Team reaction after the Spanish GP (part 2)

Williams Cosworth

The AT&T Williams team conclude the Spanish Grand Prix weekend with two points courtesy of Rubens Barrichello’s ninth place finish at the Circuit de Catalunya today. After a strong start and opening lap which saw him climb from 17th to 12th, Rubens drove a clean race to a points-scoring finish, his third this season.

Nico Hulkenberg’s afternoon was less rewarding finishing in P15, his pace compromised by damage sustained on the FW32 after his initial pitstop.

Rubens Barrichello: After Saturday’s disappointment this is a good result. We had a great start today, which allowed me to overtake five cars, and our pace was strong enough to stay with the Renaults and the Force Indias. We need to analyse it, but I think we were on the verge of a tyre issue in the last five laps. If it weren’t for that, we would have finished closer to the guys just ahead of me. I am really happy considering where we were yesterday.

Nico Hulkenberg: I had quite a good start. I don’t understand why yet, but I always felt like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time going into the corners in the first lap. After the first stop, I went offline and damaged the car which resulted in a lot less downforce. From there, it became a very difficult race for me.

Sam Michael, Technical Director: That was a good recovery after yesterday’s qualifying. Both cars had great starts and Rubens put in
an awesome first lap to make up more places. Rubens’ race pace was strong up until the final few laps for which we had to slow him down to ensure we didn’t have a problem with the tyres. We’ll be looking into that for the next race. Nico drove a good first stint, but unfortunately damaged the car after his pitstop which caused a loss of downforce. Our focus now moves on to Monaco.

Toro Rosso Ferrari

Jaime Alguersuari : “I’ve got to be happy with scoring a point, even if my race was a bit of a mess, with the problem at the pit stop with the front left wheel nut and then the penalty after my collision with Chandok, but mistakes are part of racing. I was pleased that I got a very good start as it was important to get past other cars immediately, if I was going to have a good race. The backmarkers were very tough to overtake as they don’t move out of the way that much and they are really slow. I am pleased with tenth place, even if I am upset a bit, because it could have been so much better, especially as our race pace was very strong. Now we go to Monaco where I know there is more potential to come from me, as I am still learning a lot and there is more to come from the team and the car. It will be another new track for me, which I will need to learn well if I want to score points again. I feel very motivated about the next race.”

Sebastien Buemi: “When the lights went out, initially I got off the line well and had a good start. A bit later, I was trying to pass De La Rosa going down the left side and he suddenly moved over towards me. We were very close and the impact broke my front wing, so I had to come in and change the nose. After that, my pace was not too bad, but then I got a drive-through for a pit lane infringement, but I’m not really sure why and finally I had to retire in the garage with a hydraulic problem. At least there are just a few days to Monaco when I can try again to get my first worthwhile result of the season.”

Franz Tost: “I am glad that, on their F1 debut with our team, we were able to give our new sponsor, Money Service Group their first point in the sport, although clearly, in the early stages we looked like bringing home more than that. Once again, Jaime did a fantastic job, moving up to ninth after the start. Unfortunately, there was an error at his pit stop when the front left wheel nut got stuck. This meant he dropped a couple of places. Then he was given a drive-through penalty after he collided with Chandok as he was lapping the Hispania car. He put in some really good lap times and was one of the fastest in the closing stages and it was good to get another point. As for Sebastien, once again he was involved in a collision, this time with De La Rosa. He had to come in for a nose change and later, he too got a drive-through penalty for dangerous driving out of the pit and finally he had to retire with a hydraulic problem, which we must now investigate. However, I am convinced he will get a good race result soon.”

Sauber Ferrari

After a clear improvement in qualifying, the race result was less than the team expected. At least Kamui Kobayashi finished his first race this year. Both drivers were hit by other cars on lap one. While Kobayashi lost some places, for De la Rosa it led to another retirement.

Kamui Kobayashi: “I had a good start but in turn three I was hit by Robert (Kubica). I think I left him enough room but he said he had understeer. However, this was where I lost ground. I came back from the gravel in 15th. I’m convinced, given the progress we made with the car, without this incident I would have been able to score points today. Later I got stuck behind Vitaly (Petrov) in the other Renault. It is really not easy to overtake on the Circuit de Catalunya. I tried hard but it didn’t work out. At least I finished my first Grand Prix this year.“

Pedro de la Rosa: “I can’t explain how disappointed I am. I had a good start but I got hit by a Toro Rosso which caused a rear tyre puncture. I pitted for a tyre change but meanwhile the damage to the car, caused by the exploded tyre, was quite extensive. We tried to continue but
the car was undriveable. It just made no sense and we had to give up.”

Peter Sauber, Team Principal: “Looking back to the race weekend, it was positive we improved the performance of the car which enabled Kamui to make it to the top ten in qualifying. And finally he was able
to finish his first race this season. Unfortunately it was compromised on lap one when he was hit from behind. The same applies to Pedro, who was touched also from behind by another competitor, destroying not only the tyre but, as a result, also the floor of the car and this forced him to retire.”

James Key, Technical Director: “Obviously it is disappointing not to score some points today, because this was clearly possible. Both drivers got away at the start but Pedro’s car was hit from behind which gave him a puncture. He came into the pits and changed his tyres. But out on the track again he reported a lot of oversteer. We looked into the data and decided to call him in, because there was too much damage to the floor. Kamui made a good start, but was also tapped from behind in turn three and lost several positions. From then on it was about recovering as much as possible, but he was held up by the drivers in front of him.
It’s difficult to overtake in Barcelona. He drove an excellent race and got a finish for the car which was important for us. The car was very reliable throughout the race.
Unfortunately he could have finished higher, as the pace was definitely good enough to be in the top ten.”

Lotus Cosworth

After a very strong showing all weekend, race day in Barcelona saw Lotus Racing continue to move ahead, with Jarno Trulli finishing 17th and first of the new teams, whilst Heikki Kovalainen suffered a gearbox failure on the grid and had to be retired before the race had started. Despite the best efforts of his pit-crew Heikki was unable to join the race, but the team’s mood after the race was good, with Jarno achieving his first full race finish.

Jarno Trulli: “I’m pleased we finished comfortably ahead of Virgin even though the car felt a bit difficult to drive today. I don’t really know why but it didn’t feel the same as it did on Friday – despite that we achieved what we set out to today, showed good race pace and finished well.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “We had a gearbox problem while we were firing up on the grid. The gearbox selected two gears at once - there was some sort of software issue which caused it to fail. It’s unfortunate, because we have had such a good weekend, but these things happen. Next up it’s Monaco, and I know we’ll be stronger again there, so we can focus on the next race and hope the luck returns.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “It was a bit of a disappointing afternoon because we had a difficult race where we weren’t really able to show our true pace. We had a gearbox problem on the grid with Heikki, which was caused by a procedural issue, not a reliability problem. That’s frustrating as I think he would have had a strong race. Jarno made a great start, he had some contact going down into the first corner and throughout the race was struggling with the rear of the car. It was difficult for him in traffic, but he did a good job to bring the car home and get his first real race finish. Now we’ll just have to go to Monaco next week and show what we know we can do.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “It was a good day at the office today - disappointing for Heikki but on the positive side the reliability looks good and we had no hydraulic issues at all. We continue to have at least one car finish ahead of all the other new teams which has always been one of the goals and we learnt a lot again today. It’s a shame Heikki wasn’t there as it makes a big difference when we only have one car on track – both of them can help push us further ahead. We’re all now looking forward to Monte Carlo and Turkey where we’ll have all our upgrades together on both cars and build on the performance we put in during qualifying here.”

Virgin Racing Cosworth

A lot of hard work and determination finally paid off for Virgin Racing today after the team achieved its objective of bringing both cars home in today’s Spanish Grand Prix. Not only was this the team’s first two-car finish, but Virgin Racing were the only new team to bring both cars home at the end of today’s 66-lap race.

Timo enjoyed a race-long battle with Jarno Trulli, the pair trading fastest lap times in the battle to secure best new team, which underlined a solid debut for the revised VR-01. Lucas di Grassi also delivered a determined performance, lapping well considering he is not yet equipped with the second revised chassis.

Timo Glock: “In general the race wasn’t too bad for us and obviously we have made a good step in getting both cars to the finish, so it was a good team result today. The car was difficult to drive in the last part of the first stint. I had a good race-long battle with Jarno but the amount of traffic we experienced made it very difficult. Out of 66 laps, only 15 of them were in free air and the rest were full of blue flags. We are making progress and today was an important step, but it was a small step and we have to keep up the momentum now to bring some bigger steps as the season progresses. Congratulations to the team because they have worked incredibly hard over the past few weeks and this weekend in particular.”

Lucas di Grassi: “It was a good race for the team today - the first race where we were able to bring both cars to the finish and a good reward for the team after all the hard work. Reliability has been a weak point for the last races but I’m very happy to see we have taken a step forward. My race was very tough - we opted to start on the prime tyres and it was impossible to drive the car. When we switched back to options the car was okay again and I was able to do some good laps. With a lot of blue flags it was very difficult to have a consistent pace.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We were all really pleased to see both cars take the chequered flag today at the end of a long, hard road for us. We always knew that we would get past this milestone and although the past few weeks in particular have presented a difficult challenge, everyone in the team has worked tirelessly and kept the faith. We have two fantastic drivers and a great team around them and I would like to dedicate this important milestone to all of them.”

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: “To finally achieve our first two-car finish is a great reward for everyone involved with Virgin Racing. Firstly I would like to thank the race team for their incredible work this weekend. I must also recognise the considerable efforts of everyone back at Wirth Research and our suppliers, who have been working relentlessly since Shanghai to fix our transmission and hydraulic problems. It was a very encouraging debut for our new VR-01 and we are all looking forward to bringing more performance to the car in the forthcoming races. I should also pay due credit to our drivers Timo and Lucas, not only for solid determined drives in today’s race, but for their patience and crucial contribution over the past few weeks in particular.”

HRT F1 Cosworth

Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna both had strong starts but different fortunes in HRT F1 Team, Hispania Racing’s home Grand Prix. Bruno Senna ran wide into the gravel at turn 4 on the opening lap and Karun Chandhok, who started with a five-place grid penalty for gearbox replacement had a strong race but could not avoid a collision with Alguersuari during lapping. The nose of Karun’s car was damaged and the Indian driver had to pit on lap 27 with a nose and tyres change. He had to park due to more heavy damages caused by this incident and Alguersuari got a drive-through penalty for causing a collision.

Dr. Colin Kolles, Team Principal: “I am disappointed that we didn’t finish our home race. It’s a real pity because both drivers had good starts. Bruno Senna had to stop on the opening lap despite a very strong start which moved him up to 17th from 21st on the grid. Karun Chandhok was similarly strong and had a very good pace but retired mid-race after contact with Alguersuari. At least, the performance was much better than in Qualifying yesterday. Now, we look ahead to next weekend and are determined to have a good result in Monaco.”

Karun Chandhok: “I am very disappointed with the outcome of the race. It’s a real shame what happened with Jaime. I stayed out of his way, kept the car completely straight and he just turned left into me. I was really pleased with my race until then. ‎I had a good first lap and was trying to be sensible with the option tyre and get them to last. My pace relative to the other new cars was good and I was pulling away from Di Grassi quite comfortably. In the end, although we changed the front wing, the damage to the front right suspension was too much and I had to stop. It is a disappointing end to a good day for the team."

Bruno Senna: “I made a great start and was able to pass a good number of drivers and make up a few places. I was in 17th it was a good opportunity to show what I am able to do in F1. At Turn 4 the car just caught me out and unfortunately my race ended there. I am very disappointed not to finish our home race and had to retire in front of our fans on a track that I like very much. Let’s look at the Monaco Grand Prix where I feel at home".