Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

Es ist wirklich absolut unglaublich, was das Team geleistet hat. Es ist ein großartiges Gefühl, die neue Saison so zu beginnen, wie wir die vergangene beendet haben. Das Auto ist einfach unbeschreiblich. Vielen Dank an das Team. Dennoch war es ein hartes Rennen. Nico war von Anfang bis Ende sehr schnell. Es ging darum, richtig mit der Spritmenge und den Reifen umzugehen. Wir mussten herausfinden, wie lange wir angreifen konnten. Sobald ich einen Vorsprung von zwei Sekunden herausgefahren hatte, ging es darum, diesen zu halten. Aber wenn Nico Gas gegeben hat, wurde es schwierig. Er fuhr sehr gut und es ist ein super Ergebnis für das Team, mit einem Doppelsieg in die Saison zu starten. Es ist gut, Ferrari wieder auf dem Podium zu sehen. Ich glaube, sie haben einen großen Schritt nach vorne gemacht. In diesem Jahr erwarte ich noch einen guten Kampf gegen sie. Deshalb dürfen wir uns nicht zurücklehnen. Das Podium war ehrlich gesagt richtig klasse. Normalerweise bin ich nicht so leicht überwältigt, wenn ich einen Prominenten treffe. Aber ich kann es nicht fassen, dass ich dort oben mit dem Terminator gestanden habe! Insgesamt haben wir an diesem Wochenende viel gelernt und uns stehen bis Malaysia noch viele Analysen bevor. Hoffentlich finden wir Wege, um uns weiter zu steigern. Nur weil wir heute diesen Vorsprung hatten, bedeutet dies nicht, dass wir ab sofort nur noch cruisen werden. Es liegt noch ein langer Weg vor uns.

Was für ein Saisonstart für uns. Es ist super, dass wir erneut das schnellste Auto haben. Jeder Beteiligte hat fantastische Arbeit geleistet. Ein riesiges Dankeschön an die Jungs in den Werken für ihren Einsatz. Gut, jetzt steht es 1:0 für Lewis. Er hat an diesem Wochenende perfekte Arbeit abgeliefert, keine Fehler gemacht und sich von Freitag bis Sonntag stark gesteigert. Ich lag bereits gestern nach dem Qualifying im Hintertreffen. Gegen Lewis lässt sich das im Rennen nur schwer umdrehen. Ich muss einfach einen besseren Samstag haben. Im vergangenen Jahr ist mir das gelungen. Die Saison ist aber noch lang und es stehen noch viele Rennen aus. Jetzt konzentriere ich mich darauf, in Malaysia zurückzuschlagen. Vielen Dank an alle in Europa, die so früh aufgestanden sind und uns die Daumen gedrückt haben. Die Unterstützung war fantastisch und das ist absolute Spitzenklasse.

They did not play the Italian anthem on the podium, but we can be very pleased with this weekend. It’s a shame that a small mistake prevented Kimi from finishing the race but, in general, it was a very “clean” weekend. The most important thing is we have a good car, a real platform from which to carry on working. So thank you and congratulations also to the people who have worked hard in Maranello, as well as those here in Australia. Without them, this result would not have been possible. The start was not the best, there was too much wheelspin and when I tried to hold the inside line, my tyres were still too cold. We had a great race strategy, which allowed us to jump the Williams, which had a good top speed, at our one pit stop. Now we must confirm our performance in the coming races and then, one step at a time, let’s hope we can begin to close on the Mercedes. The gap is still big, but of all the teams, I think ours is the one that has improved the most over the winter. For a long time, I’ve dreamed of driving for Ferrari and it’s happened at the right time. I drank the champagne on the podium and I kept some for the guys in the team, because they told me they like it a lot… Thanks also to the fans. We have a great car, not just for qualifying but also for the race. Let’s hope we can get on the podium again and maybe even get a few wins!

The aim of today was start the season with a solid points haul and demonstrate that we have a competitive car. We have managed to achieve much of what we wanted so this has been a positive start. The only disappointing part of the race was that I was jumped at the first pitstop by Vettel after losing a second and a half behind Ricciardo on my out-lap which was enough to lose the position. I have faith in the team and the car and we head to Malaysia knowing we are very much in the fight.

Ich bin sehr glücklich über den fünften Platz, und das in meinem ersten Formel-1-Rennen. Es ist eine grosse Erleichterung zu wissen, dass wir aus eigener Kraft in die Punkte fahren können. Es war kein einfaches Rennen, zumal mir direkt nach dem Start ein anderer Pilot ans Rad gefahren ist. Anfangs dachte ich, das Auto sei beschädigt, doch nach ein paar Runden fühlte sich alles normal an. Nach diesem Zwischenfall verlief das Rennen nach Plan. Meine Verfolger haben mich während des Rennens stark unter Druck gesetzt, was nicht immer einfach war. Es war ein sehr emotionales Rennen, sowohl für mich als auch für das gesamte Team.

It wasn’t the most exciting race. After the start I was able to stay with Nasr, but I wasn’t able to get close enough to make the move. We finished the race and got some points which was positive, and there are things we can learn; I think on paper sixth was the best for us today. It was a shame for Dany, I feel for him I hope we have a smoother weekend in Malaysia. In terms of where we need to improve, the main issue is the drivability and the power, there are pretty big chunks that we know we need to find there. Beyond that it’s hard, as with the chassis itself I don’t think we’ve really been able to test it to its limits yet due to the other issues we’ve had. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we have got a lot of information from this weekend which will help us ahead of Malaysia.

I am very pleased with today's result and starting the season with two cars in the points is always positive. It was a good race; I didn't make any mistakes and, while the reliability of our car helped us take advantage of the problems of others, at this stage in the season it is important to capitalise on any opportunity. We were ready when it counted; we had a good strategy and we delivered under the pressure. In terms of performance we are not yet where we would like to be, but everyone is working really hard to get there and make our car quicker. With points on the board we can now look forward to Malaysia in a couple of weeks and hopefully take another step forward.

Zuerst möchte ich mich beim Team bedanken. Jeder hat während der Winterpause grossartige Arbeit geleistet. Für alle Teammitglieder hier an der Strecke in Melbourne sowie in Hinwil ist das ein sehr schönes Ergebnis, zumal wir dieses Resultat schon beim ersten Rennwochenende der neuen Saison einfahren konnten. Wir haben uns schon bei den Testfahrten kontinuierlich gesteigert, und konnten diese Performance hier in Melbourne bestätigen. Ich freue über die heutige Vorstellung insbesondere für das Team. Auch für mich als Fahrer ist es ein wichtiger Schritt, die ersten Formel-1-Punkte zu erzielen. Für die kommenden Rennen werden wir versuchen, an diese Leistung anknüpfen.

I’m very pleased to have scored my first ever Formula 1 points in my debut race here in Melbourne! Obviously, we know there was much more potential than a P9 today but, all in all, if we take into account everything that happened, we need to stay positive, keep improving and believing in ourselves because we know we can do better. I really enjoyed today’s race, I did a great start and I liked the battles into turn 1, even though I was maybe a bit too optimistic there but I learned my lesson. The slow pit-stop was a tough moment for the whole team, as we were in a very good position and lost quite a lot of time. From then onwards the race changed and it was just a matter of bringing it home without problems. I’m happy with my first race weekend, I feel that I’ve achieved all my objectives and I look forward to the next race in Malaysia in two weeks’ time.

It was one of those unusual races where so many things happened, but I’m certainly happy to come away with a point and see Nico also score good points for the team. We went for a different strategy compared to Nico to maximise the team’s chances so I started on the medium tyres in order to have the advantage on the softs at the end of the race. Unfortunately, after the safety car the FIA asked me to give a place back to Ericsson, which also meant dropping behind Button, and that was really painful for my race. Button was on the soft tyres and, although I was quicker, it was not easy to overtake and I lost a lot of track position. Still, I’m focussing on the positives of scoring a point from a difficult race, which is a good result for the team.

“Today has been a good day. “We’re still a long way off, but this is a good starting point – and I enjoyed the race. I even had a good little battle with Checo [Perez]. Today also really helps in terms of development: if we’d done three laps, we’d have learned nothing, so we’ve learned a massive amount by completing a race distance. “It was also a good opportunity for me to get used to the car and to play around with it, making adjustments in the cockpit. There’s a lot of work still needed – on power, driveability, downforce and set-up – but we can make big strides. And, by improving one area, it tends to snowball; more and more areas start to improve, too. “There were more positives: we’re as quick as the Force Indias in the corners, and we look similar in speed through the corners to the Red Bulls and Saubers, too. “It’s been a tough winter – our longest run in testing was just 12 laps, so today’s 58-lap run was a good step forward – but we know we’ve got a lot of work to do. But, with all of today’s learning, there are many areas we can improve for the next race.”

I had to stop on the way to the grid as we had a problem; I think it was something to do with the gearbox. Obviously it’s not a nice feeling to watch the other drivers on track while you are here. From now on, it can only get better so we are staying positive. I have confidence in the team. We have another race in two weeks and will be pushing as hard as we can ahead of that.

“Today was frustrating for me – I really wanted to race the car – but it’s been good to get out here this weekend. I’ve really enjoyed it. “Even though I couldn’t make the start, the team can learn something from my car’s problem. And we can take positives from Jenson finishing the race, too – we came here to learn, and that’s what we did. Finishing is a small victory for the team – I don’t think we expected to be able to do that. “Now we can get a car to the finish line, we can start to accelerate our learning. We got 56 valuable laps under our belts today, and that’s a great way for McLaren and Honda to start our journey together.”

Shortly after the start, someone hit me from behind. Then I felt another contact on my right side, but I don’t think it was Sebastian’s car. The impact activated the anti-stall system and did some damage to the floor of the car. We were very quick in the race, able to catch the Williams and to fight for the podium: but then there were problems at both pit stops. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know I lost something in terms of downforce. However, my team-mate’s podium is a great result for the team. Already in qualifying, despite my mistake on the quick lap, we knew we had a good car. And in the race, the gap to the Mercedes seemed less than on Saturday. It’s simply that, today, everything happened to me.

A disappointing way to end my first ever Formula 1 race, but there have also been many positives along the way this weekend. In today’s race I had a good first run on the mediums; a lot of people around me were on softs and I was still able to stay quite close to them. But as soon as I re-joined the race after my pit-stop I saw smoke, so I reported that to the pit-wall and they asked me to stop the car. It’s a real shame, because I was feeling good, the car was working well and if I had been able to stay on track I think we would’ve finished in the points. We’ve been a bit unlucky, but we need to focus on the positives and get ready for the next race in Malaysia, where I will put everything we’ve learned here in Melbourne into practice and I hope for a much better result.

It’s a busy early corner and it’s been a tricky one in the past. This is especially true in the middle of the corner. The Venezuelan’s best efforts were unable to prevent the E23 from a spin that ended in the wall with the car damaged. Racing is like this, it was quite busy start, going into a narrow corner. At the start we gained three or four place which was promising. I just felt a big hit on the back and didn’t see what happened. It’s difficult to say who is at fault for the incident, all I felt was the contact. It’s disappointing because it was a great chance for us to have a great race. The pace of the car was looking much better than in qualifying. It was a good weekend until today, it’s looking quite promising.

We know the car is good and we’re miles ahead of where we were last season. We have a good baseline with the E23 and a good engine. We also have new pieces that we are bringing over for the next races, so more performance is coming.

I have done a lot of work since the issue with my back came in qualifying to get myself ready, starting treatment immediately, so the news that I couldn’t race today was obviously disappointing but I respect the decision. I now have two weeks until the next race to receive further treatment to ensure I will be back to full fitness and even stronger in Malaysia. I’m very eager to get back in the car and race because the FW37 is looking competitive and I’m confident we can fight for podiums.