Sunday
Q. Are you happy with sixth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Timo Glock: I am happy with the result in the end, especially considering I started from 13th. To make up seven places at the Hungaroring is not easy, so finishing in sixth is an encouraging result. It was nice to be back in the top six after a few tricky races and this was actually my best result since the podium in Malaysia.
Q. Was it a surprise to finish the race in the top six?
TG: On Saturday I could not have predicted a result like that but the team, like me and Jarno, never give up and they worked really hard to give us both the chance to finish in the points. Our strategy was excellent but a lot of credit goes to my pit crew as well because they did a great job all through the weekend, especially on Saturday when we needed to make some repairs very quickly. Then in the race my pit stops were perfect, which really makes a difference when you are in a close fight for position. Overall it was good team work from everyone and we got our reward.
Q. Realistically, was sixth the best possible result?
TG: We could definitely have been fifth because we had really strong pace throughout the race and I finished directly behind Heikki Kovalainen. However, as you always expect at this track, there was some traffic and that cost me time at the end of my first two stints. Kimi (Raikkonen) came out of the pits just ahead of me both times and, as he had more fuel than I did, he was slower than me. I was able to go quite a bit quicker but overtaking at the Hungaroring is tricky and I just couldn't get past. Without that, I am sure I would have been able to get Kovalainen for fifth. I put in some really quick laps towards the end, including the fifth fastest race lap, and caught him but it wasn't possible to pass.
Q. How did you make up so many positions in the race?
TG: As everyone knows, it is almost impossible to overtake in Hungary so strategy is very important if you are to make up positions. I got a pretty good start and overtook (Rubens) Barrichello so I was 12th at the end of the first lap which meant it was difficult to think about the top six at that point. But we were confident our strategy would help us gain positions during the long first stint; I just had to keep fighting and setting good lap times.
Q. How did the car feel during that first stint?
TG: Obviously we were really heavy at the start of the race and, just like at the Nurburgring, I was one of the last guys to make my first pit stop. It was tricky to start with but I found a good rhythm and my lap times were strong, even though I was heavier than the cars around me. The super soft Bridgestone tyres felt really good and didn't lose performance, even though I did a lot of laps on them, so the car felt spot on.
Q. Are you happy to have a break now? What will you do?
TG: It will be nice to have some time off but I am a racing driver and I love to drive Formula 1 cars, so I would never say I am happy to be away from them! The main priority for me during the summer break is to just relax and spend time with my family and friends; normally I have very little time to do that. It will be a relief to be away from airports for a little while and I will make sure I will get plenty of rest so I am refreshed for the last part of the season. But I won't be just putting my feet up the whole time. I have some fitness work planned with my physio so I will stay in good shape and I'll be really keen to get back in the car for Valencia.
Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the European Grand Prix?
TG: We were strong last year in Valencia so I am hopeful we will be again this time too. Qualifying is an area I want to improve on because that has been a bit frustrating for me in the last couple of races. If we can get the maximum out of the car and tyres over one lap in qualifying, I am sure we will be competitive and that gives us the best chance for the race. As always, my goal is to score as many points as possible; hopefully I can finish higher than my seventh place there last year.
Q. Did Nico's fourth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix meet expectations?
SM: Yes. Before the race we knew it would be difficult to stay in front of the KERS cars going into turn one so Nico did well to exit the first corner in front of one of the McLarens as it enabled him to cover a lot of ground in the first stint. We cleared the Red Bull after the first pitstop, but Mark Webber managed to make it back past Nico which ultimately set the tone for the second stint.
*Q: Nico had a problem during his first stop. What caused it and could he have finished third without it?
SM: We lost a lot of time during Nico’s first pitstop and then as well during the laps proceeding it. The two issues combined cost us a place to one of the McLarens, but we recovered that during the second round of stops.
*Q: Nico set the third fastest race lap. What can be read into that?
SM: The FW31 was again competitive throughout the race. We now just have to keep bringing developments to the car to keep it that way!
*Q: Did you have any tyre wear issues on either car?
SM: No, no tyre issues on either car.
Q: Kazuki just missed out on scoring a point. What were the key moments of his race?
SM: Kazuki had a great opening lap but then lost a position to Button at the start of his second lap. Unfortunately, the Brawn was heavier and slower during the first stint so Kazuki's race was compromised from the outset. It also allowed other drivers behind him who were running longer to close the gap.
Q: How will the two week summer shutdown affect your preparations for the European Grand Prix?
SM: We will be working hard this week to prepare the cars for Valencia and then the two week enforced shutdown will commence. It won't, however, affect our preparations for the next race.
Q: Do you expect the FW31 to be competitive at Valencia?
SM: Yes. Our performance was reasonable at Valencia last year because it's a street circuit. With the improvements we’ve made this year, we expect to be competitive again. However, it's an ideal circuit for KERS.
Q. Lewis, an amazing victory and an incredible change of fortunes for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. What does this win mean to you?
Lewis Hamilton: "It's been a huge turnaround. At the start of the season, I said that if anybody could do this it would be Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. And you've seen ourselves and Ferrari stepping up our game - and, for sure, if we'd had this car at the beginning of the season I reckon we'd have won more races. But we always said we were six months behind the top guys and, sure enough, six months later we're back at the front!"
Q. When did you first start thinking you'd have a chance to win a race this season?
LH: "To be honest, it was only as recently as the last race in Germany when I felt I had a good enough car beneath me. I remember I got a little bit excited over the radio, forgetting I'd not switched it off, and the whole team heard me - and then they played it to the guys back at the factory! But hopefully it was a sign of motivation to everyone.
"Our target was just to get a podium in Hungary but the car just felt incredible. When the team told me I was on the final lap, I felt like asking them to double-check because it felt like ages since I'd last been at the front! I just hope my fans, my family and my team feel the same excitement and satisfaction as I did."
Q. It's incredible to think that this is your first win since China last October!
LH: "It's been almost a year - such a long time that it felt surreal to win again. I'd been waiting a long time for this day and I couldn't believe how well it all went. I was able to control the pace at the front. It's normally very hard to achieve that, but on Sunday I was able to use my tyres, fuel and engine perfectly. I felt like we balanced everything and I felt really comfortable in the car. But I was still being pushed by Kimi - and made sure I could never back off."
Q. How much of a benefit was the Mercedes-Benz KERS Hybrid in the race?
LH: "I love my car right now - the overall package is fantastic. But, I have to say, Mercedes-Benz has continued to improve our engine and I think it's by far the best in Formula 1. And our KERS is fantastic - it played a big part in allowing me to get closer to the front on the opening lap and to pass Mark in the early laps of the race."
Q. Is it too early to talk about this being a turning point in your season?
LH: "Things can only get better for us, I think. The updates we've introduced have made a huge difference and we've now got a massive downforce improvement and the car is a pleasure to drive. We've still got quite a few improvements to make to the car - there are still areas that we haven't yet explored and we've got some more changes coming for Valencia that will hopefully move us even closer to the front.
"We're going to continue to try and push - but let's not get ahead of ourselves - it would be fantastic to get to Q3 again in the next race. But this is a great reward for everybody back at Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart. I know they're all completely knackered and I hope they get a good break over the next couple of weeks so we can be ready to come back and get some more podiums!"
Q. Finally, do you have a message for Felipe Massa after his terrible accident on Saturday?
LH: "My thoughts go out to Felipe and his family - in particular to his wife and baby that's on the way. I was so shocked about what happened on Saturday and there wasn't one moment in the race when he wasn't in my mind. It was a very unexpected accident and none of us can imagine what pain he was feeling. Fortunately, the car and the safety barrier did their job - the improvements we've made to safety over the past few years mean he's still around to see another day.
"Felipe and I have been quite good friends for several years so I have huge respect for him, especially after last year when we had some fantastic battles. I sent him a message and tried to call him on Saturday but, clearly, he still needed to rest and recover from his operation. I was so sad that he couldn't race with us on Sunday but I'm happy that he's safe. I want to wish him a very speedy recovery and look forward to competing against him for many more years."
After the terrible Massa incident yesterday, Kimi Raikkonen delivered Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro a fantastic morale boosting second place podium finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix, his second podium of the season and the team’s third. Once again, KERS played a decisive role, as the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro man was able to move up three places at the start. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton, taking his and the McLaren-Mercedes team’s first victory of the year. Joining them on the podium was Mark Webber for Red Bull Renault. The eight points that come with second place, see Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro move into third place, overtaking Toyota in the Constructors’ Championship. Sporting Director Stefano Domenicali dedicated the second place result to Felipe Massa.
As the cars lined up on the grid, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team went through its pre-race preparation with its usual professionalism and commitment, however, everyone’s thoughts were with Felipe Massa, in hospital in Budapest , after his accident in qualifying. In fact, the team lined up on the side of the grid with a pit board, wishing the Brazilian luck and saying their thoughts were with him. Kimi Raikkonen was on the clean side of the grid in seventh spot, with the temperature hovering around 25 degrees.
Alonso led from pole and the effect of the clean side of the track and the power boost of KERS combined to produce the following order, Webber, Hamilton, Kimi, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Vettel who dropped from second after making contact with the Ferrari driver, Nakajima, Button and Trulli rounding off the top ten. On lap 5, Hamilton passed Webber for second and Vettel was challenging Kovalainen for sixth. Kimi was just under a second behind the Red Bull and the same distance ahead of Rosberg. Hamilton was the fastest man on track and began closing the 2.1 second gap to leader Alonso. These two were pulling away from the field so that on lap 8 third placed Webber was four seconds off the leader. Lap 9 and Hamilton was 1.2 off the leading Renault and Kimi had dropped to 1.5 behind Webber, but two laps later the Finn had reduced it to 0.7. It was on this lap that the Stewards announced that “an incident involving car 4 (Raikkonen) would be investigated after the race,” a reference to the wheel banging in the opening moments after the start. In the end, no action was taken.
Alonso was the first to refuel, coming in on lap 12, but the Spaniard immediately appeared to slow and after a few corner, the front right wheel fell off and he drove slowly round to the pits on three wheels, lucky to get back in the race. Kimi was therefore third now, behind leader Hamilton and one second behind Webber. Alonso retired in the pits on lap 16, presumably because of his previous problem.
Kimi came in on lap 19 for his stop as did Webber and the Red Bull crew nearly released the Australian into the Ferrari man’s path. Hamilton stopped on lap 20, as did Rosberg. Kovalainen and Vettel came in on lap 21. Kimi was down in sixth but three cars ahead of the F60 had yet to visit pit lane. Button brought the Brawn in on lap 25, leaving Trulli, behind leader Hamilton the only front runner not to have refuelled. Kimi was back to third at this point, seven seconds behind the leader. Trulli finally brought the Toyota in for tyres and fuel on lap 28, Kimi now second, 6.5 behind Hamilton . Second in the championship, Vettel made two unscheduled visit to the pits, retiring there on lap 30.
At half distance (lap 35,) Kimi trailed Hamilton by 6.6, with a comfortable 12.0 cushion to third placed Webber, who had Kovalainen right on his tale. Behind them came Rosberg, Glock, Trulli, with Button in the last point position, eighth. Kovalainen initiated the second series of pit stops coming in from fifth on lap 44 and Kimi came in next time round, the Finn taking his time to get going again, because of a problem with the right hand exhaust on his F60, rejoining fourth, while leader Hamilton pitted on lap 46. Lap 49 saw Hamilton still in the lead, 1.4 ahead of Webber, yet to make his final pit visit, then Kimi in third, with Glock’s Toyota just half a second behind him. Webber came in on lap 50, which meant Kimi was back in second place, 16.2 behind Hamilton with 19 laps remaining. After Glock pitted, dropping to sixth, the order remained unchanged to the flag: Hamilton, Raikkonen, Webber, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Glock, Button and Trulli taking the final point for eighth.
Hungarioring - 26th June 2009
K. Raikkonen: 2° 1:38.35.405, + 11.529 70 laps, Chassis 279
Weather: air temperature 23 °C, track temperature 36 °C, sunny.
Third podium of the season for the Scuderia, with its only car on the grid today finishing second, with Kimi Raikkonen. This result sees Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro move up to third place in the Constructors’ classification.
Stefano Domenicali: “We dedicate this result to Felipe: at this time, all our thoughts are with him and his family and I think this sentiment also applies to those who are close to him and to fans all over the world. Kimi drove a great race and the team worked in impeccable fashion, concentrating on the job despite what happened yesterday. We got the best result we were capable of. Please allow me on behalf of everyone at Ferrari to send our best wishes to Felipe. We love you and we are all thinking of you.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “Today’s result is very important for the team in such a difficult weekend because of what happened to Felipe yesterday. I am pleased with second place, even if it is not completely satisfying as I always race to win. On this type of track, we are certainly closer to the best than at other circuits and today, honestly we were actually even closer than we had expected to be. I got a good start, ending up fourth after the first few corners. We knew it would be crucial to make up places at the start to be in with a chance of fighting for the podium. After the first pit stop we began to have problems with the right hand exhaust and so, at the second stop, the team asked to leave using a different procedure to usual. It lost me a bit of time but I still had a reasonable advantage over Webber so I could manage the situation. Today, the car wasn’t bad, but it was not quick enough to go for the win.”
Chris Dyer: “A super result on a difficult weekend for the whole team. Kimi drove a great race, starting with a really fantastic opening lap, followed by a very good second stint on the softer tyres. In between those phases, the team pulled off a great pit stop to put Kimi ahead of Webber. We were a bit worried about a problem with an exhaust and so we told the driver to be very careful at the second pit stop. We lost a bit of time and then in the final part, we had to deal with a fast closing Webber, who was very quick, but all the same, we managed to respond well enough to comfortably manage the situation to the finish.”
TV UNILATERALS
Q. Lewis, from the desperation of the first races of this season, tell us what it means to be a winner again.
Lewis HAMILTON: It's an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and with such a struggle with me and my team. But as I said on the in lap I am just so proud of the guys, as I go into the factory and I see how hard everyone is pushing. Everyone wants to win just as much as I do and they never gave up. They have never given up which is something very rare to see in such a large group of people. I am very, very proud of them. We didn't expect to win this weekend. Undoubtedly we have caught up quite a bit but we never felt we had the pace to win. But the car felt fantastic and it is incredibly special to get back up here, not only on the podium, but to get a win. It is amazing.
Q. Kimi, it's been a long time since we had a McLaren versus Ferrari at the front. Tell us about your race.
Kimi RAIKKONEN: We got a very good start. That definitely helped. We knew before the race we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium. I was only fourth after the first few corners behind Lewis and then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark and we went at the same time for the first pit stop. Then I don't know if he had some issues or not and I got past him at the pit stop. After that really I was just driving my own race, trying to catch Lewis. I thought I had the speed for that at one point but then suddenly he started to go the same speed and then a little bit faster. The gap more or less stayed the same the whole time. Then I had some issues on the last pit stop and that didn't help either but we had a good race. We knew that it would be difficult to challenge for the win right now. We were probably closer than we expected, so even with not such an easy weekend for the team, but we have got some good results, so hopefully that is something we can keep going like this and it is something positive at least this weekend for the team.
Q. Mark, how big a surprise is this result for you today?
Mark WEBBER: A little bit of a surprise. I think we expected to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday but to be honest we knew these guys would be around us. It was a pretty difficult venue for us and we knew that we didn't have the advantage maybe that we had in the last few events. All in all for me I am still pretty happy to get the result we did. I think we had a better chance to fight Kimi if maybe we did a slightly different pit stop and maybe chose a different tyre but that was my call. I was worried about how long the length of the stint was and it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on but overall we still have a lot of positives. We are still up here. We haven't been blown away by any means. We are in the hunt and we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive, so our guys and Renault have a lot to be proud of. We are still very much a force, so it is still a positive day for us.
Q. Lewis, it is the first win for a KERS car. You obviously had a terrific start but really the key to your day was the way your car handled its tyres once you hit the front.
LH: Yeah, I was able to manage them quite well but something I want to say is that yesterday was, I think, and maybe I can speak for all of us drivers, quite a sad day to see Felipe not with us here today. Hopefully I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we miss him and wish him well and wish him a speedy recovery. But back to the car, it was just fantastic. The team asked me to look after the tyres in which through all the great experiences I have had - good or bad - I was able to apply that today, so really a big thank you to all the guys and all the fans that have always given me support and never gave me up and to all my family.
Q. Kimi, tell us about the moves you made at the start which came up on the board that will be investigated after the race. How did you see it?
KR: I don't know about the whole thing, so if you can tell me what it's about that would be nice.
Q. Off the start line into the first corner and the incident with Vettel?
KR: I haven't even noticed if I touched somebody. I was in-between, I think, Mark and somebody else but I don't know what is going on. That is the first time when you told me but I didn't feel any touching or anything, so I cannot comment on that.
Q. Mark, you are now second in the championship. You have taken some points off Jenson Button. Will you be asking the team now to back you for the championship?
MW: No, I think it is still a bit early. I think we can still fight the Brawns with Sebastian (Vettel) and I. We know there was a bit of a blip for them in the last three races and we hope that continues and we can continue to take points out of them together. We have got these guys up here as well. It is mixing things up a bit more. Sebastian had a bit of a tough weekend this weekend. Qualifying went well but obviously the race I don't know what happened. But obviously he has lost some points which is the first time in a long time but he will be back and after the break we can recharge and take the fight again.
Q. Lewis, you have made all this progress. What next for you and McLaren for the rest of the season?
LH: We need to definitely take as much as we can from this weekend and continue to push. This means by no means we can start slowing down but that is not the way my team work anyway. We just have got to keep pushing. We have got some improvements to make for sure and some work to do to be able to beat these guys on a more regular basis. But this is one huge leap for us and hopefully we are now on the right track, so let's keep going.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. Lewis it is just like the old days, Ferrari and McLaren. The normal thing really.
LH: It is. It is great to see you guys. It has been a long time. What can I say. We are not challenging for a championship but it has been a fantastic weekend for us and I am very proud to be back up here.
Q. You felt you could be on the podium but maybe not the top step. Do you think regular podiums now?
LH: Clearly we have got a good car. Well, we have made some serious improvements to the car and now it is a much better balanced car. Even though we had fantastic pace today it could have gone either way. The wind direction maybe could have changed and perhaps it would have suited the Ferrari or the Red Bull better than us. But everything just sort of fell into place today. I had quite a good start and had a good little dice with Mark. He is very fair and fortunately I didn't get a puncture this time which is great. But for sure we hope that we can compete for more podiums but we still have work to do. We have just got to keep pushing.
Q. I don't suppose you really want to take a break? You'd rather have a grand prix next weekend?
LH: I could race every day. I never miss it.
Q. In the break what are you planning to do? I mean you have got some nice time to think about this victory and how you can build on it?
LH: I think for us it is important that we just continue to push. We want to come back next year with the best possible chance of winning championships, so we need to continue to work on this year and understand everything to help us and hopefully make a good foundation for us to work on next year. But over the break I will relax a little bit, spend some time with the missis and with the family and hopefully come back to Valencia with another step forward and another opportunity to get onto the podium.
Q. But the emphasis is really on building for next year?
LH: Yeah, we just want to keep winning. I think we definitely deserved it after such a tough stretch of time. It's been hard on everyone: our new team principal and all the members of our team, but I couldn't have done it without them. They've done a fantastic job and like I said, I'm just very, very proud to be associated with them because they've never given up and they've kept pushing. We're going to continue to push and see how far we can get up in the championship but we will keep a keen eye on next year.
Q. Obviously the start was important today, tell us about that.
LH: It was very close. I generally didn't really get a fantastic start initially, being on the dirty side, which is normal. Kimi seemed to get an incredible start and was up alongside me and I seemed to level off with him once I was on the KERS - we were both on KERS, I think. I don't think he saw me but he was behind Mark and he moved to the right to go past him and we nearly touched. I went to the right and fortunately Sebastian gave me enough space, so no collision there. (I went) a little bit wide at turn one but back on KERS – you know KERS is working very well and just the whole package was fantastic but for once I was able to really use KERS to my advantage today, so that was good.
Q. Does it work better on a twisty circuit like this?
LH: No, not really, you're always traction-limited and so it's better with lots of long straights. I think here you could always see that my sector one has been the strongest all weekend but that's largely due to KERS really, on the main straight. And with this kind of start there's such a long stretch down to turn one, a bit like in Germany, it gives us a great opportunity to take a few places.
Q. Kimi, first of all you were nearly hit by Mark Webber at the first pit stop; did you see him coming out?
KR: Yeah, I saw when he came out. I took a little bit more space on the left hand side, so I was pretty sure that they would tell him that I was coming. I don't know how close it was but I saw him and I gave him all the space that I could.
Q. What about your own second stop, you seemed to lose time there?
KR: Yeah, we probably had some problem, and we needed to do a manual pull-away and then it went on to anti-stall, so it was a bit confusing but I just took it easy because I knew that we had enough time from behind, we were not in a hurry, so it took much longer than it should. It's always a bit difficult if you cannot make a normal proper pit stop with a proper start. When you try to make a manual pull away it can easily go to anti-stall, so that was the issue today.
Q. And generally speaking, how was the car?
KR: It was OK, nothing special. We had some issues in a few places, we knew that before. They had been there almost the whole weekend. We were a bit limited by what we could do this weekend. Overall, we still had good speed but I think we could have had better speed. It's nice to be second, for the team and for all the people who have put in a lot of effort and it hasn't been an easy year or an easy weekend with Felipe's accident yesterday but we need to be happy. We knew that our car was probably not the fastest one but we still got a good result, good points. It was good but not exactly what we wanted. You are never going to be happy unless you're in first place, Hopefully we can keep up this kind of speed and try to get good podium finishes and hopefully get at least one win this year.
Q. Mark, you're getting quite a taste for these podiums, aren't you?
MW: Yes, I am. It was a good day for us. We knew we were going to have a slightly different fight on our hands this weekend and particularly after qualifying, with these guys sitting in behind us. The KERS is a big part of the first lap and the first stint, to be honest, and I was very, very happy to survive the first lap in second place. I expected to go further back. It looked like there was a lot of elbowing – well, there was – in the first corner as we expect these days and then in the first stint I wasn't really worried about Fernando (Alonso) because we knew how short he was. I was very, very concerned about my tyres. It started off well, and then in the middle of the stint I was trying to nurse them, making sure that I didn't lose too much time to the guys – you know, just getting down the road in terms of general race pace, because I was worried about Fernando and Lewis got a good run out of the last corner. Also, with the head wind and KERS the slipstream was working very well. We could have fought a lot harder and risked a bit more but there was no real point. I thought of not letting him go but Lewis was also pretty quick. I thought that he wasn't going to hold me up at all, so that was, in a way, a bit of a relief. And Lewis thoroughly deserved to win. McLaren did a great job today. We could have had a slightly different fight with Kimi but in the end it didn't work out, so they got second and we got third.
Q. Are you slightly worried about McLaren and Ferrari's fightback in terms of your championship chances, now you're second?
MW: If we win and make it very, very boring, it's great for us, but in the end, to be honest, I think it was a good day for the sport. Lewis is back and Ferrari are back and that's what Red Bull likes. We love racing these guys and fighting hard against them. We knew they would come back. KERS is going to play a bit of a role in the closing part of the championship but thankfully we capitalised in the early part of the championship when these guys were struggling, in terms of points, so that was a big benefit to us. We're going to continue to be in the hunt. Our guys have got a lot of positive things to look forward to. Both drivers are trying to get the most out of the car and it was a good day for us. Renault did a great job on the engine again, we saw that with qualifying, the top three were Renault engines. My engine was quite long in the tooth today but we got it home which we're very happy with.
Q. Was that your release out of the pits when you nearly collided with the Ferrari?
MW: It was, yeah. We had a little bit of confusion in the stop. To be honest, I was thinking about the guys and the fuel rig. You're so focused on making sure that everything is safe, releasing yourself and then when I did get released, I knew I had to give Kimi room and he got me. And then we did the ice skating in the first few corners on the tyres. Thank God tyre blankets are in next year because it would be a joke if they weren't.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Tony Dodgins) Lewis, key moment when you passed Mark in the first stint. We're not used to seeing people go round the outside there, was that the KERS button?
LH: I'd actually used all my KERS down the straight because actually I thought that I'd be able to get him in turn one but he blocked, so I went to the outside. I think I may have used a little bit at the beginning but I ran out. Mark was in my blind spot eventually, so I couldn't really see him, so I gave him plenty of room and eventually I saw him fade into the back. It was quite a straightforward move but clearly Mark was very smart, he's got to score points and there's no real point in him to taking silly risks. As for me, I needed to get past him. I was absolutely surprised to see that I was even able to keep up with him but I was able to go past him and still pull away whilst looking after my tyres, so it was good.
Q. (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) This is to all three of you: I was just wondering how much the day has been overshadowed in some respects, given what has happened to Felipe and his current condition at the moment?
MW: What happened was very unfortunate. We have phenomenal safety in Formula One and yesterday was just incredibly freakish that that type of material could have been bouncing around and then bouncing at head height and then Felipe was coming, so very freakish that it should happen. This is the job we do but also we're very relieved, of course, that he's OK. Surgery went OK and I'm sure he will be a million bucks in a few months, so that's the main thing. He's got good people around him, the FIA did a good job at the scene. We don't want to get too carried away with it but he will be fine and we're fully behind him, of course. We missed him on the grid today but the show goes on.
LH: I think I would just say that for me, I've had a great relationship with Felipe for quite a few years now and some great battles with him and for sure to not see him with us today was definitely sad to see but I'm glad that the surgery went well and we're just going to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. He's got a child coming, he needs to get back to top shape, so when he's finally a Dad he can do the job well.
KR: It's the same story. It was really a very, very unlucky situation where he ended up. As long as we race with open cockpits our heads are always the worst place and the first place that's going to be hit if there's something flying around. What happened was really unfortunate but luckily enough he's more or less OK. He's probably going to be a hundred percent fine in a little time. We in the team all hope that he's going to be fine and come back soon. This is a part of racing and we all know that. It's just a sad thing to happen.
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for taking their first win of the year. They have worked very hard for this result and it is good to see another winner this season. Well done to Ferrari too for their best result of the season with Kimi Raikkonen on what has been a very difficult weekend for everyone. Of course, our thoughts are with Felipe Massa who we wish a speedy recovery."
*Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have shown that it is possible for a KERS car to win, even on a very slow circuit, which was a great achievement today. The track conditions continued to improve through the race and we saw Mark Webber set the fastest race lap five laps before the chequered flag.
"It was interesting to see different tyre and fuel strategies through the field. Both Bridgestone tyres worked well. Some cars suffered from oversteer and we did see some rear tyre graining today, particularly on the super soft. Those who could manage this achieved good results. Overall, our tyre allocation was correct for this circuit. After what we have seen today I think we will see a very interesting end to the season after the summer break."
Mark Webber - 3rd: "I expected us to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday, but to be honest we expected these guys (McLaren and Ferrari) to be around us. We knew it would be a more difficult venue for us and that we wouldn't have the advantage that we maybe had at the last two events so, all-in-all, I'm happy to get the result we did today. I think we would have had a better chance to fight with Kimi (Raikkonen) if we'd made a slightly different pit stop and chose a different tyre for the middle stint, but that was my call. I was worried about how long the middle stint was, so it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on. Overall we still have a lot of positives to take away from here – we’re still up there, we’re in the hunt and know that we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive. Red Bull and Renault have a lot to be proud of, we’re still a strong force and it’s a positive day."
Sebastian Vettel - DNF: "I had a collision on the first corner with Kimi (Raikkonen). I was on the inside and had a clear run to accelerate, his car came sideways and we touched – he crashed into my car, it can happen. This was why my first pit stop was bad and, at some point, the front-left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car. We knew it would be close with the other teams here, but at the start of the race there's nothing you can do other than putting your foot down. We have a button on our steering wheel, which is similar to the other teams, but nothing happens if you press it. You go into the first corner and you have five or six cars next to each other instead of three or four, so it’s a different situation. There are still a few races left this season and the race is still on, so we will see what we can do."
*Christian Horner, Team Principal: "A good drive from Mark today for third. Unfortunately, we perhaps gave away too much time in the middle stint on the harder tyre and a small issue at Mark's pit stop allowed Kimi (Raikkonen) to jump ahead, but I think Lewis was out of reach today. Nonetheless, a good result for Mark in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. For Sebastian, things just didn’t go his way today – unfortunately a knock on the first lap looks as though it caused suspension damage that resulted in his retirement. Going into the break, we've closed the gap in the Constructors’ and we’re looking forward to the next race in four weeks time in Valencia."
Fernando Alonso - DNF: "Today we missed an opportunity to finish on the podium. I made a good start and the car was quick during my first stint, but then we had a problem at my first stop fitting the right front wheel to the car. When I left the pits there was a lot of vibration and it felt like I had a puncture, but then a few corners later the wheel flew off my car.
"I made it back to the pits to replace it, but then the problem I'd had with my fuel pump since lap two returned and started to get worse so we had to retire the car. It's a shame that we missed this chance, but these things happen in racing and I'm trying to look on the bright side because we saw this weekend that the car is very competitive. I'm now looking ahead to the next race in Valencia, where I hope we can build on the promise we have shown."
Nelson Piquet - 12th: "I made a very good start and managed to overtake several cars, but then I was always stuck behind somebody, which didn't help my race. I was also a bit unlucky with the strategy and I think my race would have worked out a lot better if I had been in some clean air. The car was good today and I'm glad that I benefited from the new updates this weekend."
*Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "It's a very disappointing end to a weekend that started with a lot of promise. From around lap two, Fernando had a failure on the fuel pump and we had to try and control the problem manually, which cost us a lot of time. We stopped early because of that and then unfortunately we had a problem with the wheel fitting. Ultimately we retired the car because of the fuel pump problem. Nelson was always going to have a difficult afternoon and he pushed through to finish the race, but he wasn't in a position to score any points."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "Fernando made a good start, probably his best of the year and he had good pace in the early laps so we were hopeful of a good result and aiming for a podium. Unfortunately a technical problem ended his race. It's frustrating, but once again we have demonstrated the progress that we have made recently as this is only the second race where we have benefited from the new developments. Our attention now turns towards the European Grand Prix where we hope to convert our potential into a good result."
Jaime Alguersuari (15th):
“I am very happy to have finished, but the last five laps were very difficult from the physical point of view. I found it hard to keep the car on the pace, but I am very satisfied. P15 is not so bad, but the main objective was to complete the 70 laps, with no mistakes, maintaining my pace. I have learned a lot but I have to say there are some aspects of F1 which made me think, ‘this is tough’.”
Sebastien Buemi (16th):
“I am very disappointed with this race, as I made a lot of mistakes and I am not at all happy with my performance. I don’t think starting on the harder tyres was the right decision. I lost several places at the start and got stuck in traffic. Just a bad race. The car was good, as we showed in qualifying but today I was the one who made the mistakes. The only positive thing is that the car is definitely improved with this new package.”
*Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Well done to Jaime on finishing his first race, which means he’s learned a lot this weekend. That was our main target with him. He will need another two races, after which I expect to see him make it through to Q2. Unfortunately, Sebastien caught some debris on the right side of the front wing, damaging it, thus losing performance. We will now focus on Valencia, where we will have a new front wing which should help us to improve our overall performance.”
LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04
Started: 4th
Finished: 1st
Fastest lap:
1m22.479s (4th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points:
19 (8th)
After qualifying fourth, Lewis made a good start but was able to benefit from KERS to charge down to the first turn alongside Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. He out-braked Mark Webber to briefly hold second before losing traction at the exit and ceding the place back into Turn Two. Nonetheless, he kept up the pressure to pass the Australian around the outside of Turn Two five laps later.
He immediately started to close the gap to leader Fernando Alonso, and took the lead on lap 12 when the Spaniard was the first to pit.
Lewis changed tyres on lap 20 and spent the majority of the second stint establishing a cushion over Raikkonen. With a comfortable margin, he switched to Primes on lap 46 and finished 11 seconds ahead of the Finn. It was Lewis's first win of 2009 and his 10th career victory in Formula 1.
"It's an incredible feeling to be back on the top spot after what feels like such a long time and such a struggle," he said afterwards. "This was one of my best races - I never gave up and, more importantly, neither did anyone in this team. I'm so proud of all the guys. We didn't expect to win today - we didn't think we quite had the overall pace - but the car was just perfect to drive, it felt fantastic for the entire race.
"We need to take as much as we can from this weekend. We'll continue to push because that's the only way this team knows. Now we want to be winners on a regular basis.
"Finally, my thoughts are with Felipe today. Despite our celebrations, it's important to remember that there's a guy lying in a hospital bed tonight, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we all had Felipe in our hearts and minds today and we wish him a speedy recovery."
HEIKKI
KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03
Started: 6th
Finished: 5th
Fastest lap:
1m22.958s (8th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr)
2009 points: 9 (12th)
Starting from sixth on the grid, Heikki maintained that position off the grid and steadily progressed upwards, picking up places to briefly run first due to the virtue of his lengthy first stint. Stopping on lap 21, switching to a shorter middle strategy and fitting to his second set of Options, he rejoined behind Mark Webber and spent the entire stint chasing the Australian. Switching to Primes on lap 44, he was unable to vault Webber and also let through Nico Rosberg, who had been closely following the duo. He finished fifth - his third points finish of the season.
"This was a great race for the whole team and particularly for Lewis," said Heikki. "Hopefully next time it will be me! This victory proves just how much the team has improved the performance of our car during the past few months: this is the result of the hard work of every single man and woman in our team - and this victory must be especially sweet for all of them. Our thoughts are also with Felipe - I want to wish him all the best and hope he'll be back in Formula 1 soon."
*MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
"Even as recently as four weeks ago, I don't think many people would have believed you if you'd told them that we'd win the Hungarian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, but that's exactly what we did today. And the fact that we did just that is a fantastic testimony to what can only be described as a superhuman team effort. Yes, 2009 has been a very hard year for us, but no-one at Woking, Brixworth or Stuttgart ever gave up; we all kept pulling together, we all kept our spirits up, and above all we all kept working. I'm immensely proud of every single one of them.
"And, today, Lewis, who has also never stopped pushing all year, was simply magnificent: there's no other word. He was in the groove all afternoon, he delivered breathtaking speed where it mattered, and he controlled the race like the winner he is.
"So, going forward, what can I say? We had the strongest car at the Hungaroring this afternoon - and, although it's an idiosyncratic circuit, we're confident that we'll have a reasonable package for Valencia, too. But motor racing is an unpredictable business and the only thing you can bet your house on is that we'll never stop working. And, more than that, we'll grow stronger as a result of the difficulties we've faced: we've learned lessons this year, and for next season we're aiming to build a car that's capable of challenging for the world championship from the start of the season, not halfway through it!"
NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"A sensation! Lewis was a class of his own - a historic win, the first with the KERS Hybrid in Formula 1 - the Silver Arrows are flying again! Unfortunately, Heikki got stuck in traffic, but he was fast and with his fifth place we scored as many points today as in the previous nine races together. We think of Felipe - he would have been capable of being among the best or even to fight for a victory today, as Kimi showed. We wish him a good recovery. Thank you to all our team members who worked so incredibly hard for this success. Now is the summer break and you deserve it."
Nick Heidfeld (11th):
"From 15th on the grid, finishing 11th was the best € could achieve today. Over the first few metres my start was good and I immediately made up some places, but then later on the first lap I lost them again. First somebody hit me from behind and later I went wide in Turn 11. Then it took a while before I was able to overtake Sebastien Buemi, and after that I got stuck in traffic again. That’s why we decided to make my first pit stop a couple of laps earlier than planned. This is, of course, a disadvantage, but due to the traffic situation it still paid off. Despite the rather heavy car, the pace wasn’t too bad. But overall looking at the situation we found ourselves in, I would say the car has been quicker this weekend and it is a shame we didn’t convert this progress into points.”
Robert Kubica (13th):
"I had a good start and a good first lap, and managed to make up a lot of positions then. At least this is something positive. Unfortunately, I had massive understeer and a lot of front tyre wear during the entire race. About ten laps into each stint my front tyres degraded a lot and I was very slow.”
*Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
"For our team this was a race without anything significant happening. Both drivers were able to make up places at the start and keep themselves in the racing action. Our cars ran trouble-free, but after the difficult qualifying there was nothing more we could do on this track. With better starting positions we would have been able to fight for points today. Congratulations to the McLaren Mercedes team for a very convincing victory. It is remarkable how quickly the balance of power is constantly changing this season.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Starting from 15th and 18th, any prospects for the race are obviously limited. Therefore we tried to make up lost ground with our strategy. This worked well at the start when both drivers gained places. But then, from Lap 18 onwards, Nick got stuck in traffic and lost too much time. We therefore decided to make an earlier pit stop for him. At the end of the day it didn’t help much. Based on our grid positions, there was nothing else we could achieve."
Jenson Button (7th):
"We felt positive that we could get a good result today but unfortunately it turned into damage limitation for our championship challenge. I was heavily fuelled after qualifying and our plan was to get a good start, stay with the cars in front and then I was going longer at the first stop. My rear tyres grained massively in the first few laps which took away any chance that I had of keeping pace with the front-runners. We don't know what the problem is right now as our pace on the option tyre on Friday was pretty good and we were able to manage the rear end much better than some of the others. The car just doesn't feel like it did a few races ago but we'll work hard to identify the problems before Valencia. It's disappointing as we had high hopes for this race but we were fortunate to come away with two points."
*Rubens Barrichello (10th):
"There was some good action out there but my race was really compromised from the start which is a shame as the potential was definitely there for a points finish. I had some contact from another car when I turned into the second corner which dropped me to the back of the field. It was always going to be difficult to make progress from there but there were flashes of pace, particularly during the last stint when I was able to close up to the cars ahead. It's been a very difficult weekend and one to forget really. We know that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us to find out what is affecting our performance."
Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal:
"Hungary has proved to be a very challenging weekend for the team which has left us with a number of questions to answer regarding the performance of the car. After a positive start on Friday where we felt that we had a good understanding of the tyres, they proved to be our main area of concern in the race today. Both drivers tried different strategies with their tyre choices but we were unable to prevent the graining which affected their pace at crucial stages of the race. We have four weeks until the next race and after our factory shutdown we will be working extremely hard to identify the cause of our recent issues and make the improvements required to return to our early season form. Finally congratulations to Mercedes-Benz on a very well-deserved win today for what is their seventh victory of the season."
Timo Glock (6th):
"I thoroughly enjoyed my race and to finish inside the top six after starting from 13th is a very good result. I have to say thanks to the team for their good work this weekend, especially to my car crew who have done such a great job. Our strategy was really strong today and the car felt spot on, so it was a nice race for me. In the first stint, on such a heavy fuel load, I struggled a little to start with but then I found a good rhythm and made up a lot of time, especially in the second stint. I had a really good feeling for the car and the tyres performed very well; really consistent. This result is better than I expected today so I am happy and it's nice to be back in the points again."
Jarno Trulli (8th):
"I said yesterday that I never give up and I think today's result shows that because I made up several positions and finished in the points again. The car felt strong early in the race and I think I had good pace but I was also stuck in traffic and that made things a little tricky. Later on I started to lose a bit of grip but I kept fighting because I knew we could get in the points. It's a pity we qualified outside the top 10 because who knows what could have been possible but I am happy to be in the points again and this is a positive result for the team. Now I am looking forward to the European Grand Prix in Valencia where I hope we will be even stronger."
John Howett, Toyota team president:
"That was a strong team effort and I am pleased with our performance today, especially after the difficult qualifying. The drivers performed exceptionally well to make up so many places; we had a strong strategy and the pit crew did a great job, all of which is very encouraging. We have to understand why we did not show this performance in qualifying but we will be working hard to remedy that for the next race so we can get both cars into the top six. Our factory closes for two weeks at the start of August and that gives us time to gather our strength and come back with renewed vigour in Valencia, where we performed well last year and aim to do so again this time."
Nico Rosberg scored a second consecutive fourth place at the Hungaroring today, elevating him by two places in the driver’s championship to fifth position. A good baseline pace from the FW31 all weekend, and a crucial defence of his position against a KERS-powered McLaren at turn one provided the essential elements for Nico to build a strong performance on a circuit that witnessed only a few overtaking manoeuvres in 70 laps. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima edged closer to securing his first points of the season, but starting the race ninth with limited opportunity to gain position on track, and most of the field running similar tyre and fuel strategies offered little prospect to improve on his start position. The team’s continued thoughts are with Felipe Massa for his recuperation.
*Nico Rosberg:
I am quite pleased with the outcome today as it was quite tricky, especially at the start against the KERS cars. Initially I had no chance off the line, but the first corner was quite a big mess and I managed to profit from this and climb back to fifth place, which was important. As the race settled down, I had to manage the tyres cautiously because of graining in both the first and second stint. Given all of these issues, we have to be very happy with fourth place and I am now up to fifth in the championship, although of course this was in part due to the fact that Felipe wasn’t able to start today. Anyway, I am enjoying working with the team and everyone is pushing on really well, so we'll continue to improve if we keep moving in this direction.
Kazuki Nakajima:
After the first lap when I got past Jenson, I couldn’t hold the position and once he had got back past me, it dictated my race – it was a big moment for me and made it very difficult to improve for the rest of the day despite good car pace as I was running in traffic. We just need to keep pushing and one race soon we are going to get the result.
Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was good to score some points from another fourth place for Nico, although our expectations are going up and we really want to get onto the podium. It was a shame to miss out on a point for Kazuki. Both drivers had good starts and race pace was underlined by Nico’s third fastest lap, so everything is going in the right direction, we just need to start putting away some more points.
Adrian Sutil - DNF: "We had a problem with the water temperature so after one lap it had climbed to the maximum so the engine was running very hot. We had our first suspicions on the way to the grid and after a few corners it was clear that there was no way we could do the race. I had to retire to save the engine. It's been a difficult weekend overall but I'm looking forward to Valencia now where we have a big upgrade package coming through."
Giancarlo Fisichella - 14th: "The race was quite tough for us. The grid position wasn't great and in the beginning we struggled a little bit with the grip. On the second and third stints though the car balance was actually pretty good and I was quicker than Barrichello and Kubica so I could push quite hard. Unfortunately here you just can't find a way past so we had to settle for 14th. Now we can really start to look forward to the next Grand Prix in Valencia."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "Obviously today's race was overshadowed by Felipe's accident yesterday and our thoughts are with him and his family. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. For us personally, the weekend has been one of mixed fortunes. Qualifying was not as we would have hoped, but Giancarlo had a strong outing with some very fast times in the mid point of the race and we again raced in the midfield. We're now very much looking forward to Valencia where the new upgrades should give us yet another advance on the field."
