Vettel: “We want to become the best”

Sebastian, well done for this fantastic performance. Tell us what was going through your head this afternoon?
“It was a very long race. First of all, I think it was a good thing to start behind the safety car. I was surprised by the quantities of water that stagnated on the track throughout the race. Like everyone else, I suffered from aquaplaning. With our strategy based on a fairly short second stint, I was impatient to see the safety car disappear because I needed to create a gap on my pursuers. We had the right strategy and the team worked well to resolve the reliability issues encountered yesterday. We were confident on this last point, but you can never be sure of anything and I hoped that the car would hold up until the end. At the same time, I had to avoid making a stupid mistake. I am extremely happy to have won this race, it is the result of a huge amount of work from everyone. »

You had the advantage of having a clear track starting from pole position. But have you been disabled at times?
“Yes, when I wasn't leading, especially when I was trying to catch Jenson. Is it very difficult to see the car in front of you? Sometimes I knew I was behind him but I didn't know where exactly. I think Mark and Jenson had an even more exciting race by overtaking each other several times. I almost always had decent visibility, like at Monza last year. I had the best chance of winning. But sometimes I had difficulty keeping the car on the track. Especially at the entrance to turn 1: there was a slide which caused a lot of oversteer. Every time I caught up with the car, it was hoping that the tires would regain grip. In 100% of cases, this is what happened! »

You have been touched by Sébastien Buemi. What happened ?
« Il y a eu quelques moments chauds ! Evidemment, il était important que rien ne soit endommagé sur ma voiture quand Sébastien m?a touché. A ce moment, la voiture de sécurité était sortie mais elle n?était pas devant moi. J?étais en train de la rattraper et je continuais sur un bon rythme. J?ai vu une voiture ralentir brutalement sur le côté gauche de la piste, je pensais qu?il s?agissait de Rubens. Je ne savais pas s?il avait un problème ou s?il ralentissait parce qu?il était derrière d?autres voitures. J?ai ralenti à mon tour et j?ai vu qu?il s?agissait en fait d?une Toyota qui avait perdu son aileron arrière. Je l?ai passé et c?est à ce moment que j?ai senti un gros choc à l?arrière. Je suis désolé que la course de Sébastien ait été perturbée par cet incident, mais je ne voyais absolument pas ce qu?il se passait derrière moi. »

We know that Adrian Newey is working on a new broadcaster. Do you really think this is essential to be competitive this season?
"I didn't know you were so intimate with Adrian!" It's the same for all the teams. As Fernando said yesterday, this championship is very interesting because all the cars are new and different. We are only at the beginning of their development and engineers are constantly finding new things. Not only on the broadcaster, we have developments here and there, more or less important. The slightest change can make a difference because the level is very tight. Three or four tenths can have a huge influence, especially in qualifying. We are working hard to make the car faster. I am happy to see that it is already performing well enough to beat us among the best. I hope that it will get better and better and that we will soon take the step allowing us to be the best team on the field. »