Q: You certainly caught Fernando, but then did you just ease off, did you just decide that there was no point fighting for this?

"I caught him up and… it's extremely difficult to overtake here in Monaco and he was obviously close to me, and I was told to take it easy. There was no point in pressuring him into a mistake, and then when he did make a mistake, crash into him so it was best to finish one-two but to be honest, I pushed as I could to the end. I never give up, no matter what, and so I didn't really take too much notice and I kept going."

Q: How did you feel about your start?

"I thought my start was quite good. The key was to slot in behind Fernando – obviously he starts on the better side of the grid which sort of sets him up for turn one. I wasn't going to do anything crazy. We're both leading the World Championship and we want to keep it like that but I think I had quite good pace for the first couple of laps and you just can't follow. It's been proved that, even up to four seconds behind someone you still lose downforce so considering I was that close to him for quite some time, it was good. But then I had quite a bit of graining with the front tyres and I couldn't get the car round the corners."

Q: And I guess you hoped that three lap difference between your first pits stops for you…

"Yeah, I was actually quite surprised because I was fuelled to do five laps, maybe six laps longer than Fernando and they stopped me with three laps, so there wasn't much time to pull out a gap or improve my time, I wasn't really given much time for it. I came in two or three laps after. That was unfortunate but that's the way it goes."

Q: At the first stops you stopped about three laps later and a second a half longer, when we expected you to run maybe five laps longer… Was there a problem at the first stop or were you called in early at the second?

"No, I really … I'm looking forward to speaking to my engineers… I am pretty sure the reason they called me in earlier than I had fuel for is because of the Safety Car. If the Safety Car had come out they could really have changed the result so it was better to get the pit stop done. Felipe had made his pit stop so he was no trouble to me and I could have kept my position so they brought me in after three laps and I thought we were going to go shorter on the middle stint, but we didn't."

Q: Does that suggest you were gambling on a Safety Car period?

"To be honest, I have no clue. I just did my race. And the team took care of it all."

Q: It was noticeable that after the podium ceremony you handed your trophy to your brother Nick. Is there any significance in that? Did you dedicate it to him in any way?

"No, not really. My brother supports me in every race and it is good to have him there and he loves to be a part of it and I am proud to have him with me and it is great when he comes up and I can give him the trophy and make him feel important and just show him that he is."

Q: For the first time this season you looked disappointed with second place today. It seems the pattern developing is that you are always heavier in the third qualifying session which gives the world champion, Fernando, the best shot at pole. Is this hampering you? Do you feel frustrated?

"At the end of the day, I am a rookie. I am in my first season in Formula One and I have finished second in only my first Monaco Grand Prix so I really can't complain, but to see that I am of a similar pace to Fernando is a positive for me. But it is something I have to live with. I've got number two on my car. I am the number two driver."

Q: What was the team's explanation for you pitting early?

"I just said I haven't spoken to my engineers, so I don't really know. I can only assume as we were all on a two stop strategy that if the Safety Car came out it really could have had a big effect and we wouldn't have ended up with the points we ended up with. It was important to get us in because anything could have happened and so it was the safe route."

Q: You mentioned that there were team orders towards the end of the race, that you are the number two driver… Is this something that you find difficult to come to terms with?

"There weren't necessarily any team orders. They don't say that I had to stay behind Fernando… But the goal of the team is to score as many points as possible and we want to pull away from the Ferraris and the only way we can do that is to finish in first and second or ahead of them. It was easy for me to maybe push a bit harder and to touch the barrier and maybe to crash or push Fernando into a mistake, but that would have been a negative on the team. Coming into the season, I expect to be the number two driver. I am a rookie, it is my first season, but I am just pleased to be here and it is really is a great feeling for me to be sitting next to these drivers and still living my dream and to be on the podium in all five of my first Grands Prix... I hope to continue like that."