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

7 June 2015

2015 Canadian Grand Prix Driver Reaction

Lewis Hamilton took a controlled fourth Canadian Grand Prix victory, beating his team-mate Nico Rosberg by 2.2 seconds.
© Octane Photographic
Valtteri Bottas was promoted to the final podium spot after a mid-race spin for Kimi Raikkonen. Here is what some of the drivers had to say after round seven of the 2015 season.

Hamilton: 
"I love Montreal! It's really special to win here again - the place where I had my first win back in 2007. The team did a fantastic job, so a big thank you to everyone. I wouldn't say it's a relief because I've had good pace for both of the past two races - I'm just happy to get another win for me and the team. 
"It was quite close after the stops. I think because Nico was in my tow he was using less fuel, so I was having to save a bit while managing the gap. It was really just about matching the times each lap. I had a couple of lock ups but luckily they weren't too bad and not enough to cause any real problems, so I felt in control."
© Octane Photographic
Ricciardo:
"It’s been a strange weekend for me and I am a little confused about today’s race. I was lacking pace and we are not sure why. There was nothing that felt especially wrong but we just couldn’t get any pace out of the car.
"I had a few set-up changes compared to Dany but that doesn’t explain the difference in pace. It is something we will look at to understand what the cause was."
Bottas:
"We really maximised everything today and I'm really happy for us as a team. We had an opportunity to get third and we took it. We had the chance to change the strategy in the middle of the race and go for one stop instead of two. We knew it could be a risk but the team knew what to do and we were right.
"There was not much threat from behind so we could take a bit of a risk, and I'm really proud that we did. We were racing hard today and we earned the podium. It’s great to be back in the top three and we know there are better Grands Prix to come because of the updates we are bringing so I can't wait for the next few races."
Vettel:
"It was an entertaining race and I had a good recovery, but obviously there was not much more we could have done. In the opening laps I was not very happy with myself, I was very aggressive but I could not find the gaps, I wanted to go crazy but there was no room, so I had to be patient and it’s a shame because these are the moments when if you are lucky you can gain easily five, six , seven or eight seconds in total race time.
"It did not happen so we had to fight back afterwards, but the pace was good, I felt happy in the car and especially toward the end the speed kept coming. I lost time at the first pit-stop and I am not sure it was totally on me, something went wrong at the back of the car, but the guys have done a super job so far and they shouldn’t be blamed if sometimes things go a bit slower.
"About the move on Hulkenberg, I noticed that I was already ahead of him on the outside, and I think he braked too late and could not make the corner. We did our best today and I am quite content with 5th, but it’s a bit of a shame because around here there is a very nice podium and without the penalty I think we could have had a shot at it."
© Octane Photographic
Button:
"It was obviously a very difficult day, made even more difficult for me since I’d started last with the addition of a drive-through penalty in the first three laps. I was then obviously out of sequence; the leaders lapped me, pitted and then lapped me again. 
"One of our biggest issues today was fuel saving. In addition, we lost a bit of tyre temperature as well. That said, our pace on the Prime tyre was pretty good. I guess it’s easy for people to look at today’s result and say we’re having a bad season, but that’s not actually the case. We’ve made very big improvements since the first race, in fact. You do have difficult days, and today was undoubtedly one of those, but that’s always the way of it when you begin a new project and you’re starting from zero. 
"So, yes, we’re still quite a long way behind the other teams in terms of power unit development, and even the design philosophy behind our car too; but if you don’t take a stab at it at the start of the season with a new project like this, you’re never going to be able to fight the top guys. Today was quite painful, yes, but so far this season there’s been improvement at every race, with the exception of today. The layout of the circuit here was always going to be tough on us, but hopefully we’ll be back on track in Austria where we have some updates coming."
Hulkenberg:
"I am very happy to come away from here with four points – that's definitely some positive news. It was not the most eventful race and I was by myself most of the time, except for the battle with Sebastian [Vettel]. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have tried so hard to defend against Seb, but when you're a racer you just don't want to give up a position without a fight. 
"He took the outside line, I was on the inside, braking on the dirt and the marbles. I could see it coming but he didn't leave me anywhere to go so to avoid contact I kept braking, lost the rear and spun. Fortunately I was able to get going and didn’t lose too much time.
"Overall it’s been a positive weekend: we keep finding good performance from our VJM08 and the team is pushing hard to find more speed. We’ve had a good run in the last few races, with Checo scoring in Monaco and my points today. It means we are making good progress and we're closing in on fifth in the championship, so the second half of the season should be very interesting."
Verstappen:
"I had a good start and first few laps, where I was able to catch the guys in front of me even though I was on the harder tyre, so we can be happy with my first stint. But after my pit-stop, where of course I lost time due to the 10-second penalty, it became a bit of a lonely race. I caught up with Ericsson but I couldn’t get past him on the straights, so I decided to stay behind him, not destroy my tyres and save the engine."
© Octane Photographic
Grosjean:
"It was good for the team to get both cars in the points. Unfortunately, that car didn’t feel as strong as it did in qualifying but I was able to push nevertheless. 
"It can be difficult with traffic here and I was held up a few times even when there were blue flags. I thought I was past the Manor, but it was soon clear that I wasn’t. It was my fault entirely and I apologise for it. You never stop learning as a driver."
Stevens:
"After a good start I was having a really strong race, managing to get ahead of my team-mate despite a problem with the front left in the pit stop, which lost us quite a bit of time. After that my race was going pretty much according to our one-stop plan and then on lap 50 I was hit by Grosjean as he was passing me, which was a little surprising as I left him so much room.
"It was an unnecessary accident and one which required another pit stop for front wing damage. The wing was snapped clean in two. All that aside, it’s been a stronger weekend for us here. It’s a shame we had our first retirement with Roberto’s car, but that was a good long run compared to other teams and I’m sure we’ll have things sorted for Austria."
Nasr:
"It was a difficult race. The car was not easy to drive and we seemed to have a couple of issues. At the beginning of the race I had a loss of power. Besides that my brakes were overheating, so I had to sacrifice some lap time to recover them. There is a lot of data to analyse and understand."

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