Monza: Race 2 press conference

Robert Wickens: My start was pretty good. Since Silverstone I've had these starts but it kind of went under the radar this season until today when because of the long run into the first corner it was really prominent. I thought that Merhi was going to overshoot the first corner, so I turned in really late and he made it stick. I was actually leading into the braking zone, starting from sixth is something to be proud of I think.

GP3 Series: What was your game plan starting from seventh? Was it always to go for the win?

Robert Wickens: Absolutely! To be honest I thought that this race was going to be easier to win than the last race, purely because of the reverse grid so if you can get through the field earlier... my goal was to get to the front before Esteban because I knew he would be my biggest rival and I was just as quick as possible. I was able to stick to the gap which was what I needed. I just kept looking in my mirrors to see where Esteban was because realistically this weekend he had more speed that I did.

It was a fantastic race and a really good race for the team. Something we could be proud of and we finished the second half of the year scoring more points than anyone else so it was such an accomplishment. It was just a shame we missed out early on.

GP3 Series: Yes it must be bitter sweet for you today.

Robert Wickens: It's a nice reward. Going into the last race I was realistic. I was aiming for the championship this weekend but what are the odds of Esteban not scoring anything again. I was let down after qualifying as I would have like to have taken it to a race but to end the year as we did I can't complain. The team did a fantastic job and I'm pretty sure we were the only car to finish every lap so that's something the whole team can be proud of. It was a fantastic year!

GP3 Series: Mirko congratulations on a well deserved podium. You've had some bad luck this season so you must be happy.

Mirko Bortolotti: Yes definitely I'm happy because considering qualifying I expected to have a bad weekend. Fortunately we were able to do a very very good first race because we had a very good car this weekend, so that was the key to the second one.

I am very happy because a bad start I managed to get the positions back in turn one and the first lap. After that I had a fight with Merhi and was able to pass hi and catch Robert, but he didn't make any mistakes and for me it was difficult to attack him because I had two flat spots in qualifying so I had to use my practice tyres which were very old. In the end I am very happy -- I didn't expect to be this competitive. Thanks to the team they did a very good job and I think the potential we showed this weekend would have been possible this season, but we had some bad luck. We are happy with the result, but it could have been much better, but that's racing. We're looking forward to next year and hoping for some better luck!

GP3 Series: Nico you had a great final race of the season. Talk us through it.

Nico Muller: Yes my getaway was pretty good but I got stuck a bit and had to lift off so after the first lap IO was P6. My pace was good to I could pass, but when I got to P3 the team said to calm down so we could finish the team championship in P3 so I didn't risk anything after that. I actually wanted to pass Mirko in the last lap and I prepared and was up beside him but there was a lapped car and I had to pull back. In the end I just wanted to finish the race and get a podium and that's what I managed to do.

GP3 Series: So are you satisfied with third in the final standings this season?

Nico Muller: Yes, I am very happy. If someone had told me that before the season i would've have believed it. It's great to have reached it and I'm looking forward to next year now.

-source: gp3