Drivers steer for motivation after title settled
Global Motorsport Media
With the drivers' title now in Sebastian Vettel's hands and Red Bull almost certainly to be the champion team, the issue of motivation is an interesting one in the Yeongam paddock.
Teams are now focused on 2012 and testing new components, but the drivers must still line up on four more Grand Prix grids.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, 8 points behind runner-up Jenson Button and 8 ahead of Mark Webber, said on Thursday: "I think finishing second, third or fifth in the drivers championship is not a big difference.
"Once you cannot be world champion it is not any more a big interest on that."
The simple pursuit of victory is therefore the motivation, the Spaniard explained.
"I think we all want to win, in any race we participate in. Even when we do the race of champions in December, for fun, if we finish second it's a very bad feeling, and a very bad night," said Alonso.
Vettel - who could go on holiday rather than travel to India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil in the next six weeks and still be champion - added: "I think the moment you come to a race thinking that it doesn't really matter where you finish it's the moment when you should probably stay at home.
"We love racing, we will enjoy racing as usual, but we will not be happy leaving this track knowing that we could have done better," said the German.
And Lewis Hamilton said: "To me, racing is the biggest part of my life apart from my family and it doesn't matter if it's a practice race or whatever, it still holds significant value to me."
Another possible motivation, according to former Ferrari driver and Italian commentator Ivan Capelli, is money.
"It depends on their contracts," he told AFP France. "Some have incentives for points scored, wins, poles ..."
And as for the multi-millionaires like Jenson Button, Alonso and Hamilton, Capelli added: "I think that once they get on the track, they want the prestige.
"It's like a new championship even after the title, where they can say maybe 'Well, I finished (the season) scoring more points than Vettel'."
Share Or Save This Story
Jenson Button identifies key reason behind Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari resurgence
Jenson Button gives verdict on Max Verstappen Red Bull exit: "Frustrated with the situation"
Jenson Button names key figure behind Kimi Antonelli's stunning Mercedes form
Lewis Hamilton still avoiding Ferrari’s F1 sim: ‘It’s helped me massively’
Charles Leclerc: Merging "aggressive" style with F1 2026 cars is this year's biggest challenge
Why Charles Leclerc’s battle of the brakes has left him trailing Lewis Hamilton
Pedro Acosta gives himself 7/10 rating after first half of MotoGP 2026
‘Like being asked to draw the Mona Lisa’ – How George Russell is struggling to match Kimi Antonelli
Williams under fire as Carlos Sainz is "getting nowhere" in bid to turn team around
How to watch NASCAR at North Wilkesboro: Weekend schedule, start time, TV
“A shock to the system” – Why teams fear the worst with F1’s 2026 cars at Spa
Why F1's future engine rules offer new opportunities but also new pitfalls
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 2010s
Two (and a bit) years on: Red Bull's 2024 political ructions have had the opposite effect
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments