Japanese GP - Suzuka - Sunday
POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE – October 4, 2009
1. Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull), 1h28m20.443s
2. Jarno TRULLI (Toyota), 1h28m25.320s
3. Lewis HAMILTON (McLaren Mercedes), 1h28m26.915s
TV UNILATERALS
Q: Sebastian, an utterly dominant weekend for you. Fastest in qualifying. You totally controlled the race. You must feel great.
Sebastian VETTEL: I do. What a race. Obviously yesterday with pole position and I think strategy-wise we were the favourites but first of all you have to do the start. We were pretty confident and had good starts in the past. Not that that was always the case at the beginning of the season, but we were confident of defending the position. But it was closer than I thought it was going to be. Going into turn one all of a sudden I saw a silver arrow on the left hand side and obviously I had the inside and it was my advantage but it was closer than I thought it would be. After that it was head down and try to push every single lap. The car was fantastic. I was able to pull a gap quite quickly, a big one, enough. Obviously with the strategy we were two laps longer than Lewis and a lap longer than Jarno in the first stint, so it all worked out. Until the end I was pretty much in control. I fitted soft tyres for the last stint and second and wanted to have a little bit of fun. I did one very quick lap, I think 32.5, then my engineer came on the radio and said ‘ok, be aware of your tyres. There might be a safety car or something’. Two laps later there was the safety car. Obviously, it is not what you are hoping for when you are in the lead by roughly 10 seconds. But, nevertheless, I was still taking care of my tyres and at the restart I was able to use it. I had a bit of a cushion with Romain (Grosjean) behind me. A very good restart and then three to four phenomenal laps again to build a gap that was safe enough to win the race in the end, so fantastic. As you said, finally we made it. I was screaming on the radio. I think in the last couple of races it was a little bit up and down. Sometimes we had the pace, sometimes we didn’t and yeah, finally we made it, so it is good to be back in first position also on Sunday.
Q: What a day for you. You lost a place at the start and then you fought the whole race to get it back again. You and Lewis were really at each other weren’t you?
Jarno TRULLI: Well. I knew that the start would be the hot spot and the most difficult as I had this guy very strong at the start. Generally, we don’t get very good starts and Lewis had KERS as well, so it was pretty easy to imagine what would happen at that first corner. This time the car pulled away pretty well, so I was able to nearly keep the position, but Lewis came by and I was obliged to follow him. From then on it was a fantastic race for me as I really enjoyed qualifying laps, lap by lap, with Lewis, closing the gap and then coming closer. I was pushing again and it was not easy at all. After the first pit stop I was chasing him again. It was really hard but I really enjoyed it as the car was really strong and everything was fine. It was just a matter of pushing as hard as possible and putting pressure on Lewis. Then eventually thanks to the team and the strategy we got him at the last pit stop. From then on I think it was easy for me. But with the safety car I thought again that it was going to be a difficult restart as I thought that Lewis was coming close to me with the KERS car, but I was pulling away again, so I am really happy and I have to thank everybody in the team and Japan. It is a fantastic result. I must admit I really wanted to win but it was impossible today as he was untouchable.
Q: Lewis, what is your response to that? Did you enjoy it as much as Jarno did?
Lewis HAMILTON: I did. We had a great race. I tried to get both of them at the start but they both got a really good start which is not always the case. We had quite a good battle, especially for me and Jarno. Sebastian drove fantastic, so he pulled away into the distance. Jarno and I were battling. I knew I could not match these two in the first sector and that it is purely down to downforce but in the middle sector I was quite quick and in the last sector with KERS we were very quick. But I think it was just before or just after the last stop I lost KERS, so that automatically losing us a good few tenths per lap. When that happens the brake balance changes, all these different things, so it was very hard. I had to have a three second gap before the last stop. I think I had a 3.1 and then the last couple of laps I think I lost half a second or something like that. We came out very close but once he was in front of me it was impossible to keep up with him. Well done to these two, they did a fantastic job today. We will battle them into the next race.
Q: You took a very assertive line down in the middle at the start. Tell us about your tactic there to keep Lewis out.
SV: First of all the tactic was to get a good start, so I focussed on myself. The pull-away was good and after that basically looking left and right. On the right hand side Jarno, to see if he has a better start than I have and on the left hand side Lewis. Then quickly I noticed I have a decent start, it seems to be good, so I stayed in the middle, where I am. I was ready to go to the inside in case Lewis had a really good start and then try to get to the inside of turn one and two. It wasn’t the case, so I stayed in the middle and all of a sudden he came on the left hand side alongside me nearly. But then I had the advantage going into turn one. Fortunately, apart from that, I didn’t have wheel-to-wheel racing this race. I was hoping for a clean race. Obviously when the safety car came out it is not what you are hoping for but nevertheless the speed of the car was fantastic. The circuit is unbelievable. When I was crossing the line for the last lap I really enjoyed the first sector again. It was similar to those two, like qualifying, every single lap pushing to the limit of the car. In the esses, going uphill, it is fantastic, especially when the car works that well around here. It is great, so I really enjoyed myself today.
Q: Jarno, what does this result mean for Toyota?
JT: First of all, it is a double result as we are coming from a fantastic podium for Timo (Glock) with a fantastic drive in Singapore. From there we came here and again the car looked straight away competitive, so I think the team has just showed that it is in Formula One and is proving to everyone that they can do the job. Obviously, there are still some areas where we have to improve. But being on the podium in front of your home fans is fantastic. This is down to the entire team, from the engineers to the mechanics, and as well I have to say to my team-mate who is a great person. It is a shame that he could not race today. I wish him all the best. But I must admit we are having quite a lot of fun and we are having a very productive work inside this team. The atmosphere is very nice and it is great to be, for me now, on the podium here.
Q: Lewis, you lost a place to Jarno at the second stop. You had another chance to get it back at the restart. Tell us about that from your point of view.
LH: I was on the radio for the last couple of safety car laps to ask the team if they could get the KERS working again. I really needed that to have any chance to shoot past Jarno at the start. But that wasn’t the case. They weren’t able to do that. I was generally just looking out to see if you could get as close as possible. I didn’t particularly exit the last corner close enough to him either way. He did a great job again there and that is always the case. You have to be very close to them but I wasn’t able to do so but, nevertheless, it was good points for our team.
Q: Sebastian, you’ve taken the championship on to the last two races. Sixteen points behind the leader but as Lewis knows to his cost from two years ago when Kimi Räikkönen closed that margin down, it can still be done. What are your thoughts on the last two races?
SV: You said it all. It can still be done. It is looking much better now. It would be nice to have a couple more races left, but two races to go. We are here to fight and the best thing we can do is win like we did today. I think we have a great car, still improving, the boys back in the factory are pushing very hard. We will see what we can do. We will focus on us, on ourselves, and simply try to win. Whatever Rubens and Jenson are doing it is in their hands, so I will keep on pushing.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian. A fantastic win for you. The car seemed to be tremendous. The best car you have driven yet.
SV: It is the same I had all season. Obviously, as we expected, the corners here, especially the first sector, suit our car. It will produce a lot of downforce but it is still more than just quick corners. You have also got some medium and low speed, so overall our car seemed to work very well. Looking back to Singapore we had the pace. It is a totally different circuit. A street circuit, very, very low sped, so overall it is a very good car.
Q: All the drivers have said this weekend ‘what a great circuit.’ What does it mean for you to win on a circuit that all drivers respect so much?
SV: To be honest I came into the last lap and I was regretting a bit that it was over. I was enjoying the first sector for the last time. Fantastic. Obviously I had clean air the whole race, so I was able to push at my own pace just be aware of the tyres all the time. I didn’t want to run into something funny, so I was listening to the tyres, to the car, but simply fantastic. This circuit is amazing. If you get 53 laps in a row you appreciate it even more. It is made by God’s hands, I would say. It is fantastic, especially when you have a car that works so well especially in all the high speed corners, so fantastic. I am very, very happy. Good points today for the championship. I think it looks a bit better now, so a shame only two races to go. But that’s life. We are here to fight, so let’s see. Anything is still possible as you can see. It can change quickly.
Q: You were on pole position, but after qualifying when you saw the weights did you think ‘I can do this.’
SV: Yes. Obviously, the biggest threat was lap one, the start. We knew that we had good starts in the last couple of races, except Singapore where we were on the dirty side. At the beginning of the season it was a little bit of our weakness but again we made huge progress. We had a very, very good start today. I kind of stayed in the middle observing Jarno on the right and Lewis on the left and I was ready to react. Then when I saw that they are about the same I simply stayed in the middle on the run down to turn one. Lewis came surprisingly in the last bit into turn one. I saw a silver arrow on my left. I had the inside of the corner, so that was very import and after that clean air. The car was fantastic, so I was able to push lap by lap and increase the gap bit by bit. A bit special also was, I think, towards the end of the race. On the soft tyres I had a very good feeling. I was pushing for one lap really hard to make sure I have got the fastest lap and my engineer came on radio and said ‘don’t do anything stupid with the tyres. Don’t destroy your tyres yet in case of a safety car or whatever.’ Two laps later the safety car was out. But it was still fine and I got a very good restart and was able to pull away again. From start to finish a very good race for us.
Q: Jarno, your best ever placing here in twelve races, especially as it follows up on Timo’s second place last weekend as well.
JT: I think that, first of all, it’s a good result for the team, because in two races we’ve got two podiums, two second positions and this just shows how well the team is doing. It’s still pushing hard and still trying to improve the car before the end of the season, so I’m really pleased for them: for the engineers, the mechanics, everyone. The car was purely quick from the beginning here, but obviously I couldn’t feel that we were as quick as Vettel. He was untouchable during qualifying and also during the race. Actually I thought I did an extremely good job in qualifying to put the car on the front row and it was also good not to lose too many positions at the start, because this has always been our weakest point so far this season. I knew that I could keep up a good pace and actually I really enjoyed the fight with Lewis. It was basically a qualifying race, lap after lap, trying to close the gap, trying to stay close, trying to get him at the pit stop. I nearly made it at the first one, and then at the second stop the guys in the pits did a very good job and then I got him. Once I got him, I knew that I was quicker, so I could pull away. I’m happy, even though, to be honest, second is fantastic but I still wanted to win for Toyota.
Q: Was it a surprise to come out ahead of Lewis after the pit stop? Did the engineers predict that?
JT: They kept me aware of the situation and I was closing the gap, trying to close the gap, trying to push harder and harder, and I think Lewis was doing the same, so the lap times were within a tenth of a second. We were both really trying hard but it wasn’t easy. But nevertheless, that was my only chance to try to gain a position and eventually I did it. This was all I had to do. And at the last moment, after the safety car, I was very concerned, because I thought that Lewis could get me at the restart but I managed to get a bit of a gap at the restart, so it was enough to pull one lap and then I was fine.
Q: Was there much difference in the tyres?
JT: Fortunately, we made the right choice, starting with the hard, then continuing with the hard and then putting on soft tyres at the end because the soft tyres changed the balance completely and they were not as quick as the hard ones. I think this time we got it right, so we’re happy, but in general the car has been competitive on both compounds.
Q: Lewis, it didn’t look as if Sebastian left you much room at the start&ldots;
LH: I had enough room there. I think it was fair. It wasn’t our best start, but to be honest this year we haven’t really had great starts except for when we get on the KERS button. We probably had our best start of the year at the last race. We tried to repeat it again this weekend but these two guys also got quite a good start. There’s not actually such a long straight to turn one, to actually drag past one of them was not easy. But I tried, but unfortunately the outside was not the place to be, he did a perfect job to get in the middle.
Q: A surprise to be jumped at the second pit stop?
LH: No, not really. Inevitably, we needed every tenth that we could get. I pulled the gap up to three seconds, I think, which was roughly what I needed, and then on the last couple of laps just before my pit stop we had a KERS problem and we were also just generally struggling with the car a little bit, I wasn’t able to pull decent times out of the car with a lighter car on a lighter fuel load. As Jarno was saying, we pretty much had a qualifying battle, a tenth here, a tenth there, we kept shaving tenths off each other. At the exit of my second pit stop also, I had a problem with my gearbox and the thing went into neutral, so instead of switching off the pit speed limiter and pulling away, I was in neutral for a hundred metres or something like that, so I maybe lost a second or so there. Unfortunately the time just slipped away from us, but they both did a great job here. We had a great race. Congratulations to Sebastian and I look forward to the next race; I think we should have a good one.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Jarno, as your future seems uncertain, does it give you extra motivation, especially for these three races?
JT: No, my future is not uncertain.
Q: (Takaharu Kusuda – Book People Atlas) Sebastian, perfect victory, you had a safe gap but then the safety car came out. What were you thinking, what were you feeling when you were following the safety car, and when you passed the finish line, what was your feeling as you gained the victory?
SV: Obviously, before the safety car phase, when you’re in the lead by roughly ten seconds, it’s the last thing you hope for, because with ten laps to go, anything can still happen but you kind of take it easy and bring the car home. Obviously, when the safety car came out the gap was gone, and during the safety car phase, it was all about – especially when you pass the accident – not to pick up any debris and destroy your car or damage your car, damage the tyres, make sure you don’t get a puncture. Other than that, just try to cool the car, cool the engine, cool the brakes and make sure you warm it up before you start going again, so before the restart, and make sure your tyres are hot enough to start again, to be able to push right away. Obviously, that’s crucial here. When you’ve got cold tyres, less tyre pressure, then the car is bottoming more which can make it quite tricky but I think we did a very good job, speaking to my engineer on the radio all the time. Then a couple of laps more and I crossed the line, obviously looked to the right to see the team and celebrate with them and looked to the left and saw the grandstand, all the people going crazy, and to be honest, maybe I was a little bit too slow for TV coverage on the way back to the pits, but I didn’t care. There were people all around the circuit, it’s fantastic, you know. You come here in the morning and people are already queuing on the way to the paddock, just to say hi and to wave and wish you all the best. It’s great. So I was enjoying the lap back to the pits and obviously screaming over the radio and all that stuff, so very, very happy. When you cross the line you start to realise what has happened and it’s fantastic, so very pleased.
Q: (Marco Degli’Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, at this stage of the championship, looking back at past races, which are the points that you are most missing now?
SV: Looking back I think we have had a great season. Obviously, we should have been more consistent in order to fight for the championship right now, it was a little bit too much up and down. Sometimes things didn’t go our way. That’s part of racing, I guess, it happens. We made some mistakes, we’ve had some trouble during the season, it can happen, but obviously when you want to fight properly for the championship, then they shouldn’t happen. But nevertheless, I think it was a very good season so far. The car is fantastic. We had three one-twos, there’s not much more to say. Looking at the championship positions, we could have collected more points, as I said, been more consistent, less up and down. In more than three or four places we had the pace to win and we didn’t, so&ldots; Sometimes it goes in your favour, other times it doesn’t.
Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) Sebastian, how do you believe the next two race tracks may suit your car compared to the Brawns?
SV: Well, to be honest I was a little surprised to see the Brawns struggling here. Generally, a good car is a good car, and as they have proven, especially at the beginning of the season, their car is very competitive. I think we were all a little bit surprised. Looking at us, looking at our car, I think we should be in good shape for the next two races. Brazil is a track we know, Abu Dhabi is unknown for everyone, so we don’t know, but I think independent from the circuit type, we have always been competitive. Just looking at the last two races, we’ve been on totally different circuits: Singapore was rough, bumpy, a street circuit and very low speed and here, high speed. I think especially the parts we got for Singapore and a little bit here again, we made another step forward with our car, so it should be good. I can tell you afterwards.
Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) Sebastian, ten points for you today, one for Jenson (Button); it was like a tailor-made result for you. You haven’t given up the fight even though it was really, really tough after the last race, so what kind of feeling does it give you? How much more confidence do you have regarding the championship now?
SV: First of all, I’m very happy to be in Formula One. The cars are fantastic, but more so, I’m here to challenge and in the end we want to find out who is the best, the best in one race and the best over the whole season. That’s why I am here, and ultimately that’s my target. As I’ve said many times already, I will fight until the end, until the last breath. It was obviously a good day for us, two more races like this and it’s looking better, but we will see. I think our task from now on is pretty straightforward: we have to push ourselves to the maximum and try to win, get as many points as we can and everything else is not in our hands. You can ask the man sitting next to me (Lewis Hamilton) thinking two years back. I think Kimi had quite a big gap (to Lewis) with two races to go. Everyone said to Lewis it will not be a problem, sitting in one of the most competitive cars, just get a couple of points, but you can see sometimes, as I said before, things just don’t work your way. Anything is possible. The bottom line is that we’re here to fight.
Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Sebastian, what else can you do to win the championship? What is the next step you can take to win it?
SV: As I said before, it’s straightforward: win the next two races and then see what the others are doing. We just have to look at ourselves, trying to increase our own performance, get our maximum together, and if that’s good enough to win, that’s very good, if it’s good enough for second we have to finish second and not third, fourth, fifth or not at all. So we will see. The next circuit we know, we were good there last year, this year we go there with a stronger car, so it should be better and the last race in Abu Dhabi is a bit unknown. I’ve driven it on the simulator a bit but it’s difficult to know what to expect.
Q: (Nobuo Nakajima – Sankei Sports) Jarno, just after the race you were enjoying it but seemed a little bit reluctant. If so, what is the reason: the illness at the beginning of the week or because you couldn’t win in front of the Japanese fans or you couldn’t before Mr Toyoda?
JT: I think my aim, when it comes to the season, was to win a race and so far I didn’t manage it. I’m obviously happy to be on the podium, but I’ve had many podiums but what I’m really missing at the moment is a win, a win for my team and for Toyota. It’s obviously great to give them a fantastic result in front of their home crowd, but I’m the kind of person who wants more. I fixed my target and I’m extremely determined to get my target and obviously I’m a little bit – I wouldn’t say disappointed – but I wish I could fight for a win, but honestly, talking today, Sebastian was untouchable. I realised that in qualifying but even though I didn’t give up and I really tried to push for pole position at least but today there was nothing I could do. Anyway, I should be happy, I’m not saying that (I’m unhappy) but I’m missing a win.
Brawn GP moved a step closer to securing the 2009 Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka today. Points-scoring finishes for Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button in seventh and eighth positions sees the team requiring half a point from the remaining two races to take the title.
Starting from sixth and tenth positions on the grid, Rubens and Jenson followed two-stop strategies as they achieved the team’s objective of scoring points following a difficult qualifying on Saturday where a number of penalties resulted in a mixed-up grid.
After a good start from sixth place, Rubens maintained his position for the majority of the race before losing a place under the safety car and bringing his Brawn-Mercedes car home in seventh position for two points.
Jenson had a more eventful race as he overtook Robert Kubica on lap three and then took advantage of a clash between Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil to move into the points in eighth position. Quick laps set him up to jump Nico Rosberg at the final pit stop for seventh position before the safety car intervened and Jenson finished in eighth place for one point.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P7 01:33.910
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P8 01:33.251
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 25-26°C Track: 35-41°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Qualifying proved crucial for my weekend as it put me ahead of Jenson for the race and I was able to make up a point on him. I struggled with the set-up today and wasn’t able to get the best from the car which is a shame. I was able to follow Kimi when we were both running on primes in the first stint but once he switched to options, he gained a lot of time on me. We would have finished in sixth place without the safety car and that’s the best that I could have hoped for today. It’s frustrating but that’s the way racing goes and the most important thing is that I gained a point on Jenson this weekend. I’m looking forward to my home race in Sao Paulo in two weeks. The Brazilian Grand Prix is always a very special occasion for me and I’ll be giving it my all there to do as well as possible for the championship.”
JENSON BUTTON
“Today was about picking up points after our eventful qualifying session yesterday and that’s exactly what I did. Starting from tenth on the grid was always going to make for a tough race but my pace was really good in the race and I was very happy with the performance of the car. I was pulling massive amounts of time out of the guys in front me but they were on heavier fuel loads which held me up as it’s difficult to overtake here. I did the best that I could in the car that we had this weekend and we got the maximum performance out of it with a points-scoring finish. I only lost one point to Rubens today which is my main priority. Obviously we lost a few points to Sebastian but we were expecting them to be strong here. We go to two circuits now which should suit our car so I’m excited about the end of the season and already looking forward to the next race in Brazil.”
*ROSS BRAWN
“We recovered well in the race today from a problematic qualifying session and both drivers brought home valuable points in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship. Whilst we were aware that this track would favour our competitors, I am pleased with the performance of the team and drivers over the weekend to extract the maximum from the car and add to our championship points tally, leaving us with half a point required to take the Constructors’ title. The next two races at Interlagos and Abu Dhabi should suit the characteristics of our car much better so we can look forward to a very exciting conclusion to the season.”
Sebastian Vettel (1st):
“What a race! We already had pole position and strategy-wise we were the favourites, but, you know - first of all you have to do the start! We were pretty confident that we could defend our position, as we’ve had good starts in the past, but it was closer than I thought it would be! Going into Turn One, I suddenly saw a silver arrow on my left-hand side, but I had the inside line so it was my advantage. After that I put my head down and tried to push with every single lap. The car was fantastic and I was able to create a gap quite quickly. We were two laps longer than Lewis and a lap longer than Jarno in the first stint, so it all worked out and I was pretty much in control of the race. After we fitted the soft tyres for the last stint, I wanted to have a little bit of fun. I did one very quick lap (I think a 32.5), but then my engineer came on the radio and said ‘watch your tyres, there might be a safety car or something’ and two laps later there was the safety car! It’s not what you want when you’re in the lead, but I was still taking care of my tyres and had a good restart. I had a bit of a cushion with Grosjean behind me and then three or four laps to build a gap again that was enough to win the race. Finally, we made it! Fantastic. I was screaming with happiness on the radio at the end of the race. The last couple of races have been a bit up and down, sometimes we had pace and sometimes not, but finally we made it. It’s good to be back in first position on Sunday. A huge thanks to all the team and everyone at Red Bull for this.”
Mark Webber (17th):
“I had to make two pit stops on the first two laps, so it was all over from there. On the first lap, the headrest came loose in the car, so I had to come in and get that fixed. I went back out, but the same thing happened so I had to come in again in order for the guys to tape it down. We tested some things today, and tried some other items for future races. That’s all we could really do from there.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
“A brilliant job by Sebastian today. He’s been on it all weekend and he looked like he really enjoyed himself out there. The car’s worked fantastically well and a big thank you to everyone in the Red Bull team, to Renault and to all of our partners that have supported us so well here. For Mark, this was the weekend from hell - with a chassis change overnight, then issues on the first lap with a headrest that had somehow come loose and then a puncture. After that the race was little more than a test, but it’s encouraging that right at the end he got the fastest lap time as a small consolation.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer, Track Support:
“A fantastic result for Sebastian today - pole position and a win. It was a perfect weekend for him on what is a very difficult track for engines. Unfortunately for Mark - his glass was more half empty than half full today. It was a difficult race for him after starting from the pit lane. He proved he was quick by setting the fastest lap of the race, but he couldn’t do anything else, so I’m sad for him. There are two more races to go and we won’t give up until the end.”
Nico Rosberg - 5th: That was the best I could do today for sure. The car wasn't as quick as we wanted it to be but we got the best out of it. I had a really good strategy which helped deliver this result. It was a tough race so overall I'm pleased.
Kazuki Nakajima - 15th: Obviously it was a difficult race for me. I was on a one stop strategy which was working up to a point but then there was just too much traffic and the safety car came out so it didn't work out the way we had hoped. It's a disappointing result at my home Grand Prix.
*Sam Michael, Technical Director: We had an interesting race because our strategies were quite different to the cars around us due to the penalties imposed yesterday. Nico kept his head down and scored some points which was what was required today. He was competitive at the times he needed to be and this is a good result. Kazuki was on a one stop strategy, which was really dependent on something happening to help him up the order, but it didn't unfortunately.
Kimi Raikkonen (4th):
"Today the car wasn't bad, but it was not quick enough to fight for the podium. This fourth place is useful in terms of keeping the team in third place in the constructors' championship, but it will be hard to hang onto it over the final two races. I will definitely do everything I can though. I was unable to make up places at the start, especially as the first corner is not that far from the start line and so I was unable to make the most of the KERS. In the first stint, when I was on hard tyres, the situation was a bit difficult, but then, once on the softs, things improved considerably. I managed to close on Heidfeld and pass him at the pit stop, even though, coming away from my stop, I found myself in traffic behind Button. Then there was not much to fight for to the end of the race."
Giancarlo Fisichella (12th):
"I had a better feel for the car this weekend and I think the effect from that could be seen, although maybe not in terms of the results. Today, I could run at a good pace, especially in the middle part of the race. It's a shame I lost a place in my battle with Kovalainen. We managed to get ahead of him in the pit stop, but then he swerved across to the inside at the only point where I left the door slightly open and he leaned on me, managing to get by. Towards the end, I had to fight off Sutil who was very quick and was on the soft tyre, while I was on the hard: at this point the KERS came in handy. Now I am looking forward to Interlagos in a more confident mood: it will be important to get a slightly better start position to try and finally make it into the points."
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
"All things considered, this is a positive result: I don't think we could have done any more than this fourth place. We got the most out of the F60 as it stands today and, thanks to yet another great drive from Kimi, we also managed to stay third in the constructors' classification. Giancarlo also drove a good race, driving competitively in terms of pace and performance, as can be seen from the fact he set the eighth best lap time. In the middle stint, on the soft tyre, both our drivers were very quick, their lap times matching those of the best. The team worked well and we must continue to do so for the final two races left to run in this strange season, fighting tooth and nail to reach the target we set ourselves from the mid-season onwards."
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer:
"After the disappointment of Singapore, it's nice to see Kimi again finish a race in a good position. With hindsight, there's some disappointment with a result that could have been even better: we opted to start on the hard tyres on Kimi's car, because we weren't entirely sure about how the soft ones would work over a distance. In fact, their performance stayed consistent, as we saw in the second part of the race, when both our drivers were very competitive. On top of that, we failed to make up places at the start, which is what we usually manage. We played about a bit with the stops to try and pass Heidfeld and we managed it. In the final stint, it seemed at one point that
Hamilton had a problem and then the Safety Car closed everyone up. Kimi tried to see if there was room to attack him at the re-start but there was not. Giancarlo drove a good race and it was important for him and for the team to see him fighting with Kovalainen and Alonso for a place just outside the points. It's a shame that, coming out of pit lane after his second stop, he lost a place in his battle with the McLaren driver."
Shoshi Arakawa - Bridgestone Chairman of the Board, President and CEO: "Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for his victory here at the Suzuka Circuit. The Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka in beautiful weather today after a two year interval, and I believe the spectators thoroughly enjoyed the world's top class battles of Formula One. We are proud that our tyres have helped to provide an impressive and exciting race. Bridgestone, as the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, will continue to support all of the teams and drivers with our full efforts for the season's remaining two races."
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Well done to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing for keeping the drivers' championship alive with a thrilling win. Congratulations to Jarno Trulli for scoring Toyota's second podium finish in as many races and also to the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton for his third place for McLaren. We were privileged to have many Bridgestone guests, staff and board members here to enjoy fantastic racing."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "From the beginning of the race the soft tyre worked well, however in the second two thirds of the race it really came alive and we saw very good race performance from this tyre. The high track temperature meant that the hard compound could be used at the start which would not be as advisable on a colder track due to longer warm-up requirements. This was a safe strategy for those concerned by any degradation from the soft, however those who did opt to use the soft at the start saw good performance."
Lewis Hamilton - 3rd: "I tried to get past both Jarno and Sebastian at the start. But I couldn't quite manage to get into the lead. It was a good scrap with Jarno - we were really battling, setting qualifying times as we tried to shave tenths off each other's laps – but, over the race distance, my car couldn't quite match his.
"As I exited the pits after my second stop, I lost time with a gearbox problem, which meant I coasted about 100 metres down the pitlane – that cost me about a second. To be honest, it wasn't a surprise to be jumped by Jarno at the final stops – we needed every tenth to make the gap up to three seconds and we couldn't quite make it.
"When we were behind the Safety Car, I asked the team if they could get the KERS working again so that I could shoot past Jarno," Lewis said, "but they couldn't do it and I wasn't close enough to get in his slipstream at the restart."
Heikki Kovalainen - 11th: "I'm a bit disappointed with my result. I'm absolutely on the limit of my car and we're still lacking grip in the high-speed corners, so it's not possible for me to attack any harder. I pushed from the start to the finish – Adrian tried to make a move but only went halfway, so I was able to stay beside him. When he tried to turn in, I was already on the kerb and I had no more room to avoid him, so I had to lean on him and that was more a problem for him.
"My second pitstop wasn't fantastic as we had a problem with the right front wheel, so Giancarlo was able to get out right in front of me. I was able to release the pitlane speed-limiter earlier and immediately got on KERS. He gave me some room, so it was quite an easy move – nothing too dramatic."
Martin Whitmarsh - Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: "Suzuka is a terrifically exciting and challenging circuit, for drivers and engineers alike. So for us to have bagged a solid third place here isn't something we need be too disappointed with, particularly bearing in mind where we were performance-wise on fast circuits of this nature only a few weeks ago.
"Ultra-forceful competitor that he is and always will be, Lewis had hoped to be able to take the lead from Sebastian at the first corner. In truth it was never going to be easy, owing to the short run from the start-line to the first corner – and, once Sebastian had held on to his lead into Turn One, he remained just out of Lewis's reach all afternoon.
*"Lewis's focus then turned to his delicately poised battle with Jarno. Emerging from the second pitstops in third place just behind the Italian, Lewis then suffered a KERS malfunction that we were unable to cure. Bearing in mind that he then had to improvise an all-new driving style to compensate for the lack of KERS and the compromised braking balance that the lack of KERS occasioned, he did a truly fantastic job to hold on to third place, and to keep Kimi [Raikkonen] at bay, through to the flag.
"After Heikki's problems in qualifying, compounded by a five-place grid penalty caused by our need to replace his gearbox yesterday afternoon, Heikki tried his hardest today to make up places from his P11 grid slot – but the reality is that Suzuka is a tricky strip of narrow asphalt on which it's deceptively difficult to overtake. The fact that Heikki is disappointed with his P11 finish is an indication of his competitive spirit – but he's already talking optimistically about Interlagos.
"Talking of Interlagos, we'll approach the Brazilian Grand Prix with the same mindset with which we've been approaching every Grand Prix since the German: in other words, with a mindset aggressively focused on scoring as many points as possible in an effort to secure third place in the constructors' world championship."
Norbert Haug - Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: ""A great race from Lewis again and 16 points for him and the team after the last two weekends with his win in Singapore and third place here in Suzuka.
"After his second pitstop, a potential isolation problem with the KERS Hybrid occurred, the root cause of which we are still investigating. As a precaution, the system switched itself off, so after his second pitstop, Lewis had to run without KERS support – which obviously cost him laptime due to brake-balance issues and less power available.
"Despite this handicap, he did a marvellous job defending his third position from Kimi at the restart after the Safety Car period. In fact, he pulled a gap out between him and the Ferrari in the last laps.
"Heikki was handicapped starting from 11th place after receiving a five-place grid penalty due to changing his car's gearbox following his qualifying shunt.
"Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has scored 51 points in the six races since Lewis's win at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July – a better score than any other team in that period of time.
"I would like to thank everybody in our team at Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart for the hard work that was done in order to recover from our bad first half of the season when we scored 14 points in nine races. In the last six, we got 51 – and that definitely feels much better.
"Finally, congratulations to Sebastian and Red Bull Racing for a superb win today – this result keeps the outcome of the world championship open."
Nick Heidfeld (6th):
“Today was not our lucky day. I’m very disappointed with this result. Fourth place was within reach but several things went wrong today, especially at the second pit stop when the rear right wheel nut got stuck. But certainly I don’t want to complain. These things can happen and normally we have very good pit stops. That was when I lost a position to Kimi, and I rejoined the race just behind him. When the safety car came out I lost another position to Nico, who was lucky to refuel while the safety car was out.”
Robert Kubica (9th):
“The entire weekend was unlucky for me. Yesterday I wasn’t able to show my good pace due to the red and yellow flags. Today I was stuck in traffic a couple of times. Furthermore I lost much time at the beginning of the race with a heavy and understeering car. Once the car was lighter and I got into my rhythm I was quite quick. I was then very unlucky with my first pit stop, as after the stop both Kimi and Nick were in front of me. That cost me time. Also after the safety car period I was in traffic. I was stuck behind Jenson. I was quicker than him in the corners, but was not able to overtake as we were missing some top speed on the straights.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“That was a strong performance from us with a disappointing end. Nick was quick and well on his way on fourth. Then he lost a position during his second pit stop due to a sticking wheel nut. He lost another position during the safety-car-period when Nico Rosberg passed him after his pit stop. Coming in ninth, Robert missed the points by just a small margin.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Today more should have been possible for us. Nick established himself in fourth for a long time. Until his second pit stop, which we did earlier because Kimi Raikkonen was right behind him, everything went according to plan. But during the pit stop a problem occurred which cost us valuable seconds. As a consequence Kimi was able to get by. During the safety-car-period Nick lost another position. Robert lost a position after the start which he gained back later during the race. But at the end it was just not enough to score a point."
Jarno Trulli - 2nd: "Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him.
"I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
Fernando Alonso - 10th: "My race was really decided after qualifying because although the car was competitive and I pushed hard, it was not enough to score any points. We now have to concentrate on the two remaining races and make sure that we qualify well because if we do that I am sure we can score some strong points and have a good end to the season."
Romain Grosjean - 16th: "Overall it was a tough afternoon for me. The car was very heavy on fuel and was difficult to drive as I had a lot of understeer. The Suzuka circuit was also a new experience for me this weekend, but I did my best to complete the race without any problems. I'm now looking forward to the next race in Brazil."
Jean-François Caubet, Managing Director: "I would like to congratulate Red Bull Racing on yet another victory, which shows the competitiveness of the Renault engine. Unfortunately for the Renault F1 Team, a weekend that looked promising for us after the Singapore podium, didn't meet our expectations. Both cars started so far down the grid that even with a good strategy and an excellent performance from Fernando, who made up six places, we didn't manage to get into the points. We will need to deliver those in the next two races."
Bob Bell, Team Principal: "It would be easy to say that it was a disappointing race, but in fact it was a disappointing qualifying session, which really determined what happened to us in the race. Fernando did a great job to gain six places, but I think the race would have been a different story had he not had his qualifying penalty and started in the top ten. Romain drove a solid race to bring the car home, which is as much as we expected from him considering his starting position. So it wasn't a great weekend, but there are positives: the team worked well together; we remain upbeat; and we look forward to Brazil with continued optimism."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "Our return to Suzuka was not particularly successful. We had the speed but our grid positions compromised our chances of a good result. We used new engines for this race and they completed their mileage without any problems. For Brazil, we now have a choice as it's likely that we will use new engines, but that is still to be confirmed."
Adrian Sutil - 14th: It was a really disappointing race. The start was OK and I could keep my position but then I fell back to ninth and was caught behind Kovalainen. I got past him at the chicane but then he cut back across and I spun and lost a lot of time. That was really the end of the race for me. When that happens it's obviously very disappointing as I thought we could have done really well today and got some points. We've just got to look forward to Brazil now - it's a similar type of circuit to here where the car has been competitive.
Tonio Liuzzi - 13th: Overall I think it was not a bad race. Starting from that position it was always going to be difficult to score points but we showed a strong pace in the race and never gave up. I could have a really good fight with Fernando [Alonso] and the Williams, plus also the Toro Rosso so I think it was a good effort from the team.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: We had expected a better result from this race, particularly given Adrian's excellent performance in qualifying fourth yesterday. The penalty cost us dear as Adrian was behind the heavier Rosberg and then dropped back behind Kovalainen early on. Adrian's race was then compromised when he tried to get past the McLaren but he nevertheless demonstrated that the car is performing very well in race conditions and we are able to race competitively with the top teams. Tonio too had a strong race to secure his second finish in three events. His confidence is now high and we should look forward to the next race in Brazil where we hope we can capitalise on the pace we have showed over the weekend. Hopefully next time we can get the results to prove it.
Jaime Alguersuari (DNF):
“My accident came on the lap after my second pit stop, when I fitted the soft tyres. At Turn 15, which you take flat, I lost the rear end of the car and crashed into the wall, but I'm not sure why, as it was inexplicable and I would like to see the data, in case there might have been something wrong with the pressure of the rear tyres or a puncture. I am really, really sorry for what happened. I was pushing every lap and running consistently, in terms of my lap times being almost always within the same tenth. Hopefully, we can have a better race in Brazil. “
Sebastien Buemi (DNF):
“I had a problem with the clutch, right from the start of the parade lap, when I couldn’t get off the grid. We tried to fix the problem by adjusting the clutch map, but again for the real start, it didn’t work. Then, after a few laps the clutch failed and I had to retire in the pits. A real shame as the weekend had seemed promising right from Friday in the wet. In qualifying the car was quick enough to get me into Q3 before the accident, so maybe I could have scored points today. Now we have to prepare for Brazil where the top teams might not bring so many developments to their car. So I hope we can end the season with two good races.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Having come to Japan for many years, I know this is a very expensive country and that was certainly the case for us this weekend! Unfortunately, Sebastien had a clutch problem which meant he could not get off the line at the start and later, caused his retirement. Jaime drove a good race up to the point of his accident. After the second stop, on new Options at the 130R, the fastest corner of the track, which meant it was a very big accident, the cause of which, we will now investigate. Fortunately, he is uninjured, which is the most important thing. The car is a different story, but in Brazil, I expect we will have a competitive package.”
