Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

“It’s a special day, the greatest day of my life I suppose. As a Formula One driver you really hope that you win races and if you have a choice then the blue riband event is very, very special for any driver. To join Ayrton Senna and the likes round here is a very special thing. The last few laps are intense. Jenson actually said to me on the parade lap that when you’re leading with a few laps to go, it looks like the track’s narrowing and the barriers are coming closer and closer. Fifteen laps from the end, that’s just what it was like. A one-two finish for the team here is such a feather in their cap, it’s incredible. The safety cars weren’t a great situation to have – you do all the hard work, get away and risk some pretty quick lap times to increase the gap and then you have a safety car which neutralises it and all the fast guys are back on your wheel again. It’s very difficult when it’s like that, but that’s part of the driver’s role – to stay composed and get the job done. To get 50 points from the last two races is awesome, but there is a long, long way still to go. We’ve got so many different conditions and tracks coming up – there are many exciting times to come; I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m happy. I think we achieved our optimum from third on the grid – normally it’s hard to pass anyone, so second is good. I had good acceleration at the start and was able to dive down the inside and get into the first corner ahead of Robert. That was crucial to finishing second. I couldn’t keep up with Mark today and we need to see why that was. It was difficult, especially at the beginning and after all the restarts. Later on I finally felt I had more grip and wasn’t too far off Mark’s pace, but by then he was already down the road. There was no point trying to catch him, as overtaking is so difficult here. I also had to look more in my mirrors today. Robert was pushing quite hard and it was quite difficult to get away from him at the restarts. I was going sideways rather than straight at times. But, I’m happy. I think we couldn’t have done better today – and we take away good points, which counts for a lot.”

Finishing third in Monaco is a super result for us after an excellent weekend. Nobody was expecting us to finish on the podium here, but we were up at the front all weekend and the whole team really deserves this result. It’s also a great performance by Renault engines to fill the top three steps of the podium. At the start of the race I lost a place to Sebastian, but I knew it was always going to be difficult starting from the dirty side of the track. Normally I would have defended the position, but Mark got quite a slow pull-away from the line and I thought I might have a chance to overtake him. Unfortunately I got some wheelspin and it was too late to close the door to Sebastian, and I also had to defend from Felipe. In the race we had excellent pace and I think I was a bit quicker than Sebastian on the prime tyres, especially after the restarts, which shows the progress we continue to make as a team and is very encouraging for the next few races.

“On this track, if you don’t make up places at the start, it is difficult to pass other cars, especially if they have a similar race pace. You need to be patient and then exploit any eventuality such as others making mistakes. I ran almost all the race behind Vettel and Kubica and finished in the same position from which I had started: I don’t think I could have done more. This weekend, the car was very good and the tyres worked well: now we must ensure that is the case at all tracks and with all types of tyre. Today’s points are very important in the classification, but now we must ensure we are as well prepared as possible for the Turkish Grand Prix, one of my favourite races.”

“I got quite a good start, and was challenging the guys on the second row into Turn One, but it just wasn’t possible to make a move stick. “It’s virtually impossible to overtake around here, especially when the guys in front of me were as fast as I was. After the result in Barcelona, I didn’t want any further mishaps, so I just looked after the car and went for the points. “It was quite a straightforward race for me, and fifth was the maximum possible, but I’m not complaining; we need those points. “I know we’re working hard to bring improvements to the car for Turkey, and I’m sure we’ll be able to make up the gap to the front at some stage soon.”

“This result is a morale booster. To start from pit lane and finish sixth is way more than we could have expected. It was a difficult Sunday for me and much of the credit for this result goes to the team, which chose an aggressive strategy and worked hard to build the car for the race, starting from almost zero: to finish a race like this without having problems is the result of a super job. I lived through the initial passing moves with a bit of frustration: when you are behind a slower car and there is no room to pass, it’s difficult. Coming out of the tunnel was the best place to do it and some drivers were good about it, others less so. I passed five or six cars on the track and another dozen thanks to a nice strategy. On Thursday I only did twelve laps on these tyres and today I did 77 and the car still worked well throughout. It’s hard to say what might have been, if I had taken part in qualifying: I was definitely on form and pole was within our reach. We must stay calm and work well: the results will come and it was clear to see today how talented our team is. At the end of the nineteen races in the championship we will see who is strongest. If it’s not us, it will mean someone else did a better job, not because we haven’t tried our best.”

“My expectations for this weekend were very high and therefore I am disappointed that we could only achieve seventh place. We had the speed for a front row position in qualifying and that should have given us the opportunity for a podium finish. In the race, I was able to manage my tyres well and put in quick laps once the cars ahead of me pitted and the track was clear. That was important for me to show that we were competitive here. I would like to say a big thank you to my team for their hard work this weekend and for preparing the best car of the season so far. It was crucial to get points and we will keep positive and look ahead to the next races.”

It was a very good race for us here today. I was P12 on the grid but we had a really great start and I made up two positions on the first lap. We then had a good first stop where I gained a position to be P9 and then I could just do my own race. I had quite a lonely race with a big gap most of the time to the car in front and then the car behind so I was just pacing myself for a lot of the race. I had a very good balance at the end when the grip picked up so I am pretty happy with everything today: ninth position and a few points, we can be quite satisfied with this after the qualifying yesterday.

It was quite a difficult race with a lot of incidents and safety car periods to deal with, but I like these type of conditions. We were P9 after the start but I think we stopped a couple of laps too early for our tyre change, which just allowed Adrian to pass us when he came in. But as a team we can be very satisfied as we got both cars in the top ten and in the points, which is good for the overall morale of the team. We have really deserved this type of result but for various reasons this is the first time it's happened. It's really just the start - we have to try and carry this forward for the rest of the season. We are doing a good job back at the factory and from this point on the circuits should come towards us so we can be positive about the future.

“It was a good race for me in the sense that I was able to finish without any accidents or technical problems and I finished ahead of my team-mate and it’s great to also get my first point, even if I did not take it on the track. Maybe we could have done a little bit better with a slightly different strategy, as I was doing some good lap times, but after I pitted, I found myself behind Liuzzi and then I was eleventh throughout. It was not a particularly exciting race for me: at the start, as Hulkenberg didn’t get off the line, it meant I had a better run when the lights went out and my only worry was when I ran over some debris from Barrichello’s accident. I expect we should be competitive in Turkey in two weeks time.”

“On Saturday, my qualifying did not go well, as I ended up seventeenth, so the main objective today was to finish the race, and gain experience for next year in Monaco. You cannot expect more on this track as it is very hard to overtake, especially as the man ahead of me was my team-mate, so you cannot take such a risk. I only had one little moment, when I spun at turn 1, but it didn’t lose me a position. On the plus side both our cars finished the race, which in itself is an achievement here. Now, I just want to try and do better in Turkey, which will be another new track for me.”

“My race today would have been pretty normal without the decision of the stewards afterwards. The start was interesting and it actually went according to plan. I managed to have a good pull-away but then I was a bit stuck and was caught by Rubens. So I had to wait for the opportunity to overtake and the team played it brilliantly. The crew was fantastic and thus the pit stop got me in front of him. The result in the very end, which put me back to twelfth place for now, was obviously disappointing for me and I can fully understand that we are appealing the decision. Our understanding was that the ‘safety car in, track clear’ message meant we were back to racing conditions, so I went for it and overtook Fernando.”

It’s a bit disappointing not to make the finish of the race but I felt something wrong at the rear so the team decided to stop me with a few laps to go. Unfortunately my race was also affected by a puncture, which cost me a lot of time and put me a lap down. The start of the race was not too bad and I made up a few positions, but we didn’t make up as many positions during the pit stops as we hoping to and we need to understand why this was the case. Still, I completed most of the race and this is more good experience for me. Hopefully I can come back to Monaco next year and score some points.

“I am extremely frustrated by the outcome of the race. Jarno hit me out of nowhere but he has apologized for the incident. We were looking good to finish in thirteenth position but we are still the best of the new teams. It has been my strongest race of the season. We had a good start and managed to jump both Di Grassi and Trulli during the pitstop. After that I was catching Senna until he retired, and was cruising to the end. This is a big disappointment for the whole team - as this would have classified us in tenth position. It is hard to take for the team and me, however we can be happy with our performance today”.

"This wasn't a great weekend for me. After we had a problem with the wheelgun in the pitstop I was stuck behind the HRTs and trying to find room to overtake - in the last lap Karun seemed slow through the second and third sector, and I'd seen he was leaving room at Rascasse, so I tried to get through but we touched and that was that - the end of the race. It was one of those things - a racing incident, but I still feel like we're going in the right direction as a team, and I want to put the bad luck behind me when we get back on track in Turkey."

“The team made a good call for me to make a tyre stop on lap 2 under the safety car. It worked well and I had a great run through the race, pushing when I needed to and managing the tyres so that they would survive more or less an entire race distance. We could have finished 13th but instead, a hydraulic problem put me out a few laps before the end. None the less, I was really happy with my performance today and that of my team. We managed to punch above our weight today and we will try to continue that until we are able to upgrade our car”.

"It was a fantastic race right from the beginning. I had a bit of a struggle at the restarts to get the tyres up to temperature, but once I got everything working I was able to almost keep up with the Renault. I was pushing very hard, and the car felt fantastic - the balance was really good. Just before I retired I could feel the steering alignment was a bit uneven - on the right hand corners I had to use maximum lock, even in the tunnel, and it got the point where it didn't feel safe anymore. In Monaco you can't take a risk with it so I came in. It was a mechanical issue, but despite that I'm really pleased with today. We again showed we're firmly the best of the new teams and we are nearly there with the next group, so I think we just need to keep attacking, and that's how we'll achieve results."

“That was extremely disappointing. I knew after the formation lap that there was a cooling cover left on the left-hand sidepod, where the radiator is. “We thought everything was going to be okay, and it would probably have been fine if we hadn’t had a Safety Car. My car quickly began to overheat and I started losing engine power, so I turned the engine off pretty sharply because the last thing I wanted was to leave engine oil on the racing line. “Today was just one of those days. It was human error, a mistake, and that’s all there is to it. I’m still only eight points behind the lead of the drivers’ championship and we head to Turkey feeling confident that we’ll be more competitive there.”

„Es ist schade, denn im Rennen waren wir viel besser als im Qualifying. Ich denke, wir haben erneut eine Chance verpasst, um Punkte zu sammeln. Mein Start war gut. Die erste Kurve ist in Monaco immer schwierig, aber es ist alles glatt gegangen. Dann konnte ich aber nicht mehr hochschalten. Ich habe mir vorsichtig einen Platz gesucht, wo ich das Auto sicher abstellen konnte, und das war es dann.“

“The first part of my race today was good. I overtook Timo and had a good fight with Fernando for a couple of laps, but then as soon as we made the pitstop we had a wheel problem that forced us to abandon the race. It has been a frustrating end to the weekend, so we need to improve for Turkey and make sure we are in a position to fight to be the best of the new teams.”

I didn’t have a good start, obviously. There was a problem with the clutch before the start of the formation lap which meant I had to start from the back. I’m then not entirely sure what happened in the tunnel. The car felt odd one minute and the next I was in the wall. I am really disappointed not to have completed the race and get the mileage under my belt, but that’s life.

„Das war ein weiteres Rennen, das ich gerne zu Ende gefahren wäre. Zu Beginn war das Auto in Ordnung. Beim Start habe ich mich aus allem Ärger rausgehalten, das war erst einmal das Wichtigste. Dann habe ich auf meine Reifen aufgepasst. Wir waren mit unterschiedlichen Strategien unterwegs, was ich gut fand. Ich hatte die weichere Mischung, Kamui die härtere. Ich fuhr relativ gemütlich hinter Vitaly Petrov her und wartete auf meine Chance, Gas geben zu können. Aber ich war schon durch ein Problem mit der Schnellschaltung gewarnt, und als dann die Servolenkung immer schwerer und schwerer ging, war klar, dass es ein Hydraulik-Problem gab.“

What happened today was a real surprise. I had such a good start but the car started to feel really strange after the pitstop. The steering wheel, in particular, didn’t feel normal. The problem continued to get worse and then I crashed. We now have to investigate the car to find out what the problem was.

“It has been a very disappointing end to the weekend. I had a problem at the start and then lost position to Lucas, but I had a really good first lap and overtook Lucas and Jarno Trulli at Loews. This got me into a good position behind Heikki Kovalainen and I could go a similar speed to him, but I had a bit too much tyre degradation on the rear and some problems with the brakes as well. Unfortunately in Casino corner, the rear suspension failed, which ended my race, so we now have to investigate and understand why that happened.”