Fahrerstimmen – Tag 3

Das war ein absolut unglaubliches Wochenende. Es hätte für mich nicht besser laufen können und ich bin unheimlich dankbar für dieses Ergebnis. Nach Monaco kratzten wir uns am Kopf, aber wir haben an einem Strang gezogen und seht, was wir heute erreicht haben. Wir reisten hier mit einem viel besseren Verständnis für das Auto an und wir haben Ferrari einen echten Schlag versetzt. Valtteri hat ebenfalls großartige Arbeit abgeliefert. Dies ist unser erster gemeinsamer Doppelsieg. Wir haben jede Menge Punkte geholt und diese auch verdient. Es ist schon verrückt, dass ich hier vor zehn Jahren meine erste Pole und meinen ersten Sieg geholt habe. Der Verlauf des Rennens erinnerte mich sogar sehr an 2007. Das Rennen ist lang, besonders wenn du auf dich alleine gestellt bist. Aber ich wusste, dass das Auto halten würde und genau das hat es getan.

Ich freue mich sehr für das Team, dass wir an diesem Wochenende so zurückgeschlagen haben. Es ist beeindruckend, wie das Team in den vergangenen zwei Wochen reagiert hat. Wie es gearbeitet und sich verbessert hat. Ich habe noch nie eine Mannschaft erlebt, die so entschlossen ist, zu gewinnen und wieder an die Spitze zurückzukommen. Dann heute diesen Doppelsieg einzufahren, ist einfach fantastisch. Ich habe alles gegeben, um aggressiv zu sein und am Start vor die Ferrari zu kommen - und es hat funktioniert. Aber ich hatte einen kleinen Verbremser, der meinen ersten Stint beeinträchtigte. Ich verlor etwas Zeit hinter dem Red Bull und dann nach dem Stopp hinter Force India. Im zweiten Stint entschieden wir uns für die weichen Reifen. Aber ich hatte nicht ganz die Pace. Trotzdem habe ich das Auto nach Hause gebracht und viele Punkte eingefahren.

“It was tough out there today. When we put the softs on I thought it’s a good thing to do to get to the end. (Sergio) Perez was on me for a bit and then there were a few laps when I was able to pull away. It looked like he was struggling but maybe he was just having a breather and then he had a second attack. I couldn’t afford any mistakes, especially in the last sector, because if they get the DRS and get a run it’s hard to keep them behind. I had to be close to perfect in terms of not making any errors but it wasn’t easy as the grip was low and the wind was crazy out there. Not the easiest third place but when I saw the chequered flag I was like: yes I can finally breathe. I had zero intention of doing a shoey again, but the crowd was chanting and then Sir Patrick (Stewart) got involved so I thought: alright, we might be on here. I think it turned out pretty good.”

“I think my start was not particularly good but at the same time not that bad either. The car was good, I think it was clear that today we could have been better than fourth, but that’s how we finished and what is done is done. Overall, we know we have a strong car. Looking back at the start, Bottas and I were trying to go from the inside when Max came around but these things can happen. Then, with the safety car on track I did not realize that the damage to the front wing was as bad as it actually was, we only noticed it at full speed. There was also some additional damage to other parts of the bodywork, hard to say what they cost me in terms of laptime, but the car did not feel as the one I had driven in the past two days. Yet the pace was there and I would have liked some more laps to finish on the podium, the trophy here looked nice… That was my target and I missed it. But we are growing up as a team.”

“I’m pleased to come away with fifth place because it was a very intense afternoon. For nearly the whole race I was running close behind Riccardo in his DRS window and waiting for my opportunity to overtake. I could see he was struggling in certain areas and, as we started to come through the lapped traffic, I thought I deserved the chance to try and overtake him. I tried my best and really pushed hard, but it just wasn’t possible to make the move. It was the same situation with Esteban behind me for almost half the race, but it was only on the final lap that he got really close to me when we were lapping Ericsson. I knew Esteban had better tyre life because my engineers made me aware of the situation and I replied by asking the team to simply let us race. I think the team was fair and respected my view. The team always comes first and we raced hard, but fair. I always give my best and I’m very happy we could come away with so many points from this race.”

“As a team we scored really important points today, but I am a bit frustrated by this result because I feel a podium may have been possible. This is the way racing goes and we have to look at the positives: we had a great car that allowed us to take the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull and that is quite impressive. I am confident it won’t be the last time we will fight at this level and it was an awesome feeling – a really enjoyable race. The team as a whole did a great job today - they gave me such a fast car and we can be proud of our work and of the points we have gained.”

“At the start I got wheelspin off the line and obviously we lost quite a few places. From that moment it was not an easy race: I struggled in the first few laps, it was difficult to get past . We decided to switch our tactics to two stops to create a speed difference with fresh tires. We had a very good pace again and we were nicely going back close to the guys in front. Unfortunately, we had the issue with the brakes and we could not really use our speed. In the last ten laps I had hardly no brakes; it’s a pity but at least we could bring the car back and get some points. It was not an easy day for the team but this is how it goes sometimes. If this is our bad day, then we have to take it and go forward.”

“Today’s race was quite positive for us overall; everything was running pretty smoothly although the wind was crazy at times; blowing the car from left to right on the straight! Obviously we were helped by some DNFs but nevertheless I found myself in eighth place and four nice points isn’t bad given this was a track where we were a bit worried on how good we were going to be.”

I am just happy for myself, for the team, for everyone. The balance of the car was good all race. I was in a flow. I knew we had good straight line speed in the Williams. I chose my overtakes at the right times, sometimes I could have done them a lap earlier, but it was a bit risky so I did it a lap later and stayed patient. James, my engineer, was giving me good communications throughout the whole race about what was happening around us. We just stayed cool headed and took it to the end and P9. It was about things falling into place and getting everything to work with no issues and being able to do the pace we know how to do. It means the world to me being able to finish a race in the points and be able to see those Canadian flags up in the air at my race.

“Well, our race started very badly with the front wing change on the first lap. Then we knew the only way to get a decent strategy was to stay out and make those tires last for 69 laps, which is pretty good for supersofts. We got there. I am very unhappy with Carlos’ (Sainz) maneuver at the start – what he did to me going into turn three. It was very, very dangerous. I’m glad the car didn’t have too much damage. We changed the front wing and got going again. It was a tough race. We needed a bit of luck at the end, which we got with Alonso retiring, and we managed to get a point. It’s great for the team, but we missed a bit of speed today.”

“We finished in P11 again today, two races in a row within touching distance of points. This is very frustrating, I lost a lot at the start with the mayhem, I lost positions then got stuck behind Grosjean for about 60 laps and couldn’t get close enough to attack him. I think the pace was a bit better and if I could have started a couple of places higher, we could have gotten into the points. The race was much better again, Q2 this weekend was positive, we just need to keep working hard.”

“With regard to the penalty, I went on power anticipating the end of the Virtual Safety Car, and I thought I’d probably passed him (Vandoorne) before it ended. I wasn’t sure, but I let him past anyway before passing him again at the next corner. Normally, when you give back the position, that’s fine. I gave it back, and then overtook him straight away. He was in front and he had every chance to be in the position he was before the Virtual Safety Car. I feel it’s very unfair the judgement from the stewards. These things happen. My shot at points was over. I fought very hard and had a good start. The opposite strategy didn’t work, but we were still there. It hasn’t been my weekend but, hopefully, it will turn soon.”

„Generell war es ein schwieriges Wochenende. Im Rennen habe ich jedoch das Maximum aus dem Auto herausgeholt. Während des Rennens konnten wir unser Reifen-Management optimieren, wodurch wir einen Schritt nach vorne machen konnten. Ich bin fast die komplette Renndistanz ähnliche Rundenzeiten im Vergleich zu unserer direkten Konkurrenz gefahren. Darauf müssen wir aufbauen und diese Erkenntnisse mit nach Baku nehmen.“

“It was a difficult race. I think we more or less knew that before the start. We found it tough on the straights, and also the amount of fuel saving we had to do today really hurt us. The closing speed of the other cars was really impressive, so we were a bit of a sitting duck. In the end, we made it to the finish, but it’s not the result we were hoping for. “It’s incredibly difficult to stay with the group ahead, and when we can stay with the group we are vulnerable and don’t have the power to defend, so we have to invent some tricks to keep the other cars behind, and then it all starts to become very challenging. “There’s no point moaning about it – I’m just trying to get on with my job – but I just hope there will be improvements soon so we can actually start racing with the others.”

„Es war ein schwieriges Wochenende – zum einen wegen des Unfalls im Qualifying und zum anderen konnte ich auch im Rennen mit den Rundenzeiten der Konkurrenz nicht mithalten. Wir müssen verstehen, was die Ursache dafür ist. Nun fokussieren wir uns auf das kommende Rennwochenende in Baku.“

“We were in the points with a couple of laps to the end but my engine gave up. I am frustrated, of course, but it’s not only about losing a point today, of course. “As a driver, we try to come here and drive as fast as we can, so missing on that point is disappointing especially for the guys, who have been working so much day and night, preparing the car, preparing the strategy and taking care of every single detail. “Our chassis feels quite strong in the corners, but we are being overtaken by everyone in the middle on the straights. It’s tough times. “The support we have from the fans in Canada is great, so when my car stopped I thought we should give something back, and I went up the grandstand to give my gloves to the people who had been cheering me on.”

"What a tough start to the race – I had a good start and was in P12, trying to overtake Fernando around the outside of Turn 2... He got better traction than me out of there so I focused on positioning myself to try and attack him into Turn 3 and, all of a sudden, I touched with a Haas that was on my right-hand side... I have to say I never saw the car there, it's simply a dead angle in my mirrors so I never knew he was there. If I had realized I was there, of course I would've been more careful and left some space. Once we collided I was just a passenger, crashed into the wall and that was the end of my race unfortunately. I'd like to say sorry, especially to Felipe, who received a touch from me... I just couldn't do anything to avoid it. It was a big crash, but I'm fine. Unfortunately, the whole weekend has been a bit difficult for us, starting with not being able to run in FP1, then yesterday's qualifying and today's accident... It's now time to focus on Baku; luckily we have 20 Formula 1 races so we can forget this weekend!"

"A very disappointing day. Our problems already started during the formation lap – my engine stalled, so I had to catch all the cars before the Safety Car line, which I didn't manage to do so I got a penalty for it... But we were still going for P9 as the pace was mega good today! Unfortunately, during my pit-stop we had a problem and then we retired... It was too late to do anything after losing so much time in the pits anyway. I did everything I could do today but what's annoying is that every time we have very good pace something happens or goes wrong... It's very frustrating, we deserved a reward today."

I’m so disappointed to be out after just three corners. I was a complete passenger in the collision. I think Carlos was hit by somebody, but I was the only car that he hit. It’s a shame to finish the race like that, especially when the car has been so competitive all weekend and we could have scored a good amount of points

“The way the race ended for me was very frustrating after such a good start. I think a podium was possible but once again we come away with nothing. The start was really good, straight away I felt no wheel spin and could just put the power down and make some places. I had a little bit of contact with Seb (Vettel) on the first corner, running wide there means it can sometimes happen. From there on the pace felt good and I was looking after the tyres and brakes as we had no chance of catching Lewis. I was just concentrating on doing my own race when I suddenly lost all power and everything shut down. I have had a lot of disappointments recently, I guess that’s racing but sometimes you get tired of it.”