Hungarian GP 2016

JULY 24, 2016

Sunday Team Quotes

Start, Hungarian GP 2016
© The Cahier Archive

Mercedes GP

Lewis Hamilton (1st): "I don't know what the secret is here. Naturally, having a great team and everything coming together is key. But it's a track that I think really works well for an aggressive driver. Today was one of the hottest races I can remember here. Looking after the tyres in those conditions was really hard, so I'm glad I managed. Thank you to everyone in the team for all their hard work - and to all the fans I have here. I don't know why but, when I go to Budapest, I always seem to have a lot of support. I love it here so it makes for a great week. I didn't know how long the tyres were going to last, so trying to spend the money wisely in terms of tyre life and being able to push when I needed to push was a tricky balance to find. The race was going really well and I was just thinking "huh, no mistakes so far" when I managed to lock up and went off at T12! At that point I was like "hey, stay focused and get back on it!" which luckily I managed to do. I've not really thought about the standings much but it's definitely a good feeling to get the job done here - particularly as it's not been my strongest weekend. Not as strong as Silverstone, for example. But it's been an awesome few races and I've just got to keep that kind of form up for the rest of the season."

Nico Rosberg (2nd): "Really, I lost the win in the first corner when I dropped down two positions, so I'm disappointed as I wanted to win the race and was confident I had a strong possibility to do so. It wasn't the best start from me, so it was good to catch Daniel directly in T1 and get P2 back. But behind Lewis it was impossible to overtake on this track. I had great pace in the race, which is very positive - but unfortunately I wasn't able to make the most of it. It's great that my second home race is coming up so soon. I look forward to Hockenheim and will be pushing flat out to repeat the win from 2014."

Paddy Lowe: "After the rather drawn out excitement of yesterday's Qualifying session we were hoping for something slightly more straightforward today - and so it proved to be. Strong starts from all of the top five drivers meant they came into T1 in close formation. It looked for a moment like Lewis might lose the lead he'd grasped off the line and that Nico would find himself down to third. However, great driving from both saw Lewis hang on in front while Nico produced a fantastic manoeuvre around the outside at T2 to re-establish a 1-2 for the team. From there, it was a matter of controlling the pace and tyre usage through a two stop strategy. Red Bull chose to make a very early final stop for Ricciardo which put some pressure on us - as I'm sure it was intended to do. But both cars were able to respond with enough pace to keep him covered and stick to our original plan. Overall an excellent 1-2 finish and an excellent way to cap off the first half of the season, which we can be very proud of thus far. Congratulations to the drivers - and also to the pit crew, who achieved a second consecutive fastest race pit stop. We now very much look forward to our home race in Germany next week."

Toto Wolff, Technical Director: "We're delighted with today's result. To take a one-two finish at a circuit that hasn't been so good to us in the past two years is really satisfying. This place has been Red Bull and Ferrari territory, so it just shows what a great place we have got to with our chassis and engine package that we were able to take such a strong finish and control the race like we did. It was a race that needed a lot of management and we had told the drivers all weekend that winning would depend on making the tyres last. They both did this really well - though when things got a bit close for comfort in the second stint, we asked Lewis to pick up the pace and he responded well to build the gap we needed after Red Bull rolled the dice with Ricciardo's strategy. The back markers were a challenge like always here, particularly some of the usual suspects, but they didn't end up influencing the outcome which was good. There has been a lot of talk about the Championship situation but, if this was a football match, we'd have only just completed the first half. There's still a very long way to go this season. We have seen a lot of action so far and I am sure there will be much more to come..."

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel (4th): "I was hoping for more today. I had a good start, maybe too good, because the run into Turn 1 is very long, so I had to get out of the tow a bit too early. It was bit of a shame because I was stuck in fifth position from then onwards. Then I knew everything would have to go through strategy and pitstops and so we overcut Verstappen. We were much stronger at the end of the race, maybe a couple of tenths, but unfortunately not quick enough to pass. If I had been able to, I would have done more, but I tried everything until the end, we were on a good strategy, we had more pace at the end but as I said this is one of the most difficult tracks for overtaking. With a better position yesterday, I think we could have finished P3 without any problem. We are not happy to finish fourth, because we have to win, we need to improve here and there, but I think the difference with Mercedes is not that big as it looks. They seem to be better managing their tires and that makes for a big gap over a number of laps."

Kimi Raikkonen (6th): "Today my car was really good and behaving well, we had the speed, but obviously this is not the easiest place to overtake. Unfortunately, after yesterday's qualifying, today we were not in a position that would allow us to get the result we deserved, and this is the most disappointing thing. Regarding the battle with Max, it's not for me to decide but I think that his maneuvers are questionable. The first time he started to move on the right and I went left, but he moved back there too, so I had to try and get out of it because I was hitting him hard on the rear and I lost my front wing, which didn't make it easier to attack again. Then later, every time I managed to make a move and I was committed to somewhere he decided to turn afterwards, and at that point I had nowhere to go. It's not my job to determine if he was correct or not, but I have seen people being penalized for much less. Today we did our maximum, I'm disappointed because I couldn't get past Verstappen and go catch the rest."

Maurizio Arrivabene, Team Principal: "Today we saw a great reaction from the whole team. Once again, we were able to show that we never give up. Our drivers did an outstanding race really giving their best and, if Seb could have benefited from a better starting position, the final result would surely have been different. As for Kimi, he showed that he fully deserved his contract to be extended into next year. Having said that, when you don't reach the podium you can't be satisfied, and indeed we aren't: but this does not mean that we are not ready to take the fight to the end."

Williams-Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas (9th): "The start of the race was really good. It was very important to get ahead of the Force India. After that we pretty much executed our plan. The supersoft tyre was holding on a lot better than we thought it would, so we ran a bit longer in the first stint. After that our pace on the softs more or less matched our predictions. I think we got the maximum points today from the starting position that we had. I'm sure in Hockenheim we can get more points and try to build a bigger gap from Force India."

Felipe Massa (18th): "It was a terrible race, which started on the way to the grid with the problem with my steering wheel rack being too light on one side and too heavy on the other. We tried to fix the problem and we couldn't, but at least we improved it because the initial lap was impossible. To do the whole race with the steering wheel heavy on one side and light on the other was really difficult. I tried to race until the end but this wasn't the result we were aiming for. The next race at Hockenheim is a different track which will hopefully be much better for us, so I hope we can get back to normality and score points with both cars."

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: "I'm disappointed with that result. We had to work very hard for those two points. I think we achieved the maximum we could with Valtteri, he drove a solid race, but the pace of the car is just not there. After Felipe's accident yesterday the car was out of balance and he just couldn't get into a rhythm. Starting from 18th with an un-balanced car was always going to be difficult. He had a steering rack issue, after we had to re-build the car following his crash in qualifying, which meant the steering was off centre and was heavy in right-hand corners. We had to try and get it fixed before the race, both in the garage and on the grid. The guys did a very commendable job. Operationally, the strategy was good today, as were the pitstops. There wasn't much more we could have done. These are tough times for the team. We have to knuckle down, be introspective, work as a team and start to understand how we're going to get more performance from the car."

Red Bull-Tag Heuer

Daniel Ricciardo (3rd): "I'm really pleased with a podium today, I don't think we could have got a win. We tried at the start; we had a good run off the line and at the apex the Mercs were in my blind spot, so I thought I was in the lead, but on the exit I was done by Lewis (Hamilton) and then Nico (Rosberg) got me round the outside of Turn Two. I think even if we had got the lead, their pace was good so they could have even over-cut us if they stayed out an extra lap. Third was the best we could do and Seb (Vettel) got really close in the last three laps; my tyres were getting towards the end, so coming over the line in third was good. Three podiums in a row here is great, it's a good place for me. I feel really good. Fridays and Saturdays have been really good for us from the start of the season but the last few Sundays, for whatever reason, I haven't been that satisfied with, so it was important to put it together from Friday to Sunday this weekend and I believe I did that. And now we've got another in seven days, so that's another chance to be happy again!"

Max Verstappen (5th): "The pace was there for a podium today. I felt like I had a good start and got close to Lewis into Turn One but then ran out of track and couldn't brake late. After the first stop it was very frustrating to be behind a Ferrari at the start on the fresher tyres. It was a shame because at the beginning we were quick and I tried to create a gap to the Ferraris which lead to me having to back off as I got too close to the car in front. This meant when I pitted I got out behind them both and that was pretty much my race done. Being behind meant I destroyed my tyres trying to find a pass so the opportunities went away as the race went on. Regarding my battle with Kimi I was simply protecting my position. I drove hard and just made sure I didn't lock up or make a mistake."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "After a promising start. It was impossible to cover Sebastian (Vettel) with both cars, so we covered with the lead car which was Daniel, therefore unfortunately Max dropped behind after the first round of stops and thereafter both drivers entered into battles with the respective Ferrari drivers, Daniel versus Seb and Max versus Kimi (Raikkonen). There was some great racing between the four of them, some robust defending from our guys particularly Max, who was firm but fair holding off Kimi. It was great to see Daniel finishing on the podium again, and to close the gap on Ferrari to within one point at the halfway point of the year."

Force India-Mercedes

Nico Hulkenberg (10th): "I am not overly happy with my afternoon because it was a pretty difficult race for us. I found myself in the wrong place at turn one and lost a position, which made things a bit harder for me. The main problem in the race was after our first pit stop, when we fell behind the Toro Rosso of Kvyat and the Williams of Massa, and I just couldn't get by. It's so hard to overtake here and as soon as you get close to the car in front, you lose so much downforce and you destroy your tyres. That was the story of my race. I lost a place to Palmer at the second pit stop - that was my mistake actually and I hold my hand up and apologise to the team. During the pit stop I let the clutch slip and that made the car move, so the boys couldn't fit the tyres properly and it cost us a little time. The next race in Germany should be fairly similar to this one: we have the same tyre compounds and the track has lots of medium-speed corners. We have shown today that even with a difficult race we can bring home points, but we need to do a better job in the coming races to pick up more points."

Sergio Perez (11th): "A tough race today. We were planning to do a one-stop race, but the performance was not there on the medium tyres and the car was sliding around under me. So we decided to switch to the two-stop, the team called me in, but when I arrived in the pit lane the team was not expecting me. I think it was a simple miscommunication between the pit wall and the mechanics, which can happen sometimes. It's frustrating because it cost me some time and the chance to be in the points. I'm pleased that Germany is coming up next week and the positive thing is that we have a strong car with good race pace."

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: "We leave Budapest with a sense of unrealised potential. Ultimately, our race result was determined by the tricky qualifying session yesterday, which put us on the back foot in terms of track position - which is very important here. Nico lost out to Bottas at the start and was tucked up in a train of cars for much of the race - especially behind Kvyat - and could not make the most of his superior race pace. With Checo we were contemplating a one-stop race, but it soon became clear he was struggling on the medium tyres. When we switched him to the two-stop there was a miscommunication on the pit wall, which cost us extra time in the pit stop. Given the challenges we have faced over the last couple of days, it's still encouraging to pick up a point - and it's only the second time in the team's history that we've scored points in Budapest. We know there is good speed in the car and I'm confident we can make better use of it in Germany next week."

Renault

Jolyon Palmer (12th): "I'm gutted as my first points in Formula 1 were there for the taking. The car was good and I was driving well within myself in P10. I turned in the same as normal at turn four - I wasn't hanging everything out and I was looking after the tyres - but for some reason I lost the car in a massive snap. I need to look at everything with my engineers to see if there is anything we could have done to prevent it. I was running tenth, we had completed all our pit stops, we had good pace relative to those ahead and behind so it looks like we've made a real step forward this weekend. It was the best drive of my career today and just one small spin took away those points. I'm gutted today but I'll be fighting to get in the same position or better in Hockenheim."

Kevin Magnussen (15th): "The car definitely felt better this weekend. I had a pretty decent stint on my first set of supersoft tyres; I was able to look after them well and do quite a few laps on that set. Unfortunately that was after a poor start where I lost a few positions. I've had really good practice starts all weekend so that was quite disappointing. From then on, we pushed to make up places but my second stint on supersoft didn't go as well as I hoped and the last part of the race was spent behind Grosjean and Gutierrez. I certainly hope we can carry our improved pace into the rest of the season."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal: "That was a strong race for us and illustrates the progress being made. It's no secret that our primary focus has moved to next year's car but we still have good potential to score in 2016. Both drivers did a very good job, but Jolyon's performance was particularly notable after missing most of Friday's running. His spin was unfortunate, especially as his first Formula 1 points were there for the taking. Overall the team and both drivers have worked very well this weekend and made a great recovery from the back of the grid in a race where there was only one retirement. We hope to continue this trajectory in Hockenheim."

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Carlos Sainz (8th): "A solid race from us today here in Budapest, I'm satisfied with the result. I'm pretty pleased with the race, even if Fernando Alonso got past us at the start. We were able to keep up with McLaren's pace, something that during the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday didn't look like we'd be able to do... It was just impossible to overtake him! If you would have told me I'd finish P8 after the bad start to the weekend that we had, I wouldn't have believed it! I think we can be very happy and pleased with ourselves - the team did a great job to turn things around and I'd like to thank them for this! We can now go to Germany feeling confident."

Daniil Kvyat (16th): "Unfortunately, I have to say this was one of the least enjoyable races I've experienced for quite a while... We had a very poor start - I had too much wheel spin and there was something wrong with the settings - and that sadly defined the rest of our race. We lost a few positions, went towards the back of the grid and from then on it was very hard to recover and move forward. In motorsport you have good days and bad days and this has been one of those negative ones. Luckily the next race is next week, so we can forget about this one quickly and hope for a better one in Germany."

Franz Tost, Team Principal: "Today's was not an easy race, as the teams in the midfield are very close together. Alonso was able to gain a position at the start of the race and after that it wasn't possible for Carlos to overtake him. He therefore finished in eighth position, which on one side is good because we could add some points to our tally, but on the other side McLaren scored more than us and is now very close to us in the Constructors' Championship. This will make it tricky for us during the next races, but I think that our chassis is performing very well and we still have a good chance to defend our position. Daniil had a problem at the start which we have to investigate, as this made him loose many positions. It's a shame, as his pace during the race was very competitive, especially on the Super Soft tyres. We now look forward and work hard to prepare for next week's race at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany."

Sauber-Ferrari

Felipe Nasr (17th): "A tough race for us. The beginning was ok, I gained one position after the first lap. But then after my first pit stop I got stuck in traffic, which slowed us down and cost us some time. Overall, I had decent pace during the race, especially on the soft tyres. We have to keep on working hard to become more competitive step by step."

Marcus Ericsson (20th): "Starting the race from the pit lane was obviously a difficult beginning. After the race start I got stuck behind Rio (Haryanto). That was not ideal, as this track is in general difficult for overtaking. We tried to be a bit more aggressive on the tyre strategy. It was looking ok around the middle of the race, but a few laps before the chequered flag I had to pit again, as the tyres would not have lasted until the end of the race."

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "We cannot be satisfied with this result. Looking at our starting positions it was already difficult from the beginning. We know that overtaking on this track is almost impossible. It was definitely not a trouble-free weekend. The car crew had to change Marcus' chassis. And without speculating, it is questionable not sticking to the regulations (107% rule) regarding the starting grid. Nevertheless we are pleased to have more stability within the team from now on."

McLaren-Honda

Fernando Alonso (7th): "Well, P7 has been my position all weekend! It's a pity we couldn't improve this afternoon but still I think we were best of the rest today. Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are out of reach at the moment for everyone - they're on another level - so, in the other mini-championship we're racing in, we were quite competitive and I feel we delivered the maximum we could today. There wasn't much action in the race though. For us, it was a little bit of a boring afternoon at some points - not the usual Hungaroring show - and the only retirement, unfortunately, was Jenson. I'm happy about how the weekend went and hopefully we can keep this up progress. We've been more or less competitive here and at Silverstone, on two very different circuits, so I'm looking forward to next weekend at Hockenheim."

Jenson Button (DNF, Oil leak): "It wasn't a great afternoon for me. We had a brake sensor problem early on, which meant the pedal went to the floor, and it's never nice for a driver to get that feeling. The brakes just weren't there, which was a big safety concern. The team told me to make a switch change on the steering wheel to make sure it wouldn't happen again, and it duly resolved itself, but we got a penalty for the communication. We pitted so that they could give me the information I needed, but I guess we should have pitted earlier than we did. Having said that, it didn't really matter as I was last anyway. I completely understand that drivers shouldn't be fed information that helps us drive our cars - we should be able to deal with that job ourselves, and in fact I love that challenge. But when it's a safety concern, I don't think you should get penalised for preventing an accident, as we did today. When you have a power unit that's so complex, a driver can't figure out everything for himself. It's a regulation that shouldn't be in place at this level of a sport which is so good in so many other ways, and I think commonsense should now prevail. I also had a mechanical issue which meant I had massive understeer throughout the whole race; and then, in the end, we retired with an oil leak. I don't know if it's salvageable - I hope so - but we're investigating."

Eric Boullier, Racing Director: "Jenson was unfortunate to have a promising weekend brought to an untimely end by an oil leak, which led to the most disappointing initials in racing: DNF. He'd driven very well all weekend - in fact he may even have qualified even better than his eventual P8 yesterday if his run hadn't been compromised through no fault of his own - but I guess that's racing. As for Fernando, I may be wrong, but I think the consistency he's demonstrated over the past three days may be a record-breaker. It reads as follows: FP1: P7; FP2: P7; FP3: P7; Quali: P7; Race: P7. Not quite seventh heaven, but a solid and encouraging performance that underlines the good progress we're making all the time. From here we'll travel to Baden-Wurttemberg, for the German Grand Prix, the last race of the first half of the season. The Hockenheim circuit may not suit our car / power unit combo quite as well as did the Hungaroring this weekend, but we'll be gunning for points yet again; be in no doubt of that."

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda: "It was a positive weekend for the team to be leading the midfield pack. We were consistently the fourth-quickest team, with Fernando finishing 'best of the rest' in P7 in all the sessions, which once again displays our progress as a team, and helps build confidence for the second half of the season. On the other hand, Jenson was hampered with a brake system sensor issue, which put him at the back of the field in the early laps of the race. In the end, the team had to retire his car due to an oil leak. At the moment, we don't see any issue with the power unit, but the team will continue to investigate. It was another bitter-sweet weekend to see one side of the garage happy and the other disappointed."

Manor GP-Mercedes

Pascal Wehrlein (19th): "It was a very difficult race today. It was clear very early on in the weekend that this was not 'our' track and I think that showed today. I got a really good start and climbed to 17th position, and then up to 16th, but we didn't have the car to stay there or fight for more. I think it's something positive that, even with all those factors, we still managed to keep a Sauber behind us, but still disappointing overall. Yes, next week will be very busy and exciting for me. With all of that going on I'll put all thoughts of the break to one side for now, because I want to fight hard at the Hockenheimring and enjoy the experience of my first home race in F1. I really hope we will find that our car is better suited to that track, as it's one I've driven many times and I really love racing there."

Rio Haryanto (21st): "Once again we split the strategies between Pascal and me, to give us the best chance of a result. It didn't work out for either of us. There was only one retirement today and our performance was the maximum from the car here. I was doing quite well at the start of the race and it seemed like we would be able to make a one-stop work. On the medium tyre the pace was obviously not that good, but the degradation was much less than on the softs and it's always good to try something different to the other cars around us, just in case we can make it work."

Dave Ryan, Racing Director: "Today's race was every bit the challenge we anticipated. We tried different strategies again to cover all bases, but with only one retirement, that really was the best result possible. Both drivers did a good job to optimise their respective strategies, just in case the race came to us, and Pascal did well to keep Ericsson behind until the end of the race. A quick turnaround and on to Germany now, for Pascal's home race and that of our powertrain partner Mercedes HPP. Hopefully we can put on a good performance there."

Haas-Ferrari

Esteban Gutierrez (13th): "It was an interesting race with some great fights from the beginning. I managed a good start and spent the first two laps fighting for position and moving up the grid. After that I was pushing the limits in every stint, not really being able to save the tires fighting in front and behind me. Toward the end I started to run out of tires and I had a few issues with the brakes. It became challenging to finish the race. However, the team did a great job to keep everything under control and I want to thank them for their hard work this weekend. They worked well and performed some great pit stops. We need to continue in this direction, improving, and getting the best out of our car as we head to Germany."

Romain Grosjean (14th): "It was just a bad afternoon. Nothing really worked. Our strategy didn't work, the car didn't work. I was trying to find a balance, but I just couldn't get it. I'm sure there's a lot to learn from the afternoon, but it's a disappointing outcome. I was expecting us to be in better shape. I was expecting to be able to score points after yesterday's qualifying session."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "A lot of work for little reward. We ended up 13th and 14th. Esteban did a good job and Romain did as well. It was just our strategy didn't work out how we wanted. Esteban got a penalty for ignoring the blue flag. We're going to look at that properly and evaluate it. In our opinion it was a harsh decision, but moving forward we'll see what needs to be done. All in all, the team worked hard. We'll head to Germany and try to improve today's results. Our aim is always to get into the points, so we'll be pushing for that."