1 – Sebastian VETTEL
(Ferrari)
2 – Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Sebastian, 46th victory in Formula One, very measured but looked like you
had some issues there with the steering, we heard lots of radio
transmissions saying “keep off the kerbs”. First of all, congratulations on
your win and tell us about what you had to manage there…
Sebastian VETTEL: I’m over the moon. I mean it was a really difficult race,
maybe it didn’t look like but I had my hands full from three or four laps
after the safety car. There was something wrong, I don’t know why the
steering started to go sideways and it seemed to get worse. Then I stayed
off the kerbs, tried to save the car. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t do a favour
to Kimi who obviously could go faster. I didn’t have the pace. But then
towards the end it did come back a bit. I had a couple of laps where I had a
bit of a cushion and I could breathe a bit. But yeah, I really had to stay
focused the whole race. I was hoping for a couple of laps to breathe but
they didn’t come, so really tough. But great result, great day. Thank you
for the support. There was a guy out of the chicane, every single lap he was
thumbs up, thumbs up and keeping us going, so it was really great.
Q: So you had one eye on the fans and one eye on the steering?
SV: And one eye on the steering, because it wasn’t straight.
Q: Can you explain that? Can you explain what can give you that?
SV: I don’t know, we’ll have a look, but to be honest it doesn’t matter now,
we won the race. It was a weird feeling because basically it was tilted to
the left so you go down the straights and the steering isn’t straight and
then in right-handers it’s sort of OK, but in left-handers you have to get
used to it. After a couple of laps it’s OK but if it’s changing all the time
it’s difficult because you have to further than you want and than you think
in your head. Not ideal, but as I said, it doesn’t matter. A big thank you
to the team, it was a great race.
Q: Kimi, there’s huge Finnish support here, maybe a couple of words of
Finnish for your fans before we got to English…
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Oh, I think they all understand English. Obviously great
support, unfortunately I couldn't give them the win. We had a one-two as a
team, so I had a great car today, but obviously when you… I had a mistake
yesterday in qualifying. I got a good start but I didn’t want to force the
issue and obviously after that just kept following the 71 laps. Not ideal,
obviously I want to win, but it’s great for the team.
Q: You have been very consistent on this race track, this is your eighth
podium here. Sadly, six of those have been second place. Clearly you had the
speed today; it’s just impossible to overtake on this circuit…
KR: Yeah, the other guy has to do quite a big mistake or have some issue.
It’s not easy to overtake and especially with team-mates you take more care.
But at least they are still happy – that’s the main thing.
Q: Valtteri, we saw a very sporting gesture from you, at the request of your
team, to move over for your team-mate. You must have thought towards the end
that he as not going to be able to give that place back because of all the
traffic and because of Verstappen hunting you down. What are your thoughts
on this great sporting gesture?
Valtteri BOTTAS: For sure in the end I was getting a little bit worried as
the gap was increasing. I really struggled with the backmarkers today and
was a little bit unlucky also with those. But really, thanks to Lewis to
keep the promise and let me by in the end, because I gave him the shot to
try and get past the Ferraris. It’s a shame, we had good pace in the end
today but with the starting position we couldn't finish any better. Just
want to say thanks for all the support this weekend. It’s been really cool
to drive here with all this support and Finnish flags.
Q: Did you doubt at any point whether the team would make the call on Lewis
given that you are in the championship battle, absolutely, but given that he
is the lead driver? Did you have any moment of doubt or absolute trust in
the team?
VB: Well, for sure when the gap was big I knew it could be a problem but in
the end I just want to thank the team.
Q: So, Sebastian, 14-point lead, that’s a nice way to go into the summer
break?
SV: I don’t mind; it’s OK. It could be worse!
Q: What are your plans for this break from Formula One. You’re notorious for
being a hard worker, are you going to be at the factory simulator or are you
really taking time out?
SV: Well we have a test here in a couple of days, but after that to be
honest no big plans, I just want to enjoy the time at home. We spend so much
time on the road travelling and I know you have a family as well, so you
know how it is, so it’s nice just to have a couple of days at home and rest
and enjoy that.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian that’s win number 46, your fourth of the season but it didn’t
look like it was one of your easiest. When did the problems with the car
first materialise?
SV: Well, it was a tough one. I was hoping for a bit more quiet afternoon. I
had a very good pace and I think Kimi had a good pace, so I think he could
go a lot faster than me for the majority of the race. I don’t know, I felt
already that there was something not right when we dropped the car on the
grid. Now, driving the car to the grid was fine but then for the formation
lap when we dropped that the steering wheel was not straight and then… well,
I did the start and then there was a safety car and then during the opening
laps I felt that it wasn’t right but it didn’t impact too much because it
was only small. Then it did get worse and towards the end of the stint it
started to ramp up and gradually get worse. It was more and more difficult.
Simply… I think after this race I am quite certain there is a reason why the
steering wheel is straight and not shifted to one side. Because it’s very
tricky – left-handers to right-handers and then if it keeps changing to
adapt. I did try to adapt and I obviously knew that we can’t change it. Then
I tried to save the car, also we spoke a little bit on the radio about it. I
was talking through the problem and they told me to avoid the kerbs, which I
was doing already, but on a track where you use the kerbs nearly on every
corner it’s obviously also compromising your performance. In the second
stint then I just wanted to make sure that I’ve got enough tyres with
whatever problem I might face, so just towards the end of the race I’d have
enough tyres. So of course I was holding it back a little bit. It’s not like
I had an awful lot more pace. Also, in the end I was really going flat out
and obviously they were all behind me, queuing and it’s good that you can’t
overtake that easily around this track but I had no room for error. It was a
tricky race, with the lapped cars not the easiest to go through. As I said,
there was no room to the cars behind. It was difficult but the mindset that
I had half way through the race was “it doesn’t matter. I can’t change it
now – I’d love to but can’t. We keep going and just try to hang in there as
much as possible.” The race felt very, very long. Every lap I was looking
down; it didn’t end. The last couple of laps I was able to find a bit of a
rhythm, opened a bit of a gap, which helped me to take the very last bit of
the race a bit easier through the traffic and controlled the race to the
end. The result is great. How we got there was very tense but very happy,
obviously great result for the team.
Q: Kimi, how do you feel after that one? You’ve said that you had a very
good car, do you think you had the pace to win this grand prix?
KR: Yeah, definitely. But obviously… I had a pretty decent start, our starts
were pretty similar but obviously I get the tow effect and braked slightly
later but obviously I’m not going to force the issue in the first corner.
We’re going to fight, but we’re going to fight fair. Since that moment there
is not an awful lot you can do. I had a very good car today, like it was
yesterday, but obviously my mistake didn’t help. The biggest chance was in
the start and then took it quite easily at the beginning and my car was
handling well and I was closing up. We were pretty on the safe side in the
first stint because we pull away from Mercedes and then I catch up with
Sebastian again in the end of the first stint but once he went in I had very
good speed, I could have stayed longer out. I guess there are reasons –
maybe the Mercedes they stopped earlier and they fresh tyres so… Anyhow, the
whole race, basically, following Sebastian and hoping that he goes as fast
as he can but not saving tyres because then there was a Mercedes catching
me. Once you are in the middle it’s a bit awkward place, because if you get
a bad exit in the last corner or something the guy behind you with the DRS
might get you with a good run but actually maybe once when I got a little
bit sideways. I must say the car was great today. I was just, basically,
following my own rear wing, same looking at least. Obviously I want to win
but great for the team.
Q: Valtteri, I guess it was an afternoon of damage limitation for Mercedes?
It seemed to be just a tense, difficult race for the team. Radio problems
etcetera, just talk us through it.
VB: Yeah, unfortunately we couldn’t really gain any positions today. First
of all the start was quite average so I couldn’t really attack in Turn One.
The initial bit of the start was OK but then I had bad upshift from first to
second gear so I lost a bit of momentum and after it was tricky. In the
beginning Ferrari seemed to be just really strong with the supersoft but
then when we went to the soft, with the issues of Sebastian, everything
started to be a bit more interesting. We were struggling with radio
communications – sometimes they couldn’t really speak to me. I don’t know
what was the issue – but anyways, I was trying to get close enough to Kimi
at some point to attack but there was no opportunities, and then we swapped,
as a team, and Lewis tried it as well. When he was trying, at the same time
I really struggled with the backmarkers. I felt that I was really unlucky
with a few of the guys, being behind them for full laps and losing time,
losing the rhythm but then the team promised me that once we did the swap
and I let him go and try that, that we would swap again back, if he couldn’t
make it. And he couldn’t make it and the team kept the promise, which I’m
really, really happy about and really thankful for the team that we swapped
again at the end. Big thanks to Lewis as well because I don’t think every
team-mate would have done the swap back. If you’re running for a podium
place – so I think that was nice from the team and nice from Lewis. But
unfortunately, damage limitation.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Question to both Ferrari drivers.
Can you tell me how did you deal with the situation, especially from the
mental point of view, having such big pressure from Mercedes behind – was it
one of the toughest tasks of your career?
SV: Well, I didn’t have a Mercedes behind me so it was quite… I saw
obviously that Valtteri was closing in. I didn’t know about the Lewis swap
and stuff but yeah, I was very busy driving to be honest and trying to keep
it on the track without using the kerbs, which wasn’t easy. I saw that Kimi
sometimes got closer, sometimes not. At some point I think they were asking
how much faster I can go. I knew that Kimi doesn’t feel comfortable because
he was a lot faster. I know that I wasn’t very quick, so not a great
position, as he said, to be in the middle for him but for me obviously it
was good because I had Kimi and then, let’s say, other people, so it was OK.
In the end it’s not so easy to pass here. I still had some pace – I don’t
think I was completely off the pace, which obviously helped. But not an easy
on, as I touched on before.
And Kimi, that pressure from Mercedes?
KR: I was really not too worried. Obviously I talk with the team in the
radio but I was not too worried because my car was handling so well. Even
though I was very close, the whole race, to Sebastian, my car was still very
good and no issue with the tyres. I could follow very well through the last
corners. I had only one… two times a small issue in the second-last corner
and then in the last corner pushed a bit too much, really the only time my
car snapped, even once. But it wasn’t ideal, obviously, because I felt I had
speed and I was stuck in the middle because then it’s always… we know how
fast they can be on the straights sometimes, Mercedes. I also felt pretty
comfortable because my car was so good that I didn’t really… once there was
traffic or something and I dropped a little bit back, I could just speed up
and make the gap before the last few corners. So, that was just… to know
what we were going to do because I could have slowed down in the first part
and speed up in the last part. It helped me a bit. Not a big worry.
Q: (Tomasz Kubiak – ŚwiatWyścigów) Question to Sebastian. You said you
wanted to answer the critique which came after the last race. Would you say
now that it’s a job done?
SV: I didn’t say that. I don’t remember. Maybe I have a bad memory. What I
said I think, what I meant is that there’s always a lot of talk and it’s
good to move on and get to the next race and then the talking usually stops.
I think it’s normal, based on what you did last race. People say something
good or say something bad. I think something that has always worked for me
is that you’re never as good as they say, and you’re never as bad as they
say, so… yeah, if the Silverstone race was the worst race of the year, then
that’s fine, we move on. But it’s a long year, a lot of races, normal to
have some ups and downs. It was a nice race here. Really enjoyed it.
Obviously yesterday was great, today was a bit more difficult but the result
in the end matters and that’s what makes us very happy, obviously, that’s
what the team deserves. I think they are working very hard. Again, you
mustn’t forget where we were last year, the end of last year, and the step
that Ferrari has made is bigger than anyone else. That is easily forgotten
when you are fighting, challenging – but there’s a lot of things that the
team can be proud about, and they can be proud of themselves, so I’m very,
very happy. I think we’re both very happy where we are with the car. The car
felt good today and the whole weekend overall. So, yeah, it’s been a good
day.
Q: (Péter Vámosi – Vas Népe) Question to both Finnish drivers. Are you
interested in a day competing in the Race of Champions as Team Finland?
Mostly the question is for Kimi as you had opportunities with testing
Peugeot at World Endurance Racing, NASCAR, whatever, so you have really
tried out many cars. And Valtteri, what are you interested in more; to
compete in Race of Champions or Stars and Cars?
KR: I’ve been asked to be there many times but I always said that once they
go back to how it started with rally cars and then the proper circuit with
the two lines, with the gravel and asphalt, I’ll be in – but before that,
forget it. It’s not… it’s a show, that’s it.
VB: Yeah, I’d be up for it, I like to drive anything with an engine and at
least two wheels, so I’m up for it. I don’t really know much about those
competitions, I’ve never really looked into it but I’ve always liked driving
so…
SV: …but you need a team-mate and you’ve just lost him…
VB: Better change the competition then…
Q: (István Simon – Auto Magazin) Question to Kimi. Had President Marchionne
not been here today, would you have tried a proper overtaking manoeuvre
against Sebastian? Because you’re car has been obviously faster today…
KR: No, it makes no difference. Obviously we know as team-mates what we have
to do and like I said, I had a pretty good run into the first corner on the
first lap but being team-mates… we can fight but we probably leave a bit
more space and not going to force the issue as maybe against somebody else.
At the end it was obviously for a one-two and I can only look what I did
yesterday and complain to myself I was not in a very good chance to win the
race – but nevertheless my car was good and, as I said, we had a plan as a
team and, y’know, it was a fair game. Seb was yesterday first and he got
away first and obviously the aim was whichever way we finish we’re going to
finish one-two. That’s the aim. No difference would the president be here or
not. To be honest I haven’t seen him – apart from podium. Haven’t had time
so far today…
Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) To Sebastian. Sebastian you know Ferrari
history of team orders and giving privilege to one driver. Could you comment
please on Mercedes having one driver that is your main driver that is your
main competitor for the world title asking to him, give this place back to
Bottas?
SV: Well, I don’t know. As far as I understood, Lewis was behind you, and he
said he wanted to try, and the team’s decided to swap as I understand and
then swap back, so it’s pretty straightforward. I don’t think it’s the first
time that somebody has done it. Obviously if it works, great, if it doesn’t
work, then you have to give the position back – so I think it’s pretty
straightforward, otherwise you overtake yourself and you don’t need to give
positions back. Not sure I understood the question still…
Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) This is for Kimi and Valtteri: after
speaking with a number of Finnish fans last night who were very passionate
about you guys, and finding out that saunas are a thing in Finland, they
asked me to ask you guys what you plan to do for the break and how will you
celebrate being on the podium today?
KR: Obviously we have the test on Wednesday so from that point there’s not
an awful lot of plans. The biggest plan is to be with the family; obviously
we have some time and spend time with them. We have to travel an awful lot
so it’s great to have some freedom now.
VB: We’ll be testing here on Tuesday but then we’ll go back home to Finland.
We’ll go to the sauna and have a beer. That’s my plan.
Q: (Luis Vasconcelos - Formula Press) We are in a unique situation in which
the three podium finishers don’t have a contract for next year as far as we
know. Is this going to be a priority for the next four weeks or are you
happy to sort it out later in the season?
SV: I think there’s a bit more time to talk about these things but I’m also
quite keen to find out how long Valtteri lasts in the sauna and what type of
beer he is drinking, so I’m waiting for an invite.
KR: No different than any year. It’s not really my decision. For the team
knows what is my preferred option and then see what happens.
VB: Yeah, for sure soon we will start to… we need to speak (about) what’s
going to happen, obviously. I have no idea about the future yet so for sure
we will speak at some point but the problem is that the mobile phone is not
so good in the sauna. It doesn’t work so it could take a while so don’t
expect anything in Spa.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire - Associated Press) Sebastian: you said just now we
mustn’t forget where we were last year. Ferrari’s made a bigger step than
anybody else; a 14 point lead with nine races left. Could you have ever
imagined being in this position at the start of the season or is this beyond
what you would have dreamt of?
SV: No, it’s what I dream about to be honest. I want to win so that’s where
you want to be. I don’t have very precise dreams in terms of gaps, points
and stuff like that. I think I’m more basic on my dreams as long as I
remember; most of the time I forget but yeah, I think all in all, the
mission has been to get back to the top so obviously we had a great year,
I’m only two and a half years in with the team. I think we had a great year
in ’15 which helped to get the project going. ’16 was difficult, I think,
for many reasons but I think it was a great year to set things up, a lot of
change for the team but yeah, over the winter I think we were the team that
made the least noise. There was a lot of talk about the new cars and the new
regs and how it will favour one team over the other and how it will bring
back other teams and so on. I was very happy that we just worked, we just
kept to ourselves and did the job. We have a great car. We know, I think,
by now with a lot of races done, what the strength of the car is, where the
weaknesses are, that’s where we need to work on. For sure you cannot expect
it to change overnight but yeah, I’m very confident the group of people… We
have a lot of people that you maybe don’t know because from the outside
people try to identify a team with one person in terms of who is the driver
or obviously it’s easy because there are only two but in terms of who is
designing the car, it very often ends up with one… you point the finger at
one person. It’s not fair. The team is very big and there’s a lot of people
so we have a lot of great people, young people coming up and a great
culture, people taking risks and that’s what we need to do. We want to win
so very happy where we are going but it’s not yet enough. Today’s great, we
got a one-two but that’s what we want every weekend. We haven’t done it so
far, I know it’s difficult but it’s not impossible so we keep working.
Q: (Peter Farkas - Auto Motor) Kimi and Sebastian, the Mercedes guys seem to
think that now it’s clear that the balance of power between the two teams is
track-specific so as you were very quick in Monaco and then the Hungaroring,
two very twisty tracks and at Silverstone they were quicker; do you agree
with that, that’s it’s track specific and if so what do you think will be
particularly strong tracks for Ferrari until the end of the season?
SV: I find it’s a bit difficult… I mean you have very little time during the
weekend to change things so I think it’s normal that some tracks are more in
your favour, also from a driving point of view. You mustn’t forget that we
are all different so some things we maybe prefer at some tracks over other
tracks and it’s not always the same. It doesn’t mean that (because) you won
the year before that you are always great on this track, you know. Maybe
over a couple of years you can draw other tendencies but yeah, overall, I
know we have a very strong car, we have a car that is competitive
everywhere. We have had circuits on which it was less competitive. If you
want to point out Silverstone, we weren’t quick enough to win, that’s a fact
but we weren’t horrible. It’s not like we were tenth and eleventh on the
grid so we still qualified well. We outqualified one of them on Saturday so
I think we are at the right track, but it’s normal that some tracks maybe
you struggle a bit more, some a bit less, then you can draw conclusions of
the car which might not be wrong, so it’s fair to say that we were very
competitive here and Monaco; Mercedes was less so but equally if you pick
the races out, it wasn’t like we were miles ahead and lapping them so… It
also depends how your race goes. I think the most important thing is that we
were always there so far, we always had good pace so I don’t think there’s
anything to be afraid of in the next couple of races.
Q: Kimi, you have a great record at Spa; do you think Ferrari can challenge
Mercedes there?
KR: For sure there are some circuits that fit us better because there are
areas that we have to improve, probably especially for qualifying, the
Mercedes has better horsepower but it depends on so many things. It’s not
just purely that you look at the layout of the circuit - ah this is going to
be good for us and this is going to be… The tyres… We can’t have it which
conditions there are going to be and a lot of small things which will make a
difference. Let’s have a holiday first and see what happens at Spa but
obviously if you purely look now, you would say it’s not going to be as easy
for us as here but obviously we try to improve and we are going to do our
best.
Q: (Zsolt Godina - F1vilag) Kimi, do you feel that you could have done a
better job with the strategy with the pit stop with a possible longer first
stint to win this race?
KR: I wondered it but obviously I had no idea what was happening behind us
when Mercedes stopped before us and then Valtteri went a lot faster with the
fresh tyres so the team asked me to come in. I had good speed on the in lap
so I wanted to stay longer but I have to trust what the team is telling me
and obviously they see the big picture so… We got close but it’s OK. |