Greater Noida: Moments after winning the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, double world champion driver Sebastian Vettel described his performance as “fantastic” and said he is very happy to win the first ever Formula One race hosted by this country.
“Today is a fantastic performance – It is great to be winning the first ever Grand Prix of India. To put this arena so well is fantastic. Whole in one it is fantastic. I want to thank everyone for our win,” said Vettel who registered his 11th triumph of the season on Sunday.
Vettel paid tribute to MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli and IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon, who succumbed to fatal crashes recently while racing in different circuits.
“We pray that every time nothing happens as Marco Simoncelli and Dan Wheldon disappeared last week-end and we will never forget these young commited two drivers,” he said.
The Red Bull driver said his team is still hungry to win and he is looking forward to races at Abu Dhabi and Brazil.
“The car is fantastic. The team is enjoying the performance. When I walk in the garage, I see that the guys are working very hard. We are still hungry. It is a fantastic achievement. I am looking at the two next races,” said Vettel, who will next bid to equal Michael Schumacher’s 13 F1 win record in a season.
The 24-year-old said the circuit was challenging and a good start was very important.
“It is very challenging. It is very easy to go over the limit and to end up in the dust. Then you have to fight your way back. It is not so easy with traffic,” he said.
“The start was important. I was focusing a lot on turn 3. It was crucial to have a clean exit. I was able to pull away in the first laps. Jenson pitted. We had to react. The second sting was more tricky to manage.” (PTI)
