Question: Lewis, does today McLaren coming home second and third show that when it comes to the racing your team is very much back in it or is there a tinge of disappointment that you couldn’t get past Sebastian in the end, no matter how close you were to him?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t think you can be disappointed with today. The team did a fantastic job throughout with the pit stops and throughout the weekend to get us up there and put us in the fighting position. I didn’t get the best start but was able to just keep up with the Red Bulls, with Mark in particular, as I think Fernando was holding the two Red Bulls up. I was able to keep with them just for a while and as the race went on we clearly had some serious pace but it was very, very tough to get past Sebastian in the end. They were massively, massively quick in the high speed turn three, turn nine and through the last corner. His downforce was incredibly clear for me to see. But, nonetheless, I gave it my all to move forward and score some good points and retain second place. It is great for Jenson as well and great for the team points.
Question: Lewis, qualifying for you. How imperative is it now to get much closer to the Red Bulls and that you can challenge them on a Saturday, not just on a Sunday?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, I think in the last race people were saying qualifying is not so important, but clearly it is very important and while strategy can still help quite a lot throughout the race, I think positioning for us, trying to pass the Red Bulls and Sebastian is very, very difficult with the step in downforce they have against us. We are just going to continue to push. Hopefully, we will have something good coming in Monaco next week. It is good to come from this race on a positive foot(ing) going into Monaco, where a driver can make even more of a difference, so hopefully the gap will be even closer from me and Jenson to the Red Bulls.
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Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Nips Hamilton to Win at Spanish Grand Prix
Formula 1: Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results
Question: Lewis, how much pressure were you putting on Sebastian? How close did you get?
Lewis Hamilton: Not close enough, clearly. I never had an opportunity to overtake. I was quite impressed with the job we were able to do today, myself and Jenson, considering that their car is quite a good step faster than ours, particularly in the higher speed (corners). Our race pace really has improved since the last race so that was a positive, but I just wasn’t able to follow (Sebastian) through the high speed Turn Three. It was incredible how much downforce he had, a good step on us, and also through Turn Nine and through the last corner. So I was never ever able to get close enough to maintain the gap that I was then able to use the DRS to get by. I’m thoroughly happy with the job (done), the pit stops were much, much better today, I think, for both me and Jenson, and to be able to apply the pressure to a Red Bull, considering the circumstances, is quite an achievement.
Question: You seem to be playing catch-up every stint, three times.
Lewis Hamilton: I think our raw speed was… we were faster. If I was able to get past I think I would have been able to pull away. I was really losing quite a lot through the high speed behind but nevertheless, as I said, they are quicker through certain corners and we were quicker through some others, so it was almost balanced.
Question: Lewis, it looks like the result is under investigation because Hamilton and Jenson maybe didn’t respect the yellow flags, didn’t reduce speed as the marshals wanted.
Lewis Hamilton: The thing is that we’re always going to be getting quicker and quicker and I don’t know when the yellow flags were out exactly but I think at the time we were maybe out on fresh tyres, I don’t know what the situation was. But if we’d gone quicker in the sector it’s only because that was the way the track was going. Of course when you see an incident you obey the rules and try to stay clear of it.
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