Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

It was a tough race out there today but I am absolutely delighted to have won my second Monaco Grand Prix in succession. It´s an amazing feeling and I´m proud to have done it at home, in front of my family and friends who were all here this afternoon. The race started well and I was comfortable but then we had to manage my fuel consumption and Lewis was pushing really hard behind me. We were able to be in control of the fuel with a few laps of lift and coast. It was important for me to break Lewis´ momentum of winning the last four races this weekend. That worked out very well, but it was a really tough weekend. I´m so happy for the team that we had another one-two finish and look forward to the party tonight!

I felt very strong out there today and I really drove with all my heart, giving everything that I could to improve my position. This just hasn´t been my weekend but I can leave today feeling happy that we have achieved another one-two finish for the team. We have such a great car and everyone who has worked on it deserves the incredible results that we are getting at the moment. Back to this afternoon, this is such a difficult circuit to overtake. I was following Nico as close as I could and had great pace but I just couldn´t get past. Towards the end, I got some dirt in my eye through the visor which made it very tough for a few laps but thankfully it cleared up and I was able to hold off Daniel and keep second place. This hasn´t been the greatest of weekends but I´ll go into the next race with even more energy and determination. The team are working so hard and we´re determined to keep the momentum going.

"The race really came to life towards the end. It started off not so well and it's a really short run to Turn 1, so that was frustrating. Then we got Seb due to his reliability and Kimi had a puncture and we sort of got back to where we were hoping to be. After the re-start we were just saving the tyres to the point that we could get to the end and then, with 20 laps to go, I thought they would be okay so I pushed. It was the first time in the whole race that I felt like I was really driving the car and we caught Lewis. It was fun but I couldn't get him, so I have to say the race finished better than it started."

“Finishing just off the podium today was a good result, especially after a difficult start and the various incidents during the race. At the start, something in the motor didn’t work, but even if I’d had full power, there was no room to overtake. The three cars ahead of me deserved to be there as they were really uncatchable. I am pleased with fourth place, because we were able to manage a race in which you had to always maintain the highest level of concentration as there were plenty of tense moments. Our pace was good and that means that, bit by bit, we are improving. Sure, the gap to the leaders is still significant, because like us, they are still moving forward on the development front. Therefore we must always try to do better, starting with the next race in Canada.”

“Ten points today is a great reward after such a difficult race. The last twenty laps were really tricky because my supersoft tyres were at the end of their life and it was hard to hold off the cars behind me and stay away from the barriers. There were a few close moments when I kissed the wall, but I survived and managed to hold on to fifth place. Fortunately my car was quick in the right places – going into the tunnel and also through the final corner. There were some enjoyable moments in the race, especially my move on Magnussen. He had to let the Toro Rosso back through and he lost a bit of momentum so I saw my opportunity to stick my nose down the inside of turn eight. On a track like Monaco it gives you a big smile to make the move stick.”

"This was a typical Monaco Grand Prix – it was messy out there; people were making mistakes; there were cars all over the place; you had to stay focused; keep up with the pack, and look after the tyres, using them when necessary. "For the entirety of my final stint, I looked after my tyres and dropped back into the clear air behind Kevin. Then it was just about pacing myself to the end. I couldn’t quite get past Nico [Hulkenberg] at the end – he was struggling with his tyres, but whenever I pushed, I struggled as well, so I couldn’t make it stick. "In the closing laps, we had a good little battle, but it’s so tough when you’re shoved up behind another car. It’s difficult enough as it is, but when you can’t really see anything because there’s a car in front, it’s even more difficult. "This wasn’t a bad result for us – I just wish I could have picked off Nico at the end. It’s just a pity that Kevin’s late-race problem meant we couldn’t get more points for both cars at the finish."

I am very happy with seventh after starting 16th on the grid. I took some risks when I changed strategy at the safety car and had to make my tyres last, which they did. I made the most of the opportunities I had with other cars making mistakes or retiring. Many things could have happened so I am pleased they worked out for the best. A tough weekend turned into a positive one.

“It’s good to finish the race here for the first time in my career and it’s good to get some points too. It started as a pretty bad Sunday for us with a puncture for me on the first lap after Adrian [Sutil] drove into me. We swapped to the soft tyres but it was impossible to overtake on these so we came back in for the super softs. The safety car timing didn’t help us as we’d just gone out on the new tyres, but that’s Monaco. You can have thousands of misfortunes in the race, but still be in the points at the end!"

“Wow. What a race and what a result for the whole Team. I am just incredibly happy, but first of all I have to pay credit to everyone at the Marussia F1 Team for making this possible. Nobody knows just how much work and determination goes into our races, so today I am thrilled that I have helped them to achieve their long-held target of our first points. To achieve them together makes me very proud. My thanks to everyone here in Monaco, the rest of the Team in Banbury and also to our powertrain partners, Scuderia Ferrari, because together we have all made great progress, particularly since the Barcelona Test. This gave us the confidence to push and we certainly did that here this weekend. It was not an easy race; there were some enjoyable highs along the way, but also a couple of concerning moments too. What matters at the end is that we got there and we can savour the highlights for a long time to come. I would also like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy, who support me every step of my career.”

"Despite a lot of things going against us today – the long hold due to traffic at my pitstop, the unsafe release in front of me in the pitlane, and the engine issue – I can draw a lot from the fact that our car felt really good. That’s a real positive: it might be hard to see from the outside, but things are moving forward within the team. "There were lots of little issues – Jean-Eric’s team probably didn’t calculate his release properly – it’s never the driver’s fault – it’s just one of those things that happens. And it was a pity I didn’t get to finish the battle with Nico [Hulkenberg]; I’d been saving my tyres in the expectation that Nico would struggle, but then I had a problem with my power-unit, which dropped me back. "I’m still not really sure what happened with my car at the end of the race. And I didn’t see what happened with Kimi – I went to the inside to block his entry into the hairpin, but he chose to make a move anyway. It’s hard to overtake here, but he tried and it didn’t work. That’s racing."

"For me that was good, even though the whole team is obviously disappointed about the way it ended. It was an amazing experience finishing my first Monaco Grand Prix and the fact we've equalled the team's best ever finish today is great, it's just a shame it didn't mean more after the fantastic job everyone did today. "After starting from the pitlane I was pretty quickly up with the second Marussia when the safety car came out. The balance was ok and I was in a good rhythm, ahead of Sutil and Grosjean for a few laps but couldn't do anything to hold back Sutil when he passed me in turn six. "When the safety car came out again we stopped for the first time for a new set of supersofts and I could really push. The whole second stint was good, as was the final one on the second set of supersofts, giving me the chance to push to the flag. I held off Raikkonen for the last couple of laps and finished 11th which, for me, is a pretty cool way to end Monaco."

“This was a very unlucky day for me, a real shame after getting a good start and managing to move up to third place. The car was handling well and had a good pace. Unfortunately, in a Safety Car period, my car was hit by Chilton’s Marussia and I had to make an unscheduled stop as my right rear tyre was damaged and that meant the end of any chance of getting a good result. I am sorry I still haven’t managed to get a good result because we are working very hard. We know there is a lot to do as our rivals are still a long way ahead, but I am sure that if we continue down this path the results will come, maybe with a bit more luck.”

"Even though I finished in 13th I'm really not happy as I'm sure I'd have finished in the points if Bianchi hadn't hit me when he forced his way past. The car was basically undriveable after that so just finishing is a good result, and the team did everything they could to help us finish as high as possible today - good strategy and great stops, but when you're overtaken by being hit out of the way it's obviously not good. "I had a clean start, staying ahead of Bianchi and passing Chilton into turn one. Heading down towards the hairpin I avoided the debris from the Force India and was up to 15th under the safety car. With the retirements that was soon 13th and then 12th and the car felt pretty good at that stage. "We stopped for the first time on lap 25 under the second safety car and went onto softs and rejoined in 12th with Raikkonen and Bianchi behind me. Then, as we went into the chicane after the tunnel, Bianchi hit me on the side and I had to cut through the chicane to avoid more contact. I don't really know why nothing was done about that as he basically just forced me out of the way by hitting me which meant both the Marussia and my teammate could pass and after that the car felt really bad. The impact had caused a lot of damage to the sidepod and the floor and I lost a lot of rear downforce so from that point I was losing time without being able to do anything about it. "I managed to get the car home ahead of Chilton but with the way the race ended I think the whole team feel like we lost out through no fault of our own. We need to keep our spirits up and use this experience to make us even more determined to get ahead of our nearest rivals and we'll just keep pushing."

“I am very proud to be a part of something so special today. For a small team to have such a result is a huge boost for the future. Obviously, I have mixed emotions, as everything that could have gone wrong for me today did. But that is racing and I know I will have my chance one day to get some points for the Team. Well done to everyone and now I am really motivated heading into Montreal.”

„Sehr schade, dass mein Rennen so früh zu Ende war. Ich hatte einen guten Start, allerdings hat sich ein anderer Fahrer in Kurve 5 gedreht. Als ich einlenkte, standen plötzlich vor mir einige Autos. Ich habe meinen Frontflügel beschädigt und musste daraufhin an die Box fahren. Danach reihte ich mich am Ende des Feldes wieder ein, konnte aber Runde für Runde ein paar Plätze gutmachen. Leider habe ich Ausgang des Tunnels beim Anbremsen einen Fehler gemacht, das Heck brach aus und ich bin in die Leitplanke eingeschlagen. Natürlich bin ich sehr enttäuscht, und es tut mir auch sehr Leid für das gesamte Team.“

"It's disappointing that I had to retire today, especially because we looked competitive all weekend and had a good chance of finishing in the points here. I was able to hold my position at the start of the race and even move up to eighth before I had to retire. Unfortunately these things happen and I will now switch my focus to the next race where I hope we can carry over this momentum."

„Leider konnte ich das Rennen nicht zu Ende fahren. Es war womöglich der schmerzvollste Fehler im Laufe meiner bisherigen Karriere. Ich habe die Leitplanke eingangs der Rascasse berührt und mich im Anschluss gedreht. Das war das Ende meines Rennens. Heute hatten wir wirklich eine echte Chance, in die Punkte zu fahren. Mein Start war gut, und ich war in der Lage, während der ersten Runden ein paar Positionen zu gewinnen. Ich hatte eine gute Ausgangsposition für unsere Rennstrategie. Während des Rennens musste ich auf die Reifen achten und zugleich angreifen, da hinter mir schnellere Autos aufliefen. Es ist natürlich sehr enttäuschend, was geschehen ist. Ich möchte mich bei jedem im Team entschuldigen, es haben heute alle einen grossartigen Job gemacht.“

"The race was going well, the pace was really encouraging, I was saving the tyres and the strategylooked like being the right one. Then, my engineer informed me about the drive-through penalty for "unsafe release" and finally we had the exhaust problem which definitely put an end to my race. It's such a shame! We had done a great job over the whole weekend, the team was able to give me a good car and I also performed well so I think a fifth place was possible today. Let's turn the page now and focus on the next race in Montreal, where I will again do everything I can to perform at my maximum, have another great qualifying session and score the so longed points."

“We don’t know yet precisely what happened. The engine switched off after 30 seconds. When we did out laps to the grid the car and the power unit were working well. We need to work to find out what the problem was. It is disappointing and I was expecting a solid race, we had a good strategy in place, I love this circuit where I have been competitive in the past. We have already worked hard on performance and reliability but today it was not to be. This afternoon we’re not happy but we are keeping focused on improving."

"It's disappointing. I had a good start and then we lost boost pressure from the turbo, so I had no power and had to retire. The team did everything they could. I felt quite helpless in the car, so I was asking for an answer of what we could do, but there wasn't anything at that stage. We fixed some problems yesterday with the ERS, but some more came today with the turbo, but we will move forwards and it will be good for us soon."

“I was in a battle with Nico, who was ahead, and I went to take the apex normally. I was on the racing line and ahead of Jenson [Button] when he clipped my rear wheel and spun me around into the barriers. I did not expect him to be there as there wasn't really any space for another car there. It was very unlucky. As a racing driver you have good and bad Sundays but this is definitely one I want to forget as soon as possible. It is disappointing that we lost a big chance to score a good amount of points, but the car felt much better here than in Spain, as shown by Nico’s result. This is a very positive signal looking ahead to Montreal.”

We had an issue with the power unit which is frustrating. There are some investigations to do to find out exactly what happened. After the start I was quickly in the points so it could have been a good weekend. Felipe finished seventh so the team can walk away with something. We now look towards Canada where we hope to be strong due to the nature of the track.