Interview with Kimi Raikkonen

Q. Tell us about you race, Kimi.

Kimi Raikkonen: At the beginning it wasn't too bad, but then I didn't really have any grip, so it was a bit hard to stay on the circuit and all the other cars were fast, so they got past me.

Q. Was is difficult to get the tyres up to the right temperature?

KR: I don't know if it's the temperature. The thing is we didn't have grip. It was aqua-planning and sliding and every time I touched a wet patch I just lost the front end grip. Overall it was very difficult. In the beginning was not too bad but then, like I said, when we put a lot of fuel and the new tyres it became more difficult.

Q. Did you have some problems with the engine?

KR: Some times I had something and it wasn't running very clearly but sometimes it can happen when you follow people and there's a lot of water and the spray affects it. But it cleared up after a moment.

Q. Three races with no points for Ferrari, what are your thoughts?

KR: Not good. We have made some mistakes but unfortunately we don't have the speed to be where we want to be right now. But for sure when we get to Barcelona and get some new parts we should improve quite a bit. If we had had a dry race today we would have scored some points.

We don't have enough grip in the dry but in the wet it seems to be even more difficult. We'll do the best that we can and I'm sure we are going to be back in a position to challenge for wins, but it will take a little while, so we just need to go through this hard time and we definitely going to get back.

Q. Is it difficult to find the motivation under this situation?

KR: It's nothing to do with motivation. Unfortunately we are not fast enough. It's not about people's motivation or that we don't try the best we can. But it will take a little while. It will not happen overnight. We know that once we get to Barcelona we should take a step with the car. Hopefully it will improve the situation and it has nothing to do with people not trying to do their best.

But it's not an easy sport to catch up and sometimes when you don't have what you want it just seems to be very difficult and everything seems to be against you. It's hard to get out of it, but like I said it takes a while and we need to get through that period and I'm sure that we are gong to be in a position to challenge. I don't know when, but hopefully sooner than later.

Q. Is this the worst situation you have been in your career?

KR: I've have had difficult seasons before and bad starts of the season before. It's a hard time for everybody, but this is racing. We try to improve and we try to do the best. It's not what we want, so people are not so happy sometimes and we get lots of bad publicity from the papers, but it doesn't stop us from trying and improving things. Like I said, it will improve at some point. We will get back there, but unfortunately we are not where we should be now.

Q. Where do you believe the problem lies?

KR: We probably don't have the same downforce as the others. When we get the new floor for sure we are going to get lots of downforce and it will make the car fast. In the dry the handling of the car is not too bad, but we are missing downforce through the corners. For sure it will make a massive difference.

Chinese GP Press Conference

Press Conference with Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Jenson Button.

Q. Sebastian, a very incident packed race. Talk us through that pace car start and the conditions that faced you.

Sebastian VETTEL: It was the right decision to start under the safety car. Basically it was okay at some points but at some corners on every lap you were having a lot of aquaplaning. Sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the rain. It was very, very difficult throughout the whole race. I think we both knew, Mark and I, that we were on the short strategy, so we had to push at the beginning to get away from the pack which we succeeded.

And yeah, it was a very difficult race. As I said, a lot of aquaplaning and sometimes you were just catching the car and just keeping it on the circuit. You tried to push and tried to get away from the car lap by lap. I think I had the best conditions because I had no car running in front of me more or less for the whole race, so that was quite comfortable but still it was really difficult with the aquaplaning especially in the last corner. It is going a bit uphill and the water goes down and there is some place where basically you have no control, so you just try not to touch the car there, don't downshift, don't brake too much and every lap you had to be cautious.

But what should I say. I am extremely happy, second time now in the wet I have won a grand prix. Now we can have some more rain. The car was fantastic. It is definitely necessary to mention that the team did a really, really good job in preparing the car. Yesterday in qualifying we did a good job but nevertheless we were struggling a bit with the reliability but we were able to fix it overnight. We found the problem and that speaks for the quality of our team and everybody was just trying to fix it. We succeeded. Both cars just finished the race and even having a top two. A double win for Red Bull is incredible and I am extremely happy.

Q. Mark, you have been with this team for a long time. This must mean a lot to you to?

Mark WEBBER: A huge amount. Our team has been through a lot and a lot of results have slipped through our fingers. And today Sebastian and I could capitalize on a car that worked very well. We pushed each other quite hard in the race. It was very, very tough conditions for the whole grand prix. It got a little bit better in the middle of the race, then at the end again it got a little bit interesting. And also when you lose the edges off the wets they don't cut the water as well.

It was a very tough race, extremely rewarding to get this result. Personally for myself it is obviously the best result of my career. I hope to go one step better in the future and this is a long way towards it. I think it is an incredible result for Red Bull. If you think what Dietrich (Mateschitz) has done over the last five or six years in Formula One to get his first one-two is an absolute credit to him, so it is good.

Q. Jenson, a great race for you with lots going on. Obviously some problem with the car as the conditions worsened?

Jenson BUTTON: Well, I think everyone was struggling with the aquaplaning out there. It was pretty crazy conditions into the last corner. As Sebastian said it was a just a lake and you couldn't actually brake for the corner. A few other places were the same. I was just really struggling with the tyres. They were shuddering. They shudder because you can't get temperature into them, front and rears. It was a difficult race and every lap you thought you were going to throw the car off. You really did, so to finish the race is an achievement and to come home on the podium is also great. We couldn't challenge these two guys today, they were immensely quick. But it is great to get six points on the board and that's important to keep the consistency.

Q. Sebastian, it was also an incredibly strong car. Let's have a look at lap 19. Can you talk us through this incident on the back straight? I don't know if Jarno Trulli was going slower than you but you got a nasty punt from the rear from Sebastien Buemi.

SV: Yeah, I mean I was surprised. I thought this car was Rubens (Barrichello) as I knew he was in front of me. I was just going off throttle to check if everything was alright, I passed him and I really didn't see that Sebastien was coming. I am very sorry for what happened. To be honest I was just taking care. I didn't want to run into the car in front of me.

Obviously it is impossible to see anything in the mirrors as there is a lot of spray, so I moved to the right, checked if everything was alright and then I realised it was a Toyota and not Rubens and then I continued. And unfortunately Sebastien hit me already. It is a shame for his race but on the other hand I am very lucky to have finished mine.

Q. And it didn't affect your car at all?

SV: No, it didn't. After that I was quite happy that nothing happened. I could continue in a normal way, still it was difficult enough with the conditions, a lot of aquaplaning and I am just extremely proud and happy to sit here now.

Q. Mark and Jenson. Some fun and games mid-race. Quite a lot going on between you. Maybe I should let both of you now describe the action. You can fight amongst yourselves about who wants to do the commentary on the clips we are going to see next?

JB: For me I was pretty much just always out of control. I was just waiting for Mark to appear, well not appear in my mirrors, but appear in the front. I locked up the fronts in that corner. I was struggling there with locking up the tyres.

MW: I hit the river there and had to catch and straighten the car and open the steering and get onto the astroturf. Also I was worried about that. I didn't have a clue where Jenson was as I had just come back on. I only looked at my pit board every few laps, so I knew he was somewhere there but I didn't know how close.

Q. What is going on here Jenson?

JB: I was just trying to get some heat in the tyres. I am not trying to weave and keep people behind. I was really struggling with that. I don't think they have shown Mark going past me around the outside at turn seven. I didn't have a clue where he was and he was alongside at turn eight and it was such a shock as you can't see anything when it is raining. Then he just cut across the front and made the move stick. For me it was impossible to do anything about it. As soon as these guys get near you or alongside you, you cannot challenge them and it would have been silly to have tried.

Q. It looks from that if you had more problems getting the tyres to work than the two Red Bull drivers?

JB: Well, I don't know if everyone else did. Rubens and myself struggled quite a bit. I don't know what the reason for that is. Obviously the car is working in a different way but I hope we will solve those problems in the future because we cannot let these guys be that far in front.

Q. Sebastian, let's have a look at you crossing the line to win your second grand prix. A nice moment?

SV: Yeah, unbelievable. Some 10 laps from the end I obviously tried to observe the gap to the car behind, which was Mark, and was trying to adapt more or less to his pace. Just trying to have everything in control but it is extremely difficult. At some point I tried to bring the car home but then I realised 'don't do that as you lose the focus,' so I tried to be really focussed corner by corner and not looking too far ahead. Then at the end, in the last two laps, I backed off a little bit as I didn't want to risk going over the lakes in a stupid way anymore. So, just fantastic. Winning the second race having won one for Toro Rosso and now one for Red Bull is fantastic. I am extremely happy and hope we can continue working in this direction.

Kimi and Massa convinced the Ferrari will fight back

Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are convinced the Italian squad will fight back following its disastrous start to the season.

The Maranello-based outfit has endured its worst start to a campaign since 1981, having failed to score any points in the first three races in Australia, Malaysia and China.

While Raikkonen, 10th today, admits Ferrari's car is lacking speed, the Finn is adamant the team will be much stronger once the European seasons begins in Spain.

"We have made some mistakes but unfortunately we don't have the speed to be where we want to be right now," Raikkonen told reporters.

"But for sure when we get to Barcelona and get some new parts we should improve quite a bit. If we had had a dry race today we would have scored some points."

The former world champion is convinced the new floor the team will have for Spain will make a big difference.

"We don't have enough grip in the dry but in the wet it seems to be even more difficult," he said.

"We'll do the best that we can and I'm sure we are going to be back in a position to challenge for wins, but it will take a little while, so we just need to go through this hard time and we definitely going to get back."

Team-mate Massa, who retired from today's race with an electronics problem, reckons Ferrari has to keep working hard in order to get out of the current situation.

"It's a very tough situation," said Massa. "We are in a different condition that we were in the past but I still believe in the team. I think we have a good chance to move away from this problem. I'm very motivated to help the team get away from that. And I will do my best.

"I will work even harder for the team to try to motivate them, to try to get away from this really difficult moment. We are all human beings, and people can have difficult times. I had many difficult times in the beginning of my career so I remember very well how it is and I'll remember even more now in order to be able to get away from this moment."

He added: "At the moment we have two issues. One is that we need to improve the car, we need to make the car quicker. And the second is we need to make car reliable, because you can have the quickest car in the world but if you don't finish the race it doesn't matter. So I think those are the most important points we need to work on to improve the situation."

Domenicali - Ferrari not give up yet

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says the Italian team may switch its development focus onto the 2010 car as early as next month if its fortunes do not improve dramatically in the next few races.

The Maranello-based outfit has failed to score a point in the first three races of the season, its worst start to a campaign since 1981, and is now facing a very tough challenge to get itself back in the championship hunt.

Speaking at Shanghai on Sunday night, Domenicali refused to rule out the possibility of the team abandoning the development push on its 2009 car if matters do not improve when a double-decker diffuser version of its F60 is raced for the first time at the Spanish Grand Prix.

When asked at what point the team would decide whether to start concentrating on the 2010 car, Domenicali said: "I think for sure we will see after Spain where we are. In that period we will see really what can be the situation - so when we come back to Europe basically."

Although much has been made of the advantage that the 'diffuser gang' of Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota have enjoyed in the first races of the season, Domenicali does not believe that copying their rear-end concept will be the whole answer to Ferrari's woes.

"No. The situation is much more complicated than that," he said. "That device will give you a benefit. But it would be wrong to believe that it is the only key. We have seen, for example, the Red Bull car has done a really great job.

"They had more time, they switched their project much earlier than us and that is the reality and we need to consider it. The other thing that we have to understand well is that today in certain conditions, look at the first part of the race, our car was not too bad at all. So we need to understand a lot of things."

Domenicali added that he would not be forced into a panic about Ferrari's situation, or revise the team's targets for the season.

"I think we have to wait," he said. "We need to stay cool. It is not easy, I know, but we need to stay cool because there are too many things that can change very quickly. The priority number one is to move from zero points."

Alonso - Safety car periods ruined Renault strategy

Fernando Alonso said Renault would not have taken its early pitstop in the Chinese Grand Prix had it known that the safety car was on the verge of releasing the field to start the race at the time.

Having used a light fuel load to qualify on the front row of the grid, Alonso's strategy had already been ruined by the decision to deploy the safety car for the first eight laps of the race.

Renault brought him for fuel on lap seven, meaning he took the restart from the back of the field, from where he could only fight through to ninth at the finish after spinning when on course to salvage points.

"Today we were unlucky and I think it's one of those days when you take decisions at the wrong moment and everything seems to turn against you," Alonso said.

"We thought that the safety car would be out for the next 10 or 15 laps so we came in to get fuel and at the same time the safety car came in so we found ourselves starting the race last.

"We were on the first row on the grid and all of a sudden we were last so this was the end of our race."

But he said Renault should still be highly encouraged by the step forward it had made in China.

"It's a disappointing end to a weekend where we showed a lot of potential," said Alonso. "The team have done a great job to improve the car, which was very competitive, especially yesterday when we qualified on the front row.

Sutil left Chinese GP with brokenheart

Adrian Sutil was left heartbroken after crashing out of the Chinese Grand Prix when he was set to score Force India's first points.

The German looked set for seventh place after a risky strategy was paying off, but he lost control of his car with six laps to go, going off track and crashing heavily against the barriers.

Sutil admitted the situation reminded him of last year's Monaco Grand Prix, where he was set to finish in fourth before he was involved in a crash with Kimi Raikkonen.

"I had prepared myself for a hard race and that's exactly what it was," said Sutil. "We took a risk with the strategy with a very early stop and it was a long way to go with one set of tyres. Then it started to rain again and it was very hard to keep the car on the circuit.

"Sometimes even in a straight line in fourth or fifth gear I was struggling with aquaplaning and I was very lucky to keep the car on the circuit for so long.

"It's a shame - you focus so much and think you can do it, but the car was just out of control at the end. I had the same feeling as Monaco - it's hard to believe when you are in the car and then suddenly you lose it and it's all over from such a great position.

"But you have to get over it, we had a great performance today. It's good for the team and I think we deserved the points, I just feel bad for everyone here. It was a very good strategy call, but that's what we had to do: take a risk."

Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella finished down in 14th position, the Italian complaining about the graining on his tyres.

"It was a difficult race," said Fisichella. "The rain was really hard at the beginning, but my main problem was the graining on the tyres. With both sets we had a lot of wear and the car was sliding on four wheels through some corners. It was very hard just to keep the car on the ground and many times I had a huge moment.

"The strategy was good though and I think we can be pleased with the performance today. It's a disappointment that Adrian came so close to scoring the team's first points today, but we all know how hard it was out there."

Ecclestone - "Lewis is super but I think this kid ... time will tell."

As Sebastian Vettel clocked up his second Grand Prix win, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton openly admitted Shanghai had been one of his ‘worst performances’ in Formula One.

It was therefore an opportune time for quotes attributed to Bernie Ecclestone to hit the British press, as he outlines his belief that the German is better than his British rival.

"I think he is," the 78-year-old is quoted as saying by the Telegraph. "Lewis is super but I think this kid ... time will tell."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner didn't want to be drawn on the comparison, but he agrees that Vettel's rise is unlikely to flatten in the wake of his Chinese win.

"It's difficult for me to say as Lewis doesn't sit in our car," Horner said. "But for sure, in coming years, Seb is going to be one of the dominant drivers in F1."

While the British media currently questions its former affection for Hamilton amid the 'lie-gate' scandal, Sunday's spotlight fell squarely on Vettel, who names his cars.

"My original car was called ‘Kate’. But then it got smashed at the opening race in Australia. So we called this one ‘Kate's Dirty Sister’ because it is more aggressive and faster," Vettel said.

No Austrian anthem on the podium

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had just secured an historic one-two debut victory for the team, but Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said one element of Sunday's proceedings left him distinctly ‘disappointed’.

After German winner Vettel mouthed the final words of the 'Das Deutschlandlied' on the podium, Austrian Marko then prepared to bask in the national pride of the Austrian anthem.

'Land der Berge, Land am Strome' in Austrian means 'Land of the mountains, land on the river', sang to the melody of a 1790s song by the composer Johann Holzer.

Red Bull, owned by the Austrian energy drink magnate Dietrich Mateschitz, competes under a racing license by the Austrian motor racing authority OAMTC, the Osterreichischer Automobil, Motorrad und Touring Club.

However, to mark the victory of the winning constructor, the loudspeakers of the Shanghai International Circuit instead exclaimed God Save the Queen, apparently because Red Bull Racing is based in Milton-Keynes.

Red Bull Renault - Chinese GP Race - Absolutely wonderfull

On Saturday Sebastian Vettel recorded the first pole position in the history of Red Bull Racing and on Sunday he went one better as he took the team's first win as he dominated the rain hit Chinese Grand Prix.

Mark Webber chased Vettel hard, taking the chequered flag 11 seconds behind his team-mate to make it a famous Red Bull one-two.

Sebastian Vettel
"It’s unbelievable – I’m so, so happy. Ten laps from the end I tried to control the gap between me and the car behind and adapt my pace. I was trying to have everything under control, but it was difficult. At some points I was trying to bring the car home, but that meant I lost focus, so then I just tried to take it corner by corner, not looking too far ahead."

"On the last two laps I backed off a bit, as I didn’t want to risk aquaplaning on the water at the side of the track. And then… well it’s just fantastic. Winning my second race, one with Toro Rosso and one with Red Bull, makes me extremely happy and I hope we can continue working in this direction!"

"I’m extremely proud and happy. I’m so happy to have won the race, it was an enormous and great job by the whole of Red Bull. I want to say a massive thank you to them all, everyone has worked so hard, so thanks to the team and also to Red Bull. Greetings to Austria!”

Mark Webber
“It’s such an incredible day for the team – you have no idea what the guys went through last night. We were absolutely shitting ourselves that the cars wouldn’t finish the race because every time we ran yesterday, they stopped. So, it’s incredible to get the cars home and to get maximum points. This comes after the near misses in Australia for Sebastian and for myself in Malaysia."

"It’s a great day for the team in Milton Keynes, well done and thank you to them, and also to everyone in Austria.

It was a challenging race at times! It was hard to follow the cars in the beginning due to the spray, but then further into the race, it started to settle a bit. After the second safety car stint, I had a good scrap with Jenson. On my official lap at the front, I couldn’t believe how clear it was - I thought ‘Oh my God, it’s beautiful!'"

"I then pushed like hell to make up as much time as possible – it was fantastic. When Jenson re-passed me, I was very keen to try win the race, so I passed him around Turn seven as I knew he wouldn’t know I would be there, it was one of the best moves of my career. I’m happy today!”

Christian Horner
“A great result for the team and Red Bull. It’s testimony to all the effort and hard work that Red Bull and Mr Mateschitz has committed to Formula One. I want to thank Red Bull and everyone in Milton Keynes, who have worked so hard for this. It’s just an unbelievable result."

"We’ve got a great car, a great team, great drivers, a single diffuser and we have a double one to come, so we’re looking good. The whole team and company can be very proud of this moment.”

Fabrice Lom, Renault
“What a result, we have a magic pair of drivers. Sebastian and Mark are very strong, very cool, and it’s a pleasure to work with them. On behalf of all the Renault team, I would like to say that we are very proud to work with them both and be part of this Red Bull F1 adventure. I was also like to thank all the guys back at the factories in Milton Keynes, Viry and Mecachrome.”

Brawn Mercedes - Chinese GP Race - Podium finished for Button

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button took his third consecutive podium of the 2009 Formula One season at the end of a rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit today. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello finished in fourth position to secure further valuable points for the team’s championship challenge.

For the second race in succession, the weather had a major impact as heavy rain showers led to the race starting under the safety car with all drivers fitting wet tyres. The racing got underway on lap nine with Rubens Barrichello and Button lying in third and fourth places respectively behind the two Red Bulls cars.

Suffering from a brake warm-up issue throughout his first stint, Barrichello ran wide on lap eleven giving Button the opportunity to move up into third place. In very tricky conditions, the pair largely kept their Brawn-Mercedes cars on the track, successfully negotiating two pit-stops and a further safety car period, to cross the line with Button in third position and Barrichello taking fourth place.

After the first three races of the season, the Brawn GP team leads the Constructors’ Championship with 36 points with Button leading the Drivers’ Championship with 21 points and Barrichello in second place with 15 points.

Jenson Button
“A very difficult race today and I am so pleased that we got both cars to the end of 56 laps and scored as many points as possible. The conditions were pretty crazy with rivers of water all over the circuit which changed every time you encountered them. The last turn particularly was like a lake and you just couldn’t brake for the corner. I struggled with the car aquaplaning and the tyres shuddering as we couldn’t get the temperatures high enough to make them work properly. Mark Webber and I had a good fight for a few laps but I just couldn’t stay with him. However to finish the race today is an achievement in itself and to be on the podium is fantastic.We couldn’t have beaten the Red Bulls and congratulations to Sebastian and Mark on a great result.”

Rubens Barrichello
“It was a tough race in very challenging conditions out there today. I only had three brake discs working on my car for the first 19 laps which made it even more difficult for me to keep the car on the road. Thankfully the problem resolved itself when the brakes heated up during my first pit stop and I had a good pace from then but unfortunately it was a bit too late. However we got the car to the end of the race in difficult circumstances and I scored as many points as I could have done, so we have to be happy with that.”

Ross Brawn
“Another dramatic race today to continue what is turning out to be a very exciting 2009 Formula One season. Jenson and Rubens did an excellent job to bring the cars home in the difficult conditions which combined with a solid team performance over the whole weekend enabled us to score as many points as possible. We had a good strategy with both drivers fuelled long for their first stints which allowed us to bridge the gap to the leaders. However on similar fuel, Vettel and Webber were then able to pull away. Congratulations to Red Bull for their one-two performance today. We know from Australia what a fantastic feeling that achievement is and I’m sure they will enjoy every minute of it. Our focus now turns to Bahrain next weekend for what will hopefully be a dry race.”

Ferrari - Chinese GP Race - Another dissastrous resulted

After Australia and Malaysia it was pretty clear that while the Ferrari F60 challenger was no race winner, errors in strategy combined with reliability issues had resulted in the team’s disastrous start to the season.

Today in the Chinese Grand Prix Kimi Raikkonen ran as high as fifth before taking his one and only pitstop. The strategy would prove wrong as the Finn took the chequered flag in tenth position having been unable to regain so much lost ground. Felipe Massa meanwhile pulled his F60 to a halt early in the race with an electrical problem.

Kimi Raikkonen
“In the early stages, it wasn’t too bad but then, after my stop, I lost grip from the tyres and I was no longer able to push as hard as I wanted, because it meant the car was sliding a lot. A few times, the engine seemed to lose power, especially when I found myself close behind other cars, but then the problem went away on its own."

"Clearly the championship situation looks very difficult. We have made mistakes and we are not quick enough. In Barcelona, when we will have new aero parts, we should be able to pick up some of the grip we are lacking now. I am sure we can be competitive enough to win again but this work will take time. The team is motivated, I’m sure of that and we will all do our bit. Now it is easy to criticize, but we know how to turn things round.”

Felipe Massa
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed and a bit upset but my motivation is still intact. All of us must work together to get out of this situation. The team is united and there is a real will to turn things round as soon as possible. We should quickly be getting some significant aerodynamic developments, but it’s true we also have to sort out as soon as possible our reliability problems, because if we want to win, first we have to finish the races."

"Today, I was in with a good chance of getting on the podium. I was third and lapping in the same times as the leaders, even though I had enough fuel on board to go for a one stop. The car was going well, except when running behind the Safety Car: at those times, there were a few moments when the power seemed to drop. Then, without warning, the accelerator would not work and the car went quiet. I would say to our fans that they should not give up on us, as this is a difficult moment, but the championship is still long.”

Chris Dyer
“We embarked on the race with the two drivers on different strategies and with the rain and the safety car periods, we managed to get ourselves into a good position, especially with Felipe, who at one point was third with a lot of fuel on board. Unfortunately, a software management problem meant the engine cut out and forced him to retire. It’s a real shame, because we could have got a good result."

"Right from the start, Kimi complained about the lack of visibility when following others and several times that the engine power was dropping due to the water, but above all he suffered with a lack of grip after his stop. In the meantime, we changed his strategy and he was unable to get any higher than tenth. Once again we’ve had reliability problems which prevented us from picking up valuable points.”

Stefano Domenicali
“Today, we are very annoyed about what happened to Felipe. He was driving an amazing race, when an electrical problem saw the engine die. He was third at the time and even though he had a heavy fuel load, he was lapping in the same time as the fastest and he would have almost certainly finished the race on the podium."

"Kimi switched his strategy, going from a two to a one stop, but he could not get higher than tenth. On his first set of tyres, his pace was reasonable, but with the second he suffered constantly from a lack of grip which kept him out of the points. The great shame is that at a time when technically we are not at our best, once again we failed to capitalise on circumstances."

"Now we look towards next weekend’s race in Bahrain in a realistic frame of mind: the car will be the same as here, even though we will look at running the KERS again. In the meantime, we have to work intensively on getting the new aerodynamic components to the race track, when the European part of the season gets underway in Barcelona.”

McLaren Mercedes - Chinese GP Race - Kovalainen scored his first points

Heikki Kovalainen drove a strong Chinese Grand Prix from 12th position on the grid to finish fifth and record his first points of the season. McLaren Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton suffered numerous spins and minor off track excursions on his way to sixth position.

Heikki Kovalainen
“The visibility was unbelievably poor – especially during the first few laps after the Safety Car came in. But our pace was good and, during the last laps of the race, I could get close to Rubens – just not enough to start an attack. Our strategy was spot on: finishing higher than fifth was not possible today and I’m very pleased to have scored four solid points without making a single mistake – despite some massive moments!”

Lewis Hamilton
“It was almost too difficult to drive at the beginning of the race,” Lewis said. “But I found a good pace and had some fun in the opening laps, but unfortunately I destroyed my tyres quite early on. I made a few too many mistakes today. It was very slippery and my front-left tyre was finished long before the end but I still gave it my best. This afternoon was a real struggle but I’m glad I got some points for the team.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal
“First of all, I want to offer our hearty congratulations to all at Red Bull Racing on the occasion of their first grand prix win. Sebastian drove a great race – and well done, too, to our old friend Adrian Newey. As for our team, Heikki scored a very well deserved four points for an impressive fifth place. It isn’t at all easy to drive a faultless race in conditions like those we faced today, but Heikki did just that.

Lewis pressed hard all afternoon – and, when you do that, occasionally you run wide or spin. Lewis duly did so – but, in truth, his was a great drive, too."

“We were never going to be able to live with the Red Bulls or the Brawns today, which is why we chose a one-stop strategy. The track was wet throughout the race, and the longer stints that our strategy dictated inevitably caused more wet-tyre wear than that experienced by the two-stoppers; but, despite the challenges posed by that extra wet-tyre wear, our drivers both coped very well. So, overall, an encouraging result: getting two cars into the points shows that we’re making good progress, but there’s more to come and we’re working flat-out to develop the improvements that will deliver it.”

Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport VP
“More than fifth and sixth places are not possible for us at the moment and this has to change. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing for a faultless race – hats off. Again everybody experienced difficult conditions like in Malaysia. At least, seven points are better than nothing, but our speed has to improve significantly. We had four cars with Mercedes-Benz engines in the top six, so thanks to all our engine guys in Brixworth and Stuttgart for the good job.”

Toyota - Chinese GP Race - Glock secured two valuable points while Trulli retired

Toyota will leave China with two points after a hard day's work at the second rain-affected race of 2009.

Following a dry week, the heavens opened just hours before the race, which started behind the safety car in the wet conditions.

Timo Glock started from the pit lane with a heavy fuel load on wet Bridgestone tyres. He initially made up ground with a number of passing moves and he was up to 11th by the second safety car period.

However, he sustained front wing damage and he was forced to come in for an early pit stop to change it on lap 24. The pit stop crew did a quick turnaround and he was fuelled to the end of the race. He dropped to the back again but he battled hard, passing more cars and bringing his TF109 home in seventh for two points.

Jarno Trulli started in sixth place but struggled for grip in the wet conditions, losing ground before he was hit from behind by Robert Kubica's BMW Sauber on lap 17. He returned to the pits but the damage was too great to continue.

Timo Glock
"In the end we picked up more points from the pit lane so we have to be happy with that. But it was a very hard race, especially at the beginning. I was quite surprised when we started the race. When you're at the back of the field there is no chance to see anything and it's like driving blind. I made up some ground but I damaged my front wing when I touched Nick."

"It was so difficult to see, I misjudged my braking point and hit him on the back. That meant we had to bring our pit stop forward by a few laps to fix the damage. Later when I had a clear run for five or six laps I was pretty quick and on the pace but as soon as I caught Kimi I was stuck behind him.

I couldn't see the standing water so I had to back off, particularly in the areas where you could overtake. In the end I got past and we were able to bring it home seventh."

Jarno Trulli
"That was not a good day for me. The conditions were very difficult, there was a lot of standing water and lots of aquaplaning. When the safety car came in I made a solid start and my pace was okay in the early laps. But then I started struggling for grip, the pace just wasn't there and the longer it went on the more ground I lost."

"On lap 17 I just felt a big hit from behind and I lost my rear wing. I made it back to the pits but we couldn't continue. Still, my pace yesterday shows we're close the front so now we must hope for better fortunes in Bahrain next weekend."

Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal
"Timo didn't quite put together his last qualifying run yesterday but he never gave up. Today he twice found himself at the back of the field but he showed great spirit to overtake so many cars and bring home two points."

"Jarno struggled to make the most of his strong grid position today so we will have to check the data to find out what went wrong. Still, his qualifying performance was good so I'm sure he will do his best to make the podium again at the next race. We still have our spirit to win and we will fight again in Bahrain next week."

Renault - Chinese GP Race - Hard work's didn't paid off

It was an afternoon of unrealised potential for Renault as both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet ended the Chinese Grand Prix outside the points. Wet conditions saw the race start under the safety car, which impacted on the team’s strategy and meant the team spent the afternoon fighting through the field. Alonso’s eventful race saw him finish in ninth after running as high as fifth, while Piquet suffered several spins and came home a distant 16th.

Fernando Alonso
“It’s a disappointing end to a weekend where we showed a lot of potential. The team have done a great job to improve the car, which was very competitive, especially yesterday when we qualified on the front row. However, today we were unlucky and I think it’s one of those days when you take decisions at the wrong moment and everything seems to turn against you. We thought that the safety car would be out for the next 10 or 15 laps so we came in to get fuel and at the same time the safety car came in so we found ourselves starting the race last. We were on the first row on the grid and all of a sudden we were last so this was the end of our race. Bahrain will be another big test and then we have Barcelona so we need to keep improving.”

Nelson Piquet
“The conditions were so difficult today with really poor visibility and aquaplaning so just keeping the car on the track wasn’t easy. I had a few moments during the race, but managed to keep the car going, although I lost a lot of time and dropped to the back of the pack. So it was a disappointing weekend, but I’m now looking forward to Bahrain where hopefully we will have a dry race and some developments on the car.”

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
“This was not a normal race and it’s a pity that we couldn’t really see the potential of the car. The conditions were difficult and everyone seemed to struggle, except for the top three. Fernando has shown with his qualifying performance that the car is improving, but unfortunately we were penalised by the bad weather. The car is getting better and more competitive, and by Bahrain we will have new parts on both cars. Already this week we have seen a great effort by the team both here and back at the factory to get the new improvements on Fernando’s car this weekend. The championship is long and I’m confident that from Bahrain things will get better for us.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“It is a disappointing result today. We took an aggressive strategy expecting the rain to start later in the afternoon. The early start of the rain compromised us and the safety car start even more so. We didn’t make best use of what was available to us today.”

Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations
“We have not finished the race where we wanted to based on the performance we showed yesterday. With rain you can never be sure what will happen, but those who were fast yesterday were the fastest today. I feel we deserved to finish fifth at least. It isn’t a good result but we will take what we have learned to be stronger at next week’s race”

BMW Sauber - Chinese GP Race - Dissapointed weekend for BMW Sauber

The wet Shanghai race left the BMW Sauber team empty handed. Both drivers were involved in a couple of the numerous incidents due to aquaplaning and poor visibility. In the end Nick Heidfeld finished 12th just ahead of his team mate, Robert Kubica.

Nick Heidfeld
"Of course I’m disappointed with the outcome of today’s race, but at the same time I feel I should be grateful I was able to finish it at all. The conditions in terms of visibility and aquaplaning were disastrous. In the beginning, after the safety car pulled off, my tyre pressures were too low so I struggled a lot. On lap 13 Timo Glock hit me, which caused damage to the car and certainly didn’t help."

"However, close to the end of the race I had the chance to score one or two points, but then there was a lot of debris on the track, including a wheel, from Adrian Sutil’s accident. I tried to find a way around it, but it was unpredictable which way it would go and it hit me. Afterwards the car felt very strange and I lost four places."

Robert Kubica
"Driving was very dangerous today. We had aquaplaning nearly everywhere and the lack of visibility was a disaster. There were quite a lot of situations when I couldn’t see anything. All this also caused my heavy accident with Jarno Trulli.

When Jarno braked into the corner I hit some standing water. Although I hit the brakes very hard the car still accelerated. I went quite high into the air after hitting his rear tyre, but fortunately nobody was hurt."

"After coming to the pits we had to change the front wing a second time as I felt some vibration and massively lost grip. This ruined my race."

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"There is not much to say about this Grand Prix. From bad starting positions both our drivers were involved in collisions under these rainy conditions. The result is zero points. All we can do is put this race behind us and concentrate on Bahrain."

Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering
"That was a very disappointing race. Our only chance to get into the points was in a wet race, but we didn’t score at all. We have to improve as quickly as possible."

Williams Toyota - Chinese GP Race - Tough day for both drivers

Rain continued to play a part in this year’s World Championship as today’s Chinese Grand Prix played out under steady rainfall creating difficult conditions for the drivers and a host of cars falling off the race track throughout the 56 laps.

With the race started under the safety car, the team opted to alter Nico Rosberg’s strategy, bringing him in early from seventh position. However, an unexpectedly premature end to the safety car period left Rosberg at the back of the pack and unable to recover position leaving him in P15 at the end of the race.

Kazuki Nakajima’s afternoon was similarly fruitless. After several excursions off the race track, his race ended on lap 43 following the team’s first mechanical failure since the Spanish Grand Prix last year.

On a difficult day for the team, they also announced the unexpected death of Jim Douglas who had worked at the team's machine shop for 28 years.

Nico Rosberg
"The main problem I had today was drops sticking to my visor which wouldn’t run off making it virtually impossible to see. It’s a problem related to my visor’s anti-fog system which I’ve had in the past but haven’t been able to resolve. 15 laps before the end of the race we were not in a good position so I asked to be switched onto intermediates as I thought we had to try something. For the first few laps, they were good. It looked like the way to go so I was quite pleased, but then unfortunately more rain came and it was all over again.

Bahrain is only a week away and a good result, which everyone in the team deserves, is overdue."

Kazuki Nakajima
"I had a transmission problem today so unfortunately I couldn’t carry on with the race. It was very difficult out there with really poor visibility. There was a lot of standing water and it was hard to keep the car on the track, particularly on the exit of the last corner. I made some mistakes but it was the same for everybody."

Patrick Head, Director of Engineering
"We thought the safety car would stay out for longer than it did at the start of the race so we decided to pull Nico in early to fuel him up. It turned out to be the wrong call as the safety car came in just one lap later. We then struggled for pace against Alonso who had done the same as us. We had what appears to be a gearbox failure on Kazuki’s car which forced us to retire him. It was not a good performance by us today. We made some wrong calls and we will have to look at the circumstances and improve for the future. It’s also very unusual for us to have a retirement for a technical failure. We will now look forward to a much better performance in Bahrain."

Toro Rosso Ferrari - Chinese GP Race - Buemi shine's again

After qualifying an impressive tenth, Sebastien Buemi put in a great race in his Toro Rosso Ferrari to finish in eighth position, adding another points to the two secured in Melbourne.

Buemi's only scare was behind the safety car when he made light contacct with the rear of Sebastian Vettel's race leading Toro Rosso.

While Buemi led the way for the team again, Sebastien Bourdais finished 11th in the sister STR4 but claims that the race should not have been held in the wet conditions.

Sebastien Buemi
“I am very happy as the team did a super job so that we got another point to take away from here. I am pleased that in three races, I have scored twice. Maybe I could have done a little bit better, but I’m happy all the same. We were very competitive in the early stages and I got past Raikkonen and Hamilton, but after that I struggled a bit. I think it was one of my hardest races ever. As for the incident with Vettel, it happened under Safety Car conditions: I didn’t see him and I tried to swerve to the right, but it was not enough to avoid him. We changed the wing on my car and I’m glad I didn’t spoil his race.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“I started 15th and finished 11th, even with a couple of spins. I’ve got mixed feelings, because I don’t think we should have raced as there was so much aquaplaning. The fact the cars have a lot less downforce this year, aggravates the situation as it’s hard to get the car down onto the track surface. I could have spun 15 or 20 times and Sutil’s crash showed what could have happened. The one positive thing is that it was probably a good show for the fans.”

Franz Tost
“First, well done to Red Bull Racing. Congratulations on doing a fantastic job with a one-two finish thanks to Sebastian and Mark. On our side, we picked up another point thanks to Buemi, who drove a good race, given the difficult conditions today, in what is only his third F1 race. Overall, it means we can head to Bahrain in an optimistic frame of mind.”

Force India Mercedes - Chinese GP Race - A heartbreaker weekend

The Force India Mercedes put in its most competitive performance yet in today's rain-lashed Chinese Grand Prix.

Adrian Sutil was just six laps from scoring the team's first-ever World Championship points after an aggressive strategy and mistake-free drive put him into sixth position in the closing stages of the race.

The German pitted and refuelled on lap four under the first safety car period and then again on lap 19, allowing him to move steadily up the field until he was fighting with defending world champion Lewis Hamilton for sixth. However the rain increased just minutes from the end and, on worn tyres, Sutil was unable to catch his car from aquaplaning off the track and into the barriers.

Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella also put in a respectable performance and graduated up the order to 11th by the midpoint of the race. The Italian finished in 14th position overall to consolidate Force India's ninth place in the constructors' championship.

Adrian Sutil
"I had prepared myself for a hard race and that's exactly what it was. We took a risk with the strategy with a very early stop and it was a long way to go with one set of tyres. Then it started to rain again and it was very hard to keep the car on the circuit. Sometimes even in a straight line in fourth or fifth gear I was struggling with aquaplaning and I was very lucky to keep the car on the circuit for so long."

"It's a shame - you focus so much and think you can do it, but the car was just out of control at the end. I had the same feeling as Monaco - it's hard to believe when you are in the car and then suddenly you lose it and it's all over from such a great position. But you have to get over it, we had a great performance today. It's good for the team and I think we deserved the points, I just feel bad for everyone here.
It was a very good strategy call, but that's what we had to do: take a risk."

Giancarlo Fisichella
"It was a difficult race. The rain was really hard at the beginning, but my main problem was the graining on the tyres. With both sets we had a lot of wear and the car was sliding on four wheels through some corners. It was very hard just to keep the car on the ground and many times I had a huge moment. The strategy was good though and I think we can be pleased with the performance today. It's a disappointment that Adrian came so close to scoring the team's first points today, but we all know how hard it was out there."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman and Team Principal
"What a phenomenal race and yet what heartbreak. We can all be very proud of Adrian and the team's achievements today. He has proved yet again that he has a genuine flair in the wet and came desperately close to scoring those elusive points once more. We made all the right calls in the race and functioned very well as a team: it was just such a shame we couldn't translate it to the points at the end of the race. Although we know we have much work remaining, both Adrian and Giancarlo's performances give us a shot in the arm and shows that, if and when, the conditions allow we can be right up there. I must also extend my warm congratulations to Red Bull for a well-deserved first win."