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The drivers have their say after an action-packed German GP at Hockenheim.

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren - winner): "We got off to a really good start, we had two very comfortable stints and then the team opted for me to stay out. I guess they thought that I could pull out the gap...but, I mean, I needed something like a 23-second gap in seven laps or something, so I don't think that worked out. So I just kept pushing and pushing, trying to get the gap up, but I came out behind Heikki [Kovalainen]. I have to say a big thank you to Heikki for being a great team-mate - he saw that I was quicker and didn't put up a huge fight, which enabled me to get past quickly. I had good tyres and I was able to pull it off. I guess it was exciting for you guys; it was exciting for me too!"

Nelson Piquet (Renault - 2nd): "After the safety car I knew I just had to keep my pace. "I knew I mustn't push my tyres too much at the beginning, I could have pushed a bit harder but I knew I had to keep them for the end [of the race]. When I was leading the race I knew Lewis was coming by quickly and I knew Felipe wasn't that much quicker than me."

Felipe Massa (Ferrari - 3rd): "I just did not have the pace. I was on the hard tyres because the soft was so difficult to drive. Stability was difficult, too, for me, and I think I had a little bit of a problem on the brakes as well. I lost a lot of performance. So I didn't have the car to fight. I tried, but it was not possible."

Nick Heidfeld (BMW - 4th): "Coming fourth from 12th on the grid is a great result. Not making it into the top ten in qualifying meant we were free to choose our fuel load afterwards, and so we went for a rather long first stint. That's why I was able to stay out during the safety car period when almost everybody else was refuelling. That was certainly crucial as I was able to pull away as soon as the traffic was behind me."

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren - 5th): "I had a good start and almost managed to pass Felipe but, unfortunately, my speed was not good enough, and I couldn't make the tyres work to their best. The Safety Car period didn't help me either, and I lost positions during my pitstop. Then I lost time behind Kubica. Fifth position was not what I had hoped to achieve here."

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari - 6th): "This was definitely not the kind of race we had been hoping for. We have struggled all weekend and we have to try and understand why. Usually, our race pace is always good, but today that was not the case, because I almost always suffered with a lack of grip."

Robert Kubica (BMW - 7th): "It is difficult to be happy after a race like this. During the first half of the race I was able to match the pace of McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari. Suddenly my car's pace was miles too slow. My tyres lost lots of grip, and perhaps this was because my tyres cooled down too much. We now have to analyse the data."

Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso - 8th): "The first lap was hard and close. I tried to pass Kimi, but it didn't work out. I took some time to find a rhythm but I had a wonderful car and could run a great pace. I was disappointed when I saw the Safety Car as I was comfortably holding a points position, but we did the best we could in the situation. I fought to the end and although I was quicker than Jarno I could not pass and then he made a mistake, which brought me back to eighth place."

Jarno Trulli (Toyota - 9th): "That was a disappointing race for me because we had high hopes of scoring points today. Everything was looking good early in the race but after our second stop, when we switched our strategy because of the safety car, it became really difficult. I struggled a lot and in the last 10 laps it was really tough. But I was in eighth place and fighting really hard to get a point. I was holding off Vettel but unfortunately I locked up the front and couldn't recover so I lost the position."

Nico Rosberg (Williams - 10th): "It was a bit difficult at the beginning as I had a technical problem at the start which cost me a place. From then on I was pretty comfortable, and I was able to push hard when I had free track - the car felt good, but then with the safety car the order was mixed up quite a bit. Regardless, it was great to race here in front of the German fans, and the atmosphere was amazing."

Fernando Alonso (Renault - 11th): "That was a difficult race for me. I had a bad start and lost several positions. Then I was on the pace but it was difficult to recover. I think that we were simply out of luck today, but we must now look forward and concentrate on the next Grand Prix."

Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso (12th): "I am happy with this result in terms of the pace I could run, but I was a bit unlucky with the safety car incident, as I knew it would involve me queuing in the pits behind Sebastian. I was able to keep up with Heidfeld in the first stint and the lap times were decent. The car worked better on the Option tyre. Overall, I had a strong race and kept pushing, hanging on to take twelfth."

David Coulthard (Red Bull - 13th): "I was stuck behind Jenson (Button) for 13 laps or so, he always seemed to have better traction so it was difficult to have a big dive at the end of braking. I got past him, as well as Rosberg before that. Towards the end of the race, Rubens (Barrichello) got better traction off a Turn and moved over, I came back onto my line to take the corner. I guess he thought I wasn't going to do that, which is why he had his car there, but it didn't work out."

Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India - 14th): "In the first part of the race I was not comfortable with the car as I was struggling with the grip and it was understeering and oversteering with some wheelspin, but then at the end of the run it was getting better. On the soft tyre it was a step forward. The team made a good move for me with the strategy under the safety car and I could make up some places after I pitted."

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams - 15th): "It would have helped if the safety car had stayed out a bit longer so I could have made my stop. Then finally, in the last stint, I picked up some debris under the car which was causing bad understeer and I lost a place. Eventually, whatever it was under the car came free and the balance returned but by then it was too late."

Adrian Sutil (Force India - 16th): "We lost some time on the first pit stop and then with the safety car we couldn't pit at the right moment and then couldn't catch up again so I lost 10 seconds or so. In my last stint something didn't feel right in my car, so we will have to investigate what happened, so it was not the best race, but at least we finished it."

Jenson Button (Honda - 17th): "A frustrating race today and it is obviously disappointing to finish in 17th position. We pitted early for my first stop to prevent Rosberg overtaking and I lost a lot of time there to both him and Rubens because we had no performance on the prime tyre after my stop. The traction was really poor and I was losing so much time out of the corners."

Rubens Barrichello (Honda - DNF): "The incident with Coulthard which ended my race was just unlucky. I was trying to force him to take a wider line on the outside through turn nine so that on turn 10 I would be able to come up the inside, but unfortunately he didn't see me on the inside and we touched. The team could see at the stop that there was too much damage to the front bargeboards to continue and that ended my race."

Mark Webber (Red Bull - DNF): "I had a good fight with Vettel on the first lap and, as the race unfolded, there wasn't much between the cars. We know the weaknesses of our car here and we'll work on those before the next race. It was my first mechanical retirement this year; we'll have to check what caused it and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Timo Glock (Toyota - DNF): Taken to hospital after crash but not badly injured.

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