Sunday: Mercedes finishes 2012 in the points thanks to Schumacher
For his last race in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher finished in the points despite an early race puncture. Nico Rosberg, also a victim of a puncture, had more trouble due to a damaged car.
Michael Schumacher – 7th:
« What an exciting Grand Prix full of twists and turns! Quite surprisingly, my last Formula 1 race started with a puncture which put me at the back of the pack. But my philosophy has always been not to give up – there’s always a chance, you have to keep moving forward and seize it when it comes. It’s a strange coincidence that I finish my Formula 1 career in 7th position, which was my first qualifying result at Spa-Francorchamps 308 races ago. I also realized that I was driving with the number 7 on my car today and that I have 7 world champion trophies at home.
Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for clinching his third consecutive world title. I am very proud of Sebastian and truly delighted for him. At the beginning of the first lap, I suddenly found him in the middle of the track facing the wrong way, but we both made great comebacks during this race. His performance also showed that you must always give it your all.
Even under these difficult conditions, my last Formula 1 race turned out to be incredibly fun, and I would like to once again thank the team and all my fans for their support over the past years. I truly cherished the time we spent together.
Nico Rosberg – 15th:
« This was definitely the longest race of my life today! I had a good start and was in the top 8. However, after my puncture, I had damage to my floor and lost performance. So unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to climb back up.
It must have been a fantastic race for the fans here at Interlagos and those watching in front of their televisions. I hope they enjoyed the show. Congratulations to Sebastian for clinching a world title that is well deserved.
As far as I’m concerned, I will now look forward to next year and the chance to attack again. A big thank you to the team for all their efforts this year, which saw our first victory together, and we can look ahead to make further progress and be better in 2013.
