Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

“It is a great feeling winning this way, as it was a very difficult victory, given the track conditions. Especially at the start, the situation on track and in terms of visibility was really precarious. That was the most worrying time, because I knew it would be an achievement just to stay on the track. We had never driven here in the wet and so there was no reference point. Webber’s retirement slightly changed our approach because, all in all, it would have been sufficient to finish on the podium without taking too many risks. The final stages were particularly difficult because half the track was almost dry and the tyres were getting ruined really quickly. I witnessed both Red Bull problems from very close up: in these situations you try and stay super-concentrated, because you are coming from a high speed corner and there is no time to think. Clearly, this was a great help for our championship chances, but luck proves that Formula 1 is not just about the maths! If you then think about what happened at races such as Valencia and Silverstone, you can really say that what goes around comes around. Now there are still fifty points up for grabs: Red Bull are still favourite, but we will continue to do our utmost and try to always get onto the podium. The car has improved so much in the second half of the year thanks to continuous updates: maybe we have come away with more than we expected, but we know the situation can change from one weekend to the next. All the same, these results are fully deserved by the team and my dream is to see everyone in it happy…”

“At the start, I just wanted to get out there. I love racing, and I thought it was safe enough - 17 laps spent running behind the Safety Car isn’t good for the spectators, and it’s not fun for the drivers either. Additionally, I felt it had easily dried up enough for us to start racing - so I’m glad we did. It was very tricky out there, particularly at the end. It was pitch black, I couldn’t see much and my tyres were finished. It was a big surprise to see both Red Bulls go out. Fernando (Alonso) drove really well, but I’m very happy to have scored some points after a couple of disappointing races. However, ours still isn’t the fastest car: I was losing a lot of time to Fernando, particularly in the final sector. But I’m sure we’ll be working flat-out to fix that back at the McLaren Technology Centre before we head to Brazil. We’ve got two races ahead of us - we have more coming for the car, and the guys back at the factory are doing a great job. Everyone is really enthusiastic and is pushing as hard as they can. The championship definitely isn’t out of reach - we can still do this.”

“A great result at the end of a very difficult race. I am very pleased, for myself and for the team. Fernando did a great job. After two poor weekends, I am happy to have stepped up onto the podium once again. I also want to thank the race director who did an excellent job of managing the situation, making the right decisions as to when to start the race and when to bring in the Safety Car at the right moment. By the end, it was almost dark and the intermediate tyres were deteriorating, especially the rears: there is a light on the steering wheel which is very bright and in these conditions it was quite distracting. We were a bit lucky, but we also did a good job, proving to be competitive even on this track. How will things go in Interlagos and Abu Dhabi? It’s hard to say, as the two tracks are very different one to the other. It will be important to have a car capable of fighting for a podium place and then try not to make any mistakes.”

“I am pretty happy with today’s race and I have to say thank you to my team who guided me perfectly through the afternoon. I am sure that the spectators had a lot of fun here today at this first Korean race. The FIA did very well to start the race behind the safety car as it absolutely would not have been possible to have a racing start. The only shame for us today was that Nico was put out of the race otherwise we would have seen a very good weekend for our team.”

„Platz fünf bedeutet eine gute Punkteausbeute für das Team und eine schöne Belohnung für unsere Arbeit an diesem Rennwochenende. Das Rennen war lang und anstrengend – und es hatte so etwas wie zwei Halbzeiten. Die erste Rennhälfte fand ich sehr schwierig, denn es fiel mir schwer, die Reifen auf eine vernünftige Arbeitstemperatur zu bringen. Ich fand überhaupt keinen Grip, konnte nicht angreifen und musste mich voll darauf konzentrieren, das Auto auf der Strecke zu halten. In der zweiten Hälfte funktionierte das Auto dagegen sehr gut. Es war natürlich wichtig, die Intermediates in möglichst gutem Zustand zu halten, was sich in den letzten Runden auszahlen sollte. In der Schlussphase gewann ich viele Plätze, sodass am Ende ein ziemlich gutes Ergebnis steht.“

What a crazy race today, a bit like Australia back at the start of the year, and it was very fun to be out there. It was the right decision to delay the start as there was so much water on the track. Unfortunately we had to do a lot of laps behind the safety car after that but the track was so slippery that it was really hard under braking. Then at the end it was like a night race without any lights and the steering wheel lights were so bright it was almost dazzling! Even though there was so little grip I was able to get into a good rhythm and get a great result for the team. After all the bad luck we've had in this part of the year it's brilliant to be back in business and up there in the points again, extending our advantage over Williams and setting ourselves up well for the last two races.

It was a tough race, but we were competitive today. I was lucky with the timing of the safety car and we were running in a good position right up until the closing stages. Unfortunately, I just ran out of tyre in the last five laps which cost us two places in the end. It was very difficult out there today so I’m pleased we managed to complete the race.

„Es war ein seltsamer Renntag mit der Verzögerung und dem Start hinter dem Safety Car. Aber für mich war es in Ordnung, das so zu lösen. Anfangs konnte ich hinter dem Safety Car rein gar nichts sehen. Schlechte Sicht und ein Mangel an Grip waren heute die Hauptprobleme. Nachdem wir nach 19 Runden, als das Safety Car wieder unterwegs war, auf Intermediates gewechselt hatten, war es erst einmal schwierig damit, es war sehr rutschig. Als mich später Adrian (Sutil) angriff, bin ich auf der Innenbahn geblieben, ich habe die Seite nicht gewechselt. Ich habe ihn im Spiegel gesehen und hatte den Eindruck, er könnte nicht bremsen oder so etwas. Wir haben uns jedenfalls berührt, aber zum Glück war mein Auto nicht zu stark beschädigt, und ich konnte weiterfahren. In den letzten Rennrunden fand ich die Sicht wieder sehr, sehr schlecht. Diesmal nicht wegen Gischt, sondern aufgrund der Dunkelheit.“

„Ich bin froh, dass wir wieder Punkte geholt haben. Es war heute nicht einfach, den Überblick zu behalten. Ich denke, es war die richtige Entscheidung, den Start hinauszuzögern. Vorher war die Sicht absolut null. Nachdem wir auf die Intermediates gewechselt hatten, was im Nachhinein zu früh war, war es nicht einfach, auf der Strecke zu bleiben, aber es war machbar, und dann wurden die Bedingungen besser. Nach so vielen Runden und auf der abtrocknenden Strecke waren die Reifen am Ende natürlich hinüber, aber ich denke, das Problem hatten andere auch. Ich konnte mich gegen Adrian (Sutil) nicht richtig verteidigen, weil ich ihn in meinen völlig verdreckten Spiegeln gar nicht sehen konnte. Ich wusste aus dem Funkverkehr, dass er da irgendwo hinter mir sein musste, aber sehen konnte ich ihn erst, als er neben mir war. Für mich war die Sicht in der Dämmerung am Ende grenzwertig, aber gerade noch okay.“

We did everything right today; we simply had some bad luck. I came in just before the safety car was released which cost me time and lost me a place. We managed to claw back position and were running in sixth towards the end of the race, but then my engineer told me I had a slow puncture. I couldn’t keep running until the end as the car was totally undriveable. We had to pit and that cost us a big result today.

“We missed out on a good opportunity to score points today, so I am very disappointed, because just getting to the finish was an achievement given how many cars did not manage to do that. I obviously lost out most during the pit stop, when a technical problem meant I went into the pits in ninth place and came out in fifteenth place. Throughout the race, I lacked speed down the long straights and that is why it was hard to move back up the order, then at the end, when I had finally managed to get into the points, I could do nothing against Hulkenberg, who was faster in a straight line and was on new tyres. It is hard to be competitive when you lack the top speed, because it also means we ran less downforce than others in order so make up for that, so it is harder to manage the tyres in this situation. I just hope we can have a better weekend in Brazil.”

“I just didn’t have enough grip today. I was really struggling with locking fronts as soon as I touched the brakes; every time I braked for a corner, I went straight on because I couldn’t stop the car. Also, I lost three or four places when Adrian (Sutil) decided to drive me off the circuit - I don’t know what he was thinking. Even without that, though, I didn’t really have the pace today. In my view, for sure, the race should have been stopped earlier than it was - it was way too dark to race a Formula One car in the conditions we witnessed at the end of the afternoon. To win this championship, I’ll now have to rely on the cars in front of me failing, so today was a pretty disappointing day, all in all.”

"It was another excellent result for the team today. In tricky conditions like that with people making mistakes, we could have seen our tenth position under threat, but we were there at the end and that is what counts. I really enjoyed the race, and didn't really have any problems that we couldn't deal with - the team made the right calls throughout and that put us in a strong position at the end of the race. It was obviously pretty dark when we finished, but that was the same for everyone. Now we head to Brazil and we have two more races to secure our place as the best of the new teams this year."

“It was a difficult race but I’m very happy. The conditions were very tricky, and we opted to go very long on the same set of tyres. It was quite hard because the tyres were very used, and towards the end of the race it was a question of keeping the car on the track. But fortunately, it all came together and we finished another race as well as being able to achieve my best result so far.”

“Today, we achieved the best result of the season for our team and we are very happy about this. It was an eventful race and it was the right decision to stop it after the start because there was too much water on the track. Later, during the Safety Car period, some cars changed onto intermediates, but we stayed on the wet tyres as we expected more rain to come. As the track got dry earlier than expected and we were losing time, we also changed to intermediates. I could manage my tyres and set a good pace during the whole race. I want to thank the team, which is working hard all the time and also to the fans who are supporting me.”

Conditions were pretty tough throughout the race and it was the right decision to start behind the safety car. When the track dried a bit I made a pit stop and tried to do the whole race on the intermediate tyres. I was just struggling with my brakes all the time. I had so much brake force that I always locked up and it was hard to drive consistently. There were a lot of times I was off the circuit, or locked up, and then got past a driver and went off the road. In the end I tried to overtake Kobayashi but lost the car on a patch that was a bit more wet than I expected and went into the side of him. I'm not happy with my performance, it was not a good race for me personally, but I'm pleased that the team did well with Tonio and the sixth position. I'll now be looking forward to the next race in Brazil.

"It was a disappointing day but I'm pleased that the team has taken another step towards tenth. I felt that there was a possible hydraulics problem when we were behind the safety car as the power steering was starting to feel very heavy. I really struggled to turn in at the first corner and had a spin, and despite the team trying to get me back out it was all over."

“A very frustrating day here in Korea . We had made the correct call by switching to the Intermediate tyre very early in the race and on lap 15 I went out trying to avoid a crash with Yamamoto, who was ahead of me but much slower. Again I was in a good position for a strong result as I was running together with both Saubers and a Toro Rosso after the last safety car period ended. The next stop is my home race in Brazil, so we hope for better things there in two weeks’ time.”

“It was totally my fault, I got on the kerb on the exit of Turn 12 and it was a very slow-motion moment off the back of that kerb – it was my mistake and it wasn’t my day. I thought I’d managed to catch it, but I lost the car and made contact with the wall, nothing too heavy, but it was enough to bring the car back to the other side of the track and then Nico (Rosberg) hit me, which wrecked his race as well. Conditions were okay by the time we were racing – on the edge, but okay. Today didn’t help me with the Championship, but I can absolutely still win it; this was only my second non-finish of the year. Positions aren’t the most important thing, points are and they can change very quickly. I’m back with the others now on points, but there are still two races to go and I’ll do my absolute best.”

“We had a near perfect weekend with the car that we have until the collision in the race today. Qualifying in fifth place was great yesterday and the car has felt good all weekend. The team has done a great job here and the straightline speed that we had enabled me to overtake Hamilton early in the race. So it’s a big shame that my race was ended early. It was really difficult to judge which way Mark’s car would go and I took the decision to go left but he spun more and more that way and I just couldn’t avoid him. It’s a real shame as we could have had a great result today.”

“This is not a nice moment, but I think it was a difficult race for all of us today. To be at the front of the field for the whole race, controlling it and looking after the tyres, I think there’s nothing more we could have done. All in all we did an almost perfect job today and also yesterday in qualifying. It was getting dark towards the end of the race; I had a medium visor on my helmet and it was hard to see some of the bumps on the track or the reference for braking, but the guys finished the race so there must have been some visibility. There are still fifty points available in the Drivers’ Championship, it would have been easier if we had won today and the engine hadn’t have broken, but that’s life and how it goes sometimes. We will keep our heads down for the last two races. We have a very strong team and a strong car and we know we are the quickest. I can go to sleep tonight knowing I did everything I could today and we still have everything to play for.”

“I think it was the right decision to spend so much time behind the Safety Car because the visibility was so poor. The asphalt did not seem to drain very well. I am disappointed with my race as I think there was plenty of potential for me this afternoon. I was running as high as seventh before the accident as everyone had stopped to change tyres. My pace was good and I was able to pass Kobayashi, Heidfeld and the Lotus and Virgins and it was going really well. We lost the chance to score some real points today. The accident? I braked late and locked the front wheels, so I could not turn and ended up going straight on and hitting Timo. I am sorry for him.”

“This was a very disappointing race, especially after having been in a strong position to achieve a good result. The restart was okay and the track was starting to improve. We had quite good pace in the first part of the race and were clearly the quickest of the new teams. It’s just a huge shame that we couldn’t finish the race and all because of the mistake made by Buemi. It just seemed that he was all over the place. We now head to Brazil for the penultimate race of the season where I hope we can expect more luck than we found here in Korea.”

„Ich wechselte sehr früh auf Intermediates, schon in Runde 20. Deshalb waren die Reifen beim Restart nach der zweiten Safety Car-Phase schon ziemlich abgenutzt. Ich fuhr weiterhin voll, um die Jungs hinter mir auf Distanz zu halten. Aber dann verlor ich in der vorletzten Kurve die Kontrolle übers Auto und schlug hart in die Begrenzung ein. Immerhin bin ich unverletzt. Ich habe heute erstmals seit meinem Formel 1-Einstieg so extreme Bedingungen erlebt. Ich glaube, der Start hinter dem Safety Car war die absolut richtige Entscheidung der FIA, denn so konnte die Rennleitung sich ein Bild von den Verhältnissen machen. Mit dem frühen Boxenstopp fand das Team eine optimale Strategie – ich lag schon auf Platz sieben, als der Crash passierte. Ich bin natürlich sehr enttäuscht, das Rennen an der Mauer zu beenden statt in den Punkten, aber es war ermutigend, in die Top 10 vorgestoßen zu sein.“