Jenson Button, McLaren (1st)
“What a fantastic weekend! From the first lap here, I felt comfortable in the car. Qualifying was good – we weren’t on the pace of the front guys, we were five or six tenths off - but our race pace was better. And in these tricky conditions, I think we made some very good calls and we came away with a victory. You might say we were lucky in some ways, but I think we just made the right calls - and that’s so important nowadays. It’s not just about speed, it’s about making the right calls, being consistent and conserving the car. It was a necessary move to pit for slicks. I was struggling for grip on the inters, and the rears were destroying themselves very quickly, so we figured it must be time for dries. As I drove down the pitlane, I could see it was soaking wet and I feared it was a massive mistake on my part. When I left the pits, I went off the circuit and just thought, ‘Oh no!’ But I got to grips with it pretty quickly, and soon started to feel really good in the car. I caught up behind Sebastian [Vettel], I conserved the tyres, I built a useful gap and I want to say a massive thank-you to the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team: they’ve done a brilliant job.To not only be on the podium, but to be on the top step, after just two races, is amazing. It’s crucial to get the big points when perhaps we don’t have the out-and-out pace: these are really important points to us. Now we’ve really got to get our heads down and hopefully turn up in Malaysia next week with an even better car. This victory means so much to me. A Grand Prix win in a McLaren. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Right now, I just want to run around and scream. It’s just the most amazing experience.”
Robert Kubica, Renault (2nd)
“Second place today is a fantastic result for the team after all the hard work we have done over the winter. It was a difficult race to call in terms of strategy and I pitted to change my intermediates for slicks as soon as we saw Button’s pace. I managed to jump Massa in the pits and I came out ahead of Button, but it was my first lap on slicks so I could not hold him off. I thought I would pit again later in the race, but the team said we didn’t need to if I could look after the tyres until the end of the race. I tried to take care of them as much as I could, which wasn’t easy because I had Hamilton behind me and then Massa, but in the end my tyres lasted and we managed to get this great result. We have put in so much hard work this winter, and we know there is still a long way to go before we are really competitive with the fastest teams, but this is a brilliant boost for everybody in the team.”
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (3rd)
“I am very happy with this result, for myself and for the team. Given everything that happened, rain at the start, the safety car, the switch to slick tyres when the track was still very slippery - we did a great job. These points are very important for the classification: I have never been very lucky here and in the past, I have often struggled in the early part of the season. The key to getting on the podium was the start. I managed not to spin the wheels, while other drivers struggled for grip and I managed to move up to second. Then I lost some places in the early stages, when I had a few problems with grip, but thanks to the strategy, I then managed to make up some. I was able to close on Kubica but I never had a real chance of passing him, while behind me Fernando got very close on more than one occasion, making the most of a few errors. I think the spectators in the grandstands and in front of their TV screens had fun today: you could hardly call it boring!”
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (4th)
“I am pleased with this result. I got an awful start, because I had wheel spin on a white line and was last after the first corner following a collision with two other cars, so to finish fourth is very significant, especially given what happened to some other drivers, meaning we have increased our lead over some of our closest rivals in the title fight. Thanks to the strategy, we managed to get this result. The car was perfect and we were able to run a very long stint with the soft tyres. When I found myself behind Felipe, maybe I could have gone a bit quicker, but we know it’s very hard to pass in Formula one and between team-mates, one should not take any unnecessary risks. If we had managed to get past Kubica, then it might have been a different story, but it wasn’t possible, apart from the fact I also had to defend my position against Hamilton and Webber, who were on fresher tyres than us. For sure, after an exciting and action packed race like this, I don’t think we’ll hear much more talk about boring races!”
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP (5th)
“Fifth place is a good result after a mixed-up race today. I had a bad start in the wet and after that we lacked pace and I struggled with the option tyre. The rear degradation was pretty bad so we decided to go for a second stop and get some fresh tyres to try to attack the group ahead. Even with the tyre advantage, it would have been difficult to pass once we caught up and therefore it was good to make up a couple of places when Mark and Lewis had an incident, so I’m pleased with that. We need to keep on taking the points whilst we improve the car so overall it was a decent weekend.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren (6th)
“This was probably one of the drives of my life. Okay, it’s possible that the decision to make a second tyre stop wasn’t the right one, but my team are a brilliant bunch of guys and they usually get it spot-on. I guess things can’t always pan out right every time, but that’s motor racing. It was disappointing to taken out by Mark Webber, but I hear he apologised for it after the race so I appreciate that. I’m happy with the job I did - I drove my heart out today and the car felt good. Could Jenson and I have had a one-two today? Maybe, yes, but you can’t say for sure. One thing I can say for sure, though, is that he drove a great race. Congratulations to him for an excellent first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - it’s a good feeling! As for me, I’ll just keep fighting. It’s the only way I know.”
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