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

23 August 2015

2015 Belgian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Lewis Hamilton took a commanding victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg making it a Mercedes 1-2.
© Octane Photographic
It was an action-packed race at Spa-Francorchamps, with Romain Grosjean moving up to third after a late puncture for Sebastian Vettel. Here is what some of the drivers had to say after round 10 of the year.

Lewis Hamilton:
"I'm really happy with that one. I had great pace in the car and the balance felt fantastic. If anything it got better through the race and I never felt under pressure. After the stops I took it a bit easy on the out laps and Nico closed up but I always had a comfortable gap. A massive thank you to everyone here and back at the factories for all their hard work.
"The car was awesome all weekend and the crew did a great job. The weather has been great here too which makes this circuit even more fun to drive and what a great crowd. Loads of noise and plenty of British flags out there too which I really appreciate, so thanks to all of you for your support and hope to see you again at Monza."
© Octane Photographic
Daniel Ricciardo:
"I had a good start jumping up to third and the race was going okay. We didn’t have a great balance with the prime, I was struggling a little, but we were hoping to come on strong with the option and have a good last stint. 
"It’s disappointing not to finish, we are not sure what the issue is but the team are investigating. I lost power going into the chicane, everything switched off, including the dash. It looks like it’s electrical but we’ll see what the investigation brings."
Felipe Massa:
"It was a frustrating day for me. I struggled at the start and then the soft tyre in the first stint didn’t operate as well as it should have done so I lost a few positions. 
"At this point we were fighting from behind but the medium worked well. I couldn’t overtake the Force India of Perez at the end as their straightline pace was good. It has been a difficult day but to still finish sixth is the main positive we will take away from the weekend."
© Octane Photographic
Sebastian Vettel:
"We deserved to finish on the podium but that’s racing; a different thing thought is not to finish the race because of what happened. 
"I think this is not easy to accept for a driver, even if it’s not as bad as in Silverstone few years ago, but still we need to talk to each other as it can’t happen without prior notice. There’s no explanation for what happened: it’s not a puncture, the tyre just exploded."
Jenson Button:
"From the early laps, I had a problem with the deployment from the ERS pack. I’d get deployment from it in different places now and again, but it was never really deploying and recovering as it should. It would cut immediately after Raidillon, for example, and then I’d have to rely on the ICE alone.
"That’s a lot of power to lose, and it meant I was driving the Kemmel Straight and the straight up to Blanchimont without any deployment at all. You can’t really do much in that situation."
© Octane Photographic
Sergio Perez:
"Fifth place and ten points is a good result, but we just lacked the pace to really fight for the podium today. My start was very strong and I was close to taking the lead on lap one when I was alongside Lewis [Hamilton] after Eau Rouge. I settled into a good rhythm, but we had very high degradation on the soft tyres in the first two stints.
"It was a bit better on the medium, although we struggled in the middle sector with our low downforce set-up and that hurt my pace. We were racing some quick cars and it was hard to fight off Grosjean and Kvyat, so it’s clear we need to analyse our performance and see where we can improve. I’m already looking forward to the next race in Monza, which is another track where I think we can be competitive."
Max Verstappen:
"What an entertaining race, it was a great achievement to start from so far back and finish eighth in the end! My pace was very strong and I enjoyed the overtaking, so we can be very happy about today’s race. The car felt great and we were able to keep up with Ferrari and Williams. 
"I really enjoyed it and even if some of the overtakes were a bit risky, when you start from so far back you have to go for it if you want to move forward. It wasn’t an easy start to the weekend, but we managed to do a great job in the end and I would like to thank the team for the big effort and my home crowd for the support, we can all be really happy with today’s P8."
© Octane Photographic
Romain Grosjean:
"Today’s result is wonderful. It’s good for the team and for myself of course. Yesterday’s good qualifying result put a smile on my face but today was an unbelievable race. Everything came together when it mattered during those 43 laps. I drove with my heart today and pushed 100 % throughout the race. 
"I did some great overtaking manoeuvers and was really pushing to catch up and hopefully overtake Sebastian Vettel – of course it was bad luck for him to have had the tyre issue at the end. We were really trying to go for the podium this afternoon and I felt very emotional during the last lap of the race! It’s a great feeling today."
Roberto Merhi:
"It was a good race for me. I got ahead of my team-mate on the first lap and things stayed that way until the finish. It was a bit of a lonely race for me to be honest, and mainly about managing my tyres so that I could push when I needed to. 
"I think the strategy worked out well to limit the blue flags, and this enabled us to maintain reasonable pace. It’s always a real pleasure to drive here at Spa; you never get tired of experiencing Eau Rouge. And of course we start the second half of the season with another two-car finish, so a good solid weekend."
© Octane Photographic
Marcus Ericsson:
"First of all, I had a good start, managing to pass Daniil (Kyvat) with a good move into Turn 5. Quite early in the race we realised I had some debris stuck to the floor, which made us loose downforce in the first stint. 
"We could not keep up with the competition, so we lost some ground, which was a bit frustrating. For the second stint we cleared the debris away and I was able to start to push more. Even with that, the pace was not as strong as we expected. We were a bit lucky in the end, and we were able to score one point. For me it is great to be back in the points for the second race in a row."

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