Sunday, 09 October 2011
“This was a disappointing race for me, but it was a great day for Jenson and the whole team. Jenson did a remarkable job today – he really deserved this victory, but it wasn’t a great one for me. Still, I’m going to keep my head up and look ahead to the next race where I’ll hopefully have another chance.
“Clearly, our car has the pace to win, but I wasn’t able to compete today so I’ll go away and look at the data to work out how I can come back and be competitive in Korea next weekend.
“In the race, I don’t really know what happened with Felipe – the car’s mirrors vibrate at high-speed, so I couldn’t see him pulling alongside me. I want to apologise for our cars’ touching, but fortunately nothing happened to either of us. There was no bad intention towards Felipe; I’ve got the utmost respect for him, he’s a fantastic driver and he was extremely quick today.
“Finally, big congratulations to Sebastian for winning the title. We all knew it was going to happen, but his season has really been flawless. It’s a fantastic achievement for him.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Today we witnessed a great drive from Jenson. It was a fast and tough race from the very start, and Jenson, Fernando [Alonso] and Sebastian all did a fantastic job today.
“Obviously, those last few laps were extremely tense. We’ve been in the position of hunting for victory, but it’s even more nerve-wracking when you’re the car in front! It was a very tense but fantastic spectacle and Jenson didn’t put a foot wrong. He drove with extraordinary calm, so today’s victory is incredibly well deserved.
“Lewis had a more difficult afternoon. We weren’t immediately aware that Lewis appeared to suffer a slow puncture to the right-rear in the first stint. That created a growing pressure differential across the rear axle, and potentially led us to add too much front wing to compensate for the lack of balance at the rear.
“In hindsight, that may have led to Lewis fighting to find a satisfactory balance for the next two stints as we attempted to restore the set-up he’d enjoyed during the previous two days. It was a challenging afternoon for Lewis, but he never gave up, kept pushing and scored some strong points for the team. He had the pace this weekend, so I’m sure he’ll be as tough as ever in Korea next weekend.
“Finally, I would like to pass on congratulations to Sebastian from myself and the whole of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. He has driven a consistent and error-free season, and I only wish we could have delayed tonight’s party for a little while longer! But big congratulations to him nonetheless.
“For all of us at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, our ambition is undimmed: we’ll be aiming to win all the remaining races, starting with Korea next weekend.”
Credit: Lewis Hamilton (www.lewishamilton.com)
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