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Australia

Brazilian GP: Top 10 quotes after race

It is Scuderia Ferrari’s 229th Formula One win, the fifth this season for the team and for Sebastian Vettel

Podium: winner Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, second place Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, third place Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Giuseppe Vietina, Ferrari

Podium: winner Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, second place Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, third place Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Giuseppe Vietina, Ferrari

Sutton Images

Race winner Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF70H celebrates in parc ferme
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF70H
Podium: winner Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, second place Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1
Race winner Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari celebrates in parc ferme with Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF70H
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF70H
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz F1 W08
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB13
Felipe Massa, Williams FW40
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL32
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL32
Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India VJM10
Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Sport F1 Team RS17

ClaDriverChassisEngineTime
1 germany Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari Ferrari 1'31:26.260
“I think this was one of the most difficult races of the season, there was no time for mistakes. My start was not perfect, but enough to beat Bottas off the line. Then, Valtteri was always very close and we had the same pace, but I pushed very hard and managed to pull a gap. This win is very important for me and for the team. After such a long time it's been great to achieve it. I'm happy for the whole team, because it has been through a tough couple of weeks, with long nights, hard work and a big support from the factory. I dedicate this win to all of them, to the guys here and to those who've been working in Maranello. It's been very hard for us, but today is a great day and I want to thank my team and our tifosi. Hopefully we'll have a good race in Abu Dhabi! ”
2 finland Valtteri Bottas  Mercedes Mercedes 2.762
“I think we lost the race in the first corner. When I dropped the clutch at the start initially, there was less grip than I expected, so I broke the traction and got some wheel spin. Seb got a better getaway and managed to get on the inside. That is unfortunate because the race pace between us and Ferrari was very close today and we had a similar strategy. When we went for the Softs, we tried the undercut and tried to attack with the new tyres, but there was no way to get past. We wanted to attack in the very end again but, when I was trying to pick up the pace again, there was nothing left in the tyres. After the good result yesterday, I had very high hopes for today. But if you look at the positives, it has been a much better weekend for me personally than I had for a while. And it was not a bad result for us as a team looking at the position where Lewis started today, so that's good.”
3 finland Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari Ferrari 4.600
“My start was pretty average, I had some wheelspin and I was happy I did not lose any places. The first fifteen laps were a bit tricky with tires, but after the pit stop I was happy with my car. I expected that improvement, because I knew that with the soft tires I would be really strong. It was easy to keep up with the guys in front and at the same time look after my tires. At some point I tried to push and I got closer; I felt I had a lot of speed but today in these conditions there was no way to pass. It was a bit frustrating, but when Hamilton was behind me I could see him closing up, but I had a good car and I was pretty confident that if I was not making any stupid mistake I could keep him behind. I held him quite easily, he never really had a good chance to get me. Obviously we could have finished one place up, but it's a great result for the team. The car has been pretty strong all weekend. We have been strong almost everywhere this year, obviously in a few races we had some difficulties, but as a team we can be proud. We are building ourselves for next year.”
4 united_kingdom Lewis Hamilton  Mercedes Mercedes 5.468
“I had a great time, I enjoyed the race very much. I had so much pace today, it would have been an easy win this weekend. So on the one side I am disappointed that I put myself in the worst position for today. But yesterday is behind me, today has been very positive, I had fun coming through - it felt like the go-karting days where I would always start in the back in my first year or two. My goal today was really to just try and redeem yesterday's mistake, to make the team proud and get some points back. I was trying to get back to third, I just ran out of tyres in the end. But I enjoyed the battle today and hopefully that continues to show to everyone that I still have a lot of fire in my heart and many, many more races to go.”
5 netherlands Max Verstappen  Red Bull TAG 32.940
“In general this is not a track that suits our car and together with the power deficit on the straights it is very hard for us. You then try and catch up on the corners, but you ask too much of the tyres and get more drop-off. Of course I hoped for more in the race but it was a difficult situation, but I think we maximised the result and that was fifth. I didn’t want to drive the last ten or 15 laps with difficult tyres and at the end of the day I wasn’t going to lose a position, so we decided to make a second pit stop. From there on the race was gone but I pushed for the fastest lap, I didn’t get it in Mexico, so I’m really pleased to take it here.”
6 australia Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull TAG 48.691
“The start was not ideal. It was quite tight and I saw a space on the outside so I tried to get as much room as I could but I knew there were two cars on the inside so there was always a risk they would have contact and then come into me. I think that’s what happened but I don’t regret trying. The start is an opportunity to make up a big chunk of positions and as I was nearly at the back I had to try something. Fortunately the car didn’t suffer any damage. We just changed the tyres and then I could get on with the race and make some good overtakes, and it was a good race. Every time I was catching a car I passed it as soon as I could and there were some good fights. In the end, a comfortable sixth. It was nice to see the chequered flag and I felt I got the maximum out of it today.”
7 brazil Felipe Massa  Williams Mercedes 68.882
“It’s such an amazing result and such an amazing feeling to pass through all of this in my career. The race today was perfect, from beginning to end. An amazing start, overtaking a few cars, then an amazing restart after the safety car, passing Alonso. I knew it would be very important to pass him for my race and result. After that, a perfect race. I managed to keep him behind, even without tyres at the end. I’m so happy and emotional about my race today. I finish with my head held high, that’s the most important thing, in this place which is amazing for me. The only thing I can say is obrigado, I will miss all of you guys.”
8 spain Fernando Alonso  McLaren Honda 69.363
“Overall, it’s been a happy Brazilian GP for us. We started sixth, at the first corner we were up to fifth, and then we finished in the points – one of our best weekends. I had a fantastic car throughout the whole race, but, ultimately, I just could not overtake. We didn’t have enough speed on the straights. I was very, very close to Felipe a couple of times at the exit of the corners, and I thought ‘now is the time I can pass him,’ but even though I was using the DRS, he was pulling away.He was very consistent and made zero mistakes. Also, being the last lap of Felipe’s last-ever F1 race in Brazil, I wasn’t sure how hard he would defend! I didn’t have a chance to overtake him, anyway. And I had to defend from Perez behind, so I was happy when I saw the chequered flag.”
9 mexico Sergio Perez  Force India Mercedes 69.500
“Things got quite complicated on lap one when Alonso pushed me wide at turn two. I was on the grass and lost another position to Massa. That was very costly for my race because I spent the whole afternoon trying to recover. We certainly had the pace to finish in seventh, but the very high track temperatures made things difficult because as soon as you tried to attack you suffered with massive tyre degradation. We tried to change our strategy to overcome things, but it wasn’t enough to recover the seventh place. In the final few laps I was very close to Massa and Alonso. Massa was quick in the final sector, while Alonso was fast through sector two and had the benefit of DRS to help him defend down the straights. Maybe if there had been one more lap it would have been enough to overtake them. Considering the way things unfolded, I’m happy with the result but not totally satisfied.”
10 germany Nico Hulkenberg  Renault Renault 1 lap
“It’s good to get my first point since Spa although it was pretty much an uneventful race. We lost places at the start and with Hamilton and Ricciardo coming through it was a tough ask to move up the order. On the one side, it’s good to have finished the race, on the other side we did lack pace today. I was pushing flat out, so it’s a shame we couldn’t do more. My focus is now on a final flourish in Abu Dhabi.”

 

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