Sunday: A new podium for Button and McLaren in India

Jenson Button – 2nd

The whole team did everything right today – our car just wasn’t fast enough to win. I got a good start, gained a few places in the first lap, and then managed to keep Mark (Webber) behind me for five or six laps. I even think we managed to ‘break’ his rear tires, which allowed us to create a gap afterward. Then I was able to attack Seb (Vettel) – but it was very difficult to catch up with him.

During my last stop, it was a bit risky to fit the hard tires before Seb, but we had to do it and it worked out quite well as I managed to regain three seconds on him. My car was really good: before Seb found a good rhythm with the hard tires, I managed to close the gap to 2.8 seconds, but it wasn’t quite enough.

But it still remains a very good result for us – and I think we gave our best. I loved this new experience this weekend. And I think every driver should be excited about coming back here because it’s a phenomenal circuit; fast and smooth with a bit of everything. I really liked it.

The Indians truly welcomed us to their country; I had never seen so many people smile at me before. And the audience was incredible. I hope Formula 1 can grow in India in the future and that we will have even more spectators next year.

Lewis Hamilton – 7th

The contact with Felipe (Massa) was just one of those things that can happen. I didn’t feel I was responsible – it was just a racing incident. On the grid, just before the minute of silence, we were next to each other and I put my arm around him and said: ‘Have a good race today.’ I always have a lot of respect for him.

During the race, I felt like there was a vibration in the right-hand turns: it felt like the floor was scraping on the track actually. I was pushing as hard as I could, but I couldn’t find the performance, so we need to study that.

It has been a turbulent year, but there are still races to be contested, and I will try to score as many points as possible in these two Grand Prix. Jenson did a great job today, so we were clearly quick. I just need to work on this for the next race.

Martin Whitmarsh – Director of the McLaren Mercedes team

Jenson got off to an excellent start and handled the first corners very well, moving from 4th on the grid to 2nd by the end of the first lap. He then ran a brilliant race, being very competitive, preserving his tires when necessary while maintaining an excellent pace. However, he didn’t have enough pace to challenge Seb, but he extracted the maximum from his car and beat all the other drivers.

Lewis had a frustrating afternoon, but he recovered well after his contact with Felipe to score half a dozen very useful points for the championship. We do not yet know if the contact with Felipe damaged Lewis’s car – apart from the front wing, of course, as we changed it during his pit stop – but, as I said, by scoring 24 points thanks to him and Jenson, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has now secured its second place in the 2011 constructors’ championship. Our goal is obviously to be one place higher, to win – second is not enough – but we are nonetheless pleased to have solidified our position.

To finish, and this is not the least, I would like to say that I think the first Indian Grand Prix was a real success: we had a sparkling show and it’s a wonderful addition to the calendar. We will then go to Abu Dhabi and Brazil, and we will do our best to win these two races.