Sunday: Good accounting operation for Red Bull
Although the victory eluded Sebastian Vettel, the German and his team still achieved a good result for the weekend, as the current leader in the driver's standings increased his lead further while his team, thanks to Mark Webber's podium finish and a strong comeback, widened the gap over their direct rivals.
Sebastian Vettel – 2nd
« Obviously, I’m disappointed. I think it was a very difficult race from start to finish, and we led every lap except for the last one, or part of the last one. I think I was too conservative when I was in the lead after the last safety car: I didn’t create a big enough gap, I tried to maintain it with the cars behind. Then I saw Jenson catching up, I pushed and thought it would be enough but apparently it wasn’t since I made a mistake. It’s my fault, I locked up the rear a bit and in that case, you have to open the trajectory slightly: there was only one line and I ended up on the wet, so he managed to overtake me quite easily. But I think it was definitely a good day; it was easy to make a mistake and there were a lot of cars that didn’t finish, so it’s good to get points. That being said, at the moment when you have victory within your grasp and you let it slip away, it’s not the most pleasant feeling. But I think, all in all, it was a good race for us today. »
Mark Webber – 3rd
« It was a very eventful race! I had a few drivers to overtake after the interruption, it wasn’t too difficult until the racing line dried up while the outside remained slippery. It then became more difficult to overtake, given that there was really little room to slip inside. When you have guys like Michael [Schumacher] or Nick [Heidfeld] to overtake, well, these guys know what they’re doing, so it gets even more complicated. I decided to take a gamble and put on the slick tires [note: he was the first]. I was happy to see that not everyone followed me right away, so I had two laps that got me back into the race for the podium. Then there was a nice battle with Michael, we both wanted the same piece of track when braking at the chicane, but when Jenson Button came along, he was literally flying over the track. Today’s result means a lot of points for the team and it’s a good result, so I’m quite happy with it. »
Cyril Dumont, Renault
« I have mixed feelings today. It’s a great comeback for Mark who was 14th after the accident in the second corner, with Lewis. As for Sebastian, it was a simpler race, but unfortunately, he made a small mistake at the end. However, in the championship, it’s still a good result for him; he had a 58-point lead over Hamilton before the race, and now he has 60 over Button, so it’s good for him. For the team, it’s also a good result, since we scored more points than our rivals. »
