Question: Lewis, describe your feelings after this win. It is one for you mum, hey?
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, absolutely. It’s my mum’s birthday this weekend and it is great to be able to win while she’s here. I feel fantastic. I think it was one of my best races. I said that to myself as I slowed down, just being able to hold off one of the best drivers in the world throughout the race is something that is very, very tough to do. Just looking after the tyres, just managing the gap. Obviously the team did a fantastic job in the pit-stops, but I’m ecstatic. Really very happy to be back up here. This is great. I can get on my flight tonight and smile.
Question: Lewis, by your own admission it has been a tough few months. Does this win put you well and truly back on track do you think?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know. It is early days yet but this is definitely the start of something hopefully very good. We’ve got another great race ahead of us in Brazil and I have just got to put my focus on that and try to keep the momentum, but you know how it goes. Anything can happen. I have just got to keep my mind on the game.
Question: Lewis, what were your thoughts when you saw Sebastian go off?
Lewis Hamilton: I didn’t know which way it was going to go, so I was just trying to avoid that. I saw immediately that something had happened to his tyre, and that’s why he was going sideways. I was just making sure that I didn’t collect him as he potentially [could come] across the track. After that, I just saw that I had two very quick drivers behind me and I was just trying to keep the gap. It didn’t really enter my mind at all, throughout the race.
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Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Formula 1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Race Results
Question: As you say you tried to keep the gap; that gap remained incredibly constant up to the first stint, and then a different gap again remained stable up to the second stop.
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, I think it’s very rare for us and for me to get the opportunity to be able to maintain a gap, to be able to control the race but today I had the pace, I was able to put in the laps when Fernando went quicker, and whenever he closed the gap, generally was able to keep it the same or pull out a little bit more. There was a point - I can’t remember which stint it was - but he was closing the gap. It seemed like he would start a bit slower than me in a stint and then get faster towards the end, so his tyres would last longer but nonetheless, I’m very happy with how it went.
Question: There were one or two penalties for backmarkers; was there a problem with backmarkers more here today than elsewhere?
Lewis Hamilton: Just to point out that backmarkers have a tough job, because firstly they’re just looking ahead, they’re competing for whatever position they’re competing for and sometimes you just don’t look in your mirrors and sometimes you’re probably just not expecting to be lapped or when that’s going to happen. I’ve been in that position before and I think some of them just didn’t see because they were fighting the guys in front, but some of them were on their own and just stayed in front. I lost seconds behind certain different people, and I think Rubens overtook me with the DRS; there was nothing I could do about that. I came up back alongside him thinking ‘dude, I’m in the lead, we’re not racing’. He came and congratulated me afterwards so that’s fine.
Question: Lewis, how do you rate this victory after such a bad time?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know. I’ve had some interesting victories, some better than others. When I was doing the lap on the way in, I was thinking that this was definitely one of my best, just in terms of my own performance, not making mistakes. I don’t feel I’ve made a single mistake in the race and with the things that have gone, with the pressure that I’ve been under and with the doubt that has surrounded me, I felt just massively proud to have put that kind of performance together and to have come out on top. I think my fans have been incredibly supportive and so have my family, particularly more so in the recent weeks and so that’s made a big difference. And it’s my Mum’s birthday, so it makes it even better.
Question: Lewis, it seemed like that whole of Abu Dhabi was rooting for this win for you. Could you feel the energy and vibe in the crowd?
Lewis Hamilton: Definitely, definitely. When we were doing the parade lap before the race, I could see that there were a lot of fans, particularly from the UK but also from here in Abu Dhabi. I was really surprised to see so much support, but it’s great. It’s a great spectacle, a great circuit to come to and a great country. Hopefully, it was a good race to watch. Obviously for me it was probably not too exciting to watch me go round, but I don’t mind having those races every now and then.
Question: Lewis, would it have made the victory any more special if you had beaten Sebastian on track rather than him retiring ?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know really. I will tell you when it happens. I think we were clearly very quick and it would have been very close. Sebastian got a great start - again - and was off. From turn one he got quite a good exit from turn one so he had a pretty good gap already. Every now and then, we need a bit of bad luck to notice the good times, I guess, and I don’t remember the last time he had a bit of bad luck.
Question: Lewis, I just wondered if you felt that this was the first race weekend in a while when you felt like you’ve been able to get on top of your emotions and for them not to affect you when you’ve been in the car? Is that what has made the difference today?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know. I definitely think that this weekend I’ve been clearer in my mind and I’ve had less weighing on me, less thoughts and issues or whatever problems that I’ve got. I was just able to drive clearly. I think my qualifying has always been generally good and my practice has always been pretty good but obviously in the last race I had that mistake which was… I was just not thinking straight and this weekend I was able to think straight. I don’t know if that’s because I had some great support here or what, but it’s been a positive feeling all weekend. I felt like I was on it all weekend so I just feel very fortunate to have come out and finish and had the car last and not get into any trouble.
Question: Lewis, how much could you see of Sebastian’s accident. Is it possible that he was maybe too high on the kerb with a full fuel load, which maybe damaged the tyre?
Lewis Hamilton: I could see he went through turn two and it looked like his rear tyre failed for whatever reason. He wasn’t on the kerb as far as I could see. I only saw it happen after the kerb, so after the apex, but I just saw that his tyre was deflated and the right rear was squashed up on the inside of the floor and everything, so I assumed it was just a tyre failure.
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