Tag: Vettel

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)
3 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Mario Andretti)

Sebastian, I’m still out of breath. How in the world do you do it: eight straight, I mean you’re rewriting the record books. Tell us about it. Second last year, top podium step this year. Tell us.

Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t know, honestly! It’s impossible to know what to say. First of all, I would like to say thanks to the crowd. It’s unbelievable. It’s only our second race here. Second race here and we’ve got more than 100,000 people coming on Sunday. I think this is one of the best races we have all season. The whole city is going crazy, so it’s phenomenal to race here in front of the crowd. The car was fantastic. It was a bit tight at the start; Romain had a good start initially, I didn’t know whether it would be enough. It’s tough judgement up the hill and then I just tried to focus on myself. We had incredible pace again in the car and could control the gaps. I don’t know, eight in a row is… you are a legend, you know….

Your first win on American soil. Your debut was on American soil as well?

SV: Yes, 2007 in Indianapolis. To come back [to the US] last year and finish on the podium and today to win the race is incredible. I don’t know what to say.

Fabulous, congratulations. I guess you’re going for nine next week?

SV: We’ll try.

Romain, congratulations, your best effort of the season – sixth podium. You have represented Lotus in a very proud way. I guess number one in the team next year, right? Let’s make it official. So congratulations. Tell us about your race today?

Romain GROSJEAN: Yeah, good race. Good start, I could pass Mark and almost got Sebastian. The car was working very well today. I’m very proud to represent Lotus and my guys that are working in Enstone. It’s a fantastic team. Being between those two cars is our best – everyone did a 100 per cent job. It means a lot to do a podium here in the United States. I like this country. It’s always good to come here, so glad, and looking forward to come back on that beautiful track and hopefully next year we’ll be one step ahead.

Mark, I guess this is going to be your last stop here in Formula One at the Circuit of the Americas, so not a bad effort today, third, a podium.

Mark WEBBER: Yeah. Obviously pole position was very important yesterday, so I knew it was going to be important and that it would cost me a lot better result today. A little bit disappointed not to qualify better. We knew it was not going to be the easiest to get into turn one from there. We had a good launch, a good start, but then obviously we all wanted to be on the outside. I got a little bit boxed in and then I had to pass Lewis. Then it’s not easy to pass Romain. He drove very well. He was very clean on the exit of eight, nine. The DRS in the end was a little bit short on the ratios but in the end that’s how you get the ratios for the whole race. So, good job for the whole team and I’m happy to finish on the podium in front of the American fans for the last time, in Formula One anyway. I’ll see you next year with the Porsche.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, your 12 win this season, seventh from pole, 38^th of your career but probably the most important number is that it’s the eighth in a row. Never been done before in Formula One. You got a bit fed up answering questions about it in anticipation but now that it’s actually happened and you’ve actually done it, how does it feel?

SV: It’s incredible. I think it’s one of those things that you never expect to… one of those records that you never expect to be beaten so it’s very difficult to find the right words. I didn’t really answer the questions the last couple of days because at the end of the day what makes me jump into the car is not a certain number. But certainly today, when you realise that you’ve done it, it makes you very proud in that moment and, yeah, I think it’s very difficult for all of us to realise what it actually means. If you look back, and if you look those names who had similar records or outstanding performances in the past, I think it’s impossible to understand. People look back and they talk about that time and about certain drivers and one day people might look back and talk about our time and what we’ve done as a team. I said it on the team radio, the spirit is fantastic. Everybody’s just happy to turn up, give it everything he has and I think – if there is one – that’s the secret. Yes, we have a phenomenal car; yes, the car has been mostly very, very reliable but I think it’s the mindset we have going in, really trying to give it everything we have, not miss a single step… yeah… How to, after the race, not to turn around and think that there was a little bit left here, a little bit left there. Another very, very, very strong weekend. I think people tend to forget that every single weekend is a challenge on its own. It’s not eight weekends as a whole. It’s every single weekend. And to have such an incredible run, it’s very difficult to realise.

Q: Romain, your sixth podium of the season. I think you just said in your own language that it’s one year ago that you became a father. It’s been an amazing turn around from last year to this year but obviously this was a race all about your start and particularly then about soaking up the pressure from Mark in the closing stages. Tell us about it.

RG: Yes, exactly. We knew that the start would be crucial for us and then the race, if they were going ahead, they had too much speed for us, basically. They’re doing a fantastic job with a phenomenal car, as Seb says. But we can… he spoke about the spirit in his team and I think we have the same: every guy is happy to come in the morning and happy to work and check things. Y’know, drivers will always complain about this and this and this. They change it and it brings us to second at the end of the day. So, a very good start, a very good strategy, same as everyone else – I think I was just a little bit better on the option. I said in my own language that one year ago my wife sent me a picture of a pregnancy test saying that ‘well done Champion, you’re going to be a Dad!’ So America brings me a lot of bliss and pleasure and looking forward to come back here.

Q: Mark from your point of view. Obviously starting second. The initial getaway looked fine but it then was going up the hill that you lost the initiative. I guess your race really was dictated by qualifying yesterday to a large extent but particularly by the getaway today.

MW: Yeah, pole position yesterday was where the fight was. Going to be very difficult from there. I think we were… I was very happy with how I drove today. Got a very good start. You want to be on the outside for Turn One but Romain was already there. I think I made a very good start from the left hand side, which is not the easiest here, so we did what we could. Lewis also was on the outside for clean braking so I had to be a little bit careful with Seb on the inside. And then you’ve got to clear people and you know when you’ve got to clear people you use tyres, you use everything up. Romain drove a very good race, he was very strong in the last part of the first sector which you need to be to get out of there. It’s super-super difficult to stay close. I did what I could for most of the time but also the tyres are screaming at you for lap after lap and you have to drop back, give them a breather, go again. So, yeah, I did a pretty clean race. I think the performance and pace were very strong from my side but yesterday was when victory was made easier for Seb.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Romain, what was the strategy to resist to Mark, and Mark, what were the different things you tried with the KERS?

RG: Well, I think the strategy was pretty clear. We were copying what Mark was doing. When he was pitting for hard tyres, we pitted for hard tyres, if he was pitting for prime or option. Then in the race I was just trying to make as much gap as I could before the DRS zone, so turns eight and nine are pretty hard to follow another car. I think we had a pretty good balance around there and then use all the power we could on the back straight, trying to avoid the DRS and then I know that by turns 17,18, 19 it was very difficult to follow me, so he was very close every time into turn one, but never had a go. I think the closest he was into turn 12 was probably ten meters. He pushed me wide once because I outbraked myself but as long as he didn’t seem to be too big in the mirror that was fine.

MW: As usual, the Lotus is not too bad on the softer end of the range, if you like, with this tyre we qualified on. Had to do the race start, obviously I had to use the tyre to pass Lewis, so when it was time to build up towards the stop, to be patient, to go as long as possible but also knowing that Romain was covering us off, covering the move and waiting for us to pit because the Enstone guys are not rookies when it comes to strategy either. We knew we would look to have an attack on the prime but also, as you say, moving the KERS round a lot is part of my job, to try and create more pressure. The back straight was OK to use all of it, but the key areas are eight, nine and then the hairpin. It’s not the easiest track on which to follow people, I think we saw last year, obviously Seb was in traffic with Lewis, Lewis was very quick but following all the time and couldn’t pass. It’s a challenging venue still to pass because of turn eight and nine, I think, so in the end we did what we could do. There’s not many regrets as to

what we could have done differently to get the job done on Romain after that.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing magazine) Mark, we have a Brazilian Grand Prix in one week, so what’s your feeling as you go into your final F1 Grand Prix?

MW: I’m looking forward to it, driving round in the middle of the race thinking ‘yes, I’m really looking forward to it because it’s time’, the enjoyment factor is there but it’s not like it was when I was at Jaguar or when I first started at Red Bull.  That’s natural, that’s why the decision gets made obviously. The category has changed quite a bit in the last few years, I’ve done what I can, done my best but when you realise there comes a point where it’s not what it once was and that’s what happens to all sportsmen and women, there’s a point when it’s a little bit different. I’ve got one week to go, I will leave the paddock very satisfied. I’ve been dealt a very good hand, very proud of what I’ve achieved. I never thought I would do that when I left Queanbeyan in Australia, to have had the results I’ve had, to have worked with the amazing people I’ve worked with, to race against amazing drivers on the best tracks in the world. I’ve learned a  huge amount about myself, about everything. One week to go and go from there. It’s the next chapter when I step out of the car for the last time I will be fine with it. Back to UK Sunday night, walk the dogs on Tuesday morning.

Q: (Sarah Holt – CNN) Seb, not such a massive victory margin as we’ve seen in recent races but still, can you tell us what it’s been like to effectively race yourself in the last few races and what’s been going through your mind in the car?

SV: It’s not as if I’ve been getting bored. Obviously I’ve quite a lot to do, looking at the gaps. First of all, I have to match their pace. Obviously when they do come closer it’s not the best feeling because you want the gap to increase always, but you don’t want the gap to become smaller. I think it was clear this weekend that again we had a very strong package. Friday already looked very good, especially on the long run pace. I think in terms of set-up we might have compromised the pace a little bit yesterday. Also it was very tricky with the windy conditions in qualifying for everyone to get everything right in just one lap. It was very easy to lose out a little bit here and there but today I was happier with the balance. Already on the laps to the grid I could feel the car was more similar to Friday so I was very happy once I was in the lead after turn one. Obviously I had to wait a little bit with the safety car before I could unleash the pace but certainly it’s a great feeling when you do pull away, and then it’s about pacing yourself, pacing yourself to get the range, to look after the tyres etc. Certainly there are a lot of things going on but also it’s a nice feeling to have a little bit of a gap because you can take it a little bit easier in some crucial places, to look after the tyres and benefit from that, especially later on in the stint. Overall, you do tend to have quite a bit of work in the car, it’s not necessarily… it is a Sunday afternoon drive but not in that regard.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Just following on from Sarah’s question: Seb, a lot of great drivers say they’ve never actually driven the perfect lap, and I guess therefore the perfect race has never been driven. How was your race today, we didn’t see every corner of every lap. In your own standards, did you make any mistakes at all?

SV: Well, it’s different these days. If I compare when I came into Formula One, it was more like sprint racing for twenty laps, get a new set of tyres, refuel and go out and do another sprint. Today, obviously, is different because you don’t refuel, the car is very heavy at the beginning and naturally, just because of the way that you have to look after tyres. Now we’ve seen in the past couple of years that these tyres do need some management as well, also in terms of driving style and looking after them and making sure you don’t go crazy too soon, because it might hurt you later on, so therefore, if you look at the perfect lap, you can’t repeat a 100 percent lap every time, because you need to look after the car and tyres. In the end, I think what you want to achieve is the fastest race to the finish line. I think we had a very very strong race today. The last couple of laps on the softs I was struggling because I running into traffic and the tyres were falling off so we were actually the first to come in this time, despite the big gap, but then the hards seem to last very very well in the end. We had very strong pace. I think I went a little bit wide once or twice into turn 12 under braking but other than that, I obviously tried as well to keep it on the line. It is a little bit easier if you have a ten second gap to the car behind to not necessarily use all the kerbs here and there, to manage the tyres a little bit better.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) The concentric doughnuts you did afterwards looked beautiful. Do you have any set-up that you put into the car before the race in terms of diff or brake balance, to make that happen?

SV: No, no, definitely not. Obviously there’s a couple of tricks, we had some… we do have some show runs every year and this is usually when you get to practise your skills when it comes to doughnuts and burn-outs. It just seemed like a good spot. You know, you have to do it in a smooth way otherwise I get a big bollocking from my engineers for not looking after gearbox, engine and so on, so I try to be smooth but equally you want to create some smoke and just have fun. But not any maps, particular set-ups that go in the car just because of that.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, what do you think that Michael will tell you about this broken record?

SV: Well, in a way I think I have the same approach as him, as probably every sportsman. I don’t think we are jumping into the car to beat certain records. At his time, he was braking a lot of records and many of them will last forever, I think. To come even close and today to beat one of those is exceptional. I think, as a sportsman, you don’t jump into the car to break records and equally you don’t expect them to last forever. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and generally, I think he’s very happy with what he has achieved and seemed fairly relaxed. I think he’s riding a lot of horses lately so he’s quite happy to go karting with his kids and enjoying his life after Formula One. There’s a huge part of our lives if you consider that there’s a lot of years left once we retire. It’s good to enjoy those as well.

Q: (John Sturbin – Ft. Worth Star-Telegram) Sebastian, on Friday, the technical directors were in here including Adrian Newey talking about next year’s changes and how that might upset the balance of power. Is that something you were maybe referring to in your post-race message, you were talking about ‘this is something we need to remember?’ Are you worried about next year and how it might upset everything?

SV: No, to be honest… Yeah, I remember Adrian said the same thing. I think we have all been there. Yesterday evening I took a shower and I had some thoughts about the day, finishing on pole. It’s a little bit of a shame that obviously because of the run we’ve had lately, people take it as guaranteed that you deliver the result on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon because I think people tend to in a way respect the result and what it means, the effort behind it and I think it’s natural that as an athlete you have ups and downs. Right now, you could say that it’s rather more up and then down but you never know what’s going to happen, next year is an unknown. I’m sure we will push very very hard and I’m sure we will fight a lot to maintain our position but there’s no guarantee that next year will be like this year. With the new regulations coming in, I think nobody really knows where he will stand. You will have the big teams in front but the question is who and the question is also in terms of gaps. Yesterday was one tenth between Mark and myself which is very very small, it’s a small gap and certainly there’s a reason to believe that next year the gaps will be bigger and the season will be less consistent for everyone. It’s unknown at this stage but generally I think we need to remember and therefore enjoy the moment and the days we’re having.

Ends

3 Nov 2013: FIA DRIVERS Press Conference at Abu Dhabi GP

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Q: Sebastian, seven in a row, 11 so far this season. They’re going to charge you rent on this top step soon.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I don’t mind. I also did some donuts so…

You are a naughty boy, that’s going to cost somebody some money…

SV: No, I don’t think so because this time I bought the car back so it’s fine. As you can see it’s in parc ferme. No, it’s incredible. Thanks to all the fans, the atmosphere today. Twice, we have this complex around Five, Six and Seven and then around Eight and Nine, along the straight to Turn 11. So many people, so many German flags, so nice to see and to get so much support. More and more for Red Bull so I hope that kicks up more in the next years. The car was absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Not much more to say. I was flying at some stages. At least it felt like it. Massive gaps, big surprise. Thanks to the team, thanks to Renault as well. A lot of our success is also down to them. They’re doing a very, very good job and I hope that next year we’ll have an engine that’s as powerful and as reliable as this year’s.

Q: Talking of support, your Mum and Dad are down there somewhere. How much does it mean to win yet again in front of them?

SV: Yeah, it means a lot. Obviously spend most of my time racing in front of them when I was a small kid and obviously now there’s a little bit bigger toys, more people watching but it’s very special to me that they were here this weekend. I love them very much and want to dedicate the win today to them. I think I learned a lot of good things from them and one day if I had kids I want to pass exactly these things on.

Q: Mark, well you tried your best, you gave it plenty but the start hurt you a little bit out there.

Mark WEBBER: Yeah. The start wasn’t great. Nico got an unbelievable start, Seb’s was a bit better than mine. I think we were lucky we’re not at Malaysia or Monza because it would have been even more painful. Anyway, I think in the first stint just not strong enough and on the soft tyres Seb got a very good gap. I had to reposition on the primes. So anyway, after that the race started pretty well for me but then Seb… he was gone. He was on another category out in front and I had to have a little battle with Nico for second. Guys did a great job on the car all week here. Nice and reliable. Fans have been great: plenty of Aussie flags here as well, so thanks guys coming from Australia. And…yeah, on to Austin and few more to go. Thank you.

Q: This guy. You’ve ended up in an era where you’re unfortunately his team-mate. That’s tough, isn’t it?

MW: Yeah. I think he’s in a sweet spot, for sure. Obviously I’ve got a few grey hairs now, I’m doing my best but yeah, he’s driving well. In the end I did my best today. It’s a circuit which… it’s my equal PB around here so would have liked to have got the win but that was Seb’s today. Thank You.

Q: Great drive Nico, you must be thoroughly satisfied to be up here.

Nico Rosberg: Yeah, I happy of course. Third place is good. The aim for the weekend was to be best of the rest behind the Red Bulls and that’s worked out – even though second place would have been possible in a perfect world today. Mark just got me with Di Resta. Little bit disappointing on that one but otherwise of course very happy.

Q: And you take a lot more points off Ferrari again for the team. Lewis had a little difficult afternoon but that’s looking good as well for second in the world championship for the team.

NR: Yes, for sure. I was very happy to hear that we took some more points off them again and that we’re edging away from them. That’s the most important thing for us at the moment – just to finish second in the Constructors’. It’s just much more money for next year but also motivation for everybody. If everybody in the factory can see that we built the second-best car this year, that’s just a massive boost.

Q: One final word from Sebastian. You’re so gentle with these tyres. What’s the secret champ?

SV: I don’t know if there’s a secret. I’ve got traction control – at least that’s what they said three or four races ago. No. These tyres are difficult to drive. Extremely sensitive. Obviously it helps when you are in free air. Not so much in traffic. But somehow we got the hang of it. More and more so towards the end of the year. And looking after them, really listening to them and being able to extract maybe a little bit more performance than the other guys. But I don’t think there’s any secret genetically. So… yeah. I’ll take it though.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, seven wins in a row, equalling the record. I guess in Austin you can go for the record. Are these numbers important to you?

SV: It doesn’t make me jump into the car but it’s a shock when you mention these [Schumacher and Ascari]. I knew that any kind of record you talk about, Michael is involved for sure, so… yeah… I don’t know what to say. The thing is that people see seven races. People don’t see the challenge it takes every single race to nail it. It’s been exceptional. The fact that we got everything right: smooth pitstops; reliability. All these things need to come together. To answer your question, the numbers are not that important to me but equally they make me very, very proud. It you equal something or you’re close to something then… the guys you talk about are the most special drivers in the world in Formula One. So, yeah, I don’t think I’m old enough to realise. Probably.

Q: What does seem to be important to you is doing donuts at the end of grands prix. You did it again today. Are you not worried about getting into trouble again?

SV: Not really because technically I didn’t do anything wrong. I brought the car back. I think I stick to the rules. I hope that we can provide a fuel sample because obviously it burns some extra fuel. But… yeah… obviously I spoke to the Stewards after India. I’m not sure I remember everything they said but… yeah… I was just happy. It’s a sort of stadium there. It’s really nice, people all around you. I think they loved it.

Q: Mark, the start was decisive for you today. It got away from you there at that point but you were able to get Nico back. Perhaps you could talk a little bit about that move and also, is there a sense of disappointment, given that you did start from pole. You seemed to be smiling on the podium. How are your emotions at this point?

MW: Yeah, alright. I don’t think the start was decisive. I don’t think what happened off the line… Sebastian was in another category today. So probably this was the maximum result, even if we got away in front. He was quick and very, very strong. It was then obviously a recovery job against Nico who got a better start than both of us. Obviously it’s a short run to Turn One so… if it was a longer run he would probably have got both of us. But, Seb and myself, the last few races… we know starts is not exactly my strong point, especially on these little babies. On the little Pirellis. So, anyway, we got away and then got into the race from there. The softs, I had a reasonably feeling for them when they were fresh but I had no real feeling for those tyres when they’re scrubbed. So, I was very slow in the first stint. Very, very poor feeling with the rear, and then that makes it even worse. You have more and more slip and temperature control problems and all of those type of things. Anyway, it was regrouping at the stops after that and I think my pace wasn’t too bad after that but Seb was well and truly gone. Incredibly quick pace from him. As you said, the fight with Nico was good. I managed to get that right. Obviously I didn’t use too many KERS. I think I understood a little bit of German with Nico. He said he used all his KERS on Paul in the first attempt, which was close. It’s always tricky to know how to deploy your KERS on those two straights but in the end I left some for the next attempt and managed to get him. It was good, fair racing which you’d expect from someone of Nico’s quality and in the end we probably are sitting here with the results that we all deserve.

Q: Nico, your side of that story. You got up into second at the start but obviously you got into that incident with Mark, and you were saying Paul di Resta involved in it as well. Perhaps you could give it from your perspective – and did you think second place was achievable any other way once that had got away from you?

NR: The main thing was that I got my balance wrong in the car for that second stint and that’s why I just wasn’t as quick as I was hoping. And I was just struggling a bit to get past the Toro Rosso and then Paul di Resta. I gave it a shot down into Turn Eight, used all my KERS up and I wasn’t able to do it and Mark got me on the next one. So, definitely that was unfortunate but that’s the way it is. Anyway, third place is still a very good result. Lots of points.

Q: Sebastian. Lots of success this year but I get the impression today’s quite an emotional day for you. Would that be right?

SV: Yeah. Obviously winning is very special. As I said, obviously seven races in a row… yeah, every single race is tough. It’s a lot of work that goes into it, from Thursday, even before that at the simulator, and then the whole weekend. Please stop mentioning these kind of things because, yeah, it makes you realise a little bit what it means. I remember when I was a small kid watching Formula One and Michael was with Ferrari and dominating Formula One. They had a very strong car, very strong team spirit for many years and… yeah… if you look back you feel like he won every second race but to equal some of the stuff that they managed to achieve is very, very special. For me – but also I think for the whole team. Definitely after 2011, a special year, we said it would be very difficult to repeat a season like that and maybe it comes across once in a lifetime. Now, we can probably say it came across twice at least. So… yeah.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, in Singapore, everybody thought you were dominating that race very easily. Today, to me it was even more impressive. In the early laps you were going almost two seconds faster and Rocky must have been very worried on the radio, from what we were hearing.

SV: Yeah, I realised that we were pulling away from Nico and also from Mark. Obviously you make use of it because you don’t know what’s coming later on in the race. We had a very very strong pace on the option. We could even have stayed out a little bit longer. I was busy, for sure, I was pushing because I felt that I can take lap time, I can take a couple of seconds out of the guys behind so I was pushing but I was also trying to look after them to be flexible on strategy and help the guys on the pit wall to make the call. Also, I could then afford to take it a little bit easier in the pit lane which I think is one of the trickiest all year with a slippery entry and a very narrow exit. I think it just all came together, I think it was a perfect day for us.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Mark, early in the race you were on the radio talking to the team about the KERS; was there a problem? And later in the race, given the number of gremlins that have struck your car, were you hearing funny noises and worrying about that?

MW: No, there was no issue with the KERS, it just got a bit warm at one point so we had to give it a chance to recover so that was fine, just a lap or so where we were a little bit out of sync with a better management so we recovered that. And at the end, not really. I can’t do much more than obviously keep pushing the car and obviously I had to… couldn’t relax completely. Nico was going reasonably well but obviously we were just maintaining… did a few laps at the end just to let him know that I had a bit in hand, but he was probably doing the same so in the end we were getting the car home, mate. It’s always a surprise when the car stops on track obviously. Normally the ratio is that you finish so I was still confident that we could do that.

Q: (Joy Chakraverty – Sport 360) Seb, in an interview just a few days ago, Adrian Newey said that two of your best races that he remembers actually came in Abu Dhabi and one of them was last year when, despite the problems with qualification, you came back and finished on the podium. But do you think that this is much better than every other race that you have had in Abu Dhabi?

SV: It’s very difficult. Obviously I can remember all the races that I’ve had here, it’s been a very very good track for me, especially come Sundays, especially looking back to 2010 and obviously with five or four drivers going into the last race, being able to win the championship, yeah, it was a special day, special emotions when you look back. Also the race last year, a very crucial point in the championship to be forced to start last or indeed from the pit lane, was tough but we came back and managed to finish on the podium. So this year, for sure, stands out in a way that we had control over the race, very very strong pace and could match the cars behind whenever we had to and were able to pull out a very very big gap, so in a way, similar to – if you look at the time and the gaps – a little bit similar to the race in Singapore. It’s a bit similar, if you look at the track layout, quite technical, quite challenging, obviously mostly low speed corners but important to get the balance right in the car and to look after the tyres which I think we did very well.

Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) My first question is for Sebastian: will you keep on doing your doughnuts celebration if you win the next two Grands Prix, even if you’ll get a penalty today?

SV: Well, it depends on what kind of penalty I get. If I get excluded from the next race then probably I won’t be able to do them. Again, it was spontaneous. Obviously I had the experience last week but entering the sort of stadium, I thought it was a very very good spot, I made sure there was nobody around and I was far away from the lines. I think if we are in a position to think about that then obviously it’s very special because it means we had a very very good result in the race. So I think there’s a lot of work before we get to decide whether we can do it again or not.

Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) The second question is to Mark: you have won at least one race a year with Red Bull since 2009; would it make a difference if don’t win a race in your last season?

MW: Well, it would be nice. I’ve challenged for a few victories here and there this year but not strong enough when it counted, but in the end, Seb was too strong today for the win. I’ve got a couple more races to go, all I can do is do my best. It’s not going to be a huge huge difference but it would be nice to get it as any Grand Prix victory is always special to get them. Yeah, we’ll keep pushing mate and see how we go in the next two races.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Nico, I know that next year the regulations are changing completely so we’re going to have pretty new cars but is it not worrying for you to see that Red Bull has such a big advantage and that two seconds are not so easy to catch up, even with the new rules?

NR: Well, I don’t think it’s two seconds at the moment, I think it’s less than that. OK, maybe at times today but anyway, I’m not worried, no, because it’s a great opportunity because it puts everybody back to zero, so on the contrary, it’s actually better this way. Everybody starts from zero. We have such a strong team now, it’s been built up over the last four years, they already did a fantastic job last winter from 1.5s a lap slower. At the beginning of this season we were sometimes the quickest car without a regulation change, so they did an amazing job last winter and I’m confident that they can do it again, for sure. And again this year, OK, we had some weaknesses which we’ve learned from and are trying to continue improving and then I’m very sure we can have a good season.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Mark, you said that you struggled with the scrubbed tyres in the first stint. Has that been a general feature this year for you? Why are they so unpredictable? Was it just particularly here on this circuit?

MW: When we go to this type of range of tyre it is probably a little bit more high maintenance for me to feel whether the tyre is in the race. It’s a little bit frustrating but that’s the way it is. If you want to go quick, you’ve got to go… obviously it’s such a fine, delicate balance, obviously and then you can feed the tyre a lot if you treat it in a different way but to get into that window is sometimes not obvious. I think that we’ve seen – like Korea, China, a few other races where  we are probably a bit more on the front tyre. Of course I’m very fast, I’m quick but when we’re on the rears it’s a bit harder for me to be as competitive at certain times. That’s the way it is. The primes weren’t too bad, I didn’t think we were going too badly on those in terms of feeling, anyway, but that’s the way it’s been the last… since 2011. I’m not going to learn now, mate. Old dog, new tricks, it’s over.

Ends