Team reaction after the European GP (part 2)

Toro Rosso Ferrari

Sebastien Buemi: “This was not a very good race as I could have finished sixth, but I made two mistakes, which have cost us four points. I am happy to be in the points, but disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity to do better. As for losing seventh place, I knew Kobayashi was closing very quickly on new tyres, and on the penultimate lap I was blocking my front tyres a lot. But at the final corner, I did not think he could brake that late and so I am unhappy that I made the mistake and let him pass. The team did a good job of the pit stop, at just the right moment during the Safety Car period. But we are under investigation along with many other cars about this point of the race. I found it very hard to slow down, as required by the rules, because the Safety Car arrived very late as we approached the start finish line. Let’s wait and see what the stewards will say.”

Jaime Alguersuari: “To be honest, I am not really disappointed, because at least the team got points again with Sebastien, so congratulations to him. This weekend I never had a hundred percent control of the car, never having quite the right feeling with the brakes and that was my main issue. The situation improved slightly during the race, but I never felt the car was mine to do as I wanted. I have to tell myself that better times will come, just like I had earlier in the season. There are still a lot of races to go and once I get back the feeling for the car and its handling, I am sure I can score points again.”

Franz Tost: “We have often said we need to improve our qualifying performance if we want to score points on a regular basis and yesterday, Buemi did exactly that to start from eleventh on the grid. Today he got the benefit of that and picked up another eighth place to follow on from the same finishing position in Canada two weeks ago. For a long time, he ran in sixth position which was also down to an excellent strategy from the team, in terms of managing the pit stop during the Safety Car period. However, Buemi is one of nine drivers under investigation by the stewards regarding a possible infringement during that Safety Car time, so we need to wait and see. Unfortunately, at the very last corner of the race, he lost seventh place to Kobayashi who was running on a very new set of Soft tyres. But we have scored points again, so well done to the team.”

Ferrari

Eighth and eleventh place is definitely not the result which Scuderia Ferrari was expecting going into this European Grand Prix. Starting from fourth and fifth places on the grid, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa had each made up one place, to be right up with the leaders at the moment when the race was neutralised after an accident involving Webber and Kovalainen. Having completed almost an entire lap behind the Safety Car, the two Ferrari men came in for a double pit stop and then found themselves in the middle of the pack, in tenth and fifteenth places respectively: their chances of a good result were over from then on. The rest of the race was a case of sitting in traffic at a track where overtaking is almost impossible.

Stefano Domenicali: “The outcome of this Grand Prix leaves us with a very bitter taste. We had everything we needed to clinch a good result and we have ended up with a handful of points which is even less than we brought home from our worst race, a month ago in Turkey. It is a real shame because over this weekend we have shown that we have made a good step forward in terms of performance and the opening stage of the race looked promising. Then came the unfortunate blow linked to the safety car period, which arrived at the very worst moment for us in that both our cars had just gone past the pit lane entry and therefore were forced to do a full lap behind the Safety Car. And that definitely compromised our race. I think that the incidents linked to the neutralisation put some questions on the table regarding how to manage situations like this and the eventual penalties linked to them. We have to ensure that our sport remains credible in the eyes of those involved and those who follow it, at the track and in front of their TV screens.”

Fernando Alonso: “The race was ruined by the Safety Car and everything that followed on from that. I am disappointed most of all for the thousands of spectators who were here today and saw how the situation was handled. I am very bitter about what happened today. I was in third place, a metre behind Hamilton at the moment the Safety Car came out on track and, at the chequered flag, he was second and I was ninth, even though we had made the same choice of strategy. The penalty he was given came when it could no longer have any real influence on his finishing position. From then on, my race was compromised. I was always in traffic and I did not get the performance I had expected from the hard tyres: this also explains the difficulty I had in passing first Sutil and then Buemi. This is definitely a bad result for us, but I still hang onto the idea that we will do the maths at the end, in Abu Dhabi: incidents we have no control over will be made up for. We must continue to work and push on the car development front to try and be the quickest on the track.”

Felipe Massa: “Another horrible race on the back of the one in Canada. We were lying third and fourth with cars capable of getting a great result and instead, everyone has seen how it ended. On the lap when the accident happened, we were coming into the final corner and there was nothing, then suddenly, the Safety Car came out on track and I saw in the mirrors that the cars behind us were pitting: our chance of fighting for the podium went up in smoke at that moment. The difference between us and Hamilton is that he committed an infraction and we did not, but his penalty had no effect on his result. I think that errors were made in the way this situation was managed. From then on, our race was practically one long procession in traffic with no chance of changing anything. A real shame because today we could have done really well.”

Chris Dyer: “We are very disappointed with the outcome of this race. The arrival of the Safety Car on track ruined what should have been a very good race for us, given the potential at our disposal. It is very, very difficult to overtake at this track therefore our race was totally compromised by an innocuous occurrence like a Safety Car period. In performance terms, this weekend has shown that we have made a step forward, but at the same time, we still have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be.”

Mercedes GP

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished the European Grand Prix in Valencia in 12th and 16th positions today as a frustrating race at the Valencia Street Circuit concluded a difficult weekend for the Mercedes GP team.

The safety car following Mark Webber’s dramatic accident changed the course of the race for the pair with Nico losing the advantage of an early pit stop on lap eight and Michael being held in the pits by a red light when making his stop on lap 11.

An uneventful and frustrating remainder of the race left Nico and Michael unable to make progress on a circuit where overtaking opportunities are minimal and they finished the 57 lap race outside of the points.

Nico Rosberg: “It wasn’t a great race for me today and not much fun out there. I struggled for grip throughout and had to work really hard to save my brakes which completely took away the ability to challenge and try to make up positions. But we tried to look for the positives and learn something because you can always learn from any situation and use the experiences later. It’s been a poor weekend from us all round and we have to try to resolve our issues and improve from here.”

Michael Schumacher: “What a race. We would like to have clarification about the safety car situation as the red light on the exit from my first pit stop destroyed a race which otherwise would have offered us very good possibilities. Our point of view is that as the safety car had passed the pits without having the cars lined up behind it, there should not have been a red light. There was a green light for a moment and then suddenly it went red again. We believe that this was not correct. Our strategy was right in that context as we took the opportunity which could have given us a finish even close to the podium.”

Ross Brawn: “Today’s race was a disappointing outcome to our weekend in Valencia. The car was reasonable today but again we suffered from our qualifying performance which is an issue that we need to get on top of quickly. Nico got caught up at the start therefore we made an early pit stop which was unfortunately compromised when the safety car came out and we lost any benefit. From there, Nico’s race was about consolidating his position as we had some concerns over brake wear which he did an excellent job to manage. With Michael, we were looking to benefit strongly from the safety car. As the leaders had not been picked up, Michael was waved through and that gave us a golden opportunity to make his pit stop as our predictions were that the option tyre would hold up for the remainder of the race. However, when Michael came to exit the pits, the red light was showing which cost him a significant amount of time. In our view, the regulations are clear that the exit light should not go red until the line of cars has formed behind the safety car, and we would like the FIA to look into this. There was no line formed and over 18 seconds between Hamilton and Kobayashi when Michael came in. It was a good effort from Michael to try and recover from there but ultimately a very frustrating afternoon.”

Norbert Haug: "Michael could have finished quite high today if the red light at the pit exit had not been switched on. This happened contrary to our understanding of the rules which say the pit exit remains open until a line has formed behind the safety car. That clearly was not the case as there was a gap of over 18 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton whilst Michael was in the pits. He would have fitted in this gap if the red light had not have made this impossible. So Michael´s race was ruined even though he posted quick lap times throughout the afternoon. Despite three pit stops and a long wait at the pit exit, he finished 6.5 seconds outside of the points. Nico had to look after his brakes throughout and was therefore handicapped. It’s been a weekend to forget for our team but we will be stronger soon.”

Virgin Racing Cosworth

Valencia was not expected to produce a great race, but in the end it was action all the way, with both Virgin Racing cars running faultlessly to the finish. In a milestone performance, Lucas finished 17th with Timo 18th after a charge in the final laps, getting past Karun Chandhok in the very last sector of the race.

Lucas made a great start, leading the newcomers’ race on the first lap and finding that the behaviour of the car in race trim was much improved by the latest modifications. Timo was hot on Lucas’ heels when the safety car came out after a dramatic collision between Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen and this continued after the restart until Timo needed to pit to cure a flat-spot induced vibration. He chose to go on the Option tyre and discovered that they were working much better than expected. He caught and passed Senna, whose front wing clipped Timo’s rear tyre, causing a puncture. After his stop he set about catching the other HRT, taking around two seconds per lap out of the gap, before getting past. Lucas, meanwhile, was able to manage his tyres well, with a perfect drive to the finish.

Lucas di Grassi: “I’m thrilled to finish as the lead driver of the new teams for the first time today and for us to get two cars home again is a fantastic result for our team. For me it feels a bit like a victory and it was definitely one of the best races of my career. The car was performing well - exactly as we had expected it to - and we had a great pitstop which was also well-timed to manage the traffic. We are making good progress as a team and with the car. We had good pace here and this has been a positive step forward for us. We have another one coming for Silverstone - which we hope will be a good one - and then we just need to keep them coming because we are moving in the right direction.”

Timo Glock: “I got a bad start to my Race and was sat behind Lucas for a long time. I couldn’t pass him because every time I came close I destroyed the tyres and so I had to just wait for a chance. Then I had a big lock-up and destroyed the front right tyre and had to come into the pits to take the soft tyre. The car was really good on the Option tyre and we were able to do some big lap times but when I overtook Senna I touched his front wing and destroyed the rear tyres in the process so I had to pit again. I was able to do good lap times and I was quite happy with the car at the end. I overtook Chandhok on the last lap and finished in front of the other new teams so it was a good race towards the end. It is also great for the team to secure another strong two-car finish so we head to Virgin Racing’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone feeling positive.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “A great effort from our team in the Race today and throughout the weekend. Both drivers have done a good job here and Lucas in particular deserves to feel happy with his Qualifying and Race results. Congratulations to the team on an excellent job in the pits where we secured the fourth fastest pit stop of the Race. With both drivers performing as well as they are and a clear demonstration of our car performance moving in the right direction, we have good reason to feel positive as we head towards the midpoint of the season and into our home race at Silverstone in two weeks’ time.”

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: “That was a clear step in the right direction for our team. Not only were both cars running strongly at the finish, but it’s very clear from the driver feedback and our race pace that our performance developments are working, so I must congratulate everyone behind the scenes for this work. To finish only one lap down on the leader is a clear indication of our progress since Bahrain. The next step is to bring some more of our aero developments out of the digital domain and on to the race car, so we’ll put that right at Silverstone, and the whole team can’t wait to see what happens at our fantastic home Grand Prix.”

HRT F1 Cosworth

Karun Chandhok: For the third time this season, the Spanish Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team was able to finish the race with both cars. The Spanish team added more valuable experience in Valencia and was able to continue fighting for positions with other teams. After a hard-fought race, Karun Chandhok crossed the line in 19th position, and Bruno Senna ended up 20th. Because of a damaged front wing, which occured when Bruno respected the waved blue flags which were shown to him and Timo Glock, who was behind, the Brazilian had to do an unplanned second pit stop. This incident with Bruno Senna and Timo Glock is still under investigation by the stewards.

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal: “We started on different strategies into the race. Bruno started on prime tyres and Karun was on options. We decided to do Karun’s pit stop during the safety car period and to win some positions thereby, as the Virgins were on a different strategy. Unfortunately, there were two incidents where both drivers’ front wings were damaged.”

Karun Chandhok:“It was a reasonable race for me. The pace early on was reasonably good but then I started to struggle with the option tyres. We decided to pit under the safety car and switch to primes which was a good decision as I was able to then settle into a rhythm and pull away from Bruno. At the end though, having done 47 laps on one set of tyres I didn´t quite have enough pace to fight against Timo and he managed to muscle past on the final lap. All in all, I am quite pleased with the job I did today and it´s good for the team to get two cars to the finish in front of their home supporters”.

Bruno Senna: “It was a frustrating race today. Unfortunately, there was the incident with Timo Glock when my front wing was damaged. This happened during the blue flag we both got for a lapping car. But it is good to finish the race again after not having finished the last three.”

Lotus Cosworth

After a very promising build up to the European Grand Prix, Lotus Racing leave Valencia relieved that Heikki Kovalainen and Red Bull’s Mark Webber both came out of a potentially very dangerous crash on lap 10 unscathed, and encouraged by Jarno Trulli’s race pace after a very unfortunate start to his afternoon’s work saw him make an early stop for a new front wing, before going on to finish 21st.

Jarno Trulli: “I don’t know exactly what happened at the beginning as I managed to get away from the mess at the front but I was hit from the back and at the same time lost my front wing. It all happened during the first lap, so I thought it was the end of the race for me, but I managed to get back to the pits, and the mechanics did a great job to fix the car. I went out but had a gearbox problem, so more good work from the boys got me back out and I was then able to run to the end. I did the whole race with one set of tyres, and I felt that the pace throughout was very good. The handling was great, so I’m happy about the performance and when I pushed I was able to put in some really good lap times.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “First of all it’s good news that both of us are ok. Mark had a hardcore flight, and it could have ended up much worse, so it’s good we’re both fine. It’s such a shame the race ended that early – I was going really well, pulling away from the guys behind by about half a second a lap, and with Mark we were racing for position so I was always going to defend. I didn’t do anything wrong and he just ran into me. I think he missed his braking point and he ran into me at a very bad angle – his front tyre hit my right rear and he took off. I had to make a mandatory visit to the medical centre, and shook hands with Mark there, but I’m absolutely fine, and glad Mark is too.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Obviously it was a very disappointing end to our 500th race. Jarno got hit at the start, and we had to change the nose. He also took a hit at the back, and that caused a gearbox problem. We were able to fix that and send him out again, although he was three laps down. He was held up by some of the other slower cars, but at the end of the race he was able to push and really show the car’s pace.

“Heikki had an accident with Webber - he was defending his line and racing for position, and that’s what we will always do in that situation. It’s just a great shame, and we’re very glad that neither driver was hurt.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Heikki’s accident is part of racing. It’s a shame as both cars are coming on really well, but there is some good to take out of this. Despite being hit, Jarno managed to finish the race, and at the end it was great to hear him say ‘the car is bloody good!’

“Overall it’s been a very positive weekend, with a good Qualifying session and lots of very positive meetings and good decisions made for next year. It’s also been a pleasure having the Chapman family here, and now we’re all looking forward to bringing Lotus Racing back to the UK and racing in front of the British fans.”