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1 – Mark WEBBER (Red
Bull Racing)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
Mark, your second Monaco win, you won’t have a closer one than that, how are
you feeling?
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I’m feeling incredible mate. It was a very interesting
race. Reasonably straightforward at the start: getting the gap on the
Supersofts, just managing it with Nico. Obviously we had a bit of a gap over
the rest as well, so both of us were getting away, and it was just a matter
then of trying to get back into a reasonable gap. Also, the weather was
threatening around that pit stop window as well and we weren’t sure if we
should go a bit longer there and put a set of inters on if it rained or
whatever. But Nico went for it, went early with the undercut, so obviously a
few people had to react to his first chess move, and then the next phase of
the race was very strange. It was very hard to get the Soft tyre warmed up,
the harder tyres in terms of Prime tyre, and Seb, obviously, had his in and
it wasn’t wearing down that much. So he was then coming back into the
picture with his strategy. We were all trying to get temperature and at the
start of the stint I had very, very low front grip and I had to manage that
and move the brake balance around and things like that trying to get
everything organised, and [I was] managing Nico and everyone else. But also,
Seb’s going ‘Hmmm, this is interesting’, so I didn’t want him to get the
magic 21 seconds, to make sure he couldn't do the stop and get the victory –
that wasn’t part of the plan. I managed to sort that out and I could
concentrate on Nico again and then get the car to the end. But the rain – as
Fernando said coming across in the car, there were times when he was praying
for rain, saying ‘good, come on, rain, rain’, and then when it started he
was saying, ‘no, no, I don’t want it to rain’. I think it was like that for
everybody, except for me, because the first guy there is always tricky. So,
amazing day for the team and myself. Yeah, so I’m really, really happy to
have won here again. A great memory for me. Fantastic.
Nico, so close at the end – 0.6 seconds behind Mark. You tried a number of
different things and you probably hoped for the rain as well but in the end
I guess it wasn’t to be.
Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, in general. At the beginning it was pretty
straightforward. I was hoping for a good start, I had a good start, but Mark
had a pretty good start too. That was it then. And then, it was just a
matter of tyre management and everything and I must say I was a bit
surprised by how strong we were not only in qualifying but also in the race.
I think, at the end of day, for the weekend, we probably had the fastest car
out there, in qualifying and the race, which is great to see, because we’re
just making progress all the time, so that’s fantastic. Unfortunately, it
didn’t come together perfectly, so P2, it could have been P1 I think this
weekend but there we are. No, I’m very happy with second place of course. It
got a bit difficult there in the end, with the rain and the warm-up of the
harder tyres but I’m very pleased.
Fernando, fifth on the grid, third at the finish, you now have sole control
of the World Championship lead. Does this feel like a win to you?
Fernando ALONSO: Well, our target obviously was to try to finish in front of
Sebastian, in front of Lewis – they were with us in the World Championship.
And if you go race by race you concentrate on different drivers. The next
one will be Mark, now he’s second in the championship. So, it will be
interesting also this season with constant development of the car and the
constant surprises we are having every race – you never know which one will
be on pole or take the race win. Everything went smooth after the start, but
I had a contact with Grosjean. At that point I thought maybe the car was
damaged or something but the car was perfectly fine so I keep running. I
felt good, I felt competitive but in Monaco it’s difficult with the traffic,
to manage the traffic. We overtook Hamilton at the stop, with a perfect
time, a perfect pit stop again. Thanks to the team I think we are in a
privileged position and well done to all of them.
Mark, back to you. The start, obviously, was decisive and as you say, you
got a good one. It’s not always been your strength. Tell us about today’s.
MW: Yeah, it went well. The first initial getaway was very good and control
after that was good, but I knew straight away it was enough to get to turn
one in good shape, so that was important. The next thing was the pit stop.
When Nico went two laps short – aggressive underneath me in terms of pit
stop, I thought ‘I hope he can’t get the tyres in’. But I was happy.
Obviously I have full trust in the guys doing the strategy that he wasn’t
doing much more than me or in traffic or whatever. So that was the next key
phase and then obviously down to the driver in terms of concentration to the
maximum.
Nico, tell us about how the strategies here this afternoon, because the way
this race unfolded wasn’t really the way it was predicted. There were
expectations of two stops. Tell us how things changed during the race.
NR: Well, it was pretty straightforward. You know, there’s two way to beat
Mark. One is to go really long and hope that I’m that much faster in the
end, which is even more difficult. The better chance was to go short and
hope that I could put in some really good lap times straight away out the
pits. But with the one lap it was just difficult and that’s why I couldn’t
go fast enough to beat him on the track.
Fernando, you mentioned avoiding the spinning Romain Grosjean in the Lotus.
Just tell us in a bit more detail what it was like to see that car go
through 90 degrees and work out what to do next.
FA: Well, I had a fantastic start and in the first 10 metres I was side by
side with Romain and I was passing Lewis as well but it was fair. They went
close to each other and I put the car in the middle I think I touched Romain
with my rear left and his right front and after that touch he spun. We were
lucky that nothing was damaged on the car. After that spin of Romain,
positions mixed a little bit. I think I saw Vettel like position five or six
after the start. So some people were hurt and some people gained some
advantage.
Back to you Mark, you’re the sixth different winner in the first six grands
prix of the season – never happened before in Formula One. What’s it like to
be part of this amazing season?
MW: Pretty good. I think we’re a little bit… like Fernando said, it’s up and
down quali and the races are hard to predict so even for us, how we judge
how the grand prix is going to unfold is not particularly straightforward.
That is sometimes frustrating for us, because we’d like to push the limit
and get the most out of everything we have, but we have to leave margin in
not only strategy but also in driving and all that sort of stuff. So it’s
different to how it was in the past. So maybe we’ll have seven different
winners after Montreal, you never know. But hopefully we can get a bit of
routine now. I think we got the maximum; we absolutely got the maximum out
of this weekend. We were very, very fortunate to get pole. I was very, very
happy with my lap. Then we knew that he race was our, not to lose, but it
was a very, very special victory for us today. So, more to come hopefully.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Well done Mark. Was it any easier the second time? I don’t suppose it was.
MW: This one was harder. Obviously the strategy was very different but we
knew that from the start of the race that it was going to be different to
the 2010 victory if I managed to try to win here. The start of the grand
prix was reasonably going to plan on the supersoft. Pretty happy with how
long that tyre went but we still couldn’t quite get the gaps that we were
after in terms of the mid-pack. Obviously Nico went for it, a bit shorter,
and I was a little surprised that he went then because the tyres were still
going not too bad – but it was worth a go. And then the race started to take
a little bit of a different phase because then we had… going to the prime
tyre – the soft – wasn’t our ideal. We had to run it, obviously, but it was
a very tricky tyre to get started. Obviously Seb was in the groove and
underway and he was doing some very quick lap times in that part of the
grand prix. And it was hard for us to get going, so I had to keep an eye on
the Sebastian gap but also manage the… we needed to finish the grand prix on
those tyres. So when Seb pitted, then I could revert my concentration back
to Nico. It was pretty good after that. I must say that there were a lot of
marbles on the track. Marbles are tricky, especially at Turn Three, the
track was incredibly narrow there, it was just one car width wide, and then
the rain. And it’s always tricky when you’re the first guy arriving into
corners when it’s sprinkling. So, again, on other tracks and in different
conditions, a little bit of rain like that, you wouldn’t really have to back
off so much for it but all of a sudden the car is wheel spinning, the
front’s not biting, and around this place that’s not very encouraging.
Particularly when you’re in the lead with only ten minutes to go in the
race. So it required me then to really, really control the race and get the
car home. The start was key, the pitstop was key, both of them went well. I
did a little bit of work in between and we got an incredible victory that
I’m very, very happy with. It’s great memories for me to win here twice,
fair and square off the pole positions. So I’m happy. Nico kept me honest. I
had him under control but he drove well as well, and after that I didn’t see
what else happened – but yeah, it was good grand prix.
Nico, at the start was there anything you could have done any better?
NR: No! My engineer and my team gave me a great start – but the problem was
Mark had a great start too. I got away really well but he did too. We were
miles clear of everybody else but not enough to get him. And from then on
Mark drove a really, really good race, very controlled and at all times in
control of what he was doing and in control of me also. So there was not
much I could do. But in general it’s been a really good weekend for me, for
the team and I have to say that I think I had the best car out there today,
that was my feeling, so that’s really cool and lets me home for a lot more
in the next few races. It’s really nice to see how we’re progressing so
quickly.
You got a lot closer in the rain, in the wet conditions, did you have any
plans how you were going to get past?
NR: No – I was hoping I might get a chance or something but my tyres were
really struggling too and also I had Fernando behind me and at times it was
very difficult, just front and rear warm up, tyres lost temperature and then
they picked up again towards the end. So it was a little bit easier in the
end but very much on the limit.
What does it mean to be standing here on the podium here in your home town,
as it were, your home country?
NR: It’s very special, having grown up here. It’s great. The way through the
tunnel is my way to school, so it was fantastic and I’m very happy.
Fernando, I guess the crucial thing was jumping Hamilton at the pit stop?
FA: Yes. I think the start was the first point where we had the opportunity
to gain some places, we did a great start again. We had to lift off because
there was no space between Lewis and Grosjean, if not we could also overtake
Lewis at the start and maybe the race was different. It was good being
fourth in the first corner and then Lewis had quite big degradation because
he was so slow and before the pit stop we get close and then with one extra
lap it was enough to jump him at the stop. I think the tyres were
surprisingly good, surprisingly consistent, so with the warm-up problems and
the pace that we had after the pit stop, I think if we run longer with that
tyre maybe there was the chance to win even more positions, as Sebastian
tried to do. So, that was close but it is always difficult to predict. I
think it was surprisingly good, the supersoft, and maybe surprisingly
difficult to warm up the softs. You never know – only after the race.
Did you have any plans at the end? You were all so close…
FA: If rain, then yes. I think at 20 laps to the end they said ‘maybe rain
is coming’. And I said, if rain is coming we have to attack. We would put on
intermediate tyres and there is always a better chance to overtake in the
wet than in the dry. We were out there ready to risk, because victory in
Monaco means a lot. So, we were optimistic on that, but then five or six
laps to the end with the drops of rain that we had, I think we were all
praying ‘no more rain’ because it was so difficult. As Mark explained, the
difficulty of being the first two or three cars, you don’t know how the next
corner will be. You have a little snap, a little bit of front problem in the
corner before, you see all the drops on the visor on the straight and when
you approach the next corner at 250kph, how wet will be that corner? You
never know. At that point, five laps to the end, we all, I think, want to
keep positions and finish the race as we were.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Mark, were your settings very different from
Seb’s? And is it one of the keys to your victory today?
MW: I think, in general, qualifying has gone very well for me this year. Seb
got me once in Bahrain, the rest have gone for well for me. Set-up-wise,
we’ve always been pretty close, we always work very well as a team, to get
the most out of both cars. He made some changes before qualifying, which –
it looks in hindsight he wasn’t particularly happy with. That’s how it is
sometimes for us drivers. Obviously we get it wrong and we get it right.
Round here, if you haven’t got the confidence, then you’re not quick, which
happened with Seb. He didn’t have the confidence in qualifying and he
couldn’t produce the times, so that can happen at any venue. If you want to
look at the battle between us then it was key that obviously qualifying went
well for me but then I had my own battle with these guys, so if I just
relaxed and tried to bed in by one tenth, I would have qualified eighth, so
I need to keep my finger out and keep going.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Mark, you and Seb are tied three points behind
Fernando. You’ve said before that wins are what you really need for a
championship; you got 25 points today. How much does that boost your
championship bid?
MW: It’s timely off the back of a difficult weekend for us in Barcelona,
through a few small things that we got wrong, and ultimately we paid for
that with no points in Barcelona. Up until then, generally, we’ve got the
maximum out of most weekends, and that was the case this weekend. So that’s
all we can keep doing, Dan, is getting the most out of each weekend. In
Shanghai, Nico was untouchable, Barcelona the Williams was quick. So we need
to be scoring all the time and then when days like this come along you just
cannot let them go at all. You have to grab them with both hands and feet
and hang on to them like hell. That was the plan today but consistency is
nice, but wins are what wins championships – well, DNFs can shag
championships as well, but you need to win and then keep consistent.
Q: (Jaime Rodriguez –El Mundo) Fernando, you seemed extremely happy on the
podium. What does it mean for you to be leading the championship, and what
is the secret of this change in the team?
FA: I was happy all weekend. Yesterday there was some disappointment in the
atmosphere around the result in qualifying, because we had been strong in
free practice and then maybe people expected us to be fighting for better
positions in qualifying, but inside the team we were extremely happy. We
were fifth and seventh for the first time in 2012, both in Q3 after fighting
to get through in some of the races one month ago, so this was definitely a
very strong weekend with a good qualifying position and I think a good race
position as well. In fact we overtook some other teams in the Constructors’
championship today with some good points, finally, so I was happy for that,
happy for the direction or happy for the momentum that we seemed to have
kept from the Mugello test so that we brought some updates for the car.
Everything seems to work, not as at the start of the championship when some
of the updates were negative and we were a little bit lost, so now we are
happy not for the result, not for the pace which we understand that we need
to improve - we are not the fastest out there - but happy for the direction
that it seems we are in. Everything that we put on the car seems positive,
so the next couple of weeks will be important.
Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) Mark, at what stage did you think you
had the race won?
MW: Lap 78, out of turn 19. That’s Monaco. I watched the 1983 or ’82 Monaco
Grand Prix. Prost was leading with two laps to go and he crashed. So you
never get ahead of yourself around here, because you’ll get bitten in the
arse really hard. So after the last corner was when I thought I was going to
win.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Fernando, the lap before your
pit stop, you had two purple sectors. Was the set of tyres good enough to do
again the next but one lap and could you have possibly jumped Nico or even
Mark?
FA: Yeah, definitely I think so, but as I explained before, nobody predicted
the problems with the soft tyre warm-up today. The temperature, the track
conditions, whatever it was, the soft was not very quick at the beginning,
so when the people around us stopped, you need to make a decision. At the
same time, nobody predicted that on lap 30, the supersoft would do pink
sectors every lap. Knowing now what Sebastian tried to do and how our in lap
was and the tyre state on that lap, with a few more laps, for sure we could
jump Nico and Mark.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, last year, at the same
Grand Prix, you had a completely different situation than you have today,
mainly compared to your teammate. He had won several races, you nothing,
even inside the team it was different. Can you tell us what is the big
difference between last year and this year?
MW: Yeah, last year was a little bit of a mystery to be honest. The gap
sometimes was really really extreme and it was hard for me to understand why
it was like that sometimes. I think there was also a factor of me getting on
top of the tyres but it wasn’t all of it. I didn’t feel that I had lost that
much form but as the season went on, obviously things got a bit closer and a
little bit better. But you’re correct in your question, the first five
months was very tough and I was in a different category to the other car,
whereas this year it’s much much more like 2009 or 2010, which is nice.
Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Mark, Red Bull Racing won today and the
last two Grands Prix in Monaco. How do you do it?
MW: Well, we’ve been on pole position for the last three years here as well,
which is a big help. 2010 was a similar race – actually the last three have
been similar. I think they’ve all been one stop races, obviously different
safety cars. Sebastian had a red flag to help him a little bit to get him
over the line last year, but generally I think that we’ve had a very very
good car every time we’ve come here. I think this year is probably the
weakest car we’ve had here in the three years that we’ve come here, but it
was still enough to win, so the other years were a little bit more
straightforward, this one was much much more difficult. I don’t know, maybe
the guys are drinking a lot of Red Bull and it gets them in the zone for the
special weekend, but they’re very fortunate we’ve won three in row here and
it’s a brilliant effort from the team. |
