Team reaction after race in Abu Dhabi (part 1)

Sebastian Vettel: I’m speechless. I don’t know what you are supposed to say in these moments, it has been an incredibly tough season for myself and all of us, physically and mentally. We always kept believing in ourselves – no matter what people said – in the team and in our car. I kept believing in myself and today was a special day all round. I got up this morning and tried not to think about anything; I tried to avoid contact with
people and just tried to do my own thing. I knew all I could try to do was win this race and do my best. We only led this Championship once this season, but it was when it mattered. The car was phenomenal today; the start was very tight with Lewis (Hamilton), and I had some graining in the first stint, but then the car stabilised and was a dream. To be honest, I didn’t know anything until I passed the chequered flag. I was wondering, because my race engineer Rocky was trying to give me advice every lap to help me carry the car home and I was thinking ‘Why’s this guy so nervous, we must be in a bloody good position!’ Then crossing the line he came on the radio and very silently said ‘it’s looking good, we have to wait until all the cars finish’. I was thinking ‘what does he mean,’ as I hadn’t seen the screens - I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get any distractions during the race and focused on myself. Then Christian came on the radio and screamed at me that we had won the World Championship – I have to say thanks to so many people. To
start with, the team: that’s all the people here at the track and all the people in Milton Keynes – they are pushing like hell and I think they will be enjoying this moment as much as last week. Also everyone back in Austria, who has supported me from the beginning – it’s been an incredible journey with Red Bull and, after all the ups and downs this season, to come here now and win the Championship is unbelievable. Thanks to everyone I have known from the early days in karting and those in my home town of Heppenheim to now,
thank you so much.”

Mark Webber: “It was a big day and we had the chance to do something incredibly unique, but in the end it didn’t turn out for us. Earlier in the race we knew we had to roll the dice and go for it with the strategy, but it left us exposed and Fernando (Alonso) covered us. I tried my absolute hardest and we did everything we could, but in the end it wasn’t enough. You’ve got to take your hat off to Sebastian, he’s done a great job all year
and to lead the Championship at the last race, he’s got the timing right and I fully congratulate him on the World Championship. I was in with a chance of winning the Championship until the last race, so I must have been doing something right and in the end there are a lot of positives. I feel I have driven very well for most of the season and that’s the most important thing to me. This weekend didn’t turn out and it’s a shame,
but it’s a good time to reflect in the next few weeks and look back at the highs and the lows but that’s the way the sport is sometimes. There have been quite a few emotions over the last couple of weeks; when you come so close to the top and just miss out, it’s a shame, but I tried my absolute hardest and I have great guys around me. I think two championships for the team is not bad and I’ll be fighting again next season.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “It’s an unbelievable outcome. The first time Sebastian has led the Championship is at the last race of the year, but arguably that’s the only time you need to lead it. He’s stuck with it though this year, he’s had some tough times and he’s had his issues with reliability here and there, but he’s never lost his focus. He’s the youngest ever Formula One World Champion and a very deserving World Champion. It’s down to what he’s done on the circuit and the whole team is hugely proud
of what he’s achieved today. We mustn’t forget Mark in all this and what an incredible job he’s done this year. He’s driven superbly well, he’s won four grand prix victories and has taken the Championship to the final race. It could have gone to either one of them this year and it’s a great privilege to have these two guys in our team. But today belongs to Sebastian Vettel and it’s fantastic to have Mr Mateschitz here to witness our first Drivers’ World Championship. It’s been a very big and emotional week for the team and
I’d like to thank every single member, all our suppliers, everyone at Red Bull and Dietrich Mateschitz for his unfaltering support. It’s been a very, very big week.”

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “I have to say wow again and so soon after Interlagos. It’s a great moment. Sebastian with his superb driving undid the mechanical problems we had and the engine failure. We have had such a great year and have won both titles. We are really proud to be Red Bull Racing’s engine partner and proud to help Seb to his title, it ends the 2010 season in a great way. I would like to thank all the guys in the factory at Red Bull, everyone at the Renault factory in Viry-Chatillon and everyone at Mechachrome for this fantastic year we have all shared together.”

Lewis Hamilton: “We’ve ended this year on a high – to get both of us onto the podium and to clinch runner-up spot in the constructors’ world championship represent a great achievement for the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.
I was able to match Sebastian’s [Vettel] pace in the early part of the race – but, after my pitstop, I was stuck behind Robert [Kubica]. It was just impossible to get past him – he made no mistakes – so it wasn’t possible to resume my attack on Sebastian. But that’s the way motor racing goes sometimes.
The team has been pushing so hard for the whole season – I’m so proud of everyone. Now, though, I’m already looking ahead to next year, when I hope our car will be even better, so that we can do battle at the very front from the first race of the season.
There are 15 weeks to go until the 2011 season starts – it can’t come soon enough!”

Jenson Button: “It’s been an exciting year for Formula 1. We’ve all had our ups and downs, including the new world champion Sebastian. But he’s a very talented driver and he thoroughly deserves his success.
It was nice to be on the podium with the new world champion, and with Lewis, who was of course the 2008 world champion. Our main aim today was to clinch second place in the constructors’ world championship, and we did that comfortably.
During the year I’ve had some very good Sundays but some difficult Saturdays – and that’s something I’m going to work on over the winter. Overall, however, I’m very happy with my first season at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
I want to say thank you to the entire team. It didn’t turn out quite as we’d hoped, but there have been a lot of good days and a lot of good experiences that we can use to benefit our 2011 campaign.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “Both Lewis and Jenson drove brilliantly in Abu Dhabi this evening, and it was very gratifying to see them both take their places on the last podium of the year.

"Aware that it was unlikely that Lewis was going to be able to wrest the race win he needed from Sebastian on a circuit on which overtaking is notoriously difficult, we decided to call him in for an early pitstop and leave Jenson out for longer. It was a more or less risk-free strategy, because we were already running second and third and we still ended up second and third at the finish; but, given Sebastian’s pace and given the nature of the circuit, it was our only real chance of going for the win we needed for Lewis. As things turned out, it didn’t gain us anything; but it didn’t lose us anything either.

“Having said that, Sebastian drove an excellent race today, and on behalf of all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes I want to congratulate him on winning the drivers’ world championship. This evening’s podium was a significant one from a historic perspective: the three most recent world champions, standing shoulder to shoulder, and I’m glad to say that two of them were in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes colours.

“Last but very far from least, it shouldn’t be forgotten that we notched up 33 world championship points this evening, which is more than any other team scored today. That hefty points haul more than consolidated our second position in the constructors’ world championship and indeed lifted us to a comfortable 58 points clear of our friends at Ferrari, who, as is so often the case, took the battle to us again this year.

“We’re delighted to have beaten them in 2010; let battle commence again in 2011!”

An excellent drive by Nico Rosberg today saw him finish in fourth place at
the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Michael Schumacher was out of the
race on the first lap after spinning and subsequently being hit by another
car.

A good strategy call from the team to bring Nico in under the safety car on
the first lap to switch to the harder prime tyres put him in a great
position on track and an assured drive from there allowed Nico to make up
six places on his starting position.

Mercedes GP Petronas finished the 2010 season in fourth place in the
Constructors’ Championship with 214 points with Nico finishing seventh place
in the Drivers’ Championship with 142 points and Michael finishing ninth
place with 72 points.

Nico Rosberg: "I’m very pleased with fourth place and it’s the best that we could have
hoped for from my grid position. Special thanks to Ross and James Vowles for
a great strategy today. We had a good pace on the hard tyres, just like in
qualifying, and I was able to make the most of that performance when it
mattered. Thanks to everyone here at the track and back at the factory for
all of their hard work this year. Although we didn’t get the results that we
wanted on track, I am sure that we will improve massively for next year and
have more fun then. Congratulations to Sebastian today and he deserved the
title. Next up, we have the test later this week which will be very
important to get a headstart on adapting to the new tyres."

Michael Schumacher: "First of all, big congratulations to Sebastian for his great victory and taking the title today. That was extremely well done after his season was so
mixed but he was able to come back strongly in the last few races. As for me, I am totally fine and was not hit by anything in the incident. I had to go to the Medical Centre just for a precautionary check. I went off the line, spun and because of the dirt there, the back of the car just came around. It’s a shame obviously as I would have liked to finish the season
with a more positive ending but I am already looking forward to fighting again next year. I would like to say thank you to everybody in our team for all of their hard work."

Ross Brawn: "That was a fantastic performance from Nico today and a perfect way to
finish the season for us. As a team, we achieved the absolute maximum with the car that we have with a great call on strategy from the guys on the pit wall and a well-executed pit stop. Then it was an excellent and controlled drive from Nico who found the pace exactly when he needed it. Michael unfortunately made a mistake on the first lap and got caught out which is a shame. I’m very excited about next year with the team and drivers that we
have and we will have a lot more fun competing where we want to be.
Congratulations to Sebastian on his first Drivers’ title today, to the Red Bull team for a great job and to Dieter Mateschitz for the vision and commitment that he has shown over the last five years."

Norbert Haug: "Our sincere congratulations to the new World Champion Sebastian Vettel and to Red Bull Racing for a well-deserved victory in both Championships this
season. From our race today, the good news is that Michael was not hurt after his spin and Tonio was also ok after crashing into him, which was not Tonio’s fault. The resultant safety car and our very smart strategy to bring Nico in for the prime tyres was crucial for the race and for Nico’s well-deserved fourth place which came after a brilliant drive during which he posted the third fastest lap of the race. We have finished this long season with a good result with Nico beating two of the World Championship contenders. Thank you to everybody at Mercedes GP Petronas for the relentless work in 2010 when we achieved the best possible results with our technical package in the last third of the season. We are looking forward to the new season and our plan is to improve our new car in order to compete with the top three teams after having finished in fourth place this year."

Robert Kubica: It was a very good race to round off the season. I had a problem with a clutch at the start, and I was running in 14th position after turn two. When the Safety Car went in, I managed to overtake Sutil, which was important. I then found myself stuck behind Kamui (Kobayashi), who was braking very late which made it difficult to attack him. Eventually, I got a run on him out of turn nine and he covered the inside for turn 11 – so I was able to pass round the outside.
That was a key moment, and afterwards I just concentrated on getting the maximum from the car and setting quick laps. The car was still difficult to drive this afternoon, but I pushed really hard because I had nothing to lose – and I’m very pleased to finish fifth after starting 11th.

Vitaly Petrov: This was a tough race, on a circuit where we know it is very difficult overtake. We have been quite fast all weekend, and I am proud of my team and the good job we did. I made a good start and could have gained some positions at the first corner, but I wanted to avoid having any problems like last weekend in Brazil. We pitted under the Safety Car, which was the right decision, and after that I just tried to push while looking after the tyres, because I knew that the plan was to go to the finish. I had a long battle with Fernando, but the car had good top speed today so I was able to control the situation: I just did my job. If he had tried a move, then I didn’t want to crash with him, but it didn’t come to that. I came here to fight, and race every other driver, and I think I showed today that I can fight.

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: We were delighted with a very solid race from both drivers. Robert did a great job to pull off the overtaking manoeuvres that made his strategy work. He pushed throughout, had good pace and I think he put in a strong performance. As for Vitaly, he drove well, with no mistakes, and once again benefited from the engineers getting his strategy spot on. It’s a good way to round off the
season with both cars in the top six. We have worked hard this year to move forward, the
development rate has been strong and, although our ultimate aim is to win races and
championships, we produced a good car for the end of the season. I am very optimistic for the future, and I am sure this team and these people can take another step forward in 2011.
Congratulations, also, to Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel on their world championship
victory today.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: After a difficult day in qualifying yesterday, we’re very pleased to finish the race in fifth and sixth positions. Overnight, we had a long think about the strategic options for Robert, who had a free choice of tyres starting from 11th position, and we decided that it was a justifiable risk to start the race on the prime. Ultimately, that paid off well. Although the early Safety Car period gave the options an easier time, it also helped the prime tyre too, and it just got faster and faster as we
went further into the race. With Vitaly, we had planned to stop on lap one if there was a Safety Car, to put him on the prime tyre. We did exactly that, and he put in a solid performance to climb from tenth on the grid to sixth at the finish.

Rémi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: This was a very solid performance. Both Robert and Vitaly drove strong races, we got the strategy absolutely right, and to finish fifth and sixth is a very pleasing result: I hope we can carry this momentum through to next season. Thank you to everybody at Renault F1 Team, who have done a great job all year, and the same to our colleagues at both Viry-Châtillon and Mécachrome. And of course, congratulations to our colleagues at Red Bull-Renault who
secured their second title today.

Only seven points for Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the 2010 season, which came courtesy of a seventh place for Fernando Alonso and a tenth for Felipe Massa. This result means that Fernando finishes second in the Drivers’ Championship while the Scuderia is third in the Constructors’ classification.

Luca di Montezemolo: “Our morale is low after the conclusion to this season, but that’s sport. We had everything in place to win the title with Fernando but today, things did not go our way. All the same, I want to publicly thank the team for being capable of getting to the final round still in the fight for the Drivers’ title, staging a fight back which back in July, almost everyone considered an impossible task. We believed in it right to the end and today’s result should not cancel out what we have done this season. In all but two of the last fourteen years, Scuderia Ferrari has reached the final race of the season either in the fight for the title or having already won it. Fernando has had an extraordinary season, demonstrating his strength and determination, always being close to the team and making an exceptional contribution. Domenicali has done a great job, keeping the team united at all times, even in the toughest moments. It will take us a little while to get over this disappointment but we have to keep our heads up and be proud of what we have done. Finally, I want to thank our fans, who have always believed in us: when one sees so many Ferrari flags and so many people coming to visit our park here in Abu Dhabi, I am happy that Ferrari is still operating at a high level, especially for them.”

Stefano Domenicali: “There is a great sadness at this moment, because to come so close to our goal and to see it slip away for just a few points really hurts. We made a wrong decision in terms of strategy for three reasons: we marked a rival with two cars, we were unduly concerned about the wear rate of the soft tyres and we did not take into consideration the difficulty of getting past other cars on the track. Now, there is no point in discussing the whys and wherefores of how we arrived at this choice: win or lose, we do everything together as a team. At this time, I would like to thank our fans who have always demonstrated their great affection. This was probably the worst race of the season, but when you lose by just a handful of points, it’s clear that the title was not lost here, or at least not just here. I want to congratulate Fernando, who is an extraordinary driver and an extraordinary person. He demonstrated powers of leadership from both inside and outside the cockpit and we will do all we can to give him and Felipe an even better car next year. I wish to thank the team for the great effort they have always put into their daily work, at the track and at home: few people outside the company would have thought in mid-July that we would have made it to Abu Dhabi leading the world championship. Sure, and I repeat myself, now we are sad, but we have to keep our heads held high. We are Ferrari which means we are condemned to having to win, so a second place is a defeat: but this is also part of sport and we have to accept it. Finally, congratulations to Vettel: he had the quickest car and in the end, he was the best, which the points table proved.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s a real shame the way things went in this race. We had decided to pit early to try and stay ahead of Webber, but we did not manage it and we were then stuck in traffic for almost the whole race, both myself and Fernando. Unfortunately, the cars ahead of us were very quick in a straight line and it was impossible to overtake. At a fantastic venue like this, it’s a shame that overtaking is so difficult. For me, it has definitely not been a great season, as I had expected a lot more out of it. Now we need to react and try to prepare as well as possible for the next season. We made mistakes and we must try not to repeat them. Already, we have two days of testing next week with the new tyres: I am curious to see how they behave.”

Fernando Alonso: “It’s a shame to get to the end of the season and then lose the title at the final moment, but that’s racing, that is sport. Everything went wrong today, from the start itself to the strategy. With hindsight, it would have been better not to pit so soon, but it’s easy to say that when you have all the facts: however, it was definitely not an easy decision. I want to congratulate Red Bull and its drivers: over the course of the season they have had a little something extra than us and they deserve to be where they are today. I had said it over the past few days: this is still a great season. There have been some very intense months and I found myself in a team that has an amazing atmosphere. Now there is some sadness, but I am sure that in a few hours, with a clear head, we will begin to appreciate better what we have achieved. We have to continue like that, staying united and determined. We have to face next year with the same will to win which has characterised this one and, something I learned very quickly, is also in the Ferrari blood. We must improve the car and ensure that the mistakes that all of us – we drivers and the team – have made during the year, are not repeated.”

Chris Dyer: “We are all very down at the moment. We had the car, the team and the driver with which to win the title but we did not manage it because we made the wrong decision in terms of strategy, and there is no point in making excuses. We concentrated too much on what Mark was doing and we then were left bottled up in traffic and that cost us the title. You could say we looked too closely at what was going on behind us without seeing what was in front of our nose. It’s a shame because losing like this hurts, it hurts a lot.”

Jaime Alguersuari: “I am very happy with this result, my third points finish of the season. To be honest, I am not quite sure how I ended up ninth, having started seventeenth! I was very lucky not to be involved in the Schumacher accident on the opening lap and after that, it was a good strategic choice to change tyres immediately the Safety Car came out. After that, the tyres worked very well for the whole race with no degradation at all on the rears. I could feel the track condition improving all the time and that meant I was able to have an edge over Massa in sector three and maintain the distance in the first two sectors, even though he was probably fractionally faster than me. I am very happy with the team because they did a good job on the strategy so for everyone, this ninth place is well deserved and a nice way to end the season.”

Sebastien Buemi: “Even if the result is not fantastic, I still think I drove a very good race. I got a super start and managed to pass five cars. The team decided to bring Jaime in for a tyre change and keep me out during the Safety Car period. I think my team-mate’s strategy proved to be the better one as there was no tyre degradation, as he was able to pit and catch up behind the Safety Car. So I’m a bit disappointed, because I feel that if I had been on a different strategy I could easily have finished in the points.”

Franz Tost: “Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel for winning the Drivers’ Championship. It was the most competitive team throughout the season and Sebastian was the best driver, therefore deserving to take the title. As for our efforts today, Alguersuari had a really fantastic race, making a good start and then defending his position very capably. I think this was Jaime’s best race of the entire season. As for Sebastien, he also made a good start and despite not feeling quite at ease on the Option tyre he too did a good job. Finally, as this season comes to an end, we would like to pay tribute to Bridgestone and thank them for the close cooperation we have enjoyed over the past years and we wish them the very best for the future.”