Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

"Dieser Sieg bei unserem Heimrennen in Silverstone ist ein großartiger Moment für mich und unser Team", jubelte der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Fahrer im Ziel. Nico fügte an: "In unserem Silberpfeil-Team herrscht gerade eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre und ich bin sehr stolz, Teil dieses Teams zu sein. Ich widme diesen Sieg jedem einzelnen Teammitglied, das daran beteiligt war, dieses Auto zu bauen." Schade sei es gewesen, was mit Lewis passierte. "Auch ich hatte ein Problem mit einem Reifen, aber ich hatte Glück mit der Safety Car-Phase", verriet Nico. "Dieser Sieg ist etwas ganz Besonderes, da unser Werk nur zehn Minuten von der Strecke entfernt liegt und wir ihn deshalb vor so vielen Teammitgliedern und deren Familien feiern konnten", so der Wahl-Monegasse. Das Rennen sei richtig spannend gewesen. "Ich musste genau auf meine Reifen Acht geben und das Team sagte mir, dass ich mich von den Kerbs fern halten sollte", erklärte der 28-Jährige. "Gegen Rennende war es schwierig, Mark Webber hinter mir zu halten und gleichzeitig auf die Reifen zu achten, aber ich konnte meine Position verteidigen und einen großartigen Sieg einfahren", strahlte der Sohn von Formel-1-Weltmeister Keke Rosberg. Nico fügte hinzu: "Jetzt freuen wir uns auf ein weiteres Heimrennen am kommenden Wochenende auf dem Nürburgring."

“What a day! I don’t think any of us expected it to unfold like this. The start was pretty bad, we have to look into that as we had had a good run of starts recently. Then I had contact with Grosjean and the wing was damaged; the boys did a great job in the stop when they changed it, After that we got into the race. I was praying for a safety car, but not for the reason they were coming, as you knew you could be next. When you have something like that, it’s Russian Roulette; when you see that many tyre issues for the fellow competitors then it’s never comforting. I made the most of those safety cars – and today the strategy was one of the best we’ve done. I think it worked very, very well. I worked hard to manipulate the pace when I had to and then it was Nico and I left at the end. It would have been nice to have had a few more laps, but that’s how it was today. It was nearly a really special day, but it was still a nice day.”

“If I’d been told this morning that I would have ended up on the podium, I would not have believed it possible. Yesterday in qualifying, we finished a long way down and our expectations for this race were to aim for a fifth or sixth place, hoping to score as many points as possible. After some negative experiences, today we can say we were lucky on a few occasions, beginning with Perez and then at the first stop with a completely worn out tyre – fortunately at the last corner – and then with Vettel’s retirement. At the end of a difficult weekend, it was unimaginable that we could make up so much ground, but now we must try and improve, starting with the very next race in Germany. Only there will we understand if we have indeed slipped backwards or if this weekend was a one-off. Up until the Canadian Grand Prix we saw a Ferrari capable of fighting for the podium, but one that struggled a bit in qualifying, before then having a great race pace, so now the aim is to get back to that situation. It’s impossible to say what happened to the tyres and that’s something the experts will have to clear up”.

Der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Pilot erklärte nach seinem Heimrennen: "Natürlich bin ich nach dem heutigen Rennen enttäuscht. Ich hätte all den britischen Fans in Silverstone nur zu gerne einen Sieg geschenkt." Das Rennen habe noch gut begonnen. "Ich fühlte mich in Führung wohl und kontrollierte meine Pace. Das Problem mit meinem Reifen war sehr schade", sagte der Brite, der anfügte: "Danach habe ich alles gegeben und versucht, mich so weit wie möglich wieder nach vorne zu kämpfen." Dabei hätte er einige gute Überholmanöver vollziehen können. "Wenn das Rennen eine Runde länger gedauert hätte, wäre ich vielleicht sogar noch an Fernando Alonso vorbeigekommen und auf das Podium gefahren", meinte der 28-Jährige, der erklärte: "Insgesamt betrachtet ist der vierte Platz ein gutes Ergebnis, schließlich muss man bedenken, dass ich in Runde zehn Letzter war." Freuen wollte sich Lewis über den Sieg seines Teamkollegen. "Es ist ein tolles Ergebnis für das gesamte Team und ich möchte Nico gratulieren, der eine knifflige Situation toll gemeistert und das Rennen für uns gewonnen hat", so der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Fahrer. "Wir liegen jetzt in der Konstrukteurs-Wertung auf dem zweiten Platz. Das ist eine schöne Belohnung für alle Teammitglieder in unserer Fabrik, die nicht weit von der Strecke entfernt liegt."

“I tried to hold on at the end of the race, but with tyres that were maybe twenty laps older than the others’ it was impossible to keep them behind. It’s a shame as the race went pretty well until then; we had good pace and looked set for a pretty easy P2, but this is racing sometimes. It’s three races now where we haven’t had the result we maybe expect, but hopefully if we can have a bit more luck and also get rid of some of the mistakes we’ll be able to get back to the front.”

“I am very pleased with my race which this time was truly impeccable. After a fantastic start and a perfect first lap, maybe one of the best of my career, I managed to drive an attacking first stint. On lap 10, when I was right in the middle of the corner at Turn 5, my left rear tyre failed and I had to pit. After this forced stop, I found myself last and from then on, I began a great charge up the order, thanks to a lot of very nice passing moves. Without that tyre problem I could have made it to the podium, because today I had a good feeling with the car and both myself and Fernando had shown we could fight with those at the front. Now, our greatest concern revolves around safety, because even if I can’t really tell what happened today, it’s unacceptable having to drive knowing you are not safe. Even if, luckily, nothing serious happened, what we saw is very dangerous. I already had this problem twice before in Bahrain and if something isn’t done about it as soon as possible, I am sure it will happen again. In a few days we will be at the Nürburgring, a track I like a lot and where I hope to have a car that is more competitive in qualifying, so that I can start further forward, which would allow me to have another strong race”.

“The start of the race was looking very good because we were always planning a two-stop strategy and I was up into fourth on lap one. It was a challenge to look after the tyres and keep them going, but the main problem for me was the second safety car because the cars around me chose to pit. I stayed out and was third at the restart, but the cars behind with fresh rubber had a big advantage and were able to overtake me quite easily in the final few laps. It’s disappointing to slip back so close to the finish, but seventh place gives us some good points so we can be happy with the result.”

“That was a chaotic race, but for most of it I was in a reasonably strong position. I didn’t get the best of starts, but managed to make up for that, however I then lost a bit of time at both pit stops. Towards the end of the race, I had a very good pace but I think we might have done better with a different strategy when the last Safety Car came out as prior to that I could match the Force India and the Ferraris. At the end we were on used tyres and those who changed for a third time were able to pass me. Eighth is a good result, but I see it as a missed opportunity to score more points, because today we were quicker than the Ferraris so to finish behind them, particularly Massa who had a tyre problem, is a bit disappointing. I don’t know what was happening with the tyres, as I kept seeing people going off the track and there was debris everywhere. It was a little bit dangerous and we need to look into it. For my part, I just had normal degradation.”

“That wasn’t the cleanest of races for me, but given everything that’s happened this weekend I think we can feel satisfied with two points today. It was a bit of a scruffy race because I lost my front wing trying to get ahead of Nico [Hulkenberg], so we chose to change it when the safety car came out, which probably cost me a couple of positions. Towards the end of the race I had fresh tyres, and was closing in on Ricciardo, but I ran out of laps and he was just out of reach. So a weekend of highs and lows, but it’s definitely good to continue our points run and have another double points finish for the team.”

„Es war ein Rennen mit hohem Spassfaktor, ich hatte viele Zweikämpfe und habe alles gegeben. Es hat einfach Spass gemacht, das Auto auf diesem Hochgeschwindigkeitskurs hier in Silverstone durch die Kurven zu werfen. Irgendwann hat man mit den beiden Safety Cars und den vielen Reifenteilen auf der Strecke etwas den Überblick verloren. Ich hatte einen schleichenden Plattfuss im zweiten Stint, deshalb mussten wir den zweiten Stopp etwas früher machen. Ich denke, unser Speed war so, wie wir es erwartet hatten, insgesamt etwas besser als gestern im Qualifying.“

It was a difficult race but our pace was consistent. We weren't quick enough but I was happy with the balance of the car and we had no problems with our tyres. I am looking forward to continuing to improve, particularly in qualifying. We were close to scoring our first point today, but before the second restart I was on the inside when Hulkenberg went off the track and he made contact with me when he rejoined, which cost me two positions.

It wasn’t an easy race for me because the car was quite difficult to handle. We didn’t have the best set-up for qualifying and the race, and we also lost some time in the pit stops, so we need to improve in all areas moving forward. Points were certainly possible today but unfortunately we just missed out.

“I started on the Prime tyre, but that quickly grained and gave me problems early on in the first stint. I was happier on the Option. “Our pace wasn’t too bad, but the last stint was particularly tough. After the final Safety Car, there wasn’t a lot of tread left on my tyres, so getting them up to temperature was very tricky – we struggle with that anyway. “Into the closing laps, I was vulnerable. All the cars on fresher tyres were fighting to get past, and as soon as I went offline to defend, it became even more difficult to get temperature back into the tyre. “For safety reasons, the reasons behind this weekend’s tyre failures need to be addressed. It’s dangerous for the driver of the car, because he can lose control; but it’s also dangerous for the driver of the car behind, because you can get hit by a belt of rubber. “Hopefully, things can be changed for the next race. “Finally, I want to say a big ‘thank-you’ to all the fans who have supported us this weekend. Every year, your support seems to grow bigger, and your passion for the sport grows deeper – it has been an honour and a privilege to race in front of such an enthusiastic bunch of people. Your support has truly made my weekend. So, thank you.”

„Es war ein verrücktes Rennen heute mit vielen Ereignissen. Ich habe versucht, fokussiert zu bleiben und das Beste aus der Situation zu machen. Mein vorderer linker Reifen war delaminiert, deshalb musste ich einen Boxenstopp einlegen, und zwei Runden später auch noch meinen Frontflügel wechseln, der durch die Delaminierung beschädigt wurde. Das ist etwas, was man sich anschauen muss, aus Sicherheitsgründen und auch, um ein Rennen, welches von Reifen bestimmt wird, zu vermeiden. Das Auto war in den langsamen Kurven schwer zu fahren, aber insgesamt in Ordnung.“

"I think that was a pretty good race, I'm pleased with how it went. We were managing the tyre deg for most of the afternoon but just before the last safety car came out I was ahead of Bottas and looking at an exciting last few laps. We finally ended up 15th which is not too bad, and we were comfortably ahead of our nearest competitors so it's a reasonably positive result, despite losing a lot of the gains we'd made when the second safety car came out. "For me this has been a good weekend, one where we've started to get a bit back to the performance levels we saw in Bahrain and Spain. The pitstops were good, we ran to a strategy that gave me a chance to fight the Williams cars until the flag and we have a lot more information about the updates we brought here, both from today and the aero work we did yesterday. Overall this puts us in a much better position than we were in when we left Canada so now we'll go straight to Germany and aim to continue this upward curve there." Read more at http://www.caterhamf1.com/news/2013/british-grand-prix#zGvmskl5vWuSHytI.99

“Generally a difficult race, which began with quite a bad start. After that I just had to follow Charles, but it was a fight to stay with him as the Caterham was a bit stronger today. We decided to pit early but then the first safety car period followed and so that didn’t work out for us. For the rest of the race it was the same story until the last safety car, which could have been another opportunity to get past, but although the gap was narrow we were unable to get by. It has not been a straightforward weekend and we have just a couple of days to get to grips with that before we head to Germany, where we hope for better things.”

“Today has been a day that I will never forget. I was really psyched on the grid and got a great start, which helped. I got past Jules and Pic at the start, they passed again and then I took back position and we had a really close tussle for the first few laps. They just had a little bit better pace for a few laps and I dropped behind Van Der Garde. I got passed him again right towards the end and we would have been fine but then the safety car came out and he had just pitted, so that worked out really well for him. He had the final 10 laps on new tyres and I was on old tyres, so we had a great fight, but I managed to keep him behind me at the end. All in all, an eventful weekend with so many experiences to take away with me.”

"That was a bit of a frustrating afternoon to be honest, but there wasn't much more I could do. We started the race running with a strategy we'd begun yesterday in FP3 and in quali which was all about managing the tyre deg as long as possible so we could take advantage of anything that happened ahead. The plan was running ok and we were on target for managing the deg levels but then the first safety car came out and as we'd already boxed we effectively lost track time to everyone who hadn't stopped. With the position we were in then in the race there wasn't a lot more we could do so we continued with the plan and it was working ok for the last stint, but then we had the second safety car straight after I'd stopped again so it was back to where we'd been at the start. "As we only had a few laps left and I was on new mediums I was able to push to the flag and had a good battle with Chilton right until we crossed the line, practically together. I did pass him with a couple of laps left, but it was very tight on track and I had to give the place back which is obviously a shame, but we had a clean fight and without the safety cars I think I'd have been clear of him. "Even though we went into this weekend knowing we had a fight on our hands I think we've made a bit of progress, getting us nearer to where we want to be relative to our nearest rivals. Next it's Germany on a track I like racing on and, coming straight after Silverstone, we can keep pushing on. That's what this season's all about, keep learning, keep fighting and never give up." Read more at http://www.caterhamf1.com/news/2013/british-grand-prix#zGvmskl5vWuSHytI.99

“Towards the end of the race we lost quite a big part of the front wing meaning it became really difficult to drive, so in the end it was best to retire because of safety considerations. We don’t know if it was caused by some debris or something to do with the fact that it was a new part; we will be working to find out the root of the problem. Before that my race wasn’t going quite to plan and we were suffering with tyre performance. This was related to the front wing issue which started earlier in the race. The safety cars didn’t really go our way either so it’s a race I’d rather forget. Let’s go to Germany and have a better weekend.”

“This was a big shame for the team – we needed this result. “My race had been going well. I’d been running inside the top 10 for most of the afternoon when my left-rear tyre suddenly exploded. I just felt an explosion along the Hangar Straight – there was nothing I could really do about it. “The tyres are a big concern. Luckily nothing too serious happened to anyone, but we need to sit down together, get an explanation and get something done. “Overall, we made a solid improvement through the weekend. We made some useful improvements and showed that our pace is a step forward. Those are all positives to take away. “We were just very unlucky today.”

“I got a bad start and that’s something we must look at carefully, as it compromised our performance. But it would not have made a big difference today, because of the problem I had when my tyre failed. I don’t know what happened, I did not feel any warning signs and it just let go under braking. I did manage to come back to the pits, fit new tyres and go out again, but the team immediately told me I had quite significant damage to the car, which in any case I could feel. The car was very difficult to drive from then on and in the end, the team took the decision to retire me, as there was no sense in carrying on. I did not feel in danger, but it’s just a shame that this sort of problem can waste a whole weekend’s work for the team. I am very upset about it and something needs to be done about it soon. So, from a results point of view, this is a race to forget, but I believe we showed the car was very quick and we can be in the fight in the coming races.”

“Obviously it’s quite disappointing to retire when we were only a few laps from the end. We had a gearbox issue, I think fifth gear broke and damaged the rest of the gearbox as well, so it was not possible to carry on. It’s a shame because we were in a good position and it’s a nice race to win here, so yeah I guess we have to come back next year and try again. It’s good that it’s only a short time until the next race.”