2015 Chinese Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium at the Shanghai International Circuit, winning the Chinese Grand Prix for the fourth time in his career.

© Daimler Mercedes

Rosberg was frustrated to finish second, with Vettel pleased to complete the top three for Ferrari. Here are some post-race thoughts from the the 2015 grid.

Hamilton - I didn't do anything intentionally to slow Rosberg:

"I'm really happy. It was a great race and really positive to have a clean weekend throughout every session. The team did a great job. Going into today we expected it to be close with Ferrari as they had been good on the tyres on their long runs.

© Daimler Mercedes

"The goal was to run my own race and manage the tyres as best I could; I was driving as hard as I could within the constraints of the tyres and just trying to stretch out the option stints for as long as possible. I never really had a threat from Nico but I didn't do anything intentionally to slow him up.

"Before the second stops I was able to put in a few fast laps to build the gap which I really enjoyed. Then, it was a case of managing the life of the Prime tyre to the finish. Overall, I've just got to say thank you to the team for a smooth weekend. We dialled the car in where I wanted and that helped me deliver out there today."

Second wasn't possible today - Vettel:

"All in all we can be really happy. It is only race three and the steps we have made so far are really impressive. Third and fourth place for the team, makes me really happy, I would have obviously loved to put more pressure on Mercedes: after the first and second stop we were able to be right there, but in the last stint they were able to pull away quite a lot. Basically we are closer than four weeks ago, which is positive, but there is still a lot to do. 

"But what’s very positive is also the fact that we stayed ahead of all the other teams. Second for us was not really possible today, you have to accept that our opponents were quick. For Bahrain, we hope to get again a bit closer. We have a strong car no matter which condition, that is the feeling."

Ricciardo - Red Bull underachieved:

"We got into anti-stall on the start, which hasn’t happened before; we have to look and see what happened. It’s frustrating, that shaped the race and in the traffic we struggled to get by. At least some positives are that we learned a few areas where we need to improve and the smart guys in the team can find a solution.

"I had a little battle with Daniil, I don’t know if I was optimistic in trying to get past, we were on different race strategies but we’ll sort it out in the debrief. We underachieved today, but hopefully we find something in the next few days and have a better result in Bahrain."

© Williams Martini Racing

Best possible result for Williams - Bottas:

"It was a lonely race for me today. I struggled for race pace throughout, but as a team we got the best result we could have achieved. I would have liked to have kept Kimi behind for longer after getting in front of him at the start, but he made a good move on me to retake the position. There is quite a bit of work to do to catch the cars ahead, but it’s only race three, so there is plenty of time."

Button - Misjudgement caused Maldonado collision:

"Today wasn’t too bad – we’re still fighting at the back of the field, which is a shame, but it’s positive to see that we’re progressing. My middle stint on the option tyre wasn’t too bad – I don’t think our pace was too bad at all on the softer tyre – but the prime was a bit trickier in those closing laps.

"A lot of that was due to all the blue flags and traffic I encountered – they meant the tyre temperatures dropped off quite a bit through the stint. It wasn’t easy. Regarding the collision with Pastor, I thought there was room on the inside – a collision is something you never want to see happen.

"It was just a misjudgement, I guess. Still, we go to Bahrain hoping for more progress, although the circuit configuration doesn’t suit us, so heading to Europe will hopefully work out a little bit better for the team. We need to improve at every race because we’re quite a way back."

© Sahara Force India F1 Team

Aggressive strategy fails to pay off for Perez:

"We raced very hard today, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough to come away with some points. With the strategy we looked at all the opportunities and switched to three stops quite early in the race, which was the right decision. I was able to push hard all the time with the aggressive strategy and fight with the cars ahead of me. 

"In the final part of the race I was catching Ericsson, but he was just too far ahead to make up the ground. We are still not where we want to be in terms of competitiveness, but there are definitely some positives to take because we made an improvement compared to our performance in Malaysia."

Verstappen frustrated with DNF:

"It’s a disappointing way to end what was being a great race! To be running in the points positions but then have to stop the car so close to the end of the race is very frustrating. I’m obviously not happy with the final result but as a team we did the best job possible today.

"The car was performing well and even though we are lacking some top speed, the braking and the downforce we have on the car is really good and that helped me to complete some good overtakes, which I enjoyed a lot."

Grosjean pleased to score first points of 2015:

"It’s the best we could do today and it’s satisfying to have achieved the team’s first points of the season. I’m proud of everyone at Enstone and at the track.

"It wasn’t an easy circuit for us, with a lot of front limited corners that we don’t particularly like, but we had a strong start, and most of the stints were good too. We’ve made a good job improving the car race after race and it’s great to finally score points. The next race could be promising too."

© Sauber F1 Team

 Nasr happy with eighth:

"It was a great day for the team, as both cars scored points. I am very pleased for everyone. It was not an easy race for us, we were fighting against Lotus and Toro Rosso, and they seemed to have a better pace than us. For myself, I extracted everything I could from the car and also the strategy, so we can be satisfied with this result."

Stevens pleased to reach the chequered flag:

"A great race for me and the team and one which shows how far we’ve come in a very short space of time. Obviously it feels really good for me to be racing again and to finish the race with both cars is so important for us at this stage of our development. 

"We always knew that when we sorted out the challenges we’d have a reliable car. I didn’t get the best of starts but those sorts of issues are easily resolved and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more progress over the next few races."