2015 Brazilian Grand Prix : KVYAT FINISHES SEVENTH, RICCIARDO 12TH AT THE BRAZIL GRAND PRIXBy InfinitiDANIIL KVYAT, Finish Position: 7th Start Position: 6th*'Today we extracted pretty much the maximum out of what we could have done. Unfortunately we got undercut by Force India at the first pit stop which compromised our race a bit. After that I was following Hulkenberg all the time, and it was quite hard to find a place to overtake. We were stuck behind him trying to attack, but they were controlling us in a straight line so it wasn't easy. I got in DRS range a couple of times, but it didn't really help. Anyway we have to be happy with those six points at this track. All in all we had a very controlled qualifying yesterday and a controlled race today, so it couldn't have been much better.'DANIEL RICCIARDO, Finish Position: 12th, Start Position: 19th*'In the first few laps we made up some positions and did what we could, and then we went for an aggressive first stop. When we put the primes on, we didn't really have the tire life we thought we would, so we still had to do a three stop race, running at a pretty similar pace to the cars around us. Parts of the race were a little bit boring, although I had a nice battle with Sergio for a few laps, which was encouraging. I had to get around him twice, and that kept me excited for a while. Clearly my grid penalty didn't help today, but Abu Dhabi's next and that has always been a good circuit for us. I enjoy it a lot, so for the last race of the season we'll hopefully finish strong and in the points.'CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal 'We knew this was going to be a difficult track for us and we were proved right this afternoon, even though the team and the drivers did their utmost to bring home the best possible result. Overtaking is very difficult here, and we couldn't match the pace of the quickest cars down the straight. We clearly weren't alone in this as only four cars finished on the lead lap. Dany finished where he qualified to bring home some valuable points. As for Daniel, who made up seven places from his grid position, we tried giving him a short final stint on the softer tire to see if he could catch and pass some cars in the closing laps, but today it didn't pay off.'MATTHIEU DUBOIS, Renault'It has been a tough weekend for us, and to be honest the Paris attacks have overshadowed anything that has happened here in Interlagos. We decided from the outset to take a heavy penalty to introduce a new engine specification and learn as much as we could. We know there is still work to extract the performance. The penalty resulted in Daniel finishing out of the points, but the result with Daniil could not have been a lot better. Nevertheless it is positive to see all the measures introduced are paying off in terms of reliability again, including the new engine. Above all we would like to reiterate our strongest thoughts to the victims of Friday and their families.'*Car number 26 qualified in P7 and car number 3 qualified in P9PREVIEWDaniil KvyatQ1: We've just come from a race in Mexico that had an incredible atmosphere, and now we're going to another with a similarly crazy crowd: the Brazilian Grand Prix. Is it a race you enjoy?Kvyat: Definitely. It's one of F1's classic tracks, and the atmosphere is always great. I think they have done some rebuilding there, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the paddock has changed. It was the smallest of the year and kind of difficult for teams to work in, and it will be good to see what has been done. But whatever they have done, I don't think it will change the atmosphere. It's always amazing with the fans so close to the track. They really have a big passion for Formula One and the feeling is always good on the grid there – even though it's a bit crazy.Q2: What about the Interlagos circuit itself?Kvyat: It's a good circuit, and like I said it's one of the classics. It's got good changes of elevation. It's quite quick with short laps and there are some good overtaking spots. It's nice to drive; it has a good flow to it with some good high-speed corners, which is what drivers always enjoy.It has some great memories for me, because I did my second free practice in F1 there in 2013 with Toro Rosso. It was wet but I really enjoyed it, and I finished I think eighth or ninth Dany was P8. Last year's race with Toro Rosso wasn't great. I had a grid penalty and started 17th, but I managed to finish 11th.Q3: And away from the track, what do you make of the city?Kvyat: It's enormous. It's hard to get a good feel for it really because it's so big, but the food there is really good and it has got some really nice restaurants if you know where to go.Daniel RicciardoQ1: What's the secret to a great lap of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace?Ricciardo: Don't ask me. I don't know – I don't think I've ever done one, so I've got no secrets. What I have learned is that you shouldn't think ahead too much. You have to take it corner by corner and concentrate on the one you're in. There's not many that you string together. There's not many corners full stop.Q2: It's not your favorite circuit is it?Ricciardo: What gave it away? No – Brazil's a wonderful Grand Prix with a great atmosphere in an exciting city, but the track doesn't really do it for me. There's just not a corner that gives you any real satisfaction. I don't want to make it sound dull, because it isn't, but like Russia, there isn't a corner that makes you go 'woo-hoo!' It needs a few more corners and something really high speed. There's a couple that look good on paper, but because of the cambers you never really have the grip to go barreling in. The crowd really gets your heart rate up before the sessions, so you want to be really on it, but instead have to be very patient.Q3: Tell us about the crowd. You must hear them at the start?Ricciardo: Oh yeah. The start-finish straight is very narrow, so if your grid slot is on the outside, you're about two meters away from the grandstand. You better hope they like you because if not, you're a pretty easy target when you're pulling your helmet on. It's a good time though. Lots of noise. Lots of airhorns, trumpets, drums. Like Mexico, it's the crowd you want for a Grand Prix. Brazilians are cool.Q4: How about away from the track? What do you do?Ricciardo: Food! Amazing restaurants. Last year we went to Restaurante Figueira Rubaiyat, with the fig tree growing through the middle of the dining room. That was pretty special. Sadly, it not being the season finale. I can't really indulge – but I can watch other people.
2015 Brazilian Grand Prix : KVYAT FINISHES SEVENTH, RICCIARDO 12TH AT THE BRAZIL GRAND PRIX
By InfinitiDANIIL KVYAT, Finish Position: 7th Start Position: 6th*'Today we extracted pretty much the maximum out of what we could have done. Unfortunately we got undercut by Force India at the first pit stop which compromised our race a bit. After that I was following Hulkenberg all the time, and it was quite hard to find a place to overtake. We were stuck behind him trying to attack, but they were controlling us in a straight line so it wasn't easy. I got in DRS range a couple of times, but it didn't really help. Anyway we have to be happy with those six points at this track. All in all we had a very controlled qualifying yesterday and a controlled race today, so it couldn't have been much better.'DANIEL RICCIARDO, Finish Position: 12th, Start Position: 19th*'In the first few laps we made up some positions and did what we could, and then we went for an aggressive first stop. When we put the primes on, we didn't really have the tire life we thought we would, so we still had to do a three stop race, running at a pretty similar pace to the cars around us. Parts of the race were a little bit boring, although I had a nice battle with Sergio for a few laps, which was encouraging. I had to get around him twice, and that kept me excited for a while. Clearly my grid penalty didn't help today, but Abu Dhabi's next and that has always been a good circuit for us. I enjoy it a lot, so for the last race of the season we'll hopefully finish strong and in the points.'CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal
'We knew this was going to be a difficult track for us and we were proved right this afternoon, even though the team and the drivers did their utmost to bring home the best possible result. Overtaking is very difficult here, and we couldn't match the pace of the quickest cars down the straight. We clearly weren't alone in this as only four cars finished on the lead lap. Dany finished where he qualified to bring home some valuable points. As for Daniel, who made up seven places from his grid position, we tried giving him a short final stint on the softer tire to see if he could catch and pass some cars in the closing laps, but today it didn't pay off.'MATTHIEU DUBOIS, Renault'It has been a tough weekend for us, and to be honest the Paris attacks have overshadowed anything that has happened here in Interlagos. We decided from the outset to take a heavy penalty to introduce a new engine specification and learn as much as we could. We know there is still work to extract the performance. The penalty resulted in Daniel finishing out of the points, but the result with Daniil could not have been a lot better. Nevertheless it is positive to see all the measures introduced are paying off in terms of reliability again, including the new engine. Above all we would like to reiterate our strongest thoughts to the victims of Friday and their families.'*Car number 26 qualified in P7 and car number 3 qualified in P9PREVIEWDaniil KvyatQ1: We've just come from a race in Mexico that had an incredible atmosphere, and now we're going to another with a similarly crazy crowd: the Brazilian Grand Prix. Is it a race you enjoy?Kvyat: Definitely. It's one of F1's classic tracks, and the atmosphere is always great. I think they have done some rebuilding there, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the paddock has changed. It was the smallest of the year and kind of difficult for teams to work in, and it will be good to see what has been done. But whatever they have done, I don't think it will change the atmosphere. It's always amazing with the fans so close to the track. They really have a big passion for Formula One and the feeling is always good on the grid there – even though it's a bit crazy.Q2: What about the Interlagos circuit itself?Kvyat: It's a good circuit, and like I said it's one of the classics. It's got good changes of elevation. It's quite quick with short laps and there are some good overtaking spots. It's nice to drive; it has a good flow to it with some good high-speed corners, which is what drivers always enjoy.It has some great memories for me, because I did my second free practice in F1 there in 2013 with Toro Rosso. It was wet but I really enjoyed it, and I finished I think eighth or ninth Dany was P8. Last year's race with Toro Rosso wasn't great. I had a grid penalty and started 17th, but I managed to finish 11th.Q3: And away from the track, what do you make of the city?Kvyat: It's enormous. It's hard to get a good feel for it really because it's so big, but the food there is really good and it has got some really nice restaurants if you know where to go.Daniel RicciardoQ1: What's the secret to a great lap of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace?Ricciardo: Don't ask me. I don't know – I don't think I've ever done one, so I've got no secrets. What I have learned is that you shouldn't think ahead too much. You have to take it corner by corner and concentrate on the one you're in. There's not many that you string together. There's not many corners full stop.Q2: It's not your favorite circuit is it?Ricciardo: What gave it away? No – Brazil's a wonderful Grand Prix with a great atmosphere in an exciting city, but the track doesn't really do it for me. There's just not a corner that gives you any real satisfaction. I don't want to make it sound dull, because it isn't, but like Russia, there isn't a corner that makes you go 'woo-hoo!' It needs a few more corners and something really high speed. There's a couple that look good on paper, but because of the cambers you never really have the grip to go barreling in. The crowd really gets your heart rate up before the sessions, so you want to be really on it, but instead have to be very patient.Q3: Tell us about the crowd. You must hear them at the start?Ricciardo: Oh yeah. The start-finish straight is very narrow, so if your grid slot is on the outside, you're about two meters away from the grandstand. You better hope they like you because if not, you're a pretty easy target when you're pulling your helmet on. It's a good time though. Lots of noise. Lots of airhorns, trumpets, drums. Like Mexico, it's the crowd you want for a Grand Prix. Brazilians are cool.Q4: How about away from the track? What do you do?Ricciardo: Food! Amazing restaurants. Last year we went to Restaurante Figueira Rubaiyat, with the fig tree growing through the middle of the dining room. That was pretty special. Sadly, it not being the season finale. I can't really indulge – but I can watch other people.