Christian Horner, Team Principal: It was an incredible race. To sign off the year with a one-two finish is a fantastic way to end the year. The race was dominated by trying to manage the problem that Sebastian had; he did an unbelievable job to keep his car alive to the end of the race. The problem appeared on lap 5, due to a gearbox that was losing oil. Temperatures were therefore creeping up, but he adopted his driving technique and did an awesome job to get the car to the end. Mark was not far behind at the time and Sebastian conceded the lead. Thereafter Mark drove a fantastic race and had a very deserving victory to sign off what has been an unbelievable year. To have won 12 grand prix and defended both World Championships is fantastic and the timing's right to thank every member of the team for all their hard work. I'd like to also thank Renault and all our partners and obviously a very special thank you to Red Bull and Mr. Mateschitz for all the tremendous support they have shown us all year, without which none of these results would have been possible.
Cyril Dumont, Renault: A fantastic result. To finish this season with a one-two finish was the result we deserved today. I'm happy for Mark and to see him back on the top step of the podium is great – it's really important for him for now and next year. I would like to thank of course Red Bull but also all the people from Renault, as clearly the reliability has been there all year – so a big thank you to everyone at Viry Chatillon and Mecachrome. I would also like to thank my team here at the track, they have done a wonderful job and now I think they deserve some good holidays.
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "Today we saw yet another brilliant performance from Jenson, who has driven magnificently all season but particularly in the second half of it. It was his eighth podium finish in the past nine grands prix - and the odd race out in that splendidly consistent sequence was the Korean Grand Prix, in which he finished a fighting fourth.
"Today he drove cleanly, shrewdly and patiently - but forcefully too - and the way he optimised his pace on the Prime tyre was masterful. He drove his two final stints on the Prime, in fact, which enabled him to hunt down Fernando's Ferrari in the closing stages of the race to take a beautifully judged third place.
"Lewis drove extremely well today too, but unfortunately he was let down by gearbox failure. Quite early on, we noticed a loss of oil pressure, then he lost seventh gear, and then he lost all drive and was forced to call it a day. But prior to that he was improvising intelligently and never gave up. Moreover, his typically combative approach played a significant part in the afternoon's entertainment, and surely thrilled TV viewers worldwide.
"Lewis has had a challenging year - but his gutsy performances here and, in particular, in Abu Dhabi, where he took his third win of the season, represent an eloquent testimony to an emphatic return to form on his part. He's already focusing on 2012, and I'm sure he'll prepare for the new season with his customary determination and will to win.
"The same can be said for all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, in fact. We've been concentrating our energies on MP4-27 for some time now, and we'll maintain that intensive effort throughout the winter months.
"All things considered, 2011 was a pretty decent year for us - we finished second in the constructors' world championship, 122 points ahead of the third-placed team and 332 points ahead of the fourth-placed team - but we aim to win outright."
Stefano Domenicali: We had hoped and wanted to end the season with at least one more podium finish, even if we knew it would be very difficult given the quality of opponent we had ahead of us after qualifying. Fernando came close to achieving our wish, fighting to the bitter end, but he had to settle for looking up at the podium, which along with Webber's win, means he won't be off to India to take part in the FIA Gala for the top three finishers in the Drivers' Championship: it's a shame because given how he performed this year – he even scored more points than in 2010 – he definitely deserved better. Felipe was forced to adopt a strategy which looked slower on paper, but he had a good race all the same and would have finished fifth on track even without having to wait for the retirement of the second McLaren. Now we can definitely file away a year where our performance was insufficient by our standards and think only of next season. Once again, we congratulate those who did a better job than us and we look forward to facing them again next year, when we will try to be the best of the lot. That is our target and we have no intention of hiding the fact. We have weeks of hard work ahead of us and we will only start to see the fruits of our labours in February, when it's time to fire up the engines again. Finally, let me say I am happy to hear that Lewis came round to see Felipe during his press meeting, which thus puts an end to all the recent misunderstandings.
Pat Fry: A logical outcome to a not particularly exciting race. We had expected rain but it did not come, even if it occasionally circled the area around the track. Another surprise, unfortunately a negative one, came last night, when we discovered that the right rear tyre from the first set of Soft tyres that Felipe had used in qualifying had a puncture: this meant he had to run a two stop strategy, which we knew would penalise him in terms of overall race time compared to those who were three stopping. Both drivers got great starts: they could have even gained another place but at that point the track ran out! Fernando was fantastic in the first half of the race, passing Button with a very nice move and then he managed the gap in impeccable fashion. Then, once he switched to the Medium tyre, he paid the price we usually do with the harder compound, when compared to McLaren and he was not able to fend off Button's comeback. A shame, as it would have been nice to finish on the podium, but I have to say Fernando has had an incredible 2011, if you just think how often he managed to finish in the top three. Now it's up to us to give him and Felipe a much more competitive car than this one. That is our aim, which we have been thinking about day and night and on which we are pushing as hard as we can. I want to congratulate the entire team for the way they have worked at the track this year. We have made significant steps forward and we must continue down this route for next year. We can expect some busy months ahead when there will be plenty of opportunities to improve still further.
Nico ran a two-stop strategy of option/option/prime, stopping on laps 16 and 42. Michael was forced to run a three-stop strategy after a puncture on lap 10, pitting further on laps 32 and 51. Three of the team's four clean pit stops were under 21 seconds this afternoon. With a total of 731 points, Mercedes-Benz is the highest scoring engine manufacturer of the 2011 season.
Ross Brawn: "Nico didn't have a great car balance today, struggling with oversteer, and he had to look after the tyres very carefully. He experienced high levels of degradation and consequently had a frustrating afternoon trying to manage the balance, in a situation where the tyres were particularly sensitive. Michael had a good battle with Senna in the early laps, and his pass at the start of lap 10 was clear-cut. However, Senna showed his inexperience trying to defend a position that he had already lost, and the contact ruined Michael's race. After an unplanned stop to replace his punctured tyre, Michael was able to demonstrate the car's innate pace, thanks to a better car balance, and his lap times looked reasonably competitive. I want to say thank you to all the team in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart, whose efforts have not waned at any point during a long season. There are accomplishments we can be proud of this season, such as our consistently strong pit stops, and we know that we need to put everything together next year. Finally, I would like to highlight the excellent support we have enjoyed from all our partners in 2011. Formula One is a true team sport, and they have played an integral role in helping us build towards a more successful future."
Norbert Haug: "It was certainly not a perfect end to our season and not the results we had wanted to achieve at this final race in Brazil. We need to investigate why Nico's speed over the major part of the race, suffering from a less than optimal car balance, was quite different to Michael's, who had an unfortunate coming-together during his second passing move of the race. This cost him dearly as he had to do a whole lap with a punctured left-rear tyre, but his pace afterwards did not look bad at all. I would like to take the opportunity at this season's final race to say thank you to all our team members in Brackley, Brixworth, Stuttgart and Fellbach for their dedicated work and relentless efforts. Also, I would like to thank all the partners and families of our team members - without their fantastic support, our colleagues could not get their demanding jobs done. There will be a short and well-deserved break for most of our team around Christmas before attacking next year with a better technical package, and the clear target of closing the gap to the top of the field."
Both cars started on the soft tyres. Vitaly then went soft-medium, whilst Bruno went soft-medium-soft. Bruno's contact with Schumacher did not affect the performance of his R31. His lack of fourth gear did. Tyre performance dictated at least a three stop strategy for both cars, with rival cars able to manage a two stop strategy. Vitaly went from 15th on the grid to 12th at the end of the first lap. Bruno maintained 9th position until his first pit stop on lap 12.
Eric Boullier, Team Principal and Managing Director: "There are positives to take from today. On the surface, 10th and 17th positions would not seem good enough but we took a point from the final race of the season. Vitaly did this for us from a lowly 15th position on the starting grid, so that has to be commended - he drove a reasonably good race. Bruno was unfortunate not to have a better time of things in front of his home fans. The team have once again put in a lot of hard work this weekend and I'm very thankful to everyone for that."
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: "A tricky race for us as those we were racing were able to run to two stops and our tyre wear meant that we had to make three. Vitaly drove strongly to go from 15th to 10th, whereas Bruno's race was totally compromised with a gearbox issue leaving him without fourth gear. Bruno didn't suffer from his wing making contact with Michael's car and it would have taken longer to change the wing than we would have gained from replacing it. Bruno's contact with Michael looked like a racing incident so we were surprised at the penalty, but of course we respect the stewards' decision. Overall, it's certainly been a trying season and I can't wait till next year."
Ricardo Penteado, LRGP Engine Support Leader, Renault Sport F1: "The Brazilian GP is not a tough one for engines, but on account of the high altitude the RS27 engine can be around 8% down on power. We tried to compensate for this with an aggressive engine strategy on both cars and it paid off for Vitaly as he gained five positions and finished in the points, which is quite satisfying after a challenging second half of the season. Unfortunately Bruno had a few issues in the race which meant he couldn't capitalise on his strong starting position, but the most important is that we consolidated fifth in the constructors' championship."
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: Rubens had a difficult start which cost him a number of positions. We then changed his planned two stop strategy to a three as we were experiencing higher tyre wear than expected. Rubens continued to push hard to finish in P14, having held Schumacher off for the last few laps of the race. Pastor ran wide in turn 6/7 on lap 26 and had to stop having damaged the car. Rubens and Pastor fought hard today but ultimately did not have the pace to finish in the points. I'd like to thank the team for all their efforts this season.
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: "Today's result is the perfect way to end what has been a tremendous season for Sahara Force India. Adrian and Paul drove brilliant races to add 12 more points to our tally and confirm our sixth place in the championship - our highest finish to date. I'm also very pleased that we could move Adrian up to ninth in the drivers' standings. As a team we have taken great strides forward this season and now is the time to congratulate everyone who has contributed to that. We head into the winter in good spirits and determined to come back even stronger next year to pick up where we left off."
Peter Sauber, Team Principal: "It was an important result today. We were able to move up one position in the constructors' championship compared to last year, which is good for the morale of the team. Kamui drove a fantastic race, making up positions in the early laps and then driving fast and consistently to take two championship points. Thanks to the whole team at the track, in Hinwil and to our partner Ferrari."
Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Head of Track Engineering: "Everything went according to plan today. Both drivers were able to make up positions in the early stages of the race. It was important that Kamui was immediately in front of Sebastien Buemi and Sergio directly behind him and in front of Jaime Alguersuari. This is want we wanted. After that it was a matter of controlling the race. Our strategy was to be ready for some rain, which was predicted but in the end didn't happen. So for both drivers the tyre choice was soft, soft and medium. As it has been for most of the time this year, our pace was good in the race. Congratulations to the whole team."
Franz Tost: "At the start of the season, we set ourselves the target of finishing at least eighth in the Constructors' championship and that is where we have finished, 36 points ahead of those in ninth place. However, having come so close to challenging for seventh place when we picked up a significant number of points in Korea and India, we cannot be happy with missing out on overtaking the team ahead of us, failing to score in the last two races.
As for today's race, Sebastien got a good start, while Jaime dropped a couple of places and then on the Soft tyre, we struggled to match the pace of the Saubers who had got ahead of us at the start and therefore Kobayashi pulled away a bit. Once back on the Medium compound, Jaime was able to close the gap but not enough to get past. As for Buemi, he did not have the pace today, which was partly due to the fact we opted to give him a set-up that would have been more suited to a wet race. Work is already well underway on our next year's car and as from tomorrow, the entire team's focus switches to 2012."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "That was a good race for us. Both drivers were able to maintain their positions which was not such an easy task because of the amount of activity on track, but they finished where we aimed for and that was what was all important. What I do want to talk about is the relationship between Team Lotus and Renault Sport F1. We have had a very good year in terms of how our partnership has developed. The whole team were very easy to work with right from day one and we have put ourselves in a very good position to keep moving forward next year."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "I think that is a great way to end the season and secure tenth place. It was a tense afternoon for us with all the possible weather changes, but the conditions held off and we had the sort of race we have been putting in for much of this year. Both drivers were pushing all afternoon - with Jarno we put him on a two stop race which meant he had to look after his tyres. That might have ended up costing him some time, but with Heikki we ran a three stop race and he brought his car home where we thought he could. Really though today is about doing the job for our shareholders and our partners, in particular Renault Sport F1 and Red Bull Technology who have played such a key role in today's success. Congratulations to our shareholders for the rewards we have now gained from finishing tenth for two seasons running. They deserve this success for the incredible support they give us every day and we will keep working hard to make them proud."
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Almost tears for me today! I am absolutely overjoyed. Two years of hard work have paid off today and it was great to see both cars home safely, helping us win tenth place. The icing on the cake was beating a Renault - that meant a lot to me as I have always said the good guys do win. We have a fantastic little team here, and some incredible partners in GE, Dell, Intel, APC and CNN and I know how much it means to each and every person associated with us to have finished this season where we wanted to. Now we look forward to our new life as Caterham F1 Team and we say goodbye to Team Lotus. Colin - we hope we did you proud and we hope you keep an eye over us as Caterham F1 Team. We know we will do you proud there as well."
Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "After yesterday's performance, we were hoping for a better race. Neither Tonio nor Daniel had a good start and we lost the position to the Virgin but from there both drivers had a good pace throughout the race. The pit stops were also good but, unfortunately, we couldn't finish the race with both cars due to an alternator failure on Tonio's car at the final stages. It has been a hard and difficult season but I want to say thank you to Tonio, Narain and Daniel, but also all the mechanics and team personnel for their efforts and commitment to the team. I'm proud of them all."
Marussia Virgin Racing's Jerome D'Ambrosio finished in 19th position in today's final race of the 2011 Formula One season at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paulo. Unfortunately Timo had to retire after a problem with the left rear wheel during his first pit-stop on lap 22.
Clouds were threatening before the start of the race, but the showers kept away from the track, allowing Jerome and Timo to start the race on the Pirelli P-Zero Soft tyres. They both got off to a good start, running 21st and 23rd respectively.
Jerome pitted for the first time on lap 20. Timo followed him in one lap later, but his left rear tyre wasn't properly fitted and he was forced to retire.
Jerome's second pit-stop was on lap 41. He drove a strong race to maintain and increase the gap to the HRTs until the end of the race.
John Booth, Team Principal: "Both drivers had excellent starts and were it not for Timo being over to the left into Turn 1 I'm sure they would both have emerged n front of the HRTs. Jerome drove another strong race and really proved that yesterday's qualifying positions were an anomaly for us this season.
"We apologise to Timo for the incident in his pit-stop which cost him the chance to end his season on the high note that would have been reflective of his commitment all year.
"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our team on their hard work and dedication right through to the end of what has been a long and challenging season. We may have suffered one final disappointment here today, but ultimately we have achieved a great deal in terms of laying important foundations for a more successful future.
"I would also like to thank our Partners for their unfailing support and we look forward to rewarding their faith in the steps we are taking to ensure we can all look forward to some very positive times ahead. Our thanks also to Cosworth and Pirelli for the positive working relationship we have shared this season."
The new Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft compound seen in competition for the first time today will be combined with a new profile for 2012 to form the basis of next year's medium tyres, now that the current season is over. All of the slick tyres apart from the supersoft compound will be brand new next year, making their debut at the first official test of 2012 next February in Spain.
With the anticipated threat of rain eventually holding off, Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber claimed his first win of a remarkable debut season for Pirelli at the final grand prix, using the new P Zero Yellow soft tyres and the P Zero White medium tyres.
Webber took the lead on lap 29, after his team mate Sebastian Vettel lost time with a gearbox problem, having led from pole. Webber adopted a three-stop strategy, using three sets of soft tyres and one set of medium tyres to win the race by 16.9 seconds from his team mate. It was Webber's seventh career victory, securing him third place in the final championship standings.
A few isolated raindrops fell on the Interlagos paddock about an hour before the race started, but the grand prix got underway in dry conditions and temperatures of around 24 degrees. All 24 cars started on the P Zero Yellow soft tyres, giving them greater flexibility in their strategies in case of rain - which never materialised.
McLaren's Jenson Button was the first driver to switch to the medium tyre on lap 31, using a different strategy to his team mate Lewis Hamilton. The top four runners all adopted a three-stop strategy, with Ferrari driver Felipe Massa the highest-placed two-stopper in fifth, having run two stints on the soft tyre and one final stint on the medium.
Button was the only driver to use the P Zero White medium for two stints, making his last stop on lap 52. The Englishman was able to push hard during his final stint, as he chased a top-three finish, which he claimed with nine laps to go: his eighth podium in nine races that cemented his runner-up place in the drivers' championship.
The fastest lap of the race was also set on the P Zero White medium tyre, by Mark Webber on the very final lap. It was Webber's eighth fastest lap this year on Pirelli tyres.
Paul Hembery: "This didn't turn out to be the race that most people expected, with the predicted rain holding off. At the last race of the season there were a few mechanical issues for some cars, but our tyres were completely reliable - as they have been all year, with no structural failures - and we achieved our objective of having a performance gap of less than a second between the compounds, which should be the case next year as well. It's been a season that has, if anything, exceeded our expectations - where we've seen the most overtaking in the history of the Formula One World Championship - and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our team in Milan, Didcot and Izmit for their extraordinary work this season. They should all be proud of their achievements. I'd also like to thank all the teams and drivers for their unstinting support, advice and partnership."
