Race - Mexico GP report: Red Bull Renault

DANIIL KVYAT

“As a team I think today we did a perfect job, scoring solid points from a solid race. The podium was very close and we were fighting until the end, but on the restart after the safety car we didn’t have enough pace on the straight and Williams went full bananas, so Bottas passed me quite easily. It was a shame about not getting on the podium, I thought we had it and we deserved it today, and maybe without the safety car we would have, but that’s racing and we have to accept it. The race was still fantastic though; good racing, good controlled laps and I’m happy with how all 71 laps went. We’ve been very strong this weekend and the track has suited us quite well. I think this weekend showed we can be champions if we get back on the path. I believe in this team, I believe in us and I believe in our future.”

DANIEL RICCIARDO

“It was a bit of a frustrating race. During the first stint with the options we weren’t really quick enough. With the prime I thought I had really good pace, but once I caught the Williams I couldn’t pass them. We lost a lot of time there and in hindsight, when the Safety Car came out, I would have liked to put the primes on as I felt I was a lot more competitive with them than with the options. Maybe it would have given us a better chance of getting to the podium. I wouldn’t say we were all that quick today, but to get both cars in the top 5 is okay. Sure we both want more but we’ll see what happens in Brazil. The whole weekend has been awesome and this Grand Prix has set the bar even higher. The stadium is great and the fans are awesome. It’s nice to come to a new place, especially when it puts on a show like this. The Drivers’ Parade was awesome too. I had goose bumps. It was very exciting to see so many fans cheering for us. As for the incident with Sebastian, I was on the inside and he took the apex, so I had nowhere else to go.”

CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal

“It was a great shame for Dany to miss out on a podium finish today. He had done everything right. Unfortunately, the Safety Car, which came out in the closing stages of the race bunched up the field and, given the straight line speed advantage of the Williams over our cars, it effectively gave Bottas a free pass to get in front of Dany. Nevertheless, fourth and fifth means we pick up a respectable number of points. Both drivers drove well, we had a good strategy and the pit crew performed well, with the whole team giving their maximum today. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough. This whole event has been fantastic, with a great atmosphere in the grandstands and in the paddock and the organisers are to be congratulated for successfully bringing Formula One back to Mexico.”

MATTHIEU DUBOIS, Renault

“We are pretty pleased to finish this very technically challenging weekend with both cars finishing in respectable positions. The altitude made our lives very complicated from a turbine and cooling point of view, and all the work before and during the weekend demonstrated once again the robustness of the PU, even when operated right on and sometimes even beyond its limits. It is a bit sour that the safety car cost us a podium, which looked to be in our grasp for most of the race, but we have only bad luck to blame for this. We are now looking forward to Brazil were we can put on another good showing.”