A thrilling Brazilian Grand
Prix at Interlagos yesterday saw Michael Schumacher end his Formula One
career with a battling seventh place finish, whilst Nico Rosberg came home in
15th position after a dramatic and rain-affected race.
- Both drivers suffered a
puncture from debris in the early stages of the race which compromised their
afternoons
- Michael stopped four times
on laps 5, 8, 17 and 54, with a prime/prime/inter/prime/inter tyre usage
- Nico also came into the pits
four times on laps 9, 18, 20 and 50, using option/inter/prime/prime/inter tyres
Michael Schumacher
What an exciting and eventful Grand Prix!
Strangely enough, my last ever Formula One race began with a puncture which
pushed me down the running order. But it’s always been my philosophy to never
give up - there’s always a chance, you just have to keep going and seize it
when it comes. It’s a strange sort of coincidence that I’ve ended my Formula
One career now in P7, which was my first ever qualifying result at Spa-Francorchamps
308 races ago. It also occurs to me that I was driving with the number seven on
my car yesterday and that I have seven world championship trophies in my
cabinet. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel on claiming his third world title
in a row. I’m very proud of Sebastian and really thrilled for him. As early as
the first lap, I suddenly found him blocking the track facing the wrong way,
but then the two of us both staged great comebacks in the race. His performance
also showed that you just have to keep plugging away. Even under these
difficult conditions, my final Formula One race was tremendous fun, and I would
once again like to thank the team and all my fans for their support over the
past years. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together very much indeed.
Nico Rosberg
That was definitely the longest race of my life yesterday!
The start was pretty good, and I was running in the top eight. After the
puncture however, there was damage to the floor and I lost a lot of
performance. So unfortunately I had no chance to fight back from there. It must
have been a fantastic race for the fans here in Interlagos and watching on the
TV and I hope they enjoyed the show. Congratulations to Sebastian on the world
title which is very well deserved. For myself, I am now looking forward to next
year and the chance to attack again. Many thanks to the team for all of their
efforts this year which saw our first win together, and we can look forward to
making further progress and a better 2013.
Ross Brawn
We saw a very dramatic race yesterday and a
fitting finale to a great season for Formula One. From our perspective, the two
punctures early on put us in a difficult position with both cars. Nico’s car
suffered a lot of damage and that made his race very difficult. Michael’s puncture
wasn’t as severe and the team did a good job to recover, with some help from
the safety car. Michael showed all of the skills that we know he has yesterday
to salvage his race; considered overtaking, good decisions on tyre strategy,
and he kept the car on the road to bring us home some points. It was a nice way
to finish the season and his career with us. In terms of results, his second
spell in Formula One hasn’t been as special but it has been so for all of us
who have had the privilege of working with him. It has been a real honour for
all of the boys and girls at our team, and working alongside Michael gives you
a real understanding of why he is so special and has achieved seven world
championships. He will be missed and we all wish him the very best for the
future. Congratulations to Sebastian on achieving his third world title yesterday,
a very impressive achievement.
Norbert Haug
What an incredibly dramatic way to round off a
long championship season! Michael and Nico had to make unplanned stops for punctures
caused by debris on the track, losing a lot of time in the process. Both cars
sustained damage to their underbody as a result, which affected down force and
pushed up lap times, with Nico’s car suffering more than Michael’s. In his
final race, Michael mastered the difficult, damp conditions on the track in
impressive style, battling his way through to seventh place. It was great to
see Michael overcoming all these problems to finish among the points in his
last ever Formula One race. We thank Michael not only for his tremendous
dedication and his racing achievements for our team, but also for those great
personal qualities that he manifested at all times. The three seasons he spent
with us will always serve as a model of team play at its best. Congratulations
to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing on wrapping up the world championship
hat-trick. To become world champion three years in succession is a remarkable
feat that has been achieved by only two previous drivers - Juan Manuel Fangio
and Michael Schumacher.
