In his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, Sebastian Vettel concluded his weekend with a highly popular second place finish, with emotions running high today on the Monza podium and in the Scuderia camp in general.
The German was overpowered by Lewis Hamilton from the start and after gauging his pace against the dominant Mercedes in the early laps, and hoping to remain in close contact with Hamilton, decided to settle into his own race for a relatively isolated afternoon run.
"I pushed as hard as possible,' admitted Vettel. "But I think Lewis, to some extent, did the same. I guess we struggled more with the tyres than Lewis because he was able to do the same laps times after 22 laps than he did on lap 4, which is quite impressive."
"We knew it would be tough even to stay in front of Nico, who got closer and closer. But I think we had a good chance of keeping second even without his problem, so there are plenty of reasons to smile today."
At the finish, Vettel was greeted by an overwhelmed Maurizio Arrivabene who offered his driver a lengthy squeeze which attested to the satisfaction and sense of fulfillment enjoyed by the red squad.
"I'm not a typically hugging person but it was big weekend for us, and he deserved a big hug. Obviously, we've been through a lot in the last two weeks in all fairness, with a lot of talks. Some good, some bad. It's a lot of pressure off of our shoulders."
"Thanks to all the tifosi for giving me those emotions today on the podium: it's fantastic to see so many fans, feel the support we get as a team."
"It just makes our lives so much more worth living when you see all the fans coming underneath the podium. In terms of emotions it's more than a victory."
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