United States GP - Post-race press conference - Pt.2

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing), Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)

Questions From The Floor

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe)
Romain, what was the strategy to resist to Mark, and Mark, what were the different things you tried with the KERS?

Romain Grosjean:
Well, I think the strategy was pretty clear. We were copying what Mark was doing. When he was pitting for hard tyres, we pitted for hard tyres, if he was pitting for prime or option. Then in the race I was just trying to make as much gap as I could before the DRS zone, so turns eight and nine are pretty hard to follow another car. I think we had a pretty good balance around there and then use all the power we could on the back straight, trying to avoid the DRS and then I know that by turns 17,18, 19 it was very difficult to follow me, so he was very close every time into turn one, but never had a go. I think the closest he was into turn 12 was probably ten meters. He pushed me wide once because I outbraked myself but as long as he didn't seem to be too big in the mirror that was fine.

Mark Webber:
As usual, the Lotus is not too bad on the softer end of the range, if you like, with this tyre we qualified on. Had to do the race start, obviously I had to use the tyre to pass Lewis, so when it was time to build up towards the stop, to be patient, to go as long as possible but also knowing that Romain was covering us off, covering the move and waiting for us to pit because the Enstone guys are not rookies when it comes to strategy either. We knew we would look to have an attack on the prime but also, as you say, moving the KERS round a lot is part of my job, to try and create more pressure. The back straight was OK to use all of it, but the key areas are eight, nine and then the hairpin. It's not the easiest track on which to follow people, I think we saw last year, obviously Seb was in traffic with Lewis, Lewis was very quick but following all the time and couldn't pass. It's a challenging venue still to pass because of turn eight and nine, I think, so in the end we did what we could do. There's not many regrets as to what we could have done differently to get the job done on Romain after that.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos - Racing magazine)
Mark, we have a Brazilian Grand Prix in one week, so what's your feeling as you go into your final F1 Grand Prix?

Mark Webber:
I'm looking forward to it, driving round in the middle of the race thinking 'yes, I'm really looking forward to it because it's time', the enjoyment factor is there but it's not like it was when I was at Jaguar or when I first started at Red Bull. That's natural, that's why the decision gets made obviously. The category has changed quite a bit in the last few years, I've done what I can, done my best but when you realise there comes a point where it's not what it once was and that's what happens to all sportsmen and women, there's a point when it's a little bit different. I've got one week to go, I will leave the paddock very satisfied. I've been dealt a very good hand, very proud of what I've achieved. I never thought I would do that when I left Queanbeyan in Australia, to have had the results I've had, to have worked with the amazing people I've worked with, to race against amazing drivers on the best tracks in the world. I've learned a huge amount about myself, about everything. One week to go and go from there. It's the next chapter when I step out of the car for the last time I will be fine with it. Back to UK Sunday night, walk the dogs on Tuesday morning.

Q: (Sarah Holt - CNN)
Seb, not such a massive victory margin as we've seen in recent races but still, can you tell us what it's been like to effectively race yourself in the last few races and what's been going through your mind in the car?

Sebastian Vettel:
It's not as if I've been getting bored. Obviously I've quite a lot to do, looking at the gaps. First of all, I have to match their pace. Obviously when they do come closer it's not the best feeling because you want the gap to increase always, but you don't want the gap to become smaller. I think it was clear this weekend that again we had a very strong package. Friday already looked very good, especially on the long run pace. I think in terms of set-up we might have compromised the pace a little bit yesterday. Also it was very tricky with the windy conditions in qualifying for everyone to get everything right in just one lap. It was very easy to lose out a little bit here and there but today I was happier with the balance. Already on the laps to the grid I could feel the car was more similar to Friday so I was very happy once I was in the lead after turn one. Obviously I had to wait a little bit with the safety car before I could unleash the pace but certainly it's a great feeling when you do pull away, and then it's about pacing yourself, pacing yourself to get the range, to look after the tyres etc. Certainly there are a lot of things going on but also it's a nice feeling to have a little bit of a gap because you can take it a little bit easier in some crucial places, to look after the tyres and benefit from that, especially later on in the stint. Overall, you do tend to have quite a bit of work in the car, it's not necessarily... it is a Sunday afternoon drive but not in that regard.

Q: (Peter Windsor - F1 Racing)
Just following on from Sarah's question: Seb, a lot of great drivers say they've never actually driven the perfect lap, and I guess therefore the perfect race has never been driven. How was your race today, we didn't see every corner of every lap. In your own standards, did you make any mistakes at all?

Sebastian Vettel:
Well, it's different these days. If I compare when I came into F1, it was more like sprint racing for twenty laps, get a new set of tyres, refuel and go out and do another sprint. Today, obviously, is different because you don't refuel, the car is very heavy at the beginning and naturally, just because of the way that you have to look after tyres. Now we've seen in the past couple of years that these tyres do need some management as well, also in terms of driving style and looking after them and making sure you don't go crazy too soon, because it might hurt you later on, so therefore, if you look at the perfect lap, you can't repeat a 100 percent lap every time, because you need to look after the car and tyres. In the end, I think what you want to achieve is the fastest race to the finish line. I think we had a very very strong race today. The last couple of laps on the softs I was struggling because I running into traffic and the tyres were falling off so we were actually the first to come in this time, despite the big gap, but then the hards seem to last very very well in the end. We had very strong pace. I think I went a little bit wide once or twice into turn 12 under braking but other than that, I obviously tried as well to keep it on the line. It is a little bit easier if you have a ten second gap to the car behind to not necessarily use all the kerbs here and there, to manage the tyres a little bit better.

Q: (Peter Windsor - F1 Racing)
The concentric doughnuts you did afterwards looked beautiful. Do you have any set-up that you put into the car before the race in terms of diff or brake balance, to make that happen?

Sebastian Vettel:
No, no, definitely not. Obviously there's a couple of tricks, we had some... we do have some show runs every year and this is usually when you get to practise your skills when it comes to doughnuts and burn-outs. It just seemed like a good spot. You know, you have to do it in a smooth way otherwise I get a big bollocking from my engineers for not looking after gearbox, engine and so on, so I try to be smooth but equally you want to create some smoke and just have fun. But not any maps, particular set-ups that go in the car just because of that.

Q: (Luigi Perna - La Gazzetta dello Sport)
Seb, what do you think that Michael will tell you about this broken record?

Sebastian Vettel:
Well, in a way I think I have the same approach as him, as probably every sportsman. I don't think we are jumping into the car to beat certain records. At his time, he was braking a lot of records and many of them will last forever, I think. To come even close and today to beat one of those is exceptional. I think, as a sportsman, you don't jump into the car to break records and equally you don't expect them to last forever. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and generally, I think he's very happy with what he has achieved and seemed fairly relaxed. I think he's riding a lot of horses lately so he's quite happy to go karting with his kids and enjoying his life after F1. There's a huge part of our lives if you consider that there's a lot of years left once we retire. It's good to enjoy those as well.

Q: (John Sturbin - Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
Sebastian, on Friday, the technical directors were in here including Adrian Newey talking about next year's changes and how that might upset the balance of power. Is that something you were maybe referring to in your post-race message, you were talking about 'this is something we need to remember?' Are you worried about next year and how it might upset everything?

Sebastian Vettel:
No, to be honest... Yeah, I remember Adrian said the same thing. I think we have all been there. Yesterday evening I took a shower and I had some thoughts about the day, finishing on pole. It's a little bit of a shame that obviously because of the run we've had lately, people take it as guaranteed that you deliver the result on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon because I think people tend to in a way respect the result and what it means, the effort behind it and I think it's natural that as an athlete you have ups and downs. Right now, you could say that it's rather more up and then down but you never know what's going to happen, next year is an unknown. I'm sure we will push very very hard and I'm sure we will fight a lot to maintain our position but there's no guarantee that next year will be like this year. With the new regulations coming in, I think nobody really knows where he will stand. You will have the big teams in front but the question is who and the question is also in terms of gaps. Yesterday was one tenth between Mark and myself which is very very small, it's a small gap and certainly there's a reason to believe that next year the gaps will be bigger and the season will be less consistent for everyone. It's unknown at this stage but generally I think we need to remember and therefore enjoy the moment and the days we're having.

Transcript courtesy FIA