2019 Canadian Grand Prix Press Conference
Race Weekend: Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix Du Canada 2019
It was a race weekend that won’t be forgotten any time soon and whilst we had plenty of battles and close racing throughout, things then took a twist with the actions of Sebastian Vettel after the race and here, you can see the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix Press Conference with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc answering questions….
Question: What a difference 24 hours makes: complete euphoria of yesterday and the frustration of today. Can you just talk us through the incident at Turns Three and Four. What caused you to run wide on entry and is there anything you could have done differently when you were re-joining the track?
Sebastian Vettel: “Well, I lost the rear of the car, so obviously it wasn’t voluntarily going sailing across the track, not knowing how and in which fashion and so on I will be rejoining. I think it is pretty clear I was on the limit. I was pushing very hard throughout the entire race and… yeah.”
“Obviously I was going through the grass and I think it’s quite commonly known that the grass isn’t very grippy.”
“So – you agree? – and then I was coming back on track and just trying to, y’know, make sure I have the car under control. Once I regained control, made sure it was sort-of alright, I looked in the mirrors, and saw Lewis right behind me.”
“As you said, yesterday we had the euphoria and the enthusiasm of a great day. I feel, in a way, the same today. I think we had a great race, the team did fantastic and, yeah, obviously I’m not happy with the decision the stewards took. I think you can understand.”
“It feels a bit weird to sit here, not having won the race even though you crossed the line first. And as I said, I don’t think I have done anything wrong; I don’t feel I could have done anything different. I don’t know, actually, what the problem was.”
“So… yeah. Not much more to say, I think, from my point of view. I think all the people out there, they probably agree with me.”
Question: Were you aware of where Lewis was as you were rejoining?
Sebastian Vettel: “No! How? I’ve got two hands and I had them on the steering wheel, trying to keep the car under my control. So, I don’t know…”
“I think we are pretty good at multi-tasking, driving these cars – but if it is required to drive… to catch the car once you come back from the grass or off the track, maybe one-handed, use the other hand to pull off a tear-off and maybe hit the radio button to talk to the team at the same time, I don’t qualify, I can’t do that. I had, as I said, my hands full, trying to keep the car somewhere in my control.”
“Obviously I knew that Lewis was behind somewhere because he was, like, a second behind, but when I looked in the mirror he was right there. So I was obviously then racing him down to Turn Six.”
Question: And the race pace of your car. What positives can you take away?
Sebastian Vettel: “Yeah, I think overall it’s been a positive weekend and I think a very positive result. Obviously we’re both sitting up here. as I said, on my side, it feels a bit weird but I think the pace was good.”
“I think it was clear to see that Mercedes probably was faster throughout the race but yeah, we managed to fight them off.”
Question: Charles, coming to you. You seem much happier with the car today than during qualifying yesterday?
Charles Leclerc: “Yeah, I was quite a lot happier today. I think race pace was quite strong, so, on that I was very happy. The start was quite tricky with Lewis but I decided to not take any risks.”
“So then, yeah, it was quite a boring race from then-on, trying to manage the tyres in the first eight-nine laps and from then on I started to push. I could feel that we were quite good and, on the second stint, the car felt great.”
“We were very quick. I could feel I was catching a little bit in front. The team asked me to pit to do the fastest lap, and I asked to continue because I could see that the gap was closing. I knew it will be quite difficult to catch them but if there was an opportunity I wanted to be there, so I didn’t give up. At the end, it didn’t pay off.”
“We got third, it’s a good result home, but the team definitely deserved more after such a great weekend. Also, Seb, disappointed for the team and Seb. I think the first position was in our hands and it’s a shame it slipped away the way it did. So hopefully we’ll have other good races in the future.”
Question: (Maxime Sarrasin – 98.5FM) Question for Lewis. What happened, we understood it was your seventh win in Montreal, you equalised the record of Michael Schumacher here. So, what are your thoughts about that? Having equalised the record from him?
Lewis Hamilton: “I have not really thought about it, if I’m really honest. As I was saying earlier, it does kind of feel like a deflated win, naturally. Hopefully by 2021 they redesign the rules better, that enables us to race better than we can currently today.”
“But, this has always been a great hunting ground for me. It’s been a place that I really have loved, and have always felt like I’ve been really accepted and supported here.”
“There’s a lot of Ferrari fans in Canada but nonetheless I still appreciate them. And we get such a great crowd here, y’know. It’s in the top three of the best races of the year, arguably for me.”
“The British Grand Prix is obviously is great for me because I’ve got my home crowd, which is even bigger than this place because it’s a bigger space. When the weather’s great, like today, it’s just one of the most beautiful weekends of the year.”
“So, often have family come out here. I won my first grand prix here, lots of poles, and it’s just been a place that I’ve thoroughly loved driving. So, that’s never going to change. As I I said, I felt a little bit odd, being booed – but it’s not like the first time I’ve been booed. I’m used to it – and I forgive.”
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