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

1 May 2016

2016 Russian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Nico Rosberg stormed to his fourth consecutive victory of the 2016 season at the Russian Grand Prix, leading home Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
© Mercedes
Many teams suffered mixed fortunes, including Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing third and Sebastian Vettel crashing out after being hit by Daniil Kvyat. Here's what some of the F1 grid had to say after round four of the season.

Nico Rosberg
"This weekend really went really perfectly for me. Already in Qualifying I had found a perfect balance and that continued throughout the race, which was fantastic. I had a great start and from there was able to control the pace at the front. Thank you so much to everybody at the factories for building such an amazing car.
© Mercedes
"If you have a car like this, you are really able to push to the limits and that's an awesome feeling. Lewis drove really well to come back up to second so quickly, so well done to him too. The only down side to the weekend was to see that reliability is becoming a bit of a concern, as Lewis obviously has a problem yesterday and both cars had issues during the race today.
"But we have a great team behind us and I'm fully confident that we will sort this out. It´s unbelievable to go into the European races with four wins and I really look forward to Barcelona now. Thanks, Russia - you were very good to me."
Sebastian Vettel
"I think it’s a shame because today we had done everything right. I had a really good start, I was a bit stuck at the first turn, but then I was able to go. Of course there’s always a bit more risk in starting behind, but P7 is not P15. I was going into second corner, I was already attacking and approaching fifth place, but it doesn’t help when people behind don’t brake. What Kvyat did was completely unnecessary. I had a massive hit from behind, then another big hit in turn 3 and that finished my race.
"As far as I know, the race is 53 laps, but not everybody seems to remember. I don’t think I need to say much, I think if you look at the footage you’ll have the answers to your questions. Today it was not my fault, there was nothing I could have done differently, nothing I would change.
"I don’t dislike him (Kvyat), but I think he did a mistake two weeks ago, he made a mistake today but it doesn’t help me now. Obviously I would have loved to drive the car today to feel if we could keep the same balance into the race, but for the future nothing has changed. Of course I’m disappointed but we’re already focused on the next race."
© Williams
Valtteri Bottas
"The beginning of the race was pretty good and we managed to defend against some of the quicker cars behind. I think being aggressive with the early pitstop was good but unfortunately the cars with more pace managed to get through, and at the end of the race there wasn’t much happening for me.
"All-in-all the team has done a good job this weekend. It’s positive to get a lot of points for Williams. There’s definitely progress, this is a good track for us so that helped, but we just need to keep improving. I definitely had more in mind today than fourth so we need to keep pushing."
Daniil Kvyat
"There was a lot going on at the start and I didn’t expect to slow down as much, I locked the rear wheels and the car was a bit out of control which caused the contact with Sebastian. On Turn 3, I couldn’t see what was happening ahead, Sebastian seemed to slow down and unfortunately I didn’t have time to react and this caused the second contact.
"I’m sorry for Sebastian and also to the team as we gave away a lot of points today from both my side and Daniel’s. It doesn’t feel great, this is probably the messiest first lap of my career."
Nico Hulkenberg
"It was a very frustrating end to my weekend. I got to turn two and felt a big shove from behind: Esteban (Gutierrez) out-braked himself, hit me and spun me around. I was hit by other cars and the damage was too much to even attempt to continue.
"It’s very disappointing and not the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th race weekend. Hopefully our luck will change soon as we have been very unlucky lately. We should have some upgrades in Spain and I want to be back scoring the points we deserve."
© Renault
Kevin Magnussen
"It feels really good to get these points for the team as I know how hard everyone’s been working this season. I made a great start, but then lost a couple of positions at the first corner because of a spin in front of me.
"After that I was pushing hard for the entire race, made some good overtakes and I had a great pit stop from the crew. We were a bit lucky today; we’ve been unlucky in the past so I’ve certainly no complaints."
Max Verstappen
"Unfortunately I had to retire today after running in P6… It was looking like a great race up until then, as I was cruising around and I didn’t have any pressure from behind; I was just following the guys in front and our pace was strong. We could hold on to the tyres very well and I have to say I was quite relaxed, managing everything well and it was all looking so good.
"Who knows what could’ve happened! Of course it’s disappointing to have to stop the car, but this is a mechanical sport and these things happen. Now we just have to take the positives from the weekend and get ready for the first European race of the season in Spain in two weeks’ time."
Felipe Nasr
"I had a good start and was able to gain some positions in the first laps of the race. Unfortunately, on my first stint with the supersoft tyres, I had a slow puncture on the left front tyre, which forced me to box on lap 12. We changed to the soft tyres on which I made it to the end. This early pit stop surely compromised my race. It is unfortunate, but I can also take some positives from the weekend as I felt comfortable in the car."
© McLaren
Fernando Alonso
"We were lucky in Turns Two and Three on the opening lap – due to those accidents, we were able to gain some places for free. But, as we saw last year, we can make a good start but then not be able to maintain those strong starting positions. This year, it’s different – we have the pace: to finish sixth, and set the fifth-fastest lap, shows that our car is still gaining pace.
"In fact, the car felt good all race – obviously, we were saving fuel at some points of the afternoon, but, on one lap, I just decided to go for it – to wake myself up a little bit! – and the lap-time showed the potential is there. Finishing in the points should be our regular target from now on."
Rio Haryanto
"Today I was unlucky and it’s very disappointing, especially after I made such a good start, probably my best of the season so far. I managed to gain a couple of places, however when I got to turn 2 there were lots of cars fighting and the Force India of Hulkenberg spinning but I had nowhere to go.
"There was contact on the side of the car and quite a bit of damage, which meant I had to stop the car. After a good couple of days it’s disappointing to finish the weekend in this way, but looking at the positives I feel we have been more competitive and I’m looking forward to continuing this at the next race in Barcelona."
Romain Grosjean
"It’s great to be back in the points, especially after a very difficult weekend where we were never very happy with the car. It was a good first lap to avoid all the incidents, and then I kept (Sergio) Perez behind. There are still so many things we can improve on the car. I’m still not a hundred percent happy with the behavior. I think for the next race it’s going to be so much better. It’s very positive knowing that we have something that will become better."

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