Q&A with Sebastien Vettel - A lot of hard work to get there

Has this season been a bit of a stroll ; or a huge amount of hard work that you’ve made look very easy ?

From the outside many things might have looked easy but there has been a lot of hard work to get there. I think every single person has pushed hard. The car has worked fantastically well, our reliability record been phenomenal but Renault has provided us with an engine that has been reliable all year and has enabled us to enhance our performance and explore a lot of new areas, in particular around the exhaust, which became very crucial for performance, so it really needs everything to come together.

How big a part has that harmony played in your championship success ?

In the end all things need to come together and work in harmony – it’s not just the team but for all the components on the car ; the drivetrain, chassis – it needs to fit together and that has been exceptional this year. The amount of commitment from every side trying to make it work this year and the fact that it’s all come as one piece : if there was anything that made a difference, that was the one.

That you won at Monza this year, a circuit that is regarded as THE circuit for engines and power, does that add to your sense of achievement ?

It was a special race for us. For me it meant a lot to win at Monza as it was where I got my first Grand Prix win, but also for the whole team. In particular over the past two years we were struggling a bit, we weren’t quick enough on the straights, so to come back this year and win – for Renault it was the first time they have won there since 1995 was great. It’s has been a long time and we were waiting for it, and it was one of the highlights of the year.

People often say that the car has to seem like an extension of you. Can you say the same about the engine ?

In many ways the engine and the people behind the engine, the people that travel with us and support us every weekend, feels like one big family. I’m very familiar with the sound of the Renault engine so if that changed I would see a difference ! We have a very nice and a strong group working together. I think the co-operation between Milton Keynes and Viry in France with all the Renault guys is fantastic and they push as hard as we do, and are pushing hard to make the engine even faster. With the regulations being frozen it’s difficult to make a difference, but here and there you find a couple of things, not necessarily more horsepower, but some small things that can give you more flexibility that you could use during a race to your advantage.

Source : Renault Sport F1