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VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: THE SHELL AND PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON RACE 2June 29, 2014Mikhail AleshinHOUSTON, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with our post‑race press conference. We are pleased to be joined by Mikhail Aleshin, who finished second in today's Grand Prix of Houston, Race 2. Mikhail, a one‑two finish for your team. You must be happy to get a podium finish here at the Grand Prix of Houston. MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Yeah, it's definitely an amazing day for all the team. I think it's an amazing day to be one and two, and especially for us because we were working on this very, very hard. As I said, we are learning every day, every time we're on the track, every lap and every corner, and here is a result. We are one of the fastest cars on the track, and I think we did an amazing job today. The whole team did an amazing job in every case. THE MODERATOR: Talk about the conditions of the race, obviously very hot, but going through a double‑header weekend here in Houston must be very difficult. MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Well, yesterday I was not so tired because I finished the race unfortunately very early, so today it was not so difficult for probably as some of the drivers who raced yesterday all day. But I can tell you that, yeah, that it was very hot and very humid in the car. The worst thing that happened is when I have the caution so you have to drive slow so there is less air coming, and that's when the main problems starting for everybody. That's why you need to train, you know, so I could keep the pace until the end of the race. Actually the end of the race was also exciting for me because I had a flat tire, and I barely finished. I mean, you know, luck was on my side today, that's for sure. Q. You started on the front row, and I'm not sure that I ever saw how your teammate (inaudible). Can you talk about that? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Well, I had actually a good start, like the most of the start was good. I could keep up with Helio. I was very close to him so soon. Obviously he closed his line so I can't overtake, but Simon just over‑braked me from the outside, and he stopped entry to the corner. Yeah, basically that was it. I just needed to give him his space at this point because he was ahead. Q. After yesterday's race, was the pressure really on for you today to rebound, and if so, how did it affect your race today? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Yes, I think that definitely there was a little bit more pressure on myself just because I wanted to forget yesterday, and the best thing to forget a day like I had on Saturday is to have a day like today. But at the same time you can't put too much pressure on yourself because then it's just going to harm you at the end of the day. You're just going to do more and more mistakes. I mean, again, I just regret the things that happened yesterday, and I started from zero today, and I knew it was a good car, and that was it. I just did my job as best as possible. But again, actually the reason why I dropped in the middle of the race is because I had a contact with one of the drivers on the track and I lost my front wing, and this was the point when I brought my car to the pit to change the front wing. I was just pushing as hard as I could, and the car was very good, as well, so I could push, and I had a good lap. We had a great strategy and we could gain what we lost. Actually it's really amazing, but that's what we did. Q. With the strategy that you used to get up there or to stay up there with Simon, given his lap times, was there any communication over the team radio that you were more or less somewhat blocking or (inaudible) Simon to get this win? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Not at all. Not at all. Nothing about those things. No. Our team is not this kind. Q. Not just for yesterday but throughout this season, you've been involved in a couple issues here and there. Do you feel that today really redeemed you for all that? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: Well, definitely today luck was on my side. That's a fact. But at the same time this is not a reason to relax in the future. We see everything can happen here, and even in the place where you basically don't think that something can happen, something is happening, like yesterday in the race. You need to pay full attention to what you are doing here because all the drivers are very competitive, but at the same time all the drivers still are human beings and not machines, and some of them are doing mistakes which can harm you. You just need to be careful. That's it. Q. Tires have been a story this weekend but it looked like a lot of teams spent a lot of time on blacks today. Was that because the reds were difficult or because you ran out of them over the weekend? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: It was just because there were no more reds. Probably everybody would use it a little bit more if it was only one race this weekend, but yeah, we used some of them yesterday, and so it was just easier to use the new tires, which was blacks. Q. Did you have any issues with the red tires? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: No, actually the balance was I thought pretty similar, and I think the tires were actually (inaudible). I had no issues until this last couple of laps with a flat tire, but that can happen to everybody. But besides that, tire usage was not an issue for most of the cars here that I see. Q. Out of curiosity the last few laps you had a flat tire, and your team had the ability to monitor the tire pressures. Did they tell you on the radio or did you already know? MIKHAIL ALESHIN: No, I just felt it was not so bad. It was not completely flat, fortunately for us. It just was some pressure but not all, and I could continue driving as long as I just changed it a bit. I didn't really understand why at this point when I was driving, so I mean, we were just very lucky. We were lucky, and today luck was on our side, that's for sure. The team did an amazing job, zero mistakes, and here's the result. Here's the result. Yeah. Amazing job. THE MODERATOR: We will see you next week in Pocono. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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