Sebastian Vettel (1st)
“I’m speechless. I don’t know what you are supposed to say in these moments, it has been an incredibly tough season for myself and all of us, physically and mentally. We always kept believing in ourselves - no matter what people said - in the team and in our car. I kept believing in myself and today was a special day all round. I got up this morning and tried not to think about anything; I tried to avoid contact with people and just tried to do my own thing. I knew all I could try to do was win this race and do my best. We only led this championship once this season, but it was when it mattered. The car was phenomenal today; the start was very tight with Lewis (Hamilton), and I had some graining in the first stint, but then the car stabilised and was a dream. To be honest, I didn’t know anything until I passed the chequered flag. I was wondering, because my race engineer Rocky was trying to give me advice every lap to help me carry the car home and I was thinking ‘Why’s this guy so nervous, we must be in a bloody good position!’ Then crossing the line he came on the radio and very silently said ‘it’s looking good, we have to wait until all the cars finish’. I was thinking ‘what does he mean,’ as I hadn’t seen the screens - I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get any distractions during the race and focused on myself. Then Christian came on the radio and screamed at me that we had won the world championship - I have to say thanks to so many people. To start with, the team: that’s all the people here at the track and all the people in Milton Keynes - they are pushing like hell and I think they will be enjoying this moment as much as last week. Also everyone back in Austria, who has supported me from the beginning - it’s been an incredible journey with Red Bull and, after all the ups and downs this season, to come here now and win the Championship is unbelievable. Thanks to everyone I have known from the early days in karting and those in my home town of Heppenheim to now, thank you so much.”
Lewis Hamilton (2nd)
“We’ve ended this year on a high - to get both of us onto the podium and to clinch runner-up spot in the constructors’ world championship represent a great achievement for the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. I was able to match Sebastian’s pace in the early part of the race - but, after my pitstop, I was stuck behind Robert (Kubica). It was just impossible to get past him - he made no mistakes - so it wasn’t possible to resume my attack on Sebastian. But that’s the way motor racing goes sometimes.The team has been pushing so hard for the whole season - I’m so proud of everyone. Now, though, I’m already looking ahead to next year, when I hope our car will be even better, so that we can do battle at the very front from the first race of the season.There are 15 weeks to go until the 2011 season starts - it can’t come soon enough!”
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Sebastian Vettel Grabs F1 Title With Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Win
Formula 1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Race Results
Jenson Button (3rd)
“It’s been an exciting year for Formula One. We’ve all had our ups and downs, including the new world champion Sebastian. But he’s a very talented driver and he thoroughly deserves his success. It was nice to be on the podium with the new world champion, and with Lewis, who was of course the 2008 world champion. Our main aim today was to clinch second place in the constructors’ world championship, and we did that comfortably.During the year I’ve had some very good Sundays but some difficult Saturdays - and that’s something I’m going to work on over the winter. Overall, however, I’m very happy with my first season at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. I want to say thank you to the entire team. It didn’t turn out quite as we’d hoped, but there have been a lot of good days and a lot of good experiences that we can use to benefit our 2011 campaign.”
Nico Rosberg (4th)
“I’m very pleased with fourth place and it’s the best that we could have hoped for from my grid position. Special thanks to Ross and James Vowles for a great strategy today. We had a good pace on the hard tyres, just like in qualifying, and I was able to make the most of that performance when it mattered. Thanks to everyone here at the track and back at the factory for all of their hard work this year. Although we didn’t get the results that we wanted on track, I am sure that we will improve massively for next year and have more fun then. Congratulations to Sebastian today and he deserved the title. Next up, we have the test later this week which will be very important to get a headstart on adapting to the new tyres.”
Robert Kubica (5th)
“It was a very good race to round off the season. I had a problem with a clutch at the start, and I was running in 14th position after turn two. When the safety car went in, I managed to overtake Sutil, which was important. I then found myself stuck behind Kamui (Kobayashi), who was braking very late which made it difficult to attack him. Eventually, I got a run on him out of turn nine and he covered the inside for turn 11 - so I was able to pass round the outside. That was a key moment, and afterwards I just concentrated on getting the maximum from the car and setting quick laps. The car was still difficult to drive this afternoon, but I pushed really hard because I had nothing to lose - and I’m very pleased to finish fifth after starting 11th.”
Vitaly Petrov (6th)
“This was a tough race, on a circuit where we know it is very difficult overtake. We have been quite fast all weekend, and I am proud of my team and the good job we did. I made a good start and could have gained some positions at the first corner, but I wanted to avoid having any problems like last weekend in Brazil. We pitted under the Safety Car, which was the right decision, and after that I just tried to push while looking after the tyres, because I knew that the plan was to go to the finish. I had a long battle with Fernando, but the car had good top speed today so I was able to control the situation: I just did my job. If he had tried a move, then I didn’t want to crash with him, but it didn’t come to that. I came here to fight, and race every other driver, and I think I showed today that I can fight.”
Fernando Alonso (7th)
“It’s a shame to get to the end of the season and then lose the title at the final moment, but that’s racing, that is sport. Everything went wrong today, from the start itself to the strategy. With hindsight, it would have been better not to pit so soon, but it’s easy to say that when you have all the facts: however, it was definitely not an easy decision. I want to congratulate Red Bull and its drivers: over the course of the season they have had a little something extra than us and they deserve to be where they are today. I had said it over the past few days: this is still a great season. There have been some very intense months and I found myself in a team that has an amazing atmosphere. Now there is some sadness, but I am sure that in a few hours, with a clear head, we will begin to appreciate better what we have achieved. We have to continue like that, staying united and determined. We have to face next year with the same will to win which has characterised this one and, something I learned very quickly, is also in the Ferrari blood. We must improve the car and ensure that the mistakes that all of us - we drivers and the team - have made during the year, are not repeated.”
Mark Webber (8th)
“It was a big day and we had the chance to do something incredibly unique, but in the end it didn’t turn out for us. Earlier in the race we knew we had to roll the dice and go for it with the strategy, but it left us exposed and Fernando (Alonso) covered us. I tried my absolute hardest and we did everything we could, but in the end it wasn’t enough. You’ve got to take your hat off to Sebastian, he’s done a great job all year and to lead the championship at the last race, he’s got the timing right and I fully congratulate him on the world championship. I was in with a chance of winning the championship until the last race, so I must have been doing something right and in the end there are a lot of positives. I feel I have driven very well for most of the season and that’s the most important thing to me. This weekend didn’t turn out and it’s a shame, but it’s a good time to reflect in the next few weeks and look back at the highs and the lows but that’s the way the sport is sometimes. There have been quite a few emotions over the last couple of weeks; when you come so close to the top and just miss out, it’s a shame, but I tried my absolute hardest and I have great guys around me. I think two championships for the team is not bad and I’ll be fighting again next season.”
Jaime Alguersuari (9th)
“I am very happy with this result, my third points finish of the season. To be honest, I am not quite sure how I ended up ninth, having started seventeenth! I was very lucky not to be involved in the Schumacher accident on the opening lap and after that, it was a good strategic choice to change tyres immediately the safety car came out. After that, the tyres worked very well for the whole race with no degradation at all on the rears. I could feel the track condition improving all the time and that meant I was able to have an edge over Massa in sector three and maintain the distance in the first two sectors, even though he was probably fractionally faster than me. I am very happy with the team because they did a good job on the strategy so for everyone, this ninth place is well deserved and a nice way to end the season.”
Felipe Massa (10th)
“It’s a real shame the way things went in this race. We had decided to pit early to try and stay ahead of Webber, but we did not manage it and we were then stuck in traffic for almost the whole race, both myself and Fernando. Unfortunately, the cars ahead of us were very quick in a straight line and it was impossible to overtake. At a fantastic venue like this, it’s a shame that overtaking is so difficult. For me, it has definitely not been a great season, as I had expected a lot more out of it. Now we need to react and try to prepare as well as possible for the next season. We made mistakes and we must try not to repeat them. Already, we have two days of testing next week with the new tyres: I am curious to see how they behave.”
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