Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 1st):
“I have faced many drivers in 28 years on the circuits.
I have come across a lot of different characters and few cross the line.
Some people make exceptions to the rule or don't think about it (…) Max is beyond the limit, that's for sure.
I have repeatedly avoided collisions with him.
I don't always worry about that because I do it to stay in the fight (…) I don't quite understand why (Verstappen) suddenly braked hard (on lap 37).
I hit him and he accelerated again.
I didn't understand what was going on, it was only after I got a message telling me that he was going to let me through.
It was quite disturbing.
To discover
Formula 1: manufacturer ranking
Formula 1: drivers ranking
Read alsoFormula 1: Has Hamilton gained the upper hand over Verstappen in the title race?
With all of my experience I have tried to keep the car on the track and keep it clean.
It was difficult but our team persevered.
We had to face so much in the second half of the season.
So I am very proud of everyone.
Red Bull has a great pace.
They were so fast, it was really hard to pass them here.
But we did well.
Valtteri (Bottas) did a good job today, he brought in points for the team. ”
There should be fair play on the track.
Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff (Mercedes director):
“I think Lewis deserved his victory.
He could have given up several times with his front wing broken.
I don't want to wash my dirty clothes in public but it was a spectacular race, not a great race (…) The driving really needs to be looked at.
He (Verstappen) was tough, very tough, maybe over the top.
We want a clean championship and the best rider to win.
If it's Max, then so be it.
But there should be fair play on the track. ”
(Skysports)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull, 2nd):
“(On his title of best GP driver) Fortunately the fans understand motorsport well, because what happened today is incredible. I'm just trying to race, and in this sport these days it's more about penalties than racing. For me, that's not Formula 1, but at least the fans had fun. I gave it my all today, but I was clearly not fast enough. I'm still happy with second place (…) A lot of things have happened that I don't completely agree with, but that's how it is. I don't want to talk too much about it because (the commissioners) don't deserve a single word from me. I slowed down (on lap 37). I wanted to let it pass, so I was on the right,but he didn't want to overtake and then we touched. I don't really understand what happened. "
We feel like we are not being treated the same.
Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko (Red Bull advisor):
“Our engineers are preparing proof that Max was consistent with his braking, he didn't do a brake test like Hamilton said. Then he hit our car, unfortunately he cut the rear tire twice. It was so bad that we couldn't attack anymore. We had to lose speed. It was the first thing. Then, in the second start, Hamilton was more than ten lengths behind. Vettel was penalized in Budapest for doing this. But with this maneuver, he (Hamilton) better prepared his tire for the start. Then he pushed Max, no reaction. So we feel like we're not being treated the same (…) I don't think there's a reason Max should calm down. This is the match between Mercedes and Red Bull,and the match between Max and Lewis. And remember what happened at Silverstone, what happened in Budapest. Don't forget that. ” (Motorsport.com)
Read alsoThe battle of the Hamilton-Verstappen chefs, an outdated race direction ... Our tops / flops of the Saudi Arabian GP
Esteban Ocon (Alpine, 4th):
“These are complicated feelings for the moment. We gave everything in this race, clearly. (...) The team did an incredible job, the car was great, but we are not in the same league as Mercedes (and its driver Valtteri Bottas, 3rd, editor's note). Losing this third place 10 seconds from the end is very frustrating. But that's the plan, as Fernando says (Alonso, his teammate, editor's note), we get closer, we get the most out of the car. When we have the rhythm of the others, we will be dangerous and that's what we work for. So I'm very proud of everyone, of all of our decisions, everything was great but it's a tough end. ”
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri, 6th):
“Super happy! Another Top 6, we finished ahead of the two Ferraris, it's rather incredible. I also pass the 100 point mark in one season, which was my high target. Very happy with that and for the team. ”
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 7th):
“Pfff ... It's a shame!
The first part of the race was really solid, it's a shame we couldn't capitalize on it.
I tried to preserve my tires but the first three did not widen the gap (on him in 4th position, editor's note).
Then there was the safety car and the red flag.
We lost places on this.
We had to put on the hard tires for the second start, and I don't know what happened, but we had a hard time warming them up and I lost a lot of positions with each new start.
Then, my pace allowed me to take a few places but not enough.
The potential was better. ”