Team reaction after race in Monza (part 2)

Sebastien Buemi: “It was a positive performance, but a bit frustrating to miss out on the points. I lost some time around the pit stop, maybe we did it a bit early and I came out behind Barrichello. That was partly because the Lotus and Virgin I caught before the pit stop did not move over very quickly and I lost more time there. I was much faster than him from then on with the hard tyres, but it is very difficult to overtake and I could not find a way past. But all in all, I am pleased with the performance of the car over the weekend, which was a definite improvement over the last few races and I am looking forward to more developments and getting the F-duct working so that maybe we can have it on the car for Singapore. If we continue like this I hope to be able to fight fair and square with the Williams and Mercedes in the final races.”

Jaime Alguersuari: “I am pleased with my actual performance in terms of lap times and race pace and the fact I made no mistakes. However, at the moment, I really don’t understand why I got the drive-through penalty. It’s the second time in two races that I have got one of these! As far as I am concerned, although I did cut the chicane, I did not gain any advantage, catch the drivers ahead of me or pull away from those behind. The actual penalty did not make much difference to my race, but it was annoying all the same.”

Franz Tost: “We have made a step forward here and the performance was good from Friday onwards. Buemi got a fantastic start, moving up four places to tenth position. However, prior to the pit stop, he lost time behind Glock and then on his out lap, it took a while for him to get the new tyres working properly, which meant he lost a place to Barrichello. But he did a really good job throughout the weekend. Alguersuari, apart from getting a drive-through penalty for cutting the chicane, also produced good lap times. I feel quite confident and optimistic for the final few races, because both the team and the drivers have made progress, while the most important aspect is that updates we introduced on our car here seem to have delivered a better performance level.”

The Force India F1 Team has finished the Italian Grand Prix with Tonio Liuzzi in 12th and Adrian Sutil in 16th after a tough 53 lap race. After a disappointing qualifying yesterday in which he could not set a flying lap, Tonio made up seven positions from his starting slot and finished just a couple of seconds from the points.

Adrian had a more turbulent race after a tricky first lap put him down at the rear of the field. As a strategic call he then pitted at the end of the lap to change to the harder tyre option to take advantage when the other drivers changed tyres later on. Back on track, Adrian started to scythe through the field and was up to 15th when he had to come back to pit for a new nosecone. This unscheduled stop then put him back to 16th and out of the points.

Adrian Sutil: Obviously a very difficult race. The first lap was not good when I was pushed wide into the gravel in one of the early corners and lost a lot of positions. By the end of lap one I was at the end of the field so we decided to come in to change to the harder tyres as a strategic move to make up positions when the others pitted. I did my own race from that point on, which worked really well but we couldn’t get close to the points when I had to come in for the nosecone change. It’s one of those races where you hope to do better but I’m not too disappointed as it’s been a good season so far and there are still five races left.

Tonio Liuzzi: It was definitely a nice race to drive but from 19th position it was always going to be difficult to score points, particularly as there weren’t any safety cars. We had some good fights and in the end we finished in 12th position. We had a good car and I think we were qu ick enough to finish in the points today but when you are behind someone who is not that much slower than you it’s quite difficult to get past. I was pushing hard to pass Buemi and Rubens [Barrichello] but we were more or less at the same pace. Overall though we had a strong pace and it was a shame to just miss out on the points.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: Although we’re disappointed not to have scored points today we’ve got to look forward. The car was competitive enough to finish in the points today, with a good overall pace, which is what we have to focus on in the coming races. Both drivers were unlucky: Tonio’s qualifying issues made it difficult to score points and then with his problems on the first lap Adrian found himself too far down the field to be able to make in roads to the top 10. It’s a shame but we’ll pick ourselves up and take the challenge back in Singapore.

The team left Monza empty handed after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Kamui Kobayashi stopped on lap one due to a technical problem. His team mate Pedro de la Rosa, who started 15th, finished 14th.

Pedro de la Rosa: “I had a good start and was able to overtake Jaime Alguersuari. From then on I just tried to push as hard as possible and keep contact with the guys in front. But actually I lost that contact to Rubens (Barrichello) and after that I had quite a tough race. We knew we would face a difficult weekend here, and I have struggled with the car since Saturday morning.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “I’m very disappointed. I think I would have easily scored points here because my car was good in race conditions. But already on my first installation lap I realised there was something wrong with the car, and then I had problems with shifting. I went back to the garage and the pit crew tried everything to fix it. I then started from the pit lane. We gave it a try, but it didn’t come as a surprise when I had to stop fairly soon because of the problem. It is a shame, but these things happen. I’m very much looking forward to going to Asia now.”

James Key, Technical Director: “It was a disappointing race. We felt we might be in a position to score points, but unfortunately there was a problem on Kamui’s car, which appears to be an ECU problem. We need to look into it further to understand it, but the problem caused damage to his gearbox on his out lap. We changed the ECU, but the gearbox was too badly damaged. We decided to start him from the pit lane, but immediately he felt the gearbox was a problem, so he had to stop, which was a shame. Pedro started on used option tyres, and we decided to bring him in early and change to a new set of primes, which looked good in practice, but the tyres didn’t come in and unfortunately he lost places. It was a difficult weekend. We are now looking forward to the tracks which are coming up.”

Monza is one of the greatest race tracks in the world and today it lived up to its heritage. A Ferrari victory pleased the Tifosi and Virgin Racing finished first out of the new teams.

At the start, Timo got away very well from the back of the grid passing five cars to slot in behind the Lotus of Jarno Trulli. Lucas was able to pass Heikki Kovalainen to tuck in behind Timo, although the Finn was able to retake the position a few laps into the race.

The pace was hectic as Monza has the fastest average speed of any Grand Prix, but with passing so difficult, the timing and the execution of the pit stops was likely to be vital. When Heikki stopped, Timo came in on the following lap and the team performed the stop perfectly, getting Timo out in time to retain his position. Lucas also had a great stop and continued to give chase.

At about three-quarter distance, Jarno Trulli began to slow and was passed by both Timo and Lucas, which left the team looking at first and third positions in the new teams category, but a suspension issue on the last lap cost Lucas a position. The team are delighted to finish best of the new teams, and were the only one to have both cars classified - a feat they have now achieved more than either of the other two newcomers.

Timo Glock, Race Driver: “I got a very good start and was going well into turn 1. I nearly got in front of both Lotus cars but Jarno was in a better position in the chicane for turn 2 and was able to stay in front of me. The opening laps were strong and I was able to put a lot of pressure on Jarno but I suffered with the rear brakes. In general I had to over-drive the car and just try to stay on line. The boys did a great job in the pit stop and I was able to stay ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. Together with my engineer I was able to manage the blue flags very well to get through the traffic and generally this has been a very good race for us.”

Lucas di Grassi, Race Driver: “Today we had a race with a lot of problems. From the start we lost a few places and in the end I was forced to retire with a mechanical problem with just one lap to go. A race to put behind us and move on to something better in Singapore. I’m looking forward to a stronger weekend there where we have an upgrade to the car.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “A very strong race for us today in which Virgin Racing once again finished as the best of the new teams. This is the sixth occasion where both cars have been classified and so we are also leading the newcomers in terms of two-car finishes. The whole team has done a great job this weekend and can feel justifiably pleased with our car and operational performance. Particular congratulations to the pit stop crew today, who performed two very slick stops which made all the difference in securing today’s result. It is sad that we have to say goodbye to Europe now but we still have plenty to look forward to in the long-haul races.”

Mark Herd, Head of Performance and Race Engineering: “A good day today. Timo had a strong drive to finish as the highest placed driver of the new teams, helped by good strategy and a fast pit stop . Lucas struggled with the balance on his first set of tyres and then suffered an apparent suspension problem right at the end. Our thanks also to Cosworth, whose engines ran strongly all weekend at this particularly demanding circuit.”

Lotus Racing will move on to the Singapore Grand Prix having had a strong weekend that unfortunately did not repay the team with the race result they had hoped for. Heikki Kovalainen finished the race in 18th and Jarno Trulli recorded a DNF. Jarno had made a good start and was comfortably leading the other new teams until a gearbox failure on the 46th lap forced him to pull over.

Heikki Kovalainen: “I lost a few positions at the start, managed to get in front of di Grassi but then was stuck behind Timo. I didn’t have the straight line speed to get past him so didn’t have the chance to make a move. It’s a shame because I couldn’t get the true potential out of the car after a good weekend, but that’s life. We haven’t lost anything in terms of the Championship so all in all it’s not too disappointing.”

Jarno Trulli: “It was a very good race until the gearbox problem meant I had to stop. I lost second gear and even though I continued running without second, it gave up completely which ended the race. But I must say that the race had been very satisfying until that point. I was pulling away from Timo and the guys behind and was increasing the lead with every lap, and the car felt great right from the start. But this seems to be the story of the season – we’ll go to Singapore and hope my luck improves there.”

Dieter Gass, Sporting Director: “A bit of an unfortunate race today after a strong weekend. Heikki lost position at the start - he managed to pass di Grassi but couldn’t get past Timo after a good fight. Jarno had a strong race until we ran into gearbox trouble. He lost second, then the whole gearbox, which brought his race to an end. Now we move on to Singapore and we’ll fight back there.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “One has to be philosophical after today’s race, and focus on the fact we had a very good weekend. It’s obviously disappointing that we had yet another gearbox failure on Jarno’s car as he was comfortably pulling away from his nearest rivals until he had to pull over. Heikki had an unfortunate start, and that meant his whole race was compromised as he was stuck behind Timo and couldn’t pass. Despite that, it’s been a good weekend for the team. We’ve made some important decisions about next year, and we’ll build on what we’ve learnt here and come back fighting.”

Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team completed the race for the first time at the historical Autodromo Nazionale di Monza today. Sakon Yamamoto got off to a good start and was able to equal his best result in a race this year, finishing in 19th position. The race came to an early conclusion for Bruno Senna, who was only able to do 11 laps before having to stop because of a hydraulic failure.

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal: “There was an incident with a member of our team during Sakon Yamamoto’s pit stop. First aid was immediately on the spot and he was taken to hospital for further check-up. He remained conscious and was talking to the doctor. We wish that he will recover quickly. In the race, Bruno Senna had to stop the car on track due to a hydraulic failure. Sakon Yamamoto instead did a good race performance and finished 19th. We could carry on as in Spa and the gap to the team ahead was quite small compared to earlier races.”

Sakon Yamamoto, Race driver: “The first thing I would say that I was very worried about the incident in the pit-lane. I asked if he was okay and I was told that he was not badly injured. Apart from that, we had a good pace on the first stint to keep up the other competitors. I kept concentrating during the race and I tried to do the best for the team and we were able to finish another race, so this is good.”

Bruno Senna, Race driver: “It was a bit of a shame to have a mechanical failure in the car, because I had a strong race. But now we just have to keep working as hard as always and I’m already looking forward to the next race in Singapore”.