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2008 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix
Team Quotes - Sunday 19 October
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro got both its drivers onto the podium of the Chinese Grand Prix, collecting a total of fourteen points: Felipe Massa finished second, with Kimi Raikkonen third. After this result, the Scuderia has consolidated its lead in the Constructors' classification, now heading its closest competitor by eleven points, while Felipe has dropped back a further two points in the Drivers' and is now seven off the leader. For the eleventh time in the last twelve seasons, Ferrari goes into the final round of the Championship in the running for both titles or having already taken one or both of them.
Stefano Domenicali: "Today, we did the best we could at the end of a weekend when our main rival proved to be superior to us in terms of performance, both over a single lap and in terms of race pace. These fourteen points are very important for the Constructors' championship, in which we have increased our lead. Felipe has lost a bit of ground but now has nothing to lose, and he will give it his best shot in his home race, where he can count on the warm support of his fans. We will try and give our drivers a car with more performance than we had today. To do that, we need to analyse what did not work on this track, also taking into account that things can change very quickly: at Fuji and in Singapore we were better than our competitors in terms of performance, while here it was the opposite. Felipe passing Kimi? Our drivers are well aware what is in the best interests of the team and they acted accordingly. Indeed, events like this have already happened this season in other teams, which is a normal state of affairs in a sport like Formula 1."
Luca Baldisserri: "Our opponents were better than us today which we must do something about. We suffered from a chronic lack of traction, on both types of tyre. We worked on the car all weekend to try and improve the situation, but evidently our efforts were not enough to fight at the highest level. Therefore, second and third places represent the maximum we could do in these conditions, although it does allow us to make a step forward towards the Constructors' title, which is very important for us. Now we must concentrate on analyzing our performance at this track and on preparing for the Brazilian Grand Prix, where we will do our utmost to pick up maximum points, as in fact we do at every race."
Both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers put in strong race performances in the Chinese Grand Prix. Nick Heidfeld started ninth and improved to fifth, while Robert Kubica was eleventh on the grid and finished sixth. However, a further seven points for the BMW Sauber F1 Team and three points for Robert in today's race were not enough to keep the outsiders championship chances alive.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "Coming fifth and sixth is a good outcome after yesterday's disappointing qualifying. Both drivers put in the ground work for this result at the start, and after that drove fine races without any mistakes. The strategy was good, all pit stops worked out perfectly, and we had no technical problems."
Willy Rampf (Technischer Director): "If you start from ninth and 11th on the grid and finish the race fifth and sixth you do have to be satisfied. The drivers gained three positions each right at the start. Robert, in particular, reacted perfectly when a car spun right in front of him. During the race both drivers were doing well with the strategy. Thank you to the whole team for the good work, especially during all the pit stops."
The ING Renault F1 Team enjoyed another strong afternoon at the Shanghai International Circuit as Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet finished in 4th and 8th places in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Starting 4th and 10th on the grid, both drivers had good opening stints with Fernando having an exciting opening lap battle with Kovalainen to maintain his 4th position. Fernando made an early first pit-stop on lap 14 and held his 4th position as the first round of stops unfolded, while Nelson remained comfortably in the top ten after his stop on lap 23 as both Renault's showed good pace and consistency.
Fernando made his final stop at the end of lap 35 where he fitted the softer option Bridgestones to rejoin in a solid 4th for an unchallenged run to the flag. Nelson joined Fernando in the points after his second pit-stop a couple of laps later.
Those 6 points have brought the team's points total to 72 and secured Renault's fourth position in the constructors' championship. The team now looks forward to the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks time, the final round of the season.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director ING Renault F1 Team: "It's was a good race for us today. We were able to show our true level of performance and that we are stronger than BMW and very close to Ferrari. Our result means we have secured fourth place in the constructors' championship and confirmed our recent progress."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "Another strong race for us today. Points scored by our both drivers have now secured our fourth position in the championship, which was the target we set ourselves in the middle of the season."
The AT&T Williams team's race prospects in the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today were tempered by a poor qualifying outcome on Saturday which gave the team limited opportunity to compete for a good finish. Given the qualifying result, the team deployed a one-stop strategy for Kazuki Nakajima and a two-stop strategy for Nico Rosberg to retain the widest degree of flexibility for differing race scenarios. Ultimately, the absence of any major weather or safety car events and the timing of pitstops meant that the one-stop option for Kazuki proved to be the more fruitful. He advanced from 17th on the grid to 12th at the finish, a position he strongly defended on the run to the flag. Nico Rosberg was less able to progress with his two stop programme and finished P15.
Patrick Head, Director of Engineering: It was not a strong result today, but I thought Kazuki did a good job defending his position. As we qualified poorly, we had to do something a bit adventurous with our strategy, so we split our options on the cars, but unfortunately the two stop route we took with Nico didn't work. Having not attended a race for some time, I must say I am very impressed with the professionalism of the race team. The car is reliable, but the problem remains that on this type of circuit it is just not quick enough.
Christian Horner: "Unfortunately yesterday's grid penalty was always going to be a massive handicap in the race today. Mark drove a good first stint, passing several cars, he made progress in the second stint until he got stuck behind Nakajima, which killed his chance of progress. With one further stop before the end of the race, 14th was as much as he could achieve today. David drove a good race on a one-stop strategy, but unfortunately we just weren't quick enough. He got close to Vettel at his last stop, but tenth was all that was possible."
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: "A very tough day. Mark had a great race, but with the penalty he received, he was too far back for it to make any impression. He had a very good first stint and overtook several cars, but we had to make a pit-stop quite early. He then got stuck behind Nakajima and it wasn't possible to overtake. For David, it was a difficult race on a one stop strategy – but he drove well. The same engines will do Brazil, so they have still a long way to go."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "Today got off to the worst of starts when Jarno was put out of the race by another car. His motivation was very high today and he could certainly have made the top six. But instead he suffered damage to the whole of the right side of his car, including the bodywork and aerodynamic parts so it was undriveable. Timo did a great job, especially considering how practice and qualifying had gone for him. He drove well and the one-stop strategy was the right one. So now both drivers should now be very focused on the last race in Brazil. Of course we will never give up and try to come away with the best possible result."
Franz Tost: "If you start from sixth and eighth and don't score points then something must have gone wrong. Bourdais' race was lost at the first corner after a collision with Trulli, but after that some competitive lap times showed the car performance was good. Vettel's race was badly affected by graining in the early stages of his second stint, which cost him time and we also lost around 3.5 seconds in his pit stop. These factors kept us out of the points. Fortunately, our closest competitors in the Constructors' classification are still behind us, so now we hope to finish the season in fine style in Brazil in two weeks time."
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button ended this afternoon's Chinese Grand Prix in 11th and 16th positions respectively. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies and they raced well in hot and humid conditions.
As was the case at Fuji Speedway last weekend, the Honda drivers made great starts. Rubens lined up in 13th place, having gained a position after qualifying when Mark Webber dropped 10 places. He jumped to 10th at Turn 1, while Jenson moved up from 18th to 15th.
For the next five laps Rubens had a fantastic battle with Webber and successfully kept the Red Bull driver at bay until braking for the hairpin on lap six. Jenson, meanwhile, entered his own battle with the other Red Bull driver, David Coulthard, who was on a one-stop strategy.
Rubens had climbed up to eighth place by the time of his first pitstop on lap 19, from which he emerged in 16th place. Jenson then made his first pitstop three laps later and rejoined the race in 18th position.
Despite the drivers completing lap after lap on the limit, the middle stint of the race was quite uneventful for the team. The drivers each gained a place on lap 36 when Heikki Kovalainen suffered a puncture, before Rubens then made his final pitstop on lap 40. He emerged in 12th place and gained one place ahead of the chequered flag to come home 10 seconds behind David Coulthard in 11th position.
Jenson's race was compromised by the fact that he spent so long behind the one-stopping Coulthard early on. He made his final pitstop on lap 43 and finished the race a lap down in 16th position.
How did your strategy work out for you today?
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "We opted for a reasonably aggressive strategy with both cars on two stops, as we had seen through the weekend that the tyres would struggle on heavy fuel. Rubens had a very good start and his pace was good throughout the race. It would have been nice to pick up a point or two but nonetheless we are very pleased that we beat several cars that have been faster than us of late and on merit alone. Jenson's race was compromised in the early stages when he was held up behind a one-stopping David Coutlhard but this was always the risk of an aggressive strategy from the back."
With one race remaining, what are you hoping for in Brazil in two weeks' time?
RB: "Even without any developments on the car we have had quite a good weekend here. The team and cars worked well. We have nothing new for Brazil but by working well, as we did here in China, we will be aiming to make the most of every opportunity to pick up one final point before the season draws to a close. Interlagos is a challenging track and it is destined to be an exciting race there, so who knows?"
The Force India Formula One Team's Giancarlo Fisichella has finished a clean if uneventful Chinese Grand Prix in 17th position. The Italian gained three places from his starting position with a consistent and measured drive from start to finish.
Team-mate Adrian Sutil was unfortunate not to take the chequered flag when he was hit by a gearbox problem on lap 14 of the 56 lap Grand Prix. The German had graduated to 17th position and looked set to move further up the field when he was forced to pull of the track before one third distance.
The team will now return to its UK base to evaluate the data from this weekend before launching its final hunt for points in the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: 'It was disappointing not to get two cars to the finish today, but Giancarlo did a good job to get the car home in what's been a difficult event for us. Adrian was on a two stop strategy but unfortunately had a failure, which we believe was an electronic matter related to the gearbox. Giancarlo was on a one stop strategy and while the first stint on the harder tyre was OK, with the lapping in the second stint he couldn't really improve his position. We'll now move onto the final race and hope to be more competitive there.'
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director: 'It has been a challenging weekend for the team and to get one finish is at least some small consolation. Giancarlo did everything expected of him, keeping out of trouble and bringing the car home. While 17th position is not something we can get excited about, it is a finish and in an extremely reliable field we need everything we can. Adrian was again unfortunate to be struck by a problem early on. It is a shame but we have to learn from this and move on. I am sure he and the team will be expecting more in Brazil.'
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai and heads to the seasonal finale in Brazil with a seven-point advantage over Felipe Massa, his sole challenger for the world title. Today's victory earned Lewis a memorable treble - pole position (his seventh of the year), fastest lap (1m36.325) and a 14.9s winning margin over Felipe.
Heikki Kovalainen was delayed by understeer during the opening stint due to the fitting of a set of mismatched tyres; but he led for three laps before being delayed by an entirely separate tyre issue that forced him to pit early on lap 35. Early indications from Bridgestone suggest this was caused by a puncture and not a tyre failure. Heikki was eventually forced to retire on lap 50 following a loss of hydraulic pressure.
With one round remaining, Lewis leads the drivers' championship with 94 points; Felipe lies second with 87; Heikki is seventh on 51. In the constructors' championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes remains second with 145 points; Ferrari leads with 156 points.
Ron Dennis: "No-one will be surprised to hear me describe today's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team performance as a tremendous one, because that's exactly what it was. In difficult circumstances we never allowed our focus to waver, and we paced ourselves carefully throughout. Lewis did a truly fabulous job, as did our entire team. Our race strategy was extremely solid too, but the key message from China that we take forward to Brazil is that we qualified extremely well despite the fact that our cars were fuelled longer than those of our principal opposition, which clearly demonstrates the inherent pace of our car. Heikki's first stint was compromised by the fitting of a set of mismatched tyres, which caused his car to understeer. After his first stop, a punctured tyre then forced an unscheduled pitstop before an air pressure problem with his engine caused us to retire him in order to avoid risking an engine failure."
Norbert Haug: "Great - a more convincing win is hardly possible. What an excellent victory for Lewis and the team, and what a well deserved one. Pole, win and fastest lap, Lewis demonstrated his skills and was clearly the man of the race and the whole weekend. He made a perfect start and controlled the field, never putting a foot wrong and the team executed a perfect strategy. I am sorry for Heikki, he first had a puncture, which cost him a lap, and later we had to call him in as a precautionary measure as the air consumption in his engine was too high. We are now looking forward to an exciting finale in Brazil and everybody in the team is working hard to score enough points to win the world championship."
Lewis Hamilton has won the seventeenth and penultimate round of the FIA Formula One World Championship from pole position after using a hard-hard-medium tyre strategy in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai.
Hamilton led the race, except for during his first pit stop, and finished 14.9 seconds ahead of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa, who overtook his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen six laps from the end of the race. Massa used a medium-medium-hard strategy, whilst Raikkonen finished third with a medium-hard-medium strategy. Fernando Alonso finished fourth, ahead of BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.
Timo Glock used a one stop strategy, hard-medium, to finish seventh, whilst Nelson Piquet finished eighth and scored the final championship point. The fastest lap of the race, a 1min 36.325secs, was set by Hamilton on lap 13 using the hard compound.
Leaving Shanghai, Hamilton continues to lead the drivers' championship with 94 points. Massa has 87 points, so can still also win the drivers' championship. Kubica is third on 75 points and out of championship contention. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro continue to lead the constructors' championship with 156 points, ahead of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team on 145. Both of these teams can still win this championship. The BMW Sauber F1 Team are in third position with 135 points.
Bridgestone's Potenza Formula One tyres will next be in action at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, October 31 - November 2, where the medium and soft compounds will be used. This is a change from the soft and super soft compound allocation for this race last season.
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton, this is a fantastic result for him, considering what happened here last season. Both of our compounds worked well today and we saw a good range of strategies, with all three drivers on the podium using the compounds in a different order. Heikki Kovalainen suffered a puncture which led to his tyre carcass braking up and we are investigating the cause of this. We now head to Brazil with both championships still alive, so we should expect a very exciting weekend in Sao Paulo.
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