Q&A with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel
A second-place finish from a tumultuous Canadian round is an excellent result. But when you’re the defending world champion, fresh from three successive victories, and you had been leading up until a last-lap mistake, it’s much harder to feel satisfied with your day’s work. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel reviews his Montreal race…
Q: Sebastian, losing out after being in control for so much of the race must be hard. How does it feel?
Sebastian Vettel: I think when others were facing turbulence in this race we were sailing pretty calmly and making few mistakes - apart from mine on the last lap that cost me the victory. You can say that’s racing. But believe me I am terribly upset with myself and could scream! Sure second is not too bad - and it still means a good number of points - but a win will always be a win.
Q: The last three races have been nerve wracking to watch, but how has it been in the cockpit?SV: Well, the circumstances have always been different. Today it was pretty easy to make a mistake, as I demonstrated on the last lap. When there is only one dry line it is easy to go wrong in the blink of an eye. My rear tyres locked and I was some 30-odd centimetres too far on the outside - and there you go. I had to fully focus on not losing the car and spinning and in that moment Jenson (Button) seized his chance. Pressure from behind is nothing unusual, so the mistake didn’t happen because Jenson was closing in. I knew that I had to keep the gap to him and if you drive on the limit mistakes do happen. I was probably acting a bit too conservatively after the restart. I had everything under control, the car was perfect, I had a three-second gap to second, so probably I should have gone for it and made a six or seven-second gap in between me and the field. Maybe that would have helped me fend off Jenson on the last lap. But it’s stupid to cry over spilt milk…
Q: Eighteen points instead of 25 isn’t too harmful to your championship hopes …
SV: But it could have been 25. Regarding the championship, there is such a long way to go that it doesn’t make sense to focus too much on it.
Q: It is a pretty luxurious situation to be ‘unhappy’ about a second place…
SV: I am not unhappy. Of course I am glad about the second place, after such a difficult race. It could have been no points at all, but of course when you are leading the race until the last lap and then throw it away it’s not the best experience. You might say I am a sore loser. But I am not here to lose. I am here to win!
Q: What were your thoughts when you made the mistake and saw Button speeding off?SV: First of all I was busy keeping the car on the track. But of course it was clear that at that very moment Jenson would seize his chance. He could have also made a mistake, but that obviously would have been too much luck. I congratulate Jenson for his amazing race!
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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