Sebastian Vettel (1st): “This circuit is very special – the fans are incredible here and to get my second win in Suzuka is fantastic. It was a nice Sunday; to have qualifying and the race in one day is a unique experience and to finish top in both is great. Thanks to the team, to those here and also back in the UK – they all work very, very hard. We had some small upgrades here and they were a step forward. Our car loves this type of circuit and I’m very happy and very proud of today’s result. Mark was running in second and was trying to put me under pressure, but having track position helps and the race was basically about managing the car and the tyres until the first stop. It wasn’t certain when the soft tyres would go off, but the timing of the pit- stop was right. We were then behind Jenson at the start of the second stint. I wasn’t pushing as I trying to control the gap while waiting for him to make his stop. It wasn’t easy today, but it was a nice and controlled race.”
Mark Webber (2nd): “Sebastian had an extra half tenth this morning and pole position is a nice thing to have on the chess board going into this race. Ultimately qualifying was important, but I’m happy with how I drove today – I couldn’t have got a great deal more out of the car. I wasn’t that happy with the set-up on Friday, but the guys did a good job to get it back to a place where I was happier. I pushed Sebastian in the race – we pulled away on the soft tyre in the first stint and I was comfortable on the hard tyre after my stop. It was a formation finish and a one-two for the team; it’s a great result for us in the Constructors’ Championship and a good result for me in the Drivers’. Sebastian deserved the victory today, I’m happy.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “It’s been a fantastic day for the team with the added pressure of having to qualify this morning. We secured the front row and then converted that into a one- two finish this afternoon, it was a perfect performance from the team and the drivers and it’s a fantastic result. We had to keep an eye on Jenson Button’s strategy because of him running on a different tyre at the start of the race and he started to back things up a little bit after half-distance, but at no point were we overly concerned and both drivers did a very good job of looking after their tyres and cars. Mark’s managed to extend his Championship lead over Fernando, who Sebastian is now tied on points with, while in the Constructors’, we’ve obviously managed to open up a healthy margin.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “It’s a perfect result for us, a one-two finish – 43 points – it’s the jackpot and really great. Mark’s extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship and we have pulled away in the Constructors’. We now have to try and maintain the gap on the leaderboard until the end of the season. We only have three races to go, so we really need to focus on these last races and give our best, Championship-winning chances like this do not come along very often, so we will push!”
