2013 Indian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Sebastian Vettel has taken his fourth consecutive world championship after winning the Indian Grand Prix. It was a strategic race full of drama, intrigue and plenty of misfortune.

(c) Getty Images

However, Vettel drove a faultless race to take his six win in a row and tenth of the season. Read the reaction from drivers after the 60-lap Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit below.

For more in the Indian circuit, see my race preview and '5 things' post for Car Throttle. Relive last year's race with my One Year Rewind for RichlandF1, see what happened at the track on Thursday with my Snap Shot and catch up with all the Indian GP action with my weekend review.

Vettel's championship speech:

"First of all I would love to say thank you to the crowds, it was an unbelievable reception today and it’s a shame we are not racing here next year. I'm speechless. I crossed the line and I was empty. I took ages to think about something to say. It's one of these moments where you want to say so many things but you can't. It’s been such a phenomenal season. 

(c) Getty Images

"I think the team and the spirit inside the team is so strong; I said it on the radio already – it gives me so much power. It's a pleasure to jump in the car and go out for the guys and girls and try to give it all I have. The car was fantastic today. I didn’t think about the do-nuts before the race today – it just happened. My engineer directed for the usual procedure, but I said ‘not this time!’. 

"There are so many people on the main grandstand here, I just had to do it. I want to say a big thank you to the team to all the people behind us. It was for sure not an easy season and even though people on the outside thought we had it in our hands, I think it was difficult. It a was tough season for me personally, to receive boos even though we haven’t done anything wrong; to overcome that and give the right answer on the track and get acceptance makes me very proud. 

"To join people like Prost, Fangio and Michael is unbelievable. I think this is one of the best days in my life so far. There are so many people that I have to thank; I've always tried to listen and learn and it's incredible to race some of the best drivers in the world."

"Frustrating" race for Hamilton in India:

"Massive congratulations to Seb on becoming four-time World Champion today. That's an awesome achievement and he's put in some incredible performances this season. I really hope we get to take the fight to him next year! Looking at my race today, it's great that we got some good points, particularly with Nico's podium, and that the team are back to second place.

"The car has been pretty good this weekend but the race was frustrating for me. I tried so hard to get past Felipe but it just wasn't possible and unfortunately I destroyed my tyres in doing so. Finishing in sixth place is never satisfying but we've got three more races and we'll keep pushing. I'm confident that we can get some more good results to keep the team in second place and we'll keep fighting to achieve just that."

Alonso - Race compromised by first lap crash:

(c) Pirelli Media

"Today, the problem I had on the first lap compromised my entire race, because we had to immediately change the nose and with one extra stop, without any opportunity to overtake, it was all an uphill struggle. In front of me, Webber touched someone and then me, then at turn 4 I also touched with Button. The steering felt very heavy in right hand turns and the only thing to do was pit. 

"If you look at Webber’s race or Perez’s then I’d say our strategy was good, because when the others began to pit, those two were leading, but it’s also true that it went well for those who started on the Softs. I must congratulate Vettel, because in this, as in other sports, it’s the best that win. I’m a bit sad at not having scored points for the Constructors’ title, but now, if we want to take that second place, we have to do better in the next three races and try to always finish on the podium, at least with one car, if not both."

Raikkonen - Strategy didn't work:

"We ran maybe the first twenty laps with no brakes as they had overheated massively, so every time I got close to somebody I lost braking.

"At the end of the race I ran out of tyre performance too so it’s been a pretty disappointing day. I knew the tyres would drop off quite quickly, but there wasn’t much to lose between trying to get to the end and making an extra pit stop in terms of time lost. In the end it didn’t work."

Incident with Alonso "destroyed" my race - Button:

(c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

"Today was just one of those days… Exiting Turn Four on the first lap, I got hit quite hard on the right-hand-side by Fernando [Alonso]. I don’t quite know why he couldn’t make to the apex, as I’d given him loads of room, but he hit me in the side pretty hard. The contact damaged the car and damaged the wheel rim, which also gave me a puncture, although it didn’t cause me an issue until about three laps later.

"It was an extra shame that I was running on the Medium tyre when I had the puncture, as that was the one you wanted to run long around here! So that incident destroyed my strategy for the rest of the afternoon. Without that contact, and the resultant puncture, I think we could have had some fun out there.

"It’s just a shame, because our car was quick around here - Checo showed just what was possible by driving an extremely good race. Congratulations to Seb for winning his fourth world championship. That’s very impressive – especially to win four in a row. His team did a great job, Adrian Newey demonstrated how good he is, and Seb finished it off nicely with a win."

Paul di Resta ecstatic after making top 10 return:

"It’s great to score points here in India – the team’s home Grand Prix and a really important race for us. We took an aggressive strategy by pitting at the end of the first lap to change from softs to medium tyres – which was always the plan.

"After that we effectively split the race in two and I pitted again for my second set of medium tyres on lap 30. The other positive is that we’ve steadily improved the car over the last few weeks and I’m feeling more comfortable, so I think we can be optimistic of performing at a similar level in Abu Dhabi next week."

Gutierrez pays the price for jump start:

(c) Sauber F1 Team

"This wasn’t a great weekend, yet I gained valuable experience during the race today. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the start and I paid for that with a drive through. We had a good pace today and I had good fights with Fernando (Alonso) and Roman (Grosjean). I enjoyed that.

"The car had a very good balance. At the end I struggled a bit on the options, but still I think if I avoid mistakes and we are able to qualify better we can for sure finish in the top ten again."

Ricciardo pleased with points finish:

"I am pretty pleased with today’s performance, even if during the race I thought we were looking better than a tenth place finish, especially after the first stint went well and the pace was looking good. It seemed as though we could have matched Sutil and Di Resta, so there’s a little bit of disappointment about the fact I couldn’t get past them and get a couple more points.

"Generally, I am pleased with what I did in the car and now we move on to Abu Dhabi, where we have a lot of support, so I hope we can give them a good result next Sunday. Vettel? Phenomenal! Particularly since the summer break, when he grabbed the title and never let anyone else look at it."

Radio failure hinders Bottas:

(c) Williams F1 Team

"The first lap was very slippery for me and I was sliding a lot more than other cars and lost some positions, but my pace in the first stint was getting better and I was getting more and more grip from the tyres.

"However I had a radio failure which meant my first pitstop was later than planned and I lost track position, and in the second stint I was fighting closely with a lot of other cars and that traffic cost us a bit of time. Our race pace was stronger than in the last few races and I felt that I was on the right strategy, but the lack of running in free air meant that I wasn't able to capitalise on this and challenge for points."

Slow stop dropped Bianchi behind team-mate:

"I am happy that we finished the race with both cars again but disappointed with my position to be honest. Our two strategies were very close, although the theory was that mine would be just a little quicker. The car was good and the strategy should have paid off had it not been for a problem at the first pit stop, which cost me a lot of time.

"At the end of the race that really made the difference. Overall we have to be pleased with the car performance and think positively about every opportunity for the Team to hold position in the Championship. My best wishes to Sebastian - a great achievement for him."

Van der Garde blames Chilton for first lap crash:

(c) Caterham F1 Team

"I’m really disappointed my race ended so early. I made a fair start but coming out of turn one Chilton left me no room and we made contact, breaking my front wing and suspension. It’s been made really clear to us that we have to give each other room but today I wasn’t given any at all and that’s what’s finished my race before it really got going.

"It’s such a shame as this weekend the car’s felt really good, the balance has been there right from the first practice session and we know we have the pace on Sundays to pull away from the cars we’re fighting with. Having it all end so quickly is obviously bad, for me and everyone in the team who keep working so hard, but we can come back from this straight away next weekend in Abu Dhabi and that’s exactly what I aim to do."

Strategies split down the field - Pirelli:

"With a notable lap time difference between the two compounds, strategy was at the forefront of this action-packed Indian Grand Prix. We saw some very different approaches being taken all the way down the grid, which was roughly split between drivers starting on the soft and the medium tyre. 

"We also saw many teams split their strategies between both cars, in order to cover every possibility. Sebastian Vettel’s early pit stop meant that he was able to undercut his direct rivals on the same strategy, but Webber was able to gain track position by staying out longer: which basically summed up how the different tactics worked. However, we are disappointed to see that some teams went against our recommendations and used the compounds for longer than we advised them to do. 

"Most of all though, congratulations to Sebastian and Red Bull for their fourth consecutive double championship: a testament to their astounding capabilities in every area all year, including their skills at using the tyres and strategy to gain an advantage."