1st Jenson Button (Brawn GP), 1h40m44.282s; 2nd Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP), 1h40m51.948s; 3rd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h40m57.724s.
Q: Jenson, you didn’t even wait for the car to the podium ceremony. You just sprinted to the ceremony.
Jenson Button: Yeah, I mean the race was pretty tough but with the helmet on when you run you realise how long the pit lane is. I got off the line clean with Rubens behind and Rubens had problems with his rear tyres and I got a gap and it really didn’t change from there. I had the normal Monaco thing when the walls seem to get closer and closer the further you get into the race. But, yeah, an outstanding weekend and I think we have proven this weekend that our package works. I think we are looking very strong for the next few races. This victory is massive for us, I think, at this point of the season.
Q: When the tyre covers came off on the grid the Brawn cars were on the soft tyre unlike some of your major competitors. In some ways that is where you won the race with everybody else having trouble.
JB: Well, yeah I was surprised when the covers came off and most people were on the prime tyres, the harder of the two. We never thought twice really about running the option tyre and at the end of the stint I did start struggling with a little bit of oversteer but not quite as bad as Rubens did. But I started struggling and my times were not quite good enough and that is why they called me in and I stuck the prime tyres on. The prime tyres worked really well here. But the prime tyre was the race tyre.
Q: Those last 15 laps in Monaco when you are so near victory but things can go wrong. Talk us through your mindset at that point.
JB: Yeah, it is a very strange feeling because you start backing off a little bit and in reality, as has been said many times before, that is the worst thing to do as you start thinking about if I get this to the end I am going to win Monaco. That is the worst thing to do. I started backing off and there was so much going through my mind. It is not that you are not thinking about driving but there is a part of your mind that is thinking about something else. I had to really concentrate and the last two laps were very enjoyable as I had a big enough gap and you know nothing can go wrong with the car. I could drive at my steady pace and just enjoy the moment as it is a very special moment winning here in Monaco.
Q: Rubens, a great start which defined your race. But you had a problem with the seat belt in stint two.
Rubens Barrichello: Yeah, once again just like Barcelona I had a great start and I was able to have a run on Kimi. I was running at tremendous pace. But possibly I was just too close to Jenson as losing that little bit of aerodynamic I was struggling a little bit more without the air in front and I grained the rear tyres. From 16s I started to do 20s and then Jenson was gaining like three or four seconds a lap and that defined the race pretty much. If you look back the race was defined yesterday as it is a great momentum going when you start from the front. I had a great weekend. The car was perfect the whole way through. It was a shame we had the graining. On the second stint my seat belts started to get looser and looser and I could hear them going clank, clank. I was just getting loose, so I had to start driving differently. I had to send brakes to the front as when you brake you are just moving and you get to the pedal and you lock rear wheels more. I had a great time, really. It was not as easy as it looks from the outside, so I am proud of what we achieved today.
Q: Kimi, a great return to form for Ferrari. Talk about being beaten off the line by Rubens and then your day thereafter.
Kimi Raikkonen: Yeah, it is not the first time when I have been in second place and always lose one position. The start seems to be very slippery on that side plus they were on the softer tyres, so it definitely helped at the start. It was not nice to see as we were faster than Rubens but there was no way past him. We lost a lot of time at the beginning and that was the only chance to try and stay behind Jenson. Then I had a little bit longer second stint. I don’t know what happened at the pit stop but we lost a lot of time and Rubens was still a long way ahead of me when I came out. We still have work to do to be where we want to be and fight for the first place. But many small things changed this weekend as yesterday being first place probably would have given us a better chance. We need to be happy after a very difficult start to the season. The people have been working very hard at the factory and here at the circuit, so we improved the car very quickly once we realised we can do something different with the rules. We need to be very happy with what we achieved today. Third and fourth is not bad. We should get some new package again for next race and it should help. I am disappointed, definitely, but in this situation we need to be a bit happier. I am not happy with third place but for the team it is still a good result.
Q: Jenson, some final thoughts on winning the Monaco Grand Prix. It is the Blue Riband race event of the FIA Formula One World Championship and it must have been a long held ambition of yours. Talk us through that and your immediate thoughts as you crossed the line and the emotions you felt.
JB: Well, before the weekend I said that this grand prix doesn’t mean anything different to any other grand prix. I think that was more to stop the pressure on myself but we all know the truth. To win here was fantastic. This circuit is very different to anything else. I struggled at the start of the week and for me that makes it even better to come away with the victory. As I crossed the line I shouted on the radio to my engineers, ‘we have got Monaco, baby.’ We have got the victory in Monaco and that means a lot and a one-two finish for Brawn is exceptional. It is definitely going to go down in history, the performance of the team this year. It has been staggering. It is a great moment and I can’t wait to see all the boys. It is nice to get off the podium and see them but both of us, I am sure Rubens feels the same, to go and see the boys they are all going to be very emotional at the moment, so well done to them.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Jenson, where does Monaco rate in your all-time wins?
JB: As I said before, I said this weekend that this win doesn’t mean anything else to me than any other. It wouldn’t if it happened. Bit of a lie really but I was just trying to take a bit of pressure off myself. It is very special winning here. It is a completely different circuit to any that we race on. If you are quick in Barcelona you are quick on many circuits. This is just different and to win here is a great feeling. The last 15 laps were tough as when you lose a little bit of concentration anything can happen. But the last two laps were the most enjoyable laps of my career, I would say. I could just enjoy the moment. I had a big enough lead and I could just enjoy winning Monaco. It is something you always dream about as a kid. You watch it on television and you think it is an amazing spectacle. But actually driving in it and winning it is just fantastic. I am very happy.
Q: The car seemed to be perfect and the tyres perfect as well.
JB: As perfect as a car can be around Monaco for sure. The problem with this circuit is the further you go into the race, as it is mentally very tough and you are focusing so much, the barriers seem to get narrower and narrower. The car was great. We started off with a car this weekend that I was not happy in. I actually did not want to drive here at one point. I was just not happy at all but we have worked with it. The engineers have done a great job and the car has performed very well in qualifying and the race. It was an exceptional weekend, I think, for myself and also for Brawn and Rubens. This will definitely go down in history, for sure, a new team winning in Monaco.
Q: We are a third of the way through the championship and people are saying you cannot lose this championship.
JB: Yeah, I don’t know how you can say that after six races; I have won five. You are sort of putting a bit of negative energy in there and saying it is mine to lose. I wouldn’t put it like that. I am 16 points in the lead and I have more of an advantage than others to win the championship. But it is all to play for. It is not mine to lose for sure. I am doing the best I can and at the moment that is good enough. We will see what happens over the next few races. I am just enjoying this moment as the whole team should be. Every win is great but I think for the whole team, and I think everyone in Formula One, you want to win in Monaco and you want to win your home grand prix. In a way this is both for me.
Q: Rubens, you mentioned the problem with your rear tyres, what was that?
RB: Well, I was just mentioning it to Jenson. We had a different reading from many of the others. We had the option tyre and we thought the option was going to be the tyre to use for three quarters of the race really. Then, all of a sudden, we saw some of the others using the other tyre. As you could see it was the tyre to have to begin with; we pulled away, it was great. I was comfortably running behind Jenson but probably by running that close it just affected my tyre a little bit more because you lose a bit of aerodynamics and you start to slide. I had the graining on the rear, but graining badly, because I started saying that the pressure must have gone up and I couldn’t keep up the pace. They said we can see on the TV that the graining has started. With the graining I lost four seconds myself, so it was great strategy to recover from that when Kimi stopped. I came in a lap later, much earlier than I was expected and after that it was fine but by then Jenson was 16s ahead. We had very similar pace; sometimes I was better, sometimes he was but basically the race was lost during that graining phase.
Q: How close did Kimi get to you?
RB: Well, I was very lucky that it is just impossible to overtake at this place, even though he had the KERS. If you brake in the middle of the line, Monaco is really impossible. There’s 101 percent of a chance of not overtaking, so it was lucky that it was this place where I had the graining.
Q: Your fourth second place here; is that a little frustrating?
RB: I think it’s something like that, yeah. I wish I had won some races here but I’m looking at it differently this time. Of course Jenson is 16 points ahead but I have to cover as many points as possible while I’m not winning, so if I do start winning then it’s a different matter. It’s the championship that matters right now and as I said, Jenson is on a flier. He’s not making any mistakes which is really good for him, it’s really good for the team. I’m pushing him as hard as I can. I wanted to win for myself and for the team and this couldn’t be any better for the team, to be honest, because we’re pushing each other, we’re fair to each other and we’re having a wonderful time. He’s having a bit more fun than I am because he takes the trophy home but I am pushing hard, I won’t stop until the very final race.
Q: Kimi, you spoke about the start to Peter Windsor; did you use KERS at the start?
KR: Yeah, but there’s not much use for it if you start spinning your wheels straight away, so that’s where we lost the start. At any other place I could have kept second place. You gain a lot with KERS on long straights but it doesn’t really make much difference here. It’s more the first jump off the line. They had soft tyres, we had harder ones. The right hand side is probably a little bit better for the start anyhow. We just lost it there. It was all fighting after that. We were faster when Rubens had his problems with the tyres at the beginning but then after that, it all played out with very similar pace. We went a little bit longer in the second stint but they seem to be faster in the pit stops. I don’t know what they did but we were still a long way behind when I came out of the pits. That’s how it went. Without being third at the start, we could probably have taken second place but it’s still not what we wanted really. I think, overall, we’re not fast enough really yet to fight for first place. We need to be happy; we’ve still got good results for the team compared to what we had in previous races this year. It’s disappointing to finish third but good for the team and for sure we’re happier now as a team and we’re scoring points. We’ll probably get a little more peace now from everyone as a team. We’re coming back but it will take a while before we’re exactly where we want to be but we definitely made big steps in recent months. We need to be positive. People have done a really good job at the factory and at the circuit to push hard, so we’re starting to get results and that always helps people to push harder.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) Well done Jenson, the run at the end, what inspired that, where did you get the energy, and can you explain what it was like on those two last laps when you were able to cruise? What could you see, what could you hear, could you appreciate the crowds?
JB: Yes, it was the first time I’ve actually looked around Monaco during a race, even though somebody said I was doing that back in 2001. This was the first time I had a couple of laps to let it soak in. I was doing a pace during the last two laps when it was pretty impossible to make a mistake. It was such a nice feeling, especially going past the pits and seeing the boys and seeing my pit board being shaken by Mikey Muscles, my physio. So it was a very emotional couple of laps. The run at the end was&ldots; it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the podium in Monaco. I thought they were directing me in (to parc ferme), so I went in with all the other cars, got out and had to make a spectacle of it, so I ran around and ran down the circuit. There was no other way to go, all the other ways were full of people, so I ran round the circuit. It’s amazing how much energy you’ve got when you cross the line first but it was a bit embarrassing.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Jenson, I don’t know how you are on your Formula One history but only six drivers have ever won five of the first six races and they are some of the greats: Ascari, Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Mansell and Schumacher. I just wondered what you thought about that, whether you’ve got any feelings being listed in that kind of company?
JB: It’s a great feeling, for sure. Facts obviously don’t excite me too much, especially after the last couple of years that I’ve had but winning does and winning here is very special. I’m not thinking about the last few races, it’s this race I’m feeling at the moment, and I’m sure tomorrow I will start thinking about the next race in Turkey but at the moment I’m thinking that I won in Monaco. That’s a special feeling that will last for quite a while, I think.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did Felipe make it difficult to keep third place?
KR: It wasn’t easy for me. I needed to push all the time. We tried to push anyhow, to jump Rubens in the pit stops but we couldn’t. I didn’t know how many more laps Felipe had than me but I knew that it was going to be close but in the end it was not very close. I was pushing all the time anyhow. We knew it was going to be pretty tight but in the end it turned out to be pretty easy. After that we could slow down and just save the brakes and tyres and speed up a little bit at the end because there was one of the Red Bulls catching us up, so we just had to pick up the pace a bit. But apart from that, after the last pit stop it was great.
Q: (Tom Cary – The Daily Telegraph) Jenson, you’re now guaranteed to be leading the championship when we get to Silverstone. What’s that going to feel like?
JB: Is Silverstone after Turkey? OK. Yeah, that’s a great feeling. I always love the British Grand Prix. It is obviously my proper home Grand Prix. Even when you’re not competitive and things are going tough you still get a lot of support there, being British, which is a great feeling. But also going there having won five races will be a nice feeling and hopefully there will be lots of Brawn caps out there. I think they’ve only just gone on sale but it would be nice to see a couple out there. It’s a special race, whether you’re in a good car or a not so good car. But turning up there winning the championship, yeah, it’s going to be a nice feeling and hopefully I’ll put on a good show in front of the home crowd. This guy (Barrichello) is going to be tough to beat there. I think he’s beaten me every year he’s been my team-mate but I will give it a good go.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Jenson, how was your graining on the option tyre at the beginning?
JB: I got a tiny bit, I think, but it didn’t cost me a lot of lap time. We stopped earlier than expected but in the first couple of laps I wasn’t pushing the tyre too hard because I thought it might grain and that might have been reason for it, it might also be because Rubens&ldots; I didn’t grain and Rubens did because he was the following car and obviously you lose downforce but I was able to pull out a big enough gap. And I thought Rubens was maybe saving fuel initially but then the team said he was graining. It was a nice gap to have, very nice gap, when you’re leading Monaco and you’ve got a 16s lead before the first stop. And then I really had to try and control the pace. Rubens seemed quicker at the start of the stints and I was quicker at the end which was more important for me to be quicker at the end, especially if he was stopping a lap or two later. In a way, you’d say that out of my wins this year, you could say that this one is the easiest but I also had a good gap but mentally this circuit is very tough. Every lap you have a chance of hitting a wall and that’s game over and with the new big front wings, I’m sitting lower in the car as well. It’s so easy to scrape a barrier with your front wing and that’s game over, so you’ve got to be very precise. The thing is if you try and back off around here you lose a second and a half, so you’ve got to be pushing.
Q: (Peter Nugent – Riviera Radio) Jenson, you were very focused all weekend. How difficult was it to shut out all the distractions that Monaco always brings? And the second part of the question: you live here, your father John lives here, a family celebration tonight? What have you got planned?
JB: Well, I will be going to see Prince Albert later. I’ve got a suit and I’m looking forward to that. My mum’s here, my dad’s here and one of my sisters is here plus my girlfriend, so I’ve brought the full clan along and yeah, I’m sure we will have a good night as I’m sure most of us will. Monaco is a special race and Sunday night is a special night. Monaco puts on a good show.
Q: (Laurentzi Garmendia – Berria) Rubens, do you think the car suits Jenson more than you and is there a particular track where you think you can have the edge over him?
RB: At the beginning of the season I think the car suited him a little bit more, especially given the problems that I’ve been having with the rear brakes being too hot. I had to run without the wheel covers and he could run with them. But since the upgrade in Barcelona, it came a little bit my way and it has helped me very much. I’m in the game pretty much. I think the car will suit me in Turkey, Silverstone&ldots; no, it can suit me anywhere. I don’t think that a good driver can say I’m not doing well because the car is not suitable for me. If you’re good enough, you just have to adapt to the car and that’s it. It could come your way a little bit and could go away from you a little bit but at the end of the day you have to adapt to it and that’s it.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, you made your second pit stop before Massa like the first one. Do think that if Jenson Button left the pits after the second pit stop behind Massa, do you think your place would have been at risk?
KR: I’m not interested in even thinking about it. Why should I? I was third in the end, that’s the end result. I came in early because at the first stop we tried to jump Rubens because he was so slow with the tyres. We were forced to stop a bit because the people behind us were catching us quickly, so that’s why we were earlier than him but in the end we were third and it doesn’t matter what they did, that’s where we ended up.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Jenson, you talked about maintaining your concentration around here for the last few laps. What’s it like maintaining your concentration going forward now, not allowing yourself to get too far ahead of yourself and think of the bigger picture?
JB: Well, if you stop asking me the same questions over and over again about winning the World Championship I might be able to concentrate on the next race. I’m taking it as it comes. Nothing’s changed. I don’t know what would change if I did think about the World Championship to be fair. But I’m enjoying myself, as you can imagine and I’m just looking forward to the next weekend in Turkey but before that we’ve got a bit of enjoyment to do this evening.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen (3rd):
“I can’t be happy with third place, as my aim is always to win, but all the same, this podium is very satisfying for the entire team after a very difficult start to the season. However, I am happy that we are back competing at the front again. Over the past few weeks we have made a real step forward in terms of performance and this result confirms it. We still have work to do to catch up with the best, but we are moving in the right direction. This weekend, if some details had worked out differently, the result could have been different – I’m thinking of missing out on pole by a whisker or of my second pit stop when I lost a few seconds. But overall, we have to be pleased.”
*Felipe Massa (4th):
“I am very happy with today’s performance. The car was very competitive: it’s clear we are on the way up and hopefully we can soon be back to fighting for the win. At the start, I lost a lot of time behind Vettel and then, because I made a mistake, I was also passed by Rosberg. But after that I quickly got back up the order and I think I could also have passed Kimi. In the three laps I had longer than him, at the second pit stop, I found myself right behind Button and so I wasn’t able to exploit the opportunity. Starting on the hard tyres was the best choice: we still lack a bit of aerodynamic downforce to be up with the Brawns, but it is too early to claim to be the second best team in the championship. What is sure is that we are working well and I am sure we will see further results of that soon.”
*Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
“The most important thing to come out of today is the confirmation that our car is back to being competitive, thanks to the great amount of work that everyone at the Scuderia, both back home and at the track, has put in over these past few weeks, without getting distracted by everything going on around us. It's not easy to work in these conditions and I want to thank everyone for what they are doing. Today, we got a third and a fourth place which, given the difficult start to our season, is a nice result, but it’s still not the one we want. Our aim is to be ahead of everyone and we will do all we can to achieve that as soon as possible. Of course the others won’t remain idle but we must continue to push as we have done in these recent times.”
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer:
“That was a very interesting race today. In the end, we are a bit disappointed, but that’s a good sign, both because it shows how much we want to get back to being ahead of everyone and also because, when you begin to think you should have been able to do better than a third and fourth place finish, it means that you are back to being really competitive again. If we had not lost position at the start, probably we could have attacked Rubens, if we hadn’t encountered a problem changing the right rear wheel at Kimi’s second pit stop. What is reassuring is the pace shown by the F60, especially in the second part of the race, when despite having more fuel than the leaders, we were always quicker. We are very happy with the performance of the car and we are confident we can improve it further with coming developments.”
Brawn GP
Brawn GP dominated the Monaco Grand Prix today as Jenson Button led from the front to secure his fifth win of the 2009 Formula One season with team-mate Rubens Barrichello taking second place for the team’s third one-two finish of the year.
To cap a fantastic weekend for the team and engine partner Mercedes-Benz, Jenson’s win today was his third victory in a row using his current Mercedes-Benz engine, a record for modern day Formula One.
After achieving pole position on Saturday, Jenson led the race from the front with Rubens making an excellent start from third on the grid to take second place from Kimi Raikkonen before the first corner. Starting on the softer option tyre, the Brawn-Mercedes pair drove composed two-stop strategies, using the prime tyre for their second and third stints. With Jenson pulling away during the first stint as his team-mate suffered from rear graining on his options, Rubens put up a strong fight to hold off the Ferrari of Raikkonen and maintain his second position. Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 78-lap race for his first victory around the streets of Monte Carlo.
After six rounds of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, Brawn GP leads the Constructors’ Championship with 86 points with Jenson leading the Drivers’ Championship with 51 points and Rubens in second place with 35 points.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P1 01:15.190
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P2 01:15.685
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 25-26°C Track: 42-45°C
JENSON BUTTON
“Wow Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is something that you dream about as a child and as a racing driver and the reality of taking that victory just feels awesome. To win in Monaco is truly a special feeling. With Rubens taking a superb second place, a one-two finish for the Brawn-Mercedes team in Monaco is fantastic. The race felt like it went on forever and you feel that the barriers are getting closer and closer as the end of the race approaches. But for the last couple of laps, I was able to relax and really enjoy the moment. It’s been an unbelievable day, capped with my impromptu sprint down the pit straight to the podium. I can tell you it’s a very long way But it was amazing to get such a fantastic reception from the crowd and I hope the fans enjoyed what was a great race for the team. The car felt good today but we didn’t have the best of starts to the weekend so it makes this victory even more of an achievement. For the team, for Mercedes-Benz and for my family who were here in Monaco watching the race this weekend, today has to be the high-point of what has been an exceptional season.”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Another one-two for the team today is just amazing. I had a really good start on the option tyre and was able to get ahead of Kimi before the first corner which put me in a great position to challenge Jenson. I had tremendous pace but following so closely behind him affected the aero balance of my car and I suffered with massive graining on the rears which lost me a lot of time. We had a great strategy to recover and I came in earlier than planned to keep second place but by then Jenson was over ten seconds ahead. However it was a great race and I really enjoyed the challenge and the fight with Kimi. I’m still very much in the fight and collecting as many points as possible whilst pushing Jenson as hard as I can.”
ROSS BRAWN
“Fantastic drives from Jenson and Rubens, outstanding pit stops from the team and the performance of our Mercedes-Benz engine secured an amazing one-two victory for Brawn GP here in Monaco today. Jenson gave himself the best possible chance of victory after achieving pole position with his flying lap yesterday and he was able to control the race from the front today. Bringing the car home in one piece after 78 laps is no easy feat in Monaco but Jenson was calm and assured throughout the race and drove with real finesse. Rubens had a great start to get ahead of Raikkonen and was showing excellent pace before his first set of rear tyres began to grain heavily as a result of following Jenson so closely. Unfortunately that compromised his chance of fighting it out with his team-mate but he did superbly well to keep Raikkonen at bay and bring home maximum points for the team’s championship challenge. The Monaco Grand Prix is an incredibly special race and to win here means so much to everyone here at the track, at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth. Special congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for supplying an engine that has now won three Grands Prix, a modern day record in Formula One.”
Bridgestone
*Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP Team for their fifth win of the season. Winning in Monaco is a special honour as here is the ultimate test of driving skill and one of the biggest tests of our Bridgestone tyres. It is a privilege to be here and see the Bridgestone brand broadcast on televisions around the world from this fabulous location."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "Today was very interesting in terms of tyre strategy. Those who started on the super soft Bridgestone experienced a bigger tyre performance drop off than those who used it for their final stint. The reason for this is track improvement, as the circuit surface was far more forgiving to the tyres near the end of the race.
"The level of track improvement could be seen by the race's fastest lap being almost as fast as pole position. Jenson drove very well to get strong performance from the super soft in his first stint, and that helped him for his win. Four cars showed that a one stop strategy was a viable option here. There were many interesting strategies throughout the field today."
Force India
Adrian Sutil - 14th: "We had started on a one-stop strategy, which would have been OK but we used the supersoft tyre from the start and they grained up very quickly. I had to pit and lost a lot of time there. That was it really - it was hard to come back from this. In the end I was doing some quick laps and had quite a good pace, so there are some positives and we can be happy at some aspects. There is more to come from us for sure."
Giancarlo Fisichella - 9th: "Ninth position is a great result for the team. The pace was very good and consistent and I felt I was driving well, taking care of the tyres and putting in some fast laps at the same time. I just lost a position at the start and perhaps it was this that cost me the point in the end, but we have to be happy about today. It was a great step forward, to get two cars into Q2 and then to get within two seconds of a point. We need to keep pushing and be there all the time now."
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "This has been a very encouraging weekend all round. We got two cars into Q2 and finished within a whisker of the points; and all on merit. We've incremented our performance and raced it well this weekend, and we know we have more upgrades in the pipeline, which is a great motivating factor. I would like to say thank you to both drivers for keeping focussed and pushing so hard and to the entire team at the track and at the factory for keeping the momentum going. If we continue on the path we have now laid before us, I am certain we'll achieve the success we all deserve."
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (12th):
“It was an extremely tough race. I raced my heart out and feel satisfied with my performance today. I damaged a footplate on my front wing quite early on when I clipped one of the BMWs going into Ste Devote. It meant I had a lot of understeer throughout the race - putting a new wing on made it a bit better but it wasn’t enough. In the closing laps, my tyres were going off just as much as Nick’s and it was a bit too dangerous to attempt a pass. I was thinking about one of the Rocky films - in the first film, Rocky says, ‘I just want to see the end of the fight’ and I got to the flag, pushing as hard as I could throughout the race. Congratulations to Jenson and everyone at the Brawn GP team - they’re clearly doing a fantastic job this year.”
Heikki Kovalainen (DNF):
“A disappointing outcome to my weekend after some real promise. During my first stint, I had a little difficulty making my tyres work properly. Nevertheless, I was able to get past Sebastian Vettel. My second set was much better and I was just waiting for Nico’s pitstop to have chance to pass him, unfortunately I didn’t get that far. I hit the kerb at the fast chicane and the car’s rear stepped out. I couldn’t catch it and hit the guardrails. It was my fault and I want to say sorry to my team - who have worked so hard to provide me with a competitive car. We’ll keep pushing, developing the car and continuing with the catching-up process.”
*Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
“To leave Monaco without having scored world championship points is clearly disappointing, especially since our car was very competitive here: our pace in both sessions on Thursday, and on Saturday morning, demonstrated that very clearly. Even so, after Lewis's troubled qualifying, there was little he could do from the back of the grid today - Monaco is a notoriously difficult circuit on which to overtake, even with a decent performance advantage over the cars ahead. Nonetheless, Lewis drove very hard all afternoon, which is typical of his never-give-up attitude. As for Heikki, he was driving a strong race that would have netted him a very welcome points finish, when he entered the Swimming Pool just a little too fast, unloaded his car's rear-end and couldn't quite catch it. But that's Monaco: when you're pushing hard, it's very unforgiving, as Lewis also showed yesterday. Overall, then, the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a race that could and should have gone a lot better for us - but the reality is that both our cars showed genuine pace so there are also plenty of positives for us to take forward from here."
Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
"Lewis’s chances for the race were greatly affected by him hitting the guardrails during Q1 yesterday. What could have been possible with a good starting place close to the front of the grid was shown from Lewis in the last third of the race when he was without traffic posting competitive lap times until he got stuck behind a slower car in the closing laps. Heikki crashed after two thirds of the race at the Swimming Pool section - his speed in seventh place before had been good and was promising a better result. We need to quickly put this race behind us and concentrate on further improvements for the car before the next grand prix in Turkey. My sincere congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP team for winning this prestigious race today - he has now won the last three grands prix on the same engine, a new record in modern Formula One.”
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Bourdais (8th):
“It feels good to score points here, at what can be considered my home grand prix as there is no French race. The team worked really hard today. I felt that, again, I hadn’t done a good job in qualifying, so, I can be happy to finish P8, given the small number of incidents today. It’s another point which is important: it’s not enough, but it’s better than nothing! The car performed consistently, especially on the prime tyre although the balance wasn’t perfect. Then, on the options I tried to look after them as I’d had trouble with them on Thursday. I managed the situation, as the car was moving more and I had some degradation. Once I got ahead of my direct rivals and there was no one within reach in front of me, I settled into a rhythm, concentrating on bringing the car home. I had several tricky moments, but that’s what street racing is about. It was a fun race, with the satisfaction of scoring a point starting 14th. If I can improve in qualifying in the coming races, then maybe we can hope for more, starting in Istanbul.”
Sebastien Buemi (DNF)
“I didn’t have a perfect start and I lost a position to Piquet, but it was not going too badly. Then I just tried to overtake him, as with Vettel slowing everyone down on the option tyre, I thought this might be my only chance to get back ahead of him. I was right up behind Piquet, in his slipstream and when I tried to pull out and make my move he went on the brakes and I could not get out from behind him, so I ended up pushing him all the way into the first corner. I am sorry about this and I went and apologized to him.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“After scoring points here last year, it seems that Monaco suits us, as once again the ball in the Roulette wheel fell in the Red. Buemi’s start wasn’t bad, but he got passed by Piquet. Our car had the potential to be faster, but as usual at this track, you end up in the barriers if you don’t have the discipline to wait a little bit. But, in Buemi’s defence, he did a really good job in qualifying and I see today’s incident as another step in his learning process. I am really happy for Bourdais, who drove a fantastically good race, picking up a point that is very important for him and the team. This result is good for his self-confidence for the next few races. Well done to the strategy crew, led by Laurent Mekies. They changed the strategy a few times during the race and it turned out to be the correct choice.”
Red Bull
*Mark Webber (5th):
“We’re pretty happy with fifth to be honest, to get a few points after a challenging qualifying session is pretty good. There were a few more people that came in on the act this weekend, so for us to still come away with a few points is good for us in the constructors’ championship. The guys worked like hell this weekend to fit a lot of new parts so it was important for us to get some points. At other venues we’ll be stronger again.”
Sebastian Vettel (DNF):
“Not much to tell - I was braking maybe a little bit too late, locked the rears, lost the car and hit the wall. Of course we lost a lot of time already in the first stint, being on the soft tyres. We were confident that they would work for the first short stint, but they didn't. Of course it’s disappointing, but sometimes this happens. In Monaco, you make a little mistake and you pay the price.”
*Christian Horner, team principal:
“A good drive from Mark today. He lost quite a bit of time in the first stint behind Kovalainen and thereafter managed to close in on the Ferraris - although unfortunately not quite enough to jump them at the final stop. Therefore fifth was the optimal finish he could achieve today. Sebastian was on an aggressive strategy from yesterday. Starting on the option tyres, they sustained high degradation almost immediately, which backed up a lot of the field. As a result we called his first pit stop reasonably early to get him onto the better tyre, but unfortunately a couple of laps later he went off at Ste. Devote. All the guys in the team have put in exceptional hours this weekend and four points for their efforts isn’t really a just reward.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support:
“A typical Monaco race, which was long and difficult. We took a gamble with Sebastian’s tyre choice and went for the super soft tyres at the beginning, but it didn’t pay off. He then had an off, which ended his race. Mark had a very strong drive, but starting eighth he couldn’t hope for a better result than fifth. He was very quick at the end, very competitive. So, it was a bad overall result here, but I think we have some positive things to take away from this weekend.”
Renault
Fernando Alonso - 7th: "It was a hard race and very tight from the beginning, but the car felt good and kept improving during the race. We had a good strategy but here in Monaco the starting position is essential and so starting ninth and gaining two places and two points is a satisfying result. My motivation and the motivation of the team remain very high. We have a lot of new things for the upcoming races and we are confident that the second part of the season should be better for us."
Nelson Piquet - DNF: "I'm really disappointed to have been taken out of the race. I made a decent start and I was in good shape because I was running a long first stint and all the cars ahead of me were very close. Then I got hit from behind on the straight by Sebastien Buemi, which damaged the rear of my car and forced me to retire. It's really frustrating as I think I could have maybe scored some points today."
*Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "Very disappointing for us today as we were not helped by the circumstances. Nelson's race was cut short by an accident where he was not to blame and Fernando's was spoiled by the traffic, which didn't work in our favour. Nevertheless, we know that Monaco is an atypical race. It's also some consolation that the car kept improving during the race and was matching the pace of our main competitors. We are working harder than ever and plan to introduce another step forward, starting at the next race in Turkey. We have shown we can react fast and hopefully the rest of the season will see us bring in serious points for the team."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "It was a long and tough afternoon, but Fernando pushed hard throughout the race and has come away with a couple of points. We had higher hopes for this race, but it's encouraging that the car's pace was really improving throughout the race. Nelson was very unlucky to have been taken out in the early stages as he had made a good start and was running a promising strategy. It's a shame for him, but he'll bounce back in Turkey."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "Despite finishing seventh, we are a bit disappointed. We actually thought that we would be able to do better. Our strategy did not unfold as we wanted it to and we were blocked by some slower cars. However, when Fernando was in clean air, the performance was there. Nelson's race ended prematurely with an accident which is a shame because I think he could have been competitive today. However, we will take these two points and hope to get a better result in Turkey."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (11th):
”I tried to make up positions at the start and on the first lap, but this time it just didn’t work out. It is too narrow here. I was stuck behind Adrian (Sutil) for quite a while. Apparently he had problems with his tyres, and once I even touched the rear of his car. In turn one Lewis (Hamilton) hit me, but I was happy I was able to continue. I was on a one stop strategy, and with the softer compound on the second stint I had degradation. We gave everything today but we were too slow here.”
Robert Kubica (DNF):
“We had difficulties over the entire weekend. I had a problem at the start and fell to the back of the grid. Then I had a puncture on my rear right tyre. After the necessary pit stop I was lapping well with a very heavy car - taking the car’s potential into account. In the end I had to retire as I had brake problems.”
*Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“A better result was not possible for us here this weekend. At no point was our car competitive. No points are the result. We have to improve our speed of development significantly in order to match our own expectations. Robert had a damaged tyre on lap two and later on suffered from brake problems, which caused him to retire. Nick was the first driver to change to the softer tyre compound after a long first stint. Nobody else was on Option tyres for such a long period, and they degraded dramatically before recovering a little towards the end of the race.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“After the free practice and qualifying sessions it was clear that today’s race would be difficult. Nick’s race ran without any special incidents. In the closing laps he was able to defend his position against Lewis (Hamilton) with worn out soft tyres. Robert had a flat tyre early in the race. Surprisingly, he was then able to do good lap times with a very heavy car. We had to bring his car back to the pits early due to a brake problem. Overall, this was a disappointing weekend. It is now our goal to be competitive again in Istanbul. A lot of work lies ahead of us."
Toyota
Timo Glock - 10th: "I have to say that finishing in the top 10 was a bit more than I expected at the start of the race considering how the weekend had gone up to then. We had good pace in the last stint but when you start from the pit lane in Monaco you cannot expect to score points. This weekend started badly and from then on we were playing catch up. At Monaco you want to start the weekend on a good basis and then adjust the car to the track as it evolves, but we had problems from the first practice. I am looking forward to Turkey and I hope we can improve significantly."
Jarno Trulli - 13th: "It was a tough race for me, as we anticipated after the qualifying result. It was always going to be very difficult from where we were on the grid and my strategy didn't work out. I seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the traffic, which is obviously a real problem at this track. Whenever I was putting in a few good laps I had to slow down again because slower cars were in front and it is impossible to overtake. Now this difficult weekend is over we have to forget about it and focus on the next race when I am sure we will be much more competitive."
*Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "Even though it has been a difficult weekend for us, and a disappointing race, the team and both drivers pushed as hard as possible and did a professional job. They never gave up even after such a frustrating qualifying result and that is a credit to them. We obviously have to look very carefully at what went wrong this weekend when we get back to Cologne. Everyone in the factory has worked really hard this season so I am sure we will be back where we belong in Turkey. We remain third in the Constructors' Championship so we must continue to fight hard and think positively."
Williams
*Nico Rosberg - 6th: "I've got to be happy with sixth place today, more just wasn't possible and we did the best we could have in the circumstances. It was a great start with lots going on, but I managed to come through and it set me up well for the early phase of the race. We then did a long middle stint on primes as we were worried about the durability of the option tyre, but they seemed to hold on much better than expected in the last stint, perhaps due to the amount of rubber down on the circuit by the end of the race. That said, I always enjoy racing here, it is a huge challenge that requires you to be inch perfect and it was very demanding out there."
Kazuki Nakajima - DNF: "The start and the initial part of the race was good for me, but ultimately it was frustrating as I always seemed to be picking up traffic out of the pitlane or responding to blue flags and then losing track position to the one-stoppers. In the final analysis the outcome was disappointing, I was on the option tyre and I was pushing perhaps too hard when I had my accident nearly at the finish, but at least I had a good feeling with the car today."
*Sam Michael, Technical Director: "It was good to collect some points today and Nico drove well, unfortunately we were on a compromise strategy as a result of yesterday's qualifying, so it was always going to be quite difficult for Nico to beat the guys around him, but he did well to earn some points. It was difficult to progress Kazuki somewhere like Monaco where you can't overtake. The car was good in terms of pace around here and if we keep pushing the development, the performance will start to show through."
