Today's post-race press conference with Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat.
Track Interviews - Conducted by Martin Brundle
Q: [Question inaudible]
Max Verstappen: I had a little moment, but I made a nice 360, so that was nice. I enjoyed that. Of courser to come out on top here it was all about trying not to make too many mistakes. Yeah, really tricky conditions but amazing to win.
Q: It's a day for a wise head. You're such a young man but you still you're wise head on young shoulders. You really kept your head in the most treacherous conditions when others didn't.
MV: Well you learn, isn't it, over the years. Of course very happy with the whole performance today.
Q: Congratulations. Sebastian, well done, you must be so pleased with that, 20th to second.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, thank you. It was a long race, at some stages it felt like it was never-ending. But it was a lot of fun. It was very tough with the conditions. It was very tough to read what was the smartest move, but yeah, I'm just happy.
Q: Did we hear that you had a little turbo problem early on? You seemed to be struggling for pace and then it really came good.
SV: It took a while. I don't think there was a problem but in the beginning with the intermediates I really couldn't get the hang of it. Eventually then I got going so it was good that the afternoon took so long. Obviously I stayed tidy for most of the race but yeah, it was a long one. I don't know if I can recap the whole race now but congratulations to Max, I think he drove superbly, but for us it was just go and get the next car and the next car and the next car.
Q: When did you first smell a podium?
SV: I think before the last safety car, when I realised that I was quite a bit quicker and happy to pass people, it was quite straightforward. I was a little bit faster and could time it right. I saw a lot of people being cautious into the first corner and that's where I was really giving it everything and it worked to get really into DRS range and I had good moves down the back straight but I don't know, this race was so long...
Q: You need to watch your back.
SV: Yeah, exactly.
Q: OK, thanks a lot, Sebastian. Daniil, well done, a podium. Not your first podium but a very enjoyable podium for you.
Daniil Kvyat: Yes, it is amazing to be back on the podium. Incredible for Toro Rosso after so many years to bring as podium to the team is amazing and the race was crazy. Finally I managed to put everything together to get this podium and I'm really happy.
Q: Any big moments? Any scary things going on out there?
DK: It was a horror movie with a black comedy. At some point I thought the race was done for me, but then it came alive again, it was an incredible rollercoaster. A bit like my whole career!
Q: And you're expecting your first child soon as well.
DK: Yeah, she was born last night...+
Q: Oh, fantastic, congratulations.
DK: Thank you very much.
Press Conference
Q: Many congratulations Max, what a bonkers race. How does it feel? How does it compare to the other six wins?
MV: Are you going to keep asking me that question: ‘how does it feel compared to the other ones'? I don't know. It's always different. It's always a different feeling, but this was really good, because it was very tricky out there. We had to stay very focused; we couldn't afford too many mistakes. I mean now, after the race, I can say I did that 360 for the crowd, but at the time it was a bit tricky out there with the medium tyre, very low grip. I think the information between myself and the team was crucial today. I think we made the right calls and that gave us the victory also. Once I was ahead of the Mercedes cars you could really see the pace we had, because I was stuck in the dirty air in the first few laps behind Valtteri but once you are ahead you can basically save your tyres a bit more and everything was a bit more under control. But yeah, good victory.
Q: Great victory. Congratulations. Sebastian, your 50th podium for Ferrari. It's been a bit of an emotional weekend for you if you think what happened yesterday and you've charged through from the back today. Just describe how it feels?
SV: Well, obviously after the disappointing day yesterday, where everything was ready: the crowd was ready; I was ready, the team was ready. Obviously we didn't have qualifying, so starting last today I was very excited about the race in these conditions. Anything can happen. Obviously the racer turned out a lot crazier than I thought beforehand but yeah I'm very happy obviously. I'm very happy for the team first of all. It's a tough period for us. We are pushing very hard, we are doing mistakes, we are not where we want to be, but we need to keep believing in ourselves, in our abilities, our strengths, and I'm confident that our days will come. Obviously today very happy for myself, at my home race and it was great to see the crowd, especially at the end, every time I passed in the car they were really excited. I really did enjoy that. A crazy race, a lot of decisions to make, a lot of communications between the car and the pit wall, but I think we stayed calm and tried to do the best at the time. Most of the time we were right, sometimes we were wrong but we kept it clean and I think that was the key and in the end I really started to come alive in these mixed conditions on dry tyres, we were quite comfortable and able to make good progress, because I think two safety cars to the end I was still not even in the top 10 and I was thinking ‘what happened?' But it was a day like that and a race like that, so I'm quite happy.
Q: Well done. Dany, what a huge race for you. The birth of your daughter last night and what a way to celebrate that. At what point in the race did you realise the podium was on?
DK: Yes, thank you. It was an incredible race for myself, a lot of things going on. I guess it was the same for everyone. The beginning of the race was so-so, I think, I was always around the top 10 and I thought some points were possible today. The first when I chose to go on slicks, it was the wrong moment. The second time I think it was the perfect moment and when I saw that others didn't pit for slicks when I did i thought that's our moment and I was right and I exited in P3. I had to overtook Stroll forP2 and then from there I just had to hope that quicker cars would take time to catch me at the end of the race. So yeah, I'm very happy with this podium. It's fantastic also for the team - 11 years since the last podium, which Sebastian did in 2008. I think everyone is very happy today and we have to be happy. From my side of course I would dedicate this podium to my girlfriend Kelly and to my daughter.
Questions From The Floor
Q: (Luke Smith - crash.net) Dany, your career's been on a bit of a rollercoaster over the past couple of years. To now have this result and this breakthrough, how good does that feel over everything that's happened the last couple of years, and repaying that faith Toro Rosso have shown in you.
DK: Yes, you're right. It was an incredible few years in my life. A lot of realisations in my life because it was sometimes tough times and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and maybe I thought, especially podium, I would never ever have it again, but life just proves that if you work hard and never give up, things are possible. I think that's exactly what happened today. Even the race was tough for everyone, I managed to keep it cool and just... all these three difficult years, just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally. I lost these chains today. It was hard work to reach this moment and hopefully I can send the message out there that I'm ready now to fight for this kind of moment on a consistent basis - and there is no stronger message than a podium like this.
Q: (Arjan Schouten - AD Sportswereld) Question for Max. Big drivers, big champs crashed today. Christian Horner just told Sky that under these chaotic, difficult circumstances, you always stand out, don't lose your head. Can you explain why you are always so talented under these circumstances?
MV: A lot of practice I think, from when I was young, in the wet. Working many hours together with my Dad who, I think, was also pretty decent in the wet. So he always gave me good tips. And not only driving in the wet. It's also making decisions as well, while driving, and paying attention to what's happening around you. And, of course, experience. In life, in Formula 1. I think if you do over 90 races, you have experienced a lot already and, based on that, of course, you can also make better decisions, I think.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll - motorsport-total.com) To all three guys. I guess this is a special result for each and every one of you - but it's probably even more special for Dr Marko because, at some point in your careers, you went through his hands. Can you probably remember a couple of stories with him? Tell us what he meant for your careers and sort of give us some thoughts on that.
SV: He's calling on a regular basis. Not any more for me so regular. I don't miss the early calls at 7am! "How are you?"
MV: "I'm in the gym!"
DK: "Running!"
SV: It probably pops up on your phone as a pre-select message: ‘I'm in the gym'. No, I mean, obviously he has a great talent for spotting young drivers early on and certainly he's very tough and very straightforward - but I think you can learn to cope with that. I'm very grateful for the support that I had throughout my career from his side. I think it's the same for these two. Yeah. I have too many memories; too many stories. Some to share, some not to share, better not to share. He's always been very funny and we still keep in contact and I appreciate him now as a friend very much.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Hockenheim, here.
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