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1 - Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
2 - Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull)
3 - Mark WEBBER (Red Bull)
Q: Fernando, the first win of the season for you and Ferrari. You were
gifted the lead by Red Bull but do you feel you forced the mistake today?
Fernando ALONSO: Well I don't know. It is difficult to know. I saw the
problem in the pit-stop with Sebastian and we were in the lead at that
moment. I didn't know as I was also fighting with (Lewis) Hamilton and with
Mark and I left the pits and I found myself leading the race and then
pulling a good gap. You never know. The race was in different conditions. We
started with a very wet part of the circuit and then it was a little bit
dry, but still with intermediate tyres. Then the intermediates were
struggling a little and we were very quick at that part of the race and then
with the dry tyres it was again the same thing. Very slow at the beginning
when the track was damp and very quick when the track was dry so I knew that
it was a race to be calm, to put the car on the track always, no mistakes,
not being off the track at any moment as the grass is very wet and with no
mistakes I knew the car had enough pace to fight for the victory. At the end
it came.
Q: It was a great battle with Hamilton. Tell us about the pass and the
re-pass.
FA: Well he overtook me quite easy. When we fitted the dry tyres he was
very, very quick at that part of the race so we were forced to stay calm. We
knew that our opportunity would be later in the race and when I overtook him
again it was thanks to the DRS and the KERS and all these possibilities we
have these days. Then we attacked the Red Bulls as from now it will always
be the same thing. Every race we try to do like the final. Championship
hopes are very difficult because Sebastian keeps finishing all the races
first and second so the only thing we can do is try to win every race we go
to and be very aggressive. Every race, every start, every strategy will be
at the maximum.
Q: Sebastian, the pit-stop cost you the lead but were Ferrari on to you
today? What do you think?
Sebastian VETTEL: I think it is hard to say how much we lost but surely we
lost the lead. I think we had quite a bit of a cushion at that stage so it
didn't help. I came out behind Fernando and Lewis and struggled to get past
really. I had some places where I was quite close to him but it didn't quite
work so we went in for the stop and I had a longer stint at the end. But all
in all we had a very good race. It was very difficult in these conditions. I
had a brilliant start and was able to pull away quite good at the beginning
of the race on intermediate tyres. Then I think we waited a little bit and
we weren't that aggressive which cost us a bit of our lead plus then the
pit-stop so little mistakes here and there. But you cannot get it right all
the time and you have to accept Ferrari beat us fair and square today. It
was not only in this race, I think there has been a certain trend over the
last couple of races. They have been very strong on race day on Sunday and
generally improving their car so it shows us we need to keep on working very
hard and keep pushing very hard so soon it is the other way around again.
Q: You were very, very close to the back of Lewis going into Copse at one
point weren't you?
SV: Yeah, I was. I thought it was the only place where I could try
something. On that lap I think I had too good an exit so got off the corner
very well and was too close. I was sitting behind and in that right kink
where the old pit building is you cannot do anything there so I was too
close to use my momentum later on. I had to lift and I don't think there was
much left. We don't see the front wing but it was very close but good fun.
Q: Mark, you lost the start to Sebastian but what happened at the end? You
seemed to be closing on him, but you couldn't get past him.
Mark WEBBER: Well it was a mixed race as the guys touched on. It was very,
very slippery and tricky at the start with the inters. Half the track dry
and half the track wet. It made it very frustrating as all of us had to stay
out on the inters for longer than we would have liked as we had to wait for
slicks to come into play at that part of the track. Michael (Schumacher)
pitted first then we waited to hear on his pace on the slicks. Then, when he
started to go okay we elected to stop. Just before, on the in-lap, I had a
massive moment in Becketts so Fernando closed a bit on me. I went across the
grass as I came in so bit scrappy there. Then we had an interesting race
after that. I felt very strong at the start of the stints, not too strong at
the end of the stints, and then both Seb and I were in big trouble with the
tyres at the end. I tried to pass him but not quite so that was the race.
Q: Are you surprised at how tough a battle you have been given here this
weekend by McLaren and Ferrari?
MW: Not really. I think Ferrari we have seen, in the last few events, going
pretty well. You never, never know. Sundays are always difficult. It is
always about the tyres as you know. McLaren looked absolutely in trouble
yesterday and then today they weren't too bad at all. Very quick and they
did a clean job in the pit-lane. I didn't think we had the best day in the
box today. It is not normal for our guys but you cannot be perfect all the
time. That was it.
Q: Fernando, describe both the emotion and the satisfaction this win gives
you today.
FA: It is a very special win. I think Silverstone is a special event for
every driver competing in Formula One. We know the history of motorsport
here in the UK so it is special grand prix. Also today I had the privilege
to drive the Jose (Froilan Gonzalez's) car. It was the first Ferrari win in
Formula One and this year it is 60 years ago that one Ferrari car won the
first grand prix in Formula One. Today we won on the same circuit with the
same passion, with the same group of people, working for this fantastic
team. Every year competing in Formula One right from the beginning so this
is the big thing about Ferrari. The passion, the victory and the love for
competition so very happy to drive this car and achieve this success again.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Fernando, what a way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's first
win. Ideal way wasn't it?
FA: Definitely. I had two laps today with that car for the parade and it is
part of the history of Ferrari. Being every single year, every single
championship in Formula One, winning 60 years ago with that car with Froilan
and now 60 years later on the same circuit with the same atmosphere I am
sure in the team, with the same passion winning again with the red car. Very
proud of the team. Very proud of the recovery that we did. I think three or
four races ago we were 1.5 seconds behind and now we were leading the race
and pulling away so definitely a good recovery from the team and a very
special day. Every grand prix is special but winning in historic places on
this fantastic circuit, Silverstone, with the tradition in England about
Formula One, the culture about motorsport, it is even more special.
Q: Do you think you would have won without the pit-stop problem for
Sebastian? After all you did set a succession of fastest laps in the middle
of the race and you ended the race with a lead of 20 seconds.
FA: Who knows? You never know. I think it is difficult to have any
prediction of what could have happened without the problems of Sebastian.
For sure more difficult and you need to overtake on the track and when you
are talking about two or three-tenths different pace in favour of them or us
it is not easy to overtake as we saw with the McLaren and for Sebastian it
was the same when he tried to overtake Lewis. It is not easy to overtake so
the pit-stop problems for them was a help. But the same every race. Maybe in
Canada it was a different thing also for Jenson. He won the race and we
retired. The races are the way it comes.
Q: You said earlier in the weekend this wasn't a circuit that you expected
to suit the Ferrari. What can we expect from the Nrburgring?
FA: Well it is a huge boost for us. Good confidence being quick here in
Silverstone as no doubts it was a race on the calendar that had one red
cross. We knew that it was not an easy grand prix for us in terms of the
characteristics of the corners, the lay-out never being our strongest point,
the high speed corners in the last two or three years so we knew that
Silverstone like Barcelona, was difficult for us so winning here is good
motivation for everyone and good confidence I am sure approaching the next
races as they will be circuits that are a little bit better for us.
Q: You can put a red tick against it now instead of a cross.
FA: We will try to enjoy the moment, the win, and work hard. We will have
the same approach that we had in Valencia, that we had in Canada, and here
as well every weekend. It is a weekend to try for the victory, try to win
the race. There is not championship thoughts at the moment with anyone in
the team as we know that the gap is massive at the moment with Sebastian. We
just need to enjoy every weekend. Try to win every weekend and be aggressive
at the start, the pit-stops, there is no time to think about any other
thing.
Q: Sebastian, what exactly happened at the pit-stop?
SV: Well I think you saw it from a better angle than I did. The mirrors are
not really big. I think everything went initially according to plan. We
changed all three tyres except the rear left. It went on but I think it
wasn't tight yet and we put the car down, back on the floor. I saw it in the
mirror that they realized it is not done yet so we had to put the car back
up and lost a lot of time. Lost directly the position to Fernando in the
pit-box and to Lewis on the circuit. Up to that stage I think it was a very
good race. I had an excellent start and an excellent first stint. In these
tricky conditions I was able to open a big, big gap which helped us for the
rest of the race. Up to that point. It is difficult to say, as Fernando
touched on, I think it would have been a tight race as Ferrari had very good
pace and we have to respect that and take it into account. It was not just
us maybe being unlucky or finishing second because of a mistake. I think
especially Ferrari, especially Fernando, was very competitive today and it
would have been a long way to the chequered flag. It was an exciting race
with the conditions with one half completely wet even struggling a bit and
aquaplaning in places and the other half dry, sunshine, on the same track.
It is a bit funny. I think it can only happen around here. But it makes it
very special to us as it makes it very tricky in these conditions. I think
it was an exciting race. Then I lost a lot to Fernando behind Lewis. I
couldn't get past initially and it gets more difficult. I lost the front
tyres right behind him as I was so close and it wasn't easy to attack. I had
one chance maybe into Copse but I think in hindsight my exit was too good so
I ran into his back too soon on the straight and could not use the momentum.
Then we got him at the stop but had to do a longer stint at the end. Mark
was closing in, in the last three or four laps and he was quicker but we
could stay ahead so a long race, a lot of things happened, easy to do a
mistake again. We didn't do many and a good result for the team with Mark
coming in third. A podium here is always special. There are so many fans
here. It is one the nicest in-laps or coming back to the pits after the
chequered flag as you can really feel people are passionate about racing.
Most of the cheers goes to Jenson (Button) and Lewis but even with not
having the British flag on your car they love racing. It is great to stand
on the podium and see that many people.
Q: Mark, what happened at the start as it wasn't quite as good. It was still
very good.
MW: Well Fernando and I spoke about it. The right hand side looked pretty
good in those greasy conditions so that's the way it went today. I am not
really bothered about that to be honest. The race wasn't won or lost there.
Seb did a good pace on the inters and we were pretty evenly apart. Pace wise
too-ing and fro-ing a little bit when the inters were going off. Then the
pit stops started and all of us had different types of strategies, different
in and out laps, and the pit-stops weren't the smoothest today so all in all
it was where we didn't perform to the maximum. Fernando definitely deserved
to win the grand prix, no question about it. He drove very, very well. The
team did a great job so Ferrari deserved to win. I finished third.
Q: You had a few battles on the way?
MW: Yeah with Lewis I could get him. It was good to pick him off reasonably
quick. It is always difficult when DRS zones have damp areas on the way in
but managed to get him. That tyre did a lot so we had to get the tyre to the
end. Coming to the end of the race I caught Seb but couldn't do enough to
pass him.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
(Adam Hay-Nicholls Metro) Mark, Christian Horner has said that you should
be fine with the team orders at the end and if you and Seb had raced until
the end you would both have ended up in the fence. Do you agree with that?
Was it the right call? Does this mean realistically that you are out of this
championship?
MW: I am not fine with it. No. That's the answer to that. If Fernando
retires on the last lap we are battling for the victory so I was fine until
the end. Of course I ignored the team as I want to try and get another
place. Seb was doing his best and I was doing my best. I don't want to crash
with anyone, but that was it. I tried to do my best with the amount of
conversation I had. One-way conversation obviously as I wasn't talking too
much back. There was a lot of traffic coming to me, but I was still trying
to do my best to pass the guy in front.
Q:(Adam Hay-Nicholls Metro) Do you remember roughly how many messages you
had?
MW: Probably four or five.
Q: (Sarah Holt BBC Sport) Fernando, you've been saying for quite a while
that you thought Silverstone was going to be a turning point for Ferrari.
What did you know that the rest of us didn't and how personally important is
it for you to get your first win this season under your belt?
FA: Well, what I've been saying over the last couple of races is that for
sure the team has been improving a lot there was one part of the
championship in which we put new parts on the car and they were not quicker
so the wind tunnel was not telling us the truth, so we lost a little bit of
ground there in the first couple of races with upgrades on the car. Then it
seems in the last three or four races every new part on the car is working
fine, so they are steps forward for us and very good news, not just for this
year but also for next year's development. We are very happy with this and
it seems that here we brought quite a big aero update and everything is
working fine. Both Felipe and me feel much happier with the car. It's
something that in the last three or four races we were feeling and I was
saying. Victory here is very special. As I said, I think here in England
motor sport is very big. People understand this sport, people love motor
racing. There are hundreds of different categories here, classic cars,
different things that only happen here in England, because they love motor
sport. So winning here, in front of these people, is great from a driver's
point of view, and Silverstone, with all the historic races we've had here
and the good fights for many big names that have raced here.
Q: (Mike Doodson Honorary) Fernando, apropos what you've just said, it was
a really thrilling experience for everyone here to see you push that old
Ferrari right to the limit and I want to thank you very much for that.
I would like to ask, if you would have been 60 years older, do you think you
would have wanted to race a rather primitive old car like that as much as
you enjoy racing your modern Ferrari?
FA: Yeah, yeah, I think I still love motor sport, I still love cars. I also
had the privilege to be with John Surtees last week in Maranello with his
car as well, sitting in that car. I think it was obviously a different
sport, much more dangerous. The level of power and grip is totally different
now. When I drove those cars, there is a huge amount of power for the grip
that you have. We are talking about 450-500bhp on a tyre that is this
(indicates small amount) wide. I think every car, or every steering wheel
that you have in your hands it doesn't matter if it's from 60 years or 30
years ago, it doesn't matter if it's more dangerous or less dangerous you
don't feel that. You just want to drive and to be flat out and enjoy
driving. I perfectly understand the adrenaline, the emotion of that time and
I'm sure that it's very similar to what we feel now. We are lucky now that
safety has improved a lot.
Q: (Julien Febreau L'Equipe) To all of you: how much do you think the
change to the off-throttle regulations this weekend played a role in global
performance of your own cars?
FA: For me, nothing. I don't think it's a big factor. We saw one McLaren
fighting for the podium until the last moment. We saw Red Bull, Ferrari for
the other positions on the podium and, as we saw 15 days ago in Valencia, I
was second. I didn't see any Force India or any Sauber or anything fighting
for victory because the rules changed. It was more or less the same.
SV: I think it's hard to measure for us, firstly from a data point of view
and also from a feeling point of view, because this is a different track
compared to the tracks we've been to previously. To really find out, you
have to test one thing against another, so on-off. But I think, as Fernando
said, it didn't make a massive difference in terms of driving, driving
style. I didn't have to change anything so I think the influence wasn't
huge. Sure you can see a little loss here and there but, as I said, it's not
changing the driving.
Q: (Ian Parkes Press Association) Mark, after last year's win here, you
came out with a classic quote: 'not bad for a number two driver.' I was
wondering, after today's comment from the team: 'maintain your position' on
the last lap, do you feel like a number two driver again today?
MW: Not really. I just want to race to the end, so with four or five laps to
the end, they started to chat to me about holding my position. Of course,
they want the points, but I also need to try and get some more points as
well.
Q: (Marco Degl'Innocenti La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, what did you think
at the moment when Mark tried to overtake you?
SV: What do I think? I tried to stay ahead. Obviously, we were racing each
other. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Sure, from a team
point of view, if you have the cars quite isolated in second and third, the
first car is away, the fourth car is pretty far away as well, so from the
team's point of view, there's no point in racing and trying to do something
stupid because the points for the team are the same, the difference between
second and third is not massive, but naturally we try to race. What can I
say? I was trying to defend my position which I did. I was struggling, Mark
was faster. And then there was the chequered flag.
Q: (Peter Windsor Clarkesport) Fernando, where would you place the Ferrari
now in terms of fast and slow speed performance, perhaps relative to Red
Bull or indeed relative to where you were four races ago?
FA: Obviously it's difficult to say. We need to analyse the race a little
bit better sectors etc but I think we were between one and 1.5s behind
Red Bull, especially in qualifying four races ago. In Barcelona, I think I
was 1.2s and Felipe 1.6s or something like that, so the average was there
and here, with similar characteristics, high-speed corners, exactly the same
tyres, the soft and the hard, we were much closer so definitely an
improvement. Here, for whatever reason, we were quick in sector two all
weekend which is the high-speed sector, so maybe that means we have
recovered a lot in that part and now we need to concentrate a little bit
more on our strongest point that it was the slow speed corners where we need
to make improvements.
Q: (Byron Young Daily Mirror) Seb, isn't this a sham? You're the World
Champion, you're supposed to be best driver in the world and Red Bull are
reduced to begging on the radio to make your team-mate slow down, so he
doesn't overtake you, suggesting the results aren't really what we've seen.
How do we know you're a worthy champion?
SV: I finished second, I think. As I said earlier: Mark tried to pass me; I
could stay ahead. Clearly you could see he was quicker at that stage. If I
wasn't racing, I would just wave him past. Sure, the last thing you want is
to do something bad for the team. If it would be the other way round,
there's no point of course, I would like to overtake Mark at that stage
but there's no point trying to do something stupid, especially from a team
point of view, so I don't see why there is a big fuss really.
Q: (Byron Young Daily Mirror) But this is motor racing, it's about beating
a guy on the track, not the team deciding who wins what.
SV: I think we were racing, it was not a scheduled 'I move right, you move
left, I move left, you move right, I brake here, you brake there.' As Mark
said, he stayed flat out and tried to race me, as hard as he could, didn't
find his way past. To me, at this stage it's quite amusing.
Q: (Livio Oricchio O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, if Hamilton didn't
keep behind Sebastian and Mark, your race would be different and in a normal
race, if you had to use the hard tyres, how would your Ferrari react?
FA: Yes, that's a good point. After the first couple of laps with the
intermediates, we didn't need to use the hard tyres any more so we chose to
do the whole dry race with the best performing tyre, which was the soft on
this occasion, so there's a question mark how the car would have performed
with the hard tyre. In FP3 and Q1, we were very, very competitive with the
hard, so we approached the race with no problems and no doubts as we had in
Barcelona. There was a big problem but here we were convinced that we were
OK with hard tyres but obviously it was just a thought. And without Hamilton
keeping Sebastian behind, obviously the race was a little bit different, for
sure. We had to push more to open the gap. With Lewis there, the race was a
little bit more comfortable for us and we could drop the revs a little bit
and take a bit more care of the engine, the tyres and things like that.
Q: (Sean McGreevy CSMA Magazine) Fernando, this is a great way to
celebrate 60 years since Ferrari's first win, but what does today's win mean
to you personally and the team?
SV: It obviously means a lot for all the guys, the people working for
Ferrari who are the sons or daughters of the guys that were here 60 years
ago. They are working in the factory, with the same mentality, with the same
passion for racing that is in Ferrari's DNA of all the workers there. For
me, as I said to the team on the radio, I feel very proud of them, of this
recovery, always fighting to win races. In spite of a difficult start to the
year, (they) never give up, they keep working, they keep showing the Ferrari
brand and the Italian flag on the rear wing everywhere we go, very proudly.
So, for me, it's special to race for this team and to give them the maximum
capacity and my maximum abilities to give them a good result. This is
teamwork and I'm very happy for them.
Q: (Michael Schmidt Auto, Motor und Sport) Sebastian, you struggled in the
end with your tyres; was it just because they had two more laps on them than
Mark's tyres, or was it a set-up thing? Or was it something general because
it was a similar story in Montreal when Jenson was catching you up?
SV: I think it depends firstly on when exactly do you stop. I don't know
when the others stopped, so it's hard for me to say whether I was doing
better or worse than the others. At the end of the race, I was racing
against Mark. As he said, he was in a similar position with tyres, so it's
not as if only I was struggling. And then, to be fair, it was quite
difficult at the beginning in wet conditions, semi-wet, at least, and then
moving on to the dry tyres with still some wet places, so really only the
third stint was the first dry stint where I was stuck behind Lewis. To judge
the car then is quite difficult. At the pit stop, at least, you can change
front wing angle, which can be quite useful around here with these
high-speed corners. Obviously I didn't get a proper read because I was stuck
behind another car, so in hindsight I think I would have done things
differently for the last stint, but I didn't get the chance to read the car
before and then, yeah, towards the end just tried to get the car to the
chequered flag, because there was no chance of catching up 15 seconds in 15
laps. I was quite isolated at the end, then I lost quite a lot in the last
two laps compared to Mark behind.
Q: (Joris Fioriti Agence France Presse) Fernando, one year ago, you were
in the middle of the team order crisis; are you enjoying now the fact that
politics are involving Red Bull?
FA: I'm not happy with any politics, not to me and not to Red Bull. I don't
think there are polemics. What you try to ask here to them, they answer very
well, so there are no polemics but I'm sure tomorrow you will write
something.
Q: (Joris Fioriti Agence France Presse) Mark, you were one of the few
drivers who actually defended Fernando Alonso last year, saying that it was
normal that there were team orders. Have you changed your mind about that or
was your track behaviour the answer to my question?
MW: No, I stick by what I said last year. Obviously, they had one guy trying
to stay in the championship fight Fernando. Felipe was not having the
season that he's having this year. He's doing a bit better job. Fernando was
much, much quicker, it was in the middle of a grand prix and he (Massa)
released him, so this is pretty straightforward stuff. |
