Daniel Ricciardo: “Quite an eventful race. Sometimes this track doesn’t offer that, but this weekend it was both qualifying and racing. A lot has happened. I think my start was somehow too good! I had to get out and then come back in again So we lost a few positions there, but then made a few backs on the first lap. So there were some good moments. I defended pretty well in the first stint, then made a couple of good passes in the second stint, but then fought towards the end of the hard tire.
“Then the rain came and everything turned upside down. The in-lap was sketchy. I think Carlos [Sainz] went to turn seven, then me, then Max [Verstappen]. I think Max saw us both and just started less and was able to overtake there. Then we got out on the Inters and I could see Carlos in front of me. In the final laps I felt like I was catching up with him a little, but it was a little too late. I just missed the podium, but P4 is a solid result. Good points and I think in these difficult conditions it’s always nice to come out with a clean nose. There are definitely some positives and, personally, a few more things to work on, so let’s keep our heads down. “
Lando Norris: “It wasn’t the race or the result that we wanted in the end. I had a good start and we had a good first stint. Right at the end, when the rain started, we made the call to not box and that cost us everything. We made the right decision back then for the conditions at the time. It was my call, along with the information from the team, and we have to examine together what we could have done better. It is incredibly disappointing, of course, because we were strong all weekend and today I felt good with the pace and the car. The team did a great job and I want to thank them for all their hard work. The result is of course not a reflection of our weekend, but we can Take away a lot of positive things, and now we have to analyze, reset and get back on our feet in Turkey. “
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: “We are of course disappointed that we finished 4th and 7th at the Russian Grand Prix today, given the positions we had three laps before the end of the race. Both Lando and Daniel are positive and the whole team has shown strong performances all weekend, which is very encouraging for the final third of the season. Thanks to the team on the track and in the factory as well as to our colleagues from Mercedes HPP for their hard work and commitment.
“The decision to stay on the slicks with Lando will certainly be heeded, while we were on intermediate tires with Daniel relatively soon. At the end of the race there were tricky calls when it started raining and that’s never easy Unfortunately, it didn’t work out on Lando’s side today. As always, we will analyze that as a team together with the drivers, learn from them and come back stronger.
“Finally, congratulations to Lewis on his historic 100th win. Everyone at McLaren Racing is proud of what they have achieved since they first raced with us 14 years ago.”
Check out our Sunday gallery from Sochi here.
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