Team reaction after race in Yeongam (part 1)

Fifth win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari, all courtesy of Fernando Alonso. Thanks to victory in this first running of the Korean Grand Prix, the Prancing Horse has brought its total of wins to 215 from 819 Grands Prix starts. For Fernando, this is the 26th win from 157 races.

Luca di Montezemolo: “What I am most pleased about is that we have shown that with determination, hard work, level headedness and the will to win, we can get out of the most difficult situations. We are a team that never gives up and we showed that yet again today,” said the Ferrari President. “I want to congratulate the entire team, who worked in impeccable fashion, Fernando who was exceptional and Felipe who brought home a very important third place: it was great to see him on the podium with his team-mate and Chris Dyer. “Now however, we must keep our feet on the ground,” continued Montezemolo. “The championship is still very open and we know we are up against very strong opponents. We will have to tackle the final two races with even higher levels of concentration, paying attention to every little detail.”

Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, let’s just keep calm about this! This has been a fantastic day, in which we have turned around the situation in the Drivers’ championship and also, albeit partially, put us back in a stronger position in the Constructors’ classification. However, we are well aware the hardest part begins now. There are two races to go: we must tackle them with the same ferocious determination which has seen us fight back in a way many thought impossible. I have said it so often in the past, but I want to repeat it even today: what counts the most in this final part of the season is for the team and the drivers to keep a cool head, along with reliability and concentration. This weekend we proved capable of doing that even in very unusual conditions like those we experienced today. We are up against very strong opposition, especially in the shape of a team that has managed to take 14 poles from 17 races: to be in this position with just two races to go is already significant. First of all I want to thank our drivers: they were great, not making the slightest mistake, managing a very stressful race in very difficult conditions. The team worked very well and the little problem at Fernando’s pit stop was soon recovered on track. As usual, our thanks extend to our commercial and technical partners, starting with the Santander Bank and Shell, the latter bringing us a new fuel here which also helped. Finally, I want to say it is an honour for Scuderia Ferrari to be the first name to go on the winner’s trophy for the Korean Grand Prix, in a country that is expanding rapidly and a market that is also growing in importance in terms of our road cars.

Fernando Alonso: “It is a great feeling winning this way, as it was a very difficult victory, given the track conditions. Especially at the start, the situation on track and in terms of visibility was really precarious. That was the most worrying time, because I knew it would be an achievement just to stay on the track. We had never driven here in the wet and so there was no reference point. Webber’s retirement slightly changed our approach because, all in all, it would have been sufficient to finish on the podium without taking too many risks. In the final stages, I witnessed both Red Bull problems from very close up: in these situations you try and stay super-concentrated, because you are coming from a high speed corner and there is no time to think. Clearly, this was a great help for our championship chances, but luck proves that Formula 1 is not just about the maths! If you then think about what happened at races such as Valencia and Silverstone, you can really say that what goes around comes around. Now there are still fifty points up for grabs: Red Bull are still favourite, but we will continue to do our utmost and try to always get onto the podium. The car has improved so much in the second half of the year thanks to continuous updates: maybe we have come away with more than we expected, but we know the situation can change from one weekend to the next. All the same, these results are fully deserved by the team and my dream is to see everyone in it happy…”

Felipe Massa: “A great result at the end of a very difficult race. I am very pleased, for myself and for the team. Fernando did a great job. After two poor weekends, I am happy to have stepped up onto the podium once again. I also want to thank the race director who did an excellent job of managing the situation, making the right decisions as to when to start the race and when to bring in the Safety Car at the right moment. By the end, it was almost dark and the intermediate tyres were deteriorating, especially the rears: there is a light on the steering wheel which is very bright and in these conditions it was quite distracting. We were a bit lucky, but we also did a good job, proving to be competitive even on this track. How will things go in Interlagos and Abu Dhabi? It’s hard to say, as the two tracks are very different one to the other. It will be important to have a car capable of fighting for a podium place and then try not to make any mistakes.”

Chris Dyer: “A really fantastic day, which shows how true it is to say that it’s not over until it’s over! Never give up is something we say all the time and we demonstrated it again here. Our drivers did an exceptional job in extremely difficult conditions, with virtually no grip or visibility in the first part of the race. When the race started, after the Safety Car came in, we began to run at a good pace, but then the race was neutralised again. We were a smidgen unlucky with Fernando, who just as in Valencia was unable to pit right away and had to complete another lap before coming in. At the pit stop, we had a problem with the two wheel nuts, which lost him a place to Hamilton, but then, partly due to the pressure Fernando was putting on him at the restart, we won it back. Everything went smoothly in this part for Felipe, who maintained his position. After that, both drivers managed the tyres in an excellent way, especially the Spaniard who was always capable of putting Vettel under pressure, until he retired. The final stages were very tense, because we did not know if the tyres would go all the way to the end and another stop would have compromised the result. It is hard to realise that after everything that has happened this season, Fernando is now leading the championship! We have two races ahead of us, against very strong opponents, but we have seen how our car has improved race after race. We must continue working in this way!”

Lewis Hamilton: “At the start, I just wanted to get out there. I love racing, and I thought it was safe enough – 17 laps spent running behind the Safety Car isn’t good for the spectators, and it’s not fun for the drivers either. Additionally, I felt it had easily dried up enough for us to start racing – so I’m glad we did.
It was very tricky out there, particularly at the end. It was pitch black, I couldn’t see much and my tyres were finished. It was a big surprise to see both Red Bulls go out. Fernando [Alonso] drove really well, but I’m very happy to have scored some points after a couple of disappointing races.
However, ours still isn’t the fastest car: I was losing a lot of time to Fernando, particularly in the final sector. But I’m sure we’ll be working flat-out to fix that back at the McLaren Technology Centre before we head to Brazil
We’ve got two races ahead of us – we have more coming for the car, and the guys back at the factory are doing a great job. Everyone is really enthusiastic and is pushing as hard as they can. The championship definitely isn’t out of reach – we can still do this.”

Jenson Button: “I just didn’t have enough grip today. I was really struggling with locking fronts as soon as I touched the brakes; every time I braked for a corner, I went straight on because I couldn’t stop the car.
Also, I lost three or four places when Adrian [Sutil] decided to drive me off the circuit – I don’t know what he was thinking. Even without that, though, I didn’t really have the pace today.
In my view, for sure, the race should have been stopped earlier than it was – it was way too dark to race a Formula 1 car in the conditions we witnessed at the end of the afternoon.
To win this championship, I’ll now have to rely on the cars in front of me failing, so today was a pretty disappointing day, all in all.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “Today’s race was an incredibly challenging one for all the drivers – they had to battle variable grip and poor light – and as such it was easy for them to make mistakes. That being the case, the fact that neither of our drivers made any truly significant errors all afternoon is a telling testimony to their supreme ability.
Even so, it’s almost always the case that, after a race as difficult and as eventful as today’s was, all drivers tend to look back on the odd key moment and wish they’d played it ever so slightly differently.
Nonetheless, Lewis’s second place was the result of a typically combative drive, and the 18 world championship points it netted him have lifted him to well within striking range of the drivers’ world championship lead with just two grands prix to go.
As for Jenson, we’ll have to debrief his strategy carefully, but perhaps we could have given him a better afternoon. Suffice it to say, at this stage, only that his first set of tyres were badly worn and we therefore had to change them when we did. His race was a bit of a struggle thereafter, though.
Going forward, we remain in contention for both the constructors’ world championship and the drivers’ world championship, and we’ll continue to push as hard as we can throughout the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, and until the last metre of the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix too, in our efforts to emerge victorious in both those title chases.”

Michael Schumacher came home in fourth place today at the end of a thrilling inaugural Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam.
The dramatic race started under the safety car due to the wet conditions and was red-flagged for 50 minutes on lap three
before restarting, again under the safety car, and finishing just on the two-hour limit.
Nico Rosberg was in an excellent position in fourth place, having just overtaken Lewis Hamilton, when he was hit by the
spinning car of Mark Webber and forced into retirement on lap 19.

Michael Schumacher: “I am pretty happy with today’s race and I have to say thank you to my team who guided me perfectly through the afternoon. I
am sure that the spectators had a lot of fun here today at this first Korean race. The FIA did very well to start the race behind
the safety car as it absolutely would not have been possible to have a racing start. The only shame for us today was that Nico
was put out of the race otherwise we would have seen a very good weekend for our team.”

Nico Rosberg: “We had a near perfect weekend with the car that we have until the collision in the race today. Qualifying in fifth place was
great yesterday and the car has felt good all weekend. The team has done a great job here and the straightline speed that we
had enabled me to overtake Hamilton early in the race. So it’s a big shame that my race was ended early. It was really difficult
to judge which way Mark’s car would go and I took the decision to go left but he spun more and more that way and I just
couldn’t avoid him. It’s a real shame as we could have had a great result today.”

Ross Brawn: “The team did an excellent job this weekend and have been rewarded with a very good result for Michael today. It could have
been even better as Nico was in a strong position and obviously we are disappointed that he was taken out of the race. Nico
had made a great overtaking move on Hamilton, he was very happy with the car and everything was going well up that point.
Michael had an extremely good race. He took all of his opportunities and drove sensibly in the tricky conditions. We spent the
latter part of the race looking after the tyres and making sure that we got through to the end as we didn’t think that we could
challenge the leaders. Overall a very positive weekend and we hope to finish the season with equally strong performances.”

Norbert Haug: “A good race from Michael today finishing in fourth place behind the World Championship contenders as ‘best of the rest’
after a great manoeuvre to overtake Jenson Button. A shame for Nico who certainly had the possibility of finishing on the
podium, given that he was ahead of Lewis who ultimately finished second, when he was caught up in Mark Webber’s incident.
A good job from our team here in treacherous conditions with no mistakes made which was very difficult today.”

Robert Kubica: Fifth place means good points for the team and it’s a good reward for all our efforts this weekend. It was a long, difficult race – and a race of two halves. The first part was very tricky for me, because I had big problems warming up the tyres. I had no grip at all and couldn’t push – I was just concentrating on keeping the car on the track. For the second half, though, I think it was very good. It was important to look after the intermediate tyres and keep them in as good shape as possible, to get the benefit in the final laps. That was when I managed to gain a lot of positions, which meant everything turned out pretty well in the end.

Vitaly Petrov: I had stopped early for intermediate tyres on lap 20, so they were pretty worn by the time we started racing after the second Safety Car period. I was still pushing to keep in front of the guys behind me, and I lost the car on the penultimate corner and had a big crash – but I’m okay. This was my first experience of such extreme conditions in F1, and I think the FIA did a good job to let us run behind the Safety Car and understand the circuit before starting the race. The team had made a good call with the change to intermediate tyres, and I was in a strong position in P7 when I crashed. Of course, I am disappointed to end the race in the wall and not in the points, but it was encouraging to be running in the top ten.

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: It’s a case of mixed feelings following a race where we scored a solid top-five finish – but also lost a potential double points finish. We made good strategy calls for Vitaly, and he was doing a good job when he lost the car in the final corner. In those conditions, every mistake will be punished, even though he was driving to look after his tyres. As for Robert, he produced a strong performance to finish fifth. He managed his intermediate tyres well, and was catching the cars in front of him in the final laps – and would have passed them on track, had he not pressured them into mistakes. His fifth place was the plus point of our afternoon.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: We had originally hoped for a top five position with Robert in the dry yesterday afternoon, so it’s pleasing to have achieved it after a tricky afternoon on the pitwall today. Robert drove a solid race in extremely difficult conditions – and did a very creditable job to climb to P5 by the finish, having kept his tyres fresh enough to be quick in the final laps. With Vitaly, we knew we had to be creative with him starting in P20. That led us to take a bit of a gamble, and put him onto intermediate tyres during the first Safety Car period. It was working out well, and he then benefited from the second Safety Car to climb to P7. After that, we were hoping he would be able to hold his position when he lost the car on the exit of turn 17 and had a big shunt. The good news was that he was fine afterwards.

Rémi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: Fifth position is pretty much right where we should have been with Robert, having made the right choices at the right times in the race. Vitaly’s race was going very well before his accident, and he was doing a strong job to reap the benefits of his early stop. But he was far from the only driver to be caught out by the conditions today. As for our engines, we had no worries at all, and everything was well under control.

An outstanding drive from Tonio Liuzzi in today’s Korean Grand Prix yielded sixth position and a further eight points for the Force India F1 Team, extending its tally in the constructors’ championship to 68. Starting from 17th on the grid the Italian drove a controlled race in the ever-evolving conditions to move up 11 positions and secure his first points finish since the Belgian Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil retired from the race on lap 47 after damaging his suspension in an accident with Kamui Kobayashi.

The Yeongam track was drenched by rain throughout the morning and after several delays the inaugural race was started under the safety car as visibility and track conditions were deemed too poor. It was certainly not the last time it would be deployed and Tonio was able to benefit from the final safety car to pit for intermediate tyres. He then moved into the top ten and despite heavy tyre wear in the closing stages of the race was able to move past Hulkenberg and Barrichello and secure sixth position, his highest finish since the Canadian Grand Prix.

Adrian Sutil: Conditions were pretty tough throughout the race and it was the right decision to start behind the safety car. When the track dried a bit I made a pit stop and tried to do the whole race on the intermediate tyres. I was just struggling with my brakes all the time. I had so much brake force that I always locked up and it was hard to drive consistently. There were a lot of times I was off the circuit, or locked up, and then got past a driver and went off the road. In the end I tried to overtake Kobayashi but lost the car on a patch that was a bit more wet than I expected and went into the side of him. I’m not happy with my performance, it was not a good race for me personally, but I’m pleased that the team did well with Tonio and the sixth position. I’ll now be looking forward to the next race in Brazil.

Tonio Liuzzi: What a crazy race today, a bit like Australia back at the start of the year, and it was very fun to be out there. It was the right decision to delay the start as there was so much water on the track. Unfortunately we had to do a lot of laps behind the safety car after that but the track was so slippery that it was really hard under braking. Then at the end it was like a night race without any lights and the steering wheel lights were so bright it was almost dazzling! Even though there was so little grip I was able to get into a good rhythm and get a great result for the team. After all the bad luck we’ve had in this part of the year it’s brilliant to be back in business and up there in the points again, extending our advantage over Williams and setting ourselves up well for the last two races.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a race quite like this one! We said it would be an interesting one and the constantly changing conditions threw up all sorts of challenges. It was a great performance by Tonio today as he kept his head and raced hard until the finish. It can’t have been easy in the failing light and on a damp track on worn tyres but he did brilliantly to secure those crucial points. Adrian had a much more difficult race. He feels he didn’t do himself justice, but I’m sure he’ll come back stronger in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Overall however a great team performance and a real boost for us going into the final double header of the year.

Rain, a series of safety cars, racing incidents and darkened conditions towards the end of the race, all conspired to create a memorable first motor race in South Korea this afternoon. Both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg survived the tricky conditions to take the chequered flag in seventh and tenth, leaving the AT&T Williams team to return from Yeongam with points finishes for both FW32s.

Rubens Barrichello: It was a tough race, but we were competitive today. I was lucky with the timing of the safety car and we were running in a good position right up until the closing stages. Unfortunately, I just ran out of tyre in the last five laps which cost us two places in the end. It was very difficult out there today so I’m pleased we managed to complete the race.

Nico Hulkenberg: We did everything right today; we simply had some bad luck. I came in just before the safety car was released which cost me time and lost me a place. We managed to claw back position and were running in sixth towards the end of the race, but then my engineer told me I had a slow puncture. I couldn’t keep running until the end as the car was totally undriveable. We had to pit and that cost us a big result today.

John Russell, Senior Systems Engineer: The inaugural Korean GP proved to be a very eventful race. Finishing the race with both cars in the points is a solid result, but seventh and tenth is not wholly representative of our competitiveness this weekend. While looking good for fifth place, Rubens suffered rear tyre wear and a loss of grip. Keeping it on track to the end put him in seventh. Nico was unfortunate to pick up a slow puncture on his left rear in the closing stages as it forced an unscheduled stop which dropped him from P6 to P11. He recovered well, though, passing a Toro Rosso on the last lap to take tenth. Everyone in the team worked well today.