Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (1st):
“That was a fantastic race. We had a very good start, it wasn’t good enough to overtake Lewis, but I was surprised I was so close to him. Then, when Lewis (Hamilton) was on the long straight, he pushed a button and disappeared ahead, but I was able to stay close. We knew we were a little bit heavier and we were always able to catch him up, especially in the last sector. The car was a dream today. There was a lot of pressure, I nearly went a bit wide in the pit lane entrance during my first stop and then there was the scary exit through the tunnel, but I was on the limit and it was enough to get past Lewis. Unfortunately he then had to retire, but up to that point it was a fantastic race with him. After that I had a little bit of a cushion to Mark (Webber) and Jenson behind and I was able to pace myself, but the car was fantastic until the end. It worked brilliantly on both tyre compounds and it was a pleasure to sit in the car this evening. To sum up the season, what can I say? I would say up and down, we are currently very strong and have just gained our fourth one-two finish, so congratulations to the team. They have been pushing a lot, working very hard back in the factory. It’s a shame now that the season ends, as we are on a roll! It’s just perfect to finish the season in this way on such a high.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull (2nd):
“I made a pretty good start and had a bit of a look on the outside of Sebastian, but I knew I had to get back on the inside and get a good exit, as it was a long run down to Turn five. My car got hit quite hard on the left rear after the first corner and I was worried about a puncture. My race engineer, Ciaron, told me the tyre had enough pressure and I was relieved. It looked like Lewis was struggling a little bit in the first few laps and Sebastian and I were able to get a bit closer to him than we expected. Things then started to stabilise and I was pretty happy on the prime tyres. Sebastian was a bit quicker today in the second two race stints, especially the last one. I didn’t have much of a feeling on the option tyre and it was the same for me on Friday. I was quite slow on that and preferred the stability of the prime. Towards the end of the race, Jenson was able to close the gap to me and I thought ‘this is going to be tight’! We knew we had a slight top-speed advantage, but not much and I had to make sure I was accurate with my braking points. We had a good clean fight on the limit and the battle was a credit to how Jenson’s driven all year. I want to congratulate the team on what they have achieved and thank them for their patience with me at the start of the year when I was coming back from my accident. It’s been very enjoyable driving alongside Sebastian this year, Renault has given us a fantastic engine and overall Red Bull can be incredibly proud of what they have done. It’s been my best season to date; we’ve had 16 podiums together; it’s very good.”
Jenson Button, Brawn GP (3rd):
“It was a fun race today and to be on the podium for the last race of the year is fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed driving here at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend and Abu Dhabi has done a fantastic job for its first Grand Prix. We expected the prime tyre to be the better tyre in the race but I was struggling for balance especially as the track temperatures started to fall and it became more difficult to get heat into the front tyres. The car felt great when we switched to the soft tyre for the final stint. It really felt transformed and suddenly I had a great front end and could carry more speed into the corners. The last few laps were really exciting and I was giving everything to take second place from Mark (Webber). I couldn’t quite make the moves stick and he’s a very difficult guy to overtake but it was a good clean fight and we were really on the edge. I’m a little bit disappointed not to get second but it’s still great to finish on the podium. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the team in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. It really has been a fantastic year and they should all be very proud of what we have achieved together. It’s nice to end the year on a high after what has been a very competitive and challenging season.”
Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP (4th):
“We had a pretty competitive race today. The start was quite exciting and I went to the inside at turn one but unfortunately I collided slightly with Mark (Webber) and he took a chunk of my front wing with him. It lost me a lot of downforce initially which let Jenson past but I was able to live with the understeer so we decided not to change the nose and I just pushed as hard as possible. I was quicker than Jenson in the middle stint but it’s very difficult to overtake, even more so when it’s your team-mate in the same car, so there was nothing I could do to get past him. Still it was a competitive race throughout and a lot of fun so I have to be pleased with fourth position today. It’s truly been a great season and I have to thank the team for giving me a car that has been so competitive this year and the opportunity to return to winning ways again. We’ve had a great year together.”
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber (5th):
“I am very happy with my fifth place. It was a good race in which I was able to get the maximum out of the car and score four points, which was enough to reach our target for the end of the season to overtake Williams in the constructors’ championship. After I have been a little unlucky in recent races, this time I was really able to exploit the car’s potential. For quite a long period I was able to go at the same speed as the world champion’s car, the Brawn. The strategy to go for a rather long stint paid off and the track was even more fun when it had more rubber on it. It is a pleasing end to our last season together. It now becomes very emotional. During the last laps I had to pull myself together in order to keep my concentration.”
Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota (6th):
“It was a really good race for me. At the start I overtook (Kimi) Raikkonen and that was important in the end because it would have been difficult to finish in the top six if I had been behind him during the first stint. When I got past I was confident I had the race pace to fight for the points and my target was to be consistently fast. The team did a great job with the strategy and the pit stop which played a big part in helping me finish in the points. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be racing in Formula 1 this season and I want to say thank you to Toyota for this opportunity. My target was to finish in the points today but I am a bit surprised to be in the top six. This is a fantastic result and I am extremely happy.”
