Brazil: The Race Seen from the Pits

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel – Winner

Mark Webber – 2nd

**Christian Horner, Team Principal:** « What an incredible way to end not only a remarkable season but also Mark’s career in Formula One. It was a great way to finish with a one-two. Sebastian set a new record and drove like a true champion this year, winning 13 Grand Prix in a single season; this is a remarkable achievement that will be very hard to surpass. For Mark, it was fantastic that he ended his Formula 1 career on the podium with a really brave drive. His overtakes on Rosberg, Hamilton, and twice on Alonso showed what a driver he is, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his invaluable contribution to the team, for the four Constructors’ Championships won together, and for all the hard work and efforts over the past seven years. As he embarks on a new challenge, we truly wish him the very best for himself and his family in the future. »

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Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 3rd

Felipe Massa – 7th

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: « We have finished a difficult season but with our heads held high, once again being at the front in a Grand Prix that had a mixed outcome. Today, we saw a very aggressive Ferrari, with a magnificent race for Fernando, while for Felipe, his race ended when he received that penalty, which honestly, I find a bit extreme and forced. Because I don’t think Felipe’s move gave him any advantage. With the points he could have scored, the outcome of the constructors’ championship could have been different. However, I was pleased to see the team react and work well here in all these conditions. This must be the impetus to prepare for next season as well as possible, and our engineers are aware of the results we want to achieve. The assessment of this just-finished season cannot be positive, because after a competitive start, we had a second half that was not up to our standards, as I have said many times. Today, words don’t matter, only the work we have to do: on this subject, I think all the decisions taken and the changes made are leading us in the right direction to tackle the next season in the best possible way. »

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McLaren

Jenson Button – 4th

Sergio Pérez – 6th

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: « Without a doubt, this has been our best Grand Prix of the year. It’s frustrating to have to say that after a race in which our drivers only finish 4th and 6th, but it’s nonetheless true. Moreover, the manner in which these results were achieved is encouraging: Jenson and Checo struggled in qualifying, even though they didn’t make a single mistake, but the way they climbed back through the field from their distant grid positions this afternoon was truly impressive. It also illustrates our good race pace, which was important to see. That being said, /f1/actualite/16664-dimanche-red-bull-vettel-et-webber-terminent-leur-collaboration-avec-un-double.html it has been a long, tough and disappointing year. Nonetheless, I want to take this opportunity to salute our mechanics and engineers here at the track, who are undoubtedly the best in the pit lane. That’s not just my opinion, by the way, the statistics prove it too.

Today, McLaren became the first team in Formula 1 history to have both of its cars classified in every Grand Prix during a season. And, to date, McLaren has completed 99.17% of the possible race distance – 11,488 km out of a possible 11,584 km – which is not only better than any other team this year but also a new world record, surpassing the previous record of 98.30% set by BMW Sauber in 2008. These two statistics provide compelling proof that our mechanics and engineers possess the three D’s in impressive abundance: dedication, determination, and discipline. Well done guys, I am proud of you. Today, Jenson also broke a record, becoming the first British driver to start 247 Grand Prix, eclipsing the previous British milestone of our old friend David [Coulthard]. And the way Jenson drove today proves that he is still hungry and more competitive than ever. Checo also had a superb race today, climbing from 19th on the grid to 6th at the checkered flag, and I am personally delighted that he was able to end his year at McLaren with such a fantastic performance. As I have said many times before, he is a good driver. He is also a good person, and the way he has conducted himself over the past ten days, particularly under difficult conditions, has been very impressive. It’s a class act.

Today, we must also say goodbye to our title partner and communications partner Vodafone, after seven years during which we won a world championship here at Interlagos in 2009, perhaps the most dramatic conclusion in the history of Formula 1, and also recorded 34 Grand Prix victories. Vodafone has been a fabulous partner for McLaren, contributing not just financially but also from a technological standpoint. Moreover, our partnership has delivered all the marketing objectives that Vodafone set out, and has also provided a lot of enjoyment to its customers. Finally, I want to say something about the future. Formula One is a demanding and relentless sport, and next year’s new regulations already present all teams with an impressive array of technical challenges—not only in terms of power units but also in aerodynamics. For some time now, we have been working very hard on these technical challenges and our focus will be unwavering and steadfast from now throughout the winter. In other words, the 2014 season starts tonight.

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Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – 5th

Lewis Hamilton – 9th

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: Well, I certainly have a few more gray hairs after this race! Both our cars had fantastic starts, but it was clear early on that we hadn’t found the best solution for the car balance for Nico, and he was suffering in terms of rear grip. Lewis was stronger in the first stint and showed good pace before and after his first stop. Our race obviously changed with the two drive-through penalties for Felipe and Lewis. Our drivers reported that Felipe was constantly crossing the white line at the pit lane entry with all four wheels, and when the FIA acted, it obviously helped us. Then, we had the unfortunate incident with Lewis and Bottas, and we must take responsibility because we should have informed Lewis better about the speed at which the Williams was approaching, even if it was a lap down. He drove very well after his penalty, especially considering the damage to his floor.

But the main thing today is that the team consolidated its second place in the constructors’ championship, even if we made it difficult for ourselves. We’ve made a big step forward this year. A big thank you and my congratulations to everyone on the team for their work and involvement. Red Bull has truly been a dominant team in /f1/actualite/16664-dimanche-red-bull-vettel-et-webber-terminent-leur-collaboration-avec-un-double.html, and congratulations to them. But our progress is the first fruit of building the technical team that started two years ago, and I am convinced that this progress dynamic will continue in 2014.

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Sauber

Nico Hülkenberg – 8th

Esteban Gutiérrez – 12th

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: A good end to the season, which has been tough for the team. However, the team has shown great resilience in a difficult situation, and together we will come back stronger. The work that allowed us to achieve a successful second half of the season was done by everyone in Hinwil and also here by the racing team. Today’s race was representative of the season: despite a difficult starting position, we were able to score 4 points and, moreover, finish the season satisfactorily.

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Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo – 10th

Jean-Eric Vergne – 15th

Franz Tost, Team Principal: Our race was compromised from the start of the GP as both our cars got off to poor starts. This cost us the majority of the advantage from the very good qualifying result. Additionally, we had a weak pace at the start, dropping down the order and it was worse for JEV than for Daniel. We decided to get Daniel out of the traffic fairly early, ignoring the risk of rain, and he then regained some ground. Mid-race, everyone delayed their final stop due to the threat of rain, by which time Daniel’s tires had done many laps. He managed the situation very well, and we pitted earlier which put him ahead of several cars, after which he had saved enough of his tires to take the final point for 10th place, with both Force India and a Sauber behind us. After JEV was stuck in traffic after the start, he also complained about the balance of his car, and we got him out of the traffic for the final two stints, during which his times improved to be similar to his teammate’s. It’s nice to end the season with a point, although we hoped to have more than one at the start of the day.

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Force India

Paul di Resta – 11th

Adrian Sutil – 13th

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: « Even though we missed the points today, we achieved the goal we set for ourselves coming here this weekend, defending our sixth place in the championship. In the end, we did it quite easily, which is a credit to everyone at Sahara Force India. This means we have finished in the top 6 twice in the last three seasons, solidifying our reputation as the best non-manufacturer affiliated team. I think Paul and Adrian drove magnificently today, even though the ground lost by Paul at the start proved very costly. His race pace was good on a two-stop strategy, but the point for 10th place was out of reach. Adrian suffered more from tire wear and had to stop three times. Looking at the season as a whole, I think we can be proud of our performance. The start of the year was exceptional, and we regained our form in the final races. We look forward to the challenge of the 2014 season and will return determined to pick up where we left off. »

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Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen – 14th

Romain Grosjean – Retirement

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: « Clearly, it’s a disappointing way to end what has been a good season for the team under often difficult circumstances. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to improve on our 4th place in last year’s constructors’ championship, and even though we narrowly missed this goal, it clearly wasn’t for lack of effort. 14 podiums and 315 points show a significant improvement in our performance compared to 2012, and I am extremely proud of everyone who worked so hard to keep us at the forefront with a very competitive package until the last weekend of the season. With Kimi and Romain, we had one of the best duos on the grid, and I would like to congratulate both of them for their fantastic performances throughout the year. From Kimi’s memorable victory in the first race to Romain’s recent streak of podiums, they have both been superb. It’s going to be a busy winter now to prepare for the challenges of 2014, but for now, we wish everyone a good rest. »

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Williams

Pastor Maldonado – 16th

Valtteri Bottas – Retirement

Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race Engineer: « We had planned a two-stop strategy for both our cars today starting on the mediums. Valtteri stopped as planned to switch to the hards, but we extended Pastor’s first stint as there was a risk of rain at the start of the race. As the forecast changed, we brought Pastor in for a new set of mediums, but with today’s low temperatures, both our cars struggled to find a good pace and couldn’t really fight. We stuck to our plan, while closely monitoring the weather, bringing Pastor in to switch to hards and Valtteri to mediums for the final part of the race. Unfortunately, Valtteri’s race ended early as he had to retire at turn 4 after losing his left-rear wheel when Hamilton hit him. Pastor then spun while battling with Vergne and ultimately finished 16th. »

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Marussia

Jules Bianchi – 17th

Max Chilton – 19th

**John Booth, Team Director:** « Even though we held that 10th place in the championship all year, we still had to finish the job at the finale. The Brazilian Grand Prix is renowned for being one of the most chaotic races on the calendar, and we had to stay focused throughout the 71 laps of the race, especially since there was a constant threat of rain. Even though we had some showers, the way the race unfolded meant no one was going to challenge us for our position in the constructors’ world championship today.

This has clearly been a season of character. At the beginning, we had a clear advantage over Caterham, then we lost some ground mid-season. In the final part, we worked very hard, came back and enjoyed some great battles with them, with our performance in Austin last week highlighting our continuous progress and providing a perfect prelude for this finale here. With no dry running before heading to the grid, the race was set to be challenging for our two young drivers, who had never driven on this circuit before and had to go and be on the pace from the first lap. They improved at every stage of the race and towards the end, in rainy conditions, Jules was lapping exceptionally well on hards and pulling away from van der Garde.

Credit goes to the entire team – both here on the track and at our Banbury factory – for a high-profile campaign. Congratulations to Jules and Max, who delivered admirable performances in a challenging first year, more than rising to the challenge. Congratulations also to Max for his fantastic record of 19 finishes in 19 races, which is a testament to his skills and the team’s remarkable reliability. Finally, today’s result is connected to our entire package, so congratulations to our partners, Cosworth and Xtrac, with whom we’ve had four great seasons, and to all our partners and suppliers who have shared this adventure with us.

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Caterham

Giedo Van der Garde – 18th

Charles Pic – Abandon

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: « It’s disappointing to end the season like this, in 11th place in the Constructors’ Championship. We started the year with last year’s car and were slower than our competitors during the first three races, and it was during the second race that we lost second place in the championship to Marussia. It’s particularly frustrating because our development strategy paid off all year. We must now focus on 2014, which will be a pivotal year in F1.

Despite this position, we managed to finish the year, and I want to thank the drivers and also the entire team for the work they accomplished this year. We have very experienced people and young talents on the track and in the factories, and everyone in the company should be thanked for the work they have done throughout this year.

Our shareholders and partners continue to support us, and the investment they are making in infrastructure, resources, and more significantly in people, places us in a good position for the future. Now, we will come together, recharge our batteries, and come back to fight in 2014 with an all-new Formula 1!

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