Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

26 July 2015

2015 Hungarian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Sebastian Vettel stormed to a memorable second victory of the 2015 season in Hungary, putting in a faultless drive.
© Octane Photographic
Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg down in sixth and eighth. Here is what some of the drivers had to say after round 10 of the year.

Lewis Hamilton:
"That was a very tough afternoon. The team did everything right and the car clearly had the pace - I just had a very bad day at the office. It was one of the worst races I think I've had and I don't really have any explanation for it at the moment. All I can do is apologise to the team and work hard to make amends at the next race. My start wasn't ideal and the Ferraris were really quick off the line, so suddenly I was under attack from both sides.
"It was tight with Nico later in the lap where I locked up and went off, then of course there was the incident with Daniel. It wasn't deliberate but it was my fault. He took a tight line around the outside and I just lost grip, ran out of road and understeered into him. That meant a drive through which dropped me right back again after all that work to make it back through.
"From there I just had to tell myself to calm down and not give up so I could fight back for some points. You could see in that phase that the pace of the car was really strong and the pace was really there all weekend . I just made too many mistakes today. In the end, it's damage limitation in terms of points for the Championship so I just need to take the positives into the summer and bounce back in Spa."
© Octane Photographic
Daniel Ricciardo:
"It was definitely an eventful race but one I am very proud of. I have mixed emotions but I‘m grateful to be on the podium. It’s been a tough year and to have two cars on the podium is pretty surreal.
"I pushed hard in the last stint when I was on new softs so the opportunity was there to go for the race win. It’s a shame that Nico and I made contact but I wore my heart on my sleeve and left everything I had on the track."
Valtteri Bottas: 
"It was a disappointing day to score no points. At the start of the race we were running in line with the pace of the car. There were plenty of opportunities to score well, but I suffered a puncture at the wrong time and from then on it was a struggle. It is important we move forward from this, have a good rest and arrive fresh and ready for Spa."
Sebastian Vettel:
"It has been a week with a lot of ups and downs and as I said after the race I dedicate this win to Jules and his family. The race was difficult especially at the end with all the thoughts coming through my mind but for sure I’m very happy with the result. Our race was very strong from the beginning, we had a great start and after that we had great pace and were able to control the race.
© Octane Photographic
"Of course the safety car in the end was not helping us, but we still managed to stay on top and win the Grand Prix. It was fantastic to see all the guys of the team around as I looked down from the podium, they were all very happy. Today we proved that the pace we showed has nothing to do with luck.
"In fact, if anything we were a bit unlucky with the safety car, but our pace on the prime tyre was really good so we kept pushing and still managed to come out on top and never allowed the people behind to come into the range of DRS. For sure it was a great race from all the guys and a great recovery from Friday, especially after we had heard strange rumours about the team facing a crisis… Thanks to all our partners for their support and to Shell for helping us with more power."
Fernando Alonso:
"This was a very good race, and fifth position at the finish is a nice little present for the whole team, particularly as we’re not as competitive as we’d like right now. On the calendar, there are a handful of circuits where we expected our performance to be better – Monaco, Singapore, and here in Hungary, so we knew we needed to make the most of today. Critically, we did just that: it was a chaotic race, and we took advantage of every opportunity that came our way.
"These points are a good way to send the whole team into the summer break, but we need to further maximise our chances in the second half of the season. This hasn’t been an easy weekend for anybody in Formula 1 – the minute’s silence for Jules [Bianchi] before the race was very emotional, and it was very tough to get in the cockpit straight afterwards. But, today, we respected Jules and we respected the sport."
© Octane Photographic
Nico Hulkenberg:
"It’s a shame we lost the opportunity to get a great result today. I didn’t have much warning that there was a problem with the front wing - there was a harsh vibration just before it broke and after that I was heading straight into the barriers. The final impact was not too bad because that part of the track is well protected and it absorbed the energy nicely.
"Up until the accident, things were looking very positive: I had made a great start and was racing with the Red Bulls, which shows the step forward we have made with the b-spec car. The good news is that we have time over the next week to analyse what happened today and get the solutions in place before the summer break.
"Reliability has been a real strength of ours this season so it’s unusual for us to have these issues and the team will do its homework before we arrive in Spa. I go into the summer break knowing that we are competitive and that we can have a strong second half of the season."
Max Verstappen:
"Unbelievable, a P4! What a great result, I have no words! I didn’t expect that at all after a bit of a bad start. However I managed to stay out of trouble and during my second stint everything was going well, I felt comfortable in the car and the guys behind me were not catching me up.
"When the race restarted after the Safety Car period there was a lot going on, with cars crashing in front of me… I also damaged my front-wing a bit and was given a drive-through penalty. I’m very, very happy today. I’d like to thank the team, they are a great support and they deserve this result, I couldn’t have done it without them!"
© Octane Photographic
Pastor Maldonado:
“It was tough race and the Stewarts were certainly very strict today, very tough on driving with me and many other drivers. I struggled at the start as our strategy was to run with the harder tyres, but then the strategy was working well with the softer tyres until the penalties affected our race. With Sergio Perez around the outside of me it felt like a racing incident to me; there was nothing intentional in the contact."
Roberto Merhi:
"Today was very tough and it was not easy to go racing, but it’s what Jules would have done and what he would have wanted us to do. The team did a great job as the race was not the easiest. I got a good start and was ahead of both Saubers and I was also fighting with Grosjean.
"Soon after that, my headrest came loose, so we had to pit early to deal with that, which put us off-strategy, but the safety car situation changed the shape of the race. It was a good result to finish 15th and 16th, so I think we did the best job possible for Jules today."
Marcus Ericsson:
"It is nice we have scored at least one point on a track which does not suit our car well. The start of the race was not ideal, so I lost one position. After that I felt comfortable in the car straight away. On the strategy side the team made the right calls at the optimal times, and I think overall we did a good job. I am pleased to bring home at least one point before the summer break."

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