Chinese GP - Post-race press conference - Pt.2

Questions from the floor.

Q: (Gary Rose - The Press Association).
Lewis, another podium finish and another great drive. There were some reports out today that you're not speaking with your father. Do you feel that that is the case and that you're doing perfectly fine on your own at the moment?

Lewis Hamilton:
Yeah, I'm doing perfectly fine, enjoying life, taking my time in the decision process of finding a new manager, in no particular rush. I'm speaking to the family, I don't speak to them every single day but things are fine.

Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Motor und Sport).
To Jenson and Lewis: who made your decision at the beginning to come in or not to come in for tyres?

LH:
For me, I was speaking to the guys down the back straight and they weren't clear whether we should come in or not. I came on the radio at the last corner I think it was, when the safety car came out and said 'shall I box now?' and there wasn't a fast enough communication between the team and they didn't get back to me in time. I got halfway round the last corner and I think they said something, I think they said 'box this lap' and so I turned right but I wasn't really sure, so I just pulled in and at the end of the day it wasn't the right call, whether it was mine or theirs. At the last moment, I think I turned because I thought that that was what I was meant to do. Unfortunately it lost us a little bit of ground but we made up for it.

Jenson Button:
The call at the start of the race; we discussed it on the radio, the same as Lewis, on the back straight and they said 'pit this lap if you feel it's too wet,' so I decided to stay out. And then later on in the race, they made the call to go to inters, which was definitely the right call. I was thinking of staying out again and they made the right call there: one all. I think what won us the race today was the right calls for the right conditions and being on the right tyre at the right time. It makes such a difference.

Q:
Jenson, how satisfying is this to get one over Red Bull? They sat where you are yesterday, very pleased after qualifying, and you both said on Friday that you suspected that they could go a lot quicker. How satisfying was this?

JB:
I don't think it's just because Red Bull were sat here. It's always massively satisfying when you win a Grand Prix, it means so much, and when you get a one-two with the team. It's been a long time for myself and it's been a long time for Lewis, I think, since we've had one-twos. So yeah, it's a very special feeling and I can't wait to get back there and see the team. They do so much work over the weekends and I can't wait to get back down there and see them. This is a great result for us, and I'm leading the championship now. Red Bull have been very quick all year, like they were last year at the start of the season, but we're leading the championship at the moment which is a great position to be in. There's still a lot of work to do to find some pace but that's what we're working on, we're working very hard and it's great to get these results when maybe we haven't quite got the legs on the Red Bulls, so these points mean a lot to us, and hopefully when we get to Barcelona, we will be there fighting with the Red Bulls in qualifying and the race.

LH:
Like Jenson said, it's a great feeling for the team, rather than worrying about whether or not we beat the others. Obviously we want to finish ahead of the others but it's more the effort that the team puts together and the effort that we all put in through all the testing we did, to finally be here, having the pace but not quite getting it in qualifying but finally our first one-two in a race. I know the team have all got their red shirts on, for sure, and we will be celebrating tonight.

Q: (St?phane Barb? - L'Equipe).
Lewis, please could you tell us a little bit about your pit stop alongside Vettel? Even the entry into the pit lane was quite tricky.

LH:
I don't really remember too much about it. I think Vettel got on the outside of me on the exit of the last corner; I was worried that he was going to turn into the last corner and I was going straight, so I just kept going and he came with me. We got round into the pit lane, it was fine. When I did the pit stop the guys waited for some time to let all the cars go past and they released me at what I thought was a good time and there's a big, long, blue line down the pit lane which is all painted and it's so slippery. As soon as I hit that I had some major wheel spin and lost a bit of traction. Unfortunately that let Vettel get alongside me, but otherwise it was good racing.

Q: (Beniamino Natale - Ansa).
Nico, looks like you are driver number one in your team and number two is Michael Schumacher, so my question is, how does it feel?

Nico Rosberg:
It's definitely not the case. From the beginning on we have been even in the team and I was saying even before, when everybody saw Michael was number one and me number two it's even, we both get the same possibilities, but of course I'm very, very happy with the way it's going for me, really getting some consistent results, making the best of it, so I'm really pleased with my season so far. And it's nice also, I'm bonding well with the whole team, it's been important for me also to work hard to get some respect also within the team and things like that as soon as possible, and I think I've managed to do that quite well, so I have quite a strong position now in the team which is really nice, so that's why I have quite high hopes for what's to come.

Q: (Marco Degl'Innocenti - La Gazzetta dello Sport).
The same issue: yesterday, when I asked Ross Brawn if the pupil has overcome the teacher he said 'at the moment.' Do you think this moment will last long?

NR:
I don't know. Before the season I was hoping to be on one level with Michael, that would have been fantastic for the whole season and at the moment I'm in front which is great but I expect him to be right there again at the next weekend of course and to be fighting with him would be fantastic for the rest of the season and would be good for the team also. I'm very confident that I can do a great job all year.

Q: (Chinese media).
To all the drivers: because of the volcano eruption, a lot of airports are closed. So what are your plans after this race?

JB:
I was always going to go away for a few days, relaxing after this one, but I'm hopefully going to be heading back to Europe at the end of the week, so we will see about that. We might all be driving back which would be fun.

NR:
Trans-Siberian train.

JB:
We'll rent some cars and race it back. No. Sorry. Go on the train.

LH:
I've got a sponsor appearance in South Africa, so I've got to travel there and then go back to Europe.

JB:
You do so many sponsor appearances!

NR:
For me, I'd always planned to go to Thailand, so I'm going to go to Thailand for a week and then back to Europe after that.

JB:
See you there.

Q: (Chinese media).
Jenson, it seems that your tactics were quite similar in Australia and in Shanghai and you have had good fortune in both. It seems you are good at start strategy; was it similar in Australia and here?

JB:
I don't know. It's a difficult one to answer but I felt that it was the right thing to do, to stay out. A few other drivers did it as well. I wasn't alone in that one. Yeah, I'm sure I will make the wrong calls as well. It doesn't always happen that you get the right call. Sometimes you've got to take those risks and that's what we did and it paid off again.

Q: (Chinese media).
Lewis, what was your feeling when you followed Michael, do you feel any pressure after that kind of exciting fighting, and you're successful? What's the secret?

LH:
It's just as exciting as racing with any other driver.

Q: (Chinese media).
To Lewis and Jenson, as we all know, this is the last year of the contract between FOM and Shanghai and maybe this is the last time you are appearing here. What is your deepest impression of Shanghai?

JB:
I like this circuit. It's never going to be our decision whether we're racing here next year, but I think you guys have done a great job with this circuit and I think that the facilities are pretty special, there aren't many circuits like this. And I think you've had some great racing here. You've had a different winner every year since this Grand Prix started so yeah, I think it's a great Grand Prix, but it's not my decision and I don't know the ins and outs of the situation, so it's unfair for me to say whether it should be on the calendar or not.

LH:
I think it's a very, very impressive city, lots of great restaurants, seems to be surrounded by lots and lots of good people. There's something like 24m people here, so it's huge in comparison to all the other cities we go to. But when it comes to the track, for me I love this track, I've always generally gone well here. Not the best memory in terms of the end result in 2007 but a great weekend. 2008 was a great weekend. Generally, every trip here has been fantastic for me. And one particular thing I would say is the fans. You travel the world and you go to all these different races and you have lots of fans at each track, but I've never known - apart from the British fans who come here and back home - this is probably the second most incredible place in terms of the support you get from the fans. They're waiting at your hotel in the morning, they're waiting at the airport and they buy you gifts and they're just so excited and enthusiastic. I've got a flag in my room which was given to me by a fan. I've got all these letters back in my room which I have read and I think that for me, that's what powers the season and through the race weekend, so I'm most appreciative of that.

JB:
It's also great to see so many people here. The grandstand was pretty much full today, which assumes that the sport is getting bigger and bigger here in China which is very good to see.