Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2016 Belgian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

29 August 2016

2016 Belgian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Nico Rosberg took victory at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, scoring his first triumph at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
© Octane Photographic
Daniel Ricciardo finished second, with Lewis Hamilton recovering to third after starting from 21st on the grid. Here's what some of the F1 grid had to say after the race.

Nico Rosberg
"I am so happy to win here in Spa at this legendary track. It wasn't an easy weekend for us. We had to work a lot on the setup - but in the race it was perfect. The stints on the medium tyres were really good and I felt really comfortable at the start on the softs too. Our car was really great today, so thank you to the team for all their hard work in getting it spot on. 
"It's great for the team that Lewis was able to recover to finish in third place, so overall a great result for us. It was a great atmosphere here with all the Dutch people coming to see Max.
© Octane Photographic
"They shouldn't be sad because he is still young and I'm sure he will have a lot more races here with much better results. Now, it's only a few days until Monza. The penalties for Lewis made things easier for me today - but he will be back in the battle for the win again next weekend, which will be exciting."
Sebastian Vettel
"Today I had a brillant start. I was in second place and half a car ahead, so I could dictate the way. I could hardly see Kimi, he was in my blind spot, with Max even further right and out of sight. So I don’t think what Max was trying to do would have worked. Obviously he didn’t allow Kimi to move into the inside, and that prevented both of them from clearing Turn 1 in a normal way. We all three touched and collided, and this was bad news for Kimi and for me. 
"Of course, with hindsight, I would have given more room to the inside, but you want to make the corner and try to race, and I gave room to Kimi, but not to three cars. Max had a bad start, he was falling behind. I think we have seen in the last couple of years that if you really dive down the very inside,the track is falling off and you basically go straight.
"The cars ahead have priority, and this is something he needs to understand. In that regard there was no way he could have made the corner without making contact. I don’t think that me and Kimi have to change what we are doing, we respect each other and it’s a pity when two cars of the same color collide."
Valtteri Bottas
"It was a disappointing day and a shame that we wasted the opportunity that we had at the beginning of the race. We were in a great position after the start and when the safety car came in we should have pitted immediately. We then lost many positions. 
"We tried to get the most out the race that we could after that, and I’m happy that we could at least get some points in the end, but overall it was disappointing. Looking ahead, we’ve got another race next week and obviously we need to learn from today. Hopefully we’ll be better in Monza."
Daniel Ricciardo
"I’m pleased with that result, I knew a podium was on today. Of course you can never guarantee, but I knew if we had the pace that we did on Friday, that we would be able to get there. With Lewis starting at the back it was an opportunity to get at least a second place, and we got that. A win is always the big target, but Nico had the pace that we expected, so second is the best we could have done.
"There was a lot going on at the start and I actually hit some of the debris which damaged the front wing, so the red flag helped us as we were able to repair it. Before that the car was quite affected. Then, after that we got going; there wasn’t too much action for me, but I was just trying to be consistent and the outcome was good! The fans this weekend have been awesome.
© Octane Photographic
"The driver parade was great, 99% of the fans are here for Max but they were cheering everyone and it was good sportsmanship; Max got bigger cheers but they were waving and cheering for everyone, it was really good to see. So big respect to the Dutch and Belgian fans, they were really cool."
Nico Hulkenberg
"Today is a massive result for the team and I’m feeling very happy with fourth place. There were some unusual circumstances, but we were there to take the opportunities and pick up some very important points. At the start of the race things worked out really well for me. The first lap was great; I was up in second place following Nico [Rosberg] and pulling away from the group of cars behind me.
"Unfortunately, the red flag proved costly because it neutralised things and bunched everybody back up again. The restart was clean and the rest of the race was quite controlled – just managing my pace and looking after the tyres. There was a battle with Fernando [Alonso] coming out of the pit lane, but we managed to stay ahead and keep the fourth position. Maybe if things had worked out slightly differently, we could have been on the podium, but I’m satisfied with the fourth position."
Jolyon Palmer
"We had our best qualifying here. Both cars had a great start and ran in the top ten for a while. We could have had a strong race but the safety car pulled a lot of people back into play. It’s a shame not to get better results in the end but this weekend has been better than we expected overall. I saw Kevin crash in my rear mirrors. It’s not nice to see because it’s a really, really fast part of the track. I’m glad he’s OK."
© Octane Photographic
Carlos Sainz Jr.
"How frustrating to have to retire from the race because of a puncture! I did one of the best starts of my life and by the end of the first lap I had gained seven positions and was racing in P7… But I then went over some debris from other cars at the start of my second lap and the tyre ended up exploding after Eau Rouge. 
"It definitely wasn’t the best moment of my life, especially after doing such a good start! It’s frustrating to have to end the race like this, but I will keep fighting and forget today as quickly as possible."
Felipe Nasr
"A disappointing race. I had a good start and was able to make up some positions running temporarily in P11. Because of a lot of debris on track, I got a rear left tyre puncture, which was very unfortunate.
"I had to pit early, which compromised the whole race. The floor ,as well as the diffusor, was also damaged by the debris. That surely had an influence on the lap times. Now we need to shift our focus onto the upcoming race weekend in Monza."
Fernando Alonso
"It was an exciting race to drive and I had a good feeling throughout. We had good pace this weekend; we did better than expected on this track; we were in the top 10 with Jenson yesterday in qualifying; and we’ve scored points today. Believe me: a few months ago that would have been unthinkable on a circuit like this. That’s progress – real progress.
"And, after all the bad luck we’ve had so far this weekend, we finally got some good luck today. We started last, but we managed to keep away from all the incidents, gain some positions thanks to the Safety Car and then a couple more because of the red flag. We then put on fresh tyres and found ourselves in fourth place – and, better still, we had the pace to manage the situation afterwards.
"Okay, we couldn’t hold back Lewis [Hamilton], Checo [Perez] or Seb [Vettel], because they were just too fast, but we had enough pace to keep Valtteri [Bottas] behind all the way to the flag. So, to sum up, this weekend we saw evidence of very good progress from the team; we’re moving in the right direction, that’s for sure."
© Octane Photographic
Esteban Ocon
"It wasn’t an easy race, that’s for sure, but I’m very satisfied with my first Grand Prix. There were so many things happening in that first lap; it was crazy out there. It was hard for me to stay away from it all and at the same time push hard and fight for position.
"On top of that I had to remember all the procedures as well; it’s not difficult, it’s just remembering them in the heat of the moment and of course everything happens so much faster in F1. It was not easy to manage the red flag situation, but most importantly I’m glad Kevin seems to be okay. So I think we did the maximum with the car today and I’m happy with 16th position and finishing ahead of the Sauber."
Romain Grosjean
"Well, it was a very good start and a very good first lap. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any top speed in the beginning of the race. Something was not going quite right. It took a lot of time to solve that.
"My last stint wasn’t bad. I made up a lot of time on everyone, but the damage had already been done. We had a shot at a good finish today. On the positive side, I’m much happier with the car than I was recently, so that’s at least great. It’s just a shame we lost an opportunity for a good result."

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