Sunday Report: Red Bull – Vettel Doubles the Stakes
Sebastian Vettel clinches his second consecutive victory in 2011 without truly being challenged – and without being able to use his KERS – while Webber – the main victim of the KERS failure – mounted a comeback that could have allowed him to vie for an almost unexpected podium finish.
Sebastian Vettel – 1st
« The start was crucial. I thought it was a very good start, but then I saw Lewis right behind me. I was surprised in turn 1 when suddenly I saw something black in my mirrors. I knew it was a Lotus [Grand Prix]. For the first stint, it was a good thing because I could pull away lap after lap. The race was completely different from what we saw two weeks ago. The gaps were tighter, and there were more pit stops because of the tires. You don’t want to be the first to pit when you want to make the fewest stops possible, but you also don’t want others to go and gain the advantage of fresh tires […]. It wasn’t an easy race, but in the last part, Lewis had a problem and ended up behind Jenson. I’m very happy with today’s result. I love what I do and don’t think I could be happier right now. It was close here, so we need to stay calm and keep pushing, but the guys know it’s the way to go, so I’m not worried. But for today, we will enjoy it, and we can be proud. »
Mark Webber – 4th
« It was a tough race today. It wasn’t a good start and we encountered KERS problems, so I was struggling on the first lap. [Then], I tried to overtake a few, but they came back at me on the straights: it was difficult to distance myself without KERS. Anyway, I came through with a good strategy and picked up some good points at least. It wasn’t our day today and I was disappointed not to be on the podium. [Heidfeld] wasn’t so far, but not close enough. »
Christian Horner
« It’s a fantastic result for Sebastian. It was a great performance, a great first with the KERS on his car and he controlled the race in a very mature manner. The guys also worked very well in the pits under very demanding temperatures: the seven pit stops were executed brilliantly.
The only disappointment concerns the start of Mark’s race, he didn’t get a good start due to a KERS issue, which meant he was swamped at the first corner. But he recovered very well with a different strategy, he really delivered and was very unlucky to miss the final podium.
