Sebastian Vettel (Center) won the Abu Dhabi GP, Mark Webber (Left) was second and Jenson Button (Right) was third. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Abu Dhabi GP post race press conference transcript from the Yas Marina circuit with race winner Sebastian Vettel, second place Mark Webber and third place Jenson Button.
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Q: Sebastian, you took the fight to Lewis Hamilton in the early stages. You managed to get ahead of him. It was another powerful performance today.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it was. A fantastic race. First of all the start and we had a very good launch. Obviously not good enough to out-accelerate Lewis, but I was very close. I was surprised. Then going on the long back straight he pushed a button and that’s it, he disappeared in the distance. But I was able to stay close enough. We knew that we were a little bit heavier, so the key was to catch up, especially the last sector where the car was a dream today. I was always catching him up quite a lot and I think that was the secret, to stay with him, then with the pit stops and a lot of pressure entering the pit lane, I nearly went a bit wide at the entrance. Then that scary exit through the tunnel but on the limit and enough to get past him. Unfortunately, he then had to retire but up to that point it was a fantastic race. After that I had a little bit of a cushion to Mark and Jenson behind and I was able to pace myself a bit but until the end the car was fantastic and was working brilliantly on both tyres, both compounds. I think the prime was the favored tire today but also on the option towards the end it was a pleasure this evening to sit in the car. To sum up the season, it is up and down. I think the second half we have been very strong with four one-two finishes for Red Bull Racing, so congratulations to the team. They have been pushing, working a lot back in the factory, and we can see that the car is getting quicker. It is a shame now that the season ends but it is a perfect day to finish the season on a high.
Q; Mark, fantastic fight with Jenson in the closing stages. Tell us all about it.
Mark WEBBER: Well, first of all from the start I made a pretty good launch and had a bit of a look on the outside of Seb but the main game was really trying to get back on the inside and getting a clean exit as I knew it was a long run down to turn five. I got hit quite hard in the left rear at the first corner and was worried about a puncture but the team kept telling me the tire had enough pressure, so I was quite relieved I didn’t have a puncture. It looked like Lewis was struggling a little bit in the first few laps, so both of us were able to sit a little bit closer than we expected. Then it started to stabilize and I was pretty happy on the primes. Seb was just that little bit quicker today on both stints, all three stints, especially the last one. I had not much of a feeling on the option and it was the same for me on Friday. I was quite slow on that tire, so I preferred the stability of the prime. I thought at the end we had a bit of a short fuel, so fortunately JB could do some good laps on the overlap and close the gap down on me. I thought ‘yeah, this is going to be quite tight at the end.’ I just had to make sure I was accurate with my braking points. We know he had a slight top speed advantage but not much and it is a credit to how he has driven all year. We had a good clean fight, on the limit, but I just want to congratulate the team for their patience with me at the start of the year coming back from what happened. It has been very enjoyable driving with Sebastian this year. Renault have given us a fantastic engine and overall Red Bull can be incredibly proud for what they achieved. We have had 16 podiums together, so it is good.
Q: Jenson, that battle from your perspective and also a battle again with Kamui Kobayashi.
Jenson BUTTON: It was a fun race. For me the prime tyre was not my favorite tire in the race and I had a lot of understeer in the car. But when Kobayashi was on a one-stopper I came out and the first big stop is turn eight and when you have got that much fuel on board it is always very difficult to judge the braking point. I slightly outbraked myself and locked the rears and the fronts and ran a bit wide and he got past. In reality it didn’t make a difference to my race as he was quicker than me at that point. Then I was struggling a little bit with the prime tire but I tried to make the best out of it. After the second stop I found I had very good grip with the option tire. I got back the front issues I had with the prime and had very good initial turn in which meant I could carry a lot of speed through. That’s why I was able to close down Mark. The last couple of laps were a lot of fun. I couldn’t make the move stick. I was very excited by the battle and I thought I could pull it off but Mark is always a very difficult person to overtake. We were clean but on the edge, so it was perfect. Disappointed not to get that second place but I really enjoyed the fight today and today for me has been a bonus after winning the championship in Brazil. I have really enjoyed driving this weekend a car that has been very competitive, so I need to thank everyone at Brawn and Mercedes Benz for all their hard work. After Brazil it would have been easy to say ‘right, let’s just enjoy ourselves and not concentrate on Abu Dhabi’ but we did and we have come away with a podium which is a nice way to end the year and everyone should be very proud of themselves for what we have achieved. But lastly I would like to say congratulations to Seb. He did a sterling job today. They had the legs on us and we just couldn’t challenge them which is a pity but all round I think the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a good one and I am looking forward to coming back.
Q: Sebastian, Red Bull has won the last three races of the season, so let’s look forward a little bit. What does that say about where you are going to be going into next season.
SV: It would be very good to continue like that. Now we will face a long winter, especially for all of us drivers, a long break without any testing. Back in England, back in the factory, the guys are pushing very hard. The cars do not change that much next year. The biggest change is that you are not allowed to refuel. But we will see. It is a bit unknown. I think this season was very special. I remember a couple of years back these two were driving and I was watching and it was pretty much set after the first couple of races who was going to win each race. Fair enough there were only two teams. This year it was totally different, very exciting and a lot of overtaking. Different teams on top, so I think a special season all around and hopefully the next one will be as exciting as this one, even a bit more, we will see. Definitely looking forward. I think to sum it up we had a very good season, a lot of positive things, but also some things we probably did wrong. But it is not a shame. We just need to know and understand why that happened and we should come back stronger next year.
Q: Mark, Red Bull a top team. Are you here to stay?
MW: Yes, absolutely. We have got an incredible team back at the factory. We know that we have got under Adrian Newey someone that with him leading these type of regulation changes, particularly with what we had at the start of this year, it was clear as soon as we saw the car that it was going to be a bit of a weapon. Unfortunately in a way Brawn got the start with the double diffuser and things like that but in the end our team responded well with great character and next year there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for us not to be starting at the front again. I would much, much prefer to be in our position than quite a few other teams but we can never get too complacent. This is Formula One and things can change quickly but we are positive about next year, no question about it.
Q: Jenson, no win to round off the season but obviously an upbeat ending for you.
JB: For sure. It is always nice to end on a high but it is the same for everyone out there. It is a very competitive field. It is not just one team at the front. All season it has been up and down for us and for these guys and also for McLaren and the Ferraris. It is a very competitive and challenging season for us all, so for all three of us to be up on the podium at the last race is very enjoyable and it is a great way to round out the year. Now I am going to enjoy myself and celebrate what I have achieved this season.
SV: I hear you are getting married.
JB: Are you proposing?
SV: I heard you will get married.
JB: You know, they write great things in the press. Thank you for that one Seb, but I am going to enjoy this as we often look too far into the future and I want to just enjoy this moment and then I will look to the future after that.
Q: Sebastian, you are the first winner of the first day-night race in Abu Dhabi. Sum up the weekend for you.
SV: Unbelievable. We came here and we tried to prepare as much as possible, looking at the layout, doing some laps in the simulator. But driving the first couple of laps it was extremely slippery. It is a new track but it has rubbered in perfectly well. Really enjoyable all race. It is a challenging circuit. Every lap you need to focus and keep up the concentration. It is pretty easy to do a mistake and it can cost a lot of time. There are some corners that are quite tricky and they are made to lead you into mistakes, so you really need to be careful but all in all, starting at day, finishing at night is special. We have a dark tear-off and the moment you rip it off it is like someone has switched on the light, so it is quite unique. All in all a great place. Amazing what they have done here in that short period of time, so winning the race, one-two for Red Bull Racing, I think it cannot be much better.
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