))163_cnj_cnc.jpg)
Question: Sebastian, probably not the result you were hoping for today but you came into this weekend needing one point and with a podium you have done it.
Sebastian Vettel: Yes, it is difficult to know where to start. Such a long year. We had a fantastic year. The good thing is it is not over yet. Today’s race was not so easy. I think we weren’t that quick on the soft tyres as we hoped to be and then it was difficult. We lost two positions. In the end, I think we had a very good car. It was difficult to get past Fernando. I think I got my move of the year in Monza, so I don’t think he is letting me through this way twice. But phenomenal, strong result again today. To win the championship here is fantastic. There are so many things you want to say at this moment but it’s hard to remember all of them. I am just so thankful to everyone in the team. We have got so many people here at the track but also at Milton Keynes working day in day out. Not only Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but also Monday to Friday, every day, pushing hard to build those two cars and to fight for a lot of points and to fight for the championship. We found ourselves in a very, very strong position and it is great to achieve the goal we set ourselves going into this year already now. There are so many people it is hard to name them all to thank, but I think one person that really stands out this year is the person I spend most of my time with during the year. It’s my trainer Tommi Parmakoski. Also, regards to his family. I think back in Finland they have a great son with a great heart. He was the one not allowing me at any stage this year to lose the grip, start to fly, or think about things that are not in our control. Congratulations to Jenson, congratulations to Fernando. I think today we saw that it is extremely tight. Tighter than maybe sometimes it looked this year. In the end, the top four cars were within not even 10 seconds and it is great to know that it is so tight but that we can come so strong out of it. They also know how to drive as well and are doing a fantastic job, but I think this year we have always been just this one step ahead. It is down to people like Tommi and other individuals, every single one is pushing more than 100 per cent to do his job and keeps us on the right track. There is no secret. It is step-by-step. I think in a way the hardest thing is after winning last year… we won the championship it was so close and we were so excited. To go out and do it again, even though you know how to do it, it doesn’t allow you to forget all these little steps and as I said I could not have done this alone. I needed all the support I could get from the team, from Mark [Webber], from everyone outside the team working for me, so it is just as confusing as the first one I have to say. It is hard to find the right words.
Click Here to Read More
Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Grabs World Championship Despite Jenson Button’s Victory
Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix - Race Results
Formula 1 Standings Ahead of Japanese Grand Prix
Question: Sebastian, was your approach any different today? This was one of your more difficult races; you saw two drivers come out ahead of you after pit stops which hasn’t happened.
Sebastian Vettel: No, which I didn’t enjoy. I think we were a little bit too weak today on the option tyre, against those two guys at the end of the stints. I think in comparison to Lewis - I don’t know what was happening to the end of his race - but in the first stint we were able to pull away. Then obviously I got informed that Jenson passed him - Jenson was seven, eight tenths quicker at that stage, which clearly is not because he found a short cut all of a sudden but he took care of his tyres better than the rest and is able to push harder at the end of the stints, and any time on the soft tyre, we had to come in quite early. On the hard tyre, I felt much much better but as you said, I came out behind Fernando, lost a little bit of time to the Force India when I tried to get past, which didn’t work straight away and then I was sticking to Fernando quite well until the Virgin… I don’t know, maybe he should use both of his mirrors, it was a bit dangerous. Fernando was right behind him, he pulled to the right, let him by, before taking the corner before turn eight and I knew that I wouldn’t take any stupid risks but I didn’t expect him to go back on line but he did so I lost quite a lot. I lost the connection which is obviously important. You get some lap time for free if you’re always behind because you are in the DRS zone so it’s easy to catch up a little bit on the straight. Unfortunately I was never really close enough to pass Fernando. Their straightline speed was quite good, which we already knew on Friday.
It was a fun race though, and especially seeing as we were closing in on Jenson, I thought here you go, now you see how it feels when the guys are catching up at the end of the race. It’s not the most comfortable feeling. But obviously he had quite a bit in hand and he was able to react three laps to the end. I think this race has been a little bit the story of the year, even though sometimes the results look pretty clear. You see that in the races the cars are pretty close to each other. Ferrari played a major role today with Fernando, they looked much better than what people expected. It was a fun race. Obviously I would have loved to sit in the middle which, to answer your question, was the target going into the race. I wasn’t targeting one point. If we targeted one point, I think the race would have been a bit different, but we targeted to do our optimum, which in a way today was third place, and that’s what we got.
But to win the championship here is pretty special and a bit funny at the same time, because it’s as confusing as the first one. All of sudden, you’re supposed to… yep, that’s the moment, now enjoy. I think it will surely take a little bit of time but the season has been fantastic. I think with a less dominant car than last year we were able to do a very, very good job. We are very strong as a team. Every time it mattered, we made very few mistakes, especially at those times when it was critical, we were there, we were performing. I think everyone working for Red Bull Racing can be very proud today. Renault has done a fantastic job; very often they get forgotten. We have had no problems with the engine at all. They were sending a lot of support all the time, pushing very hard in Viry, back in France, close to Paris. Obviously this year I think it has been more about engines than in any other year, not maybe in a performance perspective as in raw power but playing around with engine modes. We had a lot of discussion midway through the season, exhaust blowing etc, and I think Renault has pushed very hard and a lot of our performance is down to them. It’s hard to name one individual. In the end, I think the secret, if there was one this year, is that we could trust, one hundred percent, the guy next to us and that’s for the whole team. I think what we have achieved so far in Red Bull Racing is just incredible and we obviously hope to enjoy the rest of the year. The target for the next race will be exactly the same as this race and the last race, but also make sure that we are fighting those guys in the future.
Question: One year later, Sebastian, what’s going through your head? Last year was perhaps a surprise at that last race; is it any different this year?
Sebastian Vettel: Every year… I think every race is different. I wouldn’t say last year was a surprise. That’s what we were fighting for and even if the odds weren’t looking too good, we kept believing. Even the year before I remember very, very well the moment in Brazil, probably as well as Jenson does. It’s not a nice feeling, knowing that you lose the title, so but it’s always these important moments that you remember, the good and the bad and in particular the bad because I think you are able to learn so much from the times that you are being beaten in a way. But the funny thing this year is that next week there is the next race, so that’s a bit difficult to understand. I think all year we tried very, very hard to keep our feet on the ground and always tried to focus on the next step, on the next race which, I think, in the end, if there was any, was one of the secrets. Last year, after the chequered flag it was all over, there was a long period of time when you weren’t in the car again etc, so it’s a bit different this year, and it makes it even more special in a way. So I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the season. We have a great car, a great team, and obviously we use everything we have to make the next step and do well or perform well at the next race. It does take some time to understand and I think those quiet moments that I will have, at some point, either tonight, tomorrow or the next week or weeks, for myself, but also with people who are very close to me, to take time and let things sink in a little bit.
Question: Do you think in some ways we should read that your championship this year was easier than it was last year, and how are you going to race now that the championship has been won? Will it be free-er, how is your attitude different now?
Sebastian Vettel: I think that it’s very likely for people to draw the wrong conclusion, to say that we had a very easy run this year. Things like this, they happen for a reason; I strongly believe that, not because things were easy for us. We had a very, very good car, no doubt, but we had an even stronger team, and as I said, a couple of times already, I think the car this year was less dominant than the car last year. Last year we had so many races where sometimes you may say we were unlucky but we made stupid mistakes as well. We did things which cost us a lot of time and cost us a lot of points in the end. A championship is not one race, it’s a lot of races pulled together and I think that’s where the difference came from this year. Obviously, after a very good start to the season, if you are on a good run, and you have this certain momentum and you’re able to keep that momentum, by not allowing yourself to start to fly or think too far ahead, really just stay present and just stay at that moment and focus race by race, and not thinking anything else. If you are able to keep that momentum that way, I think it makes you very strong and if you are on that sort of wave, then things might come a bit easier to you but it doesn’t mean that they are easy. So all in all, I think there was a lot to learn again this year, and hopefully that made us stronger for the remainder of the season, in which I think the approach will be very similar. Obviously a lot of the pressure has fallen away but nonetheless, there is a lot of pressure on us, because naturally we want to win, we want to beat those guys. We didn’t do so today so obviously we are over the moon to wrap up the championship today but we didn’t win today, so we’ve got another chance in the next races and we want to use those chances. It’s about using the opportunities you have, rather than seeing what could go wrong.
| 
|