“The most important thing is that I finished the race and I have gained some more experience. I would have liked to finish further up, but I think my weekend was determined during the qualifying session yesterday. I will make the most of what I have learned this weekend and put it to use at the next grand prix in Monaco, which will be an exciting race.”
Adrian Sutil:
“At the start I saw Giancarlo going straight over Nakajima and there was debris all over the track, so by turns three and four there were cars all over the place. I had some damage on the front wing when another driver touched me through turn five, so I had to come in to change the nosecone. Luckily the safety car was out and I didn’t lose too much time.
“During the race my balance was not perfect and I had a lot of understeer I couldn’t get rid of, but the middle stint was good as I was catching the group in front. At the end of the race I could keep Vettel behind me, so at least it was one position gained.”
Sebastian Vettel:
“I had a good start and then, all of a sudden, I realised I had a punctured left rear tyre, so I had to pit immediately. My second problem came at the first pit-stop, when the refuelling rig had a problem and no fuel went in, so I had to come in immediately again. From then on it was a tough race and I could not have done any better. At least I saw the chequered flag!”
Sébastien Bourdais:
“Something broke at the back of the car – I don’t know what it was yet. Going into turn twelve, I braked at the usual point and the car went sideways. I felt the right rear corner of the car drop and it spun me round.
“It’s a shame, as up until then it had been going quite well and I was just about hanging onto the
Toyota in front of me and keeping the
Renault behind. Of course, the problem at my pit-stop with the refuelling had not helped.”
Kazuki Nakajima:
“I don’t know exactly what happened; I just went into the first corner following the guy in front. I didn’t change my line and I was suddenly hit from behind. I wanted to make it back to the garage as I thought there was a chance to get the problem fixed and get back out, but my car had suffered too much damage so I had to retire. It’s a real shame because we showed we had good long-run pace on Friday and were expecting to have the same pace in the race, so we could have done well here this afternoon.”
Giancarlo Fisichella:
“I made a good start, but then under braking Bourdais changed direction twice and I couldn’t brake in time and went into the back of the
Williams. I am already looking forward to Monaco. It’s my favourite track and I’ve had some good results there, so I have to leave this result behind and concentrate on the next race.”
Stefano Domenicali [Ferrari – team principal]:
“We are very happy with this result, but we know it was a tough one to get. Felipe drove a great race and made the most of yesterday’s pole position, but given what happened at the start, Kimi’s result in managing to get onto the podium could have been a lot worse. It was yet another example of the fact that, in this sport, it takes very little for the pendulum to swing one way or the other.
