"My problems began at the start when I stalled. There was nothing I could do about it as that problem was not actually my fault. That meant I dropped down the order and going into the first corner I had Kimi on the left and Jenson on the right. I tried to stay as close as possible to Kimi to give enough room to the car on the right. Then, as I turned into the corner, I felt that I had been hit on my rear right side. That spun me round and I was in the middle of a collision. Very disappointing."


Anthony Davidson:

"It is disappointing to have an early retirement from the Australian Grand Prix. I am really frustrated that I couldn't do the laps that I wanted to today and finish the race, as that was my main aim. We haven't had much time in the car this weekend or in testing and it was really important to get that done today, so it is gutting not to have done that. I feel that through no fault of my own I was sandwiched between two cars, trying to avoid the inevitable. I tried to brake to get away from it and the cars right and left just rode over my front wheels, so there was no where for me to go."


Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I am very disappointed as I lost the race at the first corner because another driver came in like a kamikaze into my car and it was very frustrating, especially considering a race like this where there was a possibility to score lots of points. It was a good opportunity and I am really disappointed. Let's hope for more in Malaysia."


Rubens Barrichello:

"Although the final result of today's race is so disappointing [after I was disqualified from 6th for a pitlane infringement], I'm really pleased with my performance and that we were able to get the best out of the car. It was a crazy race today and I lost control of the front damper after the first pit stop, so my race was more difficult from there. It's tough to finish the day like this."

"The signs from the weekend show that this car has great potential and the guys back at the factory have done a fantastic job over the last few weeks on its development. It was good to complete a full race distance to increase our understanding of the car. We'll now look forward to Malaysia and optimising the performance of the car there."





Ron Dennis [McLaren-Mercedes - team boss]:

"An almost perfect race weekend for us. Lewis drove a faultless race with a strong strategy where his stops were timed in anticipation of possible Safety Car periods. We were keen for Heikki to go an extra lap before his second stop in case he had any problems in the pits so that he could still be ahead of Nick. Unfortunately the last Safety Car period cost him second place. He showed what a great racing driver he is with his overtaking of Kimi and Fernando, but unfortunately as he reached to clean his visor he hit the pitlane speed limiter and lost a position. As a team we have enjoyed a competitive weekend but there is a long way to go and we never underestimate our competition."


Norbert Haug [Mercedes - team boss]:

"A dream start to the season and all our hard work could not have been better rewarded. We started McLaren-Mercedes' 222nd race from our 55th pole position and this was our 53rd victory – for sure one of our nicest. We had Lewis pit earlier to avoid running into the danger of a Safety Car phase. Unfortunately the Safety Car came out when we wanted to call in Heikki. That is a pity for him as he drove a great race in his debut for the team. However it's only a matter of time before he will get a better reward on the track than today."


Mario Theissen [BMW-Sauber - motorsport director]:

"This was a fantastic start to the new season for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In a turbulent race with three safety car periods and numerous retirements, Nick kept cool and finished second, achieving the first podium of the season for the team. Only Lewis Hamilton was quicker. This was a real strategy game. Nick was somewhat lucky with the safety car periods, Robert was unfortunately unlucky. Towards the end, Nakajima pushed him off the track. Up to this point he had driven a strong race after his fantastic qualifying yesterday. Together with our qualifying performance on Saturday, this is a good basis for the next races. This was a motivation boost for the whole team. A big thank you to all our colleagues in Munich and Hinwil."


Willy Rampf [BMW-Sauber - technical director]:

"This was an exciting race which generated mixed feelings. It's fantastic that Nick clinched second place, but at the same time I'm sorry for Robert who had an unlucky race. At the start Nick was overtaken by Nico Rosberg, but thanks to the fantastic work of the pit crew, he was able to overtake him in the pits. From that moment on he drove a fast and consistent pace. He finally benefitted from the third safety car period, and equalled the best result of the team so far. We changed Robert's strategy during the second safety car period, but unfortunately he got stuck behind Bourdais and lost a lot of time. After Nakajima had crashed into the rear of his car, he stopped for safety reasons."


Sam Michael [Williams - technical director]:

"It's a fantastic start to the season, we knew we had the potential in the car but didn't realise it because of the reliability problems we had in practice, but that all came out in the race. Nico kept his head down through lots of difficult situations, he had good strong car pace throughout the race and congratulations to him for his first podium. Kazuki did well too despite being involved in two incidents. Both cars had solid reliability throughout the race and it's great to go away with a haul of points from the first Grand Prix. After tonight we will look forward to Malaysia for better qualifying and build on our second place in the championship."


Flavio Briatore [Renault - managing director]: