Site logo

2015 Gran Premio d'Italia Driver Quotes - Sunday 6 September

SEASON INFORMATION
13/01/2018

2015 Gran Premio d'Italia

Driver Quotes - Sunday 6 September

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton: This weekend has been just fantastic. A perfect weekend for me - I can't remember one like it. This race is so special for every driver. When you stand up on that podium it's so emotional. It's a really proud moment to be up there in front of that sea of fans and to walk in the footsteps of so many great drivers who have won here. The start was pretty close, holding off Sebastian. But from there I felt in control. The balance wasn't perfect for qualifying but it was one of the best I've had in the race. I can't thank the team enough for all their hard work. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is doing such an incredible job. I've never seen anything like it, so thank you everyone.

Nico Rosberg: This weekend was very tough for me. There were just too many problems with my car which made it impossible to fight for the win. It hurts a lot when you have to retire with just two or three laps to go. A few corners earlier, I felt already that I had lost some power but was still hoping I could make it. Today was a massive step in the wrong direction for me in the Championship - but to complain doesn't help in these situations. I just need to keep pushing and come back even stronger. Giving up is not an option for me. I will push hard to turn things in the right direction - starting in Singapore, which is one of my favourite races. I'm looking forward to it already.

Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo: "It was a great result for the team considering where we started and the characteristics of this track. It was sweet taking that eighth place on the last lap from Ericsson. I am very happy with the chassis, the car was handling really well, and we were able to fight with a Ferrari and a Mercedes-powered car on a track where we lost out a lot on the straights. It wasn't an easy weekend for us, but I think the race was positive and the energy in the team is good. I will probably celebrate with one more pizza."

Daniil Kvyat: "Monza was always going to be a tough weekend for us. Our race wasn't too bad considering where we started on the track, because of our penalties. I didn't see much action during the race but it was a positive result to finish in the points, down to good teamwork. We'll have to come back stronger in Singapore, where the track characteristics should suit us better."

WilliamsF1

Felipe Massa: It's really emotional to have been on the podium. It was a difficult but fantastic race, I didn't have the best start but I was still able to pass cars so it was good enough. I worked hard to open the gap to Valtteri, but when I pitted early it gave him the advantage on tyres at the end of the race. It was hard to keep him behind as he really wanted it, but I just about managed it. I am delighted for myself and the team, we got a lot of valuable points. It's special to be up on the podium at Monza again, and I really thank the team for their effort today.

Valtteri Bottas: It was a good result for the team today, good points which is important. My pitstop lost me too much time which was crucial for the second part of the race. I managed to get extremely close in the end but it was too late. As I saved my tyres and brakes I was able to attack in the final laps but we had system issues on the last lap, so we need to investigate what happened because I also lost an opportunity there. It's a shame for me that I couldn't be on the podium but it's still good points for us.

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel: "It's an incredible day, it's the best second place I ever had in Formula One. Thanks to all the tifosi for giving me those emotions today on the podium: it's fantastic to see so many fans, feel the support we get as a team. It just makes our lives so much more worth living when you see all the fans coming underneath the podium. In terms of emotions it's more than a victory. It's nearly a perfect day: I'm saying nearly because I don't know what happened to Kimi at the start. It's a shame because otherwise I believe we could have both cars on the podium today. The speed was there, unfortunately not enough to win, but we've tried everything. Monza is known to be a power track and we all know how dominant Mercedes was here last year. I believe the engine guys have done a great job. There are for sure things that we need to improve: we'll do step by step. Tyres were ok for the whole weekend."

Kimi Raikkonen: "I don't know exactly what happened at the start. As far as I know I did everything correctly, but the car went into the antistall and did not move at all. I still don't have the right explanation about what happened, but it's a really bad thing that cost us a lot today. If you start from second place and after a few seconds you're in last position it's not easy to see the positive side of the race: we wasted a big opportunity to fight at the front. The car has been working well all weekend and also in the race the behavior was good. We made the best out of it and in the end I managed to come up fifth. Obviously I'm a bit disappointed, as we were hoping for a better result in our home race in front of all our fans, but if we think that after the first hundred metres we were last it was still a good result. Overall we had a pretty good speed all weekend so in a way we have to be happy for what we have done because here we were expecting more difficulties. Today I was positively surprised that we could get through some cars that are very fast on the straights, this shows that we are doing the right things, pushing the car in the right direction and improving in all areas."

McLaren

Fernando Alonso: "I got a good start today, then a couple of cars made contact at the first corner, which slowed me down. Then, at the second chicane, I came close to Jenson and eventually lost all the advantage I'd gained.

"Jenson and I were on two different tyre strategies, to try to cover all possible opportunities. I was on the Prime, which was one second slower than the Option, so I had a slower first stint, but then I was a bit quicker in the second.

"In the final laps, I felt a loss of power and was told to retire the car, so as not to cause further damage. We were outside the points anyway, so it was a wise decision."

Jenson Button "I had a good start, and took some cars into Turn One. The whole first lap was good - there were a lot of incidents, and I think I got up into ninth.

"Then, unfortunately, I just waited for the other cars to come by. It was a bit difficult out there, because the other drivers were overtaking me in places that I didn't previously think were possible, so I had to look in my mirrors on the entry to every corner.

"At the end, I missed out on a good race with my team-mate. We'd already had a good little fight for three laps, and there were six to go when he retired. I think it would've been a good fight between us - it's easy for other cars to overtake us, but it's not easy for us to overtake each other, so it would've been quite fun."

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg: "Seventh place brings some useful points, but I finished the race feeling a little bit frustrated because we didn't have the pace we know is possible. I actually think we had a problem with the car and it's something we need to investigate because I was losing downforce, the car was sliding and the rear tyres were heating up too much, all of which really hurt my pace. The second half of the race was quite difficult defending against Ericsson and that's when we were considering changing to a two-stop strategy because I was struggling so much with the tyres. In the end we decided against it and I was able to hang on to seventh place for some important points."

Sergio Perez: "I had a really enjoyable time today. I had very strong pace from the beginning to the end; I managed the tyre degradation well and I feel we got the maximum that was possible from the race. The first stint was fairly calm: I found myself in clean air and I managed to open a gap over the cars behind so I wasn't under any pressure. After my pit stop, I knew Kimi was closing in behind me: he was really quick and there was nothing I could do to keep him behind any longer than I did. I am very pleased with our performance over the whole weekend and the team really deserves these points. Today's result is important because it moves us back to fifth in the championship with a nice gap over our rivals. We did a good job and we deserve this result."

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen: "I couldn't do much today because the drive-through at the start of the race put me on the back-foot, but I think we can be happy with the car's pace, it was really good! Hopefully we have more luck in the next qualifying and start higher up on the grid in Singapore. It wasn't one of the easiest races, but I enjoyed some more good overtaking moves and I'm happy with that. I'm sure that if we hadn't started from last in the race we would've finished in the points today. We can be pleased and I now look forward to Singapore, where I'm sure we will be competitive."

Carlos Sainz Jr: "I'm pretty happy with today's race, especially with our pace. We were quick, and towards the end of the race I was getting closer and closer to the ones ahead and, even though I didn't manage to catch them, it felt good to know that we were faster. It's a shame we didn't get that final point that I think we deserved, but the five-second penalty I had to complete at the beginning of the race wasn't ideal. There are many positives to take from today: we finally finished a race after four retirements in a row, something I really needed, and enjoyed some good fights!"

Lotus F1

Romain Grosjean: "We had the potential of a good race ahead of us. I made a strong start but got hit by a car from behind in turn one which broke my rear suspension so that was it for us. It was a too optimistic move from Nasr who hit me which meant my race was over. It's been a tough weekend but everyone has made the most of the opportunities we have and the spirit of the team and the support from the F1 world has been amazing. The E23 still feels good so we head to the next races optimistic of more good results to come."

Pastor Maldonado: "It's been a tough weekend and this is racing sometimes. We keep united and keep pushing as there are still seven Grands Prix to go so time to recover and keep fighting. I had contact in turn one where the Force India came into the side of me and took out my front-right suspension and that was the end of my race. We were looking for a strong finish and we had potential for that. Everyone knows that turn one at Monza can be tough and that's what we saw today."

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson: "I was pleased with my start and first lap. We were expecting to fight against our direct competitors here in Monza. Throughout the race I had a good pace, therefore, I was able to pressure Nico (Hülkenberg) for the whole race distance. Surely it was one of the strongest races so far this year. Obviously it is frustrating having lost a position in the very last corner on the last lap. I pushed my tyres a bit too much trying to overtake Nico (Hülkenberg), so then I was not able to defend against Daniel (Ricciardo). A bitter sweet ending to a strong race."

Felipe Nasr: "I had a great start, and was in the top ten after gaining some positions. After the first chicane I felt I had a puncture on the right rear tyre, so I had to make an early pit stop. It was clear that my race was comprosised from that moment on. It is unfortunate, as the car was competitive enough to finish the race in the points. I tried my best today. It is great that as a team we were able to score points with Marcus. Now I look forward to the Singapore Grand Prix."

Marussia

Will Stevens: "That was a good race. The car was well-balanced, we had good pace and for the first few laps I could enjoy some proper racing with the cars coming from behind us. Inevitably, things settled down a bit after that but we were able to push hard and maintain the momentum. I was very comfortable this weekend and feel like things are going my way again, so now I'm really looking forward to the long-hauls."

Roberto Mehri: "It's been a more difficult weekend for me, so I have to be pleased with what is a good result overall for the team. The last few races have been much better for me, but not everything goes your way all of the time, so I'll take away the positives and keep pushing for the flyaway rounds, starting with Singapore, which I'm really looking forward to."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST FEATURES

more features >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images

Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2024. All rights reserved.

about us  |  advertise  |  contact  |  privacy & security  |  rss  |  terms