On Sebastian Vettel leaving the team…
It’s one of those things; we have to look back and reflect on the great times we’ve had together, eight World Championships, four Drivers’ titles, four Constructors’ titles, 38 Grand Prix victories – it’s been one hell of a journey. He joined us as a young man and now he’s matured and he’s decided it’s time to move on, it’s his decision, we’re not going to hold him back and it’s an exciting time for us. We’ve invested in youth, we’ve invested in Sebastian and in Daniel and its yielded fantastic results. We’re excited about what the future holds and the young, exciting talent of Daniil Kvyat. It’s been a busy evening.
On When Sebastian told the team…
Sebastian informed us of his decision last night. It was emotional, but we can look back fondly.
On whether it was a surprise…
I know him well on and off track and you can see he’s had a lot on his mind recently; inevitably you don’t take a decision like this lightly, but it was last night that he sat down with us and told us for the first time. All I can do is wish him the very, very best for the future. He’ll still be close to our hearts here at Infiniti Red Bull Racing, but as of 1 January he’ll be a competitor.
On what this means for the Team…
It’s the end of a cycle of course, but inevitably this was always going to happen at some point. It’s also the start of a new cycle, Daniel is doing a great job this year and has got three wins already – he shows the new strength we have coming through and we’re excited about the prospect of Kvyat lining up with him. They’re the next generation.
On Sebastian’s reasons…
I think he reached a stage in his career where he fancied a new challenge, so that’s his prerogative and like in any relationship, if someone’s heart is not in it, then it’s time to move on.
On the reasons for signing Kvyat so quickly…
It’s been our philosophy for several years now to back youth and grow our own talent and that’s what we did with Sebastian Vettel. There were question marks when we signed him for 2009 and there were question marks when we signed Daniel for this year – and both have more than proven themselves. Daniil’s an exciting talent and prospect and it’s an exciting new dawn for Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
