2016 Grande Premio do Brasil

Driver Quotes - Sunday 13 November

Lewis Hamilton: I've just won my first Brazilian Grand Prix! I remember watching Ayrton win back in 1991 and thinking "one day, that's what I want to do". I shared his emotion that day and now I can finally understand how he felt. It's the 44th Grand Prix here as well, so it's a really special one for me. To win on Senna's turn in front of that crowd... it's a moment I'll never forget and I genuinely can't believe it's finally come. It's crazy - all these years it's been so hard to win this race and then today was one of the easiest wins I've had. Of course, in those conditions I could easily have made a mistake at any point. But I was generally very relaxed out there today and felt completely in control. I love driving in the rain. It must come from years of racing around the UK as a kid! It's all in the mind - keeping your cool, not making mistakes, having great reactions and knowing where to put the car. It was one of those races where I was able to focus purely on driving. That one set of tyres just kept going and going, I didn't have any problems at all and the car was really fantastic. I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone back at both factories who have worked so hard to give us such an incredible car. This result is all down to them. Every week we're making another piece of history and we've out-and-out proven that we're the best team by far, in every area. Our hospitality is the best, our food is the best, our guys in the garage are the best, the guys back in the factory are the best, our cars are the best... it's so rare to see every area so spot on and I'm proud to be a part of that. I'm glad that it's come down to the last race. All I can do is focus on being as strong as I have been in these past few races. If I can do that, I'll know in my heart what I've achieved this year.

Nico Rosberg: The conditions were really tricky out there today. Up the hill there was heavy aquaplaning and a lot of drivers went off the track. I had a bit of a moment when I spun at one point but luckily this wasn't at high speed, so I was able to catch the car again. Lewis did a better job today and deserved the win, so I must be happy with P2. Max also did a good job. We knew that the Red Bull would be very strong in the wet but he drive a great race. Thank you very much to my team for choosing the right strategy and letting me stay out on the full wet tyres. Now I look forward to Abu Dhabi, where I have good memories from last year. I will be going all out for the win there.

Sebastian Vettel: Obviously, today it was not ideal: in the first part of the race I span, I had some aquaplaning but I wasn't the only one. I think it was a good recovering in the end, it was difficult to come back, and I struggled to get past Sainz: I don't know why it took me a lot of laps before I really started to feel well in the car, and then it was too late. About the duel with Verstappen, I think I was racing side by side to him and he saw me. I still had a little bit of my nose ahead, he was much faster so it was about making the corner and he got past. Not a difficult passing manoeuver, but I don't think it was fully correct. But I wouldn't complain about anything today: I think I was not the only one who got caught out by the aquaplaning, but luckily I didn't crash.

Kimi Raikkonen: The conditions today were not the easiest ones: it was very tricky, and when you do many laps behind the Safety Car it gets even more difficult. It was not raining heavily, but there was a lot of standing water. The biggest problem was the aquaplaning and I got it in a place where I was not expecting it: I spun off on the straight! I almost got the car back, but then I went off in a pretty bad place. The Wet tires are very vulnerable, easy to aquaplaning. It obviously depends on the circuit and on many other things, but comparing to some years ago, those tires could handle this kind of water with no issues of aquaplaning.

Felipe Massa: It's impossible to explain my feelings from today, for everything that has happened. So much love. We couldn't finish the race. I wanted to finish in the right way, with the flag on the top. Unfortunately, I couldn't, but I think God knows what to do. I was just walking, in front of my people, with this amazing reaction. Not just from the fans but from all the people in Formula One coming out to clap their hands for me. It's impossible to explain these emotions. I never expected this in my life, I don't think I deserved as much as this. The minimum I can say is thank you very much to everyone, all the people I've worked with, all of the fans. I will never forget this day.

Valtteri Bottas: It was a very difficult day in very difficult conditions. We managed to keep the car in one piece but it wasn't easy. We had quite a lot of potential with the strategy, but in the end the intermediate tyres starting working a bit too late for us. It's a shame that Force India got a lot more points than us, so it's going to be tricky in Abu Dhabi. We were just really unlucky today with the timing of our strategy. It's been amazing to see the support here for Felipe and I'm sure he really appreciated it. We'll enjoy Abu Dhabi.

Daniel Ricciardo: "It was a frustrating race, we never really felt like we got lucky with the strategy; every time we made a change with the tyres there was a safety car or a red flag. We lost positions and obviously we could not predict what was going to happen and we felt a little bit on the back foot. But the real difficulty today was my visibility, which was a struggle as my visor kept fogging up. I kept opening my visor and trying to wipe it but it's never happened before, and it held me back. It's a shame as the car was a lot better than eighth, when we had a clear track our speed was good. It was tricky out there, for example with Kimi, I didn't see him crash in front of me. It wasn't until I got back to the pits and saw a replay I knew he'd crashed. From that point of view they obviously make some good calls with red flags. I'm glad we got to race and glad we could finish it, and that despite some crashes everyone was safe. The fans put up with a long afternoon so thanks to them for staying with it."

Max Verstappen: "I think the word for today is 'Exciting'. I overtook Nico around the outside of turn 3 which was really fun to do, I just seemed to find a bit more grip out there. I then started chasing Lewis which resulted in me having a massive moment in the final sector, I was really lucky to keep it out of the guard rail. After that scare my pace was still good and I held onto P2. The rears then started to lose grip and I was told Daniel had pitted for Intermediates and was going fast so I followed that plan. For a lap or so it was really good but then more rain came which resulted in no grip in the last sector. There was no way we could carry on so had to pit again for wets. From there on the race was really good fun, plenty of overtakes around the outside because if you stay behind them there's too much spray, I had to find another line. I just kept my head down and managed to get past quite a few cars in the remaining laps. I could hear the crowd going crazy when my engineer was on the radio, so I'm very thankful for the Brazilian fans for getting behind me. At the end when I crossed the line it felt like a victory, it was almost as beautiful as my race in Barcelona."

Nico Hulkenberg: "That was an intense race and I don't know whether to laugh or cry because I think a possible podium slipped away today. I had great confidence in the car, felt comfortable and I had the pace to push and overtake. There were some scary moments in the race, especially when Kimi crashed in front of me. Some of his debris hit my car and caused a lot of damage. At least I survived that, but then I picked up a puncture from the debris, which was so frustrating because it dropped me down to the back of the field. Without the puncture, who knows where I might have finished? I'm happy and proud of myself and the team. We did a great job, but we were just missing a bit of luck."

Sergio Perez: "What a fun but tense race today! It's a shame to lose a podium place in the last two laps, but Max [Verstappen] just had a different pace: he was the fastest on track and there was nothing I could do to keep him behind. Even though I am a bit disappointed, we can still celebrate a great race and an incredible result, especially considering the conditions we had out there today. Just getting to the finish line on a day like this feels like a victory, and to bring home fourth is a very important result. It was so easy to make mistakes; you risked aquaplaning at any moment - every time I crossed the finish line I had a breath of relief. It's a big result, not only for me, but also for the team as it brings us important points for the battle for fourth place. A lot can still happen in Abu Dhabi, but we can be happy about this result."

Kevin Magnussen: "The conditions today were definitely testing, especially turn 12 which isn't actually a corner in the dry but became a real corner in the wet! There was clear aquaplaning there, and even if there hadn't been, it was still on the limit. I do wish we could have driven more today though. Of course you should have red flags to clear a crash and safety should always be the priority, but after that, I feel we were too careful with driving in the wet. At the end of the day, it's up to us drivers to slow down enough to get around it. We just need to drive to the conditions and not go over the limit, which is exactly what we do in the dry."

Jolyon Palmer: "The conditions this afternoon were very difficult and unfortunately we had to retire following contact with Kvyat. I had some more grip at that point on full wet tyres and I was faster than cars in front on intermediates. I wanted to make up some places. In the end the visibility was so bad that I couldn't even see past my steering wheel. I didn't see where the corner went, I knew that there was the pitwall and pitlane somewhere; I just couldn't see anything. Kvyat in front of me was slower and I hit him. Around the lap, the visibility wasn't too bad and there were some places where you aquaplaned but coming up the hill you had no traction and couldn't see if you were behind anyone else. You had to guess where you were going, there was water on track and rivers of water running across. It was really tricky."

Daniil Kvyat: "What a crazy race. My start was good and we switched to intermediate tyres at the right time, but then I suffered a puncture under the Safety Car, so I was last after I pitted, unfortunately. I didn't give up and I was starting to come back up the grid, but at that point the car was very damaged... The reason for this is that during one of the restarts, Palmer crashed into me and, even though we stayed out because of the tricky conditions, the car was very difficult to drive. It's a pity, because up until today I was satisfied with how my weekend was going and I was hoping for more."

Carlos Sainz Jr: "Well, the rain dance definitely worked and what a race that was! I'm super happy! To finish P6 after qualifying P15 yesterday is just amazing. I thought it was too risky to put the intermediates on and I asked the team to leave me out on extremes, and it worked! Today was all about a good strategy with no pit-stops for me and a strong pace with no mistakes. To do it in these difficult conditions just makes it even better. It was so hard to drive out there today - it was very, very difficult to keep the car on track at times! It was really tricky, especially in the aquaplaning areas like Turns 13 and 14 ... Particularly during the Safety Car restarts, when you are racing at 300kph and you can't see absolutely anything, it's risky! Having said that, I really enjoyed it today, I love the rain - I've always been strong in the wet, since I'm a kid in go-karting and today was no exception. We can also be very proud as a team, as we were matching the pace of the top runners in the wet, which means that our car is actually a very good one and that we've done an excellent job all weekend - I'd like to congratulate everyone for this! To bring back home another 8 points when we were not expecting many more is great news, I'm over the moon - I have to say that this second half of the season is full of surprises for us and I definitely welcome them!"

Marcus Ericsson: "It was a very disappointing end to this wet race for me. The conditions on track were very difficult. I lost the car going up the hill on the way to the start-finish-line, because of standing water on the track - at the end I was just a passenger. I am very disappointed. However, Felipe did a great job today scoring two very important points for us. This is great for everyone in the team. I will fight back at the final race of the season at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi."

Felipe Nasr: "I have no words to say how happy I am at the moment. When I saw the weather forecast for today, I knew it could be an opportunity. The opportunity came, and I was ready to go for it. We did an exceptional job today. The team was great informing me about the track conditions, while I was giving them my feedback. It was a tricky race, as the track conditions were very difficult at some points. In the end it was just an incredible feeling when I saw the fans in the grandstands cheering for me after the chequered flag. There is no better feeling than scoring these two important points on home soil. I could not have hoped for a better Sunday back home in Brazil."

Fernando Alonso: "I think we were aiming for something better today. I started 10th and finished 10th, and there were some retirements in front of me, so we definitely didn't take some of the opportunities that presented themselves out there.

"The conditions were extremely difficult today. Sometimes it was just enough to keep the car on track. There was very poor visibility and the drainage on the circuit wasn't great - I had some aquaplaning which made it hard to push the car and close the gap ahead.

"In the end, we scored one point. Hopefully, in Abu Dhabi we can finish the season on a high."

Jenson Button "After today's race, we need to go back to the factory and work out what it is that's wrong with the car.

"During Friday practice, it was working really well; I was comfortable with the car and in the high-speed corners we had a strong rear-end. Yesterday, it wasn't working, and today it was further exaggerated by the conditions.

"In terms of the restarts, those were very difficult conditions in which to judge what's right and what's wrong, but nobody was injured - and that's the most important thing.

"Finishing last is unusual for me in conditions like these - so there's definitely something wrong. I don't think I've forgotten how to drive in the wet..."

Pascal Wehrlein: Pascal, a whole range of emotions going on in the cockpit today, matched only by those in the garage and the pitwall. Just give us an insight into how things were out there.
Pascal Wehrlein: "Conditions were terrible - all the way through the race. Even when the rain subsided, the track was holding so much water. It was such a gamble for anyone making the switch from the Extreme Wet tyres to the Inters. The conditions were close at times, but not close enough. I was aquaplaning still and then the risk was that we could be brave, yes, but if we end up in the wall, we've gained nothing. Plus, the visibility was quite bad. It was a very nerve-wracking race with conditions I'm not keen to experience again anytime soon."

What now?
PW: "Well, it's happened, but we have to keep working hard and pushing. Today showed that anything can still happen, although I'm not expecting any rain in Abu Dhabi. Racing can be unpredictable, so we'll keep fighting."

Esteban Ocon: So, Esteban. A lot to be proud of with the way both you and Pascal handled the treacherous conditions out there today. But obviously not the result any of us were hoping for.
"No, I'm really disappointed and sad for all of us. It was such a difficult race and though I have my own feelings on whether the race should have continued, that doesn't matter. If the track is declared fit to race on, we have to race and do the best job we can. There were some pretty scary moments out there; I was so lucky to react so quickly to the Kimi incident."

You were looking on target for your first point in the closing stages of the race. It wouldn't have changed the situation with Sauber, but we would still have been very pleased for you. What happened there?
"Well obviously I was pushing as hard as I could - throughout the whole race in fact. In the third race stint - after the second red flag - it was clear I just had to push to catch Felipe because the chances of him coming back down the order to a position of safety were diminishing. The race was going his way, not ours. I did what I could but the cars behind me were closing and in the end they just had the pace to get by. There are so many reasons to feel disappointed today that I can't just single that one out, but, yes, my first F1 point would have been nice."

Romain Grosjean: "Well, I'm sorry for the fans, for all of Haas F1 Team. We've gone from hero to zero in less than 24 hours. What can I say? I wasn't even flat out. I was barely faster than Gutierrez, and then the car just spun. It was just bad luck. There was really no grip at that point. I picked up the wheelspin, spun and crashed. I feel so bad for the crew. It was a big impact, something like 30G. It happens fast in Formula One, but I'm okay physically."

Esteban Gutierrez: "It was a fun race - pretty boring at the beginning, but got much better when we started to race on full wets. The conditions were very tricky on track with the wet and the intermediate tires, and it was all about keeping the car on track. We were picking up a good pace and I was making my way up the grid and saw an opportunity to score some points. Unfortunately, we started to have some electrical problems. I was having power issues on braking and in the corners. In the wet, that's the worst thing you can have. The team gave their best effort to fix it, but we had to retire the car. Now we're looking ahead to the final race of the season. It's another opportunity. We have to stay optimistic and try to do the best with what we have and focus on that."