FIA Formula 1 WorldChampionship 2020 - Seasons Final - Abu Dhabi GP, Yas Marina Circiuit - 11.-13.12.2020, Winner MAX Verstappen, 2. Bottas, 3. Hamilton ! - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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RedBull Racing Team - quotes -

CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal
“A win was the best possible way to sign off the 2020 season in what has been a challenging and disrupted year. To beat Mercedes fair and square from pole position, the first time Mercedes have been beaten at this circuit since 2013 when we last won with Vettel, is a phenomenal performance. Max has been supreme all weekend, delivering the perfect qualifying lap which he was able to convert into his 10th win today. Alex had arguably one of his strongest race weekends of the year to finish fourth just behind Lewis and collectively this was a very strong Team performance at this venue. All credit to Honda for being the only engine manufacturer not to incur any penalties this year and on achieving a second win with us this season. A big thank you must also go to all the staff in Milton Keynes who have worked tirelessly in difficult circumstances this year to keep developing the RB16 and ensuring we kept the momentum going throughout the season. This is also a fitting way to end our title partnership with Aston Martin and we look forward to seeing them back in the paddock next year. It’s been a rollercoaster season and once the test finishes on Tuesday I hope that everyone can enjoy a well-deserved break.”


MAX VERSTAPPEN, Finish Position: 1st, Start Position: 1st   
“It has been a very enjoyable two days which we didn’t really expect coming into the weekend. Being on pole was already great but to win here is a perfect end to the season for us all. The tyre management was good and the car had a nice balance which made it very enjoyable to drive. I expected a very tough fight today but I think we managed everything very well and there was never really a moment where I felt under pressure which is a pretty good feeling. To finish the year off like this I’m of course very happy with and I just hope we can start next season competitively, so we can be there right from the start, as we want to be able to try and fight for the championship but for that we need to start strong. Everyone in the Team and at Honda has worked so hard the whole year to improve the car and this is a really good boost going into the winter and I hope everyone gets to celebrate tonight.”

ALEX ALBON, Finish Position: 4th, Start Position: 5th
“I’m happy and I think if the race was a couple of laps longer I’d be even happier as I feel we could’ve got past Lewis and taken another podium today. I was managing my tyres at the beginning of the stint and maybe I was too conservative as I had lots of life left in them at the end of the race whilst everyone else’s were starting to drop off. But overall it’s a great result for the Team today and I’m happy with my race. I’ve felt very good with the car this weekend and it’s probably been my best in F1. There was obviously a lot of pressure coming into this race and my only goal was to focus on my performance and do the best job possible so I’m proud of how I’ve delivered under the circumstances. It feels great to prove to everyone that I’m strong enough mentally to deal with all the external talk and keep improving. As a Team we haven’t given up, I’ve had a lot of support from everyone back at the factory and we’ve worked hard with the engineers to make me more comfortable in the car. Now I’m just looking forward to going home and relaxing with my family."

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Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team - quotes -

Toto Wolff
First of all, congratulations to Max and Red Bull; they were worthy winners today and the quickest combination this evening. Our drivers struggled with understeer all the way though the race, and we were losing a lot of time through Turns 5, 6 and 7 - and then in the final sector as well. We had strong performance on Friday, but then couldn't carry it through to qualifying or this evening; but as always, we will unpick the learnings and there will be good lessons in there to make us stronger next year. On track today, the positive was the performance from the drivers. Valtteri has had a tough few weekends, but he came back strongly here and got everything out of the car; I think maybe we have unlocked something for the future across this weekend, too. As for Lewis, we saw all his bravery and tenacity: to be back in the car less than two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 proved his commitment to the team and the strength of his competitive desire.

The final race is also the right moment to take a step back and look at the season as a whole. Congratulations to everybody who has been involved in delivering a seventeen-race season that nobody would have thought possible just six months ago. For us at Mercedes, it has been a year of remarkable success and achievements that will live long in our memories; thank you to each and every team member who has contributed to an historic season. Although we have a break from racing for the next three months, our factories are working flat out on the new car and power unit, as well as preparing for the challenges of 2021. It will be a busy winter - and we are excited about the challenges ahead of us.

Andrew Shovlin
Well done to Max and Red Bull, they didn't let us get into the race this evening. He drove a very controlled race, they had the best car and deserved the win. To be honest, we'd expected a bit more from ourselves today; we thought we'd either have a small advantage on pace or be a bit better on degradation, but we didn't and it was a bit disappointing after a year where we have been strong at almost every track. However, whilst today wasn't the result we'd hoped for, we can reflect on the season as a whole and the team has done a great job, the drivers have done a great job and we've broken some records that we can be very proud of.

Valtteri Bottas
Congratulations to Max and Red Bull on the win. They were just too quick today and we couldn't quite keep up with them. We expected the race pace to be quite equal heading into today, but they were able to really control the pace and build the gap when they needed to. From my side, though, it was a solid race with no mistakes and I think I extracted everything from our package. So, in that sense, it's been a good race, I finished ahead of my team-mate and it's nice to be back on the podium. A huge thank you and well done to the entire team on an amazing year. I'm really proud we could end the season with P1 and P2 in the Drivers' Championship; every single team member has done such an incredible job, so thank you very much. I still have a few commitments to do but then I'll have some time off over Christmas, and then a quick reset, some training and we start from zero again for next year. I'm looking forward to it.

Lewis Hamilton
Considering the past couple of weeks, I'm really happy with the weekend and to finish on the podium. Obviously, it's not as good as I'd have liked, but congratulations to Max and Red Bull, they were very quick today and deserved the win. This weekend they were just too far out of reach for us and we couldn't hold onto the pace they had. It was fantastic to see Alex right up there with us, too. From my side, that was a hard race, so I'm definitely glad that it's over. But on the bright side I made it through, and I didn't think last week that I'd even be here. So, I'm just grateful for my health and looking forward to recovering over the winter and getting back into training, to get my body back to where it should be. Finally, a huge thank you to the team for their continued support and hard work. They've done a great job all season long and it's fantastic to end the season with two podiums.

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