Martin Whitmarsh, team principal: "Given their grid positions, this afternoon we saw two markedly different yet equally impressive drives from Lewis and Jenson.
"Lewis ran long, starting on Prime tyres, and made prodigious progress in the first phase of the race thanks to a series of stunning overtaking manoeuvres. Jenson ran a contrasting strategy, starting on Options and making his pitstop early [lap nine]. Thereafter he preserved his Primes in masterly fashion, defending his position against cars whose tyres were far newer than his yet still maintaining strong lap times throughout the race.
"From our perspective, a bit of rain would have been welcome; but, given the dry weather all afternoon, the fact that we'll leave Malaysia with 12 more constructors' championship points than we had when we arrived here is a powerful testament to the professionalism and determination that both Lewis and Jenson showed today.
"The team, too, did a fantastic job. Lewis's pitstop was the fastest we've achieved all year, at a lightning-quick 3.4 seconds, so I'd like to take this opportunity to say 'well done' to Pete Vale [chief mechanic], Paul James [number-one mechanic, Lewis Hamilton] and all the lads for their excellent work under significant pressure.
"Looking forward to China, there are many positives to reflect on. We now lie a close second in the constructors' world championship table, our pace was highly competitive all weekend here in Malaysia, and, with a better qualifying performance than we achieved here in Sepang, we hope to perform strongly in Shanghai."
Nico Rosberg achieved the first podium finish for the Mercedes GP Petronas team at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia today, capping a strong weekend at the home Grand Prix of the team's title partner, Petronas.
Starting from second place on the grid, Nico lost a place at the start and was running in third position at the end of the first lap. He made his sole pit stop on lap 22 where superb work from the team enabled Nico to gain over a second on the chasing Robert Kubica. From there, Nico drove a composed race to the chequered flag to secure third position and his third podium finish.
Michael Schumacher was out of the race when a wheel nut came off one of the rear wheels and forced Michael to retire on lap ten.
Ross Brawn: "That was an excellent drive from Nico today and a first-class performance to secure his third career podium and the first podium for the Mercedes GP Petronas team. We are delighted to have achieved the first podium for the Silver Arrows here in Malaysia and to be able to share the rewards of our hard work with our title partner Petronas at their home Grand Prix. My compliments to Nico for an assured performance today and over the weekend. Michael was in a good position after the start and we were looking forward to having a good race on his side but unfortunately it wasn't to be. The car lost a wheel nut which is a problem that we haven't experienced before. The wheel nuts are double-checked on the grid so we will investigate and put in place the necessary solutions."
Norbert Haug: "A great drive from Nico and our first podium after starting from the first row in our third race. The team had a first-class strategy and Nico did not put one foot wrong and secured this first and for us historic podium finish, at the home race of our title partner Petronas. Our gap to the two Red Bull-Renaults in front of Nico was still considerable and we all know there is more work to be done in order to catch up. However it looks like we are heading in the right direction and the point standings after three races don't look too bad. Sorry for Michael who had a great start and was positioned sixth when a wheel nut came loose which stopped his race. We will work hard and concentrated to make sure that our car will be fully reliable in the future and get quicker step by step. After Melbourne, Nico and the team performed again the quickest pit stop which is very rewarding for our guys and sometimes very important to get the right amount of World Championship points. Last but certainly not least congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing for their first and well deserved victory in 2010. Seb was the class of the field today."
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: Woo hoo! What a good result – it's the one we deserved since the beginning of the season, but due to reliability problems we were not able to make it. Now it's done, the reliability is there and it's a one two finish – it's great. After all the difficult
times we are a team and are back in the fight. Our big competitors didn't score a lot of points so it's a really good result for us and the engines behaved very well in this heat. We are fully happy today.
Stefano Domenicali: There's no way we can be happy with the outcome of this third race weekend of the season. We came to Malaysia with very different objectives and taking home a mere seven points is a disappointment. Today's result is down to yesterday's qualifying: when you start that far back on the grid, it's difficult to do better. On top of that, we had a few reliability problems which should put us on our guard: if we want to aspire to the title we absolutely have to sort this out. Fernando drove an amazing race, given that right from the formation lap, he had a problem going through the gears. To drive under these conditions is impressive and he was able to stay in the fight for points right to the end. Felipe also drove a really great race, especially in the second part and heading the Drivers' classification is a just reward for all he has done in this early part of the season. An initial assessment after three races? Positive, because we lead both championships and have shown we are competitive at the highest level. We know where we have to improve - performance and reliability - but we can count on an excellent package - car, drivers, team - all capable of being in the fight for both titles.
Chris Dyer: A very disappointing race and there's not much else to say. We had seen the potential of the car and both drivers, especially in the final stages of the race and it is a very great shame we were unable to exploit that fully, because of the mistake we made in yesterday's qualifying. We had two serious technical problems on Fernando's car – first a malfunction in the gearbox right from the start of the race which handicapped him throughout and then, at the end, the engine failure, which caused his retirement. Felipe drove a good race and leaves Malaysia at the head of the classification: there you are, that's the only positive note at the end of a weekend where we had definitely expected a lot more.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: We had a difficult race this afternoon from which we've come away with one point. Both drivers struggled with the start; Rubens didn't get enough drive and Nico had excessive wheel spin. We chose to pit Rubens early and put him on the harder tyre as he was being held up in traffic. Nico also had to pit early as we had an electrical problem on his steering wheel which was preventing us from changing the engine mixture. Our focus remains on improving our pace and starts.
Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "Robert drove a great race today and was up to fourth on the first lap, which he held until the end of the race. We tried to catch Rosberg, but the Mercedes had pretty similar pace and so we had to settle for fourth. As for Vitaly, he made another good start and drove really well in the opening laps. When we changed him to the prime tyres he struggled for rear grip, but then his race came to an end with the gearbox problem, which we are still investigating."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "We had a strong race today and have come away with a good result. We were clearly on the same pace as Nico Rosberg, although he managed to stay ahead of us as the strategy unfolded. The two Red Bulls were on another planet today and underlined the overall performance of the Renault engine which has finished in three of the top four places. Our fourth place today confirms our recent progress, but we must continue working hard. I would also like to say well done to all the mechanics, who have done a brilliant job all weekend in tough working conditions."
The Force India F1 Team's points haul continued in the Malaysian Grand Prix today as Adrian Sutil raced strongly to fifth place and ten points. Adrian drove a faultless race, keeping the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton at bay in the closing stages of the race to secure his best finish since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix and bringing the team's total points this year to 18.
Unfortunately Tonio Liuzzi retired on lap 12 with a suspected throttle problem. The Italian had made a good start and was enjoying a battle with Nico Hulkenberg but started to lose power on lap 10. He pitted however was obliged to retire when a fix could not be made.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: Three races and three times in the points, I am absolutely delighted. Adrian had a strong race, keeping a cool head under pressure when a charging Lewis Hamilton was right on his tail. Once again we've proved the pace of our car and our ability to really mix it in the midfield. It was disappointing not to have two cars in the points, but it is overall very positive that we can race hard and score points entirely on merit.
Franz Tost: "A very good weekend for Red Bull, with three out of four cars in the points. Well done to Red Bull Racing for this well deserved one-two finish. We are very pleased to have scored our first points of the season and well done to Alguersuari for the first two points of his F1 career. Jaime continues to improve each weekend. He got a good start and then drove a fantastic race, not only defending his position but also carrying off some daring overtaking moves. Then for the last third of the race, he controlled the situation, looking after his tyres and the engine to complete an excellent race performance. Buemi made a reasonable start, but unfortunately, he made contact with Kobayashi at Turn 2 on the opening lap, which damaged the nose and front wing end plate. After this, he soon complained of heavy understeer, so we brought forward his first pit stop. Having calculated that a nose change at this time would have lost him too much track position, we did not change it, again bringing him in early at the second stop when we did fit the new nose. After that, his lap times improved and he brought the car home eleventh. We are looking forward to China with optimism, because not only do the drivers continue to improve, but the team also worked very well, so I hope we can pick up some more points in Shanghai."
Lotus Racing's Malaysian Grand Prix saw both cars cross the finish line at the Sepang Circuit, Jarno Trulli in 17th and Heikki Kovalainen unclassified, ten laps down at the flag.
After a visit to the garage from the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and the Badminton World Number One player Datuk Lee Chong Wei, both cars were poised and ready when the red lights went out. Heikki Kovalainen, who started in 15th place after a very good qualifying session, had a tricky race. Off the grid his Lotus Racing Cosworth T127-01 was caught in a tussle with Lucas Di Grassi which caused a left rear puncture, leading to a quick pit stop on lap 12. 20 laps in he had to pit again with a hydraulics issue but his pitcrew were determined not to give up and he was soon back out on track to complete the race.
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "The beauty of sport is that you have highs and lows, and after the high of yesterday, with Heikki in Q2, it was a bit of a low today. Jarno had some handling problems due to damaged bodywork at the rear, and did a great job to bring the car home. With Heikki, he had some very high temperatures which we managed to fix in the pit, and as soon as he was out again he was very competitive, took the car to the flag, and really showed what the car was capable of. So it was disappointing, but at least we managed to get two cars to the flag. We've learned a lot and are looking to move on and be on good form for China."
Team Principal Tony Fernandes: "It was good to get two finishes; obviously we're unhappy with the position, but as we've always said it's a major achievement just to finish. And we did - as you could see later Heikki's car had good pace, so that's encouraging. We take a lot away from this weekend, and we'll take everything we have learned with us to China, and from Barcelona, as we've always said, we'll be looking to build on the very solid start to the season. I'm proud of the effort the whole team put in today in tough, hot conditions, and we're here to fight another day."
Dr. Colin Kolles, Team Principal: A fantastic day for the team completing our first two-car finish in only our third race, with no pre-season testing. Bruno Senna had a good start while Karun Chandhok had a bad one. But Karun could find a good pace then and both drivers had reliable races. Again we have made a great step forward. We reached our goal with two cars finishing the race. Congratulations to the team who worked again hard to achieve this result. Now we have to work on more developments for the next Grand Prix in China.
After a promising qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix neither driver could take advantage of this in the race, as both retired due to a technical failure. Pedro de la Rosa stopped when on his way to the grid, Kamui Kobayashi had to park the car on lap nine. Both cars had engine failures because of a problem in the pneumatic system.
Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "A very disappointing race after promising starting positions. Pedro was forced to stop on his lap to the grid, and Kamui, who started from ninth, had to give up on lap nine. In both cases the engines failed due to problems with the pneumatic system. We have to analyse everything in order to understand the reason behind it."
Virgin went all the way today as Lucas di Grassi brought his VR-01 home in 14th position, helping his Virgin Racing team to achieve an important first race finish. Lucas drove a very mature race to see his own maiden chequered flag. He beat the other new teams into submission at the same time as having to contend with a missing front wing end-plate after an unsuccessful 11th lap challenge from the Lotus Racing car of Heikki Kovalainen.
Timo was less fortunate on a day where both cars were looking good to make it to the finish. He was going great guns at the start, but was losing time behind Jarno Trulli. In a bid to dispense with the Lotus he was about to execute a crucial overtaking move when he locked his rear wheels into the corner, the back end of his VR-01 stepped out and he inadvertently struck Jarno's car, which resulted in Timo's race coming to an end after only 2 laps.
Nevertheless, everyone at Virgin Racing is delighted that their season is now properly underway and both drivers will be heading straight back to Bicester for some all-important race preparation on the Wirth Research Simulators in readiness for their next challenge - the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
Nick Wirth, Technical Director: "Finally getting one of our cars to see the chequered flag is a great reward for everyone at Virgin Racing and Wirth Research and I want to thank all of our partners, sponsors and supporters for their patience and understanding during the last few months. The race was quite stressful on the pit wall as we left the grid assuming that it was going to rain. It took a little while for us to be really sure that it wasn't and then, being mindful of our fuel tank limitations, it was really just a case of the team and Lucas deploying our well-practised fuel-saving techniques to excellent effect. Timo was very fired up for the race and it was unfortunate that he didn't manage to get a finish but his time will come very soon. This weekend has been, from start to finish, a clear step forward and comes as a result of diligent hard work from a great many people and I dedicate this result to them. We've come in for heavy criticism for our radical low-cost design approach and relative inexperience in F1, which makes our performance throughout the weekend all the more satisfying. Finishing our first Grand Prix as the leading new team will give us lots of information and we've got some clear direction on issues to address for Shanghai, which will allow us to perform better all round, without distracting us too much from the bigger Barcelona upgrade. So once again, well done to everyone at Virgin Racing and we now looking forward to building on this platform."
The rain which visited the circuit for every afternoon in the build-up to the race remained absent, meaning it was tyre strategies using Bridgestone's two dry tyres which defined performance, with a good mix of timing and order of use of the hard and soft compounds.
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Today we saw a very exiting race and I am proud of the part that Bridgestone played in this with a good allocation of tyres, as confirmed by the race winner, Sebastian Vettel. Congratulations to Red Bull for their one-two today, and to Mercedes for Nico Rosberg's third place. It is always a pleasure to visit Malaysia and we have many supporters here. Bridgestone Malaysia celebrated its tenth anniversary around the Grand Prix weekend and they raised over 105,000 Ringgets for their nominated charity - the Global Environment Centre."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "This was a good and interesting race based around tyre strategies. The hard and soft Bridgestone compounds performed very well, but with distinct characteristics. Those who started with the soft tyre had to stop sooner than those who started with the hard, as the soft had a shorter wear life. The hard allowed drivers to continue pushing, as shown by Mark Webber setting the race's fastest lap on lap 53 with this tyre. The soft required a more forgiving style to maintain its performance. Drivers were able to use fresh tyres sets in the race, as they did not use these tyres in the wet qualifying yesterday. This meant we saw many fastest race laps as the race progressed, from drivers taking to the track on fresh rubber. Our compounds were able to support a variety of strategies and it was good to see the racing on track between many drivers at different times through the race. Even though the top three drivers used the same strategy, there were strong moves through the field using a hard-soft strategy. So many people predicted rain for this race, but today we did not need wet weather to provide excitement on track."
