraded quite a bit by then.
"Still, I'm very pleased that our team has now moved ahead of Ferrari in the constructors' world championship. And I really feel I could have added to that total without my problems in the pitlane today.
"I'm already looking forward to the next race in Abu Dhabi. My aim there will be to go flat-out to ensure we consolidate that position and finish the season in third place."
Martin Whitmarsh -Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: "First of all, on behalf of all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, I'd like to offer our congratulations to Jenson, to Ross, to Nick and to the entire Brawn team for winning the drivers' and constructors' world championships this afternoon - and to Mercedes-Benz, too, who supplied their winning engines. Jenson fully deserves his success – although I'd like to make clear that both Rubens and Sebastian would also have been worthy champions, had things played out differently.
"Passing the champion's baton to Jenson is of course Lewis, who performed as brilliantly as ever today. We altered his strategy as a result of the deployment of the Safety Car, after which he drove a fantastic race from 17th on the grid to third at the flag. Had he not been stuck in traffic for a few key periods of the race, he may have finished even higher up the field. Certainly, his race pace was very strong.
"Heikki would have scored points too, had he not been delayed by a pitlane incident in which he was blameless, caused by human error. Fortunately, no-one was hurt in the incident and we were quickly able to effect the back-up rig ahead of both drivers' second stops. Once we get all the video footage back to Woking, we'll perform a forensic investigation, in 'slow time', to establish exactly what happened. Until we've done that, it's impossible for us to comment on the incident with any precision.
"Now, we travel to Abu Dhabi, where we intend to defend our new one-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors' world championship that Lewis's third place earned us today."
Norbert Haug - Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "What a race! Firstly, I would like to congratulate, on behalf of Mercedes-Benz, Jenson Button and the Brawn GP team for winning both Formula 1 world championships today.
"Ten months ago these guys were in danger of having no future in Formula 1. Today, they all achieved the biggest reward possible for all their hard work and effort. Well done Ross and Nick and everybody at Brawn GP – you wrote a fairytale story this season.
"I also would like to express my sincere compliments to all our engine people at Brixworth and Stuttgart – Mercedes-Benz powered two times in a row the world champion!
"Of course, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lewis would have liked to keep the world championship title in our camp – but I think it's fair to say that Jenson and Brawn GP are successors that fully deserve what they achieved. So here are some unusual statistics to enjoy: for the second year in a row, car number 22, driven by an Englishman and powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine has finished fifth in Brazil to win the world championship – what an amazing list of coincidences!
"Lewis today drove a fantastic race from 17th on the grid onto the podium, and this certainly was the best climbing up the ranks during all the 16 races this season. I'm totally convinced that he could have fought for victory today if he had started from the first two rows of the grid, which originally had been our plan.
"The team displayed a very smart move in switching both cars to a one-stop strategy after the Safety Car was deployed during the first lap. Heikki suffered from an early release from the pits which was entirely not his fault – without this handicap he would have scored some solid points today.
"We are now third in the constructors' world championship and no other team has scored more points than we did during the second half of the season in the last seven races since Lewis's first win this year in Hungary in July. And no driver scored more points than Lewis since then.
"I would like to say sorry to Rubens and Sebastian who today needed to give up their fierce plans of winning the world championship – but I am sure both of them see, like all of us, in Jenson Button a worthy successor to Lewis Hamilton as F1 world champion."
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (DNF):
“We were lucky to gain some places at the start and make progress up the field after all the incidents. It was quite difficult after the restart; I didn’t manage to hold position and I was left stuck behind the cars in front. We were having a good race until the accident, so I’m disappointed it ended this way.”
Nico Rosberg, Williams (DNF):
“I had a good start, making up one position off the line and then managing to stay away from the incidents ahead of me. I was lying in third, but then Kubica overtook me at the restart when the safety car went in. Fourth was still ok though because we had a strong strategy and competitive pace. It was therefore looking good until the gearbox problem. After a promising weekend, this result is a shame.”
Rod Nelson, Williams chief operations engineer:
“Disappointing end to quite a promising weekend. We struggled slightly in the dry on Friday but recovered well for the wet qualifying session on Saturday. Despite the fact that we were running reasonably heavy downforce today, we were quite competitive in the race. Nico couldn’t keep Kubica behind him, but he was looking good for fourth place before what looks like a gearbox failure. Kazuki was also going well until an incident in the middle of the race forced him into retirement. Fortunately, Kazuki didn’t suffer any injuries from the accident.”
Kamui Kobayashi (10th):
"It was a tough race for me. As this was my Grand Prix debut I experienced a lot of things for the first time in Formula One so it was a learning experience. Physically it felt like a really long race and it was quite tough. My first target was to finish the race and I am pleased to achieve that, but after the start I was in a decent position to score points so I am a little disappointed I didn't. The car felt good in the first stint but when I changed tyres the balance felt a different and I was struggling a bit; probably this was just down to experience. It was my first race so there are several areas to improve but overall I am happy with how I have performed this weekend and I would like to thank the team for all its support."
Jarno Trulli (DNF):
"I am extremely frustrated by what happened today because I had a very good chance to challenge for the podium. On the first lap (Adrian) Sutil was very slow through turn four because he was fighting with (Kimi) Raikkonen. He was on the inside so I took the outside line but he kept pushing me wider and wider. In the end I was on the grass and had no control of the car so I crashed into the wall at high speed. I think there was enough space for both of us to get around the corner."
Tadashi Yamashina - Toyota team principal:
"It is disappointing not to score points here because we had high expectations. Jarno was unlucky on the first lap and I feel really sorry for him because he had the chance to get another very strong result. So Kamui was the only Toyota in the race but he did a really good job, especially on a track he has never raced on before and after the difficult conditions earlier in the weekend. As we have come to expect from him, he battled really hard and also put on an exciting show for the fans. It was particularly impressive to see him overtaking another car at the end of a hard race and I am proud of his efforts."
Fernando Alonso - DNF: "It was a very busy first lap and unfortunately I got caught up in it. I made a good start and we had a promising strategy for the race, but unfortunately when Sutil and Trulli collided I was hit by the Force India as well. It's a real shame because this is a special track for me; I always enjoy racing here and I think we could have scored points today."
Romain Grosjean - 13th: "I made a good start but after that I was missing grip and it was difficult for me to get heat into the tyres. I did my best and pushed hard throughout the race, but unfortunately that wasn't enough. The end of my race was better but because of the problems at the start of the race I only finished in 13th place."
Jean-François Caubet, Managing Director: "It was unfortunate to see Fernando taken out by Sutil because he probably could have challenged for points today. Romain had a good start to the race, although his pace in the early laps saw him drop back as he was overtaken by several cars. We are now looking forward to Abu Dhabi and we hope that he can have a strong race there. We are happy to see another victory for Mark Webber and Red Bull Renault, which once again shows the competitiveness of the Renault engine."
Bob Bell, Team Principal: "This race is a great disappointment for us with Fernando being taken out on the first lap through no fault of his own. He did start down in 10th place but we genuinely thought that he could have a solid race and could finish in the points. Romain finished the race but really didn't manage to keep the people he needed to behind him early on when he was heavy on fuel. But he brought the car home which is good. Although it's a disappointing race for us, we will hold our heads up going into the final race of the season and fight again."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "We brought new engines here and there have been no issues in the wet qualifying yesterday or during the race today. Romain gave his all in the race but unfortunately couldn't challenge for points. He will use the same engine for the race in Abu Dhabi. Fernando's race unfortunately ended on the first lap, which is a shame, although his engine will be practically new for the final race of the season."
Sebastien Buemi (7th):
“It was a very difficult race for me, as I had to push hard every lap, but in the end to come away with points for the first time since China is a good result, for me and for the team, who did a good job today. My start was difficult, as I was sandwiched between Kubica and Rosberg at the first corner, so they got past me, which was a shame. However, we did not have a particularly strong race pace, so we must look at the data to try and understand why. I have mixed feelings because after our performance on Friday I had hoped to finish in the top five, so although the points are nice, it’s not as good as I expected. Now we can look forward to Abu Dhabi where we must try and build on this result and keep moving forward.”
Jaime Alguersuari (14th):
“I am happy to have finished the race and I feel I am still making progress and learning every time I go out on track. My start was quite good and I managed to get past Kobayashi. But I was on the wrong side for the start and other cars began going past me as I was slow in a straight line. After that, I was stuck in traffic and from then on my race was always going to be tough. When I had a clear track I could be quicker and overall, I feel I have improved again this weekend.”
Laurent Mekies, Toro Rosso chief engineer:
“It’s good to be back in the points with Sebastien, however we were hoping for a bit more today and now we have to work out why we were unable to reproduce our Friday pace today. As for Jaime, he had a very difficult first part of the race, fighting with a lot of cars and dealing with traffic. He got caught behind a couple of one-stoppers, but on the Option tyre towards the end, his lap times were fairly competitive.”
