1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Max, another podium, well done. It looked pretty spicy on the first lap,
the first few corners?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was very low grip. I just tried to stay out of
trouble. Of course I had a little touch with Sergio, but he didn’t leave me
enough space to basically took himself out. From there onwards, it was
raining a little bit and I just tried to keep the car on the track. Once
everything was stabilised I overtook the McLaren cars. They had a lot of
grip on the first lap, I don’t know how. And then I did my own race. I went
onto the medium tyres, we had good pace, but of course the gap was already
so big that you can’t really do anything.
Q: Once you cleared those early runners and you could only see the Mercedes
you had great pace there for a while but I guess the tyres went away from
you?
MV: Yeah, but also they were on the hard tyre and I think that tyre was not
amazing. Today the medium tyre was the definitely the best tyre, so it
wouldn’t have mattered if I had started on the medium because then I would
have lost my time on the hards. Overall we finished where we deserved.
Q: Valtteri, P2. You took off, in the early stages of the race, really
quickly. You looked so comfortable. Obviously the McLaren was right up there
with you, Carlos Sainz, but when you got established out front you were
really there, under control?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, the opening lap was pretty good. There was a bit of
drizzle and some cars behind with the soft tyre had the upper hand but I was
pretty pleased I could get the lead. But after that I just had no pace
today. I don’t understand why, but no pace.
Q: Take us through that overtake when Lewis… you really defended hard up the
right hand side, Lewis sweeping through for the lead?
VB: Of course I tried to defend, but the rate he was trying to close, there
was nothing really to do. Like I said, I don’t know why I didn’t have the
pace today. I was pushing hard but couldn’t go faster.
Q: We heard you calling to go onto soft tyres to finish the race. You didn’t
get them of course. I think you knew you weren’t going to get them, but
that’s what you wanted?
VB: Yeah, I was hoping to extend the first stint a bit and go for the soft
at the end but I don’t think it made any difference to the result today.
Q: Lewis Hamilton, our winner today. Congratulations we are privileged to
watch you making sporting history. Wow, did you do it in style.
Lewis HAMILTON: Thank you so much. First of all, I really owe it all to
these guys here and back at the factory for their tremendous work. They are
continuously innovating and pushing the barrier higher every year, the
target, and it’s just been such a privilege working with them and I’m so
grateful for all the moments. The reliability has been absolutely
incredible, thanks to Mercedes and Petronas and all our partners who are
continuously pushing again. No one is sitting back on their success.
Everyone is pushing. Pushing and pushing and pushing. That’s the most
incredible thing to be surrounded by. It inspires you, that collaboration.
There’s nothing quite like it. Today was tough, but it was all about
temperatures today and that’s something I was able to, with the set-up, I
was able to pre-empt it.
Q: It was a bit of a struggle in the early few corners wasn’t it. A little
bit of rain, and rain the rain is falling now?
LH: Yeah, I mean they said it was going to rain straight after the race. We
got some spitting just at the start. I got a good start but then going into
Turn 7 and I got a huge oversteer moment and you know, you didn’t know what
was next. I really backed off massively. Arguably, I should have probably
tried to defend from Valtteri but I was like “I’ll come back later on” and
fortunately that’s what I was able to do.
Q: You talked about some cramp in the closing stages of the race?
LH: Oh yeah. I mean, you know, it’s an incredibly physical sport but I had a
cramp in my right calf. I was lifting quite often down the straight because
it was about, like, pull. Pretty painful, but I had to somehow get through
it because it is what it is, you can’t lift for the whole lap. You know, I
could only have ever dreamed of being where I am today and I didn’t have a
magic ball when I chose to come to this team and partner with these great
people but here I am and what I can tell you is that I’m trying to make the
most of it every single day. Everything that we do together, we are all
rowing in the same direction and that’s why you are seeing the success that
we are having. My dad’s here, which is amazing and my step mum Linda is
here, and Roscoe, it’s a very blessed day.
Q: Ninety-two Formula 1 victories. Extraordinary. What does that mean to
you?
LH: Phew. It’s going to take some time for it to fully sink in, but I was
still pushing flat out coming across the line. I’m still very much in race
mode mentally. I can’t find the words at the moment.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, many congratulations. No one in the history of Formula 1 has taken
more wins than you. You are out on your own. Can you describe your emotions
as you crossed the line here in Portugal?
LH: Well, thank you. I think ultimately just very proud of the job that I
felt I was able to do today and the thing I was able to overcome, but also
the job we have done collectively as a team and it’s just reminiscent of the
beginning when I joined the team, the decision I took to join the team and
what we have done since. Did I think we would get to… I knew that we would
win championships. Did I think we would win as many as we have? No. Did I
think we would win this many races? Of course not. But it is a phenomenal
time for us and the great thing is that it’s not just me that is living with
the history, it’s the whole team and I think everyone acknowledges and
realises how much they are part of it, so I feel incredibly grateful to my
teammates. To Valtteri, for being the contender he is, the team-mate he is,
for pushing the team forwards – we’re generally rowing in the same direction
whilst we are competing, and it’s been a privilege to work with him. So what
a time to be alive.
Q: A lot of people are probably wondering how far you can go. How high can
you raise the bar?
LH: I don’t believe in the saying the sky’s the limit. It’s just a saying.
It depends how much we want it, how much we want to continue to raise the
bar and going by our history together, just the way we work, we don’t sit
back on our results, we keep working, we keep elevating. Every race feels
like the first one. I don’t know how that’s possible after all these races
but for me it does, just as challenging as the first, and I think there is a
lot more for us to do. Especially as we’re in this crazy time of the
pandemic. We’re in a crazy time with having to also utilise our position as
a business, as a leader in the business for inclusivity, for diversity,
there’s a lot of work to do. So, that keeps me inspired. My team-mates, who
are continuously growing, my fans who are continuously learning through this
process with us all, and our sport that is slowly changing, it’s a real
special time. I definitely sometimes wonder, you know, jeez I’m 35 years
old. I still feel physically strong but you still wonder when is it going to
tip over and lose performance but showing by today it’s not yet.
Q: Valtteri, coming to you. Let’s start at the beginning. What was the grip
like from P2 on the inside of the grid today?
VB: First of all I want to say massive congrats to Lewis for this amazing
achievement and being part of motorsport history, mate. Actually, some of
the interviewers were saying that what do I think about it because many
people thought it’s never possible to break the record but that itself is a
mistake and I’m sure Lewis always believed it is possible and he’ll just
keep going. So, really, hat’s off. Big respect.
LH: Thank you mate, appreciate it.
VB: From my side, yeah, it was a tricky race. About the start, definitely
the right-hand side was rather slippery but I’m pretty sure it looked a bit
weird for the spectators and for the viewers, looking at the first lap but
there was actually quite a bit of rain in the first laps, so that’s why the
warm up was really poor, especially us being on the Medium tyre, the warm-up
was quite a bit weaker than the guys with the soft tyre, so I think I
managed to make the most out of it with the Medium tyres in the first few
laps but yes, it was tricky.
Q: Tell us about the pitstop. You asked for Soft tyres yet the team chose
differently.
VB: Yes, I did ask for the Soft tyre because I thought it would be, for me,
the best thing to do. Something different, as the gap was already pretty big
by that point – but then the Medium tyre started to work. We started to have
a bit of vibration, which means the tyres are going to be really finished
and there’s always a risk of tyre failure, so the safest thing at the end
was to go for the Hard, just to obviously get the points. That’s how it went
today but fundamentally the main issue for me was lack of pace, which I
didn’t quite understand. Just didn’t have the pace today as I’m sure
everyone could see. It was a tough, long race without Safety Cars or
anything.
Q: Max, can we start please with getting your thoughts on Lewis’
achievements today?
MV: We were just talking about it. Lewis says he keeps pushing because he
wants to set it very high, because… yeah, I have to work hard to try to get
there! It’s amazing. What can you say? It’s just incredible. An incredible
achievement. Ninety-two victories and I don’t think it stops there. It will
go well over 100. He’s pushing me to go until I’m 40 years old, or
something. It’s a good motivation as well. Nah, anyway, it’s incredible. It
looks like or course he’s also going for his seven world titles, which is
very impressive. Everybody knows he’s very quick but what has also been a
very strong point is that he’s also very consistent and very rarely makes a
mistake and that’s why I think also he got to this number so quick. Yeah.
It’s just very impressive.
LH: Thank you mate.
Q: And just a quick word on your race. The start on the Soft tyre and also
the incident with Pérez on the opening lap.
MV: Yeah, it was quite eventful. The first two laps. The start itself was
quite OK. I had a good draft and, of course, down to Turn 1, it was quite
low-grip into Turn 1, so I had to go a little bit wide. It was hectic also
the first lap. I don’t know. In Turn 3 I had to go a bit wide and I had… I
think I was behind Lewis but I had Sergio next to me. He was going around
the outside in Turn 4 but then, I don’t know, he didn’t leave enough space
and basically he took himself out while I was just driving on the normal
line and luckily I had no damage – but then of course you lose a bit of
momentum, and then I had Charles and Carlos behind, so I had to defend, but
then I locked up a bit, so I had to go wide. Yeah, it was a disaster! I had
no grip and suddenly those McLarens were flying. They were absolutely flying
and I lost positions to them – but I also didn’t want to risk too much,
because normally they are not the ones we fight against in the race. But
clearly the first lap they were unbelievable. I tried to stay out of trouble
a bit, tried to settle down. Then I had Kimi behind me. I was shocked about
that because I thought: “Am I really going to… like, what’s going on?” Kimi
was flying, probably his rally driving helped him a bit in the first lap or
something because that was pretty impressive. He must have been P6? But
anyway, kept him behind, everything settled down. I got into a rhythm,
passed the McLarens.
LH: Shows you can still do it at 40!
MV: Clearly! That’s going to be so long. I don’t want to think about that
yet! I started when I was 17. I don’t want to think about being 40 years
old, driving in Formula 1! Anyway, then I got back into P3 and quite quickly
my left-front tyre died, so a lot of graining and I had to box. Once I put
on the Mediums it was fine. I think the pace wasn’t too bad. Took a few laps
to settle in – but also the wind, lap to lap, it was changing quite a lot.
One time you would go into a corner and it was fine. Next lap you would have
oversteer. So that also didn’t make it easy to really get settled it. Once
the tyres were up to temperature the pace was good and I just pulled away
from the cars behind and I could do my own race – but of course they were a
bit too far away from that point onwards. But anyway, quite eventful in the
beginning and of course I’m still happy to be here.
LH: Why didn’t you use the Medium?
MV: I don’t had one set for quali and I said I wasn’t going to risk it. I
didn't think the Soft was going to be that much of a struggle.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) Lewis, unsurprisingly, this is for you. Obviously
you’ve made a monumental achievement today – but you’ve done with an
incredible drive, one of the most dominant we’ve seen from you for a long,
long time. How does it feel to have such a fitting performance to mark such
a big achievement – and how do you think you were so dominant?
LH: I think today… first, when I come to these races I never think of the
numbers. I just never let it enter into my thought process. Today was really
about… we’re at this track, it’s very, very smooth, you see the struggle
we’re all having with the tyre temperatures, so towards the end of the race
I was thinking about what I will and won’t say in terms of what is
appropriate to say and not to say but ultimately it’s no secret, I think
today was about tyre temperature. I felt through the race that I was
learning, lap on lap, more about the circuit. I was trying lots of different
lines and discovering new lines that worked well. The wind direction was
very, very tricky, I think, today, lots of crosswinds, headwinds and
tailwinds and there was some positions that you could utilise to your favour
and others that kind-of get in the way. I think the key is the times when
you have a tailwind, it’s minimising the loss through those stages. Set-up
was something that I really focussed on. It was less about qualifying
set-up, and more for the race set-up and I think today that enabled me to go
one better, I guess, than before. I just felt like I was generally getting
faster and faster throughout the race – but I had to keep up the pace for
these tyres. That was really the key.
Q: Lewis, how difficult was it to get the tyres up to temperature at the
start?
LH: So we knew it was going to be tough on the mediums. Actually, I think
the engineers… they’re very – kind of – chilled about it. Yeah, it will be
tough but you’ll be alright. They, like, send you out… It was very tricky
and obviously it start to spit so when you’re often the first car into the
corners at the start of a lap when it is spitting, you’re the first one to
hit those raindrops, you’re the first one to hit those patches of circuit.
It’s different when you’re in second, because you can react, often, to the
car ahead but I struggled. I got to turn five which was not so bad but then
in turn six I had that massive oversteer moment and realised I still had low
grip and Valtteri came by, I was overly cautious, I would say, through seven
and kind of just generally let them by into eight, didn’t even defend and he
seemed to have more grip than me at that moment. Of course, I didn’t
understand why, but I was sure that at some stage I would get there and I
knew that it’s a long, long race here, so I just kept my cool and just
focused on trying to keep the car, the thing on the track, not make
mistakes, and keep myself in the race, keep this guy(Max) behind, because he
was also right on my tail. And even on the hard, it was not so easy to get
temperatures but it wasn’t as bad as it was at the start of the race.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, you mention on the radio that you
had some cramp towards the end of the race. How did that happen, how did
that feel, and did that affect how you were trying to get faster and faster
to keep the temperature in the tyres at the end?
LH: Thank you, yes, I was asking the other guys if they’d experienced
anything like it. I generally didn’t drink a lot today and I remember
getting into the car thinking I’m probably going to be dehydrated and I just
didn’t… I never drink in the race, never. And anyways, I started having
small cramp… it’s a very physical circuit but your throttle pedal, there’s
lots of bumps, undulations, you’re applying the throttle pretty aggressively
for pretty much every lap all the way and you never really get to rest. I
was coming out of the last corner, coming round turn 15 onto the straight
and I got the feeling that it was about to pull, like you’re pulling a
muscle, and it popped and it hurt so much, I had to lift and I didn’t really
know what to do, because every time I applied it the pain was there. But of
course I can’t stay off the gas, I’ve got to keep going, so it’s just mind
over matter, so I just had to keep pushing. It was pretty excruciating for a
couple of laps, but then it started to kind of…. I don’t know whether blood
starts rushing to it and the adrenalin takes over but I’ve definitely got a
bit of a knot in my knee, my calf. Yeah, I will seek medical attention
afterwards. Angela is a real physio. A lot of trainers here claim they are
real physios but they are not; most of them aren’t physios. Angela’s got…
MV: She’s got strong hands. She’s quite… she treated me once, it was not so
lovely. Well, it was good but not so very enjoyable initially.
LH: No, it’s not.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Valtteri, when you were on the medium
tyres, you mentioned getting some vibrations and as this tyre was wearing,
was there a particular incident that caused that or was it just the case of
the wear and you couldn’t keep the tyres alive as well as Lewis?
VB: I didn’t really have any big lock-ups so I think it was just that it’s
quite common that when a tyre starts to be at the end of its life, it starts
vibration so I think it was really just the tyre wear and that forced us to
stop at that point.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Max, you were making half a joke saying
you have to race until you’re 40 or whatever to beat Lewis record, but at
one stage you were being spoken as a candidate for the youngest World
Champion. That seems to have gone now. How frustrating is it to know that
your talents are right up there but you’re unlikely to set any sort of
records going forward unless you get the proper machinery?
MV: Well, you just have to accept the situation you’re in, because otherwise
you would become a very frustrated person if you don’t accept it, so that’s
what I did. That doesn’t mean that every time… you know, I come to a Grand
Prix, I always try to get the best out of it and it’s a good motivation. I
can enjoy third or second if I know that I push myself to the limit, I push
the car to the limit and I know that the team did everything they could.
Like again, I think today they guys did a few amazing pit stops again. Stuff
like that motivates me but also motivates them. I take my enjoyment out of
that. And in the end of the day, yeah, I mean everybody loves winning,
that’s why we are, but if it’s not possible, it’s not possible. Youngest
World Champion? I mean at the end of the day, I don’t think that when I’m 40
or 50 years old I care a lot about those kind of things. I just want to look
back when I’m at that stage, when I’m 40 or 50 and I look at myself in the
mirror and say did you get the most out of yourself? If you can say yes,
then I’m happy about that because if that means you win seven titles or
whatever or zero, you need a bit of luck for that as well, to be at the
right team at the right time. Sometimes it doesn’t work out like that but
we’ll see. I still have a few years ahead of me, so hopefully things will
change.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Valtteri, along similar lines perhaps, but you
have fewer years than Max, obviously, to beat this man. You’ve re-set
yourself several times over the years. We’ve seen Valtteri 2.0, but the end
result seems very much the same. How do you deal with someone like Lewis?
How do you keep going when he’s battering you so greatly as in today, for
example?
VB: It’s a motivation. For me it’s… as I’ve said before, I definitely don’t
want anything easy. It’s how I’ve been raced and what is my mindset, that I
will always keep going and it’s just great motivation to try and beat him
and it’s difficult but I know it’s possible and that’s the thing. And if I
give up, it won’t ever be possible and that will be the biggest mistake to
do and also what Max said, the main thing is really to give it all you have
every single time, make the most out of every situation. Obviously Max is a
bit younger, I’m 31 now but I still feel like I’m peaking. I’m not yet there
and hopefully, soon, I will be and I also feel I still have quite a few
years and I’ll keep pushing and that’s it. For me it’s very simple.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, just going back to that collision
with Perez; did you pick any damage in that and did it affect the rest of
your race?
MV: No, luckily no damage. I was a bit cautious on that lap because I was
not sure what was going to happen with the car, if I had damage or not or if
something would break but luckily I looked at the car when I jumped out and
nothing was damaged, so that was very lucky.. |