Team reaction after the Canadian GP (part 1)

McLaren Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton: “It was an incredibly challenging afternoon, especially in the last 20 laps, when I was trying to look after my tyres while also keeping Jenson and Fernando [Alonso] behind me. It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that!

“This track is unique – you can never be too confident, because you really have to look after your tyres, and it’s so hard to know how long you can make them last. Fernando put a lot of pressure on me. We had a really good battle, but, although he was pressing me hard, I was able to pull out a small gap and then maintain it. It was such a sensational feeling to cross the line.

“In terms of pure pace, I still think the Red Bull car is still a little bit faster than ours. But, as a whole, I think our package is now stronger. So, going forward, we need to build on the progress we’ve made recently, and we’re going to do just that; we’ll now knuckle down and make a really big effort to increase that gap. We’ve got good momentum now, so I hope we can continue our winning run through to Valencia in two weeks’ time.

“The feeling and atmosphere within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is better than ever. The contribution that Jenson has brought is the best I’ve ever witnessed from a team-mate. He did another great job today to come from fourth to second – he’s doing his part and I’m doing mine. The team is happier than ever.

“This has been a truly fantastic day.”

Jenson Button: “Turn One was a bit too exciting for me – I got hit by Felipe [Massa], and I feared I’d damaged the car, but fortunately it was just rear graining that I felt, not a puncture. Then, when I got onto the Prime tyre, the car started working really well.

“But it’s so difficult around here – you’ve really got to look after the tyres, even the Prime, which was also liable to graining. But I looked after my tyres carefully, and in traffic I was able to pull out five seconds on Sebastian [Vettel]. After that, I decided to focus on driving flat-out to catch Fernando. And it worked: when we both hit further traffic, I was able to pounce and make my move.

“After that, I began trying my best to reel in Lewis, but I’d taken so much out of my tyres while chasing Fernando that I couldn’t get any closer to Lewis than about two seconds.

“Overall, then, this has been a great weekend for us. Lewis did a phenomenal job in qualifying – I couldn’t touch him – but it feels good to have finished second in the race just behind him. Hopefully, next time the order will be reversed!”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “I’m told I sometimes over-use the phrase ‘fantastic job’ when describing the performances of Lewis and Jenson, but I make no apology whatsoever for using that phrase again today.

“This afternoon’s race was extremely exciting from a spectacle point of view and decidedly challenging from a strategy point of view, and I think our engineers rose to that challenge supremely well.

“But, yes, Lewis and Jenson did indeed do a fantastic job here in Montreal this afternoon. They drove with controlled aggression when it was needed, tempered by patience and discipline when those qualities were required.

“I firmly believe that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has the two best racing drivers in the world today.

“Now, we leave North America and head back to Europe, in first place in the constructors’ world championship, and in first place and second place in the drivers’ world championship.

“We never under-estimate our competitors, who are working every bit as hard to win grands prix and world championships as we are. There’s a long way to go yet, but I can say without fear of contradiction that every single person at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is working as hard as he or she possibly can to maintain our positions at the top of both championship tables from here on in through to Abu Dhabi in November.”

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso: "It’s great to be back on the podium and especially to be able to fight for the top places once again. Today, we could have won but we did not manage it because, on a few occasions, we paid a heavy price for the traffic. These things can happen to anyone in a race and this time it was our turn. If we want to reach our objective, we must try and always finish on the podium and this result is a great motivation for a team that today did a great job, in terms of strategy and handling the pit stops. It was difficult to manage the tyres: the softs at the start suffered from degradation very quickly, but even the hard ones had a different problem with graining. Luckily, our car is reasonably kind to the tyres. From what we had seen in Turkey, we had not really expected to have this level of performance. Now we have a lot of updates coming for the next Grand Prix in Valencia: I really hope they will allow us to be competitive on all types of track. I have never finished on the podium in my second home race, after the one in Barcelona and I would love to do that in two weeks time."

Felipe Massa: "This was a horrible race, in which everything happened to me. At the first corner, I had an accident that put me out of the game in terms of fighting for a top place finish. I got a very good start, but I found myself sandwiched between Button and Liuzzi, who touched me and you all saw how it ended up. A shame, but these things happen. The car was very good today, as is usually the case in the races when compared to qualifying. After that, I was always in a lot of traffic and when I had at least managed to get back into the points, there was another collision, this time with Michael and that put an end to even that slight chance of points. I expect to do better in Valencia because there will be updates on the F10 and I hope to be in the fight for the top places."

Stefano Domenicali: "This result is very regrettable as it does not match up to the potential we had shown this weekend. Fernando, who drove a great race, could have won, but a few incidents did not work in his favour: these things can happen in racing, but that does not make it any less disappointing. Felipe seems to be particularly unlucky here in Montreal, given that something always happens : it doesn’t happen often that a driver has to change his nose twice because of incidents that were not his fault. A shame, as he too showed the car’s potential. Indeed, that is the most comforting aspect of this weekend in that we are back fighting for the top places. The fact we came here with a car virtually identical to the one we had in Turkey where we were definitely not competitive, is cause for thought: it only takes a few elements - circuit characteristics, tyres – to change the picture. Now we must push as hard as possible on the development of the F10: in Valencia in a fortnight’s time, we will have some significant updates, but then we must continue to improve the car to be in the fight right to the end. The Drivers’ championship is very open and if the Constructors’ one looks a bit trickier, the situation can change really quickly."

Chris Dyer: "On the one hand, there is satisfaction with the performance level we showed today, but on the other there is the disappointment with a result that did not live up to our expectations. We had everything in place to win: the speed of the car, the best strategic choice in terms of tyres, the quality of the work of the team at the pit stops. Unfortunately, a handful of unfavourable moments cost us the win. Felipe had a very unlucky race: here, the first corner is always very risky and he was caught up in a collision that was not his fault. Then, when he had at least looked like picking up a small number of points, important for the championship, there was the other incident with Schumacher. It is regrettable, because we should have left Montreal with many more points to our name."

Red Bull Renault

Sebastian Vettel: “I was surprised that I came in for my first pit-stop as the leader, but came out in fourth. I think everything we predicted to happen from our side was the case. The others came in early for new
tyres, as we expected. Usually though, their race would then be over because they should come outin traffic, but that wasn’t what happened. When we came out from our pit stop, they were ahead of us, so we need to understand what happened there. Otherwise, I had a gearbox problem from around halfway through the race, which meant I had to slow down. Also, due to lapped cars, I lost six seconds to Jenson in two laps, so I was unable to fight for the podium. But, it’s good that we got these final positions. Coming into the weekend we were not the favourites, but actually we had very good pace and we surprised some people with that. We couldn’t really show our real pace during the race, due to the way it unfolded, but it’s promising. It’s a close battle at the top of the table and,
as we have seen, things can change very quickly. There is no reason to panic from our side, we have a very good car and we’re looking ahead to Valencia.”

Mark Webber: “Tyres played a huge role in the race today and, in the end, we did the best we could. I have mixed emotions after the penalty this morning (Mark took a five place grid penalty due to a gear box
change). I had a good first few laps at the start, but that took its toll on the first set of tyres, so I needed to pit a little earlier than I would have liked. In the second stint I was ahead and was monitoring the gap to Lewis. I was moving away a bit at the start, as he was pacing to get to the
finish. I was trying to keep my pace constant, but in the end the tyres didn’t want that pace and they go away from you. It’s virtually impossible to keep the tyres from degrading here, no matter how slow you drive. In the end it wasn’t really a surprise to come back out from my second pit stop in fifth, as I knew people in front had been packed up tightly behind Lewis. We then turned the car down to save it for the next race. We expected this to be a tough event and in the end we were closer than we thought. I wanted to get some champagne today, it didn’t happen, but we’ll be back.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “It was an interesting race this afternoon. We tried something different strategically with the hard tyre, but despite managing to get our cars into a onetwo position, we didn’t have the pace to pull away on the hard tyre. We adopted different strategies for the two cars in the middle part of the race, putting Sebastian onto the soft tyre while putting Mark onto the hard. Unfortunately, halfway through the race, Sebastian had a gear box related issue, which we had to manage to ensure the car got to the finish. Mark finished just behind him
after starting seventh on the grid. We shouldn’t be disappointed with fourth and fifth, they are still valuable points in both Championships and they have been gained at a circuit that we always knew we would be exposed at.”

Fabrice Lom (Renault): “In terms of the result, it wasn’t such a great weekend. We scored some points, but not as many as we expected after yesterday’s qualifying result. Having said that, this track is very hard for engines and the positive thing is that we had a trouble free weekend, which is encouraging.”

Mercedes GP

An action-packed Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal today saw Nico Rosberg come home in sixth place, making up four positions on his grid slot, with team-mate Michael Schumacher finishing in eleventh position after an eventful race which was compromised by a puncture.

In a race that was all about managing the tyres, Nico started on the option and recovered from a poor start which pushed him down into the midfield. He pitted early on lap five to switch to the harder prime tyres and set some quick lap times before his second stop on lap 27 for a further set of primes. From there, Nico drove well to manage his tyres and position, finishing in sixth place.

Starting on the prime tyres, Michael got away well off the line and was up to eighth place by the end of the first lap after starting in 13th position. He stopped on lap 12 for his second set of primes and was battling with Robert Kubica for seventh place before a front right puncture forced him back into the pits on lap 14. Michael made his third stop for option tyres on lap 33 and had to nurse his tyres to the end of the race before eventually finishing in 11th place.

Nico Rosberg: “Sixth place was probably the best result that we could have achieved today so I’m pretty happy. It’s been a difficult weekend with a poor qualifying performance yesterday due to the tyres not working properly and I was unlucky on the first lap today to lose so many places from the chaos in front of me. But from there, I was able to do some good overtaking and push to make up the positions and our pace was quick. We had a great strategy but it was really difficult to manage the tyres. I drove smoothly to control the graining but every time I looked in my mirrors, it was getting worse. Thankfully the primes held after my second stop so we were able to finish with sixth place and get some decent points moving me up to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.”

Michael Schumacher: “At the start, everything went great and we made up places as we had been hoping for. The first stop was perfectly timed so it was looking quite promising. Then I had a puncture on the front right tyre after my first pit stop, after I got together with Kubica, and that obviously decided my race. From there, I was stuck in traffic and there was nothing more to do because today our weapons were not very sharp. Towards the end, I was trying as hard as I could to defend myself but it was only possible to a certain degree and my tyres were just ruined after having done more than half the race distance. I was fighting cars with a good top speed which was quite tough. Otherwise I would have been in a good position I think so we have something to take away to the next races.”

Ross Brawn: “We had a messy start to the race which unfortunately is what happens when you start in the midfield. Nico was blocked and Michael was hit which broke part of his front wing. Nico then had a very good race to recover up to sixth place. We called the tyres perfectly, Nico was fast where he needed to be, looked after the car when required and generally had an excellent race. Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed. Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tyre and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tyres. With hindsight, it was over-ambitious to try and get the option to last as long as we did and Michael really struggled towards the end. We’ve come away with some points from the weekend but not as many as we would have hoped.”

Norbert Haug: “It was a great race today and fantastic for the sport and of course the spectators here in Montreal and worldwide in front of their televisions. Our speed looked much better today than in qualifying and it seemed like we were in for a good race with Michael as high as third place in the early phase of the race. Without the puncture, Michael could certainly have achieved a respectable result. For Nico, sixth place was a good result and posting the third fastest race lap shows that our speed compared to our competitors was better than yesterday in qualifying. However we need to improve our car further and we will. Congratulations to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes on their second one-two victory in a row. The victory marks the 72nd win powered by Mercedes-Benz in 224 races since 1997 which is an impressive score. Well done to McLaren and our committed engine guys in Brixworth and Stuttgart.”

Renault

Robert Kubica: The six points I got this afternoon were my toughest points of the year. We chose to qualify on the prime tyre yesterday and hoped it would be an advantage in the first part of the race, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. I had a lot of rear degradation in the first stint, which meant I pitted early, then the rear tyres went off in the second stint as well. But it was an action-packed race: I had a close battle with Michael after my first stop, and then with Sutil before my second one. I was racing him on my in-lap and we were side by side before the last corner. I was on the right, so I backed off and pulled behind him to take my line for the pits, but he braked very early and hard: I had to go round him to avoid causing an accident. At the end of the race, I did a short stint on the option tyre and I was pushing to close down the gap to Rosberg, but I ran out of laps even though I was catching him quickly. It was a tough race for me but I think we must be optimistic for Valencia: the circuit should suit our car, and we will have more new developments to help us improve our basic pace.

Vitaly Petrov: My race was almost over at the start when I spun. I was trying to overtake on the right hand side when I got pushed out onto the grass and lost the car, which put me at the back of the field. I was lucky that I only damaged the front wing, which we changed at the stop. Then I had the drive-through penalties, which dropped me further behind. So it’s not really a race to remember for me, but it’s still good experience because I finished the race and I learned a lot about the track, which will help me next year.

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: It was obviously a tough race for the team in terms of strategy and, particularly, tyre management. Robert had a good first lap and gained some positions, but he suffered high degradation in his first and second stints, and that ultimately allowed Rosberg to gain position on us. His points were very hard-earned. As for Vitaly, there is not too much to say – he jumped the start, had an incident at the start and was penalised for both. We changed his strategy and hoped for a Safety Car that would allow him to gain positions but, for once in Canada, it never came. This wasn’t our best weekend of the year but we didn’t lose much ground to Mercedes in the championship and the basic pace of the car during qualifying was strong. We will hope to bounce back strongly in Valencia.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: This afternoon’s race was all about tyre degradation. We had hoped that our decision to qualify on the prime tyre with Robert would pay off, but we saw more degradation than expected in the first two stints, and that ultimately cost him position to Rosberg – even though we ran in front of him for much of the race. As for Vitaly, he had a character-building afternoon after receiving two drive-through penalties that put him out of contention early on. Although it’s frustrating not to have made the most of the car’s performance this weekend, the next circuit in Valencia should play to the strengths of our car, and we have more good developments in the pipeline.

Rémi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: It was a pretty difficult afternoon for the team. We were feeling optimistic after Robert made up places at the first corner, but then struggled to keep pace in the opening stints, which ultimately cost us a better finish. Even so, Robert finished seventh after starting eighth, so we cannot be too despondent. On the engine side, we had a trouble-free race and were able to push to the limit throughout. Now, we need to carry on working like we have done so far this year because we know we’re heading in the right direction.

Toro Rosso Ferrari

Sebastien Buemi: “I am super happy to have scored four points because we did not expect that much. The team did an excellent job, especially during the pit stops and also the strategy was spot on. I enjoyed some fights, including passing Schumacher which was difficult because, even though we were on the same tyres, with his being older than mine, he is a real fighter. Generally it was a tough afternoon, because there was a lot of degradation which is why we planned to make three pit stops; something we are not used to. The other worry I had was a broken exhaust from quite early on. I also enjoyed leading the race for a lap, which was a nice feeling. I hope this means my season will really kick off now, because I have not had much luck and the team has been working really hard. It feels so much better to have had a “normal” race today. Eighth place, leading the race and passing Michael. What a day!”

Jaime Alguersuari: “On the positive side, I finished the race. It was a tough afternoon which did not go so well for me, even if I was involved in a lot of exciting incidents and moves. The best point for me is that the team once again gave me a reliable car with which I could finish the race and gain more valuable experience. So now, I’m already looking forward to Valencia, another race on Spanish soil.”

Franz Tost: “I like coming to Montreal because Toro Rosso always seems to pick up points here and today we did it again, with the added pleasure of seeing one of our cars lead the race, albeit briefly. It was an exciting race for us, not entirely for the right reasons, as with forty laps to go, we saw that the exhaust was broken on Buemi’s car and we were concerned that he might not finish the race. Sebastien did a fantastic job, as did the entire team, because the engineers produced a good set-up on both cars and our strategy was absolutely correct. The four points Sebastien brought home today are very important for us as it means we move ahead of Williams in the Constructors’ championship even if we are equal on points and they are also important for him, as he has had some bad luck so far this season and hopefully from now on he can deliver more good results. This was the first time here for both our drivers. Congratulations to the team here at the track, at the factory in Faenza and the wind tunnel in Bicester for their excellent work which has delivered this result.”