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2011 Shell Belgian Grand Prix Driver Quotes - Sunday 28 August

SEASON INFORMATION
13/01/2018

2011 Shell Belgian Grand Prix

Driver Quotes - Sunday 28 August

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel: I'm very happy; today was a very good race for us, although it was not easy with the tyres. The beginning of the race was more research and science than racing and we sacrificed a lot by stopping very early. We had a good feeling though and I came in again when the safety car came out, just to see how they were. I can judge a bit from looking at the inside, but when you're doing 300kph or more and the tyres are always spinning rather than stopped, you can't really take the time to see, so it was crucial to come in and have a closer look. I'm very happy with the result. It's a big relief after all the discussions we had going into the race. This morning disturbed our normal rhythm, as normally you know what you do when you arrive on Sunday morning, but today we had a lot of discussions which doesn't make it easy to keep focused. Before the race, we decided the priority was simply to finish the race today and not think too much about where, so that's why I am so happy with the result. It couldn't have been any better. The car felt fantastic and with each lap we learned more and more about the tyres, which made us more confident to push when necessary.

Mark Webber: The lights went out and I got anti-stall at the start - I don't know whether it was due to the start being uphill or not. We were worried about the tyres going into the race and had a lot of meetings this morning. In the end, the right decisions were made and the team reacted incredibly well and did some good research overnight to work out how we could best get through the race. We did a lot of damage to the tyres in qualifying and had to stop pretty early to protect ourselves from any issues from the tyre which put us out of position. We picked some people off, but in terms of the result I was after I was frustrated at that point. Then the safety car came out. The team wanted me to pit, but when I got the instructions of what to do in the pit lane I was the wrong side of the pit wall - I never heard the call to come in. I was worried, but we kept going and the car behaved well. I drove well from then on and we got a good result in what was one of the team's best ever one-two finishes. It was a great weekend for the team and they deserve this result.

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton: "I was in a good position and I'd already got past one of the Ferraris, but then I was hit by Kamui [Kobayashi]. I don't really know what happened, but I hit the wall pretty hard and my race was immediately over. I was ahead, so I don't know why I got hit.

"There have been quite a few races this year where we've not finished, and this is another - but that's motor racing. At least our pace was reasonably good this weekend, so let's hope we can win more races in the remainder of the season."

Jenson Button: "It wasn't as simple as just going from 13th to third today. At the start, somebody hit me at the rear and damaged a rear-wing endplate. At the exit of Turn One, there was debris everywhere, and somebody else's front wing went through my front wing and sliced my right-side mirror off. I also had to make an early pitstop, so it was hardly perfect!

"The team had a look at the data and saw that the damage was manageable, so I held on for a few more laps in order to make the strategy work. Then, after that, I drove flat-out to the end of the race.

"I think everybody had an issue with the front-left tyre, so it was tricky to know when to push. But my pace was pretty good considering the damage we had, and I really enjoyed attacking and passing people.

"Our car is the best it's been all year, and I feel better than I ever have in Formula 1. We just need to stop the little mistakes from happening so that we can win even more races. Hopefully, we can go out and fight for the win in Monza."

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso: "It would have been difficult to do better than this fourth place today, especially given how much we suffered on the Medium tyres: in these conditions, we are a second and a half slower than the best. Honestly, I didn't think I had a real chance of winning, but a podium was within our grasp. The strategy saw me lead in the early stages, but then, we knew that in the final part, we would have struggled more. I had fun in the first stint: the start was good and then I had some nice duels. A shame about the podium: it was our target and was possible, despite qualifying eighth yesterday. Compared to the gap we saw yesterday in qualifying, the situation was very different today, but we are well aware that, with temperatures which were definitely not very hot for summer time, we paid too high a price. At the moment, we must congratulate our opponents, who are doing a fantastic job, but we will not give up, at least until the mathematics tell us otherwise: we will always try and win, giving it our best shot, starting in Monza, a very special event for Ferrari and for all its fans, and then in all the other remaining races this season."

Felipe Massa: "It was rather a strange race for me. In the opening phase I was absolutely in the fight for the top places, but then I started to have tyre problems and the car seemed to no longer be so well balanced. With the Mediums, the situation improved, maybe also down to an adjustment to the front wing which we made at the pit stop, but we were not quick enough, as was clearly evident and by then it was too late. On top of that, I also had a puncture on the left rear tyre which meant I had to make another stop. When I found myself behind Rosberg, I could not pass him, despite the DRS, because their top speed is very good. Furthermore, I was struggling especially in the slowest corners - the final chicane and La Source - and that stopped me from getting as good a tow as possible. The next event is the home race for the team, but it is also very important for me and I really want to get a good result there."

Mercedes
Michael Schumacher: "A wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend here in Spa. I think more than fifth place would not have been possible today but making up 19 places was a good feeling. With all my family, friends and fans here, it was an extra motivation, and I would like to thank all of them for their support. They saw an exciting race with a great strategy from our team. So all in all, for me, there was a lot of emotion and a lot of overtaking today. At the beginning I was a bit afraid that some of the flying parts might hit and damage my car, but I was lucky that nothing happened. After that, I had big fun hunting and making my way forward."

Nico Rosberg: "I had a great start today and it was a special feeling to be leading the race in a Silver Arrow at this amazing circuit. It was great to see the traffic jam behind me with the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari cars, but it was hard to realise that we just don't have the pace to stay at the top. However we have made progress this weekend and today was a good result for the team. I had to push quite hard at the start and in the middle which cost me a little towards the end, which combined with Michael being on the faster soft tyres, meant that I wasn't able to keep him behind me. Now I'm looking forward to Monza and I'm confident that we can improve further."

Renault
Bruno Senna: "Unfortunately I made a mistake in the first corner, which cost me the chance of really causing a stir at the top end for the remainder of the race. So, firstly I would like to say sorry to Jaime (Alguersuari) for that. I made a mistake in the braking area, so that meant I slipped back and couldn't compete where I wanted to; this left me quite lonely at the back for a while! However, once I'd paid the price with the drive through penalty I was able to start making some progress and my race pace was actually quite strong, so I kept pushing and was pleased with how I drove from then on. Obviously I would like to have finished higher, considering my grid position, but I've now got a good pace to build on and take me through to Monza, which is another of my favourite tracks. We'll sit down and learn where we can improve but the foundations are there."

Vitaly Petrov: "I think we've made a big step forward with the car, and you can see that I was in top ten contention for all of the race - and close to the Mercedes - so we need to keep working in this direction. Our strategy was good, however we lost out on our top speed which meant I found it very difficult to overtake. The car was very strong on the corners, and we were very good on the brakes until I had issues at the end. For the final laps I was driving differently to compensate for the brake concerns, but unfortunately I spun right at the end as I had totally lost my front brakes. Looking at the performance of the weekend, overall I'm quite happy."

WilliamsF1
Rubens Barrichello: We ended up being more competitive than we thought which is a great thing. I lost time fighting with Rosberg during the in lap for my second pit stop which was unfortunate as it lost me time and points which I think I could have scored. I am very happy for Pastor that he has got his first points though. Either of us could have scored today which is encouraging as the team is making progress.

Pastor Maldonado: I'm really happy to score a point for both myself and for the team. It is a big improvement. During the race our pace was very consistent so I'm happy for that and I'm also pleased for my country. Finally we have some points and it's even better to get them here at such a special track. It was a hard race starting from the back, but I was pushing every single lap.

Force India
Adrian Sutil: "After starting P15 we have to be very happy with our seventh place today. It was an exciting race with lots of action, but we had a good strategy and made the right calls at the right time. When the safety car came out I pitted straight away, which helped me because I made up a couple of places. I came out in sixth and after that I only lost one position to Schumacher, who was on the soft tyre and faster than me. Overall I think that this result is a fair reflection of the pace we have had this weekend and it's nice to have recovered from the problems we had yesterday to leave here with these important points."

Paul di Resta: "I got off the line very well and everything seemed to be going quite smoothly. But there was an incident ahead of me and I thought I had managed to get through the corner when I got hit hard by Timo [Glock]. That put a big whole in the floor, damaged my front wing and gave me a lot of understeer. Other than that the pace of the car was quite strong, but I was a bit unlucky with the safety car because the priority had to go to the leading car [Adrian] and I dropped behind the Williams. Without that I could have probably been ahead of Maldonado. It's good that Adrian was able to score some points and we've demonstrated the pace of the car once again."

Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi: "Of course I expected to score some points today. My start was good and I had a couple of nice fights. On the straights I was actually slower than expected, but I don't know yet why this was. It was also hard to survive with the soft tyres and I was under pressure from Vitaly Petrov. Regarding the accident with Lewis Hamilton, which happened when I was running in fourth, I knew perfectly well he was faster than me so had no reason to fight with him. After he overtook me it was not my intention to get my position back, so I stayed on my line and didn't expect him to move over. When I pitted on the second lap behind the Safety Car I lost an awful lot of positions. Anyway, the long stint on the medium tyres in the end worked well, but then I was too far away from the points."

Sergio Perez: "I am very disappointed. I had a good start and beginning to the race. The car was very good and we should have scored points. On lap five I was in seventh when Sebastien Buemi changed his line in front of me under braking, I tried to avoid hitting him but couldn't as I had lost downforce. I later got a drive through penalty which I did on lap 22. After that I also made my second pit stop. I had dropped way behind and tried to recover from there. I had just overtaken Bruno Senna when I felt there was something seriously wrong at the back of the car, so I drove it carefully back to the pits and that was it for today."

Toro Rosso
Sebastian Buemi: "I got a great start, moving up from eleventh on the grid to sixth after the first corner, which was fantastic. I was able to follow the pace of Alonso and Hamilton. Then Perez tried to pass me and simply drove into the back of me, which completed destroyed my rear wing and I had no option but to bring the car back to the pits to retire. I really can't understand what he was doing, as I was clearly ahead of him: it was as though he forgot to brake. Next, we come to the team's home race in Monza and, as our car seems to have made progress in performance terms, let's see what we can do there."

Jaime Alguersuari: "I don't want to speak badly about any other driver as it's not my style, but I think the situation was quite clear to everyone. Going into the hairpin after the start, I was in the middle with Senna on my inside and Fernando on my outside and Senna completely missed his braking point and hit me which pushed me into the path of the Ferrari. However, there are many positive things we can take out of this weekend, as we clearly had a car capable of scoring many points today, which is a tribute to all the hard work of the team. I feel sorry for the guys, because starting sixth on the grid is not an everyday occurrence for us. Now I am looking forward to the next race in Monza, as I see no reason why we cannot be competitive there and score more points."

Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen: "That was a good race for us, obviously apart from the start! I got off the line well but it all tightened up at the first corner and I touched Jarno after someone else had hit me - I was caught in a bit of a sandwich but after I'd pitted and had a new nose it all went pretty well from there. The soft tyres weren't working quite as well as the mediums, but I was still able to push and the main thing is we had a two car finish in strong positions, so that's a good end to the weekend."

Jarno Trulli: "For me and the whole team that was a really good race. I had a great start, passing a few other cars away from the line but then the accident in T1 meant both Heikki and I suffered damage - him to his nosecone, me to the floor and I had to run the whole race with that damage, so to finish 14th after that is just fantastic. Apart from the start I enjoyed the whole race - I passed a number of cars and when the safety car came out I was able to close the gap to the cars ahead. That gave me the chance to fight with the Renault and I passed him and was then able to keep pace with the other guys ahead. One of the best points of the race was the first stop I made - I came in just behind one of the HRTs and the pitcrew did a brilliant job to get me out fast enough to pass him in the pitlane, so I want to thank them and the whole team for a really solid weekend. Racing like this, with no problems and with a car I can fight with all afternoon is very satisfying, so now I can't wait to get back in when we get to Italy and keep up the momentum we've built up here."

HRT
Daniel Ricciardo: "I can't be fully satisfied because it has been a short race for me but at least the time I was out there was really positive. I made a good start and then benefited from some incidents ahead but also made the right choice which let me pick up a few spots. The pace was quite good, a few of the faster cars ended up coming back through but we let them go without losing much time with our direct rivals. It was looking quite good ahead of the Virgins and Lotus. Unfortunately we had a problem with the rear which made us end the race prematurely. But there is no doubt that there are some positives to take. It would have been nice to finish but we've always got next time. From my side I'm happy with how the race was going and we will try to build on it for the next Grand Prix in Monza".

Tonio Liuzzi: "We knew it would be a complicated race, especially in dry conditions, but I made a good start and gained a few positions quickly. We were ahead of our main rivals and, even though we knew beforehand that our pace wasn't the best, we kept on fighting. I think we did a pretty good job, especially in the first stint of the race. We've improved on car set-up and race pace with respect to Friday's practice sessions which were also in dry conditions. But we've still got work to do to prove that we can progress from here until the end of season. The next race in Monza will be special for me because I will be racing at home, so I'm really looking forward to it. We still have to work hard this week though, because it is a very technical circuit".

Virgin
Timo Glock: "It was a bad start to the race as I made a mistake into Turn 1. I hit the brakes, locked the front tyres and had no chance to avoid the crash with Paul Di Resta. Unfortunately I destroyed his car and his race a bit, so I have to say sorry for that - it was my mistake. But I got a penalty for it and had to pit to get a new front wing and check the car as it felt a bit strange after we hit. But in the end I just tried to bring the car back home, closing the gap and overtaking one of the HRTs. I have to say the boys did a great job with the pit stops and overall I'm happy with the result."

Jerome d'Ambrosio: "I'm pretty happy about my race I have to say and I was very comfortable with the car balance. It was quite difficult at the start as there was a lot of debris and at one point I thought I had a problem but in the end it was a smooth race. It was also a bit tough in the last laps of the race trying to save fuel. It was the first time I ever had to do that so I had to try to adapt. It was something different but that's just more experience for me and it worked out okay. I'm very pleased how things went in my first home Grand Prix. There were quite a few incidents today so I focused on keep it nice and clean and in the end the team has another good two-car result. It's been a great way to start part two of the season."

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