Lewis Hamilton claimed the victory at Spa, beating Mark Webber, Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa...
McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton: "After the DNF in Hungary, this last push in the championship couldn't have started better for me; this victory was the perfect way to bounce back. Spa is always one of the most challenging races on the calendar, and I'm ecstatic that I'm now able to tick it off and say that I've won here. At the start, I was able to pace myself and maintain the gap - every time the cars behind increased their pace, I was able to answer. Then, when the conditions changed, I had a wide moment at Turn Eight - and I was on the edge of my seat! Fortunately, I got out of it, took a step back, regained my focus, and took control again. I was so relieved to cross the line at the end of the race - it was an overwhelming feeling! I feel really sorry for Jenson, though. He did a great job. I got around Turn One, looked in my mirrors, saw him picking up places, and thought, 'That's good, that's good.' Then he got up to second, and I thought, 'That's fantastic - another opportunity for a one-two.' Then, cruelly, he was taken out through no fault of his own - which was really unfortunate for him, and for the team, because he did everything he could to get us the most points in the constructors' championship today. But he'll bounce back even stronger. It may sound an obvious thing to say, but I'll say it anyway: I love racing. It's in my blood, and I missed it so much during the summer break. So to finally get a win here at Spa - in the trickiest of conditions - is fantastic. I couldn't have done it without the team though. Without them putting in such a great effort, we wouldn't be here today. It almost feels like this is my first win - it's just phenomenal!"
Jenson Button: "It was looking really good this afternoon. I got up to second easily enough, but my left-hand front-wing endplate had been damaged on lap one, which meant I had to dial maximum angle into it, and that made the rear twitchy without giving me any more front. As a result, it was pretty tricky to keep the others behind, but I was having a good fight in the wet conditions, and I seemed to be able to find grip better than the other people around me. I was doing a decent job of keeping my position, and doing it fairly. Then, as everyone knows, I had an incident with Sebastian [Vettel]. I certainly didn't brake any earlier than usual. All I know is I suddenly felt a big bang in the sidepod, which ripped the radiator out, and then I lost drive. I've watched it on TV now, and I'd say it was a very strange incident. Clearly, he didn't do it on purpose, and I gather he's now apologised, but I have to say I've got no idea what he was doing. It's a massive blow to my world championship hopes. All I can do now is look forward to Monza. I love that track, and I'll be doing my best to score a lot of points there."
Red Bull:
Mark Webber: "The start was a mess, it wasn't ideal to lose that many positions, but fortunately it's not Monaco or Barcelona where the positions often don't change during the race. I was able to overtake a few guys on the first few laps and get some of the positions back - I knew the race would be quite long after that and to get second place was a good result. It was very challenging in the last part of the Grand Prix and it was difficult to keep the car on track. I can't believe the top three qualifiers finished on the podium with all the changing conditions! It was a good day for me. It was unfortunate for the team that we didn't get some more points, but we're still leading the Constructors' Championship and hopefully we will do in Monza."
Sebastian Vettel: "What happened, happened and we can't change it now. Obviously I'm not proud of it, I lost the car going over the bump as I was braking and unfortunately hit Jenson, so he couldn't continue. I'm sorry for him. We'll have to see what we can do at the next races."
Renault:
Robert Kubica: "This is a great result for the team after a weekend when we were competitive in every session, and we were racing with McLaren and Red Bull. Nobody was expecting us to be at this level in Spa, so I think we can be pleased with the work we have done. The conditions were very difficult at the start, and the track was damp before and after the Safety Car came out. I was running in fourth place when Button and Vettel collided, and I think I could have gone quicker than Jenson during that part of the race. When the track was clear, I was able to push to the limit and the car felt really good. Webber stopped before me to change onto the prime tyre, but the mechanics did a great job to get me out in front of him and, although it was very close up the hill after Eau Rouge, I held onto the position and then even pulled away a little bit. When the rain came again, the circuit was very slippery, but I was catching Lewis on the lap when we stopped. As I came into the pit lane, I told myself to take it easy because it was so slippery, but there were a number of controls I had to change on the steering wheel. I was distracted doing this and that was my mistake: when I looked up, it was past the braking point, I locked up the front wheels and collided with some of the mechanics - fortunately without hurting anybody. That cost me one position, but it was a race in which mistakes were very easy to make, so we can be happy that I maintained my position from the start and that our pace was very competitive."
Vitaly Petrov: "Scoring points was the target today, so it's good to finish ninth. My start was okay and I then tried to push hard and come through the field, which is what I did. The race was nice, but the conditions were very difficult and it was hard to choose which tyres to use. The team made some good decisions and I stayed a long time on the slicks, so I think we made the best of it. After my mistake yesterday in qualifying, I showed that we have the pace to always be in the top ten and I hope next time I can qualify much better so I don't have to overtake so many cars. We also had the f-duct this weekend, which gave me good speed on the straights and helped me in my battle with Rosberg, so it looks good for the coming races."
Ferrari:
Felipe Massa: "I think this is a positive result and, given the way the race went and the accidents that put Vettel and Button out of the game, we can even say we were a bit lucky. This weekend, Red Bull and McLaren were stronger than us, but we worked well as a team, making the right choices before and during the race. Our set-up was a bit more efficient in the dry, while we suffered a bit in the wet, especially in the middle sector, while in the first two we were reasonably competitive. Now we go to Monza, for our home race: we hope to do well at a track where speed and stability under braking count for a lot. We will continue to fight right to the end, even if the situation in the championship is ever more compromised."
Fernando Alonso: "The first of the seven "finals" went badly for me and for two of the other five finalists, while the remaining two got the maximum results: that means we will have to make up the ground lost today somewhere else. At the start, I immediately made up some places and the signs were that I could have a good race. Then, I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time, when Rubens could not control his car under braking and crashed into me. I came straight back to the pits to change the tyres and to check the car was alright, when we fitted intermediate tyres, expecting more persistent and harder rain, but that was not the case. Yesterday we were hoping for rain, but when it came it was already too late to be of much use to me; on the contrary it prevented me from getting the chance to overtake the cars which would have had to stop to fit the soft tyres. Then I went off the track, when I went over a kerb and that was my race over: a shame even if the points I could have brought home would not have been a lot. It is very disappointing, because this is a bad result, but it does not mean I have given up on my chances of winning the title."
