BRITISH GRAND PRIX - Sunday quotes

FIA post-race press conference - Great Britain

1st Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1h22m49.328s; 2nd Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h23m04.516s; 3rd Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP), 1h23m30.503s. Q: Sebastian, your first dry grand prix victory. Fantastic start. In the first stint you are pulling away at a second a lap from everyone else. You were told to calm down by your team in the middle stint but was it really as easy as it looked today? Sebastian Vettel: You know, it is never easy. It is a long, long race and I think particularly at this fantastic circuit everyone of us is enjoying it a lot. Fast corners. it is a dream, really, so you have to stay focused and keep your eyes open all the time. It is not easy. But as you say the start was very important, then in the first stint I tried to push as hard as I could to pull away and make a gap which I knew would be crucial as then I would benefit basically the whole race from it which worked perfectly well. I had a fantastic car. I mean it was unbelievable. I was able to push, push, push more and more and more and the tyres were very consistent, so very good tyres as well. I am very pleased. The second stint wasn't easy at all when the team said to me 'be careful'. I had a lot of traffic and a lot of lapped cars at that stage and they were battling each other, so it was quite tricky you know when you come from behind and you can’t really get close. They are fighting between themselves. It was anything else but easy. You had to stay patient and it was difficult as I knew I had a big gap but I couldn’t see, so I was always asking and checking ‘how much is the gap, how is the pace, how are we doing.’ It was great and in the last pit stop I was in clean air. From then I think the last 10 laps I was counting every single lap down and I had quite a big gap to Mark, so I was controlling the race from that point onwards. You could say the last 10 laps were quite easy but before that obviously it wasn’t. I was pushing very hard and in the second stint it was more like a slalom. I had to pass a lot of lapped cars but after that obviously it was fantastic. I am very, very pleased with the result. I mean fantastic. It shows that we are on the right way. Every single one has been working hard and it doesn’t matter whether here at the track or back at the factory. Bringing the car to where it is just now is fantastic. It was all kind of last minute but we did it and we proved both of us that it is a step in the right direction, so I am very pleased. Also I want to thank Silverstone. It is only my second time here but I enjoyed it so much and when I looked left and right in the last two laps the people were already standing up and clapping and cheering. It was fantastic. The emotions then especially as I crossed the chequered flag. Every single person in the grandstands I have to thank. It was fantastic. The atmosphere was great. This is what I was dreaming of when I saw the first grands prix here in Silverstone in the era of Mansell and so on, so it is kind of unreal now to think I am here and I have made it. I have won this grand prix, so I am very, very happy. Q: Mark, where was your chance of victory lost? Do you think it was yesterday in qualifying or today in the first stint behind Rubens? Mark Webber: Probably yesterday. I mean we needed to get on the front row at least and I think then the first stint today we knew the way that Sebastian was pulling away and Rubens was doing his best, his car did not look that easy, and I was just sitting in behind. It is so difficult to get close here, so the race was virtually lost in that first stint. From then on Sebastian had such a gap after the first 20 laps of the race that it was absolutely no chance for me to bridge that gap. It was way too big. As he said we had a lot of traffic in the second stint. Then in the last stint it was just a question of getting the car home. The guys reported that I had some damage at the back of the car, so from the second stop we had to use a different gear pattern for the last stint but in general I want to echo Sebastian’s words. This team, the guys have absolutely buried themselves, at the factory. The night shifts, the attention to detail now they go into, is an absolute credit to them. They have been led very well and they are responding to that. And results help. It is an incredible injection for them to get these top results, a one-two on the home turf. The factory down the road is the ultimate result for them. It is the best I could have done today. I don’t think I could have got much more from that result, so congratulations to Sebastian, he did a good first stint and that is what laid the foundations. That was really my race. I enjoyed it and again Silverstone what an amazing track. We love driving these Formula One cars here. It is just incredible to go through that first sector lap after lap after lap. It is a brilliant place for a Formula One car and certainly destroys a lot of the other venues we have been picked in the last few years of our careers if you like. And the British fans are always fantastic, so it was great. Q: Rubens, a lot of pressure on Brawn GP this weekend. It has been a difficult weekend for the team. What do you take away from this and how much pride do you personally take from your performance today? Rubens Barrichello: A lot of pride because at the end of the day it was very difficult. I mean yesterday as I said we were thinking that third was the best we could have and we knew that if the track didn't change a little bit it was going to be difficult to beat them. They were the class of field this weekend. I am proud of the achievement I had. The second stint was very, very difficult on the harder tyres. It was difficult to hold on to people and with the winds crossing the track which sometimes would throw you onto the marbles. In turn one I had a couple where I was running off the track and it was very, very difficult to know if the wind would hit you or not at that time, so it was difficult to follow the lines. Unfortunately they were really, really fast but I did what I had to do. My target to the end of the year is really to close the gap on Jenson and I think we all did today. Also I want to thank all the doctors that helped me this weekend because I was in terrible back pain and Doctor Cecarelli and the doctors at Toro Rosso and my friends there that helped me and my physio as my back really hurt the whole weekend and they helped me big time, so I could finish the race in good feeling.” Q: Sebastian, was this dominance this weekend all about the track and the conditions or are you and Red Bull really on a roll now which is going to say something about the second half of the season? SV: I wouldn't mind if we could continue like that but I think it is a bit of everything. This circuit is fantastic and suits our car. A lot of high speed corners. Mark was saying the first sector is just great every single lap and I have seen our car is behaving fantastically well in all these sorts of corners, medium speed, high speed, so the rhythm is really nice here, so I think that is one reason. On the other hand I think we have made a nice step forward. I think it helps us of course in medium speed and high speed corners but also in low speed, so I think we have improved the car a bit everywhere. Therefore I think it all came together and we did a good job, the whole team was working perfectly fine and therefore I think if you want to say it in that way we were quite dominant today. PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Sebastian, give us an idea about how different the tyres were. Did you have any problems with the different types? SV: No, I mean looking at the result I wouldn’t say problems. I am very, very pleased obviously. To sum up the race the most crucial stint was the first one. I knew I had to have a good start and then defend first position and then I tried every single lap to push as hard as I could to build up a gap. I knew that it would only help me for whatever comes in the second and third stint. It worked perfectly well. I could see on the board every single lap nearly a second more, a second more, a second more, so it was fantastic to see. The tyres were, I have to say, very consistent, both compounds, the soft ones and the hard ones. We were not 100 per cent sure before the race which was the preferred one. You never know on Sunday. The conditions can change and so on, so it wasn’t that easy but I think in the end we did the right thing. Then obviously towards the end you feel a little bit the tyres starting to go off, so it becomes a bit more difficult out of the low speed to control the traction but I think the car was fantastic today. As I said in the first stint I was able to open up a very big gap. The second stint was quite difficult because there was a lot of traffic, a lot of lapped cars, and it was sometimes quite tricky and also my engineer came on the radio and reported to me to be patient enough as obviously they were fighting between themselves and I was catching up. The only thing you want is to pass, so you want them to let you by. On the other hand they are fighting themselves. I have been in the other position and saw the leader behind me, me in the middle of nowhere and fighting against the others. Then the last thing you want to do is pull over and let the car behind you by to lose time. But I have to say very good behaviour by all the drivers. Of course you are losing time. But still I think it was a very, very good for every single one. Then in the third stint obviously I could see on the board again and I was all the time in radio contact with the team asking for pace and how we were doing and so on. In the end we were just about saving the car and bringing the result home. Fantastic here; one and two. The factory is down the road, so as I said yesterday I can only make huge compliments. Every single one, it doesn’t matter here in the factory or at the track, has been working very hard and it has been tough to get this car where it is now so, especially the update we had for here was pretty much on the edge but we made it and I think it totally paid off. Results are the best way to say thank you to every single one. Also a lot of people were here at the circuit. Apart from all the spectators, I have to say the atmosphere was great. I regret a little bit I am not an Englishman as the fans are fantastic. Already in the last few laps I could see the people standing up and cheering. At the time I wanted to wave and say ‘thank you’ but then I said there have been stories in the past where it didn’t look too good with drivers doing it and that was the last thing I wanted to do. Then when I crossed the line it was unbelievable. Also the whole podium ceremony was fantastic, so thank you. Q: At half distance you lost three seconds. Was that because of traffic? SV: Yes, as I said the middle stint – pretty much the middle of the race around lap 30 - I caught three cars. Fernando (Alonso), Lewis (Hamilton) and Nelson (Piquet) and it was quite tricky. As my engineer said to be patient I tried to be. I knew I had quite a big gap and I wasn’t in a rush to pass. The last thing I wanted was to have a collision or anything. Also with the debris at some stage I was quite cautious but I think that was the main reason. I had no issues from the car. It was working perfectly fine from lap one to lap 60. Q: Rubens has mentioned the winds affecting his car. Did they affect yours? SV: Yes, it did. He is totally right. I think the best example was turn one. I think from the beginning of the race to the end of the race the wind turned roughly 180 degrees. You could feel on the speed you were simple able to have going into Maggots and then Becketts. It was quite tricky. You arrive there and you are always on the edge and sometimes the wind is just taking you and then you end up in the marbles. You try not to lose too much time but I have to say the car was very, very good today especially in sector one, so I was very pleased, so we were able to cope very well I think even with the windy conditions. Q: And Nürburgring next. SV: Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It’s my home race, we have had this home race for the team, kind of, strictly speaking not! I think as everyone noticed the anthem this time, the national anthem for the team was the right one (Austrian) but the factory is down the road, so it’s a fantastic result here at home. And the next one is for me at home, which is great. I hope to continue and try to repeat what we did here, which won’t be easy but for sure, that’s what we’re aiming for.

Q: Mark, when you were behind Rubens, how much were you bottled up, how close could you get, was it just a matter of waiting for him to make a mistake? MW: No I wasn’t worried about&ldots; I think it’s Rubens’s second or third Grand Prix, so he’s quite experienced and I knew that he was doing the best he could and that was the case. It’s very hard to get close at Silverstone, it was a question of me saving fuel. I was just saving fuel and more fuel and then just making sure I jumped him at the first stop. Obviously it was disappointing to see Sebastian disappearing because I knew how important that situation in qualifying was which happened to me. But anyway, I don’t think I could have got much more out of today. I said before the race, the first race is with Rubens and if that happens quite quickly then maybe I can have a race with Sebastian. If my first stint was behind Rubens then Sebastian was going to have a boring race; that’s what I said before the race and that turned out to be the case. He had quite a straightforward afternoon and so did I, actually, in the end. As Sebastian said there was a lot of traffic in the second stint and in the end it was just controlling throughout the stint. There was no way, ever, given how close we are, that I was ever going to close twenty seconds in two stints, it was never going to happen. We’re pushing the car together, the development is in the same direction, so all this stuff is good for us. The guys have buried themselves at the factory, including Renault with the engines. Obviously Dietrich (Mateschitz), the big boss back in Austria, is very proud of us today, getting a first and second again this year and I’m looking forward to my day when I can jump into the seat next to me. But today I’m actually happy with what I got out of it. Sebastian deserves to win today, so we’ll take it to another day. Q: You mentioned a gear problem just now, you didn’t seem to lose too much time with it; could you just explain what happened? MW: The guys said I had some damage to my bodywork. I don’t know if it was from the Bourdais/Kovalainen shunt at turn eight because I was quite close to that and it just happened in front of me. I don’t know where the damage was to the car but the guys asked me to&ldots; actually it wasn’t a gearbox problem. I had to use a different rev profile for the lap, so we needed to use different gears in different corners, so that was always a new challenge for the driver to work out exactly what the engineers want you to do. Then they said ‘don’t do that too long because now the engine’s getting another problem,’ so we had a few little things bubbling away but it didn’t really affect&ldots; I’m sure I’ll find out a bit more about it later but it was a case of me getting the car home. Q: Rubens, when you were ahead of Mark, did you know you were probably in trouble? RB: Yeah, we knew from yesterday the car that they had, so it was going to be a difficult one. It was close actually. When I came around the first corner and he was exiting the pits I needed not a little bit to stay in front but all in all, you saw him, when he was in front he disappeared and there was nothing I could do. And to make things worse, I think it was probably a tough choice to go on the harder tyres right in the middle. There was very little between the tyres all through the weekend but in the race I think the softer tyres performed better, so to have a long stint on the harder tyre was a tough call. Then I saw Rosberg and Massa coming along, so it was a tough race for me. The car is balanced but we lack grip. We were hoping that the weather could get a little hotter but it never did, so it was a struggle but having said that, I’m happy because all in all I took some points out of Jenson, so for me that’s the target that I have achieved. Q: You’ve had a bit of a worry about the tyre temperatures at this circuit. Do you think that may be the same situation at the Nürburgring? We don’t know what the weather’s going to be, obviously. RB: Nürburgring can be snowing or it can be deadly hot, so it’s a very difficult place to see what’s going to happen. It’s three weeks away, we have a chance there that it could be hotter or anything but we need to work on that (tyre temperature). We had that situation before in Shanghai and the Red Bulls were quite strong and I believe that that’s the situation right now. We haven’t all of a sudden lost performance, we just think it’s to do with a little bit of the weather. Q: You mentioned your back; when did that make itself apparent? RB: On the trip, on the way to England (from Brazil) I started to feel my back, especially my lower back, hurting. After I ran on Friday morning, when I got out of the car, it was really, really stiff. The massage wasn’t doing anything and obviously nowadays you cannot take any medicine, so I had to check the doctors and check everyone and they helped me big time. So I’m feeling good. Luckily the position that I’m sitting in the car is comfortable for the lower back. From now on it’s going to be a problem but it’s fine as long as it’s not a problem with the car, it’s fine. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) This is question for Rubens and Sebastian: do you think you are putting back interest into the championship after the six wins out of seven races for Jenson Button, and how difficult do you think it will be to catch him? RB: Jenson has been quite strong in every race this year. Let’s say he birdied the first holes, I hope he bogeys the next ones and I can birdy. It’s pretty much like that. I hope that this is a turnaround here. SV: As Rubens said, I think Jenson was very strong in all eight races we’ve had so far and he totally deserves to be in this position. Looking at the championship, he obviously has quite a comfortable lead still but we’re trying to do our best and I think the only thing that makes sense is to use every single opportunity we have. As I said before, we’re working very, very hard, the team is very determined and we know where we want to be, we want to win. I think that’s the only way to turn it around. For sure it won’t be easy but we are totally up for the fight. The season is still very long, anything can happen still. You never know what is going to happen. Q: (Bob Bull – BBC Three Counties Radio) Question for Rubens: Felipe Massa was right on your tail having started from eleventh. Are the Ferraris getting closer to the Brawns as well? You didn’t beat him by a great amount. RB: Well, I think Ferrari is strong everywhere in any case. The fact is that with their car, and whatever the behaviour is, they are stronger in some races and not in some others. Here, they didn’t seem to be very competitive in qualifying, especially with Felipe, but then he had a good strategy and he made up the gap. But the cars are very similar. If you take Istanbul, in qualifying, for example, there was 1.4s between the whole grid. If you have the car adjusted to one particular track you’re going to have something happening quite quickly. Plus, I think Formula One is now developing so fast and we have new parts for the car at every race and everyone is doing that. You’re going to see teams coming from the back, for sure. Q: (Mohammed Khan – The National, Abu Dhabi) Sebastian, what will it take to overhaul Jenson? You talk about perfection, is it going to take perfection for the rest of the season for Red Bull to catch them? SV: I think the only thing it takes is towards the end of the season to collect more points and then at the end you sum it up and whoever has scored more becomes champion. That’s all it takes. Of course there’s hard work behind it, as Rubens says. Every single team is pushing hard. I think the fact that we’re very competitive this weekend is down to a lot of factors. First of all, I think we have made a step forward. The car was brilliant here and this circuit suits us. On top of that I think the conditions were right for us, we had no issues with the tyres, so everything was working and it was very close to being perfect which is very, very difficult to achieve but it should always be the target. In the end, you can’t really foresee what’s going to happen but I can assure you we will try very, very hard to improve, even from where we are now and try to collect more points than all our competitors. Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawke’s Bay Today, New Zealand) This was billed as Jenson Button’s race to lose, if you like. Do you think you’ve not only gained on the track from the result today but also psychologically, and perhaps Rubens that might even apply to you? RB: Like I said, he was on a roll. It’s almost as if everything was opening right up in front of him and he used that for him very well. There’s nothing to say against that. We are sportsmen and if you can make that into a turnaround and work for yourself with the energy and try to get everything for you, you’re doing very well. But I think Jenson is quite mature already, so he’s going to be strong. It’s not that I think that with one sixth place he can flick it up, I think everything that we’re going to conquer towards the end of the season we’re going to conquer, he’s not going to give us any opportunity but that’s why it’s nice and I think it’s a good challenge. SV: In the end I can only confirm what Rubens says, you know. When it comes to me, I’m not really a fan of all these psychological tricks and mindset and so on. All I try to do is to squeeze the car out every single time, every single lap and to do the best I can. Of course, sometimes you might have to attack more than is probably good for you and you might risk a lot and sometimes lose it. Yes, it happens, I think that happens in sports, that happens in motor racing and I think that’s human. As I said, in the end you have to use every single day you have and the one who is most consistent and has done the best job fully deserves to win in the end. It might be a one point advantage or a fifty points’ advantage to the guy behind. Q: (Sean McGreevy – CSMA Magazine) There have been a lot of politics this weekend. In your opinion, what does F1 need to do to secure its future? SV: Ha, that’s a good one. I knew that something would come up. I think we have to see everything clearly. We’re all in the same boat, all the drivers. Everything we want, and in the end the only thing we want, is to race against each other. We want to compete with the best cars in the world against the best drivers. I think that has been the attraction of Formula One and that’s why Formula One is the peak of motor sport. We are all here to race. When it comes to all these politics, I know there’s a lot going on. Maybe you can say I should be more concerned but all I’m worried about now is what happens to me in the sport. I think that as a professional sportsman you should always have your focus on what really matters, and if you ask me what matters, the only thing that matters right now is what we do with the car at the track, so I think that is the most important thing. On top of that, I think it’s quite complex and to really have an opinion you have to have enough knowledge and to have enough knowledge you have to be one of the people who are able to know what is really going on and I have to admit that I don’t really care that much what’s happening. All I care about is what happens to my car and what is happening to me at the track. I think we are all of the same opinion in a way. The last thing we want is to have too much holiday. We all like and we all love racing, I think that’s the reason why we are here, and we want to continue fighting against each other and find out every single weekend and every single year who is the best one. Q: (Adam Scriven – Racing Post) Mark, the earlier questions about the championship situation weren’t addressed to you but you’re still very much in the title race. How do you rate your chances at the moment? MW: Well, I’m getting some pretty good results. I’ve had very consistent Sunday afternoons. Saturday is crucial, we know that, in terms of how tight it is between the four of us, and especially in the last few events. I’m still very confident that I can haul some good points in the future. Whether it’s enough to be consistently ahead of these guys remains to be seen but thanks for flagging that up. I’m out there and yeah, I’m very happy with my performances so far this year. It doesn’t take much to turn things round, so I’m looking forward to Nürburgring. It could be mixed conditions and then we’ve got Budapest. Yeah, there are some good races coming up which will test us again and yeah, I’m looking forward to it.

Ferrari

F. Massa: 4th 1:23.34.371, + 45.043, Laps 60,Chassis 277 K. Raikkonen: 8th 1:23.58.950, + 1.09.823, Laps 60, Chassis 279 Weather: air temperature 17 °C, track temperature 25/23 °C, cloudy. Six points in the bag for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the British Grand Prix, thanks to a fourth place for Felipe Massa and an eighth for Kimi Raikkonen. With this result, Felipe has moved up to sixth place in the Drivers’ classification, while Kimi stays tenth: the Scuderia has consolidated its fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Stefano Domenicali: “After the less than brilliant qualifying yesterday, our aim was to get both cars home in the points and we did it. Felipe drove a fantastic race: starting eleventh and finishing fourth with no one in front of him on the grid retiring is a great performance. Kimi got a great start, making the most of the KERS, but after that he was unable to make the most of having moved up the order, because of traffic. Today, we saw one team clearly ahead of the rest, but we showed we could match the pace of all the others, including those who only two weeks ago, were clearly better. We will have to study in depth everything that happened this weekend to understand how the performance level can change so suddenly, one way or the other, without there having been any changes made to the cars.” Felipe Massa: “I almost feel as though I won the race! To start eleventh and finish fourth is a really great result. We weren’t expecting it and so we are doubly happy. We had a good strategy and I pushed to the maximum at the key moments. Today, the KERS was a great help, especially at the start, but the whole car was also working well. The team did a great job and the results speak for themselves. We have to continue down this route. It will be interesting to understand how the car’s performance improved from one day to the next. Maybe it just needed those few extra degrees of track temperature to get the tyres working better.” Kimi Raikkonen: “I got a good start, but then I was unable to push as much as I could have done because I was always in traffic. Obviously, my grid position, given my fuel load, penalised me in terms of strategy. After the first run of pit stops, I found myself right behind Trulli and from then on, my race was pretty much over. I tried to pass him getting very close sometimes, but it wasn’t really on as overtaking is still very difficult. I ended up fighting with Glock but I could defend my position comfortably, both thanks to the KERS and to the fact that I actually had quite a good pace. It’s a shame, because given where I was at the end of the first lap, I could have got a better result. A single point is definitely nothing to get excited about, but it’s better than nothing. The car wasn’t bad today, much better than it had been in qualifying yesterday.” Chris Dyer: “We got the most out of a weekend that was definitely not brilliant in terms of performance. Both our drivers had great starts, getting the most of out the KERS. Then Felipe picked up a good pace that, along with the strategy, allowed him to move up quite a few places. As for Kimi, he was slowed by traffic and the key moment in his race was when Trulli came out on track ahead of him when he made his first pit stop. He was unable to pass him on the track and then, during the run of pit stops, other drivers were able to get ahead of him. Yesterday, we were rather disappointed both with our result and with our performance, but today things were definitely better: however, we have to admit there is still a great deal of work to do to be competitive at the highest level, which is where we want to be.”

Brawn GP

Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello drove an assured race at Silverstone today to bring his Brawn-Mercedes car home in third position at the team’s home Grand Prix. Team-mate Jenson Button secured sixth position to score a valuable three points. Both drivers began the race on the softer option tyre and whilst Rubens had a good getaway to maintain second position off the line, Jenson was boxed in behind a slow-starting Trulli and dropped to ninth at the first corner. Following similar two-stop strategies, Jenson pitted first on lap 18 for a long middle stint on the prime tyre. Rubens came in one lap later, losing a place to Mark Webber who stayed out longer. Both Brawn GP drivers struggled with grip levels on the harder compound and were unable to maintain tyre temperatures in the cool track conditions. Their second stops came on lap 47 for Rubens who maintained his third position and lap 49 for Jenson who jumped Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen to take sixth position at the end of the 60-lap race. RESULTS Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P3 01:21.429 Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P6 01:21.189 Weather Cool and overcast Temperatures Air: 16-17°C Track: 26-30°C RUBENS BARRICHELLO “I’m really proud of the third place that we achieved at Silverstone today. It’s been a tough weekend for the team and we knew that if the track temperatures didn’t increase, then it would be incredibly difficult to beat the Red Bulls. The car has been well balanced and we certainly haven’t lost performance since the last race, it’s just that we have suffered badly in the cool conditions with our tyre temperatures. I had a good start to maintain second but Sebastian then disappeared in front of me and we knew that we were competing for third. There’s been very little difference between the two tyre compounds this weekend but the softer tyre was definitely better in the race so it was tough for us to do the long middle stint on the harder tyre. Still to come away with third and the best position that the team could have achieved this weekend is very satisfying and I’m happy to have taken some points out of Jenson’s lead.” JENSON BUTTON “All points are important at this stage of the season and to come away with three from this weekend is therefore ok but it’s been a very frustrating home Grand Prix for us. I had a bad start as Trulli was slow off the line in front of me which left nowhere to go. I tried the inside and then the outside but everyone shot by me. From ninth place it was never going to be an easy race. I was stuck behind Trulli for the first stint which was really frustrating as the car felt good on the softer tyre and I was much quicker than him but couldn’t overtake. We then had a long middle stint on the harder tyre and both Rubens and I struggled to get the tyres into their working range in the cool conditions with a heavy fuel load. On the softer rubber at the end of the race, I was able to close right up to Rosberg and Massa very easily so the pace of the car was actually pretty good but it is so difficult to overtake that I couldn’t make any improvement on sixth position with only a few laps left. We need to understand why our car doesn’t work so well at low temperatures and hope for warmer races to come.” ROSS BRAWN “Today’s result was a pleasing outcome to what has been a challenging home race for the team this weekend. Rubens drove a very composed race to achieve his second consecutive podium finish at Silverstone whilst Jenson recovered well from a poor start to score valuable points for our Championship challenge. We knew from the outset that our car does not work particularly well with the tyres at lower track temperatures and this was clearly evident at Shanghai earlier in the season. The balance of the car and the pace shown by Jenson in the last few laps of the race are however encouraging and we will be taking a close look at the issues that we experienced with the tyres to see what countermeasures can be taken. Congratulations to Red Bull for a superb one-two finish today and we look forward to taking the fight to them in Germany.”

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel - 1st: "This is such a fantastic circuit. I think all the drivers enjoy it with its fast corners, it's a dream really - so to stay focused and keep your eyes open all the time during the race is not easy! The start was very important, then in the first stint I tried to pull away and make a gap, as I knew it would be crucial for the whole race. The car was fantastic, just unbelievable. I was able to push more and more and the tyres were very consistent. The second stint wasn't so easy; there were a lot of lapped cars that were battling with each other, so the team told me to be careful. From the last pit stop I was in clean air and from then on I was just counting down each lap. I had quite a big gap to Mark and was controlling the race from that point on. Everyone in the team has been working so hard, both in the factory and at the track. The way the team has brought the car to where it is now is fantastic – and we've proven it's a step in the right direction, so I'm very pleased. I also want to thank Silverstone. I enjoyed this race so much – when I looked in the grandstands everyone was standing up and clapping and when I took the chequered flag the atmosphere was so great. This is what I was dreaming of when I watched British grands prix when I was younger when Mansell was driving. It's almost unreal now to think that I'm here and I've made it. I've won this grand prix and I'm very happy." Mark Webber - 2nd: "It's a great day for the team. I'm disappointed not to take the win, but I think I lost my chance for victory yesterday during qualifying. I should have been on the front row and, if so, I would have tried to make Sebastian work a bit harder in the first stint when I was behind Rubens. I saved a lot of fuel in the first stint, which meant we were able to jump Rubens at the first pit stop. I don't think I could have done much more today and congratulations to Sebastian, he did a good first stint, which is what laid the foundations for his win. And the team? Well, the guys have buried themselves recently with night shifts and the attention to detail that they go to is a credit to them. They're being led very well and they're responding to that. Results help and it's an incredible injection for them to get the top result, a one-two on local turf. I enjoyed it today. Silverstone is an amazing track and it's incredible to go through that first sector, lap after lap. It's a great place to drive a Formula One car and the British fans are always fantastic, so it was great today." Christian Horner: "What a fantastic team result, a one-two, with both guys totally dominating the race. There were so many members of the team here today and, for them to see what their cars can do, when they have put in so much effort, is just incredible. I'm thrilled for everyone at Red Bull, they've done a brilliant job. This track suits our car and the drivers have been in fantastic form all weekend. Sebastian was outstanding today and Mark also did a brilliant job – he was very patient when he needed to be behind Rubens in the first stint. It was a great team result. We've still got a long way to go to catch Brawn GP, but we're definitely moving in the right direction." Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: "Wow, a magic result – first and second at the British Grand Prix. The team is so happy and, for the guys in Milton Keynes, this victory is so deserved – they worked like hell to prepare this new package. It's a great result for them. For us as the engine partner to be part of this adventure is a great pleasure – so congratulations to everyone back in the factories and let's enjoy this fantastic result."

Force India

Adrian Sutil - 17th: "We rebuilt the spare car after the crash yesterday caused too much damage to my race car, but then we had a problem on the formation lap with the fuel pressure. We could fix it and at least start but it was really disappointing today. We missed a big opportunity to qualify well because of the crash and the race was not spectacular as a result. I was really just driving around without much chance of overtaking anyone so it was a little boring, but it's another finish at least. Let's move onto Germany where I hope I can really take advantage of the new parts we had this weekend." *Giancarlo Fisichella - 10th: "A top 10 finish was our target this weekend. We thought it would be difficult but actually today was a very good race for me and we achieved the maximum we could do. It was a fun race. I had a good start and then on the first lap I overtook many drivers and even on the second lap I overtook Kubica and the two Renaults, so I was very focussed at the beginning. "It was very important with my strategy to do this as we didn't have such a great starting position because of the red flag yesterday in qualifying. Perhaps we could have scored points if we'd started higher as eighth was just in front of me and at the end I was quicker than Kimi (Raikkonen) and Timo (Glock). It's a great step forward and I'm really looking forward to the next races now. The team did a fantastic job so we need to continue this." Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: "It was a very impressive race performance today from Force India. We had our fair share of bad luck in qualifying yesterday with Adrian's shunt, which unfortunately ruined Fisi's lap as well. Who knows, if we had started further up the grid as we had hoped maybe points would have been in reach today. Nevertheless I am very happy both cars finished: reliability is good, we're competitive and keeping pace with all the others and we beat some top teams as well. Obviously I am delighted that we are getting there, slowly but steadily. I'm very hopeful for the next few races."

Toro Rosso

Sebastien Buemi - 18th: "It was a very tough race and we struggled to be on the pace and now we must try and work out why, as we have been quicker than this earlier in the weekend. On worn tyres especially, the car was very difficult to drive. Nurburgring will be another difficult weekend, but we are due to get some updates for Hungary, which will allow us to be more competitive and perform much better." Sebastien Bourdais - DNF: "Regarding my collision with Kovalainen, he changed line twice. At the exit to Stowe, I was on the normal line and he went to the inside, I moved to the outside, then he moved over so I moved across to the other side and he changed again. He braked early, because he'd only just left the pits on full tanks and cold tyres. I was trying to out-brake him, but he should not have changed line like that. It was frustrating and then at the end I lost water pressure and had to stop in the garage." Franz Tost: "First of all, well done to Red Bull for a fantastic job, especially the drivers, Vettel showing incredible pace in the early stages, with he and Webber easily controlling the race. For our part, we were off the pace this weekend and apart from some small technical problems, we were not at the level at which we expected to be. One of the reasons is that we suffer from the lack of new specification aero parts. We will have these for Hungary, when I expect and hope that this will bring us back to the front end of the mid-field."

Renault

It was a disappointing afternoon for the ING Renault F1 Team at Silverstone as Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso finished in 12th and 14th places respectively. *Fernando Alonso, R2904, P14 1st stint: 19 laps, hard tyres 2nd stint: 20 laps, hard tyres 3rd stint: 21 laps, soft tyres Fernando: “Our chance to score points today was over at the start as we lost two positions and I was stuck behind Heidfeld who was heavy on fuel, which cost us a lot of time. Although I had some good fights around the track, I’m obviously frustrated with the poor result and it’s clear we need to improve on all fronts before Germany.” Nelson Piquet, R2901, P12 1st stint: 29 laps, hard tyres 2nd stint: 32 laps, soft tyres Nelson: “The overall result is disappointing today, but I think I had a solid race. It’s clear that we must continue to work hard and hopefully introduce some new upgrades in time for the next race in a few weeks’ time. I know that I can be competitive if the car is good, however it’s down to me to improve my performance in qualifying.” *Flavio Briatore, Managing Director “Fernando’s poor start put him in a position that was hard to recover from and equally Nelson was caught in traffic, which made it difficult to see his true pace. The team switched Nelson to a one-stop strategy, which gained him four places, nevertheless we must improve the pace of the car very rapidly.” *Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering “Our performance today did not meet the expectations that we had after qualifying and so we leave Silverstone disappointed. The poor start for Fernando compromised his race and losing so much time in his first stint made it impossible to score points. Nelson’s one-stop strategy worked well, but it’s clear that we weren’t quick enough today. We need to regroup and improve before Germany.” Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations “Unfortunately we just weren’t fast enough today. We didn’t have a great start to the race, which meant we were caught in traffic, and with the strategies we were running that made it difficult to move forward. Both drivers drove well and gave their maximum. We must now concentrate on the next race in Germany.”

Toyota

*Jarno Trulli (7th): "It was a very hard race for me. I had a difficult start because the car didn't pull away as fast as normal, so I lost a couple of positions. I was trying to fight back all through the race but it was not easy and the car was sliding around quite a lot; maybe this was because of the aero set-up I chose yesterday. I expected the weather today to be a little warmer than it was and I was struggling a bit with my set-up, especially on long runs. Our strategy was okay but we expected more from this race so I am determined to make up for it in Germany." Timo Glock (9th): "It's a pity to miss out on the points, especially as I was really quick out of traffic and at the end I was able to catch Kimi (Raikkonen) quite easily. The problem was at the first corner when I lost a few positions; that left me in traffic and compromised my race. Still, I didn't give up and I was fighting with Fisichella in the middle stint when there was a chance to get in the points. On the hard tyres at the end the car felt good and I very quickly caught Kimi but I had no chance to overtake. I tried into the final corner on the last lap but it didn't work out. Now I am looking to the next Grand Prix, which is a home race for me and the team. I hope it will be a bit warmer there which would suit our car more than the low temperatures today." John Howett, Toyota team president: "We expected a better result than this but the race didn't turn out as we hoped. Qualifying was very promising and we genuinely expected to fight for the podium but Jarno lost positions at the start and Timo was squeezed going into the first corner. Two points is far less than we expected after the qualifying result but this will motivate us to develop further and come back stronger for one of our home Grands Prix.”

BMW

*Robert Kubica - 13th: "This was a very difficult race for me. Starting from P12 it was clear under normal circumstances we couldn't achieve much, therefore we decided to take a risk and start the race with a high fuel load and on the prime tyres. But it didn't pay off, because I had big problems heating up the tyres at the start, and I lost ground. We have to accept that 13th is just what was possible today." Nick Heidfeld - 15th: "I'd say given our poor qualifying results the race result was what we expected. There wasn't much we could come away with. At the start I risked a lot when I went for a rather small gap. I damaged my front wing but I was happy it wasn't worse than that. Of course it significantly affected the aerodynamics, but we decided to wait until the scheduled pit stop so not to lose even more time. For the second stint I had to use the harder tyre compound, but the softer ones were clearly the better ones." *Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "For us the race reflects the performance we showed in yesterday's qualifying. Overall it was a disappointing weekend for our team. We will speed up our development programme. The only out of the ordinary situation from our point of view today was when Nick touched another car on the first lap and damaged his front wing. Although he was able to continue until the scheduled pitstop he lost a lot of time." Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering): "We are obviously not happy with this result, but unfortunately it reflects our qualifying performance. In the race we were struggling to get the tyres into the window when they were working at their best. Both drivers complained about lack of grip on the hard compound. With the softer tyre, the pace was acceptable. But at the end of the day here the car was just not competitive. At the Nürburgring we will introduce the next aerodynamic update."

Bridgestone

Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for his second race win of the season and Red Bull Racing on their second one-two of the year. Silverstone has a great atmosphere and we have seen a fantastic crowd here throughout the weekend in what is both a very important market for Bridgestone and an important base for our Bridgestone Motorsport operation." Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "Today we saw very hot pace from the Red Bulls in the cool weather conditions as they used the Bridgestone hard and soft tyres very well indeed. The best lap times of both Red Bull cars were over half a second faster than anyone else. The soft Bridgestone worked very well, especially after the second stint when there was more rubber down on the track. The hard Bridgestone did take longer to deliver its best lap time and we saw a number of illustrations of this as part of some interesting battles for position. Silverstone helped serve us an exciting fast race here today."

McLaren

LEWIS HAMILTON MP4-24-04 Started: 18th Finished: 16th Fastest lap: 1m22.576s (18th) Pitstops: two (Op-Op-Pr) 2009 points: 9 (11th) A forceful opening lap saw Lewis vault from 18th on the grid to 15th by the end of lap one. There then followed a determined tussle with Robert Kubica; Lewis briefly overtaking the Pole before being re-passed after he was forced wide onto the grass at the exit of Chapel Curve. Reporting a lack of grip, Lewis pitted from 15th position on lap 20, switched to Options and rejoined in 20th. A couple of brave passes - holding out against Nick Heidfeld into Maggotts and powering past Fernando Alonso on the inside at Copse - nonetheless failed to keep him in the hunt with the midfield pack. After his second and final stop, on lap 43, the team turned down Lewis's engine and he finished 16th. *"I gave it my all today," Lewis said. "Despite fighting for the lower positions, I was absolutely on the limit for the whole race. We knew it would be difficult, and I enjoyed my battle with Fernando, but we didn't have the pace today to get into the points. "The best thing about this weekend has been the fans: they really gave me some consolation by cheering me on throughout the race. I would love to have given them a result to make them happy and my country proud, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us before that will be realistic." HEIKKI KOVALAINEN MP4-24-02 Started: 13th Finished: ret Fastest lap: 1m22.418s (15th) Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Pr) 2009 points: 4 (13th) *Boxed out on the run through Copse, Heikki dropped from 13th to 19th by the end of the first lap and spent the majority of his race pushing to make up places. Running 19th in the opening stint behind Buemi, Heikki was fuelled until half-distance, pitting on lap 35 and switching from Option to Prime. A lap later, he was hit from behind by Sebastien Bourdais under braking for Vale corner. The rear impact punctured Heikki's left-rear tyre, and, while he pitted for a fresh set of rubber, he immediately reported that the rear-corner felt strange. The team chose to pull him into the pits and retire him for safety reasons. "Of course, it's disappointing not to finish the team's home race," Heikki said afterwards. "Until my retirement, the car had been working fine and the strategy was working for me too: we were on target. Then Bourdais just ran into the back of me and damaged the left-rear corner. I had to stop because the damage had made the car undriveable: we decided to retire for safety reasons." MARTIN WHITMARSH Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes "This weekend has been a very difficult one for everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. No-one in our team likes not winning, and it goes without saying that we all remain utterly determined to return to our winning ways. That may not be a realistic prospect for this season - although significant improvements are in the pipeline - but the team is doing a huge amount of work in an effort to gain a full understanding of the performance issues our car is currently facing, with a view to developing next year's car as well as improving this year's car. Sometimes you have to go backwards before you can begin going forwards - and, painful as it was for all of us, this weekend was an example of that." NORBERT HAUG Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport "A race to forget. Our performance was by far not where it has to be and where it was when we won five of the last 10 races here on this classic racetrack. We should not talk a lot now but rather work a lot. Congratulations to our German friend Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing and Mark Webber for a very impressive performance and a clearly very dominant one-two today. This was the most impressive performance of the season so far."

Williams

Today’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone delivered another points-scoring finish for the AT&T Williams team in front of a home crowd. Nico Rosberg claimed a second successive fifth place finish, his four points promoting the team into the top half of the Constructors’ Championship to fifth place. Despite gaining track position in the first lap and running in fourth up until his first stop, Kazuki Nakajima was unable to convert the competitive pace he’s demonstrated all weekend and dropped down the order to end the race in P11. Nico Rosberg: I am very pleased for the whole team, and for myself, that we had another good race. We still didn’t get the result that we are capable of today, but Barrichello was slow in the middle stint and I was stuck behind him and that cost me the place to Massa. If that hadn’t happened, we would have had a solid fourth place. I have to say a big well done to the team because everyone is doing a really great job and we are moving ahead in terms of development. We are consistent on every track so I’m looking forward to the races to come. *Kazuki Nakajima: That result was not ideal for me. There weren’t any particular reasons for it. I was pleased with my start and I thought it was going to be a good race for me, but I was held up by the car in front before my first stop and then it was difficult to keep up with the cars ahead of me for the rest of the race. Sam Michael, Technical Director: It was great for the team to pick up more points today with Nico’s fifth place and it shows we’re still heading in the right direction with development. Nico drove well, it was just a shame he was caught up in traffic for the majority of the race as I think he could have done more. He showed that he was quick by setting the third fastest laptime in the race, only behind the two Red Bulls. With his strategy, it was always going to be difficult for Kazuki to score points, but he is definitely improving, and he really helped the team with set-up direction this weekend. Points: AT&T Williams 15.5 (5th), Nico Rosberg 15.5 (7th), Kazuki Nakajima 0 (20th)

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